Kristine M Williams

Operational Effects of U-Turns as Alternatives to Direct Left Turns from Driveways

Recently, many state and local transportation agencies have begun considering using U-turns as alternatives to direct left turns (DLT) from driveways through installing nontraversable medians on multi-lane highways. Some of the concerns are that this proposed change may transfer operational problems to the downstream median opening and increase delay or travel time of vehicles making a left-turn egress from driveways. However, the effect of this treatment on roadway operations is not clear. A comprehensive study of operational effects of this treatment would be beneficial, both in setting design policy and in project-level design. Field studies were conducted to obtain the data necessary to quantify operational effects of this treatment at eight sites in the Tampa and Clearwater areas of Florida. About 300 h of field data were collected, including delay, travel time, traffic volume, speed, traffic control, and geometric data. An operational effects database was developed to perform statistical analyses. Delay and travel-time models of DLT and right turn plus U-turn (RTUT) were developed as a function of major and minor road-traffic-flow rates. The curves developed based on delay and travel-time models present a clear picture of the operational effects of the two types of movement. Moreover, a ratio model was developed to estimate how many drivers would prefer to make a RTUT rather than a DLT under certain traffic-flow conditions. Finally, the operations models were used to measure system performance of a full median opening versus a directional median opening from the standpoint of weighted-average total delay.

Corridor Preservation: Best Practices for Local Governments

Corridor preservation is an issue of growing concern. The costs of providing transportation infrastructure are escalating, particularly in growing urbanized areas. Right-of-way (ROW) costs often represent the single largest expenditure for a transportation improvement. ROW becomes so costly that jurisdictions are unable to provide needed transportation infrastructure, the existing system will fail to function as planned, and quality of life will suffer. It is critical for local governments to work within their authority to ensure that land for future transportation facilities is preserved as development occurs. Better coordination of land use and transportation decisions will result in a variety of benefits, including earlier public notification of the ROW needs for planned road improvements, less need to relocate homes or businesses when improvements are made, and less damage to existing sites when the land is acquired. Many jurisdictions have some method of ROW preservation, but most lack a systematic program for preserving ROW and managing access. Those that have succeeded have assembled a variety of tools they can mix and match to the circumstances at hand. No single method works for all situations or is legally available in every state. The following measures can help ensure a more successful program: develop a long-range transportation plan with broad community support, set clear priorities and complete projects on time, establish an advance acquisition funding source, establish a systematic program of policies and regulations, and provide a range of mitigation measures to address potential hardships and preserve property rights.

ISTEA: New Directions for Transportation

Abstract The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 or ISTEA (pronounced “Ice Tea”) ushers in a new era of federal transportation policy.1 Unlike the narrow funding categories and one-sided emphasis of the federal-aid high-way programs, ISTEA offers a broad range of funding alternatives and embraces far more than roads and automobiles. Now mobility is the measure, and transit has taken on new stature in the competition for federal dollars.

Preserving Historic Resources

Abstract Historic preservation, like environmental protection, is a movement that has come of age in the past decade. Preservation advocates have gained credibility and influence by working with, rather than against, the local political process. “We have learned that the real place to be is not at the barricades or on the picket lines, but at the city hall and planning commission,” said Dwight Young, National Trust for Historic Preservation, at the Trusts recent conference. Planning for Preservation: Managing Growth in Urban Areas, Pittsburgh, March 22–23, 1990.

Improving Pathways to Fixed-Route Transit: Transit Agency Practices to Expand Access for All Users:

This paper discusses challenges to and promising practices for making infrastructure improvements that enable persons with disabilities and all system users to safely reach public transportation stations and stops to access fixed-route transit options. Although tremendous strides have been made in national transit system accessibility since the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, far less progress has been made in ensuring that pathways to accessible transit stations and stops are in place. This reality poses a critical mobility concern as the nation’s aging population continues to rise, as does the percentage of the population with disability who may need to utilize public transit to access life enhancing and sustaining services. The study uses a national survey and targeted case study analysis to identify effective best practices for facilitating improvement to pathways to transit. These include approaching cost and funding creatively; pursuing partnerships; initiating and maintaining open communication and collaboration; exploring the use of data and new technologies to reduce cost and improve outcomes; and thinking holistically to identify and address pathway to transit improvement needs. Useful to both practitioners and policy-makers, the findings presented offer insights on how agencies can successfully achieve infrastructure improvements that extend beyond their own facilities and that allow people with disabilities and others to more easily access public transit.

A Compendium Survey of International Access Management Practices and Concepts

The Transportation Research Board Access Management Committee initiated an effort to promote international understanding and integration of roadway access management into the transportation planning and design decisions of nations around the world. This paper summarizes findings of the first step of this effort, which is to identify the international state of the practice. Issues addressed include historical context, legal framework, processes for addressing roadway function, access control and enforcement schemes, associated land use and development regulation processes, pertinent policies and standards, transportation modes addressed, and related issues. This paper presents selected highlights from the following countries that responded to the survey: United States (U.S.), South Africa, China, South Korea, Greece, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom (U.K.).

Managing the Indirect Impacts of Bypasses on Small- and Medium-sized Communities in Florida

In Florida, the bypass alternative is increasingly being considered in small and medium-sized communities that contain roadways that are part of Floridas strategic intermodal system (SIS)–-roadways critical to the statewide movement of people and goods. These roads are often the primary roadways into and through smaller communities. Local governments sometimes seek SIS designation to gain funding for increasing the capacity or improving the function of the major roadway; this process leads to consideration of a bypass. Observed issues with these bypasses include the following: (a) the SIS designation assigns level of service and design criteria that increase pressure for a bypass alternative; (b) misconceptions abound regarding potential positive and negative impacts of a bypass; (c) inadequate consideration is given to evaluation of the potential indirect impacts of a bypass on land use and related issues (e.g., livability, local mobility); (d) without local roadway network planning in affected areas, many local trips are likely to rely on the new bypass; (e) access management is critical for the bypass and along major roadways accessing the bypass and their interchanges; (f) the bypassed roadway may be oversize in relation to local mobility needs and could benefit from multimodal enhancements; and (g) proactive attention is needed for addressing potential indirect land use and mobility impacts, which will help determine appropriate plans, strategies, and mitigation measures. This paper examines these issues and offers practical enhancements to current policy and practice to help the Florida Department of Transportation and local governments achieve a multidimensional approach to bypass planning and impact mitigation.

Methodology of impact fees emphasizing vehicle miles traveled

This paper provides a working concept and methodology for application of a mobility fee in Florida. The mobility fee has many characteristics of an impact fee modified for sensitivity to vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Policy and practical implications of implementing such a fee are addressed, along with the fee methodology and illustration of the approach through hypothetical testing in Alachua County, Florida. The primary concept for the mobility fee is a modified impact fee assessed on new development. The approach presented anticipates regional cooperation in the development and adoption of a mobility plan that includes all transportation modes. Through sensitivity to VMT, the modified impact fee may help to discourage urban sprawl and reward mixed-use development and other development near or within existing activity centers. The hypothetical test results reveal that the two approaches—the average rate and the location-based rate—produce very different fees for new development. The paper reports on research performed for the Florida Department of Community Affairs.

Accomplishing Access Management on the Florida Intrastate Highway System: US-19 Highway Corridor Experience

The Florida intrastate highway system (FIHS) is the network of state roads intended to carry the bulk of the state’s high-speed and high-volume traffic movements. Comprising only 3% of the state’s roads, the FIHS carries 32% of all traffic and 70% of truck traffic on the state highway system. However, the safe and efficient operation of the FIHS is in jeopardy. The system faces ever increasing levels of congestion and delay and a projected 20-year shortfall of

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29 billion for needed capacity improvements. Given the lack of funding for needed capacity improvements, the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) is turning to alternative strategies to preserve the operational integrity and safety of the system. Among these strategies is access management. The application of access management techniques on the FIHS is complicated, and sometimes undermined, by the separation of land use decision-making authority (controlled by local governments) and roadway decision-making authority (controlled by Florida DOT). To improve access management decision making on the FIHS, Florida DOT has begun to explain the overall benefits of access management to local governments and to coordinate the land development and road-way decision-making processes. Summarized is an effort to improve access management decision-making practices on a 10-mi corridor of US-19 in rural Levy County, an important north–south component of the FIHS.