Details:

Creators:
Fontaine, Michael D. ; Miller, John S.
Fontaine, Michael D. ; Miller, John S. Less -
Corporate Creators:
Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research
Subject/TRT Terms:
[+]
Best Practices Highway Traffic Control Systems Metropolitan Planning Organizations Ramp Metering Ramp Metering (Traffic Engineering) Traffic Congestion Traffic Congestion--Management Transportation--Planning Transportation Planning Variable Message Signs Warning Systems
Publication/ Report Number:
VCTIR 13-R1
Resource Type:
Tech Report
Geographical Coverage:
Virginia
Edition:
Final report.
Corporate Publisher:
Virginia. Dept. of Transportation
Abstract:
Active Traffic Management (ATM) applications, such as variable speed limits, queue warning systems, and dynamic

ramp metering, have been shown to offer mobility and safety benefits. Yet because they differ from conventional capacity

investments in terms of cost, service life, and operating requirements, how to incorporate them into the planning process is not

clear. To facilitate such incorporation, this study developed guidelines for considering ATM deployments.

The guidelines consist of four sets. The first set identifies required infrastructure and operational conditions, such as

sensor placement and queuing behavior, to apply a particular ATM technique at a given site. The second set presents sketch

planning analysis methods to estimate the operational and safety benefits of applying the particular technique at the site; these

may be refined with the third set concerning a more detailed (and accurate) simulation analysis. The fourth set concerns

continued monitoring of an ATM deployment at a given site. Also provided is a framework for incorporating ATM concepts

into the regional planning process. The framework is illustrated with a hypothetical case study of variable speed limits

implemented on I-66 in Virginia.

Although Virginia metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and the Virginia Department of Transportation already

consider operational initiatives to some degree within the planning process, a key finding of this study is that there are several

ways to strengthen the inclusion of operational initiatives. These include (1) using the guidelines developed in this study; (2)

linking ATM initiatives to the MPO’s Congestion Management Process; (3) facilitating the computation of operational-related

performance measures such as total vehicle- hours of delay; and (4) emphasizing, when applicable, the safety and environmental

aspects of ATM. The rationale for such aspects is not to promote ATM as being more effective than other types of investments

but rather to compare ATM objectively with these other types of investments. For example, Appendix A illustrates how to

compute a benefit-cost ratio where costs include capital and operations expenditures for the ATM and where benefits include

monetized values of vehicle-hours of delay plus crash costs. In this manner, the benefit-cost ratio for an ATM project may be

compared to the benefit-cost ratio for other operational or capacity projects.


Format:
PDF
Collection(s):
US Transportation Collection
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:98c8b5a0b1a70ef504f0e39415430d571c0d22b633873acea717a7363636d81a
Download URL:
https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/25475/dot_25475_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

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