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Page 12
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 2 - Methodology." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13648.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 2 - Methodology." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13648.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 2 - Methodology." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13648.
×
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Page 15
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 2 - Methodology." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13648.
×
Page 15
Page 16
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 2 - Methodology." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13648.
×
Page 16
Page 17
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 2 - Methodology." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13648.
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Page 17

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2.1 Compiling the Guidelines This section presents a brief overview of the underlying research conducted in support of this report, including a description of case studies of 12 active congestion pricing projects. 2.1.1 Underlying Research The guidelines in this report are a direct result of NCHRP Project 08-75, “Guidelines for Eval- uation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects.” The research behind these guidelines was conducted from early 2009 through mid-2010. The methodology to compile the main body of the guidelines as presented in Chapters 3 and 4 was based on a comprehen- sive examination of active national and international congestion pricing projects. Inventories of these projects were made and a subset of 12 was selected for detailed study based on size of population served, possession of unique attributes, ease of obtaining relevant information within the constraints of the project, and general level of awareness in the transportation com- munity. The 12 projects were grouped into the three basic types of congestion pricing defined in Chapter 1 (see Table 2-1). Their case study locations are shown in Figure 2-1. 2.1.2 Case Studies Detailed case studies were prepared for each of the 12 projects selected for examination. This work was completed in two phases. Initially internet-based research was conducted to identify germane reports and other documentation available on performance measurement activities associated with these active congestion pricing projects. Reports and other publicly available materials were identified describing the methodologies used and the results of these perform- ance evaluation programs. Following this initial effort, telephone and in-person interviews were conducted with staff from most of the sponsoring agencies of the 12 pricing projects to better understand each facility’s goals and performance evaluation programs, what they measure and why, what they wish they would or could have measured and why, any challenges associated with project or evaluation program implementation, and other lessons learned in the context of guideline development. The 12 project case studies, included as Appendix A, provide • An overview of the agency sponsoring the congestion pricing project • A review of the agency’s congestion pricing program • A discussion of the different measures used to monitor agency’s congestion pricing project performance • Identification of other data collection efforts associated with the agency’s congestion pricing project’s implementation 12 Methodology C H A P T E R 2

Methodology 13 Colorado Department of Transportation I-25 Express Lanes Florida Department of Transportation 95 Express Harris County Toll Road Authority Katy Managed Lanes Minnesota Department of Transportation MnPASS Lanes Orange County Transportation Authority 91 Express Lanes San Diego Association of Governments I-15 Express Lanes Variably Priced Managed Lanes Washington State Department of Transportation SR 167 HOT Lanes Ontario Ministry of Transportation Highway 407 Express Toll RouteToll Facilities with Variable Pricing The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Congestion Pricing Program Central London Congestion Charging Singapore Electronic Road Pricing Cordon and Area Pricing Stockholm Congestion Tax Table 2-1. Case study congestion pricing projects by type. Figure 2-1. Case study congestion pricing projects by location.

• A review of why performance evaluation takes place and how the agency uses the performance monitoring data it collects • A review of lessons learned and discussion of additional data or information that would be helpful to the sponsor or other agencies considering the use of congestion pricing Each case study is accompanied by a detailed Facility Per- formance Monitoring Summary Matrix providing a compre- hensive record of all current, known measures used to moni- tor performance on the facility, organized by evaluation area. (Evaluation areas, which can be related directly to specific project goals, are explained further in Chapter 3). Evaluation areas in each matrix consist of • Traffic • Public perception • Users • System operations • Environment • Transit • Economics • Land Use In addition, the matrices provide the following information for each individual measure: • Frequency of collection • Purpose • A simple indication of overall importance • Characterizations of the metric that relate back to agency or facility goals • Sources of information • Other related notes 2.1.3 Guideline Synthesis The case studies described in the previous section provide the underlying foundation to these guidelines. Each facility’s performance monitoring program and suite of performance measures used in practice were synthesized to provide these guidelines’ recommendations, as presented in Chapters 3, 4, and 5. For each of the three types of congestion pricing, the best practices and lessons learned were culled from among the subsets of respective projects. A primary component of this synthesis involved developing summary matrices of perfor- mance measures used in practice for each congestion pricing type. These matrices form the basis for distinguishing between the “must-have” measures and the “nice-to-have” measures (as well as those that may provide little value). These guide- lines do not simply repeat verbatim the performance mea- sures identified in this manner, but by applying the case studies’ findings on what facility operators wish they had done in retrospect and overall conclusions from the research, 14 Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects Performance Data Curtails an Anti-HOV-Lane Movement in Seattle After the de-commissioning of the I-80 and I-287 HOV lanes in New Jersey in 1998, there was a groundswell of opposition to the continued operation of HOV lanes in the Puget Sound region in the Washington State Legislature. This pressure actually compelled the Washington State Transportation Commission to hold hear- ings and consider a motion to decommission HOV lanes in the greater Seattle region in 2001. As luck would have it, the pushback against HOV lanes occurred at the same time that Washington State DOT was gathering initial findings from an extensive performance monitoring program for the region’s HOV network. The Department’s performance data demonstrated unequivocally that the region’s HOV lanes were moving more people in fewer vehicles than on the parallel general purpose lanes. Director of the Washington State Transportation Center Mark Hallenbeck recalls that one item of particular inter- est was the greater distances separating vehicles on the region’s HOV lanes compared to the gen- eral purpose lanes. The answer was simple: traffic in the HOV lanes was moving at greater speeds than on the parallel general purpose lanes and therefore to drive safely HOV motorists needed to maintain greater distances between vehicles. When Hallenbeck presented the findings of the Department’s performance monitoring program to the Commission he recalls one commissioner stat- ing, “It’s so great to have real data. It’s not as if we won’t argue, but at least we have got numbers that mean something.” Once the data from the HOV performance monitoring program was avail- able and demonstrated that the Puget Sound HOV network was robust, the argument to decommis- sion it lost traction. One lesson that Hallenbeck took away from this experience was to have the facts and “be careful to speak in language that can be easily understood.”

these guidelines seek to make the best set of recommendations for future performance eval- uation program implementation. Given that each congestion pricing facility is unique and that performance evaluation pro- grams must be tailored to varying sets of goals, contexts, and available resources, the 12 project case studies are also provided as an appendix to these guidelines. In this manner, the reader may find that the information contained in a specific case study can augment the guidelines’ recom- mendations or serve to better illustrate a particular application in detail. For example, in consid- ering the implementation of a simple HOV-to-HOT conversion along a 3- by 3-lane corridor with one non-barrier-separated HOV lane and two general purpose lanes in each direction, the Washington State Department of Transportation’s experience doing just that along SR 167 in southern Kings County may be useful to study in detail—in addition to the recommendations for variably priced managed lanes in Chapter 3. 2.2 State of the Practice and Beyond The current collection of operational congestion priced facilities from which these guidelines draw on highlight two important points. One, the application of congestion pric- ing—and thus evaluating and measuring its performance—is a relatively new concept, but one that is expected to continue growing. The second point, which, despite the expected increase in operational facilities, will likely remain true, is that no two facilities are the same. It follows from this that no two facilities have the same performance measurement require- ments. It is with this understanding that the approach to these guidelines has been to synthesize what has been used in practice and apply that which has been found to provide the best value. 2.2.1 The Expanding Future of Congestion Pricing The trend of applying congestion pricing solutions to trans- portation needs in the United States (and abroad) is growing. With limited resources with which to make improvements and a need to manage increased demand from a growing pop- ulation seeking greater mobility, congestion pricing is a natu- ral, and many would argue, necessary solution. In addition, to continue to make appropriate justifications for investing in congestion pricing solutions, as well as to ensure their intended and optimal operation, performance evaluation and measurement must play a significant role in their application. The current scope of congestion pricing in the United States is shown in Table 2-2 alongside expected future projects that are in the “pipeline.” These pipeline projects are in design or construction or have a good chance of moving ahead from their ongoing planning processes. Those that are operational today have opened within only the last 15 years. Many of the Methodology 15 No Two HOT Lanes Are the Same Prior to the opening of the Katy Managed Lanes, staff from the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) in Houston visited several other operat- ing HOT lanes in person to learn more about them and the different ways in which they operate. HCTRA staff found these visits extremely helpful and informative, and also left them with an under- standing that each of the HOT lane facilities oper- ating in the United States is unique. Some of the most important distinctions include the different types of agencies operating priced managed lanes, variations in back office procedures, as well as the presence or lack of other toll facilities in the region. Given these important distinctions, the process of determining how a priced facility will operate is facility-specific and needs to be driven by local conditions. The HCTRA managed lane team was able to incorporate bits and pieces of strategies and lessons learned from several of the facilities they visited into the operation of the Katy facility, selecting from among what they con- sidered to be the best and most relevant to their local conditions. In particular, the Orange County Transportation Authority’s SR 91 Express Lanes facility was influential and led HCTRA to decide on fixed variable pricing rather than dynamic pricing. HCTRA staff have been pleased with the outcome of that decision and stated that their experience from the site visits has encouraged them to opt for simplicity whenever possible.

projects in the pipeline can be expected to open in less than half that time, greatly increasing their presence across the country and the number of sponsoring agencies responsible for their imple- mentation. The number of users (and potentially skeptical observers) will also grow, making the need to validate and manage facility operation more pervasive. These guidelines are designed to address that need. 2.2.2 Every Congestion Priced Facility Is Unique The research that underpins these guidelines has shown a predictable result—that no two congestion priced facilities are the same. Numerous factors that influence the decision to imple- ment such a facility contribute to the uniqueness of each: overarching goals, sponsoring agency, regional roadway network configuration, available alternate modes, land use patterns, user population and demographics, experience level with tolling and managed lanes, available 16 Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects OPERATING PIPELINE Variably Priced Managed Lanes Variably Priced Managed Lanes Alameda County, CA I-680 Denver I-25 Houston I-10 Katy Freeway Houston Northwest Freeway Miami I-95 Minneapolis I-394 Minneapolis I-35W Orange County, CA SR 91 San Diego I-15 Seattle SR 167 Salt Lake City I-15 Austin Loop 1 Baltimore I-95 Bay Area, CA I-580 Bay Area, CA I-80 Bay Area, CA U.S. 101 Charlotte I-77 Dallas DFW Connector Dallas I-30 Tom Landry Dallas I-35 Thornton Dallas I-35E Stemmons Dallas I-635/LBJ Dallas NTE (I-820/SH 121) Denver U.S. 36 Fort Lauderdale I-595 Georgia GA 400 Georgia I-75/I-575 Georgia I-85 Houston area reversible lanes except I-10 Katy Las Vegas I-15 Los Angeles I-10 Los Angeles I-110 Orange County, CA I- 405 Provo I-15 San Antonio Loop 1604 San Bernardino/Riverside Counties, CA I-10 San Bernardino/Riverside Counties, CA I-15 San Bernardino/Riverside Counties, CA SR-91 San Diego I-15 San Diego I-5 San Diego I-805 San Diego SR 52 San Jose SR 237/I-880 San Jose SR 85 San Jose U.S. 101 Seattle I-405 St. Paul I-35E Virginia I-395/I-95 Virginia I-495 Capital Beltway Toll Facilities with Variable Pricing Toll Facilities with Variable Pricing Lee County, Florida Bridges New Jersey Turnpike Orange County, California San Joaquin Hills (73) and Foothill/Eastern (241, 261, 133) Toll Roads Delaware Route 1 San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Bridges and Tunnels Virginia Dulles Greenway Maryland Intercounty Connector Seattle Alaskan Way Seattle SR-520 Cordon and Area Pricing Cordon and Area Pricing None San Francisco Table 2-2. Operating and pipeline congestion pricing projects in the United States.

resources—the list goes on. A user of these guidelines will likely be confronted with this situa- tion, seeking guidance and recommendations for a facility’s implementation that presents its own unique attributes and challenges. For this reason, the approach taken in these guidelines has been to identify a wide range of recommendations on establishing a performance evaluation program and selecting specific performance measures. The guidelines represent a synthesis of best practice, but at the same time, remain accessible to readers seeking direction on components of a performance monitoring program that may not be the most commonly applied in practice. Ultimately, a user of these guidelines may pick and choose among the recommendations as appropriate, based on applicable context. Methodology 17

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TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 694: Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects is designed to help transportation agencies select or develop measures to evaluate congestion-pricing projects; collect the necessary data; track performance; and communicate the results to decision makers, users, and the general public.

A companion document to NCHRP Report 694 was published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 174: Performance Measurement and Evaluation of Tolling and Congestion Pricing Projects, which provides an overview of the purpose, scope, and methodology, and a complete compilation of the work products that were used to develop NCHRP Report 694.

The PDF of this report has some information not supplied in the original print version. Be advised that inclusion of this information has affected the layout of Appendix A and may affect printing.

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