National Academies Press: OpenBook

Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets (2008)

Chapter: Chapter 1 - Introduction

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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14175.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14175.
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3In many urban areas throughout the United States, there is a desire to evaluate transportation services of roadways from a multimodal perspective. Improvements to non-automobile modes are often emphasized to achieve community goals such as “Smart Growth” and curbing urban sprawl. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and its predecessor, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Effi- ciency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), call for mainstreaming transit, pedestrian, and bicycle projects into the planning, design, and operation of the U.S. transportation system. In addition to measuring the levels of service for automobile users, measur- ing the levels of service for transit, pedestrian, and bicycle users along U.S. roadways is also desired. 1.1 Research Objective and Scope The objective of NCHRP Project 3-70 was to develop and test a framework and enhanced methods for determining lev- els of service for automobile, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian modes on urban streets, paying particular respect to the in- teraction among the modes. The scope of the project was as follows: • Urban streets were defined as arterials and major collectors. • This research project was to address all vehicular and pedestrian movements along urban streets, including turn- ing movements and pedestrian movements across urban streets. • Transit (i.e., bus and rail) was initially defined as at-grade, scheduled, fixed-route services that operated within the roadway right-of-way. Other forms of transit services were allowed be addressed subsequently. • The analysis techniques were not necessarily to be re- stricted to 1-hour or 15-minute analysis time frames (tran- sit or pedestrian “micro-peaks”). • Safety and economic aspects were to be included only and insofar as they influenced the perceptions of LOS. • The HCM lists nine conditions (p. 15-1) not accounted for in the current urban streets methodology: 1. Presence or lack of on-street parking; 2. Driveway density or access control; 3. Lane additions leading up to or lane drops leading away from intersections; 4. The impacts of grades between intersections; 5. Any capacity constraints between intersections (such as a narrow bridge); 6. Mid-block medians and two-way left turn lanes; 7. Turning movements that exceed 20 percent of the total volume on the street; 8. Queues at one intersection backing up to and interfer- ing with the operation of an upstream intersection; and 9. Cross-street congestion blocking through traffic. These limitations were not necessarily to be accepted in this project. • Although this project was to address automobile LOS, re- visions in operational techniques (e.g., calculation of aver- age travel speed, mid-block running times, and control delay) for the automobile mode were not a significant part of this project. 1.2 The Research Plan The research plan consisted of the following tasks: 0. Development of Amplified Work Plan 1. LOS Framework Revisions 2. Data Collection 3. Develop LOS Models 4. Interim Report 5. HCM Chapter 6. HCM Software 7. HCM Sample Problems C H A P T E R 1 Introduction

48. Final Report 9. HCQS Presentations 1.3 This Report This Report presents the final recommended LOS models and draft Urban Streets chapter on urban street level of ser- vice for the 2010 Highway Capacity Manual. The report is or- ganized as follows: • Chapter1, Introduction. This chapter presents an overview of the research project and the organization of the report. • Chapter 2, State Of The Practice. This chapter reviews the state of the practice for estimating the level of service for auto drivers, transit riders, bicycle riders, and pedes- trians on urban streets. The Highway Capacity Manual, Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual, and the Florida DOT Quality/Level of Service Guide are reviewed. • Chapter 3, Literature Review. This chapter presents an overview of recent literature in the field of modal level of service. • Chapter 4, Data Collection. This chapter describes the se- lection of the data collection methods for this study and describes the video lab and field work used to obtain observations from the traveling public on their perceptions of level of service. • Chapter 5, Auto LOS Model. This chapter presents the rec- ommended LOS model for auto drivers along with an alternative model designed to address concerns raised by the Highway Capacity Committee. Validation data are provided illustrating the accuracy of the model. • Chapter 6, Transit LOS Model. This chapter describes the recommended LOS model for transit passengers on an urban street. Validation data are provided illustrating the accuracy of the model. • Chapter 7, Bicycle LOS Model. This chapter describes the recommended LOS models for bicycle riders on an urban street. Validation data are provided illustrating the accu- racy of the model. • Chapter 8, Pedestrian LOS Model. This chapter describes the recommended LOS models for pedestrians on an urban street. Validation data are provided illustrating the accuracy of the model. • Chapter 9, Integrated Multimodal LOS Model Framework. This chapter explains how the four modal LOS models are in- tegrated in that they share the same LOS rating system, share much of the same input data, and reflect intermodal effects of one mode on the perceived level of service of the other. • Chapter 10, Accomplishment of Research Objectives. This chapter summarizes the accomplishment of the research objectives. • Appendix A, Subject Data Collection Forms. This appen- dix provides copies of the video lab data collection forms. • Appendix B, Study Protocol. This appendix describes the protocol used to collect LOS perceptions in the video labs. • Appendix C, Example Recruitment Flyer/Poster. This ap- pendix shows the flyer used to recruit participants in the video laboratories. Appendix D, Draft Users Guide, which presents the draft users guide on urban street level of service, is available on line as NCHRP Web-Only Document 128 at http://trb.org/news/ blurb_detail?id=9186.

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TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 616: Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets explores a method for assessing how well an urban street serves the needs of all of its users. The method for evaluating the multimodal level of service (MMLOS) estimates the auto, bus, bicycle, and pedestrian level of service on an urban street using a combination of readily available data and data normally gathered by an agency to assess auto and transit level of service. The MMLOS user’s guide was published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 128.

Errata

In the printed version of the report, equations 36 (pedestrian segment LOS) and 37 (pedestrian LOS for signalized intersections) on page 88 have been revised and are available online. The equations in the electronic (dpf) version of the report are correct.

In June 2010, TRB released NCHRP Web-Only Document 158: Field Test Results of the Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets (MMLOS) that explores the result of a field test of the MMLOS in 10 metropolitan areas in the United States.

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