Volume 1: TRAQS User Guide (2018)

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TRAQS User Guide Page 40 5. MAP & LINKS Under the TRAQS main window, press the Map & Links button to access to the Map & Links mod- ule. In this module you define the road links and off-network links, specify traffic data, and set the location of receptors. 5.1. MAP VIEW In the Map View tab of the Map & Links window you graphically specify the following elements for your TRAQS project: 1. Roadway Links: These are the roads that you want to model. 2. Off-Network Links: These are parking areas or bus terminals that you want to model. 3. Receptors: These are locations where you want the air dispersion model to calculate concen- tration values. 4. Exclusion Zones: These are areas that you do not want receptors to be located.

TRAQS User Guide Page 41 Snapping Option After pressing the Road Link tool, press the Ctrl key. Move your mouse close to the ex- isting Road Link segment that you want your new link to attach to. When your mouse pointer is close to the edge of an existing Road Link segment, a circle is displayed around the edge node. Click the left mouse button and release the Ctrl key. You will see that the new segment line is attached to the edge of the existing road. Continue to digitize the new road segments. To finalize the link, click the right mouse button or double-click with the left mouse button.

TRAQS User Guide Page 42 How to Specify Roadway Links 1. Press the Road Link tool ( ) located on the Tools vertical bar. 2. Left-click, with the mouse pointer on the map area, at the location for one end of the line seg- ment (road). Continue to left-click at each desired line segment. To finalize the line, click the right mouse button or double-click the left mouse button. The line should be digitized along the center of the road link. 3. The Link Parameters dialog is displayed, allowing you to define additional parameters and traf- fic data for your road link. 4. When you finish entering all the required information, press the OK button. A representation of the road link will be displayed on the map area as seen in image below. How to Specify Off-Network Links 1. Press the Off-Network Link tool ( ) located on the Tools vertical bar. 2. Left-click, with the mouse pointer on the map area, the location for one of the corners of the polygon that will define the off-network link. Continue to left-click at each corner of the poly- gon area. Follow this procedure until you digitize all corners. To close the polygon, click the right mouse button or double-click the left mouse button. 3. The Off-Network Link Parameters dialog is displayed, allowing you to define additional parame- ters and traffic data for your off-network link.

TRAQS User Guide Page 43 4. When you finish entering all the required information, press the OK button. A representation of the off-network link will be displayed on the map area as seen in image below. MOVES only allows one Off-Network Link to be modeled. TRAQS is therefore limited to one off-network link per project. How to Specify Discrete Receptors 1. Select the Discrete Receptor tool ( ) located on the Tools vertical bar. 2. Left-click, with the mouse pointer on the map area, the desired location for the discrete recep- tor. 3. The Discrete Receptors dialog is displayed, allowing you to adjust the coordinates and specify a description, if necessary.

TRAQS User Guide Page 44 4. Click the OK button. A cross marker will be placed at the selected location for the discrete re- ceptor as seen in image below. How to Specify Exclusion Zones 1. Press the Exclusion Zone tool ( ) located on the Tools vertical bar. 2. Left-click, with the mouse pointer on the map area, the location for one of the corners of the polygon that will define the exclusion area. Continue to left-click at each corner of the polygon area. Follow this procedure until you digitize all corners. To close the polygon, click the right mouse button or double-click the left mouse button. 3. The exclusion zone area will be displayed on the map area as seen in image below.

TRAQS User Guide Page 45 How to Use the Edit Tool 1. Press the Edit tool ( ) located on the Tools vertical bar. 2. Select with the mouse pointer the object, on the map area, that you want to edit. Notice that a black square marker is placed at the end of each line segment or corner of each polygon. You can edit a road link, an off-network link, or an exclusion area. 3. With the mouse left-click on one of the black square markers. This will allow you to move this point to a new location by resizing the line segment(s). You can also use the Edit tool to move the entire object to a new location without changing the shape or its dimensions.

TRAQS User Guide Page 46 How to Use the Delete Tool 1. Press the Delete tool ( ) located on the Tools vertical bar. 2. Left-click, with the mouse pointer, on the object on the map area that you want to delete. Functionality of Tools Selects an object on the map area (e.g., links, off-network links, receptors, exclusion zones). Pans the map view. Zooms to domain extents. Draws a roadway Link. Double-click or use the mouse right-click to end the line segment. Draws an Off-Network Link. Double-click or use the mouse right-click to end close the poly- gon and end the process.

TRAQS User Guide Page 47 Places a Discrete Receptor location. Draws a polygon to define an exclusion zone where receptors should not be defined. Edits links and exclusions zones (moving or resizing). Deletes links, exclusion zones, or discrete receptors. Displays the AERMOD Receptors dialog from where you can specify receptor locations for your AERMOD modeling. Deletes any discrete receptors within specified exclusion zones. Generates and displays a partial section of the AERMOD Source Pathway input file containing parameters necessary to represent road links and off-network links into a format that can be used to run the AERMOD model. Road Links are converted into AERMOD LINE Sources (LINE source type) and Off-Network Links are converted into AREA sources (ARE- APOLY source type). 5.2. ROAD LINKS The Road Links tab of the Map & Links Module contains a grid listing any roadway links graph- ically specified under the Map View screen.

TRAQS User Guide Page 48 Functionality of Buttons – Link Parameters Section Press this button to add a new road link. The Link Parameters dialog is displayed. Press this button after selecting an item from the grid for editing. You can also dou- ble-click on the Link ID cell to edit the link. In both cases, the Link Parameters dialog is displayed. Press this button to delete an existing link from the grid. Press this button to delete all links from the grid. Press this button to export all road link parameters, including traffic data and coordi- nates of link nodes, to a comma separated value (CSV) file. Press this button to import road links from a CSV file. The CSV file must be in the for- mat accepted by TRAQS. Use the Export button to generate a template. Functionality of Buttons – Link Nodes Section Press this button to add a new link node. A new row is created under the Link Nodes grid allowing the user to type the new X and Y UTM coordinates for the node. Press this button to delete an existing Link Node from the grid. Press this button to delete all Link Nodes from the grid. Press this button to import Link Nodes from a CSV file. Press this button to export the contents of the Link Nodes grid to a CSV file.

TRAQS User Guide Page 49 5.3. OFF-NETWORK LINKS The Off-Network Links tab of the Map & Links Module contains a grid listing any off-network links graphically specified under the Map View screen. Functionality of Buttons – Link Parameters Section Press this button to add a new off-network link. The Link Parameters dialog is dis- played. Press this button after selecting an item from the grid for editing. You can also dou- ble-click on the Link ID cell to edit the off-network link. In both cases, the Off-Network Link Pa- rameters dialog is displayed. Press this button to delete an existing off-network link from the grid. Press this button to delete all off-network links from the grid. Press this button to export all off-network link parameters, including traffic data and coordinates of link nodes, to a CSV file. Press this button to import road links from a CSV file. The CSV file must be in the for- mat accepted by TRAQS. Use the Export button to generate a template. Functionality of Buttons – Link Nodes Section Press this button to add a new off-network link node. A new row is created under the Link Nodes grid allowing the user to type the new X and Y UTM coordinates for the node. Press this button to delete an existing Link Node from the grid. Press this button to delete all Link Nodes from the grid.

TRAQS User Guide Page 50 Press this button to import Link Nodes from a CSV file. Press this button to export the contents of the Link Nodes grid to a CSV file. 5.4. LINK PARAMETERS The Link Parameters dialog is displayed when the user digitizes a road link on the map area (Map & Links Window - Map View tab). Under the The Link Parameters dialog, the following parameters need to be defined:  Link ID: This is a unique numeric identification number automatically assigned for each link (non-editable field).  Description: This field allows you to specify a description of the link.

TRAQS User Guide Page 51 Link Parameters Tab  Link Type: This field is only used for visualization purposes. On the map area, each link will be shown in a different color depending on one of the selections below: o Cruise: This link will be shown on the map area in green color and should represent the section of the road where vehicles are in cruise mode. o Queue: This link will be shown on the map area in red color and should represent the section of the road where vehicles are in queue mode. o Acceleration: This link will be shown on the map area in yellow color and should represent the section of the road where vehicles are in acceleration/deceleration mode. Specify a separate Road Link segment(s) in case the traffic/activity conditions changes (e.g., acceleration, deceleration, cruise, or idle) over the length of the road- way.  Road Type: The following road types are available: o Rural Restricted: A rural highway that can be accessed only by an on-ramp (MOVES road type ID = 2) o Rural Unrestricted: All other rural roads (MOVES road type ID= 3) o Urban Restricted: An urban highway that can be accessed only by an on-road ramp (MOVES road type ID = 4) o Urban Unrestricted: All other urban roads (MOVES road type ID = 4)  Lane Width (ft or m): This is the total width of the link/road. If a highway has 3 lanes and each lane is 12ft in width, then the Link Width will be 12 x 3 = 36ft. See "A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, AASHTO, found on http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/geometric/pubs/mitigationstrategies/chap- ter3/3_lanewidth.cfm  Average Grade (%): This is the grade in percentage (100% = 45 degree slope).

TRAQS User Guide Page 52 AERMOD Line Source Parameters TRAQS converts each roadway link, specified under the Map & Links module, into LINE sources for use with the AERMOD air dispersion model. The AERMOD model requires the specification of two important parameters for any LINE source: 1. Source Release Height (Relhgt) (m): This is the release height above ground in meters. See Method 1 below on how to calculate this parameter. 2. Initial Sigma Z (Szinit) (m): This is the initial vertical dispersion coefficient in meters. See Method 1 below on how to calculate this parameter. In this section, you will find two methods to specify the above LINE source parameters:  Method 1 - Calculate based on Mixed Fleet data: This method uses an emissions-weighted average or volume-weighted average and follows the approach described under Appendix J of the US EPA PM Hot-Spot Analyses Guidance (EPA-420-B-15-084) (U.S. EPA 2015b). See below the values TRAQS assumes for this type of calculation: Source Release Height (Relhgt) (m) = [(% Light-Duty Vehicles * 1.3)/100] + [(% Heavy- Duty Vehicles * 3.4)/100] where: o 1.3 = Source Release Height of Light-Duty Vehicles (m) = Average Vehicle Height * 1.7 * 0.5 = 1.53 * 1.7 * 0.5 o 3.4 = Source Release Height of Heavy-Duty Vehicles (m) = Average Vehicle Height * 1.7 * 0.5 = 4.00 * 1.7 * 0.5 o Average Height of Light-Duty Vehicles = 1.53 meters or 5 feet o Average Height of Heavy-Duty Vehicles = 4.0 meters or 13.1 feet Initial Sigma Z (Szinit) (m) = [(% Light-Duty Vehicles * 1.2)/100] + [(% Heavy-Duty Ve- hicles * 3.2)/100] where: o 1.2 = Initial Sigma Z for Light-Duty Vehicles (m) = (Average Vehicle Height * 1.7)/2.15 = (1.53 * 1.7)/2.15 o 3.2 = Initial Sigma Z for Heavy-Duty Vehicles (m) = (Average Vehicle Height * 1.7)/2.15 = (4.00 * 1.7)/2.15 o Average Height of Light-Duty Vehicles = 1.53 meters or 5 feet o Average Height of Heavy-Duty Vehicles = 4.0 meters or 13.1 feet  Method 2 - User-Specified: In case method 1 is not applicable to your project, then use this option in order to specify your alternative values.

TRAQS User Guide Page 53 Traffic Data You must specify, for each link, the following traffic data:  Volume (vehicles/hr): This is the total traffic volume (number of vehicles) in one hour.  Average Speed (mph): This is the average speed of vehicles in miles per hour.  Truck (%): This is the percentage of trucks on this road segment. This option is only applica- ble to projects using EMFAC. TRAQS only supports the EMFAC vehicle category type "Truck/Non-Truck". Required Traffic Data for Projects Using MOVES

TRAQS User Guide Page 54 Press the column header to select the entire column. Press Ctrl+D to copy the con- tents of the first selected cell down to the cells below or press Ctrl+U to copy the contents of the last selected cell to all cells up. Functionality of Buttons Press this button to export the contents of the grid to a CSV file. Press this button to import data into the grid from a CSV file. Before using this fea- ture, make sure you have the proper CSV file format by using the Export button which provides a correctly formatted file template. 5.5. OFF-NETWORK LINK PARAMETERS The Off Link Parameters dialog is displayed when the user is specifying an off-network link graph- ically (Map View tab) or in text mode (Off-Network Links tab). See below description of all the required parameters:  Link ID: This is a unique numeric identification number automatically assigned for each link.  Description: This field allows you to specify a description of the link. Required Traffic Data for Projects Using EMFAC

TRAQS User Guide Page 55 For projects using MOVES, only 1 Off-Network Link can be specified. This is a limitation of the MOVES model. For projects using EMFAC, several Off-Network Links can be specified. However, the user must enter the final calculated Emission Rates (g/s-m2) for each pol- lutant being modeled. This means that the user is responsible for running the EMFAC model for each Off-Network Link and bringing the calculated emission rates into TRAQS to be included in the AERMOD model runs. Link Parameters Tab See below description of the parameters requested under this tab. AERMOD Area Source Parameters Each off-network link that is specified, under the Map & Links module, will be converted by TRAQS into an AREAPOLY source for use with the AERMOD air dispersion model. The AERMOD model re- quires the specification of two important parameters for any AREA source: 1. Source Release Height (Relhgt) (m): This is the release height above ground in meters. See Method 1 below on how to calculate this parameter. 2. Initial Sigma Z (Szinit) (m): This is the initial vertical dispersion coefficient in meters. See Method 1 below on how to calculate this parameter.

TRAQS User Guide Page 56 In this section, you will find two methods to specify the above LINE source parameters:  Method 1 - Calculate based on Mixed Fleet data: This method uses an emissions-weighted average or volume-weighted average and follows the approach described under Appendix J of the US EPA PM Hot-Spot Analyses Guidance (EPA-420-B-15-084) (U.S. EPA 2015b). See below the values TRAQS assumes for this type of calculation: Source Release Height (Relhgt) (m) = [(% Light-Duty Vehicles * 1.3)/100] + [(% Heavy- Duty Vehicles * 3.4)/100] where: o 1.3 = Source Release Height of Light-Duty Vehicles (m) = Average Vehicle Height * 1.7 * 0.5 = 1.53 * 1.7 * 0.5 o 3.4 = Source Release Height of Heavy-Duty Vehicles (m) = Average Vehicle Height * 1.7 * 0.5 = 4.00 * 1.7 * 0.5 o Average Height of Light-Duty Vehicles = 1.53 meters or 5 feet o Average Height of Heavy-Duty Vehicles = 4.0 meters or 13.1 feet Initial Sigma Z (Szinit) (m) = [(% Light-Duty Vehicles * 1.2)/100] + [(% Heavy-Duty Ve- hicles * 3.2)/100] where: o 1.2 = Initial Sigma Z for Light-Duty Vehicles (m) = (Average Vehicle Height * 1.7)/2.15 = (1.53 * 1.7)/2.15 o 3.2 = Initial Sigma Z for Heavy-Duty Vehicles (m) = (Average Vehicle Height * 1.7)/2.15 = (4.00 * 1.7)/2.15 o Average Height of Light-Duty Vehicles = 1.53 meters or 5 feet o Average Height of Heavy-Duty Vehicles = 4.0 meters or 13.1 feet  Method 2 - User-Specified: In case method 1 is not applicable to your project, then use this option in order to specify the values you want to be used. Traffic Data (For Projects Using MOVES Only) See below description of the parameter requested under this tab.  Volume (vehicle): This is the total number of vehicles.

TRAQS User Guide Page 57 Click on the column header to select the entire column. Press Ctrl+D to copy the contents of the first selected cell down to the cells below or press Ctrl+U to copy the contents of the last selected cell to all cells up. Emission Rates (For Projects Using EMFAC Only) TRAQS does not support the generation of EMFAC input files (*.ers) for Off-Networks Links. This limitation is due to the fact that TRAQS only supports the EMFAC Simplified Approach which is not applicable to Off-Network Links. However, the user can still specify Off-Network Links in TRAQS and enter EMFAC calculated emission rates (g/s-m2) for each pollutant being modeled. This means that the user is responsible for running the EMFAC model for each Off-Network Link outside TRAQS. TRAQS will then include these emission rates in the project's AERMOD model runs.  Pollutant (g/s-m2): This is the final emission rate calculated by EMFAC for each pollutant be- ing modeled. Required Traffic Data for Projects Using MOVES

TRAQS User Guide Page 58 Functionality of Buttons Press this button to export the contents of the grid to a CSV file. Press this button to import data into the grid from a CSV file. Before using this fea- ture, make sure you have the proper CSV file format by using the above Export button. Required Emission Rates for Projects Using EMFAC

TRAQS User Guide Page 59 5.6. AERMOD RECEPTORS The AERMOD Receptors window allows you to define receptor locations for your AERMOD air dis- persion modeling analysis. You have access to this dialog by pressing the Receptor button availa- ble under the Map & Links window. Receptor button The following types of receptors can be specified under the AERMOD Receptors window:  Discrete Receptors: These are all the receptor locations that are represented by a single draw- ing object ( ).  Grid Receptors: These are receptors that are specified using a Uniform Cartesian Grid.  Link Receptors: These are discrete receptors that are located along a road link.

TRAQS User Guide Page 60 5.6.1. DISCRETE RECEPTORS Under the Discrete Receptors tab of the AERMOD Receptors window, you will be able to specify and/or view discrete receptor locations to be included in the AERMOD modeling runs. Discrete Receptors are written to the AERMOD Input File using the DISCCART key- word. Functionality of Buttons Displays the Generate Link Receptors dialog allowing you to specify set- tings for generating a series of discrete receptors along road links. Deletes any discrete receptors within specified exclusion zones. Exports the contents of the Discrete Receptor grid to a CSV file. The exported file can serve as a template that you can edit before re-importing into TRAQS again. Allows you to import discrete receptors from a CSV file. Before using this feature, make sure you have the proper CSV file format by using the Export button first. Adds a new row to the Discrete Receptor grid allowing you to enter the X and Y co- ordinates for a new receptor.

TRAQS User Guide Page 61 Deletes any selected discrete receptors from the Discrete Receptor grid. You can use the Shift key or Ctrl+ Alt keys to select multiple grid rows. Deletes all discrete receptors from the Discrete Receptor grid. 5.6.2. DISCRETE RECEPTOR PARAMETERS The Discrete Receptor Parameters dialog is displayed after you press the Discrete Receptor tool ( ) and click on the map area (Map & Links window). The Discrete Receptor tool allows you to graphically specify receptor points for modeling impacts at specific locations of interest. These discrete receptors, also called sensitive receptors, are locations such as schools, hospitals, day care centers. The following fields are available:  X Coordinate (m): This coordinate is automatically displayed after you graphically specify the receptor location. However, you can adjust this value.  Y Coordinate (m): This coordinate is automatically displayed after you graphically specify the receptor location. However, you can adjust this value.  Description: This field allows you to specify a short description for your receptor location (e.g., School). Discrete Receptor Parameters dialog

TRAQS User Guide Page 62 5.6.3. GRID RECEPTORS Under the Grid Receptors tab of the AERMOD Receptors window, you will be able to define multiple receptor locations by specifying a Uniform Cartesian Grid. The following parameters are required:  Center Coordinates (m): X and Y coordinates, in meters, for the center of the grid.  Grid Spacing (m): grid spacing in the X and Y directions.  No. of Receptors: Number of receptors (grid nodes) in X and Y directions.  Dimension (m): Auto-calculated fields that display the total length of the grid in X and Y direc- tions. Grid Receptors are written to the AERMOD Input File as a Uniform Cartesian Grid using the GRIDCART UCART keyword. TRAQS only allows one Receptor Grid to be specified. If multiple grids with different grid spacing and settings are required, convert each grid into discrete receptors first using the Convert to Discrete button. Converting the Receptor Grid into Discrete Receptors allows you to remove discrete receptors that you do not want to include in your modeling analysis. AERMOD Receptors - Grid Receptors tab

TRAQS User Guide Page 63 Functionality of Buttons Press this button to automatically generate a grid covering your entire modeling do- main. A default spacing of 50 meters is used for the X and Y directions, however, you can specify your own values Press this button to clear all fields and remove the grid from your project. Press this button to convert the grid into discrete receptors allowing you to de- lete receptors that are within exclusion zones following regulatory guidance. 5.6.4. LINK RECEPTORS Link Receptors are discrete receptors placed along road links art a certain distance from the edge of the road (link) and at a specified spacing. The Generate Link Receptors dialog is displayed when you press the button located under the AERMOD Receptors window. Displays the Generate Link Receptors dialog allowing you to specify settings for generating a series of discrete receptors along road links.

TRAQS User Guide Page 64 How to Specify Link Receptors 1. Press the button. The Generate Link Receptors dialog is dis- played. 2. Under the Select Links grid, located on the top section of the dialog, you find a list of all the Road Links that you specified for your project. Under the Selected column, check all the links that you want to use for assigning receptors along links. 3. Under the Specify Receptor Grid Settings grid, specify the Distance from Link, in meters, and Spacing between Receptors, in meters. You can add as many tiers as necessary by pressing the Add button. 4. Press the Generate button to generate the discrete receptors along links. The discrete recep- tors generated by the Generate Link Receptors tool will be placed under the Discrete Re- ceptors grid.

TRAQS User Guide Page 65 Functionality of Buttons Selects all boxes under the Selected column. Unselects all boxes under the Selected column. Adds a new row to the Grid Settings table allowing you to specify a new Distance and Spacing. Deletes any selected row from the Grid Settings table.