Prioritizing Transportation
Prioritization in Transportation Planning, Funding and Management
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Victoria Transport Policy Institute
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Updated
18 August 2008
This chapter discusses principles that can be used to prioritize transportation activities and investments, and how this can help achieve TDM objectives.
Transportation planning and management involves countless decisions concerning the allocation of resources, such as money, road space, parking spaces, and priority in traffic. Current planning practices often allocate these resources inefficiently, such as devoting a relatively small portion of transportation funds to nonmotorized modes, allocating parking on a first-come basis, and giving no priority to space-efficient modes (carpools, vanpools and buses) in congested traffic. Transportation prioritization explicitly allocates resources to favor higher value trips and lower cost modes priority over lower value, higher cost trips in order to improve overall transportation system efficiency and support strategic planning objectives. For example:
· Road
Space Reallocation converts general traffic and parking lanes (which favor
automobile travel) to HOV Priority lanes (which favor Transit and Rideshare vehicles),
and Bicycle lanes and Sidewalk
space (which favor Nonmotorized Travel).
· Basic
Mobility and Accessibility recognizes that some transportation activity has
particularly high social value and should be supported, including Special Mobility Services and Universal
Design, which provide basic mobility for people with disabilities, adequate
Transportation Options for non-drivers, and Location-Efficient Development to improve land use
accessibility.
· Parking
Management can use regulations and fees to favor higher priority trips,
such as delivery vehicles, customers, taxis and rideshare vehicles.
· Roadway design and
management that increases motor vehicle traffic volumes and speeds tends to
create environments that are less suitable for pedestrian travel (Evaluating Nonmotorized Transportation). Traffic
Calming and Traffic Speed Reduction programs tend
to benefit nonmotorized transportation but reduce automobile accessibility.
·
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a term used for a set of
transit improvements that include grade-separated right-of-way and other
priority measures to increase bus service speed, comfort and operating
efficiency. Traffic signals can be adjusted to favor Transit,
traffic rules can require automobiles to yield to buses entering traffic, and
more curb space can be devoted to bus stops.
· Efficient Pricing
allows higher value trips to out-bid lower-value trips, increasing economic
efficiency. For example, Congestion Pricing allows
motorists who pay a fee to avoid congestion, and Parking
Pricing tends to favor delivery vehicles and customers over commuters for
the most convenient parking spaces.
Transportation resources are already prioritized in many
circumstances. For example, it is common for emergency vehicles to have
priority over general traffic, and for delivery vehicles to have the most
convenient parking spaces. Tremendous resources have been invested in freeways,
which favor longer-distance automobile travel, leading to automobile dependency
and sprawl. Transportation Prioritization can be used to support mobility
management objectives, such as improving the attractiveness of efficient modes,
and applying Road and Parking
pricing to reduce Congestion. Prioritization can support
other planning objectives, such as creating better public spaces for commercial
activities, social interactions and aesthetic features (
Prioritization is often used to support a road use hierarchy that favors nonmotorized modes, high-occupant vehicles, public transit and service vehicles over single occupant private vehicles in policy and planning decisions, called a Green Transportation Hierarchy (Bradshaw, 1994; TA, 2001).
|
Green Transportation Hierarchy (TA, 2001) 1.
Pedestrians 2.
Bicycles 3.
Public
Transportation 4.
Service and
Freight Vehicles 5.
Taxis 6.
Multiple Occupant Vehicles 7.
Single Occupant Vehicles |
The Green Transportation Hierarchy favors more efficient (in terms of space, energy and other costs) modes.
Transportation Prioritization is not a single strategy; it is a planning approach that can affect various policy and planning decisions, and often involves specific TDM strategies. Transportation Prioritization changes the way public resources are used, including how public roads and parking facilities are designed and managed, traffic speed regulation, pricing, and investments. Transportation Prioritization involves two steps:
1. Determine the basis of prioritization. This involves ranking trips, modes or users to determine which should have priority under various circumstances.
2. Developing methods for
prioritization. This involves allocating funding, road space, public land,
traffic management or other resources to favor higher ranking trips, modes or
users.
Most road and parking space is currently allocated on a first-come basis, which tends to be inefficient, particularly in congested conditions. Appropriate regulations and pricing can increase efficiency. HOV Priority can be justified on efficiency and equity grounds, since it allows space-efficient vehicles to avoid congestion delays. Pricing is often criticized as unfair, since it allows higher-income people to purchase a higher service quality (for example, uncongested traffic lanes and convenient parking spaces), but the overall equity impacts depend on the quality of options available to users (such as the quality of alternative modes and parking spaces) and how revenues are used (Pricing Evaluation).
Table 1 Allocation Options
|
Name |
Description |
Efficiency |
|
First-come |
First arrival gets the resource. |
Generally, least efficient. |
|
Consumption limits |
First arrival gets the resource, but the quantity of resources that each user is allowed to consume is restricted. |
This can reduce excessive consumption, such as all day use of a convenient parking space. |
|
Regulations |
Regulations give priority to certain types of users (delivery vehicles, high-occupant vehicles, people with disabilities, etc.) |
This may increase efficiency if regulations are well designed and enforced. |
|
Pricing |
Scarce resources are allocated by price. |
Tends to be most efficient by allowing higher value uses to out-bid lower value uses, and by providing revenue. However, it also allows wealthier people to purchase higher service quality than less wealthy people. |
This table describes various ways of allocating resources such as road and parking space. Improved prioritization can increase efficiency.
Table 2 compares how urban road space is prioritized by conventional planning with prioritization that emphasizes more efficient transportation. Current practices tend to devote more public road space to an automobile trip than to travel by other modes. More efficient management could give priority to modes that require less space per passenger-mile, or which serve particularly high-value trips (such as emergency and freight vehicles).
Table 2 Prioritizing Urban Roadspace
|
Conventional Roadway Priority |
Efficient Roadway Priority |
|
Emergency vehicles General motor vehicles (cars, trucks, taxis) Automobile parking Public transit Cycling Walking |
Emergency vehicles/trips Walking Cycling Public transit Service/freight vehicles Rideshare vehicles (car and van pools) Taxi Single Occupant Automobiles Automobile parking |
The table below lists some ways that transportation activities can be prioritized.
Table 3 Transportation Prioritization Methods
|
|
Road Space |
Traffic Management |
Pricing |
Investment Practices |
|
General Approaches |
Increase the amount of road space devoted to priority modes. |
Restrict lower priority modes, reduce motor vehicle traffic speeds, improve nonmotorized modes. |
Reduce fees for higher priority modes and increase prices for lower-priority modes. |
Provide more funding for higher priority modes. |
|
Specific TDM Strategies |
|
|
|
Comprehensive Transportation Planning Multi-Modal Level-of-Service Indicators Pedestrian and Cycling Improvements |
Conventional Transportation Planning and funding practices tend to favor investments in automobile transportation, and tend to undercount and undervalue alternative modes (Measuring Transportation). More Comprehensive Transportation Planning tends to recognize greater benefits from alternative modes, and so tends to give them higher priority when allocating public resources. For example, a major portion of urban arterial road space is devoted to on-street parking, yet few streets have HOV or bicycle lanes, and sidewalks are often crowded. Road Space Reallocation often involves changing parking lanes into special lanes for transit, HOV or cycling lanes, or widening sidewalks. This tends to support equity and efficiency objectives, since it improves mobility for non-drivers and encourages the use of more space-efficient modes, particularly since automobile parking can be provided off-street or on nearby roads. However, conventional planning practices tend to emphasize automobile traffic over other transportation improvement options.
The greater the degree of conflict the more explicitly prioritization must be applied. For example, in suburban areas it may be sufficient to perform road shoulder maintenance and enforce traffic laws to insure that cyclists may safely use public roads. In crowded urban areas it may be necessary to dedicate a special lane to bicycles, or to apply Traffic Calming and close some streets to through automobile traffic to create a network of “bicycle boulevards” where non-motorized travel has priority over motor vehicle traffic.
Transportation Prioritization is usually implemented as part of Transportation Planning. It may require Institutional Reforms to allow more resources to be shifted to higher priority modes.
Transportation Prioritization can have major impacts on travel behavior, depending on the specific strategies that are used. It is particularly effective at shifting single occupant automobile travel to alternative modes.
Table 4 Travel Impact Summary
|
Objective |
Rating |
Comments |
|
Reduces total traffic. |
2 |
Depends on the specific
strategies employed. |
|
Reduces peak period
traffic. |
1 |
" |
|
Shifts peak to off-peak
periods. |
0 |
|
|
Shifts automobile travel to
alternative modes. |
3 |
" |
|
Improves access, reduces
the need for travel. |
2 |
" |
|
Increased ridesharing. |
2 |
" |
|
Increased public transit. |
2 |
" |
|
Increased cycling. |
2 |
" |
|
Increased walking. |
2 |
" |
|
Increased Telework. |
2 |
" |
|
Reduced freight traffic. |
0 |
May improve freight
transport. |
Rating from 3 (very
beneficial) to –3 (very harmful). A 0 indicates no impact or mixed impacts.
Transportation Prioritization tends to create a more efficient transportation system, and so can help achieve all TDM objectives. It is particularly important during Emergencies and Special Events. It may increase administrative and enforcement responsibilities.
Table 5 Benefit Summary
|
Objective |
Rating |
Comments |
|
Congestion Reduction |
2 |
Depends on the specific
strategies employed. |
|
Road & Parking Savings |
2 |
" |
|
Consumer Savings |
2 |
" |
|
Transport Choice |
2 |
" |
|
Road Safety |
2 |
" |
|
Environmental Protection |
2 |
" |
|
Efficient Land Use |
2 |
" |
|
Community Livability |
2 |
" |
Rating from 3 (very
beneficial) to –3 (very harmful). A 0 indicates no impact or mixed impacts.
Transportation Prioritization can help achieve transportation equity objectives. Current prioritization practices result in transit and rideshare passengers being delayed by traffic congestion equally with single occupant automobile passengers, although they require less road space per passenger-mile and so impose less congestion on other road users. Transportation Prioritization allows space efficient modes to avoid congestion, which is more horizontally equitable: travelers that impose less congestion on others bear less congestion delay.
Similarly, current transportation planning practices can be considered unfair to people who walk or bicycle, who bear significant transportation costs, but receive relatively little benefit. Transportation Prioritization that favors nonmotorized modes can increase horizontal equity by allowing people who impose lower costs (road space, parking requirements, crash risk and environmental impacts) to have a greater share of public resources than they do now.
Transportation Prioritization gives alternative modes priority over general traffic, and helps create a less Automobile Dependent transportation system, which tends to benefit people who are transportation disadvantaged (who tend to rely heavily on alternative modes), and provide Basic Access.
Pricing is often considered an unfair way to prioritize, since it allows higher-income traveler to purchase priority over lower-income travelers. For example, a high-income motorist might be able to pay for convenient parking at their club, while a low-income commuter cannot afford to pay for parking at their worksite next door. However, the overall equity impacts depend on the quality of travel options available and how revenues are used.
Table 6 Equity Summary
|
Criteria |
Rating |
Comments |
|
Treats everybody equally. |
1 |
Depends on the specific
strategies employed. |
|
Individuals bear the costs
they impose. |
2 |
" |
|
Progressive with respect to
income. |
2 |
" |
|
Benefits transportation
disadvantaged. |
3 |
" |
|
Improves basic mobility. |
3 |
" |
Rating from 3 (very
beneficial) to –3 (very harmful). A 0 indicates no impact or mixed impacts.
Transportation Prioritization can be implemented in virtually any geographic area and by any level of government, although it tends to be most appropriate in areas where there is moderate to large demand for alternative modes (transit, ridesharing, cycling and walking).
Table 7 Application Summary
|
Geographic |
Rating |
Organization |
Rating |
|
Large urban region. |
2 |
Federal government. |
2 |
|
High-density, urban. |
3 |
State/provincial
government. |
2 |
|
Medium-density,
urban/suburban. |
2 |
Regional government. |
3 |
|
Town. |
2 |
Municipal/local government. |
3 |
|
Low-density, rural. |
1 |
Business Associations/TMA. |
2 |
|
Commercial center. |
3 |
Individual business. |
2 |
|
Residential neighborhood. |
3 |
Developer. |
1 |
|
Resort/recreation area. |
3 |
Neighborhood association. |
2 |
|
College/university
communities. |
3 |
Campus. |
3 |
Ratings range from 0 (not
appropriate) to 3 (very appropriate).
Policy And Institutional Reforms
Transportation Prioritization supports most alternative modes (Transit, Ridesharing, Cycling, Walking, Universal Design, HOV Priority, Taxi Service) and transportation management programs (Road Space Reallocation, Freight Transport Management, Traffic Calming, Parking Management, Access Management, Tourist Transport Management). It should be incorporated into Emergency and Special Event planning. It is supported by transportation planning reforms (Comprehensive Transportation Planning, Institutional Reforms, Least Cost Planning, Context Sensitive Design). It can help achieve Basic Access and Equity objectives.
Stakeholders include virtually any transportation system planners and users. Emergency service providers, freight transport users, transit and rideshare users, and people who use nonmotorized modes are likely to experience direct benefits and so tend to support changes. Automobile associations, and public officials accustomed to current prioritization practices, and so may oppose changes.
There may be opposition from automobile associations, and public officials accustomed to current prioritization practices. There may be opposition from people who consider current practices most equitable, and prioritization that favors alternative modes to be unfair. There may be institutional barriers to overcome, including planning and funding practices that favor automobile use, such as dedicated highway funding that is unavailable for other types of facilities.
|
A
pious minister died and went to heaven, where Saint Peter gave him a small
golden harp. Just then, another angle flew by with a much larger harp.
Envious, he asked why his own harp was so much smaller. “That
was a |
The
main objective of
Actions
aimed at inducing alternative use of conventional transport modes have included
the introduction of the 'Buxi' mini-bus operating as a privately-run collective
taxi for central neighbourhoods; the introduction of the 'Telebus' serving an
urban corridor to peripheral zones of the conurbation; and the introduction of
a computer-based traffic and safety management system.
The
pedestrian network has proven popular. Most trips to the city centre are made
on foot. The escalators, which provide comfortable and continuous route ways,
are the most popular. The elevators, which serve discontinuous route ways, are
also generally accepted. Studies have shown that 50 % of the local population
in
The Government’s Transport White Paper ‘A New Deal for Transport: Better for
Everyone’ signalled a change in the policy framework within which roadspace
can be reallocated and highlighted how in appropriate cases roadspace can be
used to accommodate, even facilitate, the renaissance of urban areas. Indeed, the Government (in its recent ‘Guidance on Provisional Local Transport
Plans’, (DETR, April 1999)) has indicated that it is now keen to “encourage local authorities to take a
radical look at the options” for reallocating roadspace (paragraph
49).
In addition, the potential road traffic reduction
impacts of novel capacity reallocation measures such as High Occupancy Vehicle
(HOV) Lanes and No-Car Lanes may also warrant further investigation. However, at a more general level, it is clear
that the reallocation of roadspace will form a crucial element in any strategy
for road traffic reduction. There are two important reasons for this. Firstly,
by reallocating road space to buses, pedestrians and cyclists, road capacity
released by the restraint of certain car-based trips (for example, through road
user charging) will be prevented from being taken up by suppressed demand,
which is known to exist on large parts of London’s congested highway network.
Secondly, it is likely that significant increases in vehicle speed may occur in
areas where road user charging schemes are implemented.
For example, the previous Government’s London Congestion
Charging Research Programme found that if a high level (£8.00 per day, one-way)
road user charge was introduced in
During the consultation exercise on the draft
Supplementary Advice, a number of concerns were raised, particularly in Outer
London, that a reduction in general highway capacity on the secondary network
through the reallocation of roadspace to buses, pedestrians and cyclists, could
result in the transfer of traffic onto local residential roads. Whilst this may occur in certain
circumstances, if roadspace reallocation is co-ordinated with traffic calming
measures on neighbouring local roads, the problem should be avoided in most
cases. Of relevance to this, research
carried out jointly for the DETR and London Transport in 1998 into the ‘Traffic Impact of Highway Capacity
Reductions’ (Summary Report) found that “the negative effects of reducing capacity exist, but are, on balance,
less significant than has sometimes been feared” (paragraph 4.1.1). The report concludes that “measures which reduce or reallocate road
capacity, when well-designed and favoured by strong reasons of policy, need not
automatically be rejected for fear that they must inevitably cause unacceptable
congestion” (paragraph 4.1.5).
The
speed-up programme concentrated on three separate objectives:
· Unhindered trips between
junctions, without hold-ups caused by private traffic, to be achieved by
building special (tram) lines and separate bus lanes.
· Zero' waiting time for
public transport at light-controlled junctions, by developing a fully flexible
control philosophy.
· Extension of the
data-controlled operational control system, so that the operational control
centre is always informed about deviations from the timetable and other
programmes, and can remedy the situations or help by putting
previously-designed measures into effect.
Rahman Paul Barter and Tamim Raad (2000), Taking
Steps: A Community Action Guide to People-Centred, Equitable and Sustainable
Urban Transport, Sustainable Transport Action Network for
Chris Bradshaw (1994), Green Transportation Hierarchy, Ottawalk and the
Dan Burden (1999), Street Design Guidelines for Healthy Neighborhoods, Center for Livable Communities, Local Government Commission (www.lgc.org/clc).
Stephen Burrington and Veronika Thiebach (1995), Take Back Your Streets; How to Protect Communities from Asphalt and Traffic, Conservation Law Foundation (www.clf.org). Guide provides justifications and information on implementing Traffic Calming.
Center for Livable Communities (www.lgc.org/clc), provides practical tools for innovative land use and transportation planning.
Center for Urban Transportation Research, USF (www.cutr.usf.edu) provides TDM materials and classes and publishes TMA Clearinghouse Quarterly.
Citizen Planner Institute (www.citizenplanner.com) trains average citizens, public officials, business people, and kids in the basics of neighborhood and town design.
Tina Collier and Ginger Goodin (2004), Managed Lanes: A Cross-Cutting Study, Operations Office of Transportation Management, Federal Highway Administration (http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freewaymgmt/managed_lanes/index.htm).
Complete the Streets (www.americabikes.org/bicycleaccomodation_factsheet_completestreets.asp) is a campaign to create streets that accommodate all modes, including walking, cycling, automobile and public transportation.
Reid
FHWA, Management and Operations Toolbox, (http://plan2op.fhwa.dot.gov/toolbox/toolbox.htm) provides information and techniques for evaluating transportation systems management strategies.
Mayer Hillman (2001), “Prioritising Policy & Practice to Favor Walking”, World Transport Policy and Practice, Vol. 7, No. 4 (www.ecoplan.org/wtpp), pp. 39-43.
Information and Publicity Helping the Objective of Reducing Motorized Mobility (INPHORMM) (www.wmin.ac.uk/Env/UDP/phorm/inphormm.htm) is an organization that supports TDM marketing efforts.
InfraGuide (2005), Strategies for
Implementing Transit Priority:
National Guide to
Sustainable
Municipal Infrastructure,
Federation of Canadian Municipalities and National Research Council, Centre for
Sustainable Community Development (www.sustainablecommunities.fcm.ca); at http://sustainablecommunities.fcm.ca/files/Infraguide/Transit/strategies_implementing_transit_priority.pdf.
ITE (1997), A Toolbox for Alleviating Traffic
Congestion and Enhancing Mobility,
William Lennertz
and Laurence Qamar (1995), The Principles of a Balanced Transportation Network:
Implementing the
Stephen Marshall (2003), “The Street: Integrating Transport and Urban Environment,” Handbook of Transport and the Environment, Elsevier (www.elsevier.com), pp. 771-786.
OECD (1995), Urban Travel and Sustainable Development, OECD (www.oecd.org), pp. 114-115.
R. Ott (1995), “Conurbation Transport Policy in
TGM (2000),
Street Widths, Transportation and Growth Management Program (www.lcd.state.or.us/tgm/pub/pdfs/neigh_st.PDF).
TA (2001), The Green Transportation Hierarchy, Transportation Alternatives Magazine (www.transalt.org/files/newsroom/magazine/012Spring/09hierarchy.html).
Katherine F. Turnbull,
Herbert S. Levinson and Richard H. Pratt (2006), HOV Facilities – Traveler Response to Transportation System Changes,
TCRB Report 95, Transportation Research Board (www.trb.org);
available at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_95c2.pdf.
USEPA (2001), Directory of Air Quality Economic Incentive Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (http://yosemite.epa.gov/aa/programs.nsf).
USEPA (2002), Transportation Control Measures Program Information Directory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (http://yosemite.epa.gov/aa/tcmsitei.nsf). This is an on-line searchable database with approximately 120 case studies of programs that reduce transportation pollution emissions.
World Bank (2000), Cities on the Move; A World Bank Urban Transport Strategy Review, World Bank, Urban Transport Section (http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/transport/utsr.nsf).
This
Encyclopedia is produced by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute to help
improve understanding of Transportation Demand Management. It is an ongoing
project. Please send us your comments and suggestions for improvement.
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
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