2011 South Western Region Travel Time Monitoring Program Congestion Management Process. Executive Summary

Transcription

1 2011 South Western Region Travel Monitoring Program Executive Summary Prepared by: South Western Regional Planning Agency 888 Washington Blvd, 3rd Floor Stamford, CT Telephone: Facsimile:

2 Introduction The Travel Monitoring Program is an important component of the Congestion Management Process (CMP of the South Western Regional Planning Agency (SWRPA and South Western Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (SWRMPO. The CMP serves as a tool for evaluating the transportation system and the effectiveness of transportation improvement projects over time. The CMP also serves as a tool to identify deficiencies within the system and, in turn, to develop priorities for the Long Range Transportation Plan. Objective, Study Area, Methodology The objective of the Travel Monitoring Program is to obtain quantitative data measuring travel time and delay along the highway network in Southwestern Connecticut. The routes monitored include I-, CT and US, within the South Western, Greater Bridgeport, and Housatonic Valley Regions. This inter-regional study area reflects the fact that the recurring congestion problem on the Region s principal highways extends well beyond the Region s boundaries. Data is obtained using the floating car method, which involves placing a global positioning system (GPS device in the windshield of a probe vehicle. Data was collected during the spring, Tuesday through Thursday, during the morning peak (:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and evening peak (4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. hours. Travel Results The results of the travel time monitoring are presented in the table below. Though the fact that there are delays on the Region s highways during the peak travel hours is no surprise, these delays are not as omnipresent as they might seem. Based on the data generated from this report, it is clear that certain segments of these highways produce more delays during peak community times. Notable among these delay-prone segments are I- through Stamford s central business district (Exits 6, the approaches to the US interchanges on both I- (Exits and CT (Exits 39-40, I- s interchange with US 1 / Kings Highway in Fairfield (Exit 23, CT s interchange with CT 58 in Fairfield (Exit 44, and various stretches of US including from the northern end of the expressway alignment at Grist Mill Road in Norwalk and through the surface arterial segment in Wilton. The two maps on the following pages (Figures 3 and 4 present the averaged speed data along roadway segments for I-, CT and US southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening. Travel : Summary Results Route Direction AM/PM # Runs Mean Travel Min. Travel Max. Travel Mean Max. Min. I- S AM CT S AM US S AM I- N PM CT N PM US N PM Extent of corridors studied: I- = miles; CT = 3.53 miles; US = miles Source: South Western Region Travel Monitoring Program Spring 2011 Comparison to Previous Years Although it is difficult to compare data from different years due to a lack of sufficient sample size and changes to the study area, it appears that peak period travel times have remained relatively constant for the last four years (see table below. A decrease in peak period travel times can be seen in 2010, but this discrepancy may be the result of the small sample size of the data. Travel speeds seemed to have

3 remained similar despite marked changes in the cost of gasoline and other fuels as well as a decline in employment due to the recent economic recession. Travel s: Southbound AM Northbound PM I- * N/A 33 * N/A 29 CT US *Study only included South Western Region Source: South Western Region Travel Monitoring Program Congestion Screening and Monitoring Report The travel time data collected for this report is supplemented with information from CTDOT s 2010 Congestion Screening and Monitoring Report, which is an annual report that identifies specific problems on roadways through a screening process and monitors the overall effectiveness of the highway system. Significant finings from this report include: Segments of I- within the Region have average daily traffic (ADT in excess of 0,000 vehicles, which by 2030 could increase to an ADT of 180,000 vehicles, resulting in a volume-to-capacity (V/C ratio greater than 1.3, which represents an extremely congested roadway; Segments of CT within the Region have an ADT in excess of 0,000 vehicles, which by 2030 could increase to an ADT of 88,000 vehicles in Norwalk and,000 vehicles in New Canaan, resulting in a V/C approaching 1., which represents an extremely congested roadway; The busiest segments of the surface arterial portion of US within the Region have an ADT of about 35,000 vehicles with a V/C ratio of 1.0, which by 2030 could increase to an ADT of 40,000 vehicles, with the busiest segments having V/C ratios varying from 0. to 1.. CTDOT Traffic Counts and Annual Average Daily Traffic As a basis for comparison, traffic count data on I- in Norwalk, measured at a continuous count station near exit 14 at the Scribner Avenue underpass, is aggregated for the morning peak (:00 a.m. to 9 a.m. and evening peak (4 p.m. to p.m., in the peak direction. Data were analyzed for Tuesday through Thursday during the second full week in May, which reflects the days chosen to conduct the Travel Monitoring trips. These data show an increase in traffic count of approximately % between 200 and Therefore, it does not appear that fuel price changes or the slow economy have led to a decline in peak period travel over the last four years. However, average annual daily traffic on I-, which represents the average daily traffic count over an entire year, declined approximately 5% between 200 and This seems to indicate that non-peak period trips, which tend to be more discretionary, have been impacted by fuel price changes or the slow economy. 1 CTDOT. Yearly Continuous Count Station Data, Average Annual Daily Traffic,

4 Travel : Southbound AM (:00 am - 9:00 am South Western Region Travel Monitoring Program - Spring 2011 Figure 3 New Milford Sherman Travel s (MPH Bridgewater > HVCEO New Fairfield Brookfield < Local Street Highway Danbury 9 Newtown 3 Bethel Metro-North Railroad Monroe Municipal Boundary State Boundary Ridgefield Redding GBRC Trumbull Easton w Ne rk Yo Wilton Ü Stamford Greenwich Fairfield SWRPA New Canaan 29 Weston Darien 13 Westport 1 Norwalk Stratford Bridgeport A Prepared on July, 2011 Disclaimer: This map is intended for general planning purposes only Miles 10 Sources: Connecticut Department of Transportation, Highways and Congestion Screening and Monitoring Report; Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, Conservation and Development Policies Plan for Connecticut, Locational Guide Map; Connecticut Department of Public Safety, Streets; Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Environmental GIS Data for Connecticut

5 Travel : Northbound PM (4:30 pm - 6:30 pm South Western Region Travel Monitoring Program - Spring 2011 Figure 4 New Milford Sherman Travel s (MPH Bridgewater > HVCEO New Fairfield Brookfield < Local Street Highway Danbury 9 Newtown 3 Bethel Metro-North Railroad Monroe Municipal Boundary State Boundary Ridgefield Redding GBRC Trumbull Easton w Ne rk Yo Wilton Ü Stamford Greenwich Fairfield SWRPA New Canaan 29 Weston Darien 13 Westport 1 Norwalk Stratford Bridgeport A Prepared on July, 2011 Disclaimer: This map is intended for general planning purposes only Miles 10 Sources: Connecticut Department of Transportation, Highways and Congestion Screening and Monitoring Report; Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, Conservation and Development Policies Plan for Connecticut, Locational Guide Map; Connecticut Department of Public Safety, Streets; Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Environmental GIS Data for Connecticut