URBAN TRANSPORTATION

PLANNING CONCEPT
REPORTERS:

RAMOS, ALYXA
SABANAL, JERSON
VARONA, FRITZLENNARD

BSCE - 4C
 CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2.TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
PROCESS
3.TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS
AND DATA
4.ROAD TRAFFIC DATA
DEFINITIONS
5.TRAFFIC COUNT TECHNIQUES
 INTRODUCTION TO TRANSPORTATION
PLANNING

THE ECONOMIC HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF A NATION’S

COMMUNITIES DEPEND ON A WELL-FUNCTIONING AND SAFE
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.

THE ACCESSIBILITY AND MOBILITY PROVIDED BY TRANSPORTATION

SYSTEMS CAN INFLUENCE LAND USE PATTERNS AND, THUS, OVER TIME
affect how we live.
 INTRODUCTION TO TRANSPORTATION
PLANNING
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPORTATION
investment in transforming communities raises questions of who is benefiting and
who is carrying additional burdens

THE PUBLIC IS ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL

IMPACTS LINKED TO TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
OPERATION.
This has been manifested in many environmental laws and regulations that affect
how transportation planning is
conducted and the types of data and tools that must be used.
 TRANSPORTATION
PLANNING PROCESS

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING IS OFTEN PORTRAYED

AS AN
ORDERLY AND RATIONAL PROCESS OF STEPS THAT
LOGICALLY
FOLLOW ONE ANOTHER.
IN REALITY, PLANNING AND PROJECT
DEVELOPMENTARE MUCH MORE
COMPLEX, OFTEN WITH
MANY DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES
OCCURRIconcurrently.
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

THE PLANNING PROCESS BEGINS WITH AN

UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC,
LAND-USE, AND ECONOMIC CONTEXT WITHIN
WHICH A TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM OPERATES.
THIS IS FOLLOWED BY BECOMING AWARE OF THE
PROBLEMS, CHALLENGES, OPPORTU NITIES, AND
DEFICIENCIES OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
PERFORMANCE WITHIN THIS CONTEXT, BE IT A
STATE, PROVINCE, REGION, OR
COMMUNITY.
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

THE NEXT STEP IS DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY OR

STUDY AREA VISION. THE DIMENSIONS OF THE VISION
PORTRAYED IN FIGURE 1-1 REFLECT the interaction among
desired states of economic prosperity, environmental quality, and
social equity/ community quality of life. These three factors have
been chosen purposely as defining a vision because they are often
considered to be the three major elements of sustainable
development; a concept
well-developed and accepted in recent years
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

ONCE A VISION HAS BEEN DEFINED, THE NEXT STEP IS

TO ACQUIRE MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT
WHAT THE VISION MEANS. What is the desired performance
of the transportation system? Whatcharacteristics of community
life can be most positively affected by
transportationimprovements? This more specific definition of
acommunity’s future is usually accomplished by defining goals
and objectives that provide overall direction to the planning
process.
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES CAN ALSO LEAD TO THE

IDENTIFICATION OF SYSTEM PERFORMANCEMEASURES.USING
MEASURES TO MONITOR the performance of the transportation system
andthe progress of transportation plans and programs is relatively new to
the transportation field. The primary purpose of collecting
data on key system performance characteristics is to provide information to
decision makers on the aspects of performance that are most important to
them. Performance measures can be used to monitor whether
congestion,average speeds, system reliability, and mobility options have
changed over time.
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

COLLECTING AND ANALYZING DATA, THE NEXT STEP

OF THE PLANNING PROCESS, IS KEY TO
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEMS AND POTENTIAL
challenges facing the transportation system and the surrounding
community. This analysis process primarily focuses on
understanding how a transportation system and its components
work and how changes to the system will alter its performance.
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

EVALUATION IS THE PROCESS OF SYNTHESIZING THE

INFORMATION PRODUCED DURING THE ANALYSIS STEP
(FOR EXAMPLE, THE
benefits, costs, and impacts of different alternatives) so that
judgments can be made concerning the relative merits of different
actions. As noted by Meyer and Miller [2014],
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

EVALUATION SHOULD INCORPORATE THE FOLLOWING

characteristics:
• FOCUS ON THE DECISIONS BEING FACED BY DECISION
MAKERS.
• Relate the consequences of alternatives to goals and objectives.
• Determine how different groups are affected by transportation
proposals.
• Be sensitive to the time period in which project impacts are
likely to occur.
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

• IN THE CASE OF REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING,

AGGREGATE INFORMATION IN A WAY THAT ALLOWS
PLANNERS TO ASSESS
the likely effects of alternatives at varying levels.
• Analyze the implementation requirements of each alternative.
• Assess the financial feasibility of plan recommendations.
• Provide information on the value of alternatives in a readily
understandable form and timely fashion for
decision makers.
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

ONE OF THE MOST COMMON WAYS TO ENSURE THAT

THE RESULTS OF THE EVALUATION PROCESS ARE
LINKED CLOSELY TO DECISION MAKING
is through the evaluation criteria used to assess the cost-
effectiveness of individual alternatives or strategies and that reflect
important decision-making concerns. These criteria provide
important guidance to planners and engineers on the type of data
and analysis tools to be used in producing the desired information.
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

THAT PLANNING CAN RESULT IN MANY DIFFERENT

PRODUCTS. STUDIES CAN RECOMMEND THE PURSUIT
OF SPECIFIC transportation projects or services; they can
recommend changes to institutional structures or funding programs
that would make the management of thetransportation system
more effective. Some studies might recommend specific policy
changes, such as how land-use and development plans should be
linked to the transportation plan.
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

THE ACTUAL PROGRAM OF ACTION—IN THE UNITED

STATES CALLED THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT
PROGRAM (TIP) FOR A
metropolitan area or a state transportation improvement program
(STIP) for a state—is connected to the plan through
a process called programming.
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

Once a project or action has been programmed for implementation, its

design and operation must be further refined, and likely impacts further
explored. This process of refinement is called project development.

Three major steps in project development include:

developing project concepts,

planning the project in finer detail than typically occurs in systems
planning ,and
preliminary/final engineering.
A. Major Steps in Transportation Planning

THE FINAL COMPONENT OF THE FRAMEWORK IS

SYSTEM MONITORING. NOTE IN FIGURE 1-1 THAT
SYSTEM MONITORING PROVIDES feedback to the
definition of goals and objectives and the use of performance
measures. Poor system performance can lead to further planning
analysis to better understand the dynamics of the underlying
problem, or it might very well lead to the identification of new
goals and objectives. preliminary/final engineering.
B. Linkage to Policy and Other Planning Efforts

BECAUSE MUCH OF TRANSPORTATION PLANNING HAS

DEVELOPED IN RESPONSE TO THE NEEDS OF A
NATION, INDIVIDUAL STATES OR provinces and
municipalities, a great deal of what a transportation professional
does is defined by law.
B. Linkage to Policy and Other Planning Efforts

FEDERAL GUIDANCE ON TRANSPORTATION PLANNING IS

JUSTIFIED BY THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPORTATION TO
THE NATION THE ECONomy, national security, and health and
welfare of its citizens. It is this national purpose that generates the need
for an
informed and consistent approach to transportation investment across
the nation, especially where federal funds are involved. Congress first
established a federal requirement for metropolitan transportation
planning in the Federal-Aid
B. Linkage to Policy and Other Planning Efforts

ASSESSING THE CONSIDERATION OF THE SAFETY IN THE

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS:

VISION
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
ANALYSIS—DATA
ANALYSIS—TOOLS
IV. CHANGING CONTEXT FOR TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

THE ISSUES CONSIDERED IN A TRANSPORTATION

PLANNING PROCESS OFTEN REFLECT THE CHANGING
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIETY AS
a whole. In addition, changes in economic markets and
transportation technology often provide challenges as well as
opportunities to enhance transportation system performance.
1. Population Growth

POPULATION GROWTH AND WHERE POPULATIONS

LOCATE
place increasing pressures on governments at all
levels to provide transportation infrastructure
and services, even though the mechanisms for
providing this service might be very different
from historical practice. The United States will
see an increase in population over the next several decades, with
immigration providing a large portion of this increase.
2. Changing Demographics

The aging and changing demographics of the U.S. population will

have profound and lasting effects on personal transport and will
increase demands for services to population groups that could be
very differentthan today, such as the elderly.
3. Evolving Economic (and Thus Geographic) Markets

FUTURE U.S. ECONOMIC SUCCESS WILL BE TIED

CLOSELY TO THE ABILITY OF THE NATION’S ECONOMIC
CENTERS OR MEGA REGIONS TO CONNECT TO THE
GLOBAL ECONOMY
4. Transportation System Preservation

IT IS SAFE TO SAY THAT SYSTEM PRESERVATION ALREADY DOMINATES

TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM EXPENDITURE IN MANY COUNTRIES; OVER THE
PAST 10 YEARS, MORE THAN 15 PERCENT OF STATE CAPITAL
SPENDING ON HIGHWAYS HAS GONE TO BRIDGE REHABILITATION AND
REPLACEMENT. [U.S. DOT, 2015] ALTHOUGH CERTAINLY NOT
ONE OF THE MOST STIMULATING ISSUES IN POLITICAL FORUMS, PRESERVING
AND MAINTAINING THE EXISTING TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
INFRASTRUCTURE WILL INCREASE IN IMPORTANCE EVEN MORE DURING THE
NEXT SEVERAL DECADES. IN MOST STATES AND METROPOLITAN
AREAS, THESE NEEDS WILL DOMINATE INVESTMENT PRIORITIES IN THE NEAR
FUTURE.
5. Transportation System Resiliency

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS TEND TO BE VULNERABLE TO DISRUPTION FROM

NATURAL OR MAN-MADE CAUSES. IT IS NOT SURPRISING THAT
the largest number of targets for terrorist attacks around the world is some component of a
transportation system....
buses in Israel, the Tokyo subway system, buses in London, commuter rail in Madrid, and
reported attempts to derail
Amtrak trains in the United States. Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, heavy
precipitation storms resulting in
floods, extreme temperatures, drought, and tornadoes, also often cause major disruptions to a
transportation system.
6. Technology

MODERN SOCIETY IS LARGELY DEFINED BY THE TECHNOLOGIES

USED TO SUPPORT INDIVIDUALS’ EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES AND THE
FOUN?
dational technologies that keep communities functioning, such as water,
transportation, waste removal, and power
technologies. Absent any major disruption in the nation’s economic structure,
new technologies will likely play a significant role in how the nation and
individual citizens conduct their business in future years.
7. Financing Capacities

INCREASING VEHICLE FUEL EFFICIENCY AND REDUCED VEHICLE

MILES TRAVELED RESULTED IN AN INFLATION-ADJUSTED
FEDERAL GAS TAX revenue decline of $15 billion, or 31 percent, from 2002
to 2012. Over the same period, state gas tax revenues
decreased by $10 billion, or 19 percent, adjusting for inflation. The FHWA has
estimated that at least $24 billion in additional capital spending would be
required from all levels of government to improve highway system
performance.
8. Changing Institutional Structures

DUE TO THE CHANGING FINANCING STRATEGIES OF FUTURE

INVESTMENT PROGRAMS AND THE GEOGRAPHIC
DEFINITION OF MARKETS, future institutional arrangements will
likely include many different structures and strategies than are seen
today.
9. Environmental Imperatives

ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FACTORS AFFECTING THE FUTURE OF

TRANSPORTATION DECISION MAKING IS LIKELY TO BE THE CONTINuing public
and policy concern forpreserving and enhancing environmental quality.Traditionally, this has
included
Concerns for air quality, noise, water quality, habitat and wildlife preservation, and the like. In
the future, this concern will likely include attention to the emission of greenhouse carbon gases
and their long-term impact on the climate.
Many areas of the world and in the United States are already experiencing higher-than-normal
extreme weather events.
10. Energy

ENERGY SUPPLIES AND PRICING IN THE LONG TERM COULD BE ONE OF THE
DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF HOW THE U.S. TRANSPORTATION
system is managed and used. Moving toward energy independence will require a concerted
effort over many decades in
both developing and implementing new technologies to transform the U.S. transportation
system. With the discovery
of new sources of petroleum in the United States, it is not clear whether future prices will
increase (in relative terms),
fluctuate as they have in the past, or remain at low levels due to overproduction.
 TRAVEL
CHARACTERISTICS
AND DATA
INTROD
UCTION
Understanding how and why travel occurs is one of the most
important tasks of transportation planning. Every planning
study begins with a review of the data available on the use
and performance of the current transportation system.
Performance and condition characteristics of an urban
area ’ s transportation system also serve as criteria for
evaluating the relative effectiveness of investment
options.
 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
CHARACTERISTICS
Several characteristics of the transportation system are
measured and used in almost every transportation planning
process. This section discusses five of these characteristics:
functional classification, system extent, system usage, system
performance/capacity, and system condition.
FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION

Transportation system data are categorized in a variety of ways to allow

transportation professionals to understand the performance of different components
of the system for which they are responsible.

SYSTEM EXTENT

The extent of a transportation system relates to the size or number of assets that
compose that system.
Interstates are highest level of arterials with the longest
uninterrupted distances and the highest speeds.

Other Arterials include other forms of limited access

roads as well as connections to major urbanized areas
and tie the national defense system (the interstates) to
the cities and industrial centers.

Collectors involve both land access and traffic circulation.

They link local roads to arterials and are generally lower-
speed facilities.

Local Roads primarily serve the adjacent land use with

access to higher-order roads.
 System Use

An important indicator of the value of a transportation system is how much it is used.

Existing usage is also the baseline for predicting future system use.

System Performance
is one of the most visible and important transportation system characteristics to local decision makers and
the general public. Traffic congestion and traffic delays have engaged—and will likely continue to
involve—transportation planners and engineers in discussions and debates about how transportation
problems can be solved. Several characteristics of system performance, including mobility and
accessibility, are key decision criteria and are evaluated and monitored by transportation agencies.
ACCESSIBILIT
System Performance
Y FOCUSES
ON HOW
MOBILITY
EASILY
PEOPLE CAN
Mobility
REACH refers to the ease and speed with which people and goods can move within a city. It
is a critical
DESTINATION aspect of transportation system performance and involves evaluating factors like
travel times,
S WITHIN THEcongestion levels, and the capacity of roadways and transit systems.
CITY. IT
CONSIDERS
FACTORS
ACCESSIBI
SUCH AS
LITY
PROXIMITY
TO
TRANSPORTA
TION
 SAFETY
Safety is a crucial performance measure, encompassing efforts to reduce traffic accidents,
injuries, and fatalities. Evaluations include crash statistics, road design improvements, and
safety measures for pedestrians and cyclists.

SYSTEM
CONDITIO
A deteriorating physical condition of transportation system assets is one of the significant
N facing transportation systems in many countries. Data on the condition of
challenges
transportation infrastructure are critical for identifying investment priorities, such as needs related
to deteriorating pavement and bridge conditions
 URBAN TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS

t
Urban travel and trip patterns are influenced by
numerous factors. The most important patterns relate to
the availability and costs (real and perceived) of
different modes of transportation.
Population Characteristics

t
Urban travel is heavily influenced by the demographic characteristics of the traveling
population. Thus, not surprisingly, transportation planning relies heavily on credible population
and employment forecasts.

The census is an important source of demographic and household data and thus transportation
planners should be familiar with how such data is accessed and utilized.

1. Population Growth
2. Household Characteristics and Vehicle Availability
3. Spatial Distribution of Growth
Travel Characteristics

t
Whereas the previous sections focused on the characteristics of travelers, transportation
planners also use data on the trip itself, such as trip purpose, mode choice, time of travel,
and so forth. This section discusses the trip characteristics that are most important to the
transportation planning process.

1. Trip Purpose
2. Travel Patterns
3. Temporal Distribution
4. Mode Usage
ROAD TRAFFIC DATA
DEFINITIONS
INTRODUCTION
Traffic volume counts are expressed by specific time periods, with the time period
depending on the type of information desired and its application. For example,
data can be obtained for intervals of 5, 15, or 30 minutes; 1 hour; a peak 3-hour
period; 1 day; 1 week; or the entire year. Transportation planning studies normally
focus on longer time periods, such as annual daily traffic, while traffic operations
studies generally require peak hour or peak 15-minute periods. It is important to
note that daily volumes are typically not differentiated by direction or lane, but are
total two-way volumes for a facility at a given location. The following terms are
often used in transportation planning studies.
 ROAD TRAFFIC DATA DEFINITIONS
1) Annual traffic — the estimated or actual volume at a specific location for an entire year.
Annual traffic estimates are used to determine the traffic demand in a given geographic
area, establish trends that can be related to future traffic growth, and estimate highway user
revenue, especially for toll roads, bridges, and tunnels.

2) Average daily traffic (ADT) — average 24-hour traffic volume at a given location for
some period of time less than one year. An ADT estimate is valid only for the period for
which it was measured. These estimates are used to measure the existing vehicular use of
the streets and highways in a study area. Such data can be used to determine facility
performance, establish a major or arterial street network, and act as indicators of where
additional person-flow capacity is needed.
 ROAD TRAFFIC DATA DEFINITIONS
3) Average annual daily traffic (AADT) —the average 24-hour traffic volume at a given
location throughout a full 365-day year. This is calculated by dividing the total number of
vehicles passing a site in a year by 365 days. As noted above, AADT can be estimated based
on historical adjustment factors that relate ADT to AADT (in other words, ADT × adjustment
factor = AADT)

4) Average weekday traffic (AWT) —the average 24-hour traffic volume occurring on
weekdays for some period of time less than one year. This measure does not include
weekends. Similar to the relationship between ADT and AADT, AWT can be used to estimate
AAWT (see next definition) through the use of an appropriate adjustment factor based on
established relationships.
 ROAD TRAFFIC DATA DEFINITIONS
5) Average annual weekday traffic (AAWT) —the average 24-hour traffic volume occurring
on weekdays throughout a full year. This volume is of considerable interest when weekend
traffic is light, so that averaging weekday volumes over 365 days would mask the impact of
weekday traffic. AAWT is computed by dividing the total weekday traffic for the year by
260.

6) Average vehicle occupancy —average number of persons per vehicle. Vehicle

occupancies are obtained by observers recording the number of occupants in each vehicle
passing a given point. Transit vehicle occupancy is obtained based on ride counts from in-
vehicle counters or estimated from visual inspection as a transit vehicle passes a given point.
The results are expressed in terms of persons per hour or average number of persons per
vehicle.
 ROAD TRAFFIC DATA DEFINITIONS
7) Hourly traffic —hourly traffic flows in vehicles per hour. These estimates are commonly used
in traffic engineering studies, but are also used in planning studies to validate travel forecasting
models.
8) Short-term counts —short-term counts covering 5, 6, 10, 12, or 15-minute intervals. These
counts are useful in determining peak flow rates, establishing flow variations within the peak
hour, and identifying capacity limitations.

9) Space mean speed —average speed of all vehicles occupying a given section of a highway
over some specified time period. The equation for space mean speed is:
 ROAD TRAFFIC DATA DEFINITIONS
10) Time mean speed —average speed of all vehicles passing a point on a road over
some specified period of time. The equation for time mean speed is:

Where:
d = distance traversed (feet, mile, kilometer)
n = number of travel times observed
ti = travel time of the i th vehicle (seconds or hours)
 ROAD TRAFFIC DATA DEFINITIONS
11) Traffic density —vehicles per lane per mile, obtained by dividing the hourly
lane volume by the average speed. Traffic density is considered a better measure
of street service than flow rate for uninterrupted flow along freeways,
expressways, and major arterials.

Density continues to increase as congestion increases, while flow rate

reaches a maximum value under moderate congestion and then decreases as
congestion increases. Should a full stoppage occur, density is at its maximum
when the flow rate is zero.
ROAD TRAFFIC DATA DEFINITIONS
 ROAD TRAFFIC DATA DEFINITIONS
12) Vehicle classification —classifying a traffic flow by the types of vehicles found in that
flow. For freight planning, vehicle classification data are the basis for estimating annual
travel by each type of truck, ton-miles of cargo hauled on highways, and changes in axle and
gross weight frequencies on the highways.
 ROAD TRAFFIC DATA DEFINITIONS
13) Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) —the amount of travel on a road system
estimated by multiplying the daily(or annual) traffic volume on each section or
link by its length. Where peak-hour traffic counts (or flow maps) are available,
peak-hour VMT can be estimated. In urban areas, sampling procedures can be
used to estimate daily VMT.
ROAD TRAFFIC DATA DEFINITIONS
 TRAFFIC
COUNT
TECHNIQU
 Traffic Count Techniques
Traffic volume estimates are obtained through a variety of traffic
counting techniques. Agencies such as state departments of
transportation have a systematic and periodic traffic counting program.
ADT and AADT counts are usually obtained through machine counts
using either with tubes and air switches or permanently located detector
sensors (such as inductive loops or magnetometers) and appropriate
detector electronic units.
 Traffic Count Techniques
Two separate directional counts at the same location can be summed to
obtain a total road volume count. Twenty-four-hour counts are used
primarily to develop traffic flow maps and determine traffic trends.
Directional counts are used for capacity analyses, planning
improvements, obtaining accumulations within a cordon area, and other
such purposes.
Traffic volume counts are conducted using two basic methods:

Manual Method
-involves one or more persons recording observed vehicles using a
counter. Both the turning movements at the intersection and the types
of vehicles can be recorded. In general, the inclusion of pickups and
light trucks with four tires in the category of passenger cars does not
create any significant deficiencies in the data collected because the
performance characteristics are similar.
Traffic volume counts are conducted using two basic methods:

Machine Method
-technology may be used like video camera or special equipments to
detect the passage of a vehicle. It uses special sensors installed on the
road and are used as a permanent counters or portable counters.
The different types of instruments used for data collection:

• Automatic Traffic Recorders (ATRs)

• Automatic, continuous vehicle classifiers used to supplement the ATR
program.
• Continuously operating weigh-in-motion (WIM) scales placed to monitor
statewide trends in vehicle weights.
• Continuously operating WIM scales used to identify trucks that need to be
weighed statically at an enforcement scale.
• Volume and speed monitoring stations that provide facility performance
data to centralized traffic management systems.
 Traffic Count Techniques
• Control Station counts- it is desirable to have at least one control
station located on each freeway and major street. The minimum
recommended duration and frequency of counting is a 24-hour
directional machine count every second year. Key count stations
are counted for one continuous week each year and for one 24-hour
weekday each month. These counts provide factors that can be
used to adjust other traffic counts taken on shorter time periods.
 Traffic Count Techniques
• Coverage counts- used to estimate ADTs at many different locations
throughout the street network. Major streets are divided into segments
with uniform traffic conditions, and a 24-hour, nondirectional count is
made in each segment. Coverage counts are normally repeated every 4
years, but significant changes in traffic due to road improvements,
land-use changes, or other factors may dictate more frequent recounts.
For the minor street network, one 24-hour, non directional count should
be taken for each mile (1.6 kilometers) of street.
Traffic volume graphs are sometimes prepared to show the monthly and daily traffic
variations at a given location
 Traffic Count Techniques
• Hourly Traffic counts- Hourly traffic counts by direction of travel
can be made for 12, 18, or 24-hour time periods by recording
counters. Volumes are recorded in either 15-minute or hourly
intervals by printing on paper tape, punching or encoding on
machine-readable tape, recording electronically for subsequent
insertion in a personal computer, or being digitally transmitted to a
central computer.
 Traffic Count Techniques
• Manual traffic counts- widely used to obtain hour-by-hour
variations in traffic flows, traffic composition, turning movements,
and pedestrians. This information is used to define the duration and
intensity of peak periods, evaluate street capacity deficiencies,
assess the need for various traffic controls, develop street designs,
and determine the effects of new developments on changed land
uses. They also provide inputs for traffic model validation.
 Traffic Count Techniques
• Turning movement counts- often collected at intersections for a variety of
analyses, including signal timing, capacity, impact of physical changes to the
intersection, or nearby land uses. These counts are collected in 15-minute
increments for at least a 2-hour period in the morning peak, evening peak,
and in the vicinity of heavy commercial land use, on a Saturday peak. When
intersections are close to each other, it is possible to sample count each
intersection on a rotating basis. Counts should be done on a per signal cycle
basis rather than for specified time periods. These methods should be used
only when traffic conditions are relatively constant throughout the study
period.
 Traffic Count Techniques
• Vehicle occupancy counts- usually estimated through sampling procedures.
The number of separate counting efforts needed for a given time period can
be obtained by the following equation:
WHERE:
E = Allowable error or tolerance (as a decimal, 5 percent is denoted 0.05)
S₁ = Standard deviation of average occupancy across days in a single season
S₂ = Standard deviation of average occupancy among seasons
S₃ = Standard deviation of average occupancy across time periods during a day (time period
of concern) at a location
n = Number of counts at a location
Z = Standard normal variate
The values for standard deviation should ideally come from previous data collection efforts.
Typical values of these standard deviations include:
S₁ = 0.063
S₂ = 0.015
S₃ = 0.017
 Traffic Count Techniques
• Screenline counts- taken at imaginary lines that bisect a study area or a major facility.
The screenline is usually drawn along natural boundaries, such as rivers, escarpments,
or railroad rights of way, to minimize the number of vehicular crossings and,
therefore, the number of counting stations needed.

Screenline counts are used in conjunction with origin-destination studies to expand

sampled volumes to represent the total (sometimes referred to as the universe) amount
for the study area or to check the accuracy of origin-destination trip tables. Screenline
counts are also used to help calibrate travel demand models and to detect trends or
long-term changes in volume and direction of travel due to significant changes in
population, land use, commercial and business activity, and travel patterns
 Traffic Count Techniques
• Cordon counts- imaginary lines where the trips crossing the lines are counted
by direction of travel. The study area may be an entire urbanized area, a
transportation study area, a city, a central business district (CBD), a
neighborhood, an industrial area, or any other definable planning area. The
counts determine the number of vehicles and people entering, leaving, and
accumulated within the cordon area by mode of travel and time of day
(including pedestrians). CBD cordon counts are often used to measure the
transportation activity generated by the CBD. These counts are repeated on
an annual or biennial basis to evaluate trends or changes in activity within
the CBD. They are useful in identifying the roles and importance of various
transportation modes and in establishing transport policy.