Establishing North Carolina s Non-Motorized Traffic Monitoring Program

Transcription

1 Institute for Transportation Research and Education N.C. State University Establishing North Carolina s Non-Motorized Traffic Monitoring Program LAUREN BLACKBURN [email protected] SARAH O BRIEN [email protected] 4/30/2015 1

2 Project Objective Design and test a bicycle and pedestrian count collection protocol Recommend how to replicate the methodology across North Carolina 2

3 Background Motivation (cont.) Use of AADT estimations Project Prioritization and Funding Planning Decisions Complete Streets Policy Implementation Operations and Maintenance What get measured, gets done If you re not counted, you don t count! 3

4 Background Motivation Need common, consistent system to measure volume to: Understand current trends Model future usage Evaluate at different levels (site, corridor, region) This project is first step! 4

5 NC s State of Practice 17 agencies have or plan to conduct counts Most counts are short duration, manual counts Collected for specific projects or as part of add-on to intersection turning movement study Data Collection on American Tobacco Trail for Research Study 5

6 National State of Practice FHWA Traffic Monitoring Guide (Ch. 4) NCHRP Report 797 & Web Only Doc. 205 Peers: Colorado DOT MinnDOT Local/Regional Programs Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission San Diego State University (SANDAG)l 6

7 Site Selection Process Estimate walking/cycling rates Identify predictors of rates: Population density % population in college # of miles of facilities (sidewalk, shared use path, bike lane) job density Inform sampling plan 7

8 Pilot Region CCS (12) SDC Sites (22) 8

9 Site Selection Process Surveyed local agencies for candidate sites Screened /prioritized sites based on sampling plan Geographic distribution Count type Volume group Traffic pattern Technology type (CC/SD) Potential CCS site in Winston-Salem: urban, bicycle & pedestrian count, medium/high volume, commuter/mixed pattern, roadway/sidewalk (loops and IR) 9

10 Site Selection Process Field Visits Verify site feasibility Check for interference Determine equipment specification/configuration needs Testing for Interference on Old NC 86 in Carrboro 10

11 Local Agency Coordination Big level of effort! Coordinate with local agencies to: Garner support for project Make aware of data collection timeframes Gather and review past count data (if any) Give input on sites, get approvals Assist with equipment installation Assist with equipment monitoring 11

12 Coordinate with Agencies What s In It For Agency? Equipment Technical assistance / Training Access to data What s In It For NCDOT? Installation assistance Monitoring/maintenance assistance Established relationships Installed CCS on Lake Daniel Greenway, Greensboro 12

13 Spring Garden St. Site Location: Greensboro (GUAMPO) Area Type: University User Type: Mixed Count Type: Pedestrian (Sidewalk) and Bicycle (Roadway) Install Type 2 Infrared + 4 Loops 2 Urban Post No loop interference Parking utilization high so locate loops in street outside of parking zone

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17 Get Those Counts! Contract out SDC needs Assign sites Check collected data Install equipment Retrieve / compile data Monitor equipment Conduct validation study Precision and accuracy of the count Installed CCS on Lake Daniel Greenway, Greensboro 17

18 Counts Database Design data warehouse Fields, attributes, units of measure and metadata will conform to the TMG Will allow for export of data to FHWA s TMAS Determine file/folder organization Populate count database Conduct QA/QC Checks Integrate checked datasets into warehouse 18

19 Training and Outreach Informational Webinar Stay tuned for more details SOON! 1-Day Workshop Phase 2 Region up Next Up to 4 Workshops Offered Audience: bike/ped coordinators, planners, greenway/parks and recreation managers, engineers, transportation professionals Installation Video Audience: public works staff, contractors Pilot Project Training Field Exercise, Greensboro 19

20 Analyze Data Collected Derive adjustment factors from continuous count data Derive expansion factors from sampling plan for each site type Develop AADT numbers Apply adjustment factors Apply error correction factors Extrapolate observed counts for shortduration site AADTs Explain any statistical uncertainties 20

21 Develop Final Report Document count collection process Incorporate lessons learned considerations Recommend how to expand / replicate the collection efforts beyond the pilot region Discuss next steps to establish a non-motorized traffic monitoring program 21

22 Project Scope First Steps to Building a Nonmotorized Data Collection Program Focus on Coordinated Data Collection! Future Program Development! Equipment Vendor Coordination Equipment Purchasing & Specifications Support Defining Data Collection Methods Performing Preliminary QA/QC Checking & Data Verification Literature Review Equipment Installation Oversight Developing Web-enabled Data Access (Data Warehousing Functionality) Statewide Implementation Data Analyses Program Maintenance Data Collection Strategic Plan Site Selection Data Collection Program Training Coordination with Stakeholders Data Processing (Calculating Traffic Statistics) Developing Data Reporting & Publication Methods Developing Advanced QA/QC Methods

23 Institute for Transportation Research and Education N.C. State University Thank You! SARAH O BRIEN [email protected] 23