Mar 5, 2012 - Conventionally traffic or mobility measures are used in place of accessibility measures, but âAccessibil
A Web-based Transportation Planner’s Accessibility Toolkit
presented to the
Model Task Force presented by
Howard Slavin, Andres Rabinowicz, and Giovanni Flammia March 5, 2012
Project Overview FHWA-sponsored project Competitive Response to a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for projects that could be transformational for transportation planning The BAA primary goal was development of tools and techniques that support state and local planning capacity building A secondary goal was to develop tools and techniques that support Tribal planning capacity building, public involvement, environmental justice, visualization in planning 1
The Toolkit Approach Provide a free web-based tool that can be used by planners and citizens Deploy simple, but powerful analytical tools Exploit advances in GIS, web software, and data availability Focus on the ultimate goal of transportation initiatives Provide a rich and valid alternative to travel demand models 2
Accessibility Concept Conventionally traffic or mobility measures are used in place of accessibility measures, but “Accessibility is the ultimate goal of most transportation and so is the best approach to use” Todd Litman 2003 Accessibility refers to the possibilities of traveling to destination opportunities and the level of service associated with a wide range of travel options Can be assessed for both person travel and freight movements and for all modes, not just vehicular modes. Improving travel options or their quality and performance increases accessibility 3
The 5-Cs of Effective Accessibility Measures (from Kevin Krizek and David Levinson) Cumulative Comparable Clear Comprehensive Calculable
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The Concept is Old, Not New! Extensive literature extolling the virtues of the approach Numerous, but limited examples of U.S. application A key aspect of British transportation planning where it is part of the fabric of “evidence-based” planning Can be used to examine all parts of a study region and to compare them and perform evaluation of plan components using consistent and low cost methods
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Toolkit Transportation Modes Car travel Transit Non-motorized Measures tailored to each component
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Data Sources TIGER Streets and Boundaries GTFS Transit Data Census Data MPO Planning Model Data and other Local GIS Data User supplied data Further needs
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Computational Approach TransCAD accessibility computation engine Custom web-interface Scenario and Comparative Maps and Reports Several Technical Challenges
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Project Status Literature review and approach complete Development underway Data assembly to be initiated The web calculator should be available by October 2012 A second phase will include up to 5 case studies with MPOs or other agencies
