Linking of Mobility Performance Measures to Resource Allocation: Survey of State DOTS and MPOS

摘要

The objective of this study is to provide a summary of the best practices of state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) throughout the country regarding the linkage between mobility performance measures and resource allocation. The only mobility performance measure currently authorized for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to denote congestion is volume to capacity (V/C) ratio. Currently, the V/C is used to identify the segments with V/C ratio of .85 and above which are considered congested. Because a universal policy linking mobility funding to performance measures among the agencies surveyed and interviewed was not identified, the research team recommends the following process in determining a resource allocation policy suitable to the needs of CDOT. The policy must address the following areas to be effective: (1) System Performance - One or more benchmark performance measures need to be determined as the best measures of mobility in Colorado for resource allocation. Based on the survey responses, agencies around the country set their mobility performance measure benchmarks on capacity-based performance measures (V/C ratio) or travel flow-based performance measures (travel time or travel speed). (2) Critical Deficiencies/Needs - Once the system performance benchmark measures have been established, critical locations within the roadway network that have mobility issues will be identified. (3) Prioritization - Colorado DOT will be able to prioritize the critical locations identified in the previous step based on the severity of the problem and the volume of vehicles or people being served at each location. (4) Resource Allocation/Investment - Based on the annual mobility enhancement budget, the highest priority mobility projects will be funded and constructed based on need. (5) Measure Effectiveness/Return on Investment - It is important to conduct before/after studies at project implementation locations in order to quantify the return on investment for specific mobility enhancement projects.