Multimodal Optimization of Urban Freeway Corridors

摘要

The findings of the study are two-fold: the results of what forms of multi-modal travel are used by other states and the results of the case study. Many states employ or are planning high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes (of all forms/types, but primarily of the concurrent flow variety) for use in urban freeway settings. High occupancy/toll (HOT) lanes were in the planning stages according to about half of the survey respondents while bus rapid transit (BRT) was being considered by two-thirds of the departments responding. Light rail transit (LRT) was only listed in 33% of the responses as being currently in use. HOT Lanes, Exclusive-Use Lanes, By-pass/Separation Lanes, Dual Facilities, and LRT had the highest number of responses for not being used as a multi-modal application within a freeway corridor. The SR 51 case study relied on existing data, modeled situations, and cost estimates to determine the most cost effective choice for multi-modal travel. Existing volume data was provided by Arizona Department of Transportation's Freeway Management System (FMS) and supplemented by a micro-simulation study previously conducted for the Arizona Department of Transportation (AzDOT) concerning the operations of the existing HOV lanes. Cost data was coalesced from literature review material and transportation data sources exclusive to Arizona. The computations factored in traffic flows under different freeway scenarios depicting different forms of multi-modal travel that would be reasonable for the SR 51 freeway.