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Anyone Know Anything About Traffic Studies?

Why are Traffic studies preformed? Silly question I know, they are done to understand traffic right? By why? I mean why do them in the first place? The answer is obvious; because someone wants to change the road or land. Are they done to prove a point or understand the situation? It is my contention that they are done to give back up data to a plan to build - a justifaction to expand.

This is just my impression, nothing more. If you read some of these studies they are very analytical and emperical and discuss density to peak and off peak - but what about the human stress factor of that extra minute?

I assume you are on the subject because of the cluster f*** of construction we've been dealing with in the 407/2499 area.

I look at what they are doing and can't for the life of me understand it.

Frustrating, just wish they'd be done already.

Yup, and The District

Looks like they are going to try and develop that land and put in 168 town homes. Too much traffic...

My first wife was a civil involved in road construction.

There are different studies. Typically, she was involved in traffic light re-timing. They would count the cars going each direction, all day long, then reprogram the lights to allow better traffic flow.

The type you seem to be involved in looks to the growth/potential growth in an area with an eye to-wards building new roads or rebuilding existing roads.

If you want, I can try to put you in touch with her. I do warn you, she is a cheating, gold digging b****!!!!

Study are to help with the flow of traffic or to make it more efficient? Wrong. Every time they do something around here, new traffic light or additions to sidewalks, it always makes a mess after they are done. Traffic flowed nicely for years during rush hour, without changes. Suddenly, it backs up for a couple of miles because they done something to the road or added another signal that isn't in sync with all the other signals or traffic. Why is that? What the hell good are studies if they make it worst each and every time. three lane of traffic flows well then they shut out one land from each and plant grass right in the middle of the street, then install a whole bunch of no right turn on red signs. FUCH.

My brother in law works for a market research company that does traffic studies. They are hired by DOTs all over the USA and Puerto Rico. From talking to him they do traffic surveys (pull people off of the road to ask them about their driving habits), GPS trackers in cars to observe driving habits, phone surveys, and those little car counters that go across the road. They try to paint the picture of who uses the roads, where they are going, if they are taking alternate routes to avoid certain areas, etc. Basically a comprehensive picture of who is using roads in certain areas and why. It's interesting work, of course how the DOT uses that data is out of their hands.

My agency uses these studies to plan highways, make modifications, etc., and developers also commission them from traffic engineers. Sometimes, it seems the study will try to reach a conclusion that supports a goal of an agency or developer. One of the most memorable was done to examine a proposed break in the without access right of way of an interstate highway (in other words, make a new exit for a developer). The report had more traffic going into the mall than ever leaving, and when I asked the author about it he said, "we only care about traffic in, not out, those leaving can find their own way out" He concluded that the new traffic producer would have no effect on the local system, all is good. It was built, and he was right. Of course, in the time it took to pass the enviro stuff for the Feds, approve, fund and build, another new giant mall was built in the next county and split the traffic between the two. Enough traffic diverted to the new mall that the original mall's projected new flow never came.
My impression of the reason for and result of traffic studies is pretty much the same as Lubemaster. A lot of the work is done for pure boilerplate to support an overall design study, where the agency will propose 3 or 4 alternates for a new project. One is the golden child, and the others are so flawed that the public attending the hearings are so outraged that they gladly accept the proposed (and agency favored) first alternate. Usually one of the alternates will plow through a historic farm, or civil war cemetary, etc. Another will relocate a river or major stream, or split a neighborhood, you get the idea. After awhile, one tends to get a little cynical about the "public process"

Why do they do traffic studies?
So they can't figure out how to make it worse.
D'uh. :D

We 'be had a Sno-Park for years on Hwy I-90, 62 miles east of Seattle. Gonna be shut down. Why: on ramps don't meet Federal specs. Sad times.

Example of a FHWA traffic study, or a synopsis of a few studies....

Traffic Performance of Three Typical Designs of New Jersey Jughandle Intersections - FHWA-HRT-07-032

NJ jughandles

A branch in the company I work with models these...it is quite amazing to run a model and compare it to the actual road intersection, and find that the model is accurate.