EASTSIDE HIGHWAY ORIGIN-DESTINATION (OD) SURVEY SUMMARY

Transcription

1 1. Introduction EASTSIDE HIGHWAY ORIGIN-DESTINATION (OD) SURVEY SUMMARY Travel is core to human activity; demand for travel is derived from purposes for which people wish to travel between places. Given the complex interdependencies of land use and travel demand, understanding travel characteristics is fundamental to providing the transportation infrastructure that best fits the mobility and accessibility needs of individuals and communities. Efficient planning, design, and management of transportation systems at local and regional levels require insights into travel behavior. Good data is critical to this task. While several transportation datasets exist at the national and regional levels (i.e., National Household Travel Survey, American Community Survey, Census Transportation Planning Package), collecting local origin-destination (OD) data provides a better understanding of local travel patterns. The purpose of this OD survey is to collect trip origin and destination data within the study area in order to validate the base year (2009) Bloomington-Normal Urbanized Area Travel Study Model (BNUATSM). The information is useful to supplement data from other sources utilized in the model calibration process. The OD survey is geared towards capturing the characteristics of the internal-to-internal (I-I) trips, external-to-internal (E-I) trips, and internal-to-external (I-E) trips as opposed to capturing the external-to-external (E-E) trips. Trips with both trip ends within the study area are internalto-internal (I-I) trips. Trips with one trip end outside the study area are either external-to-internal (E-I) trips or internal-to-external (I-E) trips, depending on the directionality. A vehicle intercept survey was designed to collect profiles of vehicle trips that use a specific roadway segment or for a series of segments forming a screen-line. 2. Origin-Destination (OD) Survey Methodology A vehicle intercept survey was designed utilizing a roadside handout method. A total of twenty (20) strategic survey sites were identified to randomly capture trip OD data that collectively represent the study area travel patterns. The survey locations were selected on relatively higher volume corridors that were deemed feasible for the vehicle intercept method. Figure 1 shows the survey locations and the targeted number of surveys planned to be handed out at each location. The survey location number, survey distribution route, intersecting route, survey distribution approaches and type of traffic control are summarized in Table 1. Each intercepted participant of this OD survey was provided with a pre-paid postage, self addressed, survey postcard for filling out and mailing back to the project team. In this OD survey, only the trip information about the particular trip that was intercepted was collected. The survey questionnaire queried the travelers on their trip origin and destination such as home, work place, school, shopping, social and recreation and other. In order to geographically identify the trip origin and destination locations, survey participants were asked to provide information on the nearest intersection and city. The OD survey also obtained data on the estimated travel time, number of occupants in the vehicle and the time of the survey. A copy of the survey questionnaire postcard is shown in Figure 2. 1

2 Table 1: Origin-Destination (OD) Survey Routes Station No. Survey Distribution Route Intersecting Route Survey Distribution Approaches Traffic Control 1 Stringtown Rd. Beich Road EB Stop Sign 2 White Oak Rd. MLK Drive NB/SB Signal 3 C.H.29 Old US Route 66 NB/SB AWSC 4 C.H.36, C.H.27 C.H.29, US 150 SB/WB, NB Stop Sign, 5 Hamilton Rd. US 51 No survey distribution due to construction 6 Washington St. Morris Avenue EB/WB AWSC 7 Linden St. Raab Road NB/SB Signal 8 Towanda-Barnes Rd. Empire Street NB/SB Signal 9 Fox Creek Rd. S.Veterans Pk. EB/WB Signal 10 W. College Ave. CottageAve. EB/WB AWSC 11 Fort Jesse Rd. N. Hershey Road EB/WB AWSC 12 General Electric Rd. N. Hershey Rd. EB/WB Signal 13 E. Oakland Ave. S. Hershey Rd. EB/WB Signal 14 Ireland Grove Rd. Hershey Rd. NB/SB/EB/WB Signal 15 Hamilton Rd. Mercer Ave. EB/WB Signal 16 Linden St. Emerson St. NB/SB Signal 17 S. Towanda Ave. Fairway Dr. NB/SB Signal 18 College Ave. Airport Rd. NB/SB/EB Signal 19 Towanda-Barnes Rd. US 150 SB Signal 20 Pipeline Rd. Northtown Rd. NB/SB/EB Signal 2

3 Figure 1: Roadside Origin-Destination (OD) Survey Locations 3

4 Figure 2: Origin-Destination (OD) Survey Questionnaire 4

5 3. Traffic Control Plan A Traffic Control Plan (TCP) was developed to establish protocols for distributing the survey postcards while ensuring safety of the survey personnel. The details of the Traffic Control Plan are discussed below: 3.1 Survey Postcard Distribution Method At stop-controlled intersections, traffic survey personnel should enter the roadway and distribute a survey card once the motorist has come to a complete stop. Traffic survey personnel should enter the roadway to distribute survey postcards to motorists at traffic signal controlled intersections when the Survey Distribution Route approaches have received a red-light. They should exit the roadway when the opposing route receives a yellow-light or earlier to safely clear the roadway before the Survey Distribution Route approach receives a green-light. For roadways where no median is present, traffic survey personnel must exit the roadway on the parkway side. If an acceptable refuge is provided by the median, traffic survey personnel may exit the roadway and take refuge on the median. The person distributing survey postcards to motorists in the left turn lane or the inside lane of a roadway with two- or more through lanes should exit the roadway on the median side, if an acceptable median refuge is provided. If it is not, they must begin to exit the roadway with enough time to safely exit on the parkway side. 3.2 Safety Safety awareness is important to distributing the survey postcards in the safest manner possible for motorists and the traffic survey crew. The O-D survey postcards should not be distributed during times of precipitation (rain, sleet or snow) Advance Notification As this is an interactive survey with the public, advance notification of the survey should be provided. Advance notification should identify the dates of the survey and indicate that these dates are weather permitting. All questions and concerns regarding the O-D study should be directed to: Jerry Payonk Clark Dietz, Inc. (217) Advance notification to the public should occur through various methods as follows: Online o East Side Highway EA Website o to East Side Highway EA distribution list Local Media Outlets: o Newspaper The Pantagraph o Local Radio Stations Flyers posted at local stores and meeting places 5

6 3.2.2 Temporary Traffic Control Devices Temporary traffic control devices should be utilized at the survey locations to warn advancing motorists that the traffic survey is underway at the intersection they are approaching. Temporary traffic control signs should be used at each of the locations. There are two (2) changeable message boards provided by the Town of Normal to be used in place of traffic control signs along routes with high traffic volumes. Figure 3 shows a traffic control schematic. Temporary traffic control devices should be located adjacent to the outside lane of the approach roadway along which survey postcards would be distributed. Temporary traffic control devices should be located outside of the roadway. Temporary traffic control signs should be mounted on one of the portable sign support types shown in Figure 6F-2 of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 2003 Edition, (MUTCD). According to MUTCD standards for temporary traffic control, the warning signs should be diamond-shaped with a black legend and an orange background and 36 x 36 in size Traffic Survey Personnel Safety Traffic survey personnel should wear safety vests and appropriate closed-toe shoes and clothing for participating in distribution of the survey postcards. A safety meeting should occur before survey card distribution begins to ensure personnel are aware of the dangers of the distribution locations. A toolbox safety meeting should be held at each location and documented. Additionally, the traffic survey crew should observe the traffic signal timing at their respective locations to understand how each traffic signal functions at the different locations. 6

7 Figure 3: Traffic Control Schematic 7

8 4. Origin-Destination (OD) Survey Responses The number of surveys planned to be handed out, number of surveys handed out, number of surveys returned, and the Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) at the survey locations are included in Table 2. A total of 20,233 survey postcards were handed out to motorists at stop signs or signalized intersections. The total number of survey cards returned was 6,023, which represents approximately 30% return rate. Of the returned surveys, 42% were completely filled out as shown in Figure 4. The remaining surveys were partially filled out. The number of responses for each question is shown in Table 3. Table 2: Origin-Destination (OD) Survey Return Rate No. of Planned Surveys No. of Surveys Distributed No. of Surveys Returned Station No. Description 2009 AADT 1 Stringtown Beich Road ,550 2 White Oak MLK Drive ,100 3 Old US Route ,430 4 C.H. C.H.29 and US ,880 5 Hamilton US No survey distribution due to construction 6 Washington Morris Avenue 1, ,480 7 Linden Raab Road 2,100 1, ,100 8 Towanda-Barnes Rd. at Empire Street 1,500 1, ,330 9 Fox Creek S.Veterans Pkwy. 1, , W. College Cottage Avenue 1,500 1, , Fort Jesse N. Hershey Road 1,500 1, , General Electric Road at N. Hershey Rd. 1,500 1, , E. Oakland Avenue at S. Hershey Road 1,500 1, , Ireland Groove Road at Hershey Road 2,000 1, , Hamilton Mercer Avenue 1,500 1, , Linden Emerson Street 1,500 1, , S. Towanda Fairway Drive 1,500 1, , College Airport Road 2,000 1, , Towanda-Barnes US 150 1,000 1, , Pipeline Northtown Road ,100 Unknown 31 TOTAL 25,650 20,233 6,023 8

9 Figure 4: Origin-Destination (OD) Survey Response Completeness Summary Partially Complete 3,489 (58%) Fully Complete 2,534 (42%) Table 3: Number of Responses by Question Question Number of Percent of Total Responses Returned Postcards 1. Trip Origin 5, % 1 a. Trip Origin Intersection Street 1 3, % Street 2 3, % City 4, Trip Destination 5, a. Trip Destination Intersection Street 1 3, % Street 2 3, % City 4, % 3. Travel Time (min) 5, % 4. Number of People 5, % 5. Survey Time 6, % The summary of responses for each question is discussed below: Question 1: Where did your trip begin prior to receiving this card? The trip origins of the survey respondents by the type of trip origin (Home, Work place, shop etc.) and by the city of trip origin are shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6, respectively. It was found that most of the people were traveling between home and work/school during the peak hours, as shown in Figure 5. Among the respondents to this question, 63% identified Bloomington as their origination city while 28% stated Normal as their city of origin. 9

10 Figure 5: Trip Origin by Time of Day 3,500 3,000 Total Responses by Origin 2,500 2,000 1,500 1, Home Work/School Shopping/ Recreational/ Airport Other Store Social Evening Mid Day Morning 1, Figure 6: Trip Origin by City Bloomington 63% Normal 28% Heyworth Lexington Champaign Towanda Downs 2% Hudson 2% LeRoy 10

11 Question 2: What was your immediate destination when you were handed this card? The trip destination by time of day is shown in Figure 7. As shown in the figure, most morning destinations were for work/school and most of the evening trips were destined for home, as expected. The trip destination of the survey respondents by city is shown in Figure 8. Like trip origin, majority of the trips were destined to either Bloomington or Normal. Figure 7: Trip Destination by Time of Day 2,500 Total Responses by Destination 2,000 1,500 1, Home Work/School Shopping/ Recreational/ Airport Other Store Social Evening Mid Day Morning 258 1, Figure 8: Trip Destination by City Bloomington 68% Normal 25% Downs 2% Heyworth 0% Lexington Champaign Hudson LeRoy Towanda 11

12 Figure 9: Trip Destination by Trip Origin % Distribution to Destination 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Other Recreational/Socia Shopping/Store Work/School Home Trip Origin The reported trip destination by trip origin is shown in Figure 9. For example, majority of the trips originated at home were destined for work, and vise-versa. In order to incorporate the collected data into the travel demand model, the survey responses are sorted into five trip purposes: home-based work, home-based shopping, home-based social/recreational, home-based other and non-home-based. The purpose of the trips by time of day is shown in Figure 10. Figure 10: Trip Purpose by Time of Day 3,000 2,500 Total Responses 2,000 1,500 1, Work Shop Social/ Recreation Other Non Home Based Evening Mid Day Morning 1,

13 Question 3: What was the approximate time of this trip? The overall trip length (travel time in minutes) of the survey trips are shown in Figure 11. Over half of the responses reported that they travelled 15 minutes or less to their destination. Less than 3% of the respondents indicated that their trip time was more than an hour. The respondents noted that these long trips were related to medical, business, or vacation purposes. As these are not every day trips, they were considered outliers for the purpose of the analysis. These outliers were not included in estimating the average travel time. The average travel time for all the trips recorded in the study area is found as approximately 18 minutes. The average travel time by trip purpose is summarized in Table 4. The trip length frequency distribution by trip purpose is shown in Figure 12. Figure 11: Trip Length (in minutes) minutes 3% minutes 4% minutes 4% minutes 7% minutes 0% minutes 17% > 60 minutes 3% < 5 minutes 0% 5 10 minutes 36% minutes 26% Table 4: Average Travel Time by Trip Purpose Trip Purpose Average Travel Time (min) Home-Based Work 17.9 Home-Based Shop 16.9 Home-Based Social/Recreation 15.7 Home-Based Other 18.0 Non-Home-Based

14 Figure 12: Trip Length Frequency Distribution by Trip Purpose 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% Work Shop Social/Recreation Other Non 0% < > 60 Question 4: Including yourself, how many people were in your vehicle? The study area trip vehicle occupancy by time of day is shown in Figure 13. In most cases, there was only 1 person traveling in the vehicle. The average vehicle occupancy for all responses was 1.3. Figure 13: Vehicle Occupancy by Time of Day Total Responses 5,000 4,500 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1, or more Evening Mid Day 1, Morning 1,

15 Question 5: What time of the day did you receive this card? The breakdown of surveys handed out during each period of the day is summarized in Figure 14. Approximately 42% of the respondents that returned the postcards had received the cards in the morning. Figure 14: Survey Responses by Time of Day Evening 1,338 (22%) Mid Day 2,170 (36%) Morning 2,498 (42%) 5. Conclusion In addition to the general findings discussed in this report, detail statistical analysis of the survey data will be performed to derive travel information which will then be utilized to calibrate the trip distribution module of the BNUATSM model. The survey data will be geo-coded based on the geographical locations of the trip origins and destinations. Trip length frequency distributions will be developed by trip purpose, and district-to-district trip matrices will be developed in order to inform the travel demand model. The model validation process will ensure that the base year model reasonably replicates existing travel conditions in the area. Further analysis of the OD data and the model calibration and validation process will be documented in the travel demand modeling report. 15