Multimodal Level of Service Methodologies: Evaluation of the Multimodal Performance of Arterial Corridors

2018 ◽  
Vol 2672 (15) ◽  
pp. 142-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Zuniga-Garcia ◽  
Heidi W. Ross ◽  
Randy B. Machemehl
Keyword(s):  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Highway Capacity ◽  
Highway Capacity Manual ◽  
Street Design ◽  
Urban Street ◽  
Current State ◽  
Transit Capacity

The principal objective of this research is to evaluate the multimodal performance of arterial corridors using currently available multimodal level of service (MMLOS) methodologies. Eight different MMLOS approaches are applied to a case study using an arterial corridor section in Austin, Texas. The methodologies applied are: Highway Capacity Manual; Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual; Charlotte, NC, Urban Street Design Guidelines; pedestrian and bicycle environmental quality indices; assessment of level of traffic stress; bicycle compatibility index; deficiency index; and Walk Score®, Bike Score®, and Transit Score®. The analysis is focused on the assessment of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit modes. The methodologies are evaluated and contrasted. The paper provides a comprehensive review of the current state of practice of multimodal evaluation and recommendations about the most appropriate approaches to assess multimodal performance of arterial corridors.

Multimodal Corridor Level-of-Service Analysis

2002 ◽  
Vol 1802 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Dowling ◽  
Douglas McLeod ◽  
Martin Guttenplan ◽  
John D. Zegeer
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Service ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Significant Advance ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Highway Capacity ◽  
Highway Capacity Manual ◽  
Transit Capacity ◽  
Levels Of Service ◽  
First Time

The 2000 release of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) provides for the first time a corridor analysis method that guides users in the application of various chapters of the HCM to the analysis of automobiles and transit in a corridor. Together with the recent publication of the Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual (TCQSM), the HCM 2000 represents a significant advance in the direction of multimodal level-of-service (LOS) analysis. However, relatively little guidance is given in either the HCM or the TCQSM on the compilation of automobile and transit segment levels of service into a measure of corridor level of service. In addition, bicycles and pedestrians are ignored in the corridor methodology. A methodology was developed and tested in Florida for measuring and reporting the user-perceived quality of service for highway corridors from a multimodal perspective. Automobile and transit LOS analyses are based on the HCM 2000 and TCQSM, respectively. Bicycle and pedestrian levels of service are based on the bicycle and pedestrian LOS models, respectively. Four classes of corridors are recommended, and the methodology was tested on two classes of urban corridors, with and without a freeway. The methodology is applied in three steps: ( a) corridor definition, ( b) computation of modal level of service, and ( c) reporting of results. The methodology was applied to six case studies throughout Florida at generalized and conceptual planning levels. Conclusions about the methodology were drawn from the case studies; the main conclusion is that the methodology provided a reliable overall indicator of corridor level of service by mode.

scholarly journals Vehicle and Pedestrian Level of Service in Street Designs with Elements of Shared Space

2020 ◽  
Vol 2674 (9) ◽  
pp. 1084-1096
Author(s):  
Ioannis Kaparias ◽  
Rui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Video Data ◽  
Road User ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Highway Capacity ◽  
Vehicle Traffic ◽  
Highway Capacity Manual ◽  
Shared Space ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Traffic Volumes

Inspired by developments in urban planning, the concept of “shared space” has recently emerged as a way of creating a better public realm. This is achieved through a range of streetscape treatments aimed at asserting the function of streets as places by facilitating pedestrian movement and lowering vehicle traffic volumes and speeds. The characteristics of streets with elements of shared space point to the conjecture that traffic conditions and road user perceptions may be different to those on streets designed according to more conventional principles, and this is likely to have an impact on the quality of service. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to perform an analysis in relation to level of service (LOS) and to investigate how this may change as a result of the implementation of street layouts with elements of shared space. Using video data from the Exhibition Road site in London during periods before and after its conversion from a conventional dual carriageway to a layout featuring several elements of shared space, changes in relation to LOS for both vehicle traffic and pedestrians are investigated, by applying the corresponding methods from the 2010 Highway Capacity Manual. The results suggest that streets with elements of shared space provide a much improved pedestrian experience, as expressed by higher LOS ratings, but without compromising the quality of vehicle traffic flow, which, in fact, also sees slight improvements.

scholarly journals AFFINITY PROPAGATION CLUSTERING IN DEFINING LEVEL OF SERVICE CRITERIA OF URBAN STREETS

Transport ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan ◽  
Smruti Sourava Mohapatra
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Heterogeneous Traffic ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Highway Capacity ◽  
Highway Capacity Manual ◽  
Urban Streets ◽  
Urban Street ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Validation Parameters ◽  
Street Segments

Defining Level Of Service (LOS) criteria is very important as this is the first step of LOS analysis but this is not well defined in Indian context. The analysis followed in India is basically adaptation of Highway Capacity Manual (HCM 2000) methodology which is more suitable for developed countries having homogenous traffic pattern. An attempt has been made in this study to define LOS criteria of urban streets for developing countries having heterogeneous traffic flow condition. Defining LOS is basically a classification problem and to solve it Affinity Propagation (AP), a very recently developed cluster algorithm is used. Inventory details and the required speed data are collected from five major street corridors of Greater Mumbai Region in India through the application of Trimble GeoXT Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. Six validation parameters are used on Free Flow Speed (FFS) data to find the optimal number of clusters, which is required for the classification of street segments into number of classes. After that speed data collected during both peak and off-peak hours are averaged over street segments and clustered into six groups to get the speed ranges of different LOS categories. Using validation parameters, considering the physical and surrounding environmental characteristics it is found that street segments can be classified into four classes in Indian context as mentioned in Highway Capacity Manual 2000. However, the FFS range for urban street class IV (urban design category) is significantly lower because of varying road geometric characteristics. The speed ranges of LOS categories under urban street classes are proportionately lower to that values mentioned in HCM 2000 because of highly heterogeneous traffic flow on urban Indian roads. The travel speed data collection procedure using GPS is simple and accurate. In addition, AP clustering is highly efficient in terms of time saving and provides a very accurate solution to classification problems. Hence, both GPS and AP techniques can be applied in other countries to define the speed ranges of LOS categories considering the local conditions.

scholarly journals Active transportation demand modeling and infrastructure performance assessment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheikh Ariful Alam
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Service ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Active Transportation ◽  
Transportation Infrastructure ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Highway Capacity ◽  
Transportation Demand ◽  
Highway Capacity Manual ◽  
Potential Demand

Due to obvious benefits and growing demand of active transportation, engineers and planners are eager to expand active transportation infrastructure facilities. However, no robust methodology has been developed for active transportation infrastructures assessment addressing its potential demand. This project aims to develop an integrated methodology estimate potential demand and to assess the infrastructures needs and quality, based on quantitative methods. A case study was conducted to apply these methods at North York Centre, City of Toronto. The potential active transportation demand was measured using short trips recorded in the area-wide transportation demand database. Quality of service, and connectivity measures were estimated for evaluating the performance of active transportation infrastructure. Quality of service includes Ottawa Multimodal Level of Service Guidelines, Pedestrian and Bike Level of Service from Highway Capacity Manual. The results show that the study area is operating at poor level of service and highly potential for active modes. Therefore, a new street design has been proposed to reach the desired performance level.

Assessing Transit Level of Service along Travel Corridors

2005 ◽  
Vol 1927 (1) ◽  
pp. 258-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaping Xin ◽  
Liping Fu ◽  
Frank F. Saccomanno
Keyword(s):  
Case Analysis ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Transit Planning ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Transit Service ◽  
Transit Capacity ◽  
Recent Edition ◽  
Service Coverage

This paper describes a case study of applying the recent edition of the Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual (TCQSM) to evaluate the quality of transit service on several travel corridors in an urbanized area. The study focuses mainly on four level-of-service (LOS) measures: service frequency, hours of service, service coverage, and transit–auto travel time. Assumptions are introduced to extend these measures, which are intended for a particular element of a transit system–-such as stops and route segments–-so that they become applicable for measuring the quality of transit service of travel corridors. An extensive case analysis indicates that all LOS measures are sensitive to various transit planning variables and can be easily calculated with readily available data. The research has also identified a range of issues with the current TCQSM methodology.

scholarly journals Bicycle Level of Service for Route Choice—A GIS Evaluation of Four Existing Indicators with Empirical Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Pritchard ◽  
Yngve Frøyen ◽  
Bernhard Snizek
Keyword(s):  
Route Choice ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Choice Data ◽  
Highway Capacity ◽  
Sixth Edition ◽  
Highway Capacity Manual ◽  
Match Rate ◽  
Bicycle Level Of Service

Bicycle Level of Service (BLOS) indicators are used to provide objective ratings of the bicycle suitability (or quality) of links or intersections in transport networks. This article uses empirical bicycle route choice data from 467 university students in Trondheim, Norway to test the applicability of BLOS rating schemes for the estimation of whole-journey route choice. The methods evaluated share a common trait of being applicable for mixed traffic urban environments: Bicycle Compatibility Index (BCI), Bicycle Stress Level (BSL), Sixth Edition Highway Capacity Manual (HCM6), and Level of Traffic Stress (LTS). Routes are generated based on BLOS-weighted networks and the suitability of these routes is determined by finding the percentage overlap with empirical route choices. The results show that BCI provides the best match with empirical route data in all five origin–destination pairs, followed by HCM6. BSL and LTS which are not empirically founded have a lower match rate, although the differences between the four methods are relatively small. By iterating the detour rate that cyclists are assumed to be willing to make, it is found that the best match with modelled BLOS routes is achieved between 15 and 21% additional length. This falls within the range suggested by existing empirical research on willingness to deviate from the shortest path, however, it is uncertain whether the method will deliver the comparable findings in other cycling environments.

scholarly journals Active transportation demand modeling and infrastructure performance assessment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheikh Ariful Alam
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Service ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Active Transportation ◽  
Transportation Infrastructure ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Highway Capacity ◽  
Transportation Demand ◽  
Highway Capacity Manual ◽  
Potential Demand

Due to obvious benefits and growing demand of active transportation, engineers and planners are eager to expand active transportation infrastructure facilities. However, no robust methodology has been developed for active transportation infrastructures assessment addressing its potential demand. This project aims to develop an integrated methodology estimate potential demand and to assess the infrastructures needs and quality, based on quantitative methods. A case study was conducted to apply these methods at North York Centre, City of Toronto. The potential active transportation demand was measured using short trips recorded in the area-wide transportation demand database. Quality of service, and connectivity measures were estimated for evaluating the performance of active transportation infrastructure. Quality of service includes Ottawa Multimodal Level of Service Guidelines, Pedestrian and Bike Level of Service from Highway Capacity Manual. The results show that the study area is operating at poor level of service and highly potential for active modes. Therefore, a new street design has been proposed to reach the desired performance level.

Signalized Intersection Level of Service Incorporating Safety Risk

2003 ◽  
Vol 1852 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Zhang ◽  
Panos D. Prevedouros
Keyword(s):  
Level Of Service ◽  
Signal Timing ◽  
Highway Capacity ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
Left Turn ◽  
Highway Capacity Manual ◽  
Vehicle To Vehicle ◽  
Comprehensive Level ◽  
Left Turns

A methodology that quantifies potential conflicts between left-turning vehicles and opposing through vehicles and pedestrians is presented. The methodology was based on and designed to be compatible with the Highway Capacity Manual 2000. A model was developed to combine delay and safety to get a comprehensive level-of-service indicator, the delay and safety index (DS). A case study of two intersections shows that if potential conflict is not considered, the signal timing plan with permitted left turns delivers a better level of service than that with protected left turns. However, if potential conflict is considered, the level of service under protected left-turn phasing is better than that under permitted left-turn phasing, according to the DS, when the safety weight factors exceed a certain value. The proposed method models the trade-off between safety and efficiency explicitly and considers both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian conflicts associated with left turns.

Driver Assessment of Service Quality on Urban Streets

2005 ◽  
Vol 1920 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimee Flannery ◽  
Kathryn Wochinger ◽  
Angela Martin
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Travel Speed ◽  
Highway Capacity ◽  
Highway Capacity Manual ◽  
Urban Streets ◽  
Urban Street ◽  
Lane Width ◽  
Travel Efficiency ◽  
Design Characteristics

This paper presents the results of a study that compared drivers’ assessments of the performance of urban streets with objective measures of performance, including level of service (LOS). The purpose of the study was to test the ability of LOS to predict drivers’ perceptions of service quality. Seventy-seven automobile drivers rated the service quality of half-mile segments of urban streets as depicted on videotaped scenes from the driver's perspective. Drivers rated 12 to 15 video segments on a six-point scale from very satisfactory to very unsatisfactory. After rating all segments, the drivers selected and ranked from a list of 36 factors the three factors that they considered the most important to quality. The results show that the mean driver rating had statistically significant correlations with operational and design characteristics and aesthetics, including the following variables: travel time, average travel speed, number of stops, delay, number of signals, lane width, the presence of trees, and the quality of the landscaping. LOS, calculated by the Highway Capacity Manual methodology, predicted 35% of the variance in mean driver rating. This finding suggests that LOS does not completely represent drivers’ assessments of performance because drivers perceive the quality of urban street segments in several dimensions, including travel efficiency, sense of safety, and aesthetics.

Estimation of Transit Reliability Level-of-Service Based on Automatic Vehicle Location Data

2005 ◽  
Vol 1927 (1) ◽  
pp. 277-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Camus ◽  
Giovanni Longo ◽  
Cristina Macorini
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Service ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Transit Network ◽  
Location Data ◽  
Vehicle Location ◽  
Transit Capacity ◽  
Transit Reliability

This paper concerns transit quality of service and focuses on reliability. Starting from automated vehicle location (AVL) data collected in a case study, the advantages and limitations of the Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual (TCQSM) method for level-of-service (LOS) estimation are discussed. In particular, this method is clear, simple, and easy to use, but sometimes it may lead to inconsistent LOS estimations for three reasons. First, it does not consider the amount of delay but considers only the number of trips that are late. Second, it does not adequately address the effect of early departures on users. Finally, it introduces a fixed tolerance (3 min in advance and 5 min late) around the schedule to consider the trip on time. A new service measure called weighted delay index is proposed; it allows these limitations to be overcome. In this paper, a methodology for its estimation is presented, and new LOS ranges and thresholds for reliability are proposed. Both the TCQSM method and the proposed one have been applied to four routes of the Trieste transit network in Italy. The basic data have been collected through the AVL system during the peak hours of a month. The results have been compared with reference to real data, and it appears that the proposed approach could lead to more graduated LOS estimation because of the higher number of parameters introduced in the new transit service measure.

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