A Study of Alternative Operating Strategies for the Southeast

A Study of Alternative Operating Strategies for the Southeast Expressway HOV Lane Adriel Edwards Office of Transportation Planning Executive Office of Transportation Boston, MA Wednesday June 20, 2007 Outline • • • • • • Background Description of the lane Occupancy requirements – past / present Monitoring requirements and results Modeling effort – methods / findings Next steps Wednesday June 20, 2007 Background • CA/T mitigation commitment • DEP regulations – Stipulate 1 min/mile travel time savings over travel time in general purpose lane – Stipulate quarterly reports with a minimum number of sample travel runs on each facility • When built – 1994 • When opened – 1995 Wednesday June 20, 2007 Lane Construction Nov 1994 – Nov 1995 Wednesday June 20, 2007 Lane Opens November 1995 Wednesday June 20, 2007 Description of the Lane • Configuration – Contraflow – Barrier separated – One ingress / one egress • Length - 5.2 miles • Hours of operation – 6 AM – 10 AM northbound to Boston – 3 PM – 7 PM southbound from Boston Wednesday June 20, 2007 Location of the lane from a regional perspective Wednesday June 20, 2007 Pictometry image of lane start on a typical weekday morning (northbound to Boston)  Wednesday June 20, 2007 Wednesday June 20, 2007 Barrier Transfer Vehicle Wednesday June 20, 2007 Wednesday June 20, 2007 Wednesday June 20, 2007 Occupancy Requirement Past / Present • 3+ and buses – November 1995 – September 1996 • Sticker program – alternate days – September 1996 – January 1999 – # of stickers issued was limited – Red and blue for use on alternative days • Sticker program – all days – February 1999 – June 1999 • 2+ - no sticker required – June 1999 to present day Wednesday June 20, 2007 Monitoring Requirement • Quarterly reports Wednesday June 20, 2007 Results of Monitoring • One minute per mile time savings threshold NOT met for entire four hours of operation Wednesday June 20, 2007 Typical Performance of the Southeast Expressway HOV Lane Wednesday June 20, 2007 Required Activities • Promote ridesharing – MassRIDES – Park & Ride lots • Modeling effort – Examine alternative operating strategies Wednesday June 20, 2007 Modeling Study Method – Three Part Examination • Historical analysis • Regional model analysis • Traffic simulation Wednesday June 20, 2007 Historical Analysis Results • 3+ volumes in 1995 hovered around 300 – 400 vehicles/hr – Lane perceived as empty – Resulted in legislative action requiring sticker program to allow a limited # of 2+ vehicles • Recent occupancy counts indicate existing 3+ vehicle volumes are about 400 / hr Wednesday June 20, 2007 Regional Model Results VEHICLE VOLUMES • 2 + option: adjusted 3 hr volume: 3,750 vehicles  1,250/hr • 3 + option: adjusted 3 hr volume: 1,200 vehicles  400/hr  EMPTY LANE SYNDROME Wednesday June 20, 2007 Regional Model Results (continued) HOV Year 2007 AM Peak Period Northbound Parameter HOV travel time savings in minutes HOV travel time savings in min/mile HOV Lane vehicle hours HOV lane vehicle hours saved General lanes vehicle hours Two-Plus Three-Plus 9.82 1.81 443 614 12.90 2.38 124 258 5,646 6,847 Wednesday June 20, 2007 Regional Model Results (continued) Peak Period Summary Statistics: Air quality, vehicle miles of travel, vehicle hours of travel Wednesday June 20, 2007 Simulation Results Simulation Results 2+ 2003 2+ 2007 Wednesday June 20, 2007 Simulation Results 2+ 2003 3+ 2007 Wednesday June 20, 2007 General Conclusions • 2+ still superior to 3+ by three methods of analysis • 2+ still superior to 3+ by many measures • Effects of HOV lanes’ operating requirements on AQ are inconclusive • Current regulations focus on 1 metric & do not take into account other measures of success • Discussions on changing/replacing regulations with balanced policy should occur • Growing exit queues indicate need to control volumes Wednesday June 20, 2007 Next Steps • Technology may be used to control volumes and may also simplify monitoring efforts • EOT exploring next steps • Discussions with DEP and other agencies to occur Wednesday June 20, 2007 Thank You! Comments and questions welcome! Adriel Edwards Data Collection Manager for the HOV Lanes Office of Transportation Planning Executive Office of Transportation Adriel.edwards@eot.state.ma.us (617) 973 - 8062 Wednesday June 20, 2007