Abstracts and Presentations
sorted by session


Sessions:
Session 1A: ITS
Session 1B: Active Transportation Management
Session 1C: Non-Motorized Transportation Modes
Session 2A: Community Planning
Session 2B: Traffic Safety
Session 2C: Transit Demand Modelling
Session 3A: Transportation Financing
Session 3B: Regional Strategy Planning
Session 3C: Data Collection
Session 4A: Transportation Policy Research
Session 4B: Traffic Design
Session 4C: Goods Movement
Session 5A: Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Session 5B: Passenger Rail
Session 5C: Transportation Operations and Management


Session 1A: ITS


The Effects of Weather on Freeway Traffic Flow
Primary Author: Kristin Tufte, Portland State University (tufte@cecs.pdx.edu)
Co-Authors: Priya Chavan chavanpriya@gmail.com Meead Saberi K. meead.saberi@gmail.com Robert L. Bertini bertini@pdx.edu
Presentation: Not Available

It is common for travelers to experience traffic congestion during inclement weather. The aim of this paper is to analyze and quantify the effect of weather on key traffic parameters such as volume, speed, occupancy and other derived quantities like Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), Vehicle Hours Traveled (VHT) and delay. Understanding how weather affects traffic may help improve transportation system management, including potentially more accurate travel time predictions. In Portland, Oregon, the weather from November through March is often rainy and sometimes stormy. In addition, the Portland Oregon Regional Transportation Archive Listing (PORTAL) contains over four years of freeway loop detector data, weather data, and incident data. The combination of rainy winter weather in Portland and the PORTAL archive make a good basis for studying the effects of weather on traffic. In particular, there are a large number of days and a variety of conditions that can be used to study the effect of rain and wet roads on traffic congestion and incidents. The paper shows that, there is a drop in flow and speed during peak hours on rainy days and further that as precipitation increases, the VMT decreases while VHT increases. Finally, a significant increase in the number of incidents and accidents during rain was also observed. This paper presents evidence that rain and stormy weather do affect traffic congestion and provides some details that help explain the level and specifics of the impact.

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Integrated Regional Singal System (IRSS) Railway Advance Warning System (AWS)
Primary Author: Keenan Kitasaka, TransLink (Keenan_Kitasaka@translink.bc.ca)
Co-Authors: Steve Hayto (Delcan Corporation), Matthew Chan (Delcan Corporation)
Presentation: Not Available

The requirements of rail transport along the Roberts Bank Rail Corridor (RBRC) from the Roberts Bank terminals in Delta to the BC Interior and Eastern Canada result in the at-grade road / rail crossings being occupied by trains numerous times during a day, for several minutes at a time. While trains are occupying the at-grade crossings, road users in the urban areas are subjected to gridlock, resulting in significant delays and traffic congestion, especially in the "Langleys" area. Proposed increases in both the number and length of trains using this rail corridor would further escalate this traffic congestion. The goal of the Integrated Regional Signal System Railway Advance Warning System (AWS) Study was to develop the concept of operations for employing Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) solutions to mitigate the impact of additional rail traffic on the RBRC and optimize the use of the road infrastructure by providing motorists with information that will enable them to avoid environmental, economic and social costs of delay and congestion and facilitate re-routing to the existing and new rail overpasses in the area. This presentation describes the development and evaluation of an AWS concept for the area. The topics covered include: system components and estimated costs; the approach used to model the AWS and estimate the potential benefits of the system (this included the use of planning models to estimate traffic demand and a micro-simulation model to estimate detailed impacts on traffic operations); and a review of the results of the benefit/cost analysis.

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Fast Track Deployment of ITS Design
Primary Author: Eric Shimizu, Transpo Group (Eric.shimizu@transpogroup.com)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Not Available

The Multi-Billion Dollar Seattle "Alaskan Way Viaduct" project continues to be discussed and designed with a recent decision to move forward with a tunnel option. In an effort to mitigate traffic impacts of this six year reconstruction project, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) have been actively preparing for rapid Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) device deployment along corridors to and from the City of Seattle.
This presentation will describe some of the tools and technology Transpo used to fast track deployment of ITS designs on several corridors in the Seattle area. The installed ITS devices will allow improved interagency coordination and communication with the public on road closures, detour routes, travel times, incident response, and changing Viaduct construction activities. ITS devices deployed include:
• Arterial Digital Message Signs (DMS),
• CCTV cameras,
• Video detection,
• License Plate Readers (LPR),
• Signal cabinet upgrades and
• Wireless advanced detection systems (Sensys).
The approach used to "fast track" ITS deployment are sure to be of interest to agencies wishing to participate in the second phase of Economic Recovery plan or for other agencies needing solutions for time sensitive delivery. This presentation will also include lessons learned so other agencies can learn from this experience.

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Session 1B: Active Transportation Management


Confusion to Control: Developing a Stop Sign Location Strategy in an Established Residential Neighborhood
Primary Author: Massoud G. Saberian, City of Lake Oswego, OR (msaberian@ci.oswego.or.us)
Co-Authors: Chris Maciejewski, P.E., DKS csm@dkspdx.com Eryn D. Kehe, JLA Public Involvement eryn@jlainvolve.com
Presentation: Developing a Stop Sign Strategy in an Established Residential Neighbourhood.pdf

Confusion to Control: Developing a Stop Sign Location Strategy in an Established Residential Neighborhood
Authors: Massoud G. Saberian, PE, PTOE, City of Lake Oswego Chris Maciejewski, PE, DKS Associates Eryn Deeming Kehe, JLA Public Involvement
In the spring of 2005, the City of Lake Oswego, Oregon initiated a neighborhood planning process to manage the impacts of future development on existing, well-established residential neighborhoods surrounding the city's commercial core. The plan involved a high level of stakeholder involvement and traffic data analysis. Early in the planning effort, community outreach revealed that a history of reacting to citizen demand had led to inconsistent stop sign placement over time. The result was a mix of all-way stops, two-way stops, and uncontrolled intersections. The lack of uniform traffic control through the neighborhood also caused frustration among residents, a lack of driver compliance with traffic control, and a community concern for safety after multiple crashes at uncontrolled locations. Improving stop sign locations in the neighborhood became a central recommendation of the plan and later was implemented as a high priority project.
This paper describes a stakeholder-focused approach to solving traffic control challenges in a residential neighborhood through education, engineering, and carefully coordinated implementation. Methods for communicating traffic engineering analysis to the public, such as stop sign compliance rates and crash history analysis are described for the study area. The proposed alternating two- way stop control strategy and its forecasted impacts to managing cut-through traffic and intersection safety are discussed. The coordination of neighbors through project implementation is presented to demonstrate the level of effort required to develop consensus and minimize after the fact complaints. Finally, post-improvement information is presented to describe the resulting benefits in crash rates throughout the neighborhood.

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Inaugural Special Event Planning: Lessons Learned from Pemberton Festival
Primary Author: Jason Jardine, Delcan Corporation (j.jardine@delcan.com)
Co-Authors: Krista Falkner k.falkner@delcan.com
Presentation: Permberton Music Festival Special Event Traffic Management Lessons Learned.pdf

A multi-day, multi-artist music festival took place July 25 - 27, 2008 on lands east of the Village of Pemberton in British Columbia. Of particular interest to approval agencies, were impacts on the Highway 99 corridor between Horseshoe Bay and Lillooet and traffic management in the vicinity of the festival site. A Traffic Impact Study (TIS) and a Traffic Management Plan (TMP) were completed to address these concerns. A follow up Close Out Report assessed the projections and performance of each and provided opportunities for improvement. The primary goal of this project was to safely move 40,000 people to and from the event on a two lane highway, a large segment of which was experiencing intensive construction activity. Although a significant amount of effort was made to minimize congestion on the Highway, including coordinated incident response plans, implementation challenges contributed to higher than expected levels of delay. Strategies to reduce the impact of festival traffic included the provision of alternative modes of transportation to the site, alternative check-in locations including priority treatments for carpools, early arrival and late departure allowances for campers, and the scheduling of acts to stagger arrivals and departures. The location of the event, and the strict screening requirements as a result of sensitive agricultural land, led to another challenge of processing ticketholders as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Monitoring during the festival weekend was used to assess TIS projections and to provide a reference point for future festival planning and future major special events in the corridor such as the 2010 Olympic Games. For the event to be a success in future years, a significant amount of additional coordination and planning needs to be done to manage both vehicular and pedestrian traffic leading up to, during, and following the event. The objective of this paper will be to outline the specific processes and outcomes of the Pemberton Festival planning, and derive lessons learned for consideration of approval agencies and traffic management practitioners.

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Phoenix's Collector Street Mitigation Program
Primary Author: Jenny L. Grote, City of Phoenix (jenny.grote@phoenix.gov)
Co-Authors: Kerry Wilcoxon kerry.wilcoxon@phoenix.gov
Presentation: Collector Street Mitigation Program.pdf

PHOENIX'S RESIDENTIAL COLLECTOR STREET MITIGATION POLICY PROGRAM FEATURES Under the proposed Collector Street Mitigation program, the Street Transportation Department will work with neighborhoods and residents of collector streets that meet the criteria of the program to develop traffic mitigation plans intended to reduce average traffic speeds. Plans will include neighborhood education efforts, signing and striping changes, as well as design and construction of temporary and permanent traffic calming devices, such as traffic circles, chicanes, and curb extensions. Collector street mitigation features will not include speed bumps, speed humps, speed cushions, or speed tables.
GOALS • Protect Phoenix's residential neighborhoods from intrusive cut-through and speeding vehicle traffic on residential collector streets by building neighborhood consensus for the implementation of the best solution to address the problem. This may include the construction of roundabouts (traffic circles), diverters, curb extensions, and other physical improvements that address the cut- through or speeding traffic on residential collector streets. • Consider the need to reduce excessive travel speeds and cut-through traffic with consideration of maintaining emergency response times for Police and Fire vehicles. • Resolve the traffic concerns of a neighborhood while minimizing the negative effect on other citizens and neighborhoods.
PROGRAM QUALIFICATION • To qualify for the Residential Collector Street Mitigation program, a traffic study must be conducted by the Street Transportation Department at the request of 10 or more residents or at the request of a neighborhood or homeowners' association for the neighborhood in which the street is located. • If traffic volumes on the collector street exceed 2,000 vehicles-per-day, but remain under 10,000 vehicles per day, then the street qualifies for the Residential Collector Street Mitigation Program.
PARAMETERS • Consider residential collector streets experiencing extreme high travel speed, but with a traffic volume between 1,000 and 2,000 vehicles per day. • Consider residential collector streets with high pedestrian traffic and/or near an elementary school or some other community facility. • Include residents of adjacent and nearby streets in the petition boundary likely to experience the negative consequences of the "diverted" traffic due to traffic calming implementation. • Conduct "before and after" traffic studies to document the effectiveness of the temporary or permanent traffic calming solutions. Copy and paste your abstract here.

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Session 1C: Non-Motorized Transportation Modes


Vancouver's Bicycle Network: Retrofitting a Constrained Road Network to Accommodate Cyclists
Primary Author: Mike Anderson, City of Vancouver (mike.anderson@vancouver.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Vancouver Bicycle Network.pdf

The City of Vancouver has been developing facilities for cyclists since the mid 1980s. However, the development of a more comprehensive bicycle network began in earnest in the mid 1990s when cycling was reaffirmed as one of the City's priority transportation modes. Since that time, the network has grown to incorporate almost 400 lane- kilometres of designated bicycle facilities, and the City is developing plans to significantly expand the network in the coming years. As with most transportation challenges, the provision of bicycle facilities in a highly developed urban environment cannot be achieved with a "one-size-fits- all" solution. The constraints posed by Vancouver's relatively narrow street rights-of-way has required creativity to retrofit bicycle facilities where road capacity and parking demands are often at a premium. A range of facilities needs to be considered that recognizes physical and operational constraints and implementation costs, while also appealing to a broad range of potential users. The City's initial response to these challenges was to develop a network of bikeways on local streets parallel to the City's arterial system; these bikeways have proven to be very popular with cyclists of a wide range of abilities. For example, recent census data shows higher cycling mode share for work trips in areas of the City near Downtown with a relatively high population density and a denser network of local street bikeways.
Although the City continues to develop local street bikeways, the bicycle network has evolved in recent years to provide a wider range of facilities and to appeal to cyclists of all skills, ages and abilities. The City's bicycle network now incorporates: • local street bikeways (also known as bicycle boulevards); • arterial bike lanes; • separated bike lanes; • shared-use lanes (sharrows); and • off-street pathways.
Each type of facility has its own advantages and disadvantages and is appropriate in certain contexts. Undoubtedly, more work can be done to provide a full range of facilities throughout Vancouver, but to date the City has been successful in retrofitting a well-established road system with various bicycle facilities while increasing the number of cyclists using the network. This paper will explore the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of the various bicycle facilities in Vancouver, and consider what more could be done to further broaden the appeal of cycling in the City.

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Accommodating Bicyclists and Pedestrians at Interchanges
Primary Author: Seleta Reynolds, Fehr & Peers (s.reynolds@fehrandpeers.com)
Co-Authors: Meghan Mitman m.mitman@fehrandpeers.com
Presentation: Accommodating Cyclists at Interchange.pdf

One of the greatest challenges in planning for all modes is at freeway on and off ramps. Varying speeds, weaving, and competition for driver attention combine to create barriers to bicycling and walking. In many communities, these barriers eliminate critical connections between neighborhoods, reducing transportation choices for residents. The ITE Bicycle and Pedestrian Council has taken on the challenge of assembling a set of recommended treatments at these choke points. In a series of workshops held at the ITE International Conference and the Transportation Research Board meeting, the Council received feedback from transportation professionals about the specific design challenges and potential solutions. This presentation will review the recommendations from those workshops including a set of design principles and conceptual treatments for common on and off ramp geometries.

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Developing and Field Testing a Crosswalk Policy for the District of North Vancouver
Primary Author: Vivian Law, Opus International (vivian.law@opusinternational.ca)
Co-Authors: Sarah Rocchi (Opus International), Alex Milek (District of North Vancouver)
Presentation: Crosswalk Policy for DNV.pdf

The District of North Vancouver (District) often receives requests to review the appropriateness and safety of pedestrian crosswalks. The District has noted the importance of improving overall conditions for pedestrians, and the development of a crosswalk policy is one of the initiatives to promote safety and consistency in the provision of pedestrian facilities. However, the locations where crosswalks, or crosswalk upgrades, are requested, are not always optimum.
Opus International conducted a literature review and current practices survey to identify the latest international standards, guidelines and practices related to the evaluation and implementation of crosswalk facilities. Notwithstanding the current Pedestrian Crossing Control Manual (Transportation Association of Canada), which provides adequate guidance on the treatment of typical cross-sections (2- and 4-lane roadways) and typical treatments (ranging from a marked and signed crosswalk to a pedestrian signal), Opus was tasked to make recommendations for alternative scenarios and treatments, such as roadways with a centre left-turn lane and the use of curb extensions and refuge islands.
Additionally, TAC guidelines allow for the provision of signed and marked crosswalks on roadways with 4-lane and 6-lane cross-sections. Mitigating measures for or outright prohibition of such crosswalks is recommended for high-speed and high-volume roadways, but these criteria are not quantified.
However, the report Safety Effects of Marked vs. Unmarked Crosswalks at Uncontrolled Locations, (Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), 2002) indicates that on multi-lane roads with traffic volumes above 12,000 vehicles per day, the presence of a marked crosswalk alone (without other substantial improvements) was associated with a higher pedestrian crash rate compared to an unmarked crosswalk. The report advocates providing substantial improvements such as signals, lighting or a median when installing marked crosswalks on high-volume, multi-lane facilities.
A policy was prepared that incorporates the findings of this FHWA research, is tailored to the District conditions and is as consistent as possible with conditions at the two adjacent municipalities. The policy can be applied to both existing and new crosswalks. It is a systematic, transparent and repeatable tool that identifies whether a crosswalk is warranted and if so, what is the appropriate treatment and specific traffic control devices that should be implemented. The policy provides separate guidance for intersection crosswalks and midblock crosswalks. Up to 14 locations were used for evaluating the robustness of the policy against engineering expertise and evaluation.

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Session 2A: Community Planning


Whistler Day Parking Lot Upgrade: Goodbye Gravel, Hello Asphalt!
Primary Author: Floris van Weelderen, MMM Group Limited (vanweelderenf@mmm.ca)
Co-Authors: Julio Wong, P.Eng.
Presentation: Not Available

At the feet of Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains are nearly 2,200 parking spaces in five unpaved surface Day Parking Lots. Under the worst conditions, the parking lot surface can be rough, muddy or dusty. Vehicle parking is somewhat haphazard. Pedestrian way finding to resort amenities is poor and often a less than desirable experience. Collectively these elements do not give a good first impression of the resort of Whistler. Consequently, the Resort Municipality of Whistler retained MMM Group Limited through Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd. to assist with the design upgrades to the Day Parking Lots and the pedestrian circulation routes from the parking lots to Whistler Village and Blackcomb Village. These upgrades will enhance the resort experience as visitors arrive at, and subsequently circulate between the Day Parking Lots and Whistler's various resort amenities. Furthermore, these upgrades are being designed in a manner that integrates Whistler's sustainability objectives and assists the community along its journey to its Whistler2020 Vision.
This paper presents the options that MMM developed for consideration by Whistler as well as the proposed dimensions of roads, drive aisles and parking stalls. In addition, alternative pay parking systems that may be appropriate for Day Parking Lots 1, 2 and 3 are discussed.

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Host City Olympic Transportation Plan for the 2010 Winter Games
Primary Author: Dale Bracewell, City of Vancouver (dale.bracewell@vancouver.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Not Available

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are the biggest events to occur in the history of the City of Vancouver, with more than a quarter of a million visitors and 10,000 media expected in the City during Games time. This will mean a significant increase in activity on city streets (30% more trips to Downtown), while dealing with a reduced road capacity in areas surrounding Games venues (20% less road capacity to Downtown).
To manage these Games-time conditions, the City has developed a Host City Olympic Transportation Plan (HCOTP). The HCOTP includes measures designed to allow local businesses to operate and residents to get where they need to go while allowing athletes and officials to reliably travel to Games events. These measures include:
o enhanced pedestrian and cycling routes including improved wayfinding o support transit capacity improvements, being led by the City's partner TransLink o maximized use of streets such as limiting construction-related closures o adjustments to traffic flow such as extending rush hour parking restrictions o priority lanes to ensure reliable travel times for transit riders and Olympic athletes, officials and the media
As a world leader in sustainable transportation, the City is also actively encouraging measures to reduce vehicle traffic by increasing the use of sustainable transportation options such as walking, biking, public transit and carpooling as alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle travel.
The City is working closely with its transportation partners including VANOC, Ministry of Transportation, TransLink, BC Transit, and the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit (VISU), on an integrated Games-time plan for getting around the region in 2010. A comprehensive Olympic Transportation Plan will be presented by March 2009. Following the release of this integrated 2010 transportation plan, a public education program on transportation options will be launched to ensure that everyone knows the best options for local travel in Vancouver.
This paper will describe the Host City's Olympic Transportation Plan, its relationship to the broader 2010 Winter Games Olympic Transportation Plan, and how public engagement was an important component of finalizing the City's plan for this 60-day special event.

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University of Victoria's Traffic and Parking Management Study
Primary Author: Charlotte Bathurst, Opus International Consultants (Charlotte.Bathurst@opusinternational.ca)
Co-Authors: Neil Connelly
Presentation: Not Available

Traditionally within the profession of transportation, forecasted increases in demand for transport and parking have conventionally been dealt with through a 'predict and provide' approach which is not only unsustainable but can be extremely expensive in terms of providing new infrastructure. This study instead takes the approach of 'predict and manage' future demand. As one of Canada's leading comprehensive research universities, the University of Victoria is widely recognized for its innovative and responsive academic programs. The University has a total campus population of more than 23,000 people and is expected to grow in the future, with a specific focus on increasing the number of graduate students.
The University has already proactively invested in on-campus sustainability initiatives such as the UPass program and adopted sustainability oriented goals for the future related to campus transportation and land use, but wanted to understand the full extent that the future planned growth of the University would have on transportation, traffic operations and parking.
Opus Hamilton Consultants was retained by the University to produce a traffic, parking and TDM management study to support the University's aim of increasing sustainable transportation choices by reducing single-occupant vehicle trips, encouraging non-private auto trips, and reducing impacts on climate change. The two key objectives of this study were to develop:
• a parking supply and management strategy that supports sustainability objectives, is cost effective, and is sensitive to the needs of all stakeholders; and,
• a multi-modal on-site traffic management strategy that minimizes conflicts while promoting safe and efficient movement within the campus for all campus users.
The study interdependently looked at Multi-Modal Traffic Operations and Circulation; Parking; and Transportation Demand Management rather than analyzing them as independent variables. This synergized the recommendations and gave a holistic approach to the long-term traffic and parking management of the campus.
An extensive stakeholder consultation program was undertaken as part of this study, in parallel with the technical work. This included web-surveys, Focus Groups with key internal stakeholders, interviews with key external stakeholders, and Open House sessions. The findings and recommendations of the study took into consideration the input received during the stakeholder consultation process.
The major elements of the plan include:
• Enhanced TDM recommendations for the campus based University;
• Accessibility and CPTED audits with recommendations;
• Functioning and calibrated parking financial model;
• Options for internal Ring Road including a Shared Street vision; and
• Recommendations for the short, medium and long term, including an interdependent phasing and implementation strategy.
In summary, this study presented holistic recommendations on proactively managing a future predicted increase in demand related to multi-modal traffic and parking management that the University can consider for implementation over the next 20 years. The recommendations were consistent with the University's sustainability objectives and the Campus Plan. Implementation of the recommendations will result in a transportation environment that balances the safety and efficiency needs of all modes while promoting sustainable travel choices for the campus community.
The principles and rationale behind the methodology, as well as the study process and findings will be of great interest to transportation professionals who work on projects that forecast future parking and transportation demand.

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Session 2B: Traffic Safety


Safety Engineering and Collision-Reduction Experience for the High-Tension Median Cable Barrier on Deerfoot Trail, Calgary, Alberta
Primary Author: Robyn McGregor, EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. (rmcgregor@eba.ca)
Co-Authors: Masood Hassan, Ph.D., P.Eng. mhassan@eba.ca Olivier Lahey, E.I.T Olivier.Lahey@gov.ab.ca
Presentation: Safety Performance of the Median Cable Barrier.pdf

This presentation will describe the safety engineering features and the collision-reduction results for a National Cooperative Highway Program (NCHRP) 350: Test Level 4 (TL- 4) high-tension post-and-cable barrier. The barrier was installed in May 2007 in the median of an 11-km stretch of the Deerfoot Trail, a depressed median urban freeway in Calgary, Alberta, carrying up to 150,000 vehicles per day.
The presentation will include the following main elements.
• Results of the extensive research regarding the TL- 4 cable barriers approved by the US Federal Highway Administration, including a summary comparison of the approved cable barriers. • Important safety and design considerations, such as post spacing and allowable maximum deflection, the optimum placing of a single cable barrier in the median to protect both directions of traffic, tie-in or bypassing of existing guardrails in the median, and adaptation to local conditions. • Cost savings achieved as compared to other barrier types. • The reduction in crossover collisions achieved. In the 18 months (May 2007 to October 2008) since the installation of the median cable barrier on the 11-km section of the Deerfoot Trail, there have been 52 recorded incidents where a vehicle hit the cable barrier. No serious injuries or fatalities involving median crossover were reported as a result of these hits. This compares to six fatalities in the previous nine years resulting from crossover collisions on this section of the Deerfoot Trail. The collision data will be updated to March 2009 when the presentation is submitted to ITE in April 2009. • Update on the cable barrier technology and related safety engineering issues since the Deerfoot Trail installation. • Comments regarding the applicability of the Deerfoot Trail experience to other locations and jurisdictions.
The authors believe that the safety engineering and design features of the high-tension cable barrier installation on Deerfoot Trail in Calgary, Alberta, and the resulting collision-reduction experience, will be of general as well as specific interest to professionals in the field of traffic design, safety and operations.

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Collision Diagramming Tool Evaluation
Primary Author: Brian Copeland, DKS Associates (bkc@dkspdx.com)
Co-Authors: 1. Chris Monsier, Portland State University (monserec@cecs.pdx.edu) 2. Joshua Crain, DKS Associates (jvc@dksassociates.com)
Presentation: Not Available

Collision diagrams are useful tools for evaluating vehicle crashes at intersections or along corridors to identify trends and specific safety issues. Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is currently using a non-automated, manual drafting system to create their collision diagrams. As a result, the agency is having a hard time keeping up with the demands of their staff as well as other public agencies who get their collision diagrams from ODOT. In collaboration with Portland State University (PSU) and Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), DKS Associates conducted research to evaluate potential options for developing collision diagrams that would meet the needs of ODOT.
DKS Associates and PSU conducted interviews of numerous public agencies in Oregon as well as an extensive online survey of state safety professionals throughout the nation to determine the current state of practice for collision diagramming. A list of available collision diagramming tools was assembled and several vendors were contacted for a preliminary evaluation of these tools. Based on the interviews, 13 possible options were identified and evaluated in two stages. A preliminary screening was first conducted to assess if the potential solutions could meet ODOT's basic needs. Of these 13 potential solutions, four alternatives were selected for a more detailed evaluation. Each alternative was given a score based on its user interface, output quality, data integration, speed and cost. The category scores were averaged to rank the alternatives. From this, a recommendation was made to ODOT to best meet their needs.

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A Canadian Resource to Aid Aging Road Users
Primary Author: Margaret Gibbs, Opus International Consultants (BC) Ltd (margaret.gibbs@opusinternational.ca)
Co-Authors: Greg Ablett, EIT
Presentation: Canadian Resources To Aid Aging Road Users.pdf

Canadian data show that, even while overall fatal and injury collisions are decreasing, the involvement of older drivers in these serious collisions has grown in terms of both proportion and frequency. The increasing involvement of older drivers likely reflects the increasing number of older persons in the population. Older-driver involvement in collisions can be expected to continue rising as the aging "baby boom" generation forms an increasing proportion of the driving and general population.
To address this trend, in 2005 the Alberta Motor Association sponsored the preparation of the Alberta Guide to Accommodate Aging Drivers, Canada's first guide for road improvements to assist aging drivers. The Guide is available free on the internet for use by public agencies and private consultants. Currently, the Guide is being revised and expanded to address the accessibility needs of non-motorized road users; incorporate updated information on new technologies and new countermeasures, and incorporate practitioners' feedback on the first edition. The result will be a revised and expanded set of guidelines to guide practitioners concerning engineering measures to meet the needs of an aging population. It is notable that measures to improve safety for older road users also succeed in assisting all road users, regardless of age.
This presentation will provide background information on the issues surrounding aging road users (motorized and non- motorized), their specific limitations and needs, and the type of guidance that is available in the newest edition of the Alberta Guide to Accommodate Aging Drivers. Attendees will gain an appreciation for issues faced by older road users, and will be introduced to one of the only Canadian engineering tools available to help them assist this segment of the population. The presentation will also compare the Alberta Guide with the parallel US publications, Guidelines and Recommendations to Accommodate Older Drivers and Pedestrians (FHWA, 2001) and the 2004 Guide for Reducing Collisions Involving Older Drivers (Volume 9 of the NCHRP Report 500 series on Guidance for the Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan).

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Session 2C: Transit Demand Modelling


Planning of Vancouver's Transit Network with an Operations Based Model
Primary Author: Ian Fisher, TransLink (ian_fisher@translink.bc.ca)
Co-Authors: Kean Lew(klew@ptvamerica.com), Wolfgang Scherr(wscherr@ptvamerica.com), Cherry Xiong (cxiong@ptvamerica.com).
Presentation: Planning of Van Transit Network.pdf

Planning of Vancouver's Transit Network with an Operations-Based Model
By: Ian Fisher, SBCTA/TransLink Kean Lew, PTV America Inc. Wolfgang Scherr, PTV America Inc. Qian Xiong, PTV America Inc.
Abstract TransLink (South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority) and the Province of British Columbia share a strong commitment to improving and significantly expanding the transit system in the Vancouver region over the next 12 years. To support decision making, the Regional Transit Model (RTM) was initially developed in 2006 by TransLink for rail analysis. It has now been extended to include all transit services in the region (including bus services) to aid comprehensive transit planning in the growing Metro Vancouver region.
Unlike traditional regional system planning models, the RTM provides a detailed picture of transit operations. The RTM includes three major components: 1) a ridership model with time-table based passenger flow; 2) an operations model including detailed fleet data, schedules, line blockings and operations statistics; and 3) a graphical user interface for comprehensive visualization and mapping functionality. The model also serves as an analysis database that integrates data from several other systems: bus, rail and ferry schedules, geographical information of stops and routes, data from the automatic passenger count (APC) system, other ridership counts, and OD matrices from the regional travel forecasting model. The strength of the Regional Transit Model is the comparison of alternative planning and operations scenarios. It allows analysis of operations and ridership impact using measures such as: number of vehicles or train cars needed, train-car-km, seat-km, future boardings, passenger transfers, volume/capacity ratios, etc.
This paper summarizes the development and calibration of the Regional Transit Model, including the data sources, assumptions, methodologies, and the results. Practical examples where the RTM has been applied will be presented, including the following: • Mitigation of at-capacity segments of SkyTrain, an automated rail transit system. • Future operations and fleet strategy for SkyTrain. • Operations planning for the future extensions of the rail network. • Bus service adjustments around a new rail line.

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Buiding Up Transit Ridership - Expansion of South Surrey Park & Ride
Primary Author: Simon Li, Coast Mountain Bus Company (simon_li@coastmountainbus.com)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Buiding Up Transit Ridership.pdf

TransLink and the Ministry of Transportation of British Columbia established a 260 stall park and ride facility in South Surrey in 2000. Since its inauguration, the park & ride facility was well utilized by commuters from South Surrey and White Rock communities to connect to regional destinations through transit service. By 2003, the demand on park & ride exceeded the 260 stall capacity. In 2004, TransLink embarked on a project to expand the South Surrey park & ride facility. This paper will discuss the greenhouse gas reduction benefit of the park & ride facility, planning parameters for park & ride demand estimation, and design considerations including access management, traffic safety, and transit signal priority. The paper will also suggest key factors for development of a regional park & ride strategy.

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WSDOT SR 167 HOT Lanes - Challenges and Opportunities
Primary Author: Bart Cima, IBI Group (bcima@ibigroup.com)
Co-Authors: Jeff W. Lundstrom, PE Perteet Inc. 206-436-0515 JeffL@Perteet.com
Presentation: WSDOT SR 167 HOT Lanes.pdf

WSDOT converted eleven miles of a pre-existing high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction of SR 167 between Renton and Auburn to a single HOT lane. With HOT lanes, drivers have the choice to pay an electronic toll without ever slowing or stopping and escape traffic back ups when they can't afford to be late. There are no toll booths; the tolls are collected by the Good To Go! transponders. Carpools carrying two people or more, vanpools, transit, and motorcycles continue to use the HOT lanes toll-free and do not need a transponder. Along with fighting congestion, safety is a top priority for the project team and WSDOT, which is working closely with the Washington State Patrol on HOT lanes operations and enforcement. The key to HOT lane efficiency is in its fluctuating toll amount. The price increases and decrease with current traffic levels in the HOT lane to maintain the optimum amount of vehicles and the optimum lane speed for the smoothest traffic flow. Variable tolling ensures free-flow speeds virtually all the time. The environmentally beneficial aspects of this project include that it creates more capacity on the highway without increasing the impervious surface. This project also recycled two steel sign bridge structures that had been removed from another project and were left in a storage yard. Getting the most efficiency possible out of the lanes we already have and offering people more travel choices are crucial for preparing our highway system for the projected one million more people in central Puget Sound by 2030. Challenges to the SR 167 HOT Lanes project: 1) Striping and signing - how to meet all the goals of the project while providing a safe and efficient roadway that can be easily understood and used by the public in a traditionally non-tolled state. 2)Dynamic pricing - the complications of developing a logarithm that accounts for all the factors affecting traffic operations, Legislative limits, the state's pre- selected transponder hardware, and the physical conditions of the project. 3) HOV vehicles toll-free - how to permit a vehicle to use the HOT lane toll-free when two or more people are present and to be tolled when only the driver is present. All of these challenges were overcome. To date the public has adapted to the HOT lanes and a report on the operations is expected to be issued by WSDOT in the next couple of months.

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Session 3A: Transportation Financing


Healthy Community Transportation Program Financing Options
Primary Author: Cara Fisher, BC Recreation & Parks Association (cfisher@bcrp.bc.ca)
Co-Authors: Todd Litman (info@vtpi.org) Victoria Transportation Policy Institute
Presentation: Not Available

Evidence based research shows that transportation and land use planning decisions can affect travel activity in an area, such as per capita walking, cycling and driving activity, which significantly impact public fitness and health. Growing concerns about crash risk, physical fitness, pollution emissions, climate change and social equity are motivating communities to encourage walking and cycling activity, particularly as a mode of transportation that substitutes for automobile travel.
To be successful, programs to improve walking and cycling conditions and encourage use of these modes require adequate funding. Although there are many possible sources, some funding options also support other strategic planning objectives, by reducing motor vehicle traffic, encouraging more accessible land use patterns, and helping to achieve equity objectives. For example, parking taxes, parking pricing, road pricing, development fees, and roadway budget shifts can help increase transportation system efficiency while providing new funds for nonmotorized facility improvements and other mobility management programs.
The presentation will cover the following: -Introduction by Cara Fisher discussing the connections between the built environment, travel activity and health. -Presentation by Todd Litman identifying potential active transportation program financing options and evaluates their impacts relative to strategic planning objectives such as reduced driving and more compact land use development.

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A Multifaceted Transportation Funding Approach for Meeting the Needs of Rural Chelan County, Washington
Primary Author: Larry Toedtli, Transpo Group (larry.toedtli@transpogroup.com)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Not Available

Chelan County, located in central Washington State, is a primarily rural county with an estimated 2008 population of 72,100. Its economy is largely driven through agriculture, tourism, and recreation. Continued growth within Chelan County has created the need to address transportation needs throughout the County, especially around areas of high growth including the unincorporated urban growth areas (UGAs) and the local areas of more intense rural development (LAMRIDs) identified in the County's Comprehensive Plan. Due to limited transportation revenues, a key part of the County's transportation planning efforts was the development of a financing strategy to support implementation of the transportation improvement projects and programs.
Chelan County faces a shortfall of $70 million (in 2008 dollars) to meet maintenance and operations needs through 2027. Capital projects would result in an additional deficit of over $200 million during the 20-year planning period. A three level funding strategy was recommended to address the County's highest priority transportation needs. These strategies are:
New Development Should Fund Its Share. The funding strategy calls for adopting a transportation impact fee to fund the highest priority growth-related improvement projects. In addition, the County is revising its level of service standards and development review processes to focus on the adequacy of existing roadways in order to better address the impacts of new development.
Making the County's Property Tax Road Levy Sustainable. The Road Levy is County's primary transportation funding source, accounting for approximately 50 percent of its annual revenues. The County Commissioners recently agreed to use its available "banked" capacity to help close the gap in the near term. Additional increases in the Road Levy also will be needed to help fund the highest priority safety and road standards improvements. The additional Road Levy funds also would provide the County's share of the transportation impact fee projects and would provide local matching funds for state and federal grants. Any additional increases in the Road Levy will require voter approval.
Funding Regional Transportation Improvements. The Chelan County region has also identified several large regional transportation projects. These include regional trails, improvements to the state highway system, other high priority County and local agency improvements, and new bridges to increase capacity connecting to the City of Wenatchee which is the economic hub of the region. The funding program calls for exploring a possible multi-agency Transportation Benefit District (TBD) with funding generated through vehicle license fees, sales taxes, and/or tolls.

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Alternative Transportation Financing - The Golden Ears Bridge
Primary Author: Fred Cummings, TransLink (fj_cummings@translink.bc.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Not Available

A new crossing of the Fraser River has for many years been part of the longterm plans of the Greater Vancouver Regional District and the province. With the creation of TransLink in 1998, the new crossing project fell within TransLink's (South Coast BC Transportation Authority) mandate to plan and finance the regional transportation system. In September 2000, the TransLink Board endorsed in principle the development of a tolled highcapacity crossing of the Fraser River in the 200th Street corridor. The Board further directed that the project be undertaken at no net cost to TransLink. The user tolls must, when combined with the annual Albion Ferry subsidy, be sufficient to cover all project costs.
The design, construction, financing, operations, maintenance and rehabilitation of the $1 billion Golden Ears Bridge project were contracted to a single private contractor for an approximately 35.5-year period (assuming 3.5 years to reach substantial completion followed by a fixed 32-year operations period). The approved contract term was determined through a financial feasibility analysis. Based on the projected cash flows, including initial capital costs, operations, maintenance and rehabilitation costs, toll revenues, the existing Albion Ferry subsidy, and the costs of financing, the project is anticipated to achieve full cost recovery over 35.5 years. This 35.5- year term began in 2006 with the execution of the agreement with Golden Crossing General Partnership, and terminates 32 years after substantial completion is attained - estimated to terminate in 2041.
TransLink took advantage of the opportunities provided through a publicprivate partnership. In the final analysis, transferring the construction, operation, maintenance, rehabilitation and financing risks to a private partner, ended up providing value to the users, the tax payers in the region, and ultimately, TransLink.
This presentation will provide an understanding of the agreement (including the risk profile), the financing structure created to maximize the value of the deal, and the resultant value for money analysis.

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Session 3B: Regional Strategy Planning


Planning for Regional Transportation System Management and Operations in the Portland Metropolitan Area
Primary Author: Jim Peters, DKS Associates (jmp@dksassociates.com)
Co-Authors: Deena Platman, Metro (Deena.Platman@oregonmetro.gov )
Presentation: Planning for Regional Transportation System Management and Operations in Portland.pdf

Transportation goals such as mobility, accessibility, safety, and sustainability are traditionally pursued in plans through the allocation of funding to capital investments. In a time of insufficient transportation funding and raising costs for capital investments, jurisdictions are placing increased emphasis on complementary strategies to achieve their system goals.
Oregon is renowned for its integration of transportation and land use policies and implementation strategies. The Portland metropolitan area has gained a solid reputation for creating transportation choices and investing in demand management (a.k.a., "transportation options") programs that support these choices. Portland is now bringing its brand of regionalism to the implementation of transportation system management and operations (TSMO) strategies and transportation technologies. Today, current plans lack detail regarding the use of TSMO in the pursuit of regional planning goals. Metro, the MPO for the Portland metropolitan region, is currently updating its Regional Transportation Plan and is taking advantage of this opportunity to explore and integrate TSMO strategies. This plan for regional TSMO strategies will be integrated with the current Regional Transportation Plan update. Some of the TSMO questions and issues that are being addressed include:
•What are the available opportunities for system management?
•Among identified problems or challenges, which are best suited for an operational solution?
•What benefits can be anticipated from systems management and operations projects?
•What criteria should be used to evaluate and prioritize management and operations projects?
This presentation will present the planning process, approach, toolbox of TSMO strategies for Portland, intended outcomes, finance opportunities, project selection criteria, and anticipated benefits.

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Redefining the Urban Transportation Problem
Primary Author: Don Cairns, City of Redmond (dcairns@redmond.gov)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Redefining the Urban Transportation Problem.pdf

Perhaps, the solution to sustainable urban transportation is to first redefine the problem we are trying to solve. Since transportation is an integral part of our market based economies, why is greater mobility convenience more often the problem we are asked to solve rather than balancing mobility supply and demand? Could it be that the solution to transportation is really an economic solution because the biggest problem is one of scarce supply and high demand during the peak periods of travel? Can changing the perspective on transportation to be an economic problem radically change the policy direction for how to solve transportation?
Sustainability is often defined in terms of balancing three intersecting components: People, Environment, and Economics. The needs of people are blended with the needs of the environment through an economy of balancing resources in a way that allows those needs to be consistently met over a long period of time. Sustainable transportation then becomes about moving people in harmony with the environment while achieving a balanced use of resources over time. Our primary focus has been evolving more toward moving people with an increased sensitivity to the environment. This is a significant departure from simply moving more vehicles faster. The concept has opened up more effort and attention to the efficient movement of people through transit, carpool, biking, and walking. This is noble and important in expanding travel choices, reducing emissions, and consuming less energy. Still, it is not complete. It does not fully address the economic perspective of transportation as a supply and demand problem for consumers transportation supply.
This paper and the presentation will explore this concept of urban transportation as an economic problem, use direct transportation examples from around the world that try to manage the economics of transportation, analyze and evaluate those strategies, and propose a comprehensive approach for managing urban transportation with economic principles and policies.

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A Regional Transit Priority Plan and Implementation Strategy for TransLink
Primary Author: Hansel Wang, TransLink (Hansel_Wang@translink.bc.ca)
Co-Authors: Kean Lew (PTV America), Karen Giese (PTV America)
Presentation: Regional Transit Priority Strategy and Implementation Plan.pdf

Metro Vancouver is committed to the multimodal approach and the effort to minimize automobile dependency in urban transport. This can also be seen through the adoption of plans such as the Livable Region Strategic Plan that calls for the clustering of development in core urban areas and along transit corridors throughout Metro Vancouver (the Region). This growth plan aims to protect green zones, create compact and complete communities, achieve a compact metropolitan region, and increase transportation choice.
South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink) is the regional entity responsible for ensuring that the transportation needs of the region are met within this context and for delivering the public transportation services. To maintain its reputation as a sustainable region and to accomplish the goals set for the region through Transport 2040 and the Regional Growth Strategy, TransLink looks to further join communities together by providing high capacity and high quality transit services to the region.
To meet these demands, TransLink has undertaken the development of a Regional Transit Priority Plan and Implementation Strategy (RTPPIS) to provide guidance for the deployment of transit priority measures within the Region. This RTPPIS documents the stages of the process to develop the list of prioritized corridors. It includes the first stages of developing a strategic policy for Metro Vancouver and the latter stages of developing an implementation strategy through evaluation of transit priority corridors and transit priority measures.
The RTPPIS is designed to assist TransLink in identifying a strategy to move forward on transit priority by both recommending a set of policy directives and providing a list of transit facilities prioritized based on the basis of public transportation strategy and the anticipated benefit-to-cost (b/c) ratio of the feasible improvements on each facility. The resulting implementation strategy is a list of transit priority corridors prioritized using the results from the b/c analysis, a strategy for application of this list, recommended policies, municipality applications, and monitoring guidance to support the implementation of transit priority treatments.
The Transit Priority Plan includes five key components:
1) Based on the information retrieved from the best practice reviews and the measures currently deployed in the region, a transit priority toolbox was developed. It includes 3 categories of measures:
a) Geometric and physical treatments including bus lane, curb extension;
b) Traffic control treatments including transit signal priority; and
c) Policy treatments including turn ban exemptions, etc.
2) Five goals and their supporting objectives are proposed to reflect the strategic purpose and the effectiveness of transit priority measures deployment in the region.
3) Targets related to travel time and schedule reliability improvements are established for design and evaluation of transit priority measures.
4) Seven transit priority policies that articulate the community value of transit over autos that is set to foster the direction in which the regional transportation system develops.
5) An estimated $17M (2007$) will be required for the implementation of transit priority improvements on fifty-one transit priority corridors. (These corridors are in addition to the Frequent Transit Network (FTN) corridors programmed to be implemented by 2011.)

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Session 3C: Data Collection


2008 Vancouver Pedestrian Study
Primary Author: Don Klimchuk, City of Vancouver Engineering Services (don.klimchuk@vancouver.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: 2008 Vancouver Pedestrian Study.pdf

PURPOSE / SUMMARY
The 2007/2008 Pedestrian Study was carried out to gain a better understanding of pedestrian travel habits in Vancouver's main commercial areas. Included were volume counts on over 300 blocks, and an opinion survey of over 2000 pedestrians. Volumes were compared to results from the previous study in 2001/2002. The study results document changes in pedestrian activity and help with trend analysis. As well, the results assist with prioritizing pedestrian operating and capital improvements, making decisions on public realm design, and marketing of local business associations. New counts in Vancouver's Stadium Precinct area also provided base data for special event pedestrian modeling used to plan for the 2010 Olympics.
BACKGROUND
The City of Vancouver has long held that pedestrians have the highest priority in the transportation system. This philosophy has been reinforced in the Vancouver Transportation Plan (1997) and more recently in the Downtown Transportation Plan (2002). Key initiatives coming out of the plans include improving pedestrian road crossings, emphasizing walking and biking downtown, developing pedestrian friendly neighbourhood centres in communities outside the downtown, and improving transportation monitoring. In 2008, Vancouver was named Best Walking City in Canada by the Canadian Federation of Podiatric Medicine.
To eliminate data entry errors and reduce costs, handheld computers were used for all data collection.
PEDESTRIAN VOLUMES
In addition to regular weekday counts, control locations were set up for reviewing evening and weekend volumes, as well as monthly variations.
OPINION SURVEY
Data collected included pedestrian age and sex, origin- destinations, opinions on various pedestrian related facilities and services, and an open question on specific concerns.

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City of Vancouver Bicycle Monitoring Program
Primary Author: Lisa Leblanc, City of Vancouver, Greenways and Neighbourhood Transportation (lisa.leblanc@vancouver.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: CoV Bicycle Monitoring Program.pdf

As the City of Vancouver works toward increasing bicycle mode share, understanding how bicycle volumes on our bikeways vary throughout the day, across the week and season to season is necessary. Bicycle count data provides some of the information needed to make well informed decisions toward improving the City's cycling infrastructure, encouraging more people to cycle and keeping commited cyclists on their bikes. The City's Bicycle Count Program includes three components: regularly scheduled manual counts at dozens of locations throughout the City's bikeway network, automatic counts using specialized pneumatic tubes and, permanent bike counters on some of the City's busiest cycling routes. This presentation will include an introduction to the methodology used in selecting count locations and determining a count schedule; a demonstration of the equipment used in conducting automatic counts; a discussion on how bicycle counts have been incorporated into the City's vehicle count methodology, and; a review of the cycling data the City has gathered in recent years. The paper will demonstrate that a meaningful bicycle count program can range from a few carefully selected count locations conducted on a regular basis, to a more complex system comprising a combination of manual counts and portable and permanent automatic counters.

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Automated Collection of Pedestrian Data Using Computer Vision Techniques
Primary Author: Karim Ismail, UBC (karim.ismail@bitsafs.ca)
Co-Authors: Dr. Tarek Sayed, Nicolas Saunier, Clark Lim
Presentation: Automated Collection of Pedestrian Data.pdf

Pedestrian data collection is critical for the planning and design of pedestrian facilities. Most pedestrian data collection efforts involve field observations or observer- based video analysis. These manual observations are time consuming, limited in coverage, resource intensive and error prone. Automated video analysis which involves the use of computer vision techniques can overcome many of these shortcomings. Despite advances in the field of computer vision applications for pedestrian detection and tracking, the technical literature shows little use of these techniques in pedestrian data collection practices. The likely reasons are the technical complexities that surround the processing of pedestrian videos. To extract pedestrian trajectories automatically from video, all road users must be detected, tracked at each frame and classified by type, at least as pedestrians and non- pedestrians. This is a challenging task in busy open outdoor urban environment. Common problems include global illumination variations, multiple object tracking and shadow handling. Specific problems arise when dealing with pedestrians because of their complex movement dynamics, varied appearance and non-rigid nature. The main objective of this study is to present a system for automated collection of pedestrian walking speed using computer vision techniques. The system is based on a previously developed feature-based tracking system for vehicles which was significantly modified to adapt to the particularities of pedestrian movement and to discriminate pedestrian and motorized traffic. The system was tested on real video data collected at Downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia. This study is unique in so far as it tests the system under a variety of daylight conditions, crowd densities, movement context, and the video analysis approach. Promising results were obtained and several conclusions were drawn using statistical analysis of the automatically extracted pedestrian trajectories.

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BC MoT Traffic Data Program: Getting Away from the Loop
Primary Author: Rodrigo Disengni, BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (Rodrigo.Disegni@gov.bc.ca)
Co-Authors: Nathan Martin
Presentation: BC MoT Traffic Data Program.pdf

This paper presents the findings of the evaluation of a new wireless vehicle detection technology developed by Sensys Networks. The paper also documents some of the challenges experienced during the study and the applicability of this technology to both the permanent and the short term count programs.
The BC Ministry of Transportation (MoT) collects traffic data at 100 permanent count and 500 short term count stations throughout the Province. The technology used to collect the data is primarily based on inductive loops. Maintenance of this infrastructure is both expensive and time consuming. As such the MoT is looking for alternative technologies that can reduce both the maintenance and data collection cost.
The Sensys sensors are considerable smaller and easier to install than loops. They are installed in the pavement and communicate through low-power radio transmission with a central Access Point. In order to validate the performance and suitability of this technology for the traffic data program, the MoT and Opus International Consultants conducted a test study.
The study evaluated the sensors in the following areas:
1) Ease of sensor installation relative to inductive loop technology.
2) Signal strength between sensor and Access Point under various scenarios including:
• Variable depth of sensor relative to pavement surface
• Variable transversal sensor location relative to the wheel path
3) Accuracy of data (speed, volume, and vehicle length) relative to inductive loops.
4) Suitability of sensors for the Permanent and Short Term count program.
The study concluded that installation of the sensors is significantly faster than loops. Vehicle detection significantly weakens if sensors are installed at depths of 100mm or not centred in the traffic lane. Accuracy of the data seemed reasonable although it was noted that it may not be easily converted to the format used by the MoT.
Overall, the technology does not seem to be in a state of development that could be easily implemented within the short count program due to on-board memory and battery limitations of the Access Point unit. The technology does have some potential for the permanent count program however additional work needs to be completed in order to integrate this technology with the existing counter infrastructure owned by the Ministry.

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Session 4A: Transportation Policy Research


SELECTING APPROPRIATE POSTED SPEED LIMITS FOR CANADIAN ROADS: PROGRESS ON A PROPOSED MEODOLOGY AND NATIONAL GUIDE
Primary Author: Sany Zein, Opus International Consultants (sany.zein@opusinternational.ca)
Co-Authors: Vivian Law Vivian.Law@opusinternational.c a
Presentation: Quad 2009 - Sany Zein Presentation - Posted Speed Limit Study.pdf

Selecting appropriate posted speed limits for Canadian roads has long been a controversial issue. Various jurisdictions have adopted different strategies and policies related to setting posted speed limits. On new roads, some road agencies always post speed limits 10 kilometres per hour lower than the design speed. Other agencies post the speed limits to be equal to the design speed. On in-service roads, the posted speed limit is sometimes reviewed, revised and set according to the 85th percentile of measured speeds. Local residents, commuters, enforcement authorities and politicians all have often contradictory opinions about what the posted speed should be on any given road.
In an attempt to introduce a level of consistency, transparency and objective analysis to the issue of setting posted speed limits, the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) launched a project to develop a methodology and national Guide that will help engineers determine and rationalize suitable posted speed limits for public roads.
This paper will present the progress to date and latest findings on this project, with the understanding that the project may not yet be fully complete at the time of the conference. The paper will report on the following elements of the study:
• A literature review of publications and papers related to setting posted speed limits. • An agency survey of current methods used to set posted speed limits. • The development of a proposed methodology that uses the key physical and operational characteristics of a road in order to determine the most appropriate posted speed limit. • Testing of the proposed methodology on roadways across Canada. • Creating a simple-to-use spreadsheet to facilitate the application of the proposed methodology. • Documentation of the proposed methodology in a Guide for use by Canadian road agencies.
The principles and rationale behind the proposed methodology will be explained, as well as the simple data elements that need to be compiled in order to apply the method. The findings of this project will be of great interest to all Canadian road agencies.

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City of Vancouver Parking By-Law
Primary Author: Wali Memon, City of Vancouver (wali.memon@vancouver.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: City of Vancouver Parking Presentation-Wali Memon -ITE Quad .pdf

Parking policies are an important component of contemporary travel demand management policies. North American parking policies have traditionally been developed as a means of simply accommodating traffic demand, with little or no effort made to identify how such strategies might relate to other urban transportation objectives. These types of policies are also not generally supportive of urban sustainability goals, which seek to reduce reliance on private car usage. However, Vancouver is leading the way in creating parking policies that support environmental sustainability and transportation goals, particularly mode split targets. The City of Vancouver Parking By-Law is a significant factor in supporting the overall Transportation targets that make Vancouver one of the most liveable cities in the world. This has helped Vancouver to achieve its goal of zero growth in auto traffic entering the city. In fact, Vancouver is one of the few cities in North America where the amount of automobile traffic has actually decreased in the last decade. This paper reviews how the City of Vancouver Parking By-Law has continuously been updated over the last two decades to encourage sustainable modes of transportation and set parking standards that supports targets of reduced auto use. The paper explores the evolution of City of Vancouver policy and Parking By-Law including design changes, incremental updates, emerging transportation modes and economic influences. The City of Vancouver Parking By-Law includes standards for residential and commercial developments for both automobile and bicycle parking. The vehicle parking standard for downtown Vancouver and for some other parts of the City includes not only minimum requirements, but also maximum standards to ensure that the parking spaces are not over provided. It also includes provisions for disabled parking, car-share spaces and electrical outlets for electric assisted bicycles. The paper presents some case studies where various sustainable modes of transportation were encouraged by requiring provision of car-sharing vehicles and more bicycle parking and by applying maximum parking ceilings while reducing minimum parking requirements. This paper also gives an overview of recent Vancouver Charter changes. These changes allow the City of Vancouver to continue to encourage sustainable modes of transportation by further reducing minimum parking requirements, or in some cases eliminating parking requirements altogether, through payment-in-lieu for required parking spaces and perhaps spending the payment-in lieu funds to promote sustainable modes of transportation. This paper also identifies current initiatives of City staff for future parking policy changes.



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Creating a Transit Generation: The Effect of the U-Pass on Lifelong Transit Use
Primary Author: Caitlin Cooper, Simon Fraser University (caitlin.cooper@sfu.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Role of the U-Pass - Caitlin Cooper CITE Slides.pdf

This study examines how the U-Pass impacts transit usage after graduation. The primary source of information for this study is derived from an original survey that was developed and administered to Simon Fraser University Alumni regarding both current and school period transit use frequency. The data revealed that the U-Pass does play an important role in post-graduation transit use, which in turn can influence lifestyle choices. To extend the success of the program, it is recommended that a three-step approach be taken. First, an alumni pass for former U-Pass holders be made available to encourage the continued use of transit after graduation. Second, the U-Pass should be extended to other universities and colleges in the region, and service costs should be factored into the price paid by all students. And third, TransLink and the province of BC should work towards introducing a region-wide universal pass.

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Transportation Impact Assessment for Transit-oriented Development in Calgary
Primary Author: Stephanie McNeely, Dillon Consulting Limited (smcneely@dillon.ca)
Co-Authors: Stephanie McNeely (smcneely@dillon.ca) and Shawn Doyle (sdoyle@dillon.ca)
Presentation: TIA for Transit-Oriented Development in Calgary-McNeely.pdf

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is an exciting new trend in the realms of community planning and sustainability. Features of TOD include denser, more walkable communities that make more efficient use of existing transportation facilities and proximity to higher order transit. Calgary is preparing for TOD on the development approvals front by crafting new transportation impact assessment guidelines that consider both "Greenfields" development and TOD. Guidelines for the latter will place emphasis on the assessment of active transportation modes such as walking, cycling and transit, as well as Transportation Demand Management initiatives, all of which reduce the number of trips a given development will generate.
Development activity in the City of Calgary is an exciting combination of new development in Greenfield areas and redevelopment in areas undergoing urban renewal and expansion. The City has embarked on a path to update their transportation impact assessment guidelines to recognize that the evaluation of transportation impacts is very different for these two development conditions. The types and forms of development tend to differ, the opportunities afforded by the transportation network already in place differ, the local opportunities for purchasing goods and services afforded by adjacent land uses differ, and the inherent characteristics of travelers to/ from these developments can often be different.
The advent of TOD has put a number of more traditional transportation engineering assumptions into question most notably trip generation forecasting related to transportation impact assessments. The focus of this paper will be a review of Dillon's work in developing the City of Calgary's transportation impact assessment guidelines. A best practices approach to trip generation methods for TOD will be a primary focus.

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Session 4B: Traffic Design


Comparison of Queue Lengths Estimations at AWSC Intersections using Highway Capacity Software, Sidra Intersections, and SimTraffic
Primary Author: Daniel Lai, Transpo Group (lai7@interchange.ubc.ca)
Co-Authors: James Webb (James.Webb@transpogroup.com) Scott Lee (Scott.Lee@transpogroup.com)
Presentation: Comparison of Queue Lengths Estimations at AWSC intersections.pdf

The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) 2000 is the reference manual that professionals in the transportation industry recognize as the industry standard for analyzing traffic operations. However, the HCM fails to present any methodology to analyze queue lengths at all-way stop-controlled (AWSC) intersections. Chapter 17, Urban Streets, of the HCM includes only methodologies for analyzing queue lengths at two-way stop-controlled (TWSC) intersections through the use of nomographs. As a result, many transportation professionals rely on queue-length estimations provided by modern computer software programs such as Sidra Intersections, SimTraffic, and the Highway Capacity Software. While the three listed programs are commonly used, their accuracy in computing AWSC queue lengths has yet to be confirmed through any formal type of research. This paper compares field queuing data at 17 AWSC intersections against Sidra Intersections (Version 3.2), SimTraffic (Version 6.0), and Highway Capacity Software (Version 5.2) outputs in order to determine the most accurate analysis methodology. This research includes study intersections with a wide range of volume-to-capacity (v/c) ratios and represents traffic operations under urban and suburban settings within the Puget Sound region. The trends, frequencies, and magnitude of errors were examined to identify the most accurate and reliable method in determining field queuing results at AWSC intersections.
The methodology that involved calculating the volume-to-capacity (v/c) ratio using the Highway Capacity Software and applying the results to the HCM TWSC nomograph proved to be the most accurate representation of vehicle queuing in the field. This methodology was the only method capable of estimating vehicle queues within two vehicle lengths at the intersections studied. Additionally, this methodology provided accurate queue length estimates for a variety of v/c ratios making it an extremely versatile method for AWSC queue length analysis under both congested and free flow conditions. Based on the research results of the AWSC queue lengths, the HCS+/HCM methodology provided the most reliable results.

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Transportation Modeling for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games
Primary Author: Christopher Darwent, City of Vancouver (christopher.darwent@vancouver.ca)
Co-Authors: Karen Giese, PTV America kgiese@ptvamerica.com
Presentation: Not Available

In preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the City of Vancouver joined the Olympic and Paralympic Transportation Team (OPTT), a multi-agency organization responsible for the transportation planning and operations of the Games. Consisting of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (VANOC) and several government partners, such as the BC Ministry of Transportation and TransLink (SCBCTA), the OPTT streamlined their process for decision-making by defining specific roles and responsibilities for each of its member agencies. The City of Vancouver took on the responsibility of modeling traffic and projecting travel demand during Games-time in the Greater Vancouver Area (GVA) to assist in the preparation and planning for this world-class event.
This effort allowed the OPTT to identify potential issues with the road and transit networks in the region as well as the pedestrian network in Downtown Vancouver, evaluate various scenarios, and assist in the development of comprehensive Games-time transportation plans. More specific goals of the modeling effort included developing tools that allowed for: • allocation of Olympic client trips to both the road and transit networks; • systematic projection of demand on the public transport network during the Games period; • an understanding of impacts to the pedestrian network in the downtown core; • visualization of the current and anticipated Olympic demand on the public and private transportation network; and • identification of bottlenecks, capacity constraints, critical time periods, and areas of high congestion.
The City led a team in the development of three tools to achieve the above goals: 1. Olympic Private Transportation Model (OPrT) - includes private forms of transportation (e.g., private vehicles) 2. Olympic Public Transportation Model (OPuT) - includes the major transit services in the GVA and connections to VANOC's Olympic shuttle system 3. Downtown Vancouver Transportation and Emergency Management System (DVTEMS) - provides a localized pedestrian model for the downtown Vancouver peninsula Each of these tools was developed as a planning model using VISUM (a commercially-available transportation planning software package).
This paper will provide details about the planning approach taken by the City and describe each of the three models' scope and application to the planning of the Games for the Greater Vancouver Area.

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Multiple-Account Evaluation of Traffic Control Alternatives for an Intersection
Primary Author: Moudud Hasan, Ward Consulting Group (mhasan@wardconsulting.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Multiple Account Evaluation of Intersection Traffic Control Alternatives.pdf
VISSIM video clip for MAE of Intersection Traffic Control Alternatives.avi

In conjunction with the upgrading of a section of a major collector road, the City of Parksville commissioned a study to identify the most appropriate form of traffic control for a key intersection along the corridor. The intersection is unsignalized at present with stop control for the minor road approaches. Previous traffic studies had indicated signalization of this intersection by 2012 to maintain satisfactory traffic operation. Given the growing popularity of modern roundabouts, the City intended to assess the feasibility of constructing a roundabout at this intersection. The installation of a roundabout is consistent with the City's sustainability policy.
The study found the intersection performance would deteriorate substantially by 2011 due to increased traffic volumes and upgrading will be necessary. Three alternative traffic control measures viz. roundabout, full signalization and 'half' signals were assessed based on a multiple account evaluation (MAE). In the assessment 17 individual features were applied that were grouped under five key criteria namely- traffic operation, safety, cost, environmental impact and other factors e.g. land impact, demographics and future expandability. The standard software applications that were applied in the analysis included Synchro and SimTraffic Version 7, SIDRA Intersection Version 3 and preliminary microsimulation runs in Vissim 4.30.
The results indicated there is no clear 'winner' between the roundabout and the two traffic signal options. The roundabout option was found to be either 'favourable' or 'unfavourable' under the evaluation criteria which counterbalanced each other. The full signal option received fewer 'unfavourable' scores and more 'average' scores leading to a slightly better overall performance. Based on the ease of accommodating pedestrians and cyclists, two key considerations for the area as well as lower initial cost, land impact and flexibility for future expansion, the study concluded that full signalization is the preferred type of control for the intersection.

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The Do's and Don'ts of Installing Traffic Circles - A Case Study
Primary Author: Jan Voss, Creative Transportation Solutions Ltd. (jvoss@cts-bc.com)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: The Do's and Don'ts of Traffic Circles.pdf

Traffic circles are a widely used traffic calming device in many communities of British Columbia with hundreds of successful applications. However in Port Moody, British Columbia, the installation of the City's first two traffic circles on St. George Street next to an elementary school resulted in both operational and design challenges which are still in existence today. This paper chronicles the history of the two traffic circles and provides a checklist of things to consider for future traffic circle installations.

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Session 4C: Goods Movement


Dangerous Goods & Truck Classification Surveys in Metro Vancouver
Primary Author: Alina Cheng, Transport Canada (alina.cheng@tc.gc.ca)
Co-Authors: Chris Hoff (chris.hoff@tc.gc.ca)
Presentation: Dangerous Goods & Truck Classification.pdf

In Spring 2008, commercial vehicle surveys were conducted at 85 stations throughout Metro Vancouver in an effort to better understand the movement of dangerous goods and heavy trucks in the region. The data was collected to support the planning of initiatives such as the 2010 Olympics, Asia-Pacific Gateway and Trade Corridors, and truck and dangerous goods route designations.
The dangerous goods surveys were conducted by observing and recording information on the diamond shaped dangerous goods placards affixed to vehicles carrying such goods. This data helps to identify key dangerous goods routes and locations, as well as provide information on the types of dangerous goods being carried . Highway 1 proved to be a key dangerous goods route, and data collected at stations near Olympic venues and facilities will be useful in understanding where dangerous goods are travelling and being able to divert them away from sensitive areas during the Games.
The truck classification surveys were unique in that they not only classified trucks as light or heavy, but also classified heavy trucks into 8 categories. These included tractors with marine containers, tractors with marine container chassis, tractor-trailers, flatbeds, tankers, construction vehicles, tractor only, and other. This breakdown enables one to distill where certain types of heavy trucks are going, and to have a better understanding of the truck volumes observed. For example, a location may have a higher truck volume than expected, however further examination may show that a large proportion are construction vehicles due to nearby construction, and thus not necessarily be a cause for alarm. The classifications of tractors with marine containers and marine container chassis are proving to be useful in identifying key routes pertaining to Asia-Pacific trade.
Overall, a number of key conclusions were made, and the data collected during these surveys will be analyzed further to expand our knowledge and understanding of the Metro Vancouver goods movement system.

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Prince George Dangerous Goods Route Study
Primary Author: Sarah Rocchi, Opus International Consultants (sarah.rocchi@opusinternational.ca)
Co-Authors: Vivian Law (Vivian.Law@Opusinternational. ca Glenn Stanker (gstanker@city.pg.bc.ca)
Presentation: Prince George Dangerous Goods Routes.pdf

The presentation describes the process to develop defined dangerous goods routes for the City of Prince George. This process involved reviewing available literature, conducting interviews with agencies with similar characteristics to Prince George to gather information about their experiences with dangerous goods routes, conducting stakeholder consultation and a public open house, developing a risk evaluation framework and methodology, assessing the potential routes using the risk evaluation framework, identifying the recommended routes, identifying planning level improvements, and preparing a draft dangerous goods route bylaw.
For the short term, the study recommended routes that are currently used for access to and from industrial areas, and two highways which are not under the jurisdiction of the City. One of the highways was included in spite of a relatively high risk rating. This highlighted the need to develop alternate routes to divert traffic from the City Centre in the future.
The Plan for Dangerous Goods also included recommendations relating to education and enforcement, and funding to address institutional barriers.

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TRUCK SIGNAL PRIORITY USING VIDEO SENSORS
Primary Author: Nicolas Saunier, UBC (saunier@civil.ubc.ca)
Co-Authors: Wook Kang (wookkang386) @yahoo.com
Presentation: Truck Signal Priority Sensors.pdf

The study documents an evaluation of the implementation of Vision-based truck detection and tracking system and Truck signal priority strategy on Knight Street Corridor.Current signal operation on Knight Street Corridor is not coordinated and results in avoidable queues and delays both for trucks and other vehicles.Vision-based truck detection and tracking system can provide continuous monitoring of approaching trucks with acceptable level of error. For the false alarm rate of 0.5% required for effective advanced truck signal priority, the detection system reaches a correct detection rate of 78% to 95%. Truck signal priority strategy aims at reducing truck delays and running on the red light without compromising efficiency for other vehicles.The study involved the development of a truck signal priority control system which can predict truck travel time sufficiently in advance. Travel time prediction and arrival flow rate are updated continuously until the truck passes the intersection. Control strategy is adaptive to updated travel time prediction and arrival flow rate to provide priority to trucks with minimum disruption to normal cycle operation. After the implementation of the Truck Signal Priority Strategy, signal was designed to be recovered to maintain offset and phase split to minimize negative impacts on cross street.Data that defines base scenario were mainly collected from website of the City of Vancouver, and its data access program. Other sources of data include relevant studies in the literature on Knight Street Corridor, and existing survey results. The developed Truck Signal Priority (TSP) strategy was evaluated using microsimulation soaftware Vissim. The evaluation process was more thorough than typically conducted for similar studies. This was done as it is understood that the different traffic and control conditions highly influence the performance of the proposed system.Performance of TSP system was tested for different control logic, traffic volume, truck proportions, and priority lock period conditions. Performance was better when traffic volume was lower, truck proportion was lower, and priority is not locked. The analysis showed that the proposed TSP system would measurably alleviate truck delays without minimal or no increase of delays of other vehicles.

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Session 5A: Greenhouse Gas Reduction


Climate Action in the BC Ministry of Transportation
Primary Author: Kevin Volk, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (kevin.volk@gov.bc.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Climate Action in the BC MoT - Volk 2003 format.pdf

Transportation is the leading contributor to B.C.'s greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 36 per cent of the total in 2006. Transportation is also the single largest source of personal GHG emissions,ccounting for about 58 per cent of average household emissions.
Clearly, we cannot just give up our cars and the other transportation systems we rely on. But there are three basic types of action we can take to reduce emissions from transportation: - Improve the efficiency of the vehicles we drive - Reduce the carbon content in the fuels we use - Decrease the number of kilometres driven BC's climate action strategy uses all three of these approaches to set us on the road to cleaner transportation.

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REGIONAL GREENWAYS - VISION TO REALITY (Developing the Central Valley Regional Greenway)
Primary Author: Douglas Scott, City of Vancouver, Engineering Services, Greenways and Neighbourhood Transportation Branch (douglas.scott@vancouver.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Regional Greenways - SCOTT.pdf

REGIONAL GREENWAYS - VISION TO REALITY Developing the Central Valley Regional Greenway
The Central Valley Greenway (CVG), the 25 kilometer long pedestrian and cyclist route connecting Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster, opens this spring. The greenway includes a wide variety of innovations and public amenities including: bike streets, native habitat restoration, recycled materials, and public art.
The goals of the project are to increase walking and cycling, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve connections to transit, community amenities and other greenways and bikeways. The CVG joins downtown Vancouver to major transit hubs, key residential and employment areas, schools, shopping, businesses and parks. The route enhances the non-vehicular transportation network, connecting with 11 SkyTrain stations, more than 23 bus routes, and 27 bike routes and greenways.
Why is this so important? Studies show that motorized transportation creates almost 40% of the total GHG emissions in the region. Through cycling and walking we can improve our individual health and collectively reduce GHG emissions.
Working Together The CVG is an example of multi-jurisdictional government agencies working together in new ways, utilizing new financing mechanisms, developing new technical solutions and utilizing new tools for public consultation. This is a success story.
Financing The CVG is one of six projects funded through the Federal Government's Urban Transportation Showcase Program. The program's goal is to reduce GHG emissions by increasing the use of greener transportation alternatives including cycling. Packaging six projects together as one submission strengthened the chance of securing funding by providing a wide range of projects to support their climate change goals.
Technical Solutions The CVG incorporates a number of innovative technical solutions. Two examples include the use of cross-bikes or integrated pedestrian and cyclist crossings, and sharrows.
Stakeholder Consultation Stakeholder consultation is the foundation of a successful design, development and utilization of any project. How to get the public interested and involved in this project was a key focus of the teams' efforts. Solutions included a broad outreach package including a web site, focused newsletters and questionnaires, and on site open houses.
Regional Planning Planning for the CVG included the formation of the Working Committee comprised of representatives from three municipalities and two regional governments. This committee set the goals, objectives and design principles for the project.
In conclusion, I invite you to put on your helmets and go for a ride on the CVG.


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Transportation Demand Management - Vancouver Experience
Primary Author: Jo Yee Yung Fung, City of Vancouver (jo.fung@vancouver.ca)
Co-Authors: Lon LaClaire, Manager of Strategic Transportation Planning, City of Vancouver
Presentation: Transportation Demand Management ITEQ-2009-V2.pdf

Vancouver has the highest pedestrian, cycling, and transit mode-share in the Region. While the regional 24-hour trips consists of almost 70% vehicle driver trips, Vancouver is about 50% city-wide and 30% in the Downtown core. With population and employement increase in Downtown, the downtwon vehicle trips are declining.
The presentation discuss the past and current land use and transportation policy that contribut to those mode shares. The land use initiatives focus on increase density and mixed-use, increae poplutation in Downtown and neighborhood centers, EcoDensity, and Green Building Strategy. The transportation initiatives focus on Transit, cycling infrastructures, transportation policy, parking bylaw, and development approval process. Transit will include bus capacity, rapid transit, U-Pass, Community shuttle, and streetcar. Transportation Policy will include transportation priorities "walking, cycling, transit, goods movement, and passenger vehicle", no additioanl arterial vehicle capacity, new transportation growth will be accommondated primary by transit, and reduce commerical parking requirements. Bicycle infrastructure includes planned bike routes and observed cyclist volumes. Parking Bylaw will focus on the new Bicycle parking requirement and new DRAFT Parking Policy. The development approval process inlcudes community amenity contributions, development cost levy, traffic impact study guidlelines, parking bylaw, bicycle advisory committee review, TDM Plan required for institutions and large non-residential developments.
The presention will conclude with "lessions learned" and next steps.

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Session 5B: Passenger Rail


Roberts Bank Rail Corridor Surrey Langley Grade Separation Study
Primary Author: Bernard Abelson, ISL ENGINEERING AND LAND SERVICES (babelson@islengineering.com)
Co-Authors: Jemay Zheng, P. Eng. Snr. Transportation Engineer TransLink jemay_zheng@translink.bc.ca
Presentation: Not Available

The Roberts Bank Rail Corridor (RBRC) is a 70-kilometre stretch of rail running from Roberts Bank in Delta to approximately Highway 11 near the Mission/Abbotsford border. This essential rail line facilitates the movement of goods from around the world and serves as a strategic link to the interior of British Columbia and the rest of Canada. In February 2007, Transport Canada and its project partners completed a RBRC study, which developed long term infrastructure solutions over the 2006-2021 period. That study noted that the segment of the RBRC running through the urbanised area in east Surrey to west Langley has no grade separations and five at-grade crossings from 184th St. to 204th St. Due to the demographic projections in this area, road traffic is forecast to grow by approximately 75%, while on the other hand, rail traffic will also be increased due to the rapid expansion of Asia-Pacific trade.
The segment of the RBRC line from 192nd St. to 200th St. is about 2.5 km. With trains being up to 2.4 km long, all the at-grade crossings are occupied at the same time when a train passes and traffic delays can be over 3 minutes at each crossing point. With anticipated future train lengths of up to 3.65 km, longer delays are expected. The RBRC study found that north-south grade separations of the RBRC at (existing) 192nd St. and (new) 196th St., in combination with an east-west connection, would deliver substantial benefit.
The Surrey Langley Grade Separation project involved in-depth evaluation of the 192nd St and 196th St. grade separations, and explored variations of their east-west connection. The combination of grade separations and road network elements that are most beneficial for the area and region were analyzed, before recommending the best technical network combination. The study was divided into three phase; firstly a preliminary investigation and feasibility review of six network combinations; secondly a network traffic (modeling) analysis and costing that analyzed three shortlisted combinations; and concluded with the refinement of two preferred networks and multiple account evaluations.
The stakeholder consultation process was designed to gather input and feedback from study stakeholders to ensure that the project issues were fully identified and proposed improvements appropriately evaluated in an integrated and collaborative manner. Stakeholders included Transport Canada, BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, TransLink, Port Metro Vancouver, City of Langley, Township of Langley, City of Surrey and Corporation of Delta.

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Central Waterfront Hub Study
Primary Author: Steve Brown, City of Vancouver (steve.brown@vancouver.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Waterfront Transportation Hub.pdf

The Central Waterfront Hub Study presentation provides a summary of the transportation, land use and urban design study that is being undertaken by the City of Vancouver. This study is examinig how a new transportation hub along with related development could be created north of he existing station building. The development would involve building over an active freight rail yard to create a hub that would more elegantly connect all the transportation modes that terminate in the area including; Skytrain, West Coast Express, Sea Bus, future Canada Line, Helijet and local buses. This development would also help to reconnect the downtown with the waterfront and extend the seawall through this area while providing opportunities for more office space within the downtown. The framework for development of this area will be reported back to City Council in early 2009.

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Expanding the Multiple Accounts Evaluation Methodology to Better Evaluate Rapid Transit Technologies
Primary Author: Iona To, School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia (ionato@yahoo.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Expanding the Multiple Accounts Evaluation Methodology to Better Evaluate Rapid Transit Technologies.pdf

In the past, in Vancouver the Multiple Account Evaluation (MAE) framework has been used to evaluate rapid transit projects. One example is the Canada Line along the Richmond/Airport - Vancouver corridor. A similar approach has also been used for the Broadway Corridor from Commercial Drive to the University of British Columbia campus. It is found, however, that important external, non- market evaluation indicators are often left out of these studies. The result is that a less comprehensive evaluation is conducted. This study reported in this presentation updates the MAE to better evaluate the environmental, social, and economic impacts of rapid transit technologies.
The MAE methodology is a tool developed by the Province of British Columbia (BC). It is used to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative impacts of large scale projects by dividing the project and its effects into separate accounts. Each account is intended to provide a different perspective of the project, and it is up to the decision-maker to decide the relative importance of each account.
With the MAE framework updated, the study tests the approach by applying it to two of the rapid transit technologies proposed for the Broadway Corridor of Vancouver - a light rail line and an underground SkyTrain line - that have significantly different land use impacts. As in other MAE studies, for each of the accounts the results are compiled and synthesized into an objective by alternative table. These tables are then analyzed to determine the main identified benefits and costs of the two rapid transit technologies. In addition to illustrating the impacts these technologies could have in comparison to each other, this test identifies current limitations to acquiring some of the required evaluation data and outlines strategies on how the required information could be collected in the future.

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Development of a Traffic Signal Operations Strategy for the
Primary Author: Peter L. Coffey, DKS Associates (plc@dksassociates.com)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: Not Available

Development of a Traffic Signal Operations Strategy for the Portland Mall Segment of the South Corridor Project Peter Coffey, P.E.
The Portland Mall Segment of the South Corridor Project will extend light rail track-way in downtown Portland along 5th and 6th Avenues from the western end of the steel bridge to Portland State University. The alignment will run at-grade through 60 signalized intersections over a distance of approximately 1.5 miles. The project encompasses the existing Portland Transit Mall and includes construction of fourteen light rail stations and renovation of the existing bus transit stations. Today 5th and 6th Avenues are the focal point of the bus transit system in downtown Portland with exclusive bus lanes and limited vehicle access. The light rail alignment will be generally along the center of both 5th and 6th Avenues and will curve to the right lane at station locations. Buses will share the center lane with light rail vehicles and will pull into the right lane at bus stop locations. A third multi-modal lane will be provided on the left side of the roadway to provide circulation and access for motor vehicles and bicycles throughout the alignment.
This paper describes how a traffic signal operations strategy was developed that allows for the safe and efficient operation of light rail vehicles, buses, motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The challenges and unique issues associated with traffic signal operations are discussed including the consideration of crossing existing high capacity transit lines, providing priority treatment for light rail while not significantly degrading bus operations and controlling the weave movements for both buses and light rail vehicles.

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Session 5C: Transportation Operations and Management


Multimodal Concurrency Management System for Redmond, WA
Primary Author: Donald Samdahl, Fehr & Peers / Mirai (d.samdahl@fehrandpeers.com)
Co-Authors: Joel Pfundt Project Manager City of Redmond JPFUNDT@redmond.gov
Presentation: Multimodal Concurrency Management System.pdf

The City of Redmond's new, Multi-modal Transportation Concurrency System is a tool to manage the pace of development while providing transportation improvements for all users, including bicyclists, pedestrians, drivers, and transit riders. The overall objective in establishing the new system is to coordinate new land uses and the construction of the multi-modal system envisioned in the city's Transportation Master Plan. The first step in moving to plan-based concurrency rather than level-of-service-based concurrency was to develop a Transportation Master Planning (TMP) effort. The TMP includes a Transportation Facilities Plan (TFP), a multi- modal capital improvement program based on the Redmond 2022 vision for land use/transportation balance. The two major changes to the concurrency management system recommended in the TMP were to (1) move to a multi-modal methodology rather than a vehicle based level of service standard and methodology, and (2) determine the amount of available capacity up-front at the planning level, rather than on a case-by-case development review basis. Both of these changes represent major shifts in the city's development review process. Under a plan-based system, concurrency approval of a proposed development would be based on the availability of 'mobility units' (i.e. units of concurrency) within a six-year timeframe. To manage the pace of development in the short-term, the concurrency test will focus on "how much room is left in the Six-Year Bucket of capacity?" This test entails a comparison of the available mobility units based on projects funded or completed within the Six- year time horizon. In order to measure the amount of capacity available for each mode: bicyclists, motorists, pedestrians, and transit users, the City developed a measure called "System Completeness." . This measure provided a good understanding of overall system completion, combined with an additional step to evaluate how much of the system is being completed for each mode of travel. This paper documents the overall concept and steps involved with the new plan-based Concurrency Management System. The paper describes the technical analyses and policy choices needed to make the program a success.

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Back to the Future: Merging Operations into Long-Range Planning
Primary Author: Carl Springer, DKS Associates (cds@dkspdx.com)
Co-Authors: Jim Peters, jmp@dkspdx.com
Presentation: Merging Operations into Long-Range Planning.pdf

The traditional planning process for long-range community plans heavily relies on building new facilities to serve growth. The process began in the US in the 1950's, fostering development of land use forecasts, travel demand models, and performance analysis tools, which have been acutely refined. For the past five decades, the primary planning focus has been on identifying facility needs, programming improvements, and competing for state and federal transportation funding. In recent years, severe cuts in federal highway trust funding and other traditional infrastructure finance programs have choked this process. Regional transportation agencies and state DOTs have put forward new strategies that move away from modernization projects to emphasize facility management and operations in congested corridors. While this new strategic direction is a logical outgrowth of funding cutbacks, and it also calls for a significant re-design of the traditional planning process.
In Oregon, we are just beginning to merge together present day management techniques and solutions with long-range planning process at the community planning level. The 2008 Regional Transportation Plan in the Portland-Metropolitan area has introduced major policies for using Transportation System Management and Operations (TSMO) for regional facilities. The challenge ahead of us is to integrate cutting-edge Intelligent Transportation Systems solutions such as Active Traffic Management and Integrated Corridor Management with more traditional facility planning objectives of complete streets, freight mobility, and neighborhood livability.
The City of Beaverton (pop. 85,000) was the first in the region to blend together TSMO applications into the planning framework of their citywide transportation plan. While regional facilities represent a small portion of the total road miles within the city, they traverse the downtown core, regional centers, and active community areas which define the city. Within these corridors, the citywide plan sought to balance of traffic management techniques, while meeting objectives for local connectivity, accessibility and sustainable system design.
The focus of this paper is the technical approach, community involvement successes, policy and implementation outcomes and key lessons learned from this new integrated planning effort. The Beaverton transportation plan process was closely monitored by Metro and other cities in the region to be used as model for their subsequent transportation planning efforts.

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New Traffic Control Devices on Vancouver's Bike Routes
Primary Author: David Rawsthorne, City of Vancouver (david.rawsthorne@vancouver.ca)
Co-Authors: None
Presentation: New Traffic Control Devices on Vancouver's Bike Routes.pdf

Recently, the Transportation Association of Canada has approved a number of new traffic control devices for use on bicycle facilities. Three of these devices can now be found in the City of Vancouver, incorporated into the design of new cycling routes or as improvements to existing ones. These devices, as described in a TAC endorsed report, are: 1) Shared use lane markings, or 'sharrows', "are symbols placed on the pavement surface in the intended area of bicycle travel. The symbols raise awareness to both cyclists and motorists of the correct cyclist positioning in the lane." 2) Multi-Use Crossing Markings, or 'elephant's feet', are "used to demarcate where the multiuse trail crosses the roadway at an intersection and where cyclists and pedestrians are to cross. There are two different applications to consider. The first is a multiuse crossing where pedestrians and cyclists will mix and the other is only where a cyclist will cross." 3) Bike Boxes, are used to "provide an area at the front of the traffic queue at a signalized intersection for cyclists to wait and, when the signal changes to green, proceed ahead of motor vehicle traffic. They allow for easier intersection crossing on high volume cycling routes where cyclists must cross a heavy stream of motor vehicle traffic." This presentation will describe a number of Vancouver applications of these devices, and discuss the considerations that went into the choices to use them.

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