Abstract
This study evaluates the state of traffic impact assessment (TIA) practice at the local level in North Carolina and the Washington D.C. metro area. Using semistructured interviews and surveys of staff involved in the development review process in sixty-three jurisdictions, we conclude that the conventional, automobile-oriented approach to TIA remains the dominant model in the study area, although our research reveals efforts to modify practice. Content analysis of interviews in thirty-six jurisdictions indicates lack of information and technical capacity are substantial barriers to change, highlighting areas in which planning education and research could better support practice.
Highlights
State and local governments across the United States have come to rely on traffic impact assessment (TIA) to predict increases in automobile traffic generated by new developments and to inform negotiations with private developers to mitigate adverse impacts from that new traffic
Our findings are organized as follows: first, we provide an overview of the state of the practice, based on interview and survey data on current approaches to TIA in NC, MD, and VA
The 100% response rate by these jurisdictions once they were offered the brief survey as an alternative to the longer interview may be due to lack of staff capacity, which could help explain the greater reliance on established practices
Summary
State and local governments across the United States have come to rely on traffic impact assessment (TIA) to predict increases in automobile traffic generated by new developments and to inform negotiations with private developers to mitigate adverse impacts from that new traffic. The conventional approach to TIA, which relies on vehicular trip generation models calibrated with data collated by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), has been adopted widely as part of the development approval process across many U.S states and cities. The conventional, auto-oriented approach to TIA (which we abbreviate “C-TIA”) is considered standard policy for development in many U.S states. Underlying C-TIA is a philosophy of predicting and accommodating increased automobile demand in order to mitigate traffic congestion, reduce congestion-related emissions, and minimize vehicular delay. Many argue the data from which ITE’s trip generation estimates are derived are outdated, coming largely from auto-oriented suburban developments that likely don’t reflect contemporary urban travel patterns in areas with substantial demand for non-car travel modes
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