An Evaluation of Congestion-reducing Measures Used in Virginia

About the report:

Congestion on our nation's highways, especially in urban areas, is a serious problem that is growing steadily worse. In Virginia, it is estimated that 28 percent of the daily vehicle miles of travel (VMT) occurring during peak hour traffic is congested (volume/service flow ratio> 0.75). Further, it is estimated that the cost of urban area congestion in Virginia will amount to more than $4 billion in the year 2000. Transportation professionals in Virginia need to be cognizant of and familiar with congestion-reducing measures so as to implement them at every opportunity. Accordingly, this research was conducted to (1) develop a categorical list of congestion- reducing measures, and (2) document the implementation of and experiences with these measures in Virginia. The latter included a subjective evaluation of each measure's effectiveness, cost, and barriers to implementation. The scope was limited to a literature review and a survey of transportation officials in Virginia. Based on the literature, 53 congestion-reducing measures were categorized by whether they manage the existing supply of transportation facilities, add to that supply, manage the existing transportation demand, or control demand growth. Experiences with these measures were documented from the survey of transportation professionals in Virginia. Conclusions were reached regarding the effectiveness, cost, and ease of implementation of individual measures as well as categories of measures.

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