Analyzing the Effects of Transit-Only Corridors on Traffic and Emissions in the Affected Neighbourhoods: A Before-After Intervention Analysis

The ability to predict changes in the Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADTs) and on-road emissions is critical for proactive traffic planning applications. It is a fundamental factor used during policy making and to assess the impact of various transportation planning decisions. This paper proposes an approach to evaluate the impact of a pilot project involving restrictive driving movements and transit prioritization on a busy urban corridor, King street, in Toronto, Canada. Using data from over thirty traffic cameras, a Traffic-Emission Prediction scheme (TEPs) was developed and used to estimate AADTs and the associated transport emissions for all road segments in the downtown road network surrounding King Street. The authors observed that the pilot project was successful in reducing traffic volumes on King Street but caused a ripple effect on other streets. The total AADT values increased by a range of 5-20% on all road segments parallel to King Street following the intervention. The authors also observed that local access to King Street on a block-by-block basis caused an increased traffic volume on all North-South streets passing through King Street. The pilot project also caused a 4.6% increase in emissions in the network under analysis.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADC20 Standing Committee on Transportation and Air Quality.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Reddy, Bhargav Ram Channa
  • Ganji, Arman
  • Abiola, Samuel
  • Hatzopoulou, Marianne
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2019-1-13 to 2019-1-17
• Date: 2019

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 15p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Annual average daily traffic; Bus priority; Environmental impacts; Neighborhoods; Pollutants
• Geographic Terms: Toronto (Canada)
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01698065
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 19-04219
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 1 2019 3:51PM