Responding To Complexity: The Development And Uses Of Household Activity Survey Data In A Medium-Sized MPO

In recent years, many small MPOs have been facing an increasingly complex set of policy questions in the development of regional transportation plans. Whether through state-level planning and development requirements or local interest in growth management or “smart growth”, transportation planners in smaller urban areas are being asked to provide the technical basis for an intricate set of public policy and investment decisions. These decisions require consideration of the tradeoffs among multiple modes, their interrelationship with existing and future land use patterns, and an understanding of the likely behavioral impacts of alternative sets of policy tools. In this context, the typical travel behavior data available to small MPOs is not adequate. Traffic counts show end results of travel decisions and are of limited usefulness for analysis and planning. Census data, while excellent for analyzing work travel patterns, is limited. Transferable parameters such as those available in NCHRP 365 are useful for single-mode models, but do not necessarily reflect unique local characteristics, e.g., effects of major employer such as state offices or university; external distribution patterns. Moreover, without local data, you cannot discern how “typical” your area is. Recognizing this, the MPOs and State DOT of Oregon have teamed together to develop a model improvement program. At its core has been the conduct in 1994 of a Household Activity Survey in all 4 MPOs – Portland, Eugene- Springfield, Salem, and Medford. This joint approach has proven to be a very cost-effective means for the smaller MPOs to obtain this data. The data has proven to be valuable in both for model improvements and specific applications. This paper relates the Eugene-Springfield area’s experience in conducting a Household Activity Survey and describes the uses to which the data have been put since its collection in 1994. The paper begins by describing the current policy context in which transportation modeling takes place and the data and analysis needs created by the policy framework. It then provides an overview of the general approach taken in Oregon for model improvement. The specific applications of Household Survey data are then described in more detail, highlighting the longer-term value of this data to the Eugene- Springfield area.

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• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Reiff, Bud
  • Schwetz, Tom
• Conference:
  • Seventh National Conference on Transportation Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities
  • Location: Little Rock Arkansas, United States
  • Date: 2000-9-28 to 2000-9-30
• Publication Date: 2000

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Pagination: 12p
• Monograph Title: Seventh National Conference on Transportation Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities, September 28-30, 2000, Little Rock, Arkansas

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Activity choices; Households; Medium sized cities; Metropolitan planning organizations; Regional transportation; State departments of transportation; Surveys; Transportation planning; Utilization
• Geographic Terms: Eugene (Oregon); Springfield (Oregon)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Research; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01045229
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Mar 30 2007 7:02AM