•1
Level
Of
Service
Jeffrey L. Rosenblum, PE
•2
Level
Of
Suffering
Jeffrey L. Rosenblum, PE
Level of Service
• Bottleneck theory of cars: how to
maximize throughput
– Long signal cycle lengths
– More through lanes
– Left turn pockets
– High-speed turning radius, right turn pockets
– Pedestrian push-buttons to increase car time
4
6
Measures of a successful street?
7
Metrics
• LOS: vehicle throughput
• Safety
• Livability
• Economic growth
8
What can you do? • Tools
– Coordinate signals (slow but steady)
– Restrict turns (needs network analysis)
• Planning
– Put the numbers in context: what is “peak”?
– Do not unnecessarily plan for traffic growth
– Combat car LOS with multimodal LOS; I
recommend going with simple measures.
– Use other measures (queue, network impact)
• Policy
– Stand behind “complete streets” policies
9
10
11
What can you do?
• Policy
–Decide not to care. LOS is the wrong approach altogether
12
13
Lessons not learned?
BOSTON
It could have been a highway
•18
Cambridge, Mass.
Proposed “inner belt”
CENTRAL
SQUARE
21
MY DAUGHTER’S
SCHOOL
It wasn’t built
MY DAUGHTER’S
SCHOOL
23
City of Cambridge
How workers commute to Cambridge
Policies “pays off”
Growth Without Gridlock
4 million sf 2000-2010
(38% growth)
Residential parking permits declining
Mass. Ave., Central Square
Before After
Mass. Ave. road diet, 1996
Western Avenue
Traffic
Western Avenue, Cambridge
Western Avenue, Cambridge
Counts
Western Avenue 48
Western Avenue
49
Bridges
Boston University Bridge
Boston University Bridge
55
BU Bridge
56
59
60
• AM PM
• Do nothing C C
• Bicycle lanes F D
Technical traffic analysis
Boston Globe, Feb 10, 2009
“BU bridge plans could
spur road rage; Some fear
closing lane will choke
traffic”
Boston Globe, Feb 10, 2009
"There's going to be road rage," predicted
Stanley Spiegel, who lives across the
bridge in Brookline. "If you're going to
spend public money to go for an
improvement, you don't predictably
make things worse. That's nuts."
#1
Good news for commuters: BU Bridge nearly done
67
Anderson Bridge
69
70
71
72
Max pedestrian wait time
36 sec
86 sec
94 sec 59 sec
86 sec
94 sec
AM PEAK
Pedestrian crossing time
68 sec
18 sec
10 sec 45 sec
18 sec
10 sec
AM PEAK
Average pedestrian wait time
5 sec
34 sec
41 sec 15 sec
34 sec
41 sec
Highway Capacity Manual Ped LOS
A
D
E B
E
D
AM PEAK
Mass. Ave., Boston
Although the remaining six approaches along the project do not meet the quantitative criteria, XXX does feel that qualitative safety criteria are satisfied at all approaches and that increased conflict between vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists would result with the elimination of left turn lanes along this project.
•“…because defendants’ current bid specifications, engineering plans, and related materials violate Chapter 89 of the Massachusetts Acts of 1996 as codified in Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 90E §2A (Massachusetts bicycle and pedestrian access accommodation law, hereafter “§2A”). Such injunction should remain in effect unless and until defendants’ re-design, re-engineer, or otherwise alter their proposed construction documents so as to incorporate “ALL (emphasis added) reasonable provisions for the accommodation of bicycle and pedestrian uses in… [the MassAve reconstruction project]”, as required by (and quoting from) §2A.”
McGrath Highway Removal
Highway Removal 86
Community vision 87
Conclusion
89
Hans Monderman (1945 – 2008)
90
“You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.”
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