Potential Improvements to Rt. 322 Through Rowan University

Cody Dietrich

Mark Politi

David Schornstaedt

Problem Statement

• Frequent Congestion on Rt. 322 through Rowan Campus

• Causes poor LOS at multiple intersections

• Team tasked with exploring improvement options

Approach

• Rt. 322 modeled using Synchro 9 simulation software

• Pedestrian and automobile traffic altered to approximate changes from alternatives

• Synchro results used to formulate benefit/cost analyses

Base Model

• Signal timings from field data

• Pedestrian crossings from field data

• Traffic volumes provided by Bless Varghese

Base Model - Calibration

Synchro Travel Times Field Travel Times

• 295 sec

• 310 sec

• 195 sec

• 290 sec

• 265 sec

• 355 sec

• 259.2 sec • 298.2 sec • 287.4 sec • 258.4 sec • 295.5 sec • 281.4 sec • 311.1 sec • 253.1 sec • 292.7 sec • 238.7 sec • 278.8 sec

Base Model - Calibration

• Synchro travel times – Mean: 277.7 sec – St. Dev.: 22.4 sec

• Field travel times – Mean: 285.0 sec – St. Dev.: 53.2 sec

• Calibration results – Null hypothesis: sample means are unrelated – Student’s t-test result: 0.759 – 0.759 > 0.050, null hypothesis rejected

Base Model Results

• Data averaged over 11 runs

• Total delay: 32.2 hr

• Rt. 322 and Joseph L. Bowe Blvd. – Delay: 2.3 hr; LOS D

• Memorial Circle exit – Delay: 1.0 hr; LOS A

• Memorial Circle entrance – Delay: 1.8 hr; LOS A

• Rowan Blvd traffic circle – Delay: 5.7 hr; ICU LOS H

• Rt. 322 and Main St. – Delay: 8.5 hr; LOS F

• Emissions – 282 g HC, 8506 g CO,

1004 g NOx

Google Earth

Google Earth

Merged Crosswalks Model

• Remove all volume from removed crosswalks

• Add removed volumes to nearest remaining crosswalk

• Traffic Volumes remain the same from base model

Merged Crosswalks Model Results

• Data averaged over 11 runs

• Total delay: 32.3 hr

• Rt. 322 and Joseph L. Bowe Blvd. – Delay: 2.7 hr; LOS D

• Memorial Circle exit – Delay: 0.9 hr; LOS A

• Memorial Circle entrance – Delay: 0.1 hr; LOS A

• Rowan Blvd traffic circle – Delay: 6.2 hr; ICU LOS H

• Rt. 322 and Main St. – Delay: 8.0 hr; LOS F

• Emissions – 289 g HC, 8656 g CO,

1026 g NOx

Performance vs. Base Model

• No improvement in total delay

– Slight improvement at memorial circle entrance

– Savings absorbed by other intersections

• No improvement in emissions

Pedestrian Underpass Alternative

• Minimum width is about 15 ft.

• Cost about $120 per square foot

• Must be accessible by all individuals

• Generally will not be used if a shorter route is available.

http://www.pondco.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Pedestrian-Underpass-4-1600x900.jpg

http://saferoad.com/globalassets/products-and-solutions/bridges/soil-steel/pedestrian-underpass.jpg?width=950&height=424&mode=crop

Pedestrian Overpass Alternative

• Minimum of 8 ft. wide if not bicycle traffic and 14 ft. if bicycle traffic

• Costs about $150-$250 per square foot.

• Generally require longer grade changes than underpasses

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Bp_bridge.JPG

https://georgefattell.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/hdpb-day.jpg

Pedestrian Underpass/Overpass Model

• Overpass and underpass were modeled identically

• Pedestrian volumes reduced to zero at memorial circle and student center crosswalks

• Traffic Volumes remain the same from base model

Underpass/Overpass Model Results

• Data averaged over 11 runs

• Total delay: 30.1 hr

• Rt. 322 and Joseph L. Bowe Blvd. – Delay: 2.6 hr; LOS D

• Memorial Circle exit – Delay: 0.8 hr; LOS A

• Memorial Circle entrance – Delay: 0.1 hr; LOS A

• Rowan Blvd traffic circle – Delay: 5.9 hr; ICU LOS H

• Rt. 322 and Main St. – Delay: 8.2 hr; LOS F

• Emissions – 285 g HC, 8373 g CO,

1002 g NOx

Performance vs. Base Model

• Slight improvement in total delay

– Slight improvement at memorial circle entrance

– Further examined in cost/benefit analysis

Parking problems persist at Rowan and will only get worse in the near future. Academic

Year Total

Student Enrollment

Commuter Student

Resident Student

Apartment Resident Student

Employee

2015-2016 15177 10865 2587 1725 3384

2019-2020 18801 13862 2963 1976 3612

2023-2024 23647 17111 3921 2614 3875

• 5,787 current spots available

• 2,450 more spots will be needed by 2024

• Most lots are currently at 98% to 100% occupancy during peak times.

Let us propose satellite parking in conjunction with shuttle service.

• Surface lots and garages make up 75% and 25% of the available parking, respectively.

• Construction of a surface lot is about 12 months, while a garage can take 18 months.

• Find a location east of Rowan Blvd. and west of Bowe Blvd:

– Ellis Street lot

– West campus next to soccer field

Ellis Street Lot • Close Proximity

• No wet land approval

• ≈1000 spots

West Campus Lot

• Close Proximity

• ≈1000 spots

Parking Layout

Ellis Street Lot West Campus Lot

Peripheral Parking Model Results

• Data averaged over 11 runs

• Total delay: 24.8 hr

• Rt. 322 and Joseph L. Bowe Blvd. – Delay: 34.4 sec; LOS C

• Memorial Circle exit – Delay: 39.8 sec; LOS A

• Memorial Circle entrance – Delay: 0.6 sec; LOS A

• Rowan Blvd traffic circle – Delay: .5 sec; ICU LOS H

• Rt. 322 and Main St. – Delay: 260.6 sec; LOS F

• Emissions – 272 g HC, 8351 g CO, 980

g NOx

Benefits/Costs

Category Performance

Measure Unit of

Measure Value per

Unit Measure

Delay Intersection Delay

Person Hours (car)

Person Hours (trucks)

$16.09

$106.24

Emissions

Carbon Monoxide Nitrous Oxide

Volatile Organic Compounds

Metric Ton Metric Ton

Metric Ton

$138 $7,490

$5,682

Benefit/Cost Analysis Alternative #1 Alternative #2 Alternative #3

PW of Total Costs $8,565 $4,140,472 $6,851,945

PW of Total Benefits 0 $6,787,346 $25,051,478

Overall B/C 0 1.64 3.66

Alternatives Compared B/C < 1.0 2 to DN 3 - 2

Incremental Costs ΔC - $4,140,472 $2,711,473

Incremental Benefits ΔB

- $6,787,346 $18,264,132

ΔB/C - 1.64 6.74

Increment Justified? - YES YES

Alternative Selected - 2 3

Conclusions

• Underpass/Overpass are cost-effective options

– B/C = 1.64

• Peripheral parking is a cost-effective option

– B/C = 3.66

• Recommend peripheral parking

– Approximately twice as effective as underpass/overpass

Further Work

• Gate off Route 322 during the hours between 7:00AM and 4:00PM.

• Recommend investigating alternate route that runs through Girard St. and onto New Street.

• Cannot simulate this route now due to lack of data.

References

Dickins, I. S. (1991). Park and ride facilities on light rail transit systems. Transportation, 18(1), 23-36.

Parkhurst, G. (2000). Influence of bus-based park and ride facilities on users’ car traffic. Transport Policy, 7(2), 159-172.

WSA, 1998. The Travel Effects of Park and Ride, W. S. Atkins Planning Consultants, Epsom for Department of Environment Transport and the Regions (authors: Harris, C., Cooper, B., Whitfield, S.)

Green, Jared (2000). 500 Million Reasons to Rethink the Parking Lot. Grist.

Gray, Chris and Choi, Bo Kyung (2015). Rowan University Strategic Parking Initiative Feasibility Study.

References

Boston Transportation Department (2010). The Benefits of Retiming/Rephasing Traffic Signals in the Bask Bay

Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/planning/facilities_crossings_over-underpasses.cfm