May 8, 2013

1. Atlanta Athens Connectivity & Mobility TRB Planning Applications Conference May 8, 2013 Kaycee Mertz, Georgia Department of Transportation David Pickworth, Atkins Patti Schropp, Atkins Jim Evans, Metro Planning and Engineering, Inc.

2. Project Purpose • Georgia Department of Transportation undertook this study in 2011 to evaluate the Atlanta to Athens Corridor • Optimize travel efficiency and safety • Improve transportation connectivity to major employment and activity centers • Improve mobility across and within the study area • Linkage between transportation planning, land use, and economic development efforts

3. Atlanta to Athens Study Area I-85 I-75 I-75

4. Study Area Boundary Jackson Barrow Clarke Gwinnett University of Georgia Walton Oconee Downtown Atlanta DeKalb Rockdale

5. Study Area Information • 2 MPOs, 9 partial counties, 4 transit providers, 5 CIDs • East-west length of the corridor is over 54 miles long and the north-south distance is over 22 miles wide • Home to over 1.3 million people in 2010 • Forecast to increase to 1.7million by 2040 • Over 371,000 jobs in 2010 • Forecast to increase to 633,000 by 2040 • Home to several regional malls , activity centers and University of Georgia (current enrollment – over 32,000) • 31.1 million Daily VMT in 2010 • Forecast to increase to 48.5 million by 2040

6. Project Goals

7. Key Study Activities Steering Committee • Stakeholder Involvement • Compilation of Local Land Use Plans • Develop Travel Demand Model • Existing Conditions Evaluation • Future Needs Evaluation • Identification and Evaluation of Alternatives for Study Area • Case Study Analysis Project Team The Public Stakeholder Committee We are here

8. Technical Process • Perform three levels of analyses to identify potential needs and solutions • Evaluate study area conditions (macroscopic) • Evaluate corridor-level conditions and travel patterns (mesoscopic) • Perform detailed analysis of eight selected case study areas (microscopic)

9. Strategy Development and Evaluation Process

10. Three-Tier Approach A2A Travel Demand Model Macroscopic Model Develop broad range of improvement strategies to meet study goals Evaluate LOS, travel time, delay, speed for study area Mesoscopic Model Major Travel Corridors Evaluate LOS, travel time, delay, speed by corridor Assess impact of potential improvement strategies applied to various situations Microscopic Model Case Study Areas

11. 1st Step - Build the Travel Demand Model • Integration of ARC , Athens, & Statewide models • Multimodal • Non-motorized travel • Highway • Auto (SOV, SR2 & SR3+) • Truck (Medium, Heavy & Commercial) • Transit • Bus • Heavy Rail (HT) • Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) • Light Rail (LT) • Commuter Rail • Used for the Analysis of Study Area and Major Travel Corridors

12. Building the Model Final Atlanta to Athens Network (3800+ Zones) ARC Plan 2040 Network (1700+ Zones) ARC Updated Network Clipped Study Area (780+ Zones) Jackson County Network From GA Statewide Model (27 Zones) Athens-Clarke County Network From MACORTS Model (332 Zones) Downtown Athens Study Area Clipped Downtown Atlanta

13. Three-Tier Approach A2A Travel Demand Model Macroscopic Model Develop broad range of improvement strategies to meet study goals Evaluate LOS, travel time, delay, speed for study area Mesoscopic Model Major Travel Corridors Evaluate LOS, travel time, delay, speed by corridor Assess impact of potential improvement strategies applied to various situations

14. Purpose of Major Travel Corridors • Focus on routes used for regional travel • More detailed analysis at corridor-level • Use stakeholder input to test and evaluate Improvement Strategies in these corridors

15. Major Travel Corridors

16. Evaluation of Major Travel Corridors • Utilize dynamic traffic assignment • Develop list of potential improvement concepts or templates that can be selectively applied to various situations throughout study area • Assess potential success associated with each of identified improvement concepts • Most efficient and cost-effective

17. Three-Tier Approach A2A Travel Demand Model Macroscopic Model Develop broad range of improvement strategies to meet study goals Evaluate LOS, travel time, delay, speed for study area Mesoscopic Model Major Travel Corridors Evaluate LOS, travel time, delay, speed by corridor Assess impact of potential improvement strategies applied to various situations Microscopic Model Case Study Areas

18. Purpose of Case Study Areas • The case study areas will be used to analyze and provide detailed insights associated with potential alternative improvement strategies incorporating combinations of transportation and land use strategies.

19. Selecting Case Study Locations • Meet criteria that indicate relevance to study goals • Select locations with a variety of transportation and development issues • Industrial development • Regional activity center • Commercial development

20. Case Study Areas

21. Improvement Options with Land Use Strategies

22. Sample Case Study Simulation

23. Sample Intersection Improvement Strategy Continuous Flow Intersection Before After

24. Study Still Underway • Evaluation of Case Study Areas still underway • Development of Tool Box which relates transportation improvements with land use strategies

25. For More Information GDOT Project Manager/Contact Person Kaycee Mertz GDOT Office of Planning kmertz@dot.ga.gov Phone: 404-347-0245 Website http://www.dot.ga.gov • Click On – Information Center • Click On – Programs & Studies • Click On – ActiveStudies • Click On – Atlanta to Athens http://www.dot.ga.gov/AtlantatoAthens