Preliminary Scope

 Traffic analysis, whether for operational, design, or planning purposes, plays a crucial role in informed decision-making regarding transportation investments. While historically focused on motorized modes and roadway facilities, recent decades have seen advancements in incorporating non-motorized modes (also known as Vulnerable Road Users) such as pedestrians and cyclists into traffic analysis practices. Despite the development of methodologies like the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) for non-motorized modes, there is limited information on how state DOTs are integrating these modes into their traffic analysis processes.

The objective of this synthesis is to document the current state of the traffic analysis practice (not limited to the deterministic methods such as HCM) for non-motorized modes (or multimodal analysis).

Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to):

•  Administrative procedures or protocols affecting the consideration of non-motorized modes in traffic analysis projects;
• Integration of non-motorized modes in current traffic analysis practices;
• Recent projects where analysis results for non-motorized modes were obtained;
• Primary reasons for not considering non-motorized modes;
• Methods and guidelines for traffic analysis involving non-motorized modes;
• Tools, data sources, and methods used to incorporate and analyze non-motorized modes in traffic analysis; and
• Outputs obtained from traffic analysis related to non-motorized modes and desired outputs that were abandoned due to limitations.

Information will be gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified.

Information Sources (Partial)

• HCM (Latest Edition), Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.
• Multimodal Quality/Level of Service Handbook, Florida DOT
• Dowling, R., et al. (2008). NCHRP Report 616: Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/14175.

TRB Staff
Arefeh Nasri
Phone: 202-334-2763
Email: anasri@nas.edu

Meeting Dates
First Panel Meeting: September 26, 2024, in-person meeting in Washington, DC
Teleconference with Consultant: TBD
Second Panel Meeting: TBD