The following factors are discussed which influence the volume of traffic a highway service facility generates: (1) visibility from the highway - either of the site or on-site signing, (2) accessibility within one-quarter mile, (3) the facility type - whether auto service only or auto service plus restaurant, truck fuel, truck stop, (4) the location with respect to interchange and major city streets, (5) interchange class, (6) brand availability, and (7) miscellaneous factors. Investigation has shown that individual gas-only stations on average or below average rural sites in Wisconsin can be expected to generate about 100 vehicles per 16 hours of operation. Whereas the single stations on excellent sites can be expected to generate up to 200 to 250 vehicles on a 16-hr summer weekday. Truck stops can be expected to generate between 400 to 700 vehicles per 16-hour summer weekday for the average or better than average facility and up to 1,000 per day for something like the major shell truckstop at Janesville. The holiday inn at us 12-18 generated nearly 1100 two-way trips during the 16 hours of interviewing at the adjacent service station. These data were collected and studied to more precisely define the traffic generating capability of a facility as an aid in interchange area planning and design. Additional research is planned to develop a generation model for rural highway service facilities.
Abstract