This report contains a literature review of relevant evaluation approaches followed by application to three case studies. It was found that benefit costs analysis (BCA) provides for a comprehensive framework to include benefits, cost and impacts that can be monetised. It was also found that multi criteria analysis (MCA) is best regarded as an adjunct to BCA. It is a means of coping with a partial BCA—one that fails to provide a dollar value for significant impacts. It is recommended that the evaluation framework for traffic incident management (TIM) projects include both BCA as well as a modified MCA approach to take into account all the other impacts, including qualitative and non-monetisable impacts. Incorporation of the two evaluation methods enables the full extent of the benefits and costs of TIM projects to be presented. The three case studies outlined, their spreadsheet models and the summary assessment tables combining BCA and MCA provide a starting point for practitioners seeking to apply a consistent and comprehensive evaluation framework for TIM. The models easily lend themselves to customisation for the evaluation of new alternatives to TIM. (Author/publisher)
Abstract