The Congestion Management System (CMS) created for the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada is intended to compare congestion on links and corridors throughout the Las Vegas valley regardless of functional class, area type, and mode. The CMS consists of two parts: an analytical process for identifying congested links and corridors on the network and a structured process to screen mitigation strategies for the congested areas. The congestion identification process, or Congestion Analysis System (CAS), calculates congestion for four different components: intensity - a measure of the concentration of congestion, duration - the number of hours that congestion occurs during a typical day, extent - the number of persons or vehicles affected by congestion, and reliability - a measure of the affects of non-recurring congestion on the roadway. The RTC's CMS, rather than relying exclusively on volumes and/or volume-to-capacity ratios from the regional travel demand model, uses valley-specific information and planning level calculations from the Highway Capacity Manual. The strategy screening process consists of three levels: plausibility, feasibility, and effectiveness. The last two tiers are automated using an Excel spreadsheet and have been made economical in their need for data collection. Each strategy has level 1 (feasibility) and level 2 (effectiveness) thresholds. If data from a corridor does not pass level 1, additional information does not need to be collected for level 2. This paper describes the development and use of the RTC's Congestion Management System including the Congestion Analysis System and the screening process for identifying appropriate mitigation measures.
Samenvatting