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311219, Transportation access management is defined as systematic control of the design, spacing, operation, and locations of street connections, interchanges, driveways, and median openings on the roadway with the purpose of providing vehicle access while preserving the efficiency and safety of the entire transportation system. Access management is a proven method for maintaining and improving roadway capacity; traffic flow; and the safety of traffic, pedestrians, and bicyclists on rural and urban highways and streets. No locally calibrated tool existed that captures the complexity of the current and future public benefits of proposed access management for estimating the financial and other benefits and comparing them with the associated financial costs. Therefore, this study had three primary objectives: (1) Develop and Validate Benefits Estimation Methodology, (2) Compile and Derive Supporting Data for Benefits Estimation Methodology, and (3) Develop a Software Tool for Benefits Estimation. The result is a simple, straightforward benefits estimation methodology focused on benefits related to traffic operations, traffic safety, environmental impacts, and project costs. The methodology is facilitated by the two spreadsheet software tools that implement the benefits estimation and the calculation of traffic safety benefits, with Synchro/SimTraffic utilized for estimation of traffic operations and environmental impacts. Recommendations center around use of these software tools, expanding use of Synchro/SimTraffic, and developing a treatment database that could be used to develop future South Dakota-specific Crash Modification Factors (CMFs).

Researchers have determined needs and available resources through a literature review and interview process. They developed a benefits estimation methodology focused on benefits related to traffic operations, traffic safety, environmental impacts, and project costs, and subsequently developed spreadsheet software tools that implement the benefits estimation and calculation of traffic safety benefits, using Synchro/SimTraffic for estimating traffic operations and environmental impacts.

Transportation access management is defined as systematic control of the design, spacing, operation, and locations of street connections, interchanges, driveways, and median openings on the roadway with the purpose of providing vehicle access while preserving the efficiency and safety of the entire transportation system. Access management is a proven method for maintaining and improving roadway capacity; traffic flow; and the safety of traffic, pedestrians, and bicyclists on rural and urban highways and streets. No locally calibrated tool existed that captures the complexity of the current and future public benefits of proposed access management for estimating the financial and other benefits and comparing them with the associated financial costs. Therefore, this study had three primary objectives: (1) develop and validate benefits estimation methodology, (2) compile and derive supporting data for benefits estimation methodology, and (3) develop a software tool for benefits estimation. The result is a simple, straightforward benefits estimation methodology focused on benefits related to traffic operations, traffic safety, environmental impacts, and project costs. The methodology is facilitated by the two spreadsheet software tools that implement the benefits estimation and the calculation of traffic safety benefits, with Synchro/SimTraffic utilized for estimation of traffic operations and environmental impacts.

Traffic safety engineers are among the early adopters of Bayesian statistical tools for, analyzing crash data. As in many other areas of application, empirical Bayes methods were, their first choice, perhaps because they represent an intuitively appealing, yet relatively, easy to implement alternative to purely classical approaches. With the enormous progress, in numerical methods made in recent years and with the availability of free, easy to use, software that permits implementing a fully Bayesian approach, however, there is now ample, justification to progress towards fully Bayesian analyses of crash data.

This report summarizes progress made in Phase I of the geographic information system (GIS) based Accident Location and Analysis System (GIS-ALAS). The GIS-ALAS project builds on PC-ALAS, a locationally-referenced highway crash database query system developed by the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT). Users can query the database by location and various crash, driver, vehicle, and injury characteristics, and then send the output to a computer screen, to a file, or to a printer. Despite its many benefits, PC-ALAS can be rather difficult to use. In addition, it does not readily support the spatial analysis of accident patterns or promote the integration of additional data. The first version of GIS-ALAS has been developed to address these concerns. This report documents Phase I of the GIS-ALAS effort. It includes a literature review on accident analysis, a description of the state of the art and practice, information on the development and distribution of GIS-ALAS (including software selection, the characteristics of Explorer ALAS and ArcView ALAS, distribution procedures, and database development), and an update on technology transfer activities. References, appendices. 301k, 23p.