I-95 Corridor: New York to New Haven, CT

Proposed Value Pricing Study

one of two special grants awarded to CT DOT from:

FHWAs Value Pricing Pilot Program

$1,400,000 $800,000 I-95 corridor study I-84 Hartford viaduct study

Tom Maziarz, CT DOT, 860-594-2001, Thomas.Maziarz@ct.gov Gary Sojka, CT DOT, 860-594-2025, Gary.Sojka@ct.gov

What is value pricing, congestion pricing, or road pricing?

GOAL: balance travel demand with roadway supply (capacity) during peak periods charging motorists a special fee (toll) if they use the highway during a peak demand period. price the highway (toll it) so that motorists shift to:
o other routes o other modes o other times of day

toll revenues: typically used to make improvements in same corridor (increase supply)

I-95 Corridor: New York to New Haven, CT

Proposed Value Pricing Study
Study objectives:
1. evaluate congestion pricing as a tool for managing congestion.

2. evaluate its effectiveness in combination with other transportation improvements.

3. evaluate its ability to pay for improvements in the corridor.

Study Area
Study Corridor:

NY New Haven
I-95 Merritt Parkway New Haven Line Related Corridor: need to consider any diversion effects to other corridors such as NY - Hartford

Why is DOT doing this study?

Stems partly from Transportation Strategy Boards 2010 report
Albany
I-90 Boston

I-95 corridor is critical to CTs economy

CTs access to the global marketplace is principally through the I-95 corridor.
Gallis, CT: Strategic Economic Framework, 1999

I-95 is CTs most congested corridor

congestion restricts economic growth need to recommit to finding solutions
o

New York

I-95

identified electronic tolling as means to pay for improvements

Study will examine pricing as a means to manage congestion & finance improvements

I-95 (Bridgeport-Stamford) = 16 million hrs of delay per yr

I-95 & I-91 (New Haven) = 5.7 million hrs of delay per yr
Annual Hours Delay Due to Congestion
35

Annual Hours of Delay Due to Congestion

30

Total

31.9 M

Millions of Person-Hours

25

20

Bridgeport Stamford
Hartford

15

16.0 M 10.1 M 5.7 M

10

New Haven
0

Note: System Perf ormance statistics f or 2000 through 2007 data ref lect the ef f ects of operational treatments. annual report on congestion in metro Note: Zeroes in the table ref lect values less than 0.5.

Urban Mobility Report (UMR) :

areas

8:30 am southbound traffic jam

Extent of congestion (30 mph or less)

large impact area maximum length of jam occurs around 8:30 am average length at 8:30 is 20.3 miles

Data from highway operations center: 3 weeks in May 2010

Length of morning traffic jam on I-95 southbound

"Average" for each 15-minute period
25 Average based on Monday - Thursday for first 3 weeks in May 2010

20

Miles

15

10

Note: Delay is def ined as travel speeds 30 MPH or less.

Duration of congestion: well beyond traditional peak period

affects most of morning: 6:15 10:30+ am severely limits mobility & affects business costs & operations

What the study will include & not include

Study Tasks (preliminary)
1 Project Management 2 Review Best Practices & Screening of Pricing Options 3 Market Research & Community Outreach 4 Traffic & Travel Profile (data collection) 5 Traffic Model Refinement 6 Preliminary Alternatives Assessment - screen wide range 7 Analysis of Preferred Alternative - select 2 for full analysis 8 Toll Operations Analysis 9 Financial Analysis 10 Final Report

Market Research & Community Outreach

Market Research
identify likely changes in travel behavior in response to pricing

willingness of the public to accept various forms & levels of pricing

Methods:
origin-destination survey: get clear understanding of travel patterns & proportions of local trips versus through trips focus groups: assess public opinion & acceptability of various tolling & pricing concepts. surveys: measure motorists willingness to pay tolls & propensity to change behavior in response to tolls

Market Research & Community Outreach

Community & Stakeholder Outreach: stakeholders:
local & regional officials business community trucking and freight industry

community/neighborhood groups
others as appropriate

objectives:
identify public concerns, questions, & issues allow for stakeholder & public input to process disseminate information about value pricing & potential benefits

Alternatives Analyses
Both pricing & highway improvement alternatives
Pricing will be evaluated separately & in combination with highway improvements

Toll collection options: all-electronic

No toll gates or booths

All-electronic toll collection
tag users: tolls collected at highway speeds cash users: no cash collection, toll collected via video

Electronic Tolling at highway speeds using overhead gantries

Transportation Management & Engineering, 2010-07

Alternatives Analyses Pricing options: how to price & what to price 1. price all lanes
Best revenue potential
Harder to implement: need tag readers & cameras Only 3 pilots allowed nationwide last pilot just approved

2. price only express lanes or managed lanes

Toll only 1-2 lanes, others remain general purpose lanes Reduced revenue potential Easier to implement: can operate with tag readers only Used successfully in many cities Good public acceptance after implementation Key question: add new lanes or take away existing lane?

95 Express
managed lanes on I-95 in Miami-Dade region of Florida

Transportation Management & Engineering, 2010-07

95 Express
managed lanes on I-95 in Miami-Dade region of Florida

Transportation Management & Engineering, 2010-07

Summary
study driven by need to do something about congestion
study will:

evaluate ability of pricing to provide congestion relief assess effectiveness in concert with other improvements
o key find right balance of pricing & improvements

include extensive community outreach & market research

study will NOT:

consider toll booths or similar collection methods

** focus will be on all electronic methods **