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Instructors:
Les Jacobson, P.E.
Darren Henderson, AICP
David Ungemah
Course Length: 1.5 Hours
The success of managed lanes as a congestion-relief option is primarily determined by the two bookends in project development: 1) planning and policy development, and, 2) day-to-day operations. This webinar identifies best practices as revealed by deployed managed lanes. It also provides instruction on how to incorporate these best practices throughout the project development process and throughout operations of managed lanes.
Purpose and Background
Contemporary managed lanes began with the development and implementation of High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, which were first deployed in an era when the interstate building program was in full swing. Four decades later, this strategy has evolved to incorporate an array of innovative techniques to get more effective use out of our freeway infrastructure (and many other strategies targeting improved capacity management of freeways and expressways) making managed lanes a more sustainable way of moving people and vehicles. What began as a way of moving bus passengers more efficiently has mushroomed into a way of managing limited roadway capacity through various combinations of access, eligibility, pricing, and traffic management technologies. Including HOV lanes, $20 billion has been invested in more than 3000 miles of managed lanes to date. More than $40 billion will likely be invested in the next decade, as these lanes are increasingly seen as a means of providing long-term sustainability and reliability.
Despite the large level of investment in managed lanes infrastructure, national guidance on the development, deployment, and operation of these facilities are relatively scattered among a few key documents. Furthermore, much of the state of the practice in managed lanes development owes more to the experimental experiences of implementing agencies than to prescriptive guidance. To this end, as more of these facilities are being implemented, agencies are cobbling together planning, policy, design, and operations guidance found in disconnected sources. For example:
- AASHTO Guide for High-Occupancy Vehicle Facilities still serves as the primary reference for managed lanes design, but it was published in 2004 when only four priced managed lanes were operational.
- FHWA Priced Managed Lanes Guide (2012) identifies conceptual planning for managed lanes
- FHWA Synthesis of Variable Pricing Systems (2013) outlines the options for designing a variable pricing program for managed lanes
- The 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices established the first articulation of common managed lanes signage and striping requirements
- No guidance is currently available on the design and selection of toll infrastructure, systems, and collection practices – a key function in priced managed lanes
This webinar assembles these various guidance sources and synthesizes them for transportation planners and engineers so that participants have a better understanding as to what guidance is provided from the conceptual stage all the way through project operations. Most importantly, the webinar links the guidance to planning /policy development and day-to-day operations. This webinar identifies best practices as revealed by guidance and agency experiences. It also provides instruction on how to incorporate these best practices throughout the project development process.
Primary Discussion Topics
- Managed Lanes Rationale: responding to scarcity, incorporating economic concepts, and orienting development to fundamental traffic engineering concepts
- Managed Lanes Past and Present: 40 years of experience where and how have managed lanes been deployed, what are the commonalities and deviations from a design, policy, and operations perspective
- Key Components of Managed Lanes: detailed discussion of policy (including pricing and eligibility), design, and operations; articulation of resources to inform project development
- Managed Lanes Future: looking towards national and international trends to identify areas practitioners must consider when deploying new managed lanes
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Determine the fundamental reasons to consider managed lanes, and, local context by which they would likely be successful if deployed
- Become familiar with the various implementations from a design and operations perspective, including variations available for local consideration
- Demonstrate understanding of available managed lanes guidance, law, and related resources
- Be able to assess the potential for implementing a managed lanes facility
- Identify future opportunities to cultivate a managed lanes solution
Webinar Benefits
- Learn about current state of the practice
- Connect with practitioners who have gone through the process of deploying managed lanes solutions
- Get caught up on the latest guidance for managed lanes development
- Become more informed on ways to identify and develop successful managed lanes
Assessment of Learning Outcomes
Students' achievement of the learning outcomes will be assessed via a short post-assessment (true-false, multiple choice and fill in the blank questions).
Intended Audience
- Transportation planners and engineers
- Transportation finance practitioners
- Elected officials and agency executives
- Industry consultants/contractors
Webinar Outline
- Overview of the context for managed lanes, including scarcity, traffic management, and objectives for managed lanes
- Review where and how have managed lanes been deployed, and, what general rules of thumb apply for new facilities
- Focus on Planning and Development, including corridor screening, general design principles, and common challenges / issues that must be resolved prior to implementation
- Focus on Pricing and Policy, including options for implementing toll and pricing systems to manage traffic and generate revenue
- Focus on Engineering and Operations, including integration with ITS, affiliated and supporting systems, and, development of Concepts of Operations to guide long-term deployment
- Review of resources and guidance
How to Earn your CEUs/PDHs and Receive Your Certificate of Completion
To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short on-line post-test and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 1 year of purchasing the course.
How do I convert CEUs to PDHs?
1.0 CEU = 10 PDHs [Example: 0.1 CEU = 1 PDH]