Brown, Lacy Sue Vosti (2015-12). A Method for Evaluating Access Management on Major Arterial Crossroads in the Vicinity of Interchanges. Doctoral Dissertation.
Thesis
Access management is a complex field of study that is centered on balancing the needs for access and mobility in order to create a safe and efficient transportation system. While extensive research has been conducted on the topic, the research has typically focused on isolated relationships between a single access management strategy and a single performance measure. Although this information is useful, the isolated relationships make it difficult to ascertain the cumulative effects of a corridor-wide access management project. Consequently, large scale access management decisions are often based on subjective assessments and the engineering judgment of the practitioner. There is a clear need for a consistent, objective, and quantifiable means of evaluating access management impacts and performance on a corridor level.
This dissertation presents a quantitative method for evaluating an access management project based on a variety of factors including operations, safety, impacts to adjacent land uses, and bicycle, pedestrian, and transit facilities. The author developed the Access Management Assessment Tool (AMAT) using a combination of field data, microsimulation analyses, safety investigations, a survey of access management professionals, and findings from previous research efforts.
The final product of this dissertation research is a practice-ready methodology that will allow practitioners to quantitatively and objectively determine a corridor's Access Management Rating (AMR) based upon site characteristics. While the AMAT retains enough flexibility that it can be tailored to a specific agency's needs, it eliminates the subjective component of the decision making process such that the access management rating for a given corridor is not influenced by the person making the assessment. Use of the AMAT will improve the consistency in which access management decisions are made within the transportation profession. It will also allow for a more efficient use of transportation funds as the corridors most needing access management improvements will be accurately identified.
