Central business district traffic circulation study: Kansas City, Missouri

Institute of Transportation Engineers. ITE Journal, Feb 2001 by Meredith, Jere, Prem, Clyde

The traffic model showed that the percent decrease in the annual VMT for the three refined circulation plans when compared to the future base condition was 5.6 percent, 3.5 percent and 1.5 percent for the Potentially Feasible, Garment/Financial District and Garment District Plans, respectively. The VHT increased by 3.2 percent and 0.3 percent for the Potentially Feasible and Garment/Financial District Plans but decreased for the Garment District Plan by about 2 percent.

SUMMARY Of BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS

A benefit-cost analysis was conducted by comparing the above plans with the Future Base conditions. The Future Base condition along with other scenarios assume anticipated changes in land use in the next five-year period and committed changes to the street network. The benefit-cost analysis assumed a cost of $10 per hour of travel time and $0.305 per mile for vehicle operating costs. Information on accident costs was obtained from the Missouri Department of Transportation, and an average cost of $7,420 was used in the analysis. The project costs were annualized over a 10-year period using a discount rate of 4 percent. A summary of the benefits and costs are shown in Table 3. The loss in the number of on-street parking spaces totaled 237, 193 and 130 spaces during the peak periods for the Potentially Feasible, Garment/Finance and Garment/District Plans, respectively. During the off-peak period, the loss in the parking spaces totaled 222, 167 and 73.

The benefit-cost information highlights the characteristics associated with the three refined plans as compared with the Future Base. This analysis showed that due to the anticipated increase in accidents and delays resulting from the conversion of one-way to two-way streets, positive benefits were realized only for the Garment District Plan. For this project, the total benefits also exceeded the cost of the project thus resulting in a benefit-cost ratio greater than one. Other intangible benefits and costs for which a dollar value could not be easily assigned were also discussed in the report but not shown in Table 1. These factors included increased difficulty in finding a parking space, enforcement problems, impact on loading zones, operational difficulties encountered by the transit system, direct travel to primary destinations and desire for one-way travel along major generators.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The circulation changes in the Garment and Financial Districts were incorporated into the recommended plan shown in Figure 3. The rationales for the recommendation are as follows.

A major goal of this study has been to increase the user friendliness of the CBD, particularly for visitors. This alternative helps to address this issue while minimizing negative impacts on travel delays;

Transit and freight loading, while impacted, can be accommodated in the alternative; and

This alternative provides greater accessibility to the Garment District and supports current and potential future retail activity along Main Street and Walnut Street.