I-66 Multimodal Study Final Report - Virginia Department of ...

Recommendationsmended that additional pedestrian connections be implemented between the Gallery Place andMetro Center stations and the Farragut West and Farragut North stations to reduce crowding atkey transfer points. WMATA also has been testing a virtual tunnel between the Farragut Northand Farragut West stations through the SmarTrip® system as an initial lower-cost step. To theextent that these improvements are necessary to address the Metrorail core capacity concerns inthe I-66 corridor, they also should be considered as part of the core recommendations of thisstudy.RecommendationThe first tier of improvements for the I-66 corridor inside the Capital Beltway consists of theimprovements in the corridor as included in the 2011 CLRP (Table 3.4), including spotimprovements along westbound I-66, increasing the HOV occupancy level from 2+ to 3+, andcompleting the Metrorail extension to Loudoun County.The second tier of improvements for the I-66 corridor include the new transit services and TDMprograms recommended by the 2009 DRPT I-66 Transit/TDM Study together with componentsof the WMATA enhancement plan deemed necessary to address Metrorail core capacity concernsin the I-66 corridor. The I-66 Multimodal Study did not evaluate the effectiveness of theseimprovements independently nor did it examine a timing and phasing strategy for them. It isassumed that the region will prepare more rigorous implementations plans for these improvementsas the travel conditions in the corridor warrant.4.2 Package RecommendationsApproachAs discussed in Section 3.0, four multimodal packages were assembled and analyzed, and twosensitivity tests were performed. Each multimodal package was found to have meritoriousaspects, but for the most part, each package provided modest improvement in congested conditionsand mobility in the corridor. Table 4.1 provides a summary of selected measures ofeffectiveness that address the goals of reducing congestion and improving mobility in thecorridor. It must be noted that each package evaluated includes improvements to bicycle andpedestrian facilities, TDM programs, and implementation of various technological programsunder the Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) strategy. The impact of these programs onmobility and congestion are discussed in Section 3.0, but are not quantified and reflected in thevalues in Table 4.1. Section 4.3 provides a prioritization within each program, which can behelpful in determining the order in which they are implemented.Each package has unique design and implementation issues, policy considerations, and varyingdegrees of public support, which are presented in the package summary recommendationsframework provided in Table 4.2. For example, adding tolls to an existing roadway withoutI-66 Multimodal Study 4-3