T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation• 2000 Highway Capacity Manual (HCM 2000), Transportation Research Board• Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), USDOT, 2009 Edition5.6.3.1 Vehicular Transportation MethodologyThe Statewide Travel Demand Model (Statewide Model) maintained by the Rhode Island Statewide PlanningProgram was used to forecast future 2015, 2020, and 2025 No-Action Alternative traffic growth on and aroundthe Airport based on predicted land uses changes, including households, employment, and airport-relatedactivity (deplanements and enplanements). Predicted land use changes around the Airport not associated withthe Improvement Program were also included in the model. An adjustment was made to future StatewideModel runs to account for the predicted increase in transit usage as a result of InterLink, the new intermodalstation that opened in late 2010.An annual growth rate for each Study Area intersection was determined using the Statewide Model. The 2015,2020, and 2025 No-Action Alternative weekday morning and evening peak hour turning movement volumenetworks were determined. Manual adjustments were applied to account for rental car shifts and the potentialretail development on Commerce Drive off Airport Road. These adjustments incorporate consideration ofcumulative impacts in the analysis.Model runs for Alternatives B2 and B4 were prepared by updating the No-Action Alternative model conditionto reflect the expected changes in airport employment, aircraft enplanements or deplanements, thereconfiguration of Airport facilities including cargo, GSE facilities, other ancillary uses, and the transportationroadway network changes. For both Alternatives B2 and B4, the 2015 model run includes the safetyenhancements. For Alternative B4, the 2015 model run also assumed the extension of Runway 5-23 with itsassociated aircraft enplanements or deplanements would be in place. The 2020 and 2025 model runs for bothAlternatives B2 and B4 assumed full build of both the safety and efficiency enhancements. The 2025 model runsfor both Alternatives B2 and B4 reflects the natural increase in operations and passengers five years after the fullImprovement Program would be in place. These 2025 model runs were prepared by updating the 2020 modelruns for projected changes in land use at and around the Airport.Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and vehicle hours traveled (VHT) were obtained from the 2015, 2020, and 2025Statewide Model results. VMT is a measure of the total number of miles of vehicular travel on an average day withinthe Study Area. VHT is a measure of the total number of hours of vehicular travel on an average day within theStudy Area.The resulting peak hour volumes were used as inputs into traffic operations analyses, which evaluated how well theinfrastructure would handle the demands placed on it during the morning and evening peak hours. This LOSevaluation was prepared for Study Area intersections, freeway segments, and ramps.When compared to the No-Action Alternative, the LOS assessment for Alternatives B2 and B4 revealed locationswhere traffic flow for specific movements or an overall intersection would degrade to unacceptable LOS E orLOS F levels. For the roadway changes associated with the Alternative B2 safety enhancements (to be completedby the end of 2015), the analysis focuses on construction-related changes associated with the relocated intersectionChapter 5 - Environmental Consequences 5-120 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH05_Environmental_Cons_JUL_2011.doc