Traffic Congestion In The Boston Region – Beyond The Daily Commute

2019·7.6 MB·English

by  Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization

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Traffic Congestion in the Boston Region
Beyond the Daily Commute
Project Manager
Ryan Hicks
Project Principal
Mark Abbott
Data Analysts
Ryan Hicks
Paul Reim
Julian Chen
Ben Erban
Graphics
Jane Gillis
Kenneth Dumas
Cover Design
Jane Gillis
Kim DeLauri
The preparation of this document was supported
by the Federal Highway Administration and Federal
Transit Administration of the US Department of
Transportation through MPO Planning Contracts
#101725 and #105757, and MPO Transit §5303
Contracts #102694 and #106374.
Central Transportation Planning Staff
Directed by the Boston Region Metropolitan
Planning Organization. The MPO is composed of
state and regional agencies and authorities, and
local governments.
March 2019
IPSWICH
TOPS- ROCKPOR
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To request additional copies of this document or
copies in an accessible format, contact:
Central Transportation Planning Staff
State Transportation Building
Ten Park Plaza, Suite 2150
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
[phone]
[phone] (fax)
[phone] (TTY)
[email protected]
www.bostonmpo.org
Traffic Congestion in the Boston Region: Beyond the Daily Commute March 2019
Abstract
Traffic conditions in the Boston region are monitored through the Boston Region
Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Congestion Management Process (CMP).
The purpose of the CMP is to identify locations where congestion occurs and the
factors that contribute to it, and to develop strategies to alleviate the congestion.
While most of the CMP’s traffic monitoring focuses on congestion caused by the
recurring travel of the daily commutes residents in the region take to and from
work in the morning and afternoon and evening peak travel periods, this study
examined incidents when congested roadway conditions developed during times
other than the traditional commuting hours or because of traveling associated
with special events or holidays.

Seven case studies are included in this report detailing roadway congestion
levels, times when congestion occurred, and specific roadway locations where
congestion was the worst. The report discusses strategies that could be
implemented in the future to address congestion when similar events occur.
When events affected roadways on which MBTA buses operate, bus on-time
performance was evaluated.

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Traffic Congestion in the Boston Region: Beyond the Daily Commute March 2019

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Traffic Congestion in the Boston Region: Beyond the Daily Commute March 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

Executive Summary ............................................................................. 11
Chapter 1—Congestion in the Boston Region ............................................ 13
Chapter 2—Selection and Analysis of Available Data Sources ....................... 15
2.1 Data Selection .........................................................................15
2.2 Dataset Recommendations ..........................................................16
Chapter 3—Performance Measures .......................................................... 17
3.1 Highway Performance Measures ...................................................17
3.1.1 Congested Time.............................................................17
3.1.2 Average Travel Speed .....................................................17
3.1.3 Corridor/Segment Delay ...................................................18
3.1.4 Bottleneck Factor ...........................................................18
3.1.5 Travel Time Index ...........................................................18
3.1.6 Planning Time Failure Index ..............................................18
3.1.7 Minutes of Planning Time Failure ........................................19
3.2 Safety Performance Measure .......................................................19
3.2.1 Number of Crashes during the Day of Event ...........................19
3.3 Transit Performance Measure .......................................................19
3.3.1 On-Time Performance .....................................................19
3.4 Freight Performance Measure ......................................................20
3.4.1 Level of Travel Time Reliability...............................................20
Chapter 4—Methodology ....................................................................... 21
4.1 Selection of Events for Study ........................................................21
4.2 Selection of Bottlenecks ..............................................................21
4.3 Content of the Case Studies .........................................................21
Chapter 5—Case Study: New England Patriots Regular Season Games ........... 25
5.1 Description of Event and Location ..................................................25
5.2 Performance Measure Summary ...................................................26
5.2.1 Roadways ....................................................................26
5.2.2 Safety .........................................................................34
5.2.3 Findings ......................................................................35
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Traffic Congestion in the Boston Region: Beyond the Daily Commute March 2019
5.2.4 Strategies and Recommendations .......................................35
Chapter 6—Case Study: Red Sox Weekday Games ..................................... 37
6.1 Description of Event and Location ..................................................37
6.2 Performance Measure Summary ...................................................38
6.2.1 Roadways ....................................................................38
6.2.2 Safety .........................................................................45
6.2.3 Findings ......................................................................48
6.2.4 Strategies and Recommendations .......................................48
Chapter 7—Case Study: Saturdays .......................................................... 49
7.1 Description of Event and Location ..................................................49
7.2 Performance Measure Summary ...................................................49
7.2.1 Roadways ....................................................................49
7.2.2 Safety .........................................................................56
7.2.3 Bus Service ..................................................................59
7.2.4 Findings ......................................................................60
7.2.5 Strategies and Recommendations .......................................60
Chapter 8—Case Study: Super Bowl Parade .............................................. 63
8.1 Description of Event and Location ..................................................63
8.2 Performance Measure Summary ...................................................64
8.2.1 Roadways ....................................................................64
8.2.2 Safety .........................................................................70
8.2.3 Findings ......................................................................70
8.2.4 Strategies and Recommendations .......................................71
Chapter 9—Case Study: Wednesday before Thanksgiving ............................ 73
9.1 Description of Event and Location ..................................................73
9.2 Performance Measure Summary ...................................................73
9.2.1 Roadways ....................................................................73
9.2.2 Safety .........................................................................89
9.2.3 Findings ......................................................................90
9.2.4 Strategies and Recommendations .......................................91
Chapter 10—Case Study: Fridays ............................................................ 93
10.1 Description of Event and Location ..................................................93
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Traffic Congestion in the Boston Region: Beyond the Daily Commute March 2019
10.2 Performance Measure Summary ...................................................93
10.2.1 Roadways ....................................................................93
10.2.2 Safety ....................................................................... 102
10.3 Findings ............................................................................... 103
10.4 Strategies and Recommendations ............................................... 103
Chapter 11—Case Study: Black Friday ....................................................105
11.1 Description of Event and Location ................................................ 105
11.2 Performance Measure Summary ................................................. 105
11.2.1 Roadways .................................................................. 105
11.2.2 Freight Traffic on Black Friday .......................................... 118
11.3 Findings ............................................................................... 120
11.4 Strategies and recommendations................................................. 120
Chapter 12—Results and Summary of Case Studies ...................................121
12.1 Congestion during Events.......................................................... 121
12.2 Recommended Strategies ......................................................... 123
12.3 Findings ............................................................................... 125
Chapter 13—Recommendations and Next Steps ........................................127
13.1 Next Steps ............................................................................ 127
13.2 Conclusion ............................................................................ 127

FIGURES AND TABLES PAGE
Figure 1 Travel Time on I-95 Northbound from I-495, Foxborough, to Route 109,
Dedham: Patriots Game Days ........................................................................ 27
Figure 2 Travel Time on I-95 Southbound from Route 109, Dedham, to I-495,
Foxborough: Patriots Game Days .................................................................. 28
Figure 3 Travel Time on Route 1 Northbound from I-495, Plainville, to I-95, Dedham:
Patriots Game Days ....................................................................................... 29
Figure 4 Travel Time on Route 1 Southbound from I-95, Dedham, to I-495, Plainville:
Patriots Game Days ....................................................................................... 30
Table 1 Traffic Conditions on I-95: Weekday Peak Period versus Game Day .............. 31
Table 2 Traffic Conditions on Route 1: Weekday Peak Period versus Game Day ........ 32
Figure 5 Travel Speeds after Patriots Games Compared to Weekday Speeds ............. 33
Table 3 Traffic Conditions on Route 1 Northbound: Worst Hour (4:45 PM to 5:45 PM) 34
Figure 6 Crashes on Route 1 and I-95: New England Patriots Game Days, 2011-15 ... 35
Table 4 Traffic Conditions on Expressways: Weekdays versus Days of Red Sox Night
Games, PM Peak Period ................................................................................ 38
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Traffic Congestion in the Boston Region: Beyond the Daily Commute March 2019
Figure 7 Travel Speeds on I-90 Eastbound: Days of Red Sox Night Games ................ 40
Figure 8 Travel Speeds on I-90 Westbound: Days of Red Sox Night Games ............... 40
Figure 9 Travel Speeds on Route 9 Eastbound: Days of Red Sox Night Games .......... 42
42
Figure 10 Travel Speeds on Route 9 Westbound: Days of Red Sox Night Games ....... 42
Figure 11 Locations Where Travel Speeds Decrease: Days of Red Sox Night Games,
3:00 PM to 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM to 12:00 AM ............................................ 44
Table 5 Top 5 Locations where Speeds Decrease on Days of Red Sox Night Games . 45
Table 6 Crashes on Days of Red Sox Night Games versus Non-Game Days, 2011-15 45
Table 7 Locations with the Most Crashes on Days of Red Sox Night Games ............... 47
Figure 12 Difference between Weekday Afternoon and Saturday Afternoon Travel
Speeds ........................................................................................................... 51
Figure 13 Difference between Weekday Evening and Saturday Evening Travel Speeds
....................................................................................................................... 52
Table 8 Traffic Conditions on Expressways and Arterials: Weekdays versus Saturdays
....................................................................................................................... 53
Table 9 Expressway Locations with Significant Speed Decreases: Weekday Peak
Periods versus Saturdays, 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM ........................................... 53
Table 10 Expressway Locations with Significant Speed Decreases: Weekday Peak
Periods versus Saturdays, 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM ............................................. 54
Table 11 Arterial Locations with Significant Speed Decreases: Weekday Peak Periods
versus Saturdays, 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM ........................................................ 55
Table 12 Arterial Locations with Significant Speed Decreases: Weekday Peak Periods
versus Saturdays, 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM .......................................................... 56
Table 13 Crashes on Weekdays and Saturdays: March – November 2015 .................. 57
Table 14 Expressway Locations with the Most Crashes on Weekends in 2015 ............ 58
Table 15 Arterial Locations with the Most Crashes on Weekends in 2015 .................... 59
Table 16 MBTA Bus Routes with Significant Declines in On-Time Performance:
Saturdays, 2017 ............................................................................................. 60
Figure 14 Patriots Super Bowl Parade Route ................................................................ 64
Figure 15 Difference between Weekday Morning and Super Bowl Parade Morning
Travel Speeds ................................................................................................ 66
Table 17 Traffic Conditions on Expressways and Arterials: Weekdays versus Super
Bowl Parade Day............................................................................................ 67
Table 18 Expressway Locations with Significant Speed Decreases: Super Bowl Parade
Day ................................................................................................................. 68
Table 19 Arterial Locations with Significant Speed Decreases: Super Bowl Parade Day
....................................................................................................................... 69
Table 20 Crashes and Fatalities: Super Bowl Parade Day versus Weekdays, 2015..... 70
Figure 16 Difference between Weekday and Thanksgiving Eve Travel Speeds ........... 75
Table 21 Traffic Conditions on I-93: Typical Weekday Compared to November 25, 2015,
12:00 PM to 10:00 PM .................................................................................... 76
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Traffic Congestion in the Boston Region: Beyond the Daily Commute March 2019
Table 22 Traffic Conditions on I-95: Typical Weekday Compared to November 25, 2015,
12:00 PM to 10:00 PM .................................................................................... 76
Figure 17 Travel Times on I-93 Northbound from I-90 Interchange, Boston, to New
Hampshire Border .......................................................................................... 78
Figure 18 Travel Times on I-93 Southbound from Zakim Bridge, Boston, to I-95
Interchange, Dedham ..................................................................................... 80
Figure 19 Travel Times on I-95 Northbound from I-90 Interchange, Weston, to New
Hampshire Border .......................................................................................... 82
Figure 20 Travel Times on I-95 Southbound from I-93 Interchange, Dedham, to Rhode
Island Border .................................................................................................. 84
Table 23 Traffic Conditions at Most Congested Locations on I-93: Typical Weekday
Compared to Most Congested Time on Wednesday before Thanksgiving ..... 86
Table 24 Traffic Conditions at Most Congested Locations on I-95: Typical Weekday
Compared to Most Congested Time on Wednesday before Thanksgiving ..... 87
Figure 21 Five-Year Crash Trend, Day before Thanksgiving, 2011-15 ......................... 90
Table 25 Recommended Times to Leave Boston on the Day before Thanksgiving ...... 91
Figure 22 Difference between Weekday and Friday Afternoon and Evening Travel
Speeds ........................................................................................................... 95
Table 26 Traffic Conditions on Expressways: Weekdays versus Fridays, PM Peak
Period ............................................................................................................. 96
Table 27 Friday Traffic Conditions on Expressways: I-90, Fridays, PM Peak ............... 96
Table 28 Friday Traffic Conditions on Expressways: I-93, Fridays, PM Peak ............... 97
Table 29 Friday Traffic Conditions on Expressways: I-95, Fridays, PM Peak ............... 97
Table 30 Friday Traffic Conditions on Expressways: Route 3 South, Fridays, PM Peak
....................................................................................................................... 98
Figure 23 Travel Speeds on I-90 Westbound: Typical Weekday versus Friday ............ 99
Figure 24 Travel Speeds on I-93 Northbound: Typical Weekday versus Friday ............ 99
Figure 25 Travel Speeds on I-93 Southbound: Typical Weekday versus Friday ......... 100
Figure 26 Travel Speeds on I-95 Northbound: Typical Weekday versus Friday .......... 100
Figure 27 Travel Speeds on I-95 Southbound: Typical Weekday versus Friday ......... 101
Figure 28 Travel Speeds on Route 3 Southbound: Typical Weekday versus Friday ... 101
Table 31 Expressway Locations with Speed Decreases on Friday, PM Peak Period . 102
Table 32 Crashes and Crash Rates: Typical Weekday versus Fridays, 2015, Entire Day
..................................................................................................................... 103
Table 33 Recommended Leave Times on Fridays by Corridor ................................... 104
Table 34 Traffic Conditions on Arterials near the Natick Mall: Typical Weekday versus
Black Friday, 2015........................................................................................ 106
Figure 29 Travel Speeds on Arterials near the Natick Mall: Typical Weekday versus
Black Friday, 2015........................................................................................ 107
Figure 30 Travel Speeds on Route 9 Eastbound near the Natick Mall: Typical Weekday
versus Black Friday, 2015 ............................................................................ 109
Figure 31 Travel Speeds on Route 30 Eastbound near the Natick Mall: Typical
Weekday versus Black Friday, 2015 ............................................................ 111
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