state-of-the-art traffic modeling for cowboys stadium

Kristen Torrance and Bob BrooksParsons Brinckerhoff

May 11, 2011

State-of-the-Art Traffic Modeling for Cowboys

Stadium

TRB Planning Applications Conference 2011


•Cowboys Stadium- Arlington, TX•Texas Stadium•Northwestern University- Ryan Field•2010 World Equestrian Games•Patriot’s Place – Foxborough, MA•Super Bowl XL Detroit •Dolphin Stadium - Super Bowl MP•Alabama Motorsports Park, Mobile•Dubai AutoDrome Dubai, UAE•Cleveland Grand Prix•Charlotte Bobcats - Bobcat’s Arena •Birmingham Convention Center•Florida Marlins - New Ballpark •St. Louis Cardinals – Bush Stadium•Pittsburgh Steelers – Heinz Field•Pittsburgh Pirates – PNC Park•Pittsburgh Penguins – New Arena•Cincinnati Bengals - Brown Stadium•Cincinnati Reds – Great America Ballpark•Gillette Stadium – NE Patriots•New Jersey Nets - New Arena•Cleveland Browns – Browns Stadium•Cleveland Cavaliers – Gund Arena•Cleveland Indians – Jacob’s Field•Seattle Mariners – Safeco Park•Seattle Seahawks – Quest Field

•Oakland A’s – New Ballpark•New Orleans Saints – New Stadium•Philadelphia Phillies – New Ballpark•Washington Nationals •Churchill Downs •Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame•Truman Center – Chiefs and Royals•Canada’s Wonderland Theme Park•Univ of West Virginia Mountaineer Stadium •Colorado State Univ – HughesStadium•Univ of Louisville – Papa John Stadium•Ohio State - Value City Arena•Univ of Minnesota –New Stadium•Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center•Cincinnati Riverfront Master Plan •East St. Louis Riverfront Stadium Plan•Brian Lara Cricket Stadium - Trinidad•South Louisville Mater Plan•Disneyland Theme Park, CA•Kentucky Kingdom Theme Park•Carowinds Theme Park•Great America Theme Park•Boston Celtics – New Arena •AA Toronto Blue Jays – Ballpark

• Overview of Location• Application of the Four Step Model• Implementation of the Model• Benefits• Lessons Learned

Outline


Project Location


• Over $1.3 Billion Dollar Stadium

• 3 Million Square Feet

• World’s Largest HD Video Screen

• World’s Longest Single Span Roof Structure

• Capacity of 85,000 (Expands to +105,000)

Cowboys Stadium


NEEDED A STATE-OF-THE-ART TRAFFIC PLAN

• Vehicular Access and Egress Route

• Utilization of Available Roadway Capacity

• Parking Supply• Parking

Management• Safe Pedestrian

Corridors

Challenges


• Trip Generation• Trip Distribution• Mode Choice • Traffic Assignment

Four Step Model


PREDICT EVENT TRAFFIC FLOW BY APPLYING

THE FOUR STEP MODEL

• Capacity of the Venue– 80,000-105,000

Patrons• Vehicle Occupancy

– 3.2 Persons/Vehicle

Trip Generation


UP TO 32,800

VEHICLES

• Determine Origin of Trips– 2008 Texas Stadium Season Ticket Sales– 50 Mile Radius of Venue

• Determine Destinationof Trips– Unknown Parking Locations– Recommended Pre-Sale of Parking

Trip Distribution


Zip Code Analysis


• Limited Public Transportation– Charter Bus Service– 120 Bus Parking Spaces

Mode Split


• Determine Access and Egress Routes by Lot– Develop Distribution by Lot– Assign Traffic Based on Shortest Path

Traffic Assignment


• Determine Total Traffic on Each Link– Sum Paths for Each Lot– Apply Peak Hour Factor– Add Background Traffic

• Compare Event Demand to Available Capacity

• Re-Assign Traffic from Over Capacity Routes

Traffic Assignment


• Reversible Lanes• Re-Assigned TWLTL• Neighborhood Parking Restrictions• Police Control

Alternatives to Re-Routing

• How do we communicate these preferred routes with patrons?

Implementation


www.DallasCowboysMaps.com

http://www.dallascowboysmaps.com/

DallasCowboysMaps.com


• Increase Driver Confidence in Routes

Supporting Signage


• Press Conferences• Newspaper Articles• Mailings to Season Ticket Holders• Video During Game

Public Outreach

• Quickly & Easily Predict Congestion Levels for all Size Events

• Output of Traffic Assignment Model Used as Input to VISSIM/Synchro– Predict Queues– Implement Event Signal Timing

• Implement a Gameday Transportation Management Plan– Reversible/Re-Assignable Lanes– Pedestrian Corridors

Benefits


• Ultimate Test is Smoothness of Gameday Traffic and Parking– 2009 NFL Season:

• All Lots Full 30 Min Before Event• All Lots Empty in 70 Min (80% in 50 min)• High Compliance with Online Mapping

• “The people that did the traffic planning should plan the offensive line for the season…”– Dallasnews.com

Results


• Pre-Sale of Parking Reduces Driver Uncertainty

• Flexibility of Traffic Assignment Model is Critical to Manage Event Congestion

• Impact of Traffic on Overall Gameday Experience

• Traffic Planning Pays Off!

Conclusions


Kristen Torrance, [email protected]

617-960-4958

Questions?


Bob Brooks, [email protected]

617-960-4860

state-of-the-art traffic modeling for cowboys stadium

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