Level of Service Analysis for Complete Streets

This paper presents the results of recent agency testing of a proposed national method for the multimodal assessment of the quality of service provided by an urban street. The multimodal level of service method (MMLOS) considers the level of service from the point of the view of 4 different types of travelers typically using the urban street: the auto driver, the transit passenger, the bicycle rider, and the pedestrian. The MMLOS method is currently under consideration for inclusion in the Year 2010 update of the Highway Capacity Manual. Video laboratories and transit on-board surveys were used to develop data sets of the quality of service perceived by the general public for each of the modes of travel on the urban street. The laboratories were conducted in several different metropolitan areas of the United States. Four level-of-service (LOS) models were developed, one for each mode. All four LOS models share a common measure, “user satisfaction”. The models assign a letter-grade level-of-service (A-F) based on the street cross-section, the intersection controls, and traffic characteristics (the auto, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian volumes on the street). The models can be used in combination to compare the tradeoffs of different street cross-sections from the unique perspectives of each mode. The models are particularly useful for testing the impacts of converting auto through lanes to bicycle lanes, wider sidewalks and wider planter strips. The proposed MMLOS method was tested on 35 urban streets in 10 metropolitan areas around the United States: Tallahassee, Orlando, Tampa, Philadelphia, San Diego, Arlington County, Atlanta, San Antonio, Portland Oregon, and Boise Idaho. Local agency staff were trained on the method and gathered the necessary data. The data collection requirements and LOS results produced by the MMLOS method were then evaluated by local agency staff as to their suitability for application within each agency.