1. I-394 MnPASS Technical Evaluation Preliminary Findings March 23, 2006 Doug Sallman – Cambridge Systematics, Inc.

2. Overview Evaluation Objectives Evaluation Challenges Evaluation Approach Preliminary Findings Next Steps

3. Objectives Conduct an independent assessment of the performance impacts resulting from the I-394 MnPASS deployment including: –Travel times/speeds –Vehicle and person throughput –Safety –Noise and emissions Investigate other issues including transit operations, enforcement and revenue

4. Approach Collect data representing a broad period before and after to control for: –Traffic growth trends –Cyclical variations (day-of-week, time-of-year) –Weather conditions –Incident occurrence –Other external factors Compare performance from like periods with and without MnPASS to isolate any changes

5. Challenges MnPASS system itself is dynamic Hours of operation change Construction of auxiliary lane in the westbound direction Closure of I-494 to I-394 ramps Record high fuel prices Changes to transit routes and fares

6. Preliminary Findings Interim performance evaluation focuses on the period from June to December 2005 –Does not include data from the initial period of 24/7 operation

7. Preliminary Findings Volumes/Throughput

8. Volume/Throughput Regional automobile travel demand has decreased compared to previous years, unrelated to MnPASS –Nearly 2% decrease in peak hour volumes on I-35W

9. Volume/Throughput I-394 MnPASS lanes peak hour volumes increased 9 to 33% Total I-394 peak hour roadway volumes increased by up to 5% Volume changes on the fringes of MnPASS operational hours were less positive or lower

10. Preliminary Findings Speeds

11. Vehicle Speeds Despite increase in volume, speeds in the MnPASS lane have not decreased Travel speeds in the general purpose lanes increased by 2 to 15 percent –The relative speed change is most significant when conditions are most congested

12. Preliminary Findings Safety

13. Time lag in collecting crash data does not yet allow for statistical analysis of safety impacts Anecdotal information and informal review of MnDOT’s incident log suggests no negative impact

14. Preliminary Findings Enforcement

15. Over 3,300 stops were made by enforcement officers on the I-394 corridor 50% of stops involved HOV or double white line crossing violations

16. Preliminary Findings Enforcement Violation rates have dropped at nearly all I-394 locations Violation rates on I-394 are much lower than on I-35W

17. Preliminary Findings Noise and Emissions MnDOT conducted monitoring and analysis has revealed no noise or emissions impacts

18. Preliminary Findings Use and Revenue Use and revenue have increased steadily Number of transponders has increased from 5,650 to over 9,000 –Continues to increase at 3% growth Average owner uses the MnPASS lane twice a week

19. Preliminary Findings Use and Revenue Over 500,000 tolls were paid in 2005 resulting in $350,000 in toll revenue

20. Next Steps Additional field data collection planned for Spring to better assess carpool impacts Interviews with transit operators Continue to collect and analyze automated data through July Assessment of safety issues Final Evaluation Report due in August

21. Questions?