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Traffic Congestion Glossary
Urban Area definitions
| Urban Area | Definition |
|---|---|
| Very large |
Over 3 million population:
Chicago IL-IN, Washington DC-VA-MD, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana CA,
Houston TX, San Francisco-Oakland CA, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX,
Boston MA-NH-RI, Atlanta GA, Seattle WA, New York-Newark NY-NJ-CT, Miami
FL, Philadelphia PA-NJ-DE-MD, San Diego CA, Phoenix AZ, Detroit MI,
|
| Large |
Over 1 million and less than 3 million population:
Baltimore MD, Denver-Aurora CO, Minneapolis-St. Paul MN, Orlando FL,
Austin TX, Portland OR-WA, San Jose CA, Nashville-Davidson TN, Tampa-St.
Petersburg FL, Pittsburgh PA, San Juan PR, Virginia Beach VA, Las Vegas
NV, St. Louis MO-IL, New Orleans LA, Riverside-San Bernardino CA, San
Antonio TX, Charlotte NC-SC, Jacksonville FL, Indianapolis IN,
Raleigh-Durham NC, Milwaukee WI, Memphis TN-MS-AR, Sacramento CA,
Louisville KY-IN, Kansas City MO-KS, Cincinnati OH-KY-IN, Cleveland OH,
Providence RI-MA, Buffalo NY, Columbus OH
|
| Medium |
Over 500,000 and less than 1 million population:
Baton Rouge LA, Bridgeport-Stamford CT-NY, Colorado Springs CO, Honolulu
HI, New Haven CT, Birmingham AL, Salt Lake City UT, Charleston-North
Charleston SC, Albuquerque NM, Oklahoma City OK, Hartford CT, Tucson AZ,
Allentown-Bethlehem PA-NJ, El Paso TX-NM, Omaha NE-IA, Wichita KS,
Richmond VA, Grand Rapids MI, Oxnard-Ventura CA, Springfield MA-CT,
Albany-Schenectady NY, Lancaster-Palmdale CA, Tulsa OK, Sarasota-Bradenton
FL, Akron OH, Dayton OH, Fresno CA, Indio-Cathedral City-Palm Springs CA,
Toledo OH-MI, Rochester NY, Bakersfield CA, Poughkeepsie-Newburgh NY,
McAllen TX
|
| Small |
Less than 500,000 population:
Columbia SC, Salem OR, Little Rock AR, Cape Coral FL, Beaumont TX,
Knoxville TN, Boise ID, Worcester MA, Jackson MS, Pensacola FL-AL, Spokane
WA, Winston-Salem NC, Boulder CO, Greensboro NC, Anchorage AK, Brownsville
TX, Provo UT, Laredo TX, Madison WI, Corpus Christi TX, Stockton CA,
Eugene OR,
|
Category definitions:
| Category | Definition | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | ||
| Population (000) | Combination of U.S. Census Bureau estimates and the Federal Highway Administration's Highway Performance Monitoring System. | |
| Population rank | Out of 75 metro areas | |
| Population group | Size of meto area. Sml (small), Med (medium), Lr (large), Vlg (very large) | |
| Peak road travelers | Travelers who made a trip during the peak periods | |
| Urban area size in square miles | Size of area | |
| Freeway | ||
| Freeway daily vehicle-miles of travel (000) | The average daily traffic of a section of roadway multiplied by the length of that section of roadway | |
| Freeway lane miles | Total measure of all lanes | |
| Principal arterial streets daily vehicle-miles of travel (000) | The average daily traffic of a section of roadway multiplied by the length of that section of roadway | |
| Principal arterial streets lane-miles | Total measure of all lanes | |
| Cost Components, Delay, and Wasted Fuel | ||
| Value of time ($/hour) | The value in each year of person time used in the report; this is based on the value of time, rather than the average or prevailing wage rate. | |
| Commercial Vehicle Operating Cost | Truck travel time is estimated annually per hour for the purposes of estimating congestion cost. | |
| Fuel Costs | Statewide average fuel cost estimates were obtained from daily fuel price data published by the American Automobile Association (AAA). | |
| Total annual delay (1000 person-hours) | The value of lost time in passenger vehicles and the increased operating costs of commercial vehicles in congestion | |
| Travel time index | Ammount of additional time that is required to make a trip because of congested conditons on the roadways. Includes recurring and incident conditions. | |
| % of Daily Travel During Congested Times | 6:00 - 9:30 am and 3:30 - 7:00 pm | |
| Operational Treatments | Freeway incident management, freeway ramp metering, arterial street signal coordination, arterial street access management and high-occupancy vehicle lanes. | |
| Public Transportation | Regular route service from all public transportation providers in an urban area. | |
| Annual Roadway Deficit (lane-miles) to maintain congestion level | The number of lane-miles that an urban area is short of to offset traffic growth. | |
| Excess Fuel Consumed | Increased fuel consumption due to travel in congested conditions rather than free-flow conditions. | |
| Congestion Cost | Costs of the value of travel time delay are estimated annually; excess fuel consumption is estimated using state average cost per gallon. Values include the effects of operational treatments. | |
| Transit or Carpool Riders needed to maintain congestion level | The number of transit trips needed to maintain the same congestion level | |