Travel Demand Forecasts

The Mid Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MRMPO) collects data on current travel conditions, and forecasts to help plan roadways and other travel management and operations strategies needed to support access and mobility in the future. As part of this effort, MRMPO maintains and operates a regional travel demand model to anticipate the impacts of growth on the roadway system. This evaluation tool differs from actual count and recorded speed data in that it models future roadway travel conditions. Key inputs include a regional socioeconomic forecast, which is essentially the amount and distribution of anticipated growth in population, housing, and jobs. The modelling of this information on a future condition, or “scenario” creates a picture of trip origins, destinations, and the resulting patterns of the assumed growth. Specific trip types include the work commute, as well as shopping, medical, recreation, etc. The model uses existing and proposed roadway and transit networks, and when combined with data on travel behavior, predicts the amount and location of future congestion levels to reveal problem areas or gaps in the system. This information is used to identify a financially-constrained set of roadway infrastructure improvements that are needed to support the region’s growth.

Data Sets

Current Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) travel demand forecast data sets from the Regional Travel Demand Model (Cube) used to support member-agency projects included in the MTP through the project/agency lead and are available by request. Zone level (TAZ / DASZ) socio-economic datasets are in .dbf format

Minimum path analysis and Origin/Destination (O-D) statistics for MTP forecast years
Morning, afternoon, and off-peak traffic forecasts with: Directional link volumes
- Vehicle Hours of Delay (VHD)
- Vehicle Hours Traveled (VHT)
- Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
- Volume/Capacity (V / C) ratio s
Travel modeling for study or project scenarios that require modifications to MTP datasets and networks is available upon request depending on scope of work, staff time, and available resources

Note

The MRCOG/MRMPO does not produce intersection turning movement forecasts. These should be provided by qualified professional traffic engineers using the link volumes and other outputs from the MRCOG Regional MRMPO Travel Demand Model for the current MTP.