Baltimore-Washington Parkway Widening Feasibility Study

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Baltimore-Washington Parkway Widening Feasibility StudyTraffic and Transportation ImpactsTraffic management strategies such as high occupancy toll or congestion pricing, bus-only lanesor bus rapid transit lanes, managed lanes, or other alternative travel means.Consideration of improvements to parallel highway and transit facilities serving north-southtravel demand between the Washington, DC, and Baltimore metropolitan areas.Changes to future land use or employment beyond what is assumed in the long-range plan.5.2.2TravelDemandModelingThe B-W Parkway corridor overlaps the boundaries of the regional forecasting areas developed by twodifferent entities: the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (MWCOG) TransportationPlanning Board and the Baltimore Metropolitan Council’s Baltimore Regional Transportation Board.Both the MWCOG/Transportation Planning Board (TPB)-developed regional model and theBMC/Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB)-developed regional model estimates travel onmajor facilities within and between the Maryland counties of Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howardand Anne Arundel. But each model does not estimate travel patterns along a number of importantsecondary facilities within these counties. For example, the regional model developed by the MWCOG/TPB does not estimate travel on secondary facilities in Howard and Anne Arundel Counties, and theregional model developed by BMC/BRTB does not estimate travel on secondary facilities in Montgomeryand Prince Georges’ Counties. Although various studies have been initiated to combine the models ofthese two entities, a final combined model for project-level use has yet to be developed.For the Baltimore-Washington Parkway Widening Feasibility Study, it was decided that the MWCOG/TPBtravel demand forecasting model would be the base, with selective enhancements to more accuratelyreflect the structure of the BMC/BRTP model. The merger of these two travel demand forecastingmodels would allow for more detailed travel estimates to be prepared over the entire length of the B-WParkway, and facilitate a better understanding of the travel demands generated by the plannedimprovements, including the Base Realignment and Closure activities at Fort Meade, on the overalloperations of the corridor. The MWCOG staff agreed to develop and calibrate their regional traveldemand forecasting model for the purposes of this study to provide base year and future year trafficvolume estimates.For this study, the MWCOG staff used the MWCOG Version 2.2 regional travel demand model based onthe 2010 Constrained Long Range Plan and Round 8.0 Cooperative Land use Forecasts. These forecastsreflect the latest planning assumptions adopted by the MWCOG/TPB Board for Air Quality ConformityDetermination in November 2010.5.2.3ConstrainedLongRangePlanProjectsThe following is a list of the transportation improvements projects listed in the current regional longrangetransportation plans that were assumed as completed projects in the modeling analysis.44 November 2012
Baltimore-Washington Parkway Widening Feasibility StudyTraffic and Transportation ImpactsTransportation Improvement Projects in Current Long Range Transportation PlansDraft Long-Range Transportation PlanBaltimore Region (September 14, 2011)Long-Range Transportation PlanNational Capital Region MD 295, I-195 to MD 100 I-695 (Baltimore Beltway), Inner Loop bridge overBenson Avenue and Leeds Boulevard/SouthwestBoulevard I-95, Interchange at MD 175 MD 100, Howard County Line to I-97 MD 175, MD 295 to MD 170 MD 198, MD 295 to MD 32 MD 3, St. Stephens Church Rd. to MD 32 MD 713 (Ridge Road), MD 175 to MD 176 MD 32, MD 26 to Howard County Line Baltimore Washington Parkway,intersection at MD 193 MD 197, U.S. Route 50 to MD 450 MD 3, U.S. Route 50 to MD 450 MD 450, MD 704 to MD 424 U.S. 1, I-95 to MD 410 U.S. Route 50, westbound ramp toColumbia Park Road5.3AlternativesAnalysisThe traffic and transportation analysis considered an existing base year of 2005 and a future forecastyear of 2040. Both the No-Build and Build conditions were evaluated. The following future scenariosare discussed below:Existing Conditions Scenario.2040 No-Build Scenario.2040 Partial-Build Scenario.2040 Full-Build Scenario.5.3.1ExistingConditionsScenarioThe existing conditions scenario represents the currentlane configuration of the B-W Parkway. The existing B-W Parkway mainline is typically two general-use travellanes in each direction. The existing three-lane mainlinesections in each direction are along the followingsections of the parkway: from U.S. Route 50 to MDRoute 450, from the Capital Beltway to MD Route 193,and from MD Route 175 to MD Route 100.Lane Configuration2 lanes each direction3 lanes each directionIntersecting routeFigure 5.1. Existing Conditions ScenarioLane Configuration45 November 2012
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Baltimore-Washington Parkway Widening Feasibility Study

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