History of the Triangle Regional Model
Prior to the development of the Triangle Regional Model, the Triangle metropolitan region had two separate travel demand models, one for each of the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO). Both were developed in the 1980’s and encompassed a relatively small study area. Given the regional nature of travel in the Triangle and the central location of one of the region’s largest employment centers, Research Triangle Park, a decision was made to develop a single model that included both MPO boundaries. The benefits of a regional model are numerous. It can capture the regional travel patterns for trips made in the Triangle. And it provides a single source of transportation data for the region, reducing forecast discrepancies and enabling data files to be better maintained. The regional model can be used to:
- Calculate Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and average speeds for Federally required air quality analyses
- Identify deficiencies in the transportation system and test alternatives for the MPO’s Long Range Transportation Plans
- Forecast traffic volumes on proposed roadways
- Test various transportation policy level strategies
- Forecast ridership for a regional rail system
History of the Triangle Regional Model Service Bureau
Since the Triangle Regional Model (TRM) encompasses two MPOs, the Triangle Regional Model Service Bureau was initiated to maintain, update, provide training, facilitate and conduct research related to the TRM. In addition to the two MPOs, two other stakeholders were identified as key users of the model. Thus, the four stakeholders of the model are the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO), the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), and the Triangle Transit (formerly TTA). The service bureau staff works in close cooperation with the stakeholders’ representative team members and reports to the Executive Committee comprised of executives from the stakeholder agencies. Model support and maintenance is the highest priority of the Service Bureau, followed by training, research, and other model related services.
“Milestones":
- 2004 Service Bureau starts up
- 2006 Household Survey data collection completed
- 2006 Transit On Board Survey data collection completed
- 2006 External (Cordon) Survey data collection completed
- 2007 Beta test version of enhanced TransCAD model with 2005 base year is released for testing”
View ITRE's History Pages including annual reports, photos, and funding. |
