TRANSPORTATION PLANNING FOR SMALL COMMUNITIES: WESTERN CANADIAN EXPERIENCE

The paper discusses the principles, constraints, and objectives of transportation planning in small communities. It compares some of the basic relationships derived in the United States with those found in several western Canadian communities. A synthetic planning process called the four-purpose trip generation and distribution model is described in detail. It uses an analogy approach by starting with estimated data found applicable in similar communities. In this way it avoids the costly and time-consuming data collection stage. The model is verified and calibrated after data processing. Computer traffic volumes are compared with traffic counts and, if necessary, the input values are adjusted. Sensitivity of the model to errors in the initial estimated data is analyzed in relation to thee basic zonal land use characteristics (i.e., population and employment). A set of graphs is presented to expedite the calibration process. They relate the size of the unit outcome error (i.e., the difference between the computer and the surveyed traffic volume) to the required adjustment of initial estimates of trip purpose distribution. (Author)