PLANNING TOPICS

CVs and AVs have the potential to dramatically improve safety, reduce vehicle emissions, improve maintenance and asset management, and increase mobility.

However, when it comes to implementing and deploying these technologies, much is unknown. Fully automated vehicles may enter the market, but it could take decades for CVs and AVs to reach full fleet penetration. And it is not clear if or when any of the hoped-for benefits will materialize.

Planners should expect a long transition period. Automated, non-automated, connected, and non-connected vehicles will likely coexist for a decade or more as part of a mixed vehicle fleet.

Here are a few key areas of transportation planning that could change if AVs, complimented by CVs, emerge in commercial markets—as with all new technologies, there may be positive and negative impacts:

 

 

New travel behavior may impact land use—where people choose to live and work. Some experts think AVs will encourage longer travel distances and sprawl. Others speculate that AVs could decrease private vehicle ownership.

It is unclear how AVs will interact with vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and bicyclists, however planners may need to consider different contextual approaches for pedestrian and bicycle facilities.

AVs could lead to narrower lane widths, thereby decreasing maintenance costs for agencies. But AVs may also need better infrastructure conditions to operate, and agencies may be challenged to increase road maintenance spending.

Environmental justice populations may have limited access to privately-owned vehicles equipped with AV technology. If disadvantaged populations are considered, high levels of automation could increase mobility and accessibility for people who currently are unable to drive.

AVs generate and use extensive amounts of data. Mining such data sources could provide detailed and up-to-date information to better support traffic operations management, infrastructure needs evaluation, and improved transportation models.

Environmental programs that address air quality, sustainability, and noise could be strained if people widely adopt AVs that run on internal combustion engines and travel more miles. AVs could also reduce emissions through platooning and more efficient operations.

As AVs generally improve comfort and safety and as the freight industry pursues operational efficiencies, there could be significant increases in traffic and congestion.

How can planners address the impacts of CVs and AVs?

Tools and Techniques for Addressing the Impacts of CVs and AVs	Connected Vehicles	Automated Vehicles
Scenario Planning
Performance-based Planning with Scenario Planning
Scenario Planning with Operations and Systems Management
Planning for Operations
Intelligent Transportation Systems Investment Evaluation Techniques
Performance-Based Planning and Programming
Performance-Based Planning for Operations

• PlanWorks: PlanWorks is a web resource that supports collaborative decision-making in long-range planning, programming, corridor planning, and environmental review.

PLANNING TECHNIQUES TO ADDRESS CONNECTED AND AUTOMATED VEHICLES

• Connected Vehicle Impacts on Transportation Planning Primer: The primer illustrates how connected vehicles (CVs) may be considered across the range of transportation planning processes and products developed by states, metropolitan planning organizations, and local agencies (June 2016).
• Connected Vehicle Impacts on Transportation Planning Desk Reference: This desk reference is designed to help transportation professionals quickly understand and begin planning for the wide variety of impacts that C/AV technology is expected to have on transportation planning products and processes (June 2016).
• Connected Vehicle Impacts on Transportation Planning: Outreach to Planning Community: This report presents outreach memos on 11 case studies analyzing the impacts of C/AV on various transportation planning products. It provides a high-level account of the most significant or unique impacts of C/AV on particular planning products (June 2016).
• Connected Vehicle Impacts on Transportation Planning: Analysis of the Need for New and Enhanced Analysis Tools, Techniques, and Data Briefing for Traffic Simulation Models: This report focuses on the research and activities that will need to take place in order to adapt existing transportation models to include C/AV. It includes a summary of existing data, tools, and products currently used; a gap analysis identifying the limitations of current models in C/AV analysis; and finally, a research plan to target the identified needs and gaps (March 2016).
• NCHRP 20-102: Impacts of Connected Vehicles and Automated Vehicles on State and Local Transportation Agencies: The objectives of this National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project are to (1) identify critical issues associated with C/AVs that state and local transportation agencies and AASHTO will face, (2) conduct research to address those issues, and (3) conduct related technology transfer and information exchange activities. 15 different research tasks cover C/AV implications for transit, freight, planning and modeling tools, travel demand, and infrastructure needs, among others.
  • NCHRP Report 845: Advancing Automated and Connected Vehicles: Policy and Planning Strategies for State and Local Transportation Officials: This report assesses policy and planning strategies at the state, regional, and local levels that could influence private-sector automated vehicle (AV) and connected vehicle (CV) choices to positively affect societal goals. The report aims to assist agencies with exploring actions that might increase the likelihood that AV and CV technologies will have beneficial impacts on traffic crashes, congestion, pollution, land development, and mobility (particularly for older adults, youths under the age of 16, and individuals with disabilities) (May 2017).
  • NCHRP Report 896: Updating Regional Transportation Planning and Modeling Tools to Address Impacts of connected and automated vehicles: This report assesses policy and planning strategies at the state, regional, and local levels that could influence private-sector automated vehicle (AV) and connected vehicle (CV) choices to positively affect societal goals. The report includes detailed information and guidelines for state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to help update their modeling and forecasting tools to address expected impacts of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) on transportation supply, road capacity, and travel demand components (June 2018).
  • Strategies to Advance Automated Vehicles and Connected Vehicles Briefing Document: This briefing document is intended for state, regional, and local agency and political decision makers who are framing public policy for these transformational technologies. The briefing document makes the case for taking action in spite of uncertainties and presents 18 policy and planning strategies that may be useful in advancing societal goals (May 2017).

CONNECTED VEHICLES
Connected Vehicles (CV), implemented for example through Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) technology, apply emerging communication and intelligent transportation technologies to improve the safety, mobility, and efficiency of the transportation system. V2I investments are under consideration today by many planning agencies. Planning techniques for evaluating investments in CV include Planning for Operations, Performance-Based Planning, and Scenario Planning.

• Connected Vehicle Resources from the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office
  • Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Resources: This page lists a range of resources that help planners, transportation engineers, decision-makers, and others involved in the ITS deployment process with valuable information about V2I technologies.
  • Planning for the Future of Transportation: Connected Vehicles and ITS: This two-page brochure briefly overviews the USDOT-funded CV Pilot Deployment Program. Additionally, it outlines the key elements of performance-based planning and programming and how CV technologies can impact that process.
  • How Connected Vehicles Work: This website describes generally how CV technology works and its potential to improve safety, mobility, and the environment.
  • What Public Officials Need to Know About Connected Vehicles: This website contains a high-level, non-technical overview of CV technology. It covers the basics of how CV technology works and how it can impact communities by improving safety, decreasing congestion, and reducing pollution.
  • Connected Vehicle Basics: This user-friendly page answers many of the most common questions about connected vehicles, including benefits, uses, costs, deployment timeline, and privacy. It includes information on the role of the federal government in the development and deployment of CV technology and on international CV activity.
• 2015 FHWA Vehicle to Infrastructure Deployment Guidance and Products: This draft guidance is intended to assist FHWA and transportation system operators in deploying V2I technology. It offers practices to help ensure interoperability with existing transportation systems as well as efficient transportation planning and operations management.
• GAO Report: Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Technologies Expected to Offer Benefits, but Deployment Challenges Exist: This report addresses: (1) the status of V2I technologies; (2) challenges that could affect the deployment of V2I technologies, and DOT efforts to address these challenges; and (3) what is known about the potential benefits and costs of V2I technologies (September 2015).

AUTOMATED VEHICLES
Automated Vehicles (AV) are finding their way onto our highways in increasing numbers. There are many uncertainties in what AVs will be able to do, how they will be deployed, and how the public will use them. That makes it impossible to know today whether AVs will call for new investments, or whether AVs will make certain future planned investments obsolete before they are built. In addition, regulatory decisions made outside the planning process will have a significant (and still unknown) effect on how AVs are deployed. Key planning activities include discussing AVs during the planning process, revisiting the discussions regularly during planning document update cycles, and regularly re-assessing what we are learning from pilot projects and on-road testing. Planning techniques that can be used to develop responses to AVs include Scenario Planning and Performance-Based Planning and Programming.

• Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicle 3.0: This report is structured around three key areas: (1) Advancing multi-modal safety, (2) Reducing policy uncertainty, (3) Outlining a process for working with U.S. DOT (October 2018).
• U.S. DOT Automated Vehicle (AV) Research Activities: Current and Completed Projects: This site summarizes current and completed research and other activities within the U.S. DOT focused on AV technology development and evaluation, policy assessment, and impacts estimation.
• NHTSA Automated Vehicles for Safety: More than 30,000 people die on U.S. roads every year and 94% of crashes are due to human error. AV safety technologies signal the next revolution in roadway safety and have the potential to save lives and prevent crashes. This webpage provides resources and policy related to safety and automated vehicles.
• Environmental Justice Considerations for Connected and Automated Vehicles: Developed by FHWA, this fact sheet provides information on the benefits and challenges associated with the deployment of C/AVs and considerations to help address potential negative impacts on populations vulnerable to cases of environmental injustice (December 2016).
• Discussion Guide for Automated and Connected Vehicles, Pedestrians, and Bicyclists: This report published by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center discusses important challenges as automated vehicles begin to share the road with pedestrians and bicyclists (August 2017).
• Benefits Estimation Framework for Automated Vehicle Operations: This report presents a framework for estimating the potential benefits and dis-benefits of technologies contributing to the automation of the Nation’s surface transportation system. Components of the framework include (1) Safety, (2) Vehicle mobility, (3) Energy/environment, (4) Accessibility, (5) Transportation system usage, (6) Land use, and (7) Economic analysis.
• American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) Autonomous Vehicle Library: AAMVA has established an AV Information Sharing Group to gather, organize, and share information with the AAMVA community related to the development, design, testing, use, and regulation of AVs and other emerging vehicle technology.
• 2016 Annual AMPO Meeting – Selected Automated Vehicle Presentations: The AMPO Annual Conference brought together MPO staff, Policy Board members, federal and state employees, and consultants who shared information on a variety of MPO issues. The presentations below focus on C/AV technology.
  • Planning for Connected Automated Vehicles in Smart Cities: Egan Smith, USDOT
  • Planning for Vehicle Automation: Jeremy Raw, FHWA
  • Introduction to Automated Vehicles: Scott Smith, Volpe Center
  • Approach to Transportation Planning for Connected and Automated Vehicles: Tom Williams, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
• The Automated Vehicles Symposium is the largest gathering of professionals involved with making AVs a reality. Attendees come from all over the world and represent a diverse range of industries within the AV community.
• AMPO AV Working Group: In 2017, AMPO mobilized a C/AV working group to serve as a focal point for MPOs to engage with U.S. DOT on C/AV programs, policies, and issues. This page contains more information on the working group, in addition to a detailed list of resources and meeting presentations.
  • In April 2019, AMPO held a webinar to share its National Framework for Regional Vehicle Connectivity and Automation Planning
    • The National Framework is available here.
    • The AMPO Framework recording is available here.
    • The AMPO Framework presentation slides are available here.
• National Conference of State Legislatures Autonomous Vehicles/Self-Driving Vehicles Enacted Legislation: This webpage provides an overview of the various actions, including legislation and executive orders, which states and local governments have taken to address autonomous vehicles. The page also includes a legislative database that provides up-to-date, real-time information about state autonomous vehicle legislation that has been introduced in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.