Mixed-Use Development (MXD) Trip Generation
Current methods of traffic impact analysis, which rely on rates and adjustments from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), are believed to understate the traffic benefits of mixed-use developments (MXDs) and potentially overstate potential roadway impacts because they don’t fully account for the interactions between land uses or the surrounding built environment. A national study for the US EPA, performed by a team composed of Fehr & Peers and academic researchers developed a new methodology to more accurately predict the traffic impacts of MXDs. The study evaluated household travel surveys from 239 mixed-use developments in Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, Houston, Atlanta and Boston and found statistical relationships between site characteristics and the amount of vehicle travel generated in and out of the site. MXDs were found to reduce traffic impacts relative to single-use suburban development, due to the following key factors.
Diverse on-site activities that capture a large share of trips internally.
Placement within walkable areas with good transit access that generate high shares of walk and transit trips.
Central locations that reduce trip lengths.
The potential vehicle trip reductions from MXDs were significant enough to demonstrate that conventional trip generation methods could exaggerate roadway impacts and the need for mitigation including higher impact fees, exactions, and negotiated payments than should be the case. These factors could also contribute to potentially discouraging development of otherwise desirable projects.
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