On June 25, the Board of the San Diego Association of Governments approved the MXD method as the preferred means of adjusting trip generation estimates to account for the effects of smart growth. The MXD method will complement the SANDAG Traffic Generators handbook as the standard for traffic studies within the region’s cities and counties. SANDAG is one of the only regions within the US which has developed its own data and locally-validated methods for performing traffic generation analysis. Most rely on the national data distributed by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) in their multi-edition report Trip Generation.
The MXD method was developed by Fehr & Peers and a research team for the US EPA through an analysis of about 240 mixed use development sites throughout the US. In its study for SANDAG, Fehr & Peers validated the method by comparing its estimates to actual traffic counts at six smart growth developments, including Transit Oriented Development (TOD) sites in the San Diego region. This validation supplements validation that Fehr & Peers had already performed at other sites in California, Florida, Texas and Georgia.
The MXD method is also under review by ITE as a possible supplement in an upcoming release in its Trip Generation Handbook and is undergoing evaluation by panels of experts and practitioners throughout California as part of a Caltrans/ UC Davis study to assess its acceptability for use in CEQA studies throughout the state.
Key Fehr & Peers staff involved in the SANDAG effort were: Rick Lee, Mark Feldman, Chris Gray, McKenzie Watten and Lisa Levasseur.
For more information on the MXD method, click here.
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