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7.89. Transportation Planning (Mandatory)

7.89.1. Justification ↑ Back to top

Transportation Planning is the planning- and economics-focused course of the Vialidad, Geomatica y Transporte track, building on the traffic engineering and urban road design foundations established in Traffic Engineering and Urban Road Design (CE3T4) to address how transportation systems are planned, financed, and managed at the network and regional scale. The course opens with a brief review of traffic operations and management – arterial signal coordination, freeway operations, traffic simulation, and roundabout design – bridging the facility-level analysis of CE3T4 with the systems-level perspective that follows. It then develops the transportation planning process and travel demand forecasting methods, including the four-step model, activity-based approaches, and economic evaluation of transportation investments. Building on this planning foundation, the course covers the economic appraisal and financing of transportation infrastructure, including benefit-cost analysis, public-private partnerships, and road pricing and funding mechanisms. The course continues with freight transportation and logistics, covering freight demand modeling, logistics network design, intermodal terminals, and urban freight distribution, and closes with public transit systems planning, covering transit route and network planning, mode selection and service design, fare policy integration, and transit accessibility – providing the planning and economic-analysis foundation required for professional practice in transportation systems planning.

7.89.2. Generales Goals ↑ Back to top

1. Explain the transportation planning process, travel demand forecasting methods, and the institutional framework governing multimodal transportation systems.
2. Apply economic appraisal methods (NPV, IRR, benefit-cost analysis) to evaluate transportation infrastructure investments, and recognize infrastructure financing, public-private partnerships, and road pricing mechanisms.
3. Analyze traffic operations problems, including arterial signal coordination, freeway performance, traffic simulation, and roundabout design, building on the traffic engineering foundations of CE3T4.
4. Model freight demand and design logistics networks for freight transportation systems, including intermodal terminals and urban freight distribution strategies.
5. Plan and design public transit route networks, select appropriate transit modes and service characteristics, and design fare policy and accessibility strategies.
6. Incorporate sustainability, equity, and public participation considerations into transportation planning and economic decision-making.

7.89.3. Contribution to Outcomes ↑ Back to top

ABET-1) An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics. (Usage)

ABET-2) An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors. (Usage)

7.89.4. Content ↑ Back to top

7.89.4.1. Traffic Operations and Management (5 hours) [Skills ABET-1] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Roess et al., 2011; Transportation Research Board, 2022)

Topics

1. Arterial analysis and signal coordination
2. Freeway operations and bottleneck analysis
3. Traffic simulation and microsimulation modeling
4. Incident management and traffic management centers
5. Roundabout design and capacity analysis

Learning Outcomes

1. Develop coordinated signal systems for arterial corridors [Usage]
2. Evaluate freeway performance and identify operational bottlenecks [Assessment]
3. Utilize traffic simulation models for complex operational analysis [Usage]
4. Implement incident management strategies and traffic management operations [Assessment]
5. Design roundabouts and analyze their operational performance [Usage]

7.89.4.2. Transportation Planning and Economics (15 hours) [Skills ABET-1,ABET-2] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Meyer and Miller, 2001; de Dios Ortúzar and Willumsen, 2011)

Topics

1. Transportation planning process and institutional framework
2. Travel demand modeling and forecasting methods
3. Four-step travel demand model
4. Data collection methods for transportation planning
5. Economic evaluation and benefit-cost analysis
6. Activity-based modeling and advanced forecasting techniques
7. Multimodal transportation planning and integration
8. Sustainable transportation and environmental considerations
9. Public participation and stakeholder engagement
10. Performance measures and system monitoring

Learning Outcomes

1. Explain the transportation planning process and institutional relationships [Familiarity]
2. Apply travel demand forecasting methods to predict future travel patterns [Assessment]
3. Implement the four-step travel demand model for regional analysis [Usage]
4. Design data collection programs for transportation studies [Assessment]
5. Conduct benefit-cost analysis for transportation projects [Usage]
6. Utilize activity-based models for advanced travel demand analysis [Assessment]
7. Develop integrated multimodal transportation plans [Usage]
8. Incorporate sustainability principles into transportation planning [Assessment]
9. Facilitate public participation processes in transportation planning [Familiarity]
10. Establish performance measures and monitoring systems for transportation networks [Assessment]

7.89.4.3. Transportation Economics and Finance (15 hours) [Skills ABET-1] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Boardman et al., 2018; Button, 2010)

Topics

1. Economic appraisal methods for transportation projects (NPV, IRR, benefit-cost ratio)
2. Transportation infrastructure financing and public-private partnerships
3. Road pricing, congestion pricing, and value capture mechanisms
4. Transit subsidies and funding mechanisms

Learning Outcomes

1. Appraise a transportation project using NPV, IRR, and benefit-cost ratio methods [Usage]
2. Describe infrastructure financing mechanisms, including public-private partnerships [Familiarity]
3. Evaluate road pricing and value capture mechanisms for a transportation corridor [Assessment]
4. Explain transit subsidy structures and funding mechanisms [Familiarity]

7.89.4.4. Freight Transportation and Logistics (15 hours) [Skills ABET-1,ABET-2] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Ballou, 2004)

Topics

1. Freight demand modeling and commodity flow analysis
2. Freight supply chain and logistics network design
3. Intermodal freight terminals and transfer facilities
4. Urban freight distribution and last-mile delivery

Learning Outcomes

1. Model freight demand and commodity flows for a region [Usage]
2. Design a logistics network for freight supply chains [Usage]
3. Describe the role of intermodal freight terminals in a logistics network [Familiarity]
4. Propose urban freight distribution strategies to reduce last-mile delivery impacts [Assessment]

7.89.4.5. Public Transit Systems Planning (20 hours) [Skills ABET-2] ↑ Back to top

Bibliography: (Vuchic, 2007; Transportation Research Board, 2013)

Topics

1. Public transit route and network planning
2. Transit mode selection (bus, BRT, light rail, metro) and service design
3. Fare policy and multimodal fare integration
4. Transit accessibility and first/last-mile connections

Learning Outcomes

1. Plan a transit route and network for a given service area [Usage]
2. Select an appropriate transit mode and design its service characteristics [Assessment]
3. Describe fare policy options and multimodal fare integration approaches [Familiarity]
4. Improve transit accessibility through first/last-mile connection strategies [Usage]

7.89.5. Bibliography ↑ Back to top

Roess, R. P., Prassas, E. S., and McShane, W. R. (2011). Traffic Engineering. Pearson, 4th edition.

Transportation Research Board (2022). Highway capacity manual. Technical report, Transportation Research Board.

Meyer, M. D. and Miller, E. J. (2001). Urban Transportation Planning: A Decision-Oriented Approach. McGraw-Hill, 2nd edition.

de Dios Ortúzar, J. and Willumsen, L. G. (2011). Modelling Transport. Wiley, 4th edition.

Boardman, A. E., Greenberg, D. H., Vining, A. R., and Weimer, D. L. (2018). Cost-Benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice. Cambridge University Press, 5th edition.

Button, K. (2010). Transport Economics. Edward Elgar Publishing, 3rd edition.

Ballou, R. H. (2004). Business Logistics/Supply Chain Management. Pearson Prentice Hall, 5th edition.

Vuchic, V. R. (2007). Urban Transit: Operations, Planning, and Economics. John Wiley & Sons.

Transportation Research Board (2013). Transit capacity and quality of service manual. Technical report, Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP Report 165).