Course Syllabus

Course Overview

Welcome to this course in transportation planning!  Planning is one of the most important activities for transportation engineers.  In this class, we will learn about some of the major planning activities undertaken by transportation engineers and members of interdisciplinary teams with which they work.  We will learn to use some of the standard methods in highway capacity analysis, traffic impact analysis, travel demand forecasting, and origin-destination analysis.  And, we will consider some of the important policy issues that guide governments in making decisions about transportation.

We will start this class by reviewing some of the planning issues faced by engineers today.  These issues are identified in a set of readings that you will be given the first day of class.  One of your first assignments is to review these readings and prepare a summary based on a set of study questions that I will distribute.  We will also discuss some of the transportation issues that are common in your home town or country.

Next, during the second week of classes, we will review issues that are currently important in the City of Moscow and in surrounding areas.  You will have the chance to talk to local officials and search the internet for relevant information.  You will prepare a paper that summarizes what you find out and share this information with others in the class.  You will be introduced to the notion of peer review, where others in the class will provide feedback to you on your work, and where you will have the chance to learn from what others have done.

In our third week, we will study the planning methods of the Highway Capacity Manual.  While most capacity analysis is conducted for an existing facility, or with a short time horizon (what will happen during the next year or two), the planning analysis methods provide the engineer with the tools to evaluate, in a broader context, the results of a future design, often five to ten years in the future.  These methods have less detail than the operational analysis methods, but do provide decision-makers with vital information so that they can make sound long-term decisions.

 Trip generation methods, as developed by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, will be our topic during weeks four and five.  We will conduct a field study using an actual site.  You will prepare a report and present your results to the class.  Again, we will conduct a peer review of your work.

We will conduct a traffic impact analysis during weeks six and seven.  You will learn to use the impact analysis method as developed by the Idaho Transportation Department.  You will also learn to use the TRAFFIX model, a tool that is commonly used by traffic engineers to assess the impact of a new residential or commercial development.

During weeks eight, nine, and ten, we will assess the impact of constructing a new by-pass in the City of Moscow.  Currently all traffic passing through the city must travel through downtown on highways 8 and/or 95.  You will conduct a license plate survey and assess the results of this survey.  Video students will not actually conduct the study (unless you want to visit us for a week in person!) but will use the data collected by the Moscow students.  Video students will be given another assignment in lieu of this field work.

During the next three weeks (weeks eleven through thirteen), we will learn to use the standard four-step travel demand forecasting method.  We will use a standard reference work developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation as well as the TRANPLAN computer model.

The final three weeks of the semester (including the week of the final examination), you will select a research topic and prepare an analysis of this topic.  You will prepare a report that will be reviewed by me and other members of the class.  Your final results will be presented during the final examination period.

You can see from this variety of topics that we will be extremely busy for the next sixteen weeks.  But I believe that the experiences that you will have during the class will provide you with a solid background in transportation planning.  By the end of the class, you will have developed the following competencies:

• You will be able to assess, evaluate, and summarize current topics in transportation planning.
• You will know how to conduct trip generation studies.
• You will know how to conduct a license plate origin-destination study.
• You will know how to use standard travel demand forecasting models.
• You will know how to conduct a planning analysis to determine capacity and level of service.

In addition, you will improve your skills in report writing and in oral presentations, and expand your skills in computing.

 I welcome you to join me in this journey of learning about transportation planning!

Class Requirements

You will note as you review the above material (and the class schedule shown below) that this course includes several requirements.  I have listed each requirement in the table below and how important each requirement is with respect to your final grade in the class.

Class Expectations

Please review the following expectations.  I am very interested in your feedback on these lists.  Let me know if you have suggestions that would help to clarify my expectations for you during this class.

In-class students

• I expect you to attend all classes.  Your input and contribution is very important.  If you are not in class, we cannot learn from you, and you cannot learn from other students.
• I expect you to be on-time for each class.  If you are late, you not only disrupt others in the class when you enter, but you will miss out on important information.
• I expect you to turn in all assignments on time.  Late assignments will not be accepted.
• I expect you to ask when you have a question.  If you do not understand something that is being discussed, it is likely that others in the class do not understand as well.  Asking questions is a very important part of the learning process.
• I expect that the work that you complete will be your best effort and of the highest quality.  Learning to do work of high quality is important now and when you begin your career as a transportation engineer.
• I expect that you will work with others in the class on assignments.  Working in teams is important in today’s engineering environment.  But the work that you turn in should be your own work.
• I expect you to be honest in your dealings with me and others in the class.

Video students

• I expect you to regularly review in a timely manner each videotape as it is sent to you.
• I use a variety of teaching methods in class; lecture is not the only format that is used.  I encourage you to participate in class discussions by taking notes, communicating your thoughts to me and others in the class, and by completing in-class assignments along with the other students.
• I expect you to identify case studies relevant to your own area and experience as they are assigned.
• I expect you to complete all computer-based assignments.  I will assume that you have access to Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheets for computational problems and analysis.  I expect you to use other software on your computer system when we use it in class (note: all necessary transportation program disks will be sent to you with the understanding that the software is used only on class assignments).
• I expect you to turn in all assignments on time as per stated deadlines.  Turning in assignments by email is encouraged.  Late assignments will not be accepted.
• I expect you to ask when you have a question.  If you do not understand something that is being discussed, it is likely that others in the class do not understand as well.  Asking questions is a very important part of the learning process.  I encourage you to contact me or other students in the class by email or by telephone.
• I expect that the work that you complete will be your best effort and of the highest quality.  Learning to do work of high quality is important now and when you begin your career as a transportation engineer.
• I encourage you to work with others in the class, when possible, through email.  It may be more difficult than if you were taking the class in person, but I hope that you will do this as much as possible.
• I expect you to be honest in your dealings with me and others in the class.

Class Schedule

Instructor Information

Michael Kyte

Professor of Civil Engineering

115C Engineering Physics Building

885-6002 (voice)

885-2877 (fax)

mkyte@uidaho.edu