A traffic study is an analysis of traffic patterns, flow and safety in a specific area or along a roadway, usually to understand existing conditions or predict the effect of a new project. It is prepared by transportation engineers and reviewed by the local agency.
For a parking facility, the traffic study answers whether surrounding streets and intersections can handle the cars the facility will draw, and where the driveways should go. It often determines the location and number of entrances and exits, turn lanes and signal changes.
What a parking traffic study typically covers
- Existing conditions. Traffic counts, intersection level of service and crash history.
- Trip generation. How many vehicles the facility will add at peak hours, often based on ITE data or local counts.
- Distribution. Which directions those trips come from and which routes they use.
- Site access. Driveway locations, sight distance, queuing at entry lanes and conflicts with pedestrians. See conflict point map.
- Mitigation. Turn lanes, signal timing, TDM measures or design changes to address impacts.
The Parkonomics view
A traffic study is only as good as its assumptions. For parking, that means testing realistic arrival peaks, including events and shift changes, rather than averages.
Related terms: Level of Service, ITE, Parking Demand Analysis, Transportation Demand Management, Traffic Calming