Use of Access Travel Time to Estimate the Impact of Driveway Restrictions on Corner Lot Developments

The types of data needed to assess the economic impacts of access management treatments on businesses, such as net profits or tax revenue, are difficult to obtain in a consistent and reliable manner. As a result, most research efforts on the topic have used subjective data collected through surveys and interviews, as well as less direct data variables, such as long-term land values. Although these efforts are valuable and insightful, their findings are difficult to apply to small-scale access decisions about a specific parcel of land. It is assumed that the travel time required to access a development is a contributing factor in the decision to patronize a business. Therefore, these travel time values could be a useful measure in evaluating potential effects of access management decisions on specific developments. This study used microsimulation to explore the use of travel time into and out of a corner lot development as a measure of the potential impact of driveway restrictions on business vitality. Results indicated that when only one access point was provided, a driveway on the minor road required less travel time than a driveway on the major road, although the relative difference in travel times decreased as volume decreased. In addition, under many of the scenarios tested, the provision of additional access (either additional driveways or fewer movement restrictions) did not reduce the amount of time required for potential customers to access a corner lot development.