ITE 2013 Technical Conference

RSG's Maren Outwater will present, “Analysis Toolbox for Smart Growth Development and Congestion Relief,” at the Institute of Transportation Engineers' 2013 Technical Conference. The Smart Growth Area Planning or SmartGAP tool provides planners with scenario-forecasting tools that allow them to estimate smart growth’s effect on peak-hour transportation, as well as its effects on sprawl, energy reduction, active travel, and carbon footprints. The new research report and software tool enable state transportation and regional agency planners to estimate the effects of different smart growth strategies on regional peak-hour travel demand and other transportation parameters. The SmartGAP tool allows a user to input different scenarios for land use, population growth, and transportation strategies, and then create a model of their effects on several critical performance areas. SmartGAP tracks individual households and firms in a region to determine transportation impacts from growth. The tool is free, open-sourced, and user-friendly.