RSG developed the next-generation activity-based travel demand model for the cities of Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond (BKR) in Washington State. The project was contracted through the City of Bellevue with support from its partners in the cities of Kirkland and Redmond. The goal of the work was to create a state-of-the-practice travel demand model to support scenario planning applications through proven methodology and local travel behavior data.

We began with a model design effort that included stakeholder meetings and a training on the pros and cons of the various modeling paradigms: trip-based, hybrid, and activity-based. Recommended options included an enhanced trip-based model or a local version of the Puget Sound Regional Council’s activity-based model, SoundCast. We chose a BKR version of SoundCast, which uses DaySim for activity-based travel demand and EMME for network supply models. The new model, BKRCast, uses a BKR-specific zone system for the 300k+ person region and a BKR-specific set of networks. It includes a population sampling procedure that oversamples households in the region and undersamples households outside the region to increase model stability and decrease runtime. The model was rigorously locally calibrated and validated to the most recent regional household travel survey, traffic highway counts and transit line boardings, and other available datasets. BKRCast will serve the cities’ transportation planning analytical needs for years to come.