TMP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Q.  Why can't we build our way out of congestion?

A.  Boulder is a mature and largely developed community, and a very large percentage of our potential transportation system is already built. Limited opportunities exist to widen roads and intersections without large negative impacts to community character and the environment such as removing trees and building demolitions. The proposed Action Plan, however, includes strategic intersection improvements where right-of-way is available to improve mobility for all modes.

Q.  Why not build interchanges on Foothills Parkway to relieve congestion?

A.  An often asked question is, "With existing and forecast congestion on Foothills Parkway, why not build more grade-separated interchanges?" While interchanges would reduce congestion along parts of Foothills Parkway itself, there are many reasons why these interchanges would not provide the expected traffic relief and would result in major impacts. These reasons and impacts are summarized as follows:

• A significant increase in traffic volumes would occur on the east-west roadways feeding the parkway, increasing traffic congestion, noise impacts and air quality impacts on these connecting roadways.
  
• The Foothill Corridor improvements would result in increased congestion at the end points at U.S. 36 and the Diagonal Highway, offsetting any significant travel time savings from the interchanges.
  
• Residential areas in proximity to the parkway are already impacted by noise. The noise would be exacerbated by increased volumes, increased speeds and higher elevations associated with several new grade-separated intersections.
  
• The grade-separated interchanges would result in aesthetic impacts and would impact the view of properties east of the parkway.
  
• Increased traffic along Foothills Parkway would increase air quality impacts.
  
• The construction of these four grade-separated intersections would cost approximately $40 million. If the city tried to pay for this itself, this would equate to 10 to 15 years worth of the city's discretionary Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funding. It is likely that these interchanges could only be afforded as part of a set of regional corridor improvements.
  
• A more cost-effective and efficient approach is to improve intersection design, turning capabilities, signal phasing and other high-yield/low-cost improvements.  These types of improvements are funded for the Arapahoe/Foothills intersection.

Q.  Why aren't the signals timed in Boulder? 

A.  Traffic signal timing is continuously being refined in Boulder, and major corridor signal coordination plans are periodically updated to reflect changes in traffic volumes and travel patterns. Multiple timing plans are used, changing by time of day, allowing the signal timing at each intersection to be tailored to the traffic conditions in the morning peak, evening peak, and so on. The signal timing is designed to minimize the overall amount of intersection delay, while balancing the specific needs of each mode of travel (pedestrian, bicycle, automobile, transit).

Technologies continue to evolve, allowing the use of increasingly sophisticated signal operation to improve efficiency, and are being introduced in Boulder as equipment upgrades allow. However, even state-of-the-art control equipment, running new timing plans developed with using the latest software tools, cannot provide non-stop traffic flow on grids of two-way streets, nor can they eliminate delays at locations where traffic volumes exceed the intersection capacity.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 February 2013 13:47