Baseline study to measure success of TDM program begins

Automatic Traffic Recorders and manual counters have been sighted at some of the intersections in the vicinity of the arena in the last few days.  The photo to the right shows a counter in a green safety vest at Vanderbilt Avenue and Dean Street Saturday, June 2nd at 8:15 PM.

They are a sign the baseline study is currently underway that will provide one set of data later to be used to assess the success of Sam Schwartz Engineering's Transportation Demand Management Program.   Apparently at least some data in the FEIS will still be used as well because the baseline study includes a smaller study scope than the FEIS.

The idea of a baseline study was disclosed to the public in the fall of 2011.  Its final version was released in April.   It includes 56 intersections that will be assessed using manual counts.  That information will be supplemented with 51 automatic traffic recorders (ATRs).  The manual counts will provide vehicle turning movement volumes, pedestrian crossing volumes and bicycle volumes.  The ATRs will provide a continuous count of vehicle volumes over the course of 9 days.  The study also includes "travel time runs."  They will assess the speed and amount of time it takes for vehicles to travel along Flatbush Avenue, Atlantic Avenue, 3rd Avenue, and 4th Avenue.

Forest City Ratner is required by the 2009 Amended Memorandum of Environmental Commitments to collect data mid-way through the first basketball season from Nets patrons in order to assess the success of the TDM program.  The goal of the data collection is to reduce the number of vehicle trips by a minimum of 30% within 1/2 mile of the arena from what is projected in the project's FEIS.  The baseline study underway is not detailed in any project documents, but was added at the direction of NYCDOT in order to update the FEIS's baseline data which is now six years old.  

Two follow up studies in the arena's first year of operation were detailed at the presentations of the TDM program May 22nd.   The distinction between the two is unclear.

One concern about Barclays Center's TDM is that the only follow-up studies are in the first year of the arena's operation.  No remedies are specified if performance goals set in the TDM are not met.

The scope of the study is shown in the maps below.