According to a 2014 report by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), traffic demand for Metro Manila alone stands at 12.8 million vehicle trips, exceeding the capacity of most urban roads. Cities will continuously expand urban and regional development projects ranging from malls, houses, schools, and commercial establishments. These expected growths remarkably impact the country’s transportation system and the natural environment. Therefore, assessing a proposed development’s traffic-related impacts is imperative before any permanent construction begins. Development projects in the Philippines that may result in a considerable increase in vehicular and pedestrian traffic need a thorough Traffic Impact Assessment report (TIA).
The report aids in determining the necessary modifications to be made to the proposed development project concerning the existing infrastructure or public transportation services. There is a danger that these traffic movements may cause safety problems and unexpected congestion where the development links to the road if there is no clear indication of the traffic movements or their volume, time, and location. This article summarizes some of the most significant features of TIA in the Philippines to help candidates get started.
What Is A Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA)?
Because road authorities are responsible for the safe and efficient traffic management of their respective communities, a Traffic Impact Assessment enables them to determine whether an existing road network can handle the traffic generated by the proposed development, particularly in the short term.
At the same time, the presence of a report allows road authorities to create mitigation measures that may resolve anticipated traffic networks. Examples include the installation of additional roadway capacity on the existing road network, new road linkages, modifications and signalization of existing intersections, and the construction of pedestrian facilities such as foot and bike paths.
A Traffic Impact Assessment is also valuable for determining whether a proposed development’s parking provisions can accommodate peak parking demands and identifying any parking overspill. They ultimately decide whether the surrounding road network can accommodate the real estate development without negatively impacting the area’s amenity.
A Four-step Process
Step 1: Determination of Scope of Work
The Traffic Impact Assessment encompasses eight significant aspects which can highly determine a city/municipality’s transportation network. Such factors include but are not limited to the following:
- Funding for countermeasures
- Neighborhood Traffic and Parking Management
- Road Geometry
- Site Circulation and Parking
- Traffic Safety
- Transportation Demand Management
- Transportation facilities related to public transport, bicycle, and pedestrian level
- Transportation Improvements
The consultant may commence with the TIA report upon evaluation and approval by the City/Municipal Planning and Development Office (CPDO or MPDO) of the development intent. However, continuous communication between the consultant and the City/Municipal Traffic Engineer or its equivalent must be present.
Step 2: Data Collection
During the data collection phase, it is essential to identify which primary and secondary data are needed to complete the TIA. These can range from the inventory of existing transportation facilities and current developments within the site vicinity to future physical and transportation systems.
Step 3: Formulation of the Traffic Impact Assessment Report
It is the developer’s responsibility to initiate the TIA once notified. Furthermore, the applicant must provide the assigned traffic consultant with the following basic information about the proposed project:
- Project location
- Project classification according to the latest Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Guidelines
- The total land area of the project site
- Resultant floor-to-area ratio (considering all buildings within the project site)
- Percentage of land occupancy
Upon formulation of the Traffic Impact Assessment, all recipients of this report will look for the following information:
- A description of the site and study area, including a description of the proposed land use (i.e., size, type, and location), phases of development, and site plan
- Purpose and objectives of the analysis
- Determination and identification of the area of influence on the development
- Description of existing roadway/transportation conditions, including traffic volumes, transit accessibility, accidents, road geometry, transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, traffic signals, overall traffic operations, and circulation
- Identification of traffic congestion, accident areas, and other deficiencies of the transportation system in the study area
- Anticipated nearby land development (planned or under construction) and associated traffic and overall traffic growth trends in the area
- Anticipated trip generation and daily peak hour traffic volumes of the proposed development at a complete build and any interim construction phase
- Trip distribution and assignment of site traffic on the transportation system
- Projection of existing traffic to a future design year, as determined by the City/Municipal planning or traffic engineering staff.
- A future combined traffic volume plan for the development and roadway system’s typical daily and critical peak hours.
- Identification of traffic congestion, safety problems, and other deficiencies of the future transportation system (for a vehicle, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian travel), with and without the proposed development, including identified ongoing and prospective transportation improvements by other public or private organizations that will be in operation by the future years’ understudy
- An assessment of the change in roadway operating conditions resulting from the development (quantifying the impact of development)
- Development and evaluation of potential improvement measures needed to mitigate the impact of the project to the level defined by local/state policies
- Recommendations for site access and transportation improvements to maintain traffic flow to, from, within, and past the site at an acceptable and safe level of service. Improvements typically include roadway widening, turn lanes, traffic signals, bicycle, pedestrian, and transit amenities, safety measures, sight distance, and transportation demand management strategies. The assessment should identify detailed improvements and the costs associated with the development.
- On-site issues include the number and location of driveways, parking needs/layout, circulation, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, truck access and operations, transit, and safety.
- Disclose any coordination efforts with other affected jurisdictions impacted by the development.
Step 4: Traffic Impact Mitigation
Once the results of a TIA report call for traffic mitigation measures, it is likewise the responsibility of the developer to fund and carry out such mitigating measures to minimize the project’s impacts on the surrounding transport network.
When Is A Traffic Impact Assessment Required?
The government currently does not legally require submitting a Traffic Impact Assessment report. However, the city planning office may subject any vertical development, whether residential, commercial, office, industrial, or mixed-use, to a TIA report if it falls under the three factors identified by the UP National Center for Transportation Studies, Inc. These are the following:
- Transportation Impacts
- Traffic Generation – threshold may be taken as 100 or more vehicles trip during the morning and afternoon peak hours succeeding the project’s operation.
- Parking Generation – the threshold is a parking deficiency of one or more parking spaces generated by the project when it might impact an already congested or high-accident location or when specific site access and safety issues are of concern.
Furthermore, the US-based association Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) cites other five thresholds that commonly trigger a requirement for a Traffic Impact Assessment activity:
- When the project is rezoning a specified amount of area
- When development contains a specified number of dwelling units or square footage
- At the judgment or discretion of the staff
- When the real estate development occurs in a sensitive area
- When financial assessments are required and must determine the extent of their impact
Who Shall Prepare And Evaluate The TIA?
In the Philippines, there are only two professions qualified to partake in TIA studies: a certified Transportation Engineer or Planner and; a city/municipal TIA evaluator.
A Transportation Engineer or Planner certified by the Environmental Management Bureau and the National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) of the University of the Philippines has full authority to conduct Traffic Impact Assessment studies. The author must hold a master’s degree in transportation or equivalent training and professional experience.
For city/municipal TIA evaluators, the exact minimum requirements apply. Additionally, they must be under a committee formed by the local government. The task of this committee is to review and evaluate the traffic impacts of all development proposals.
When To Prepare For A TIA
A TIA must be submitted before the developer will make any physical changes concerning a locality’s land use, subdivision, site, or driveway plan. Therefore, a TIA must commence in the earliest planning stages of a project, particularly during the site selection process.
For projects requiring the submission of the following documents, the provision of a TIA report is highly encouraged:
- Zoning and rezoning application
- Land subdivision application
- Environmental assessment
- Site plan approval
- Special-purpose districts
- Development agreements
- Changes to general and specific plans
- Annexations
In cases where a TIA is not mandatory, it is upon the discretion of the City/Municipal Planning Development Office (CPDO or MPDO) to require a traffic operations analysis to address local transportation issues.
To obtain specific TIA requirements, developers must communicate with concerned agencies, namely – the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Local Government Unit (LGU).
The Value Of Traffic Impact Assessment In A Project
A road, like every other logistical element that carries and moves various types of products, has a capacity limit. Without a comprehensive understanding of the volume, time, and location of its traffic movements, there is a risk of safety problems and unanticipated congestion on projects immediately connected to roadways in its neighborhood.
Consequently, the need to identify and prepare countermeasures for the traffic impacts of urban expansion via Traffic Impact Assessment is a momentous step.
