Piedmont
Public Policy
Institute
Business Impacts of
Charlotte Traffic Congestion
A Piedmont Public Policy Institute Report
June, 2007
Prepared by:
David T. Hartgen, Ph.D., P.E.
Emeritus Professor of Transportation Studies
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Vol. 2007 - No. 01
THE
PIEDMONT PUBLIC POLICY
INSTITUTE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mr. John Crosland, Jr., Chairman
Chairman, Crosland, Inc.
Jefferson W. Brown, Esq.
Partner, Kennedy Covington
Mr. John Crosland III
Vice Chairman, Crosland Inc.
Mr. Daniel Levine
Owner, Levine Properties
Mr. Michael J. Mulvaney
Executive Officer, Mulvaney Group
Bailey Patrick, Jr., Esq.
Partner, Kennedy Covington
Mr. Allen Tate, Jr.
Chairman, Allen Tate Company
Mr. Edward Weisiger, Jr.
President, Carolina Tractor
Company
Mr. Landon Wyatt III
Partner, Childress Klein Properties
Don Harrow
Executive Director
17824 Statesville Road
Suite 121
Cornelius, NC 28031
Phone: 704-439-2028
Fax: 704-892-3309
E-mail: [email protected]
www.piedmontppi.org
The Charlotte, North Carolina region is blessed with a
vibrant, diversified and growing economy, as is the State of
North Carolina as a whole. With strong economic growth
comes both opportunities and challenges. Governments on
the local, regional, state and federal levels are constantly
seeking to address these issues through a wide variety of
policies, programs, ordinances, rules and laws.
These government decision-makers must be fully informed if
they are to craft effective and efficient solutions to these
challenges. They must also take into account the economic
and practical impacts of their actions. Too often, policy
decisions have been made on the basis of limited analysis and
without a rigorous examination of costs, innovative
alternatives and market oriented solutions. In order to foster
informed decision-making, the business community must
help bring comprehensive, independent and authoritative
research and analysis to the public policy debate.
Responding to this need, leaders in Charlotte’s business
community and real estate industry established the Piedmont
Public Policy Institute (PPPI), a non-profit 501 (c)(3) research
and education organization. The mission of the PPPI is to:
•
•
•
•
Provide much-needed analysis and research on a range of
important public policy issues, ensuring that economic and
business aspects of these matters are considered
Partner with universities, corporations, other organizations
and individual experts to conduct these comprehensive and
authoritative research projects
Issue reports and policy papers digesting the research results
Sponsor educational conferences.
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the PPPI will address
issues of relevance to policy makers and the business
community in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the region, across the
State of North Carolina and in other local communities and
states around the nation.
Funding for this research was provided by the Piedmont Public Policy Institute
Piedmont
Public Policy
Institute
Business Impacts of
Charlotte Traffic Congestion
A Piedmont Public Policy Institute Report
June 2007
Prepared by:
David T. Hartgen, Ph.D., P.E.
Emeritus Professor of Transportation Studies
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
[email protected]
Vol. 2008 - No. 01
Business Impacts of
Charlotte Traffic Congestion
Executive Summary
Traffic congestion is a major hassle of modern life. It affects household
commuting, shopping, school and recreation. Communities see its impact on the quality
of life. Regions see it as a threat to competitiveness. Businesses see its negative impacts
on business schedules, workers, customers, deliveries and meetings with clients. This
study investigates the impact of traffic congestion on the Charlotte NC business
community. The goal of the study is to determine the impacts of congestion on Charlotte
businesses, including scheduling, access to workers and to local markets, business
activities including shipments and deliveries, and effects on the regional economy.
Mecklenburg County has about 825,000 residents, 25,600 business establishments
employing 498,000 workers, and an annual workforce payroll of about $ 21.3 B. The
county population grew 36 percent in the 1990s and 19 percent in the last seven years.
Traffic congestion is rising rapidly and is predicted to double by 2030. Charlotte’s current
traffic congestion index, 1.31 1, 22nd nationwide, is expected to increase to 1.62, which is
equivalent with current Chicago levels, even with planned transportation improvements.
But since regional traffic is predicted to double, Charlotte will have worse congestion in
2030 than today after $ 11 B in transportation funds are expended.
Providing accessibility to jobs and residents is an important function of
transportation systems. ‘Drive time’ maps that show the number of jobs or residents
within a specified drive time of a point are a convenient way of expressing changes in
accessibility from improved transportation. For this study, drive time maps were prepared
for 20 major locations around the greater Charlotte region, using 25 minutes as the
average drive time. Then, the number of jobs and residents within 25 minutes of each
location was determined. The study found that Trade and Tryon (the Charlotte CBD) is
presently the most accessible location in the region, with about 445,000 jobs and 441,000
residents within 25 minutes under congested conditions. Next is NorthLake Mall,
Concord Mills Mall and Carolina Mall (access to residents), the Airport and Arrowood
Road (access to jobs). Neighborhoods and suburbs generally have fewer residents and
jobs within 25 minutes. In 2030 the CBD will have about 920,000 residents within 25
minutes, compared with 441,000 now. But Trade and Tryon will no longer be the most
accessible point in the region. Concord Mills Mall will have the highest accessibility to
residents in 2030; NorthLake Mall will be 2nd and the Airport 3rd, with the CBD 4th.
Downtown will have 875,000 jobs within 25 minutes, but the Airport will have more jobs
(881,000) within 25 minutes.
Removal of congestion would greatly increase the CBDs access, to about 1.78
million residents within 25 minutes. Perhaps even more important, the CBD would retain
its position as the most accessible place in the region. Removal of congestion also has
the effect of increasing economic equity across the region. It therefore significantly
benefits not only the CBD but also suburbs, malls, neighborhoods and major work sites.
1
Ratio of travel time in the peak to travel time in the off-peak.
2
Charlotte businesses are increasingly concerned about congestion. About 78
percent of businesses responding to a survey consider congestion to be an average or
greater than average problem for their business. Geographically, the greatest concerns are
from businesses in the city center and south-southwest Charlotte. Business views of
congested locations generally agree with periodic “bottleneck” reports.
Traffic congestion eats into business performance by introducing time delays that
cannot be easily avoided or managed. Congestion affects shipping and deliveries,
business activities, workers and customers – virtually all aspects of business. The average
Mecklenburg County business ships or receives about 13.7 deliveries a week. For the
whole county, about 177,199 shipments or deliveries are undertaken weekly, consuming
about 1.805 million hours of delivery time. Congestion-related delays in shipping and
receiving goods and merchandise cost the Charlotte business community about 366,829
lost hours per week, or about 20.3 percent of shipping time. The average business also
makes about 40 visits a week to clients, suppliers or other activities. Congestion incurred
delays in business activities (other than shipping and deliveries) are about 105,986 hours
of delay per week, affecting about 21.3 percent of trips. This is an insidious impact that
affects not only employee time use but also scheduling, meeting lengths and locations,
internet use and work-at-home strategies.
Businesses express considerable frustration in dealing with pervasive congestionrelated delays. Many are simply too busy running their operations and do not see such
problems as traffic congestion to be their problem. But others have taken steps to avoid
traffic congestion. The most commonly mentioned actions include changing routes and
times for shipment departures and arrivals, consolidating shipments, using third party
services, and shipping by various modes.
Congestion also creates problems for employees through long commute times,
lost productivity, use of overtime and constraints on hiring. Commuting trips are
lengthening, spreading out in time and leaving earlier to avoid congestion. The number
of commuters traveling 45 or more minutes almost doubled during the 1990s. As
commuting becomes more of a hassle, employers are confronted with alternatively losing
good workers, raising wages to compensate, or offering perks or flexible working
arrangements. Some are coping by adjusting work schedules, holding meetings at less
congested times, working more by email or telephone, allowing working at home, and
meeting at less congested locations.
In short, traffic congestion weakens business control of time spent with clients or
business, lengthens terminal and shipping times, produces employee late arrivals, and
generates delays around sites or on routes. I-485 in south Charlotte is the top congestion
location mentioned, followed by I-77 south, and I-85.
Businesses are not shy in offering suggestions for reducing traffic congestion. Of
200 suggestions made, the single most frequent suggestion was to widen freeways,
followed closely by signal optimization, and urban arterial widenings. Next follow
suggestions for improving local transit and better project scheduling. These five
suggestions constitute almost 40 percent of all responses, confirming that businesses most
want road improvements and local transit improvements to deal with this problem.
The economic value of the potential savings from congestion relief (time savings for
commuters, shipments, and employee business travel) is about $ 1.325 B annually, or
about 2.3 percent of the Mecklenburg County economy. The business-related impact ($
3
841 million per year) is actually larger than the commuter impact ($484 million per year).
This represents a significant cost to workers in commuting delay (about $ 968/year per
worker), and to businesses (about $1682/year per worker) in lost business efficiency.
Together these losses total about $2,650 per worker.
Removal of congestion would also increase the number of jobs within 25 minutes
by 41-to-74 percent, depending on the point chosen. The resulting increase in the county
economy ranges from 2.0 to 8.1 percent. The increase in tax revenue from greater
business activity ranges from $2.1 B to $8.3 B over 20 years. This is considerably more
than the cost of major road projects currently scheduled.
The report concludes that businesses should not ignore congestion but treat it as a
direct cost affecting the bottom line. Businesses are encouraged to learn about congestion
patterns that affect them and devise ways of dealing with them. They are also encouraged
to become more active in lobbying governments, insisting that actions be taken rather
than waiting for roads to get improved.
Several regions have recognized the threat the congestion poses to
competitiveness, and have moved to deal with it. Atlanta has recently set a goal for
reducing congestion and increased the priority of congestion reduction, and is developing
detailed plans. Texas’ large cities have prepared congestion reduction plans. Seattle is
reviewing congestion impacts. Portland has evaluated congestion impacts on business.
Charlotte leaders should also objectively recognize the threat to competitiveness. They
should implement effective congestion-reducing actions, consolidate responsibility for
congestion planning in a single person, set a goal for congestion reduction, provide more
funds for congestion relief, and investigate public-private partnerships. Other suggestions
include developing local-area congestion reduction plans, increasing the weight placed on
congestion in project selection, attending to non-CBD congestion locations, addressing
congestion in key shipping corridors, ‘wiring’ the region for work-at-home, and including
business groups in planning. The state of North Carolina is encouraged to increase
priority and funding for congestion relief, fund projects that reduce congestion, include
congestion relief in the highway formula, and halt the diversion of funds from highway
accounts.
The report concludes that the impacts of congestion on Charlotte businesses are
significant and increasing. Private firms and governments need to work together to
prudently develop sensible and effective actions that will improve current congestion
levels for businesses and households. At stake is no less than the future of the region’s
economic competitiveness.
4
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
2
I.
Introduction
A. Issues
B. Method
6
6
9
II.
Findings
A. Trends in Traffic Congestion
11
11
III.
B. How Congestion Affects Access
1. Jobs and Residents
2. Growth and Road Improvements
3. Effect of Congestion Removal
13
13
18
19
C. Impacts on Business
1. How Big a Problem is Congestion?
2. How Congestion Affects Business
3. Shipping and Receiving
4. Business Activities
5. Business Actions
6. Impacts on Workers
7. Customers
8. Suggestions for Improvement
21
22
24
25
28
31
32
36
37
D. Congestion Impacts on the Economy
1. Impact on Commuting
2. Impact on Businesses
3. Impact on Productivity
39
39
40
40
Recommendations
A. Businesses
B. Local Government
C. State Government
D. Federal Government
43
43
45
48
49
Appendices
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Methodology Details
Accessibility Data by Location
Survey Comments
50
50
50
51
57
63
5
Business Impacts of Charlotte Traffic Congestion
I. Introduction
“Traffic congestion is people with the economic means
to act on their social and economic interests, getting in
the way of other people with the means to act on theirs!” 2
A. Issues:
Traffic congestion is regularly mentioned in national polls as an increasing
‘hassle’ of modern life 3. Families understand its impact on getting to work, shopping and
school. Businesses see its impact on workers, customers, deliveries and meetings with
clients. Communities see its impact on quality of life. Regions see it as a threat to
competitiveness. As one business in our survey put it:
“Local traffic congestion affects our business via its broader impact on the economy. If Charlotte
gains a reputation for having traffic problems on the order of Atlanta, it will limit the region’s
ability to effectively attract businesses and employees. That in turn will have a major impact on
our ability to continue developing ‘world class’ live, work and play places.”(Real estate
development firm, 5 employees)
Numerous studies have recently assessed the magnitude and impact of traffic
congestion. The Texas Transportation Institute regularly issues a comparative review of
congestion in the nation’s largest 85 cities; the latest, issued for 2003 data, estimated that
traffic congestion costs Americans $ 65 B annually in wasted fuel and travel time 4. The
Federal Highway Administration has prepared an assessment of the overall trends in
congestion and suggested various treatments for its mitigation 5. The Reason Foundation 6
has recently issued a comprehensive nationwide study of congestion and strategies for
reducing it. USDOT has recently released a comprehensive policy statement on
congestion, and a follow-up strategic plan for dealing with it 7. States and cities are also
taking notice. Texas 8 is developing congestion reduction plans for its major cities.
Atlanta 9 has recently revised its project selection process to set a congestion reduction
goal and put more weight on projects that reduce congestion. Washington State 10 has
2
Alan Pisarski, US Senate Testimony, March 19, 2002.
American Automobile Association, Transportation “Pockets of Pain” Survey, November 2006. Available
at www.national.aaa.com.
4
Lomax T and Shrank D., Mobility 2003, Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX May 2005.
5
Federal Highway Administration, Congestion, Washington, DC. September 2005. At www.fhwa.dot.gov
6
Hartgen, DT and Fields MG, Building Highways to Relieve Traffic Congestion, Report for the Reason
Foundation, August 31, 2006. Available at www.reason.org.
7
US DOT Congestion Urban Partnership Program, December 18, 2006. www.fightgridlocknow.gov
8
Texas Governor’s Business Council, Austin TX, September 2006.
9
Governor’s Congestion Mitigation Task Force, Report and Recommendations, Atlanta, GA, Dec. 6, 2005.
10
WSDOT Transportation Commission, Urban Areas Congestion Relief Analysis, Work Product Report
Progress Briefing Paper, Olympia, WA, Feb 2005.
3
6
reviewed congestion impacts on its major cities. Oregon 11 has recently estimated the
impact of congestion on its statewide economy at $1.7 B in 2025.
North Carolina is not generally recognized as one of the most congested states,
but it is. This misperception stems from the dispersed urban structure of the state, which
has many medium-sized urban regions but no very large city. Charlotte, with a population
of about 825,000, contains only about 9 percent of the state’s population.
Figure 1: Greater Charlotte, NC Region, 2000
However, several recent studies have identified the state’s traffic congestion as a
major issue. The North Carolina Department of Transportation recently identified traffic
congestion as a significant cause of the widening gap between predicted revenues and
highway needs 12. In the nationwide Reason study cited above, North Carolina’s 17
urbanized areas (over 50,000 in population) are predicted to have 1537 lane-miles of
severe congestion by 2030, costing about $ 12.4 B to remove. The state’s rural
congestion is also significant, estimated to require another $ 3.8 B to remove. The
author’s recent annual assessment of the 50 state highway systems recently ranked North
Carolina 47th on urban interstate congestion, with 50th being worst, at 72.5 percent
congested 13. And a recent regional roads report identified about $ 6 B in needed road
improvements throughout the 13-county region 14.
11
EDR Group, The Cost of Highway Limitations and Traffic Delay to Oregon’s Economy. Report to the
Oregon Business Council, March 20, 2007.
12
NCDOT Strategic Transportation Plan, Raleigh NC, 2005.
13
Hartgen DT and Karanam RK, Progress Returns: Performance of State Highway Systems 1984-2005,
16th Annual Report, Reason Foundation, Los Angeles CA, Spring 2007, will be available at
www.reason.org.
14
Song, J. Region needs more roads, Charlotte Observer, May 17, 2007.
7
But even though North Carolina is one of the most congested states, very little
attention is being paid to congestion reduction. None of the state’s urban transportation
plans place a high priority on congestion removal 15. And the state’s long range
transportation plan places primary focus on the shortfall of revenue for highway repairs 16.
The greater Charlotte NC region, in south central NC, actually consists of a group
of regions. Figure 1 shows the immediate area, Mecklenburg County, and the nearby
urbanized areas of Gastonia, Concord-Kannapolis and Rock Hill. The immediate
Charlotte urbanized area consists of most of Mecklenburg County, NC and the western
portion of Union County. Within this region are about 825,000 residents. The
transportation planning region is somewhat larger, covering all of Mecklenburg County
and Union County including Monroe 17. However, the de facto region is much larger.
Within 20 miles there are five other medium-sized cities, from which commuting into
Charlotte is substantial and between which the previously rural space is rapidly filling up
with residences, offices, and commercial sites. The long-distance commuting shed is
considerably larger still, from Anson County on the east to Rowan County on the north,
and Rutherford County on the east. The region also includes portions of South Carolina,
particularly York County and Lancaster County, in its commuting shed.
The Charlotte urbanized area is the largest in North Carolina, and has also seen
one of the fastest growth rates in NC and the nation. During the 1990s the population of
Mecklenburg County grew 36 percent, 1½ times the state rate and almost 3 times the
national rate. To the immediate southeast nearby Union County reported the fastest
growth in the state since 2000 and the 15th fastest growth in the nation 18. During the
1990s most of Charlotte’s employment growth was concentrated in the downtown (CBD)
area and the dispersed areas around the county (Arrowood Road, Airport, South Park,
Ballantyne and University), but in the future both population and employment growth is
expected to be focused on the edges of Mecklenburg County, and areas of surrounding
counties between Charlotte and the nearby cities 19.
There has been some concern about rising traffic congestion in the region. A
recent poll by UNC Charlotte’s Urban Institute cited traffic congestion as the #1 problem
in the greater Charlotte region 20. A 2007 survey of North Tryon residents and businesses
found that “traffic” was a key weakness of the corridor 21. The Charlotte transportation
planning organization 22 has recently commissioned a $500,000 study of congestion in the
region 23. In a recent detailed review of traffic congestion in North Carolina 24, the John
Locke Foundation found that Charlotte’ congestion would double in the next several
decades, but the plans had the potential to mitigate only 1/3 of the increase. The region’s
15
Hartgen, Traffic Congestion in North Carolina, Report for the John Locke Foundation, Raleigh NC.
March 19, 2007. Available at www.johnlocke.org.
16
NCDOT, Strategic Transportation Plan, 2005.
17
The Mecklenburg-Union metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO) region.
18
Kytia Weir, “Charlotte region’s boom gains steam’, Charlotte Observer, March 22, 2007.
19
Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization, Long Range Transportation, Plan, p. 6-2.
20
UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, Mecklenburg Region Poll, Charlotte, NC. Fall 2006.
21
Warren and Associates, Responses to N. Tryon Planning Area Survey, March 20, 2007.
22
Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO)
23
Mildenberg D, “Traffic finally on agenda? $500,000 to study roads”, Charlotte Business Journal, Nov.
24, 2006.
24
Hartgen DT, Traffic Congestion in North Carolina: Status, Prospects and Solutions, Report for the John
Locke Foundation, Raleigh NC, March 19, 2007. Available at www.johnlocke.org.
8
long range plan barely mentions congestion, focusing instead on land use integration and
modal choices. It focuses almost 60 percent of the planned transportation funds to be
spent for just 2 percent of commuters, in the form of a five-corridor light rail proposal
that would cost over $6B. Charlotte’s congestion mitigation plans 25 would barely slow
the rate of growth in congestion and certainly not reduce it, producing large impacts on
both businesses and households.
The household (commuting) impacts of congestion are studied in the John Locke
Foundation report (and are summarized below), but the business impacts have not yet
been studied. The business community of Mecklenburg County has about 25600 business
establishments employing 498,000 workers with an annual payroll of $21.3 B 26. A
detailed analysis of how present and future congestion will affect Charlotte’s business
community and the region’s competitiveness would be of great value. This study could
help to focus transportation policy on needed actions and provide a means for the
Legislature and local governments to address this emerging issue. Recognizing both the
threat of inaction and the opportunity for change, the Piedmont Public Policy Institute, a
Charlotte-based research and education organization, has asked UNC Charlotte to review
the issues related to congestion impacts on local businesses. The goals of the study are:
1. Determine impacts of congestion on Charlotte businesses, including:
• Impacts on access to workers and to local markets;
• Impact on business activities, including shipments and deliveries;
• Impact on the regional economy.
2. Identify actions needed to address the issue.
It is hoped that this study will assist local and state policymakers in understanding
the impacts of congestion on business activities, and in implementing actions and policies
that will ameliorate its effects.
B. Method
This study uses straightforward methods to quantify its findings.
1. Literature review. Briefly review the literature and state-local reports on
Charlotte congestion and transportation plans to determine the focus now
being placed on congestion.
2. Estimate impacts on access to labor and markets. Building on a recent
national study of accessibility, conduct accessibility analysis of the Charlotte
region’s network with and without congestion. Estimate the impact of
congestion reduction on access to jobs and markets.
3. Survey of business impacts. Conduct a survey of businesses to determine
impacts on labor availability, shipping and receiving, business meetings and
activities, customer access, and suggestions for action.
25
26
MUMPO Long range plan, op. cit.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis, County Business Patterns, Mecklenburg NC. 2004.
9
4. Regional economic impacts. Using the business survey, conduct economic
analysis of congestion losses to determine how impacts of congestion affect
the regional economy.
More details on the methods used in the study are available in the Appendix.
10
II. Findings
A. Trends in Traffic Congestion
Traffic congestion is defined as the delay in urban travel caused by the presence
of other vehicles. This distinguishes it from other delays due to signs and signals, speed
limits, or inadequate road systems.
Traffic congestion is measured in a variety of ways 27. For large areas such as
cities, the most common measure is the “travel time index” (TTI) developed by the Texas
Transportation Institute 28. This index relates congestion to peak-hour travel times which
people experience every weekday. For instance, a TTI of 1.25 means that travel time
takes 25 percent longer in the peak hour than in the off-peak hours.
Charlotte is one of three North Carolina cities for which congestion is regularly
monitored. Figure 2 shows the current and predicted population and congestion indices
for Charlotte. As recently as 1995, Charlotte’s congestion index was 1.17. However, in
the next 8 years delay almost doubled: by 2003, the index was 1.31. This means that
about 6 minutes of Charlotte’s average commuting travel time, 26.0 minutes, is delay 29.
But since the TTI is an average index calculated from data submitted by state and local
highway agencies to the federal government 30, congestion is not uniform within a region.
Therefore, there will be corridors and routes in each city with higher or lower congestion
levels.
Figure 2: Population and Congestion Trends, Charlotte Urbanized Area
Congestion Trends for Charlotte
1400
1. 6 2
118 5
1.7
1.6
1200
1.5
1000
725
1.4
800
1. 3 1
551
1.3
600
1. 17
400
Populat ion,K
Congest ion Index
1.2
1.1
200
1
0
1995
2003
2030
1995
2003
2030
P op ul a t i on a n d T TI Tr e n ds
Increasing congestion is not caused by wastefulness or unnecessary travel, but by
the growth of the region combined with limited roadway expansion. From 1995 to 2003
27
For freeways and arterials the usual measures are volume/capacity ratios and operating speeds. For
intersections, average vehicle delay is the standard. See Transportation Research Board, Highway Capacity
Manual, 2000 ed.
28
Lomax and Shrank, op. cit. The index is defined as: TTI = (Average travel time in peak hour) /
(Average travel time in off-peak hours)
29
Off-peak time = 26.0/1.31 = 19.8 minutes. Delay = 26.0 – 19.8 = 6.2 minutes.
30
Specifically, the Highway Performance Monitoring System (see www.fhwa.dot.gov ) which gathers data
on traffic, capacity and speeds for a representative sample of roads in each metropolitan region. This data is
updated annually.
11
the Charlotte urbanized area had the 3rd largest increase in population, 31.6 percent, and
the largest increase in traffic, 44.9 percent, of the 17 cities in the state 31. But the daily
vehicle-miles per capita increased only 10.2 percent, and road mileage increased 18
percent. As the region grows the newcomers bring their cars and driving travel patterns
that are increasingly auto-oriented. About 90 percent of US households now own at least
one motor vehicle, and the percentage is a bit higher, 92 percent, in North Carolina 32. The
pejorative comment “Building roads to relieve traffic is like loosening your belt to avoid
gaining weight” trivializes the problem and wrongly suggests that individuals, not urban
growth, cause congestion. Since the size of the road system in terms of lane-miles is
relatively stable, the increasing population and the driving (vehicle-miles) will increase
the traffic load on the system, resulting in greater traffic per mile of road and greater
congestion.
Nor is congestion caused primarily by local land use policies. Intense land use
that concentrates trip ends at specific locations can increase local congestion and
integration of land use and transportation capacity can reduce this congestion, but this
does not prevent overall traffic growth. And the traffic attracted is typically diverted from
other sites. Nor is congestion caused by induced travel 33, the additional traffic thought to
be magically created by more road capacity. Most careful studies of induced travel find it
to be a small part of traffic growth; a recent analysis for Charlotte found that it accounted
for about 8 percent of traffic growth on specific road improvements, and a much smaller
region-wide effect 34.
The region’s growth is expected to continue at a rapid pace into the future. The
MPO-area population is expected to increase 60-90 percent over the next 25 years and
traffic is also expected to sharply increase. Charlotte’s air quality conformity documents
predict an 88 percent increase in traffic, from 19 M to 36 M daily over 25 years. As the
region merges with the surrounding areas it is expected to take on the characteristics of a
much larger region with longer commutes and a regional diameter approaching 75 miles
across 35. Thus within the forecast period, the region is likely to be as large geographically
as present-day Atlanta.
By 2030 Charlotte’s congestion will be like present-day Chicago. The Charlotte
congestion index will increase from 1.31 to 1.62, a 100 percent increase in delay 36. In
2030 the average commuting travel time for the region will be about 32 minutes 37, and
the delay in an average commute will be about 12 minutes. This forecast is based on
continuation of trends in traffic, urban growth and road construction. In other words, it
assumes that the region’s transportation plans are implemented as scheduled. If those
plans are delayed, and they often are, then congestion will generally be worse than
31
Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics, Urbanized Area Tables, 1995 and 2003.
US Census, Journey to Work, 2000.
33
So-called ‘induced travel’ is travel thought to be created by adding capacity. It is thought to consist
primarily of some traffic diverted to faster routes, some shifted in time, days, or other modes, and some
created by additional development. Its existence, while theoretical, has not been confirmed. Most careful
studies of individual projects show very small (5-15%) effects at most.
34
Hartgen DT, Highways and Sprawl in North Carolina, Report for the John Locke Foundation, Raleigh
NC, Sept 24, 2003. p. 51. Available at www.johnlocke.org.
35
MUMPO Long range plan, p. 1-1.
36
Future delay = 32.1-19.8 = 12.3 minutes.
37
Future TTI = 19.8*1.62 = 32.1 minutes.
32
12
predicted. The predictions also indicate that the planned expenditure of transportation
funds will not improve congestion. The region’s long range plan predicts that the
percentage of congested streets will increase from 29 to 64 percent. So in 2030 after $11
B in transportation funds are expended, Charlotte will have worse congestion than today.
The author’s recent analysis of the Charlotte long range transportation plan 38
shows that the problem is not money, but priorities. Charlotte’s plan would spend almost
60 percent 39 of its $11 B for 5 radial transit corridors that would serve just 2 percent of
commuters, and of the $4.4 B slated for non-transit, just $ 3.25 B is for road capital
actions. As a result the plan has only 1/3 of the savings in delay needed to hold
congestion at current levels. The City’s own plan for street work is unfunded, but that
would not focus on major arterials.
B. How Congestion Affects Access
1. Jobs and Residents
The primary function of transportation investment is to improve access to activity
sites so that individuals, businesses and others can get to those locations. The role of
transportation in improving access and regional productivity has been extensively
studied, particularly in the past 30 years. Transportation systems have traditionally been
viewed as a necessary but not sufficient condition for economic health as well as growth.
‘Drive time’ contours are an important means of expressing the relative
accessibility of various transportation networks. They are defined as the area or the
number of jobs or residents within a specified drive time of a point. They are a
convenient way of expressing changes in access over time, as with improving
transportation systems. If drive times are slowing, the region is said to be ‘contracting’ as
access worsens; if times are lessening, the region is said to be ‘expanding’ as access
improves.
“Charlotte has virtually no [congestion-free] areas where people will comfortably readily go to
….people use solely that reason to decide not to come in.” (Exercise training firm, 1 employee)
For this study, we developed detailed descriptions of drive time contours for 20
specific points around the greater Charlotte region. We used 25 minutes as the average
drive time since that corresponds closely to the regional average commuting time. Figure
3 shows these drive time contours for five key points, using the year-2000 road system
with and without congestion. Drive time contours typically stretch out along major
highways where travel speeds are higher. For instance, the 25- minute drive time contour
for Trade and Tryon shows that in congested conditions one can reach Cornelius,
Concord Mills Mall and Fort Mill, whereas travel distances to the east (along
Independence Blvd.) are more restricted. The contours are typically smaller for points not
38
Hartgen DT, Traffic congestion in North Carolina: status, prospects and solutions, Report for the John
Locke Foundation, March 19, 2007. Available at www.johnlocke.org.
39
The transit portion was recently updated to $8.9 B.
13
Figure 3: 25-Min Drive Times for Key Charlotte Points
14
on the Interstate system, such as Sharon Amity/Independence/Albemarle. With
congestion removed, however, the 25-minute drive time contours are considerably larger,
meaning that one can cover more area and reach more destinations. This is an exponential
impact, since a doubling of speed would lead to a quadrupling of the area within a given
time band. Therefore, reductions in congestion (increase in speed) can often have a very
large impact on the area reachable within 25 minutes.
For nearby neighborhoods (Figure 4) these contours are mostly circular in shape
and smaller, reflecting the reduced access and lower-level street systems that typically
Figure 4: 25-Min Drive Times for Charlotte Neighborhoods
15
serve them. For suburbs (Figure 5), the contours vary with the nature of the highway
access, some are spread out and others are circular.
Figure 5: 25-Min Drive Times for Charlotte Suburbs
16
For malls (Figure 6) the patterns tend to be more elongated, reflecting their locations
near major interstate interchanges. The exception, South Park, has a generally circular
pattern reflecting its smaller access area.
Figure 6: 25-Min Drive Times for Charlotte Malls
17
Using these contours, it is possible to determine the number of jobs or residents
within a given drive time of a point, by simply adding up the jobs and residents within the
contour. Figure 7 summarizes this information for the 20 points. It shows that the
Charlotte CBD is presently the most accessible point in the region, with about 445,000
jobs and 441,000 residents within 25 minutes under congested conditions. The CBD is
followed closely by NorthLake Mall, Concord Mills Mall and Carolina Mall (resident
access) and the Airport and Arrowood Road (jobs access). Neighborhoods and suburban
cities generally have fewer residents and jobs within 25 minutes.
Figure 7: Jobs and Residents within 25 Min, Year 2000 Congested Roads
Key Points
Malls
Neighborhoods
Suburbs
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
n
so
v id
D a or d
nc oll y
Co t H
n
ou
M n ia
to n
as t o
G ing
d
ed
W il l
M
rt
Fo
il l
tH e
in
M tyn
n
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Ba ew v e
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at
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o
ck
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ak
all
O
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rk
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h
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u t M a al
So i na ls M
l
il
ro M
Ca ord a ll
nc e M
Co la k
r th
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n
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ce
Tr
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nd
U N oo
pe
w
ro
de
In
Ar t
or
rp rle
Ai ma
r
be n
Al tow
wn
Do
Population Reach (K)
Employment Reach (K)
2. Growth and Road Improvements
Using the same method it is also possible to determine how each point’s
accessibility will change in the future as roads are improved and as the region grows.
Figure 8 shows the results, and is useful to compare to the above figure. In 2030 when
new roads like the Beltway and other are completed and the region grows by 70 percent,
all points will have greater absolute access (that is, more residents and jobs within 25
minutes) than at present. For instance, in 2030 the CBD will have about 920,000
18
residents within 25 minutes, compared with 441,000 now. But the Charlotte CBD will no
longer be the most accessible point in the region: Concord Mills Mall, 3rd in accessibility
in 2000, will have the highest access to residents in 2030, and NorthLake Mall will be
second, with the Airport 3rd. Downtown will have fallen to 4th in access to residents.
Regarding jobs within 25 minutes, downtown fares better: it will have 875,000 jobs
within 25 minutes, but the Airport will have more jobs (881,000) within 25 minutes.
These changes are occurring because other points in the region will be getting more
accessible relative to population and job growth.
Figure 8: Jobs and Residents within 25 Min, 2030 Congested Roads
Key Points
Malls
Neighborhoods
Suburbs
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
rd
co
on
C n ia
to y
l
as ol
G tH
n
n
ou t o
M ing
d
ed
W il l
M
rt
Fo s on
id
av
D
e
yn
n t ve
l la ro
Ba ry G
ko
ic l
H
il
tH
in
M
le
da
ak s
w
O
e
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at
l
M
al
M
rk
Pa l
l
h
u t Ma
l
So na
al
i
ol M al l
ar e
C la k ls M
il
th
or d M
N
r
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on
C
e
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ry en
C
C
- T ep
N
U
od Ind
o
w
ro rle
a
Ar
rm
be n
Al ow
nt
ow
t
or
D
rp
Ai
Population Reach (K)
Employment Reach (K)
3. Effect of Congestion Removal
Congestion reduction would have a dramatic effect on the accessibility of most
points in the region, and on the rank order of points. Figure 9 shows the results of further
analysis using the congestion-free drive time contours. For the CBD, congestion removal
would increase its accessibility to about 1.78 million residents within 25 minutes,
compared with about 920,000 residents with congestion (Figure 9 below). This effect,
essentially a doubling of accessibility, is also apparent for most other points. And perhaps
even more important, the CBD would retain its position as the most accessible place in
the region, albeit only slightly ahead of Northlake Mall, Arrowood, and the Airport.
Removal of congestion also has the effect of bringing the points closer in overall access,
19
increasing geographic equity across the region. It therefore significantly benefits not only
the CBD but also suburbs, malls, neighborhoods and major work sites.
Figures 10 and 11 summarize these observations. Trade and Tryon is the most
accessible point now, but will loose ground to regional malls as the region grows.
However, removing congestion from the regional road network would allow all points to
become more accessible and would return the CBD to its top place in accessibility.
Figure 9: Jobs and Residents within 25 Min, 2030, Congestion Removed
Key Points
Malls
Neighborhoods
Suburbs
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
a
ni
to
as
G son
id
av l
D
il
M
rt
Fo ord
c
n
on t o
C ing
d y
e d oll
W tH
n
ou
M
e
yn
nt
l la s
Ba ew
th
at
M il l
e
t H rov
in
M ry G
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ic
H
le
da
ak
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al
M
rk
Pa l
l
h
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M
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ol
ar d M l
C
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r
c o Ma
on e
k
C
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l
e
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N
en
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C
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C
N arle
U
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on
Al t
ry
or - T
rp
Ai ood
w
n
ro
Ar tow
n
ow
D
Population Reach (K)
Employment Reach (K)
20
Figure 10: Residents within 25 Minutes
2000
n
so
id
av
D ord y
c ll
on o
C tH
n
ou
M n ia n
to o
as gt
G din
ed
W il l
M
rt
Fo
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tH
i n ne
M n ty
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Ba ew v e
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at G
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ko
ic e
l
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Pa l l
ll
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So i na l ls
ol Mi
ar
ll
C ord a
c M
on e
C la k
th
or
N
n
e
yo
Tr
nc
C
C dde
N
en
U oo
w
ep
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nd
Ar rt
-I
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rp rle
Ai rma
be n
Al ntow
ow
D
rd
co
on n
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i
av
D n ia y
to ll
as o
G nt H n
ou t o
M ing
d
ed
W il l
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rt
Fo
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tH s
in
M ew v e
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at G
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ic
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l la
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ak
al
O
M ll
rk Ma
Pa il ls
h
M
ut
So ord l l
a
c
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on
C i na a ll
ol M
e
ar e
C la k
nc
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de
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N
ep
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N
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r
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Al oo
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Ai ntow
ow
D
21
2030 - With Congestion Removed
2030 - As Planned
2000 - Base
Suburbs
Neighborhoods
Malls
Key Points
2030 - With Congestion Removed
2030 - As Planned
2000 - Base
Suburbs
Neighborhoods
Malls
Key Points
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Figure 11: Jobs within 25 Minutes
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
This is a significant accomplishment for a transportation strategy. Essentially our
findings say that reducing congestion can be a key strategy in retaining the strength of
the CBD, which would otherwise weaken. This policy would also strengthen those
portions of the region that are relatively inaccessible now. Even partial relief would
benefit the region proportionally. Of course it is not possible to remove all congestion
from a network, and even if that were possible it would be cost-prohibitive to do. This
analysis shows, however that the effect of doing so would be very significant, in terms of
getting people to jobs, shopping, and recreation from diverse locations throughout the
greater Charlotte region.
C. Impacts on Business
This section summarizes findings of our survey of businesses conducted in
Mecklenburg County in the spring of 2007. The methodology for this survey is described
in the Appendix. Briefly, successive samples of businesses were drawn randomly from
lists of businesses that are members of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. In total,
about 100 businesses responded, sufficient for distributions but not cross-tabs. To ensure
representative results, survey responses for computed statistics were weighted by
business size (employees) using current data from the national Bureau of Economic
Analysis. Responses were received from all over Mecklenburg County 40, generally
corresponding to concentrations of businesses in the CBD and other employment centers.
1. How Big a Problem is Congestion?
Figure 12 shows that about 78 percent of responding businesses consider
congestion to be an average or greater than average problem for their business.
“Traffic congestion is a deterrent to ticket buyers coming from Charlotte’s environs to uptown. As
congestion continues to escalate and travel time increases, the experience of coming to uptown for
performances and related activities diminishes and customers opt to stay home, causing a drop in sales.”
([Non-profit arts group, 15 employees)
Figure 12: How Big a Problem is Congestion for your Business?
How Big a Problem is Local Traffic Congestion for Business ?
40
34
Number of Respondents
35
33
30
25
20
16
15
10
11
6
5
0
1
No Problem
2
Slight Problem
40
3
Average
4
Greater than
Average
5
Big Problem
To ensure confidentiality, responses are randomly placed within the reported business zip code and
individual statistics are not shown.
22
Responses were similar across industry groups, indicating widespread concern
throughout the private sector. Geographically, the greatest concerns were expressed from
businesses situated in the city center and southwest Charlotte; businesses situated in the
east or north generally expressed less concern (Figure 13). This suggests that perceptions
of congestion generally agree with periodic ‘bottleneck’ studies showing major
congestion in south Charlotte (I-485, I-77, etc).
“Commute times can be even more outrageous if there is any issue on I-77 or I-85” (Commercial
real estate firm, 15 employees)
“We are located just off I-485 at Johnston Road. Unfortunately it gets so congested coming off I485 on the ramp toward Ballantyne that …accidents block traffic”. (Office rental firm, 5 employees)
“The 485 southern loop is a disaster. Employees spend a lot of time in their vehicles, as do trucks
delivering and picking up goods” (ATV transmission products, 40 employees)
Figure 13: “How Big a Problem is Congestion for your Business? And Business Size
23
2. How Congestion Affects Business
The Charlotte business community views traffic congestion as a significant drain
on productivity, through its impacts on the use of time.
“Traffic congestion affects our employees and clients with regard to the amount of time it takes to
get to work or go to meetings, and the amount of time it takes our clients to come to our office for
meetings.”(Engineering consulting firm, 65 employees)
Basically, traffic congestion eats into business performance by introducing time
delays that cannot be avoided or managed. Congestion affects shipping and deliveries,
business activities, workers and customers – virtually all aspects of business. Table 1
shows how our business survey respondents see this problem. Four of the top five
‘mentions’ relate to loss of time. These responses constitute about 30 percent of all
responses.
Table 1: How Does Congestion Affect Your Business?
Codes
22
14
15
21
11
32
26 and 13
16
42
212
17
24
41
211
23
25
111
18
19
27
31
43
28 and 33
29
34
35
110
210
213
36
Total
Question 6 Classification
Long work commutes
Client or business time control
Customer or terminal time
Late arrival and delays
Site or route delays
Long delivery times
I-485 delays
Meetings and work attendance
Regional concerns or competition
Commuting 'hassle'
Lost production time
I-77 delays
Accidents/ Incidents
Productivity
I-85 delays
NC 29/49 delays
Increase in business due to congestion
Work arranged to suit traffic
Inconvenient roads for customers
Employment constraints
Long travel time
Poor road design
Independence blvd
Loss of employees
Light rail construction
Loss of customers
Traffic signals
Overtime for employees
WT Harris Blvd
Location or relocation
24
Mentions
20
14
8
8
6
6
6
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
127
Localized impacts are also substantial. Businesses mention delays at specific
locations (particularly I-485, I-77, I-85, NC29/49, Independence Blvd.) as well as
impacts on business scheduling and customer access.
A third important area is employee access, reflected in such comments as long
commute times and travel times, productivity, use of overtime, and constraints on hiring.
As commutes become more of a hassle, employers are confronted with alternatively
losing good workers, raising wages to compensate, or offering perks or flexible working
arrangements.
“Traffic affects my employees’ commute times and influences their choices for living proximity.”
(Technology consulting firm, 20 employees)
Congestion also affects sales and overall business performance. In our survey, the overall
average drop in sales due to congestion was estimated at about 3.1 percent (Table 2), with
about 12 percent of firms reporting 6+ percent drops.
Table 2: Estimated Percent Drops in Business due to Congestion
Range
Number
of Percent
of
Responses
Respondents
Not sure
46
45.5
0%
31
30.7
1-5 %
12
11.9
6-10 %
8
7.9
11-20 %
2
2.0
> 20 %
2
2.0
3.1 %
Average Drop
3. Shipping and Receiving
Table 3 summarizes the findings of our survey of businesses concerning shipping
and receiving delays. The average business in Mecklenburg County ships or receives
about 13.7 deliveries a week; this statistic varies widely, with 54 percent of businesses
reporting no shipments, but others a large number. On average, the survey found that
about 45 percent of businesses in Mecklenburg County ship or receive products at their
major work site. The average shipment time is about 3.12 hours, and the average reported
congestion-related delay is about 0.16 hours, or about 10 minutes. This does not sound
like much, but it adds up over a day and effectively loses an hour of an 8-hour day for the
typical driver.
Table 3: Shipping and Receiving Congestion Delays
Item
Survey: Ave. Shipments and deliveries/week
Ave. Shipment Time
Ave Shipment Delay
Meck Co: Total Shipments/wk
Total Shipment Time
Total Delay
Percent Delay
25
Statistic
13.7
3.12 hours
0.16 hours
177,199
1,805,534
366,829
20.3
Expanding the data to all 25563 Mecklenburg County firms, about 177,199 shipments
or deliveries per week are undertaken, consuming about 1.805 million hours of delivery
time. Congestion-related delays in shipping and receiving goods and merchandise cost
the Charlotte business community about 366,829 lost hours per week, or about 20.3
percent of shipping time.
“We have over 30 trucks on the road…” (Construction/demolition firm, 60 employees)
Figure 14 shows that most of these delay hours are in 3-axle trucks and vans/delivery
trucks; only about 1/15th is in the use of larger semi-trailers and trailer/combination
vehicles. The cost of this delay is valued at high driver-wages, of course, and is therefore
substantial.
“[Congestion] primarily affects our delivery service, slowing the distribution of our product and
causing delays in delivery.” (Gift store, 5 employees)
Figure 14: Congestion Delay to Business Shipments, by Vehicle Type
Total Est Shipment Delay Hrs/wk Distribution by Vehicle Type
Car/SUV, 2988
Semi trailer
and trailer,
24455
Combination,
105
Van or delivery
truck, 127021
Three+ axle
truck, 212260
Total Est Sh Delay Hr/Wk = 366,829
Most of this delay is in local deliveries (Figure 15) although some of it also occurs on
the major roads entering the city.
26
Figure 15: Charlotte Business Shipment Delays by Direction
Total Shipment Delay, Hrs/Wk, by Direction
South I 77 (Rock
Hill/Columbia),
24746
Northeast I 85
(Concord/Greensb
oro), 6252
Southwest I 85
(Greenville
SC/Atlanta GA), 0
North I 77
(Mooresville/States
ville), 7781
Local deliveries
only, 306950
Total Est Shpmt Delay = 366829
The responses also suggest that delays in the south sector (I-77 south) are the most
troublesome of access routes. This is confirmed by Figure 16 showing reported shipment
delays by location. It is clear that delivery delays are not primarily a long-distance
problem, but instead are determined by local traffic conditions.
Figure 16: Shipment Delays by Location
Shipment delays are also frequently encountered, and are not an isolated event. Figure 17
shows that almost ¾ of shipment delays are in regularly occurring delay that affects 51100 percent of shipments. This means that shipment delay is a continuing business
phenomenon that must be dealt with and planned for on a continuing basis.
27
Figure 17: Shipment Delays by Frequency of Delay
Total Shipment Delay, Hrs/Wk, by Frequency of Delay
1-5% , 8287
6-10% , 22814
[SKIPPED], 0
11-25% , 63900
26-50% , 2770
51-100% , 269057
4. Business Activities
Congestion also affects business activities such as meetings, scheduling and
locations. Table 4 summarizes the survey results for congestion-related business delays.
The average Mecklenburg County business makes about 40 visits a week to clients,
suppliers or other activities. The average congestion-related delay encountered in these
trips is about 0.10 hours. This may not seem much, but for numerous trips it can add up
and quickly throw off schedules.
Table 4: Summary of Congestion-Related Business Delay
Item
Statistic
Survey: Ave. Business Visits/Week
40.0
Ave Delay/trip
0.10 hours
Meck Co: Total Business Trips/Week
1,664,104
Total Delay per Week
105,986
Percent Trips Delayed
21.3
Expanding to all 25563 establishments in Mecklenburg County, about 1.664
million business-related trips are made per week 41. Congestion incurs delays in business
activities (other than shipping and deliveries) of about 105,986 hours of delay per week,
affecting about 21.3 percent of trips. These delays are also frequent: over half of the
employee business delay is encountered 51-100 percent of trips made.
“We don’t go on appointments before 9:30 AM or after 4 PM. It is just a not productive use of
time. [Congestion] limits our sales time to 6.5 hours a day out of the office” (Real estate firm, 2 employees)
“Traffic congestion can really foul up an outside salesperson’s day when they have appointments
set to flow – you are late to one, then it’s a domino effect”(Sales, 1 employee)
41
To put this in perspective, about 15 million trips/week are made in Mecklenburg County, so this is about
10-11 percent of trips.
28
This is an insidious impact that is difficult to quantify but nevertheless pervasive.
It affects not only employee time use and wages but also affects scheduling, meeting
times, lengths and locations, and internet and work-at-home strategies. And it is common:
Figure 18 shows that about 60 percent of firms indicate that delays are encountered on
51-100 percent of business visits.
Figure 18: Employee Business Delay by Frequency of Delay
Employee Business Delay, Hours/Wk, by Frequency of Delay
1-5% , 1164
6-10% , 5189
11-25% , 9566
51-100% , 53553
26-50% , 32290
Total Total Meck Empl Del/Wk = 105986
“Sales meetings and training deliveries in the uptown area require a minimum of 1-hour
allocation each way, taking us out of general productivity during that time…..for safety reasons we do not
allow phone calls while driving”. (Executive training, 3 employees)
“Travel times are unpredictable; for example the time to reach one specific client has ranged from
10 to 80 minutes. This gives the impression that we are not taking their business seriously”. (Engineering
consultant, 2 employees)
The value of this delay is substantial. Table 5 shows that at an average hourly
wage of $ 21.40, the direct cost of this delay is about $ 118 million in lost wages alone.
Not included here are other associated costs such as extra fuel use, vehicle operating
costs during the delay, and the cost of the unreliability of time schedules.
Table 5: Direct Cost of Employee Congestion-Related Business Delays
Meck. Employee Delay/wk by NAICS Code
NAICS
Code
42
54
53
51
52
61
23
Description
Wholesale Trade
Professional, Scientific-Tech Services
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
Information tech
Finance and Insurance
Educational Services
Construction
29
Total
Annual value
Delay/Week, hrs of Lost Time, $
41456
46,132,644
21562
23,994,268
20482
22,791,938
3723
4,143,107
3674
4,088,677
3057
3,402,219
2987
3,323,407
71
56
72
81
48
62
31
44
49
33
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Admin Support, Waste Mgt/Remedial
Accommodations and Food Services
Other Services (Except Public Admin)
Transportation and Warehousing
Health Care and Social Assistance
Manufacturing
Retail Trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Manufacturing
Total
2260
2206
1707
1586
473
353
158
130
87
85
105,986
2,514,504
2,454,754
1,899,892
1,765,255
525,942
392,659
175,663
144,684
96,427
94,816
$ 117,940,857
Over half of this lost business time is in just 3 industries: wholesale trade, professional
services and real estate.
Figure 19 shows that employee business delays occur throughout the region but
are most pervasive in the I-77 corridor southwest, and south I-485 area. Generally,
businesses that consider congestion to be a major problem also are experiencing
significant employee business delays.
Figure 19: Employee Business Delays vs. Firm Size
30
5. Actions to Deal with Congestion-Related Business Delay
Businesses express considerable frustration in dealing with pervasive congestionrelated delays to their operations. Table 6 indicates that, when asked what actions they
had taken to deal with congestion affecting their operations, the most frequently
mentioned response was “nothing”. Many businesses are simply too busy running their
operations and do not see such traffic congestion as a problem they can address.
But many businesses have independently taken some steps to avoid traffic
congestion. Regarding shipments and deliveries, the most commonly mentioned actions
include:
• changing routes and times for shipment departures and arrivals
• consolidating shipments
• using third party services
• shipping by various modes.
Less frequently mentioned actions include lobbying government for road improvements,
and providing better traffic information to business-related drivers.
“We have to understand and work with the traffic patterns, and then we either buy or build buildings that
people will want to rent” (Real estate development firm, 5 employees)
.
And a few businesses are taking more drastic steps, including relocating portions of
business or changing markets.
Table 6: Business Actions Regarding Traffic Congestion
Q.18: Actions to Deal with Congestion Affecting Business
Operations
Mentions
Nothing
34
Change departure or arrival times for deliveries/shipments
32
Change the routes used for deliveries and shipments
30
Consolidate shipments or deliveries
22
Use third party delivery services
19
Ship by different methods or carriers
9
Relocate business to other less congested locations
9
Lobby local governments for road improvements
8
Give real-time traffic info to drivers
7
Other
7
Change days of delivery or shipments
6
Lobby state governments for road improvements
6
Equip vehicles with GPS navigation
3
Change the markets served
2
Lobby fed government for road improvements
1
Total responses
195
These findings are shown graphically in Figure 20. There is a significant drop-off in
actions mentioned after the first three. And most noticeably, lobbying officials is not a
31
frequently mentioned action, but if the results for lobbying local, state and the federal
government are combined, lobbying governments becomes the sixth most cited action.
Businesses may be cynical about this action or are just too busy managing their firms to
engage in it, but some are actively talking with government officials.
Figure 20: Actions to Deal with Employee-Related Business Delays
Actions to Deal with Congestion Affecting Business
40
35
34
32
30
30
25
22
19
20
15
7
7
6
6
Lobby state govt for road
improvements
Change days of del/shpt
Other
Give real-time traffic info to
drivers
Lobby local govt for road imp
Relocate business to other
less cong loc
Ship by different methods or
carriers
Use third party delivery
services
Consolidate shpt/del
Change the routes used for
del/shpts
Nothing
0
Change dep/arr times for
del/shpt
5
3
2
1
Lobby fed govt for road
improvements
8
Change the markets served
9
Equip vehicles with GPS
navigation
9
10
6. Impacts on Workers
Another important dimension of the congestion issue is its impact on the
workforce. Businesses rely on efficient and available employees in order for business to
operate smoothly. External events such as recurring congestion that affects workforce
arrival or performance can be a significant drain on business productivity. This issue was
identified by our survey respondents as one of the important effects of traffic congestion.
“Many employees travel from outside the uptown area. Commuting time to work has increased,
which also increases the frustration…In hiring new staff there are fewer applicants willing to
travel uptown to work…”(Association mgt firm, 10 employees)
In the greater Charlotte region, commuting to work is done largely by private
automobile. Table 7 shows commuting patterns in 1990 and in 2000, the latest data
available from the Census 42. The resident workforce increased about 31 percent in the
1990’s (not counting in-commuting from surrounding counties), and solo driving
increased even more, 32 percent. Carpooling, walking, and transit commuting all
declined as a share of the total; transit commuting now constitutes just 2 percent of
commuters. Work-at-home ‘commuting’ has doubled in just one decade, and is now 50%
more than transit commuting.
42
2000 Census Journey to Work, Mecklenburg County. www.census.gov.
32
Table 7: Changes in Mecklenburg County Resident Commuting, 1990-2000
Population
Households
0-Vehicle
1990
511433
200125
17539
Pct
100
100
8.8
2000
695454
273561
18380
Pct
100
100
6.7
Pct
Change
36
36
4.8
Workers 16+
Drove Alone
Carpooled
Public Trans and Taxi
Bike/walk
Motorcycle/other
Work at home
277227
218060
34685
9897
6368
2161
6056
100
78.7
12.5
3.6
2.3
0.8
2.2
362991
287663
45473
9331
5586
2626
12312
100
79.2
12.5
2.6
1.5
0.7
3.4
30.9
31.9
31.1
-5.7
-12.3
21.5
103.3
Mean travel time
Drove alone
Carpooled
Public Trans and Taxi
Bike/walk
Motorcycle/other
22.1
Change
in Pct
-2.1
0.5
0.0
-1.0
-0.8
-0.1
1.2
26.0
25.0
27.8
44.7
12.0
66.1
The regional average travel time is about 26 minutes, 25 minutes for solo drivers.
Average travel time for transit commuting is about 46 minutes, about 70 percent longer
than drive-alone times.
But average commute times do not tell the whole story. Commuting trips are
lengthening and spreading out in time. Table 8 shows that the percent of commuters
traveling less than 30 minutes declined by 0.2 to 2.4 percentage points, and the number of
commuters traveling 30-44 minutes increased about 45 percent in the 1990s. The number
of commuters traveling 45 or more minutes almost doubled during the 1990s. More and
more workers are avoiding peak hours by starting commutes earlier or later than peak
periods. The percentage of commuters starting between 5:00 and 6:00 AM increased 39
percent in just one decade, while the percent starting between 7 and 9 declined, and the
percent starting after 9:00 also increased. Afternoon-to-midnight and 3rd shift working
has also increased sharply. So, commuters are increasing their travel times and shifting
commuting to earlier and later periods. This has important ‘spillback’ effect on family
life and time allocation, which is subsequently reflected in job performance and
attendance.
“Staff members ‘dodge’ traffic as much as they can by coming to work early and leaving early as
well” (Architecture consultant, 45 employees)
33
Table 8: Mecklenburg County: Changes in Commuter Travel Time and Start Time,
1990-2000
Travel Time To Work
1990 Pct
Workers who did not work at home
Less than 5 minutes
5 to 9 minutes
10 to 14 minutes
15 to 19 minutes
20 to 29 minutes
30 to 44 minutes
45 to more minutes
Mean travel time to work (minutes)
Time Leaving Home To Go To Work
Workers who did not work at home
5:00 am to 6:59 am
7:00 am to 7:59 am
8:00 am to 8:59 am
9:00 am to 9:59 am
10:00 am to 11:59 am
12:00 pm to 11:59 pm
12:00 am to 4:59 am
271171
5528
23730
37571
49711
70966
60201
23464
22.1
2000 Pct
100.0
2.0
8.8
13.9
18.3
26.2
22.2
8.7
350679
6170
25156
43828
55760
87019
87107
45639
26.0
1990 %
271171
58811
99038
53379
14239
7737
33847
4120
Pct
Change in
Change percent
100.0
29.3
1.8
11.6
-0.2
7.2
6.0
-1.6
12.5
16.7
-1.4
15.9
12.2
-2.4
24.8
22.6
-1.4
24.8
44.7
2.6
13.0
94.5
4.3
2000 %
100.0
21.7
36.5
19.7
5.3
2.9
12.5
1.5
350679
81826
125884
65288
20142
11212
39783
6544
Pct
Change in
Change percent
100.0
29.3
23.3
39.1
1.6
35.9
27.1
-0.6
18.6
22.3
-1.1
5.7
41.5
0.4
3.2
44.9
0.3
11.3
17.5
-1.2
1.9
58.8
0.4
Against this background perhaps it is not surprising that complaints about
congestion are common. In our survey, about 64 percent of businesses indicate that 30+
percent of their workers have complained about congestion (Figure 21). These complaints
cover a wide range of concerns, from early starts to reasons for tardiness, to needs for
child pick-up and flexible work scheduling.
Figure 21: Employee Complaints
Distribution of Respondents by Pct of Employees complain
0% , 6
2.5% , 12
8% , 5
17% , 13
30% , 64
Total Respondents = 100
34
Although businesses are not directly responsible for solving employee
commuting problems, many businesses have taken actions to assist their workers
in coping with traffic congestion. Table 9 indicates that from over 300 responses
in the business survey, the most commonly mentioned actions are allowing
flexible work hours, scheduling meetings at less congested times, permitting more
work by telephone and email/web, permitting working at home, and meeting at
less congested locations. These 5 actions constitute 70 percent of responses. On
the other hand, very few businesses have used financial incentives or offered
transit subsidies.
Table 9: Actions to Help Workers Deal with Congestion
Q22: Actions to Deal with Congestion Affecting Workers
Action
Mentions Percent
Allow a flexible work hour or workday schedule
Schedule meetings at less congested times
Work more by email or telephone
Allow working at home
Meet at less congested locations
Nothing
Encourage carpooling
Relocate some business activities
Provide parking incentives
Lobby local government for road improvements
Lobby state government for road improvements
Provide company cars
Reassign workers to other locations
Offer bus use passes
Give promotions or bonuses
Lobby federal government for road improvements
Use salary incentives
Subsidize bus or limo services
Other
Assist with employee housing
Total Responses
Figure 22 shows this information in bar-chart form.
35
57
50
45
41
22
17
13
11
7
7
7
6
6
4
4
4
2
1
1
0
305
18.6
16.4
14.8
13.4
7.2
5.6
4.2
3.6
2.3
2.3
2.3
2.0
2.0
1.3
1.3
1.3
0.6
0.6
0.6
0
100.0
Figure 22: Actions to Help Workers Deal with Congestion
Actions to deal with congestion affecting workers
60
57
50
45
50
41
40
30
1
1
Other
0
Assist with employee housing
2
Subsidize bus or limo services
4
improvements
4
Lobby fed govt for road
4
Give promotions or bonuses
locations
6
Offer bus use passes
6
Provide company cars
7
Reassign workers to other
7
improvements
activities
Encourage carpooling
Relocate some business
Nothing
Meet at less congested locations
Allow working at home
Work more by email/telephone
times
schedule
Schedule meetings at less cong
Allow a flex work hr or workday
0
7
Lobby state govt for road
11
Lobby local govt for road
improvements
13
Provide parking incentives
17
10
Use salary incentives
22
20
7. Impacts on Customers
Congestion’s impact on customers is another important issue. Customer
complaints about traffic congestion are also common but split. About 30 percent of
businesses indicated that more than 30 percent of customers complained about traffic; on
the other hand, 24 percent said that complaints were non-existent.
Figure 23: Percent of Customers Complaining about Congestion
Distribution of Respondents by Pct of Cust Complain
0% , 24
30% , 31
3% , 11
18% , 18
8% , 16
Total Respondents = 100
Businesses are aware of these concerns:
“Customers do not want to drive downtown [because of congestion]…” (Health care
firm, 5 employees)
“Delays in traffic cost our customers much money for their projects. It also affects our
own productivity” (Consultant, 5 employees)
36
But businesses are less inclined to take actions to help customers with congestionavoidance. Of 129 responses regarding actions, the largest (30 percent) was “nothing”,
followed by “relocating businesses near customers”, “scheduling deliveries early or late”,
and “providing courtesy parking”. Some businesses also mentioned on-line shopping,
lobbing governments, and “free shipping or delivery.”
Figure 24: Actions to help Customers Deal with Congestion
Actions to deal with congestion affecting customers
4
3
3
Lobby federal govt for road imp
4
Expand parking lots
Lobby state govt for road imp
4
Improve site access
6
Free shipping for deliveries
6
Offer price discounts
6
Lobby local govt for road imp
9
Provide online shopping
11
Other
11
Provide courtesy parking
11
Schedule deliveries earlier in the
morning or later in the afternoon
Relocate business nearer to cust
12
Increase prices
39
Nothing
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
8. Suggestions for Improvement
The business community is not shy about making suggestions for dealing with
Charlotte’s increasing traffic congestion. Of 200 suggestions made, the single most
frequent suggestion was to widen freeways, followed closely by signal optimization, and
urban arterial widenings. These are, coincidentally, the top three suggestions made
recently regarding congestion planning in Charlotte 43. Next follow suggestions for
improving local transit and project scheduling.
Table 10: Suggestions for Congestion Relief
Code
14
20
15
51
73
46
49
43
Q 26: Suggestions for Congestion Relief
Freeway widenings
Signal optimization
Urban arterial widenings
Improved local transit
Project scheduling
Rapid transit, LRT/BRT
Flexible work hours ram
Hartgen, NC congestion study, op. cit.
37
Mentions
27
19
11
10
10
9
8
Percent
13.5
9.5
5.5
5.0
5.0
4.5
4.0
59 Coordinate planning and growth
50 Work-at-home and telecommuting
56 Law enforcement
69 More funding for roads
11 New freeway
22 HOV lanes
30 Road sign Improvements
70 Improve Fund management
72 Impact developer fees
12 New arterials
16 Rural arterial widenings
29 One-way repairs
47 Toll roads, bridges/ lanes
57 Traffic diversion
506 Increase parking
63 Strengthen Cong Mgt Plan
66 Lobby government
71 Land use promotion
40 Employee carpool matching program
501 Tax incentives
503 Accident management
507 Limit shuttle services
508 Incentives for mass transit
74 Plan roads to reduce/eliminate congestion
13 New exits or ramps on freeways
17 Intersection improvements
18 Bottleneck removal program
26 Minor improvements with no widening
28 Driver restrictions
32 No left turns
33 Provide sidewalks
34 Bus stop improvements
41 Residential carpool matching program
53 Parking surcharges/fees
58 Bike path suggestions
502 Housing solutions
504 Safety campaign
505 Reduce access
510 Offer incentives for carpooling
511 Tax incentives for merchants using e-commerce
512 Direct growth outside of charlotte
60 Increase priority for congestion-relief projects
61 Evaluate project congestion impacts of TIP
75 Remove/replace officials
Total Responses
7
6
6
6
5
5
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
200
3.5
3.0
3.0
3.0
2.5
2.5
2.0
2.0
2.0
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
100.0
Of the suggested freeway widenings, by far the most frequently mentioned was
the needed widening of I-485 south of Charlotte, followed by I-77 and then by I-85.
These suggestions indicate the widespread agreement in the business community that the
city needs to deal with congestion by, first, improving road capacity.
38
D. Congestion Impacts on the Charlotte Economy
1. Impact on Commuting
One major benefit of reduced traffic congestion is the travel time that is saved by
workers 44. Stated another way, in the absence of capacity improvements, a major cost of
increased traffic congestion is the lost time while the regional labor force is stuck in
traffic. These travel time savings have two parts. The direct benefit is simply the value of
workers’ time saved. However, if this time were translated into income that workers
would otherwise receive, then it can be argued that the full benefit should also include the
indirect economic benefit of workers’ consumption spending in the local economy.
To capture these effects, we first estimated the value of time saved using average
wage rates from the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. Because some
consumer spending takes place outside of the home region, we calculated a ‘potential’
consumption impact that accounts for the proportion of consumer spending devoted to
imports. The net value of aggregate time savings was then allocated across regional
industry sectors comprising the household consumption function. These values, the
direct benefits, were then used as changes in a regional input-output model for
Charlotte. 45 The input-output model simulates the additional indirect impacts that would
accrue to each region if consumers were able to spend the income they would have
otherwise lost due to higher levels of congestion.
The economic value (direct and total) of the savings in commuter travel time from
congestion mitigation is shown in Table 11. The savings are estimated at about $ 484 M
annually, or about 0.83 percent of gross County product of $ 57.623 B. As noted above,
this does NOT include savings in fuel and operating costs and accident reductions, or the
additional (if any) benefits of the highway construction itself 46. For a workforce of about
500,000 workers, this works out to about $ 968 per worker per year.
Category
Direct
Impact
$M
2005
Commuting
Business
Shipments
Business Empl.
Travel
Total
$ 420
$ 370
Local
Consumptio
n
Ratio
(%)
72.8
100
$ 118
100
Table 11: Economic Impacts of Congestion
Potential
Total
Estimated
Consumptio
Economic
Annual
n
Impact
Impact per
Impact
$M
Worker*
$M 2005
2005
$ 306
$ 484
$ 968
$ 370
$ 661
$ 1322
$ 908
*Based on 500,000 workers.
$ 118
$ 180
$ 360
$ 794
$ 1325
$ 2650
44
Implied
Consumptio
n
Multiplier
Total Impact
as % of GCP
(%)
1.58
1.78
0.84
1.15
1.53
0.31
Other benefits might include those to firms and households from lower transport costs generally. These
include reduced fuel and operating costs, the value of improved travel reliability, and greater access
(‘reach’) to customers or workers within a given travel time.
45
We used the IMPLAN model for this purpose. The total impact includes the direct effect of consumer
spending plus the indirect ad induced effects associated with the impact. A more complete description of
input-output analysis and the IMPLAN model can be found in the Appendix.
46
Some transportation economists treat highway construction as a ‘transfer’ that has no benefits or costs
since it is funded by taxes on fuel that if left in consumers’ pockets would have been spent locally. These
impacts are generally short-lived.
39
2.30
2. Impact on Businesses
Using a similar approach it is also possible to quantify the congestion impacts on
business activities outlined in this report. These activities are of two major parts:
• Cost of extra time for shipments and deliveries
• Cost of extra time for business employee activities
Since these costs are incurred primarily outside of peak commuting hours, the overlap
between commuter-based costs and business-based costs is minimal. Each of these costs
are treated separately, by first estimating the total direct economic impact of the time,
then estimating the indirect impact of the lost time.
The direct economic value of the time lost in shipments and deliveries (Table 11
above) is about $370 M annually. Adjusting for out-of-region expenditures and multiplier
effects, the estimated total economic value of time lost in shipping and deliveries is about
$ 661 M, or about 1.2 percent of the gross county product.
The economic value of time lost traveling to business meetings and similar
activities can be computed in similar fashion. The value of this lost time is about $ 118 M
annually. Adjusted for local consumption and multiplier effects, the total effect is about $
180 M. Together these business-related impacts are about twice the commuting impact.
To say it differently, on average congestion costs each business about $ 1682 annually
per worker.
Together, all three components of time savings (commuter, shipments, and
employee business travel) have a total (direct and indirect) economic value of about $
1.325 B annually, or about 2.3 percent of the gross county economy. On a per- worker
basis, this is about $ 2650 per year. At the least this is a significant loss of efficiency; at
most it means real sacrifice due to lost business. While these numbers may not seem high
at current levels, they represent real costs to commuters and to businesses, and could
precipitate more aggressive actions if allowed to continue unaddressed.
3. Impact on Productivity
Another approach to assessing economic impacts is to determine how much
regional productivity would increase if congestion were removed. Using the relationships
between regional economic productivity and accessibility, it is possible to determine how
much the Mecklenburg County economy would increase if accessibility were improved.
Models of regional productivity are extensions of the classic productivity model
from economics. In the regional extension, the ‘product’ of a city or region is thought to
be a function of its size, capital investments, labor, competitive pricing, and other factors.
Regional productivity, literally the product divided by the number of workers, is thought
to be related to these terms, and other factors such as accessibility, tax rates, crime,
education, and other features 47. The method has been used to describe and compare the
productivity of cities (Prud’homme and Lee 48, and Cervero 49). The method can be
47
Mathematically, this is expressed as P = aXbYc…, where P is the gross regional product for the region,
X,Y, …are factors of production, and the coefficients a, b, c,…are constants determined empirically. These
are also the elasticities, defined as the percent change in a variable caused by a 1 percent change in another
variable. See the appendix for more discussion.
48
Prud’homme R and Lee CW. “Size, sprawl, speed and the efficiency of cities”, Urban Studies 36:11,
1949-1858, 1999.
49
Cervero R. Efficient urbanization: economic performance and the shape of the metropolis”, Urban
Studies, 38:10, 1651-1671, 2001.
40
extended further by comparing regional productivity change caused by reduction in
congestion with the amount of planned road investment.
Table 12 summarizes the findings for seven selected points in the greater
Charlotte region. We used the changes in regional accessibility, described in part II.B of
this report, as the starting point. For these points we found that removal of congestion
would increase job accessibility (number of jobs within 25 minutes) by 41-to-74 percent,
depending on the point chosen. Using typical elasticities determined from a recent
national study 50, the estimated increase in per-worker productivity ranges from 2.0 to 8.1
percent. The present overall annual “gross regional product” of the greater Charlotte
region, the value of all goods and services produced, is about $73.15 B, or about $93,136
per worker. (The average salary per worker is of course considerably lower). Therefore,
the increased gross regional product ranges from $74.6 B to $79.1 B, and the increase in
tax revenue ranges from $2.1 B to $8.3 B over 20 years. In most cases this is
considerably more than the cost of major road projects currently scheduled around these
points.
This analysis also suggests that the regional focus on downtown may be overstated. The impact of improved accessibility to other locations (such as Sharon AmityAlbemarle-Independence or Arrowood Rd.) is likely to be greater, and road funds less,
than for other points.
Table 12: Impact of Congestion Removal on Regional Productivity
Location
Airport
Downtown
Northlake Mall
Concord Mills
Mall
Carolina Mall
Arrowood/Try
on
Alberm- Indep
2004 base
93136
2000
2000
Jobs
within
25
min,
k,
conge
sted
419
445
409
Jobs
within
25
min,
k,
Freeflow
611
627
607
Percent
Increase
from
Congest
ion
Removal
45.7
40.8
48.3
360
391
544
574
382
342
610
595
2004
base
73.15
Increase
in Tax
Take
($B)
0.10
0.23
0.29
Increase
in Tax
Take
Over
20yrs
($B)
2.07
4.59
5.72
Planned
Road $
within
25 min,
B$
2.51
2.05
2.37
Ratio
of Tax
$ to
Road
$
0.83
2.24
2.41
77.44
77.11
0.30
0.28
6.01
5.55
2.18
1.42
2.75
3.90
78.21
79.09
0.35
0.42
7.09
8.33
1.30
1.32
5.47
6.31
Elasticit
y
0.04
0.11
0.12
Pct
Change
in
Productiv
ity/Worke
r
2.0
4.5
5.6
Productivi
ty/ Worker
under FF
($)
95023
97314
98341
GRP
under
FF
($B)
74.63
76.43
77.23
50.7
46.8
0.12
0.12
5.9
5.4
98605
98182
59.8
74.0
0.12
0.11
6.9
8.1
99586
100712
This data sums up the current road budget within 25 minutes of each point, not the
road budget needed to relieve congestion. Therefore, one interpretation of the table is that
the present road-budget attention for some points in the region is too small, and should be
expanded relative to other locations. Another interpretation is that congestion relief is
important economically all around the region and should be considered as road funds are
allocated. A third interpretation, advocated on our recent congestion assessment for
50
Hartgen DT and Fields MG, Regional productivity and traffic congestion: findings for major activity
centers in US cities. Draft report for the Reason Foundation, Los Angeles CA. March 23, 2007. Available
at www.reason.org.
41
Charlotte 51, is that road planning should consider the economic impacts of potential
congestion removal.
51
Hartgen DT, NC congestion study, op. cit.
42
IV.
Recommendations
A. Businesses
Businesses are generally not responsible for external transportation improvements
or traffic congestion relief. They are primarily focused on running their businesses and
expect governments to handle the external transportation system. Even when traffic
congestion threatens their activities and causes losses in time and operations, many
businesses are reluctant to focus on it. This is understandable since most traffic
congestion is not generally related to just one or even a few businesses and its impacts are
often broadly spread over large areas.
That being said, our study also finds that many businesses are not only concerned
about traffic congestion, but also have taken some internal steps, those within their
power, to deal with it as best they can. “Coping” might be a better word for this than
“action”. And a few have gone further, pressing governments for needed projects or
actively pursuing changes in transportation policy. Recognizing that each business’s
location, customer and supply picture is different, the following are offered as possible
actions that individual businesses can take to improve their own ‘congestion’ situations:
o Change the corporate view of traffic congestion
o Don’t think of traffic congestion as something that cannot be avoided
or dealt with. Instead, consider traffic congestion as a ‘negative’ cost
directly affecting profit.
o Begin to think of traffic congestion as a ‘shadow’ cost center that
drains dollars but adds no value.
•
Learn about local travel patterns that affect the business
o Keep simple records indicating when and where business functions are
affected by congestion. Use a simple map showing locations of clients
and suppliers, employee residences and major routes used. Identify
routes, intersections, times of day, directional traffic differences, and
other features of the local road system that regularly experience traffic
congestion which affects the business. Over time, gather other
information on the location and frequency of congestion at these
locations.
o To the extent possible, determine the basis for the congestion.
Common sources of congestion might include other nearby businesses
or traffic generators, localized construction, use of local streets for
longer-distance movement, bottlenecks, cut-through movements
avoiding other bottlenecks, ill-timed signals, lack of turning capacity,
etc. Pass this information on to elected and appointed officials. The
more specific the information, the better. Document transmittal of
information. These steps can help not only with developing actions
appropriate for the individual business but also in proposing
infrastructure solutions.
43
•
Review the experiences of other similar businesses
o Through trade and civic groups and personal contacts, learn about how
other businesses are dealing with congestion. What steps have other
taken? How well did they work out? The suggestions for individual
actions noted in the ‘business survey’ can provide a starting point for
potential actions.
o Assess the cost versus effectiveness of these actions. What were the
costs and consequences of the steps taken? Did they have
unanticipated benefits or costs? How were they received by the
participants?
•
Relate these observations to business activities
o Determine how the business uses the transportation system. Which
routes, times of day, and other features are used by workers on
business visits, business deliveries and shipments, commuting
employees, and by customers?
o What complaints have been received or heard regarding congestion?
What are the specifics? From whom? Where? When?
o How do these actions relate to business functions?
•
Review potential actions
o Internal actions: Using the many suggestions in this report as a
starting point, identify some actions the business might take to deal
with congestion. Consider separate actions for shipping and receiving,
employee business travel, and other major business functions (e.g.
around-town travel).
o Workers: Similarly for workers, look at such policies as flex-time,
work-at-home, separate shifting, slight changes in work schedules, and
similar low-impact actions.
o Customers: For customers, consider additional actions, such as
bringing business to customers, alternative meeting schedules, store
hours, internet and email use, other locations, etc.
•
Identify and implement actions for the business
o From this list of potential actions, select a few of the most promising
and implement them gradually over time.
o See how they work out, and modify as needed.
o Keep simple records of the results, and share them with others.
•
Actively lobby for solutions
o Learn. Work to educate elected and appointed officials about
congestion problems affecting the business. Always speak in terms of
‘jobs’ that might be lost, ‘lost tax revenue’ and the like. These are
impacts that elected officials understand.
o Develop local-area congestion relief plans. Individually or with other
businesses, encourage governments to help with organizing flex-time
44
o
o
o
o
o
o
policies, ridesharing, transit services and other actions that would
affect congestion within small areas around the worksite.
Work to get projects on the TIP and LRP. The transportation
improvement plan and the region’s long range transportation plan are
key policy documents, which in our region are updated every 2 and 3
years, respectively. Review the plans and become familiar with
projects likely to affect your business. Push for added projects that
affect congestion. Ask elected officials to make them a priority and
push for those with funding agencies.
Track the status of projects that affect the business. The TIP is a 2year document that is updated regularly. Each month, projects and
status are discussed. Input to these discussions regarding individual
projects is generally welcome.
Work with neighborhood and other groups to identify quality-oflife issues related to traffic congestion. Traffic congestion affects not
only businesses and people but quality of life, through its impact on
noise and air pollution, accidents, and cut-through traffic. Many
groups have an interest in reducing it.
Pressure local and state governments to solve problems. Insist that
local and elected officials not just talk about problems or what they
cannot do; instead ask them to put together action plans to deal with
traffic.
Join or support interest group and trade groups working on these
problems. Numerous organizations such as the Charlotte Chamber
and its regional groups, the Regional Road Committee, and others
already have groups formed to deal with some of these issues. They
are always looking for new members.
Work with other organizations to increase attention to
accessibility. Improving accessibility is not just a transportation issue
but a quality-of-life issue that affects people’s well being and
participation in society. Other private non-profit groups, other
government agencies, and other private businesses also have a stake in
seeing traffic congestion reduced.
B. Local Government
Local governments are key actors in decision-making affecting congestion. By
their actions local and state governments make most of the transportation improvements
that directly affect congestion levels. Therefore, it is incumbent on them to:
•
Recognize the threat. While congestion relief has been given some attention, it
is not being treated as a serous threat to the regional economy. This report finds
that the impact of congestion on business, which gets virtually no attention, is at
least as large as the impact on commuters, which gets some attention. Together
these impacts constitute a serious and growing threat to the economic health and
competitiveness of the region.
45
•
Implement effective projects. The business community has suggested that
the focus of congestion relief be on five key areas:
o Freeway widenings
o Signal optimization
o Urban arterial widenings
o Improved local transit
o Better project scheduling
Focusing resources on these five topics would significantly help in relieving
current and future congestion.
•
Appoint a person responsible for congestion reduction. Local government
should appoint a single person responsible for congestion planning and relief.
At present, the responsibility is spread throughout many agencies. We have a
single person responsible for transit improvements, and another responsible for
city transportation, but no one responsible for congestion reduction.
•
Set a goal for congestion reduction. While a current index of 1.31 puts
Charlotte in the middle of the pack nationwide, the recent growth of congestion
has been high. If trends continue, Charlotte’s congestion index will reach 1.35
by 2010, 1.45 by 2020, and 1.62 by 2030. Cities with somewhat more
congestion than Charlotte have already begun to act. Atlanta, with a current TTI
of 1.45, has recently set a goal of congestion REDUCTION ( to 1.35), restructured its project selection process to put 70 percent of the weight on
congestion reduction, and begun to develop specific plans for congestion
mitigation 52. Cities in Texas, notably Houston and Austin, have moved forward
with congestion reduction planning 53. Seattle and Portland have also begun to
address the problem. As Atlanta has done, Charlotte should set a goal for
congestion reduction, not just slowing the growth of congestion. We
recommend that this goal be an index of 1.25, lower than the current value
(1.31) and significantly less than the predicted level, 1.62, if we continue on the
current course.
•
Provide more funds for congestion reduction. Recent study of the Charlotte
congestion situation indicates that the present $ 4 B allocated for roads in the
MPOs plans will not be adequate to reduce congestion or even slow its growth.
An additional $ 4-6 B would be needed to hold congestion at current levels.
•
Investigate public-private initiatives. The city and state should investigate
how public-private initiatives might accelerate the completion of major road
projects. Several options should be explored, for instance reversible elevated
HOT (high occupancy and toll) lanes on I-77 and possibly I-485.
52
Poole R, Reducing Congestion in Atlanta, Reason Foundation, Nov. 15, 2006. Available at
www.reason.org/ps351.pdf .
53
Governor’s Business Council, Congestion mitigation report, Atlanta GA, March 2007.
46
•
Calculate impacts of present plans on business community, by location.
For each sub-area of the region, compute the present and future congestion
levels for major corridors.
•
Increase the weight of project selection on congestion relief. The present
weight placed on congestion relief, 11%, is too low to bring major congestionrelieving projects to the fore. Atlanta has recently raised the focus on
congestion relief to 70 %; Charlotte should follow suit, raising the weight to at
least 50%.
•
Prioritize projects and fund the most effective. Once project impacts on
congestion have been determined, identify the projects that have the greatest
impact, and fund them. This report suggests that, for starters, projects that
relieve congestion on I-77 and I-485 are high on business’s lists.
•
Investigate the needs of other points in the region. The accessibility
analysis suggests strongly that more attention should be paid to congestion
outside the CBD, particularly around key points such as major malls, UNC
Charlotte, and access to major suburbs. Those sites are not getting enough
attention now, relative to the CBD.
•
Address shipping and delivery problems and routes. A detailed analysis of
major shipping and receiving routes and sites should be conducted. The city
has undertaken freight-related assessments in the past, but those studies need
to be expanded to look at major freight corridors and delivery sites beyond the
manufacturing sector.
•
Develop local area traffic relief plans. Plans for dealing with congestion in
neighborhoods and sectors of the city should be developed. These should not
be just ‘ban the car’ or divert to elsewhere’ studies, but rather propose
practical and prudent solutions for handling growing traffic. Typical actions
might include retail operations, routes, and demand-management such as flextime programs.
•
‘Wire’ the region. The increase in work-at-home ‘commuting’ is the greatest
change in travel in our region, but is ignored in current planning. An
aggressive effort to provide region-wide internet service might have large
benefits in traffic reduction as well as business and personal efficiency.
However, the role of government in this effort should be prudent, not as an
operator of services but as a facilitator of private-sector initiatives.
•
Include business groups and individual businesses in congestion planning.
Businesses are sometimes left out in regional planning since they are tend to
focus on internal matters and do not often take ‘activist’ positions. Extra effort
is needed by government, to ensure that businesses’ views are included in
47
planning and should get as much attention as the effort expended on other
groups.
•
Enlist minority communities in congestion planning. Low-income and
minority groups have a huge stake in congestion relief, since it maintains and
improves access and facilitates economic growth. If available jobs are not
accessible, they will not be filled; if inaccessible, hospitals and schools will
not be utilized. The link between economic health and accessibility should be
given much more attention.
C. State Government
State governments also play a key role in congestion reduction since they provide
the financial and institutional wherewithal to make major transportation investments.
North Carolina’s state agencies and its elected officials are aware of the congestion issue
but competing priorities, diversion of funds from the highway trust funds, and escalating
costs are eating into the state’s ability to get ahead of this problem. The state needs to:
•
Increase priority and funding for congestion/business relief. The state is
not placing enough priority on congestion relief. As congestion grows, the
state’s economy is at risk as businesses cannot find workers or customers,
shipping costs worsen and locations become less competitive. While there is
some recognition that congestion is a growing issue, there is no state policy
for congestion relief and local planning organizations are led to believe that
other issues are more important.
•
Fund projects that reduce congestion. North Carolina has the lead for
planning and approving major projects on the Interstate and state highway
system. For these projects, the state should insist that they be funded in a
prudent fashion.
•
Include congestion relief in the highway formula. Many studies have called
for review of the state’s formulas for funding roads, questioning the
geographic allocations and the resulting shortfalls in major urban areas. The
Legislature should review the formula and adjust it to include both congestion
and a separate category for major roads such as Interstates and regional
connectors.
•
End diversion of funds from highway accounts. For too long now the
state’s highway funds have been diverted for other non-highway purposes.
Over the past 15 years this diversion has amounted to over $ 2 B. While these
needs are important and demand attention, it is also the case that such
continued diversion threatens the quality of the state’s infrastructure and slows
progress in improving congestion. These problems are statewide, not just in
Charlotte.
48
D. Federal government
• Raise the profile of congestion. The recent federal initiative focusing on
congestion is a good start. However it risks being abandoned for lack of
follow-through or change of politics. The program should be legislated into
current highway law, and expanded in funding. The focus should also be
expanded to help with urban congestion problems, not just longer-distance
corridors.
•
Link congestion reduction to economic health. The link between traffic
congestion and economic health has not yet been made convincingly. Among
the aspects of the issue are;
o the link between congestion reduction and the economic vitality of
CBDs and other key regional points;
o the connection between good access and mobility for individuals
moving up the economic ladder;
o the importance of good access to smooth traffic flow and reduced air
pollution;
o the link between congestion relief and lower fuel consumption;
o the link between congestion relief and family activity patterns.
These are all broad issues that need attention, in the form of research to untangle
the relationships, policies that appropriately provide cost-effective actions, and funding
which enables policy.
To sum up, this study finds that the impacts of congestion on Charlotte businesses
are significant and increasing. Private firms and governments need to work together to
prudently develop sensible and effective actions that will improve current congestion
levels for businesses and households. At stake is no less than the future of the region’s
economic competitiveness.
49
Appendix
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the Piedmont Public Policy Institute, Charlotte NC, a
Charlotte-region 501(c) (3) non-profit organization chartered to conduct research and
education on issues affecting economic development, real estate, transportation,
environment and related matters. The author is indebted to Mark Cramer, Former
Executive Director, PPPI, Don Harrow, Executive Director, and John Wadsworth,
Staff Analyst, for their continuing assistance in the study’s conduct. The PPPI Board of
Directors provided invaluable guidance during the study. The Charlotte Chamber of
Commerce, particularly Robert Morgan, President and Tony Crumbley, Vice President
for Research, kindly provided access to membership lists for the conduct of the business
survey. Over 100 business managers in the greater Charlotte region kindly provided
timely input to the business survey. Prof. Harrison S. Campbell of UNC Charlotte
conducted the input-output economic analysis. UNC Charlotte students Gregory Fields
(accessibility analysis), Chaitanya Kaita (sampling), Jonathan Poeder (survey conduct),
Ravi Karanam (survey summaries) and David Hansen (analysis, modeling, graphics and
review) provided invaluable assistance at various stages in the study. The author is
indebted to all of these individuals and organizations but of course remains solely
responsible for all errors of fact, interpretation or omission.
About the Author
The study was conducted by David T. Hartgen, Emeritus Professor of
Transportation Studies at UNC Charlotte. Professor Hartgen is widely known in
transportation circles. He established the UNC Charlotte’s Center for Interdisciplinary
Transportation Studies in 1989 and now conducts research in transportation policy. He is
the author of about 330 publications on a wide variety of topics in transportation policy
and planning, is US Editor of the international academic journal Transportation, and is
active in professional organizations. He is a frequent media interviewee in local and
national publications. Before coming to Charlotte he directed the statistics and analysis
functions of the New York State Department of Transportation and served as a Policy
Analyst at the Federal Highway Administration. He holds engineering degrees from Duke
University and Northwestern University. He has taught at SUNY Albany, Union College
and Syracuse University and lectures widely. His recent national study of congestion for
the Reason Foundation (www.reason.org) has attracted wide national attention. His
recent studies of North Carolina transit systems and congestion in the state’s 17 largest
cities (both at www.johnlocke.org) have also generated wide discussion.
50
Methodology Details
A. Accessibility Analysis
We used the following steps to derive our findings for the accessibility analysis.
1. Select the study points within the Charlotte area.
We selected locations that would likely be familiar to and affect a large number of
people. We chose 20 study points representative of major activity categories and
dispersed throughout the regional network’s coverage area. The points are:
Key Points
1-Downtown – Trade and Tryon
2-Charlotte-Douglas Intl Airport
3-UNC-Charlotte
4-Intersection – Arrowood and Tryon
5-Intersection – Sharon Amity/
Albemarle/Independence
Category
Neighborhoods
And Close-in
Suburbs
6-Oakdale
7-Hickory Grove
8-Matthews
9-Ballantyne
10-Mint Hill
Suburbs
Shopping Malls
11-Fort Mill
12-Weddington
13-Gastonia
14-Mount Holly
15-Concord
16-Davidson
17-Northlake Mall
18-Concord Mills Mall
19-Carolina Mall
20-South Park Mall
2. Conduct a drive time contour analysis for each point.
• Collect demographic and network data for each point. We obtained the
Charlotte networks (years 2000 and 2030) in TransCAD format, as well as
the demographic data for all transportation analysis zones for those years.
These networks included variables that reflected both free flow and
congested speeds, from which we were able to calculate free flow and
congested travel times. The networks contain all major streets and roads,
but not local streets. Demographics include present and future population
and employment by category.
•
Develop drive time contours for each point. We used the TransCAD
“Band” function to develop drive time contours around each point, for
both congested and uncongested conditions, for the 2000 and 2030
networks (a total of 80 analyses for the region). We use 5-minute intervals
to define each band (5-minute ‘donut ring’, e.g. 20-25 minutes.
•
Calculate the number of people and the number of jobs in each band.
Using the “overlay” function in TransCAD and the zonal demographic
layers for 2000 and 2030, we calculated the population and the
employment in each of the 5-minute drive time bands. We then cumulated
this data outward from the origin point and determined changes in
accessibility over time (2000 vs. 2030) in population and employment
‘reach’ for each point. This analysis was then repeated for congested and
uncongested networks.
51
•
Summarize findings. For each point, we summarized findings and
prepared cumulative curves and summary tables and maps.
B. Survey of Businesses
We used the following procedures for conducting the survey of businesses.
1. Sampling
The survey of businesses began with review of potential sampling frames. After
discussions, we settled on several lists of businesses:
• Members of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, about 3300 names, or
about 15 percent of the establishments in the County (25,500
establishments).
• Large (100 or more employees) establishments and manufacturers in
Mecklenburg County and the surrounding counties, which overlaps
somewhat with the first list.
These lists were kindly obtained from the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. They contain
basic information about each establishment, particularly number of employees, industrial
codes (SIC and NAICS), location, contact person, and (for most) email contact.
Initially lists were sorted by NAICS code, and missing NAICS codes were
entered using industrial directories and SIC-NAICS crossover tables. Basic summaries of
each list were then prepared showing firms and employment by NAICS code. These were
compared with BEA summaries of firms and employment in Mecklenburg and
surrounding counties. This operation showed that the Chamber lists were skewed toward
larger firms, as expected.
An initial sample of 500 firms was drawn from each list using random numbers
weighted in proportion to establishment employment. This initial sample was specified
on the assumption that about 15-20 percent of each list would respond, yielding about
100-150 respondents in each group. This list was then checked for availability of emails.
Those with missing emails, about 1/3 of the list, were contacted and emails obtained for
most.
The samples were then sent an electronic questionnaire (see below) asking for
input on congestion impacts. Within just a few days it became apparent that most of the
sample would not be responding; only about 25 establishments from Mecklenburg
County and very few from other counties responded. Although the responses were usable,
the sample was not sufficient for interpretation.
A second sample of 500 firms was then drawn from the original Chamber
membership list (the second list, manufacturing firms, was not re-sampled). This second
sample was also selected randomly (without weighting by employment), but with the
proviso that the firm had a listed email (to obviate the need to call firms). This second
sample was then sent a second wave of surveys. In the second wave, about 40 responses
were received.
A third sample of 500 firms was then drawn from the Chamber membership list,
again with the proviso that an email be listed. This final sample yielded another 35
responses, the three samples together totaling exactly 100 responses. Another 2 or 3
responses were returned after the analysis began, and were not included in the
52
summaries. The 100 responses were deemed adequate for opinion responses and, with
expansion, for numerical analysis. See discussion of coding and expansion below.
2. Survey design
While the initial sampling design was being undertaken, a draft survey instrument
was prepared. The survey was designed using a web-based survey design and
administration software package, SurveyShare© 54. This package permits a wide variety
of survey questions types to be used. It also manages the distribution and return of
surveys, even to the point of preparing summaries and crosstabs. UNC Charlotte has
access to the software through a license agreement.
The initial survey design consisted of several parts:
• Firm description (firm name, contact name, number of employees, zip
code location, NAICS code or business type)
• Perception of congestion as a problem
• Shipments and deliveries
• Business activities such as meetings and schedules
• Workers
• Customers
• Suggestions for congestion relief.
Draft questions in each topic were developed and refined a number of times. As
the survey approached final form, the draft was shared with several local business owners
and improvements were made based on their suggestions.
The final form consisted of 26 questions and required about 10 minutes to
complete. By all accounts it went smoothly. Most respondents answered all questions,
particularly those relating to suggestions for improving congestion.
3. Survey operation
The survey operation was relatively straightforward, after several initial trials
internally to ensure that the software and questionnaire worked properly. The web-based
survey design requires accurate controls over procedures, particularly the use of email
and other formats. Once these procedures were understood, the survey was sent to each
wave of samples, and noted above. Slight changes in some of the coded answers were
introduced between the first and second wave; these were accounted for in the final
processing.
As responses were received they were checked for completeness and then
accumulated into Excel-format spreadsheets for later analysis. The SurveyShare© system
also allows for storing or reporting findings periodically as responses are returned. These
summaries were reviewed periodically during the three waves of responses to track
progress, observe responses to individual questions and prepare a short summary for
presentation to the client on March 6, 2007.
At the completion of the survey period (about 1 month) the responses were
converted to an Excel format spreadsheet for further processing.
54
SurveyShare Inc, SurveyShare© software product. Available at www.surveyshare.com.
53
4. Coding and expansion
Although the SurveyShare© process is largely self-coding, additional information needs
to be added to make it fully useful. This included the following items:
•
Missing zip codes (for later mapping) were added for selected responses
that were otherwise complete; these were found from the original
Chamber list.
•
Most respondents did not report their NAICS code. Using firm
descriptions and the original Chamber listing, 2-digit NAICS codes were
added.
•
For questions with numerical choices, the mean or median value of each
chosen answer was added. This permits calculation of expanded data.
•
Expansion factors were added to each response. These were calculated as
the ratio of the number of firms in Mecklenburg County by 2-digit NAICS
code, divided by the number of similar firms responding. This procedure
develops an expansion factor that can be used to estimate county-wide
statistics directly from the survey.
•
Selected numerical totals were computed from the expansion factors:
Total shipping = Σ (Exp factor)(deliveries/wk)(pct delayed)(avg delay)
Delay/week
100 resps
Total Empl
Delay/week
= Σ (exp factor)(empl trips/wk off site)(pct delayed)(avg delay)
100 resps
This information was accumulated for each response and for the sample as a whole.
5. Summary tables
Once coding was complete, a variety of summary tables and graphics were
prepared using PivotTable and other features of Excel. In addition, the entire file was
then moved to TransCAD as a geographic layer and the responses located randomly
within each reported zip code (to ensure privacy). A variety of maps showing the data
were then developed in conjunction with other map layers such as roads and urban
boundaries.
C. Regional productivity models
Models of regional productivity are extensions of the classic productivity model
from economics, in which the ‘product’ (output) of a firm is theorized to depend on
inputs, in the form of capital, labor, materials, etc and prices. In the regional extension,
the ‘product’ of a city or region is thought to be a function of its size, capital investments,
54
labor, competitive pricing, and other factors. Regional productivity, literally the product
divided by the number of workers, is thought to be related to these terms and other
factors such as accessibility, tax rates, crime, education, and other features.
Mathematically, this is expressed as
P = aXbYc…
where P is the gross regional product for the region, X,Y, …are factors of production,
and the coefficients a, b, c,…are constants determined empirically. In its log-linear form
the model is:
Ln(P/w) = a + b Ln(X) + c Ln(Y) + …..
The coefficients b, c, etc are particularly useful because they represent the elasticity of
productivity with respect to the factors of production. This means that a 100 percent
change in X will, for instance, yield a ‘b’ percent change in P/w. This very useful result
can be embedded in a forecasting tool which can be used to estimate the change in
productivity caused by a given percent change in X. The form of this forecasting model
is:
(P/w)’ = (P/w)* [1 + e * (Percent change in X)]
Where P/w is the present productivity per worker, empirically defined as the gross
regional product divided by the workforce, and (P/w)’ is the revised productivity,
adjusted for the change in X. Using this model form, the impact on regional productivity
from changes in X such as a reduction of congestion can be estimated.
D. Input-Output Models
The impacts reported in Table 11 were estimated with an input-output model.
This is a very detailed economic representation of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg economy
that traces all the business-related interactions in the region for each of 528 industry
types. Capturing these relationships allows us to trace the impact of one industry’s
expenditures on all other sectors that are directly or indirectly related to it. Because of
their high levels of detail, and because all industries in a region are linked together to
some degree, a change in one industry will ‘ripple’ through other parts of the economy.
The estimation of these ripple effects, called multiplier effects, is the main objective of
economic impact assessment.
In the present case, delays due to traffic congestion were calculated for three
categories: commuter delays; delays in shipment and deliveries, and the loss of business
or added costs associated with employee congestion delay (as in meetings). Each of these
cases represents a cost, in terms of lost time, to the local economy. Commuters facing
rush hour traffic could be using their time for either work or recreation; delayed
shipments of physical goods cost trucking time and also slow work schedules; and
worker productivity is sacrificed when employees trying to visit clients are stuck in
traffic. The initial value of these costs, reported in our survey of businesses, is used as
55
input to our impact model which simulates the total value of lost economic activity. We
should also note, however, that care was exercised in determining these initial values.
For example, not all employee wages are actually spent in the local economy; some
wages are spent in other regions or on imported goods and services. Thus, the local
impact of economic losses to commuters considers only that portion of income that
would have been spent locally. All these impacts were estimated with the most recent
version of the IMPLAN model which is maintained in Department of Geography and
Earth Sciences at UNC Charlotte.
56
Accessibility Data by Location
(in order of Year-2000 population Access)
Trade and Tryon (441,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 441000 people (26.3 % of region) are within 25 minutes of Uptown. This
will grow to 919000 (29.5 % of 2030 region) by 2030. This means that the region
will get more accessible, by about 3.2 percent, even with congestion.
• Similar results for employment, and for free-flow conditions with increases in the
1.4 to 5.3 percentage point range
• Removal of congestion produces a 19.5-27.6 percentage point increase in access,
about 8-10 times the increase occurring from regional growth.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would accelerate the already improving
access.
North Lake Mall (407,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 407000 people (24.2% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of North
Lake Mall. This will grow to about 963000 people (30.9% of 2030 region) by
2030. This means that the area will become more accessible, by about 6.7
percentage points, even with congestion.
• The results are similar for employment, and free-flow conditions, with results
ranging from 3.5 to 6.5 percentage point increases.
• Congestion removal would produce a 25.4 to 31.7 to percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would significantly accelerate the already
improving access.
Concord Mills Mall (402,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 402000 people (23.9% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of Concord
Mills Mall. This will grow to 980000 people (31.3% of 2030 region) by 2030.
This means that the mall area will become more accessible, by about 7.4 percent,
even with congestion.
• The results are similar for employment and free-flow conditions, with increases in
the 4.7 to 5.5 percentage point range.
• Congestion removal would produce a 19.6-27.6 percentage point increase in
accessibility, about 3-5 times the increase from regional growth.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would accelerate the already improving
access.
Carolina Mall (396,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 396000 people (23.5% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of Carolina
Mall. This will grow to about 813000 people (26.1% of 2030 region) by 2030.
This means that the area will become more accessible, by about 2.6 percentage
points, even with congestion.
• The results are similar for employment, and free-flow conditions, with results
ranging from 0.5 to 2.7 percentage point increases.
57
•
•
Congestion removal would yield a 20.9 to 27.3 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
Conclusion: congestion removal would accelerate the already improving
access.
Sharon Amity – Albemarle – Independence (362,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 362000 people (21.5% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of the
intersection of Sharon Amity, Albemarle, and Independence. This will grow to
about 876000 people (28.2% of 2030 region) by 2030. This means that the area
will become more accessible, by about 6.7 percentage points, even with
congestion.
• The results are similar for employment, and free-flow conditions, with results
ranging from 2.1 to 10.2 percentage point increases.
• Congestion removal would produce a 30.2 to 32.7 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would significantly accelerate the already
improving access.
Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (361,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 361000 people (21.5% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of CharlotteDouglas International Airport. This will grow to 935000 people (30.0% of 2030
region) by 2030. This means that the area will become more accessible, by 8.5
percentage points, even with congestion.
• The results are for employment and free-flow conditions are mixed, with a -0.1
percentage point decline in free-flow employment access, but 2.2 and 5.3
percentage point increase in congested free-flow population and congested
employment access, respectively.
• Congestion removal would produce a 15.9 to 31.3 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would further accelerate the already
improving access, and reverse any losses in access for free-flow conditions.
Arrowood and Tryon (352,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 352000 people (21% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of the
intersection of Arrowood and Tryon. This will grow to about 786000 people
(25.3% of 2030 region) by 2030. This means that the area will become more
accessible, by about 4.3 percentage points, even with congestion.
• The results are similar for employment, and free-flow conditions, with results
ranging from 0 to 2.6 percentage point increases.
• Congestion removal would produce a 25.3 to 34.6 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would accelerate the already improving
access.
58
UNC Charlotte (294,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 294000 people (17.5% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of UNC
Charlotte. This will grow to 777000 people (25.0% of 2030 region) by 2030. This
means that the area will become more accessible, by about 7.5 percent, even with
congestion.
• The results are similar for employment, and free-flow conditions, with results
ranging from 2.0 to 7.5 percentage point increases.
• Congestion removal would produce a 28.6 to 34.8 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would accelerate the already improving
access.
Oakdale (257,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 257000 people (15.3% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of the
Oakdale neighborhood. This will grow to about 539000 people (17.3% of 2030
region) by 2030. This means that the area will become more accessible, by about
2 percentage points, even with congestion.
• The results are similar for congested free-flow conditions, with results in the
range of 2.4 to 4.2 percentage point increases. Congested employment, however,
shows a decrease in access of -0.3 percentage points.
• Congestion removal would produce a 35.8 to 39.2 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would accelerate the already improving
access.
Hickory Grove (238,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 238000 people (14.5% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of the
Hickory Grove area. This will grow to about 445000 people (14.3% of 2030
region) by 2030. This means that the area will become slightly more accessible,
by about 0.1 percent.
• The results are similar for employment, and free-flow conditions, with results
ranging from 2.0 to6.2 percentage point increases in accessibility
• Congestion removal would produce a large 36.2 to 52.7 percentage point increase
in accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would significantly accelerate the already
improving access.
Matthews (216,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 216000 people (12.8% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of Matthews
area. This will grow to about 669000 people (21.5% of 2030 region) by 2030.
This means that the area will become more accessible, by about 8.7 percent, even
with congestion.
• The results are similar for employment, and free-flow conditions, but with a wide
variance of results, ranging from 0.1 to19 percentage point increases.
• Congestion removal would yield 34.9 to 50.0 percentage point increases in
accessibility.
59
•
Conclusion: congestion removal would significantly accelerate the already
improving access.
Ballantyne (211,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 211000 people (12.5% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of the
Ballantyne neighborhood. This will grow to about 435000 people (14.0% of 2030
region) by 2030. This means that the area will become more accessible, by about
1.5 percent, even with congestion.
• The results are similar for employment, and free-flow population increases, with
percentage increase in accessibility ranging from 2.6 to 3.4. Free-flow
employment, however, shows a decrease in accessibility by about -0.20
percentage points.
• Congestion removal would produce a 32.5 to 35.7 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would significantly accelerate the already
improving access.
South Park Mall (204,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 204000 people (12.1% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of South Park
Mall. This will grow to about 310000 people (10.0% of 2030 region) by 2030.
This means that the area will become less accessible, by about -2.1 percent.
• Mixed results for employment, and free-flow conditions, with results ranging
from -1.3 to +2.1 percentage points decreases and increases.
• Congestion removal would produce a 37.8 to 41.6 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would reverse the projected decline in
access.
Fort Mill (163,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 163000 people (9.7% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of Fort Mill.
Will grow to 278000 pop (9% of 2030 region). This means that the area will
become less accessible, by -0.7 percentage points.
• The results are similar for employment, with reductions in the -1.3 to -2.0
percentage point range. Free-flow employment enjoys an increase of 2.5
percentage points.
• Congestion removal would produce a 23.6 to 34.7 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would reverse the projected decline in
access.
Mint Hill (145,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 145000 people (8.6% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of the Mint
Hill area. This will grow to about 488000 people (14.8% of 2030 region) by 2030.
This means that the area will become more accessible, by about 6.2 percent, even
with congestion.
60
•
•
•
The results are similar for employment, and free-flow conditions, with results
ranging from 2.8 to10.1 percentage point increases.
Congestion removal would produce a 40.3 to 56.9 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
Conclusion: congestion removal would significantly accelerate the already
improving access.
Weddington (144,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 144000 people (8.6% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of
Weddington. This will grow to about 273000 people (8.8% of 2030 region) by
2030. This means that the area will become slightly more accessible, by about 0.2
percent, even with congestion.
• The results are similar for employment, and free-flow conditions, with results
ranging from 0.7 to 2.6 percentage point increases.
• Congestion removal would produce a 32.0 to 42.3 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would significantly accelerate the already
improving access.
Gastonia (143,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 143000 people (8.5% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of Gastonia.
This will grow to about 227000 people (7.3% of 2030 region) by 2030. This
means that the area will become less accessible, by about -1.2 percent.
• The results are mixed for employment, and free-flow conditions. Results range
from increases of 8.7 percentage points for free-flow employment to -0.9
percentage point reduction for congested employment.
• Congestion removal would produce a 19.5 to 20.8 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would reverse the declining accessibility.
Mount Holly (118,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 118000 people (7.0% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of Mount
Holly. This will grow to about 237000 people (7.6% of 2030 region) by 2030.
This means that the area will become more accessible, by about 0.6 percent, even
with congestion.
• The results are similar for employment, and free-flow population conditions, with
results ranging from 1.9 to 3.5 percentage point increases. Free-flow employment
access is projected to decline by about -1.10 percentage points.
• Congestion removal would produce a large 38.6 to 51.6 percentage point increase
in accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would significantly accelerate the already
improving access.
61
Concord (110,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 110000 people (6.5% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of Concord.
This will grow to about 194000 people (6.2% of 2030 region) by 2030. This
means that the area will become less accessible, by about -0.3 percent, even with
congestion.
• The results for increases in access to employment are, congested and free-flow,
1.2 and 8.5, respectively. Congested population access is projected to increase 6.3
percentage points..
• Congestion removal would produce a 29.5 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would reverse any declining access
Davidson (102,000 people within 25 minutes)
• About 102000 people (6.1% of 2000 region) are within 25 minutes of Davidson.
This will grow to about 330000 people (10.6% of 2030 region) by 2030. This
means that the area will become more accessible, by about 4.5 percent, even with
congestion.
• The results are similar for employment, and free-flow conditions, with results
ranging from 4.9 to9.6 percentage point increases.
• Congestion removal would produce a 29.4 to 40.0 percentage point increase in
accessibility.
• Conclusion: congestion removal would significantly accelerate the already
improving access.
62
How Congestion Affects Businesses, and Suggestions for Improvement
(Organized by Geographic Region)
Zip Code
Business or NAICS
NORTH
28031
(Cornelius)
Software Development
15
Banking
64
Equipment and Supplies
for the Printing Industry
37
Local traffic impacts mainly our workers. I-77 around
Huntersville is congested in the morning as well as in
the evening. There are not many good options to take
back roads. Since our customer base is nation wide it
does not impact our sales force or customers a lot.
Commercial Real Estate
42
Traffic congestion and even the perception of slow
traffic areas affect property values and the desirability
of space for tenants. We have had listing negatively
impacted by congestion in certain areas in the Lake
Norman region. In addition, commuter travel has a
negative impact on productivity as it seems like every
week one or more of our people is delayed in getting to
work or attending a meeting due to traffic congestion.
Local funding source for road improvements; stop the
legislature from taking Highway trust fund dollars for
other general fund needs; increase emphasis on improving
regional road infrastructure and regional planning.
Real Estate Investment
& Development
2
Primarily morning traffic delays create late arrival
situations for employees.
1) Improve traffic signal timing. 2) Explore increased
restrictions on inexperienced drivers - re: age and time
periods allowed to drive independently, driving curfews,
etc. 3) Explore improved exit strategies for heavily used
hwy. exits, i.e. I-485 mall exits, I-277 downtown exits.
Hwy 74 similar to new Albemarle Road exit.
28078
(Huntersville)
UPTOWN
28202 (Uptown)
Resp.
ID
Q6 How Congestion Affects Company’s Business
Q26 Suggestions For Improvement
Costs us time in getting to client meetings and
commuting to and from the office and to and from
lunch.
Significant congestion on main artery is causing more
traffic to use our side street. This is good for our
business but probably bad for others.
Get the roads caught up with the population.
It is CRITICAL that I-77 be expanded to at least 3 lanes,
at least through exit 36. Kill the carpool lane. These lanes
are an extremely expensive way to serve the needs of very
few people.
1.) Widen I-77 up to Statesville. 2.) Build commuter
railroads.
Hispanic Marketing
4
No major issues, only a problem when there are
accidents or a game
[SKIPPED]
Real Estate Development
5
Local traffic congestion affects our business via its
broader impact on an economy. For example, if
Charlotte gains a reputation for having traffic problems
of the order of an Atlanta, it will limit the region's
ability to effectively attract businesses and employees.
That in-turn will have a major impact on our ability to
continue developing world-class live/work/play places.
[SKIPPED]
Performing Arts Center
11
1.) Put someone 'in charge' of uptown traffic issues. No
one with authority has the 'big picture' to coordinate
events. 2.) Divert some traffic so that they are not all on
the same streets.
Public Relations
16
Adds frustration and anxiety for ticket buyers. Some are
questioning whether it is worth the hassle of coming to
uptown to see our events. Gridlock is making it difficult
for people to exit parking garages. We have not seen a
loss of business yet, but believe we might if we don't
improve the situation.
Mainly it affects when I schedule visits outside center
city and when visitors want to come visit me.
Association
19
We have a large number of meetings which require
members to drive to different meeting places. Our
attendance is affected by congestion.
Finish I-485. Speed up development of mass transit.
Develop more dense housing.
Legal Services
25
Build/widen roads leading into downtown Charlotte.
Restrict building construction projects from taking up
traffic lanes for months on end. Keep roads in good
repair.
541612
33
We loose valuable productive time due to time our
lawyers and staff spend getting to and from our office
and to and from clients courthouse, airport, etc. Clients
are also inconvenienced when it is necessary for them to
travel to our office.
[SKIPPED]
Investment Management
67
Employee travel to and from the office as well as client
visits to office.
1. Eliminate one way streets. 2. Eliminate left turns. 3.
Limit buses/shuttles to major roads.
Automotive franchising
74
Expensive parking results in employees taking mass
transit. Office based business, so no significant impact.
Expand I-77 south above Exit 23, plan roads with
sufficient capacity to handle the volumes.
64
Rethink the network of one-way streets in center city. Do
all possible to promote light rail. Seriously consider
impact fees for new, large residential developments.
[SKIPPED]
Document Management
Real Estate
Airport management
75
It hasn't or if it has, it's occasionally. Our business is
primarily center city and the outlying areas.
98
101
Little longer drive time. Does not affect business
Additional time for passengers and cargo coming to the
Airport for departure. Deliveries are sometimes delayed
due to traffic congestion.
28255 (Uptown)
Management Consulting
85
Delays on small residential streets that has only one lane
but at least 13 different development projects.
Congestion to get off a one lane road to a major street
takes more than 15 minutes in the mornings and during
rush hour traffic. It affects timely arrival and departure
to get to customer sites
28281 (Uptown)
Association
Management and
Meeting Planning
48
Many employees travel from outside uptown area.
Commuting time to work has increased which also
increases the frustration as well as the amount of time
an employee is on the road. Also, in hiring new staff,
there are fewer applicants that are willing to travel
uptown to work. Lastly, as we plan events/seminars we
must take into consideration location based on
commuting (e.g. early morning class must be scheduled
to allow for heavier traffic if placed off of Providence
Rd)
65
1. Stop building commercial and residential building
before the road infrastructure is in place. 2. Make sure
that adequate parking will be provided for light rail
stations. 3. Fire whoever is in charge of State DOT
planning and vote out the people that are in charge of
these people.
Do not have any.
1.) Continue to pressure NCDOT to construct roads in a
timely manner, with a focus on areas in the region that
suffer the most from congestion, like the Airport area. 2.)
Continue to upgrade traffic signals that provide more
dynamic traffic control.
1. More left turn signals for congested intersections, to
give left turn lanes a right-a-way. 2. Make a policy or law
that if more than 3 real estate development projects are
congested in one area, they must provide road expansion
in that local area (one lane is ridiculous). 3. Lobby local
and state government to allocate more money for the road
improvement and put more street lights on the highways
and roads. The darkness lends to more accidents. For
example, maybe a state lottery or toll roads to raise funds
for road improvement like the state of Illinois.
[SKIPPED]
CENTRAL
28203
(Dilworth)
Publishing/Advertising
Sales
14
Longer commute time for employees and longer drive
time to get to appointments reduces productive time
actually selling.
1. Widen I-485 from I-77 to Rea Road. 2. Complete the
bike lane all along Colony Road and offer incentives to
bike to work. 3. Offer financial incentives for employers
to have scheduling around traffic.
Beauty Salon
45
Workers late for work. Clients are consistently late for
appointments. With this in mind the stylists run late for
the rest of the day.
[SKIPPED]
Business services
(business consulting)
49
Occasionally we are late for work due to congested rush
hour traffic.
business consulting
55
We're in Atherton Lofts on South Blvd. (just past Southend Brewery) and the speed at which cars fly by our
business makes visitors either nervous about getting
rear-ended or miss our entrance.
Real Estate
Developer/Builder
62
Advertising
68
We are centrally located in the South End area to serve
our employees and vendors who travel from N, S & E of
Charlotte. Some arteries are horribly bad and getting
worse. May make some of our employees seek other
employment closer to home.
We are constantly on the move in and out of the office
on meetings. Getting out of our parking lot alone adds
several minutes on to our time out of the office. The
traffic adds several hours per week onto each of our
employees’ time out of the office and hinders
productivity.
1. Consider more limited access to major roads.
Independence Blvd is full of driveways on and off, plus
lights every block or so. 2. Improve parking. Lots of time
spent driving around uptown is used looking for a space.
3. Provide better real time traffic news. I have lots of
options in my routes -- but unfortunately may be caught in
a mess before the next 'every 10 minute' update on my
radio.
1) Tax incentives and public education regarding using
mass transit 2) Employer education regarding progressive
HR practices, and how benefits like working from home
can actually build employee satisfaction and loyalty -- in
addition to helping the traffic issue and the environment
3) Discourage building of new roads (think differently -there are other solutions!).
State and Federal funding: Use a business approach to
spending regarding traffic problems, versus a government
approach.
66
[SKIPPED]
28204
(Presb.Hosp)
28205 (CentralEastway)
Investment Bank
24
Not a major issue
Trade Association
27
None, unless clients travel I-77 during rush hour.
commercial real estate
34
Land Surveyors
36
Legal services
38
Not at all except for the occasional backed up traffic due
to an accident or event in the uptown area that may
delay arrival at the office
We are land surveyors. So our field crews are impacted
daily as they leave from our main office to make trips to
various job sites.
n/a
Gift Store
50
Architecture/Engineering
69
Consulting
80
Delays in traffic cost our customers more money for
their projects. It also affects our own productivity.
Nonprofit (501c3)
86
Ironically, we see traffic congestion as an opportunity
for small businesses in congested areas (to communicate
information about their products to a captive audience).
Being in business in a congested area may be an
advantage.
Primarily affects our delivery service, slowing the
distribution of our product and causing delays in
delivery.
Staff members 'dodge' traffic as much as they can by
coming to work early and leaving early as well. It
doesn't affect our business as such.
67
Provide lots of small, free mini-buses throughout
Charlotte that go across town instead of building more
roads. The roads will never keep up!
1. More frequent bus service to outlying areas 2. Widen
roads 3. Put the light rail money into road maintenance.
[SKIPPED]
1) Light rail expansion. 2) More HOV lanes where
possible. 3) Alternating one-way lanes into and out of
town on 4 lane roads (e.g. E. 7th Street).
[SKIPPED]
[SKIPPED]
Get more transportation money from the State. Continue
to build the transit system. Continue to improve the bus
system
ROADS ROADS ROADS. Get Raleigh off dead center,
and give us our fair share. Have Raleigh quit stealing
money from the Highway Trust fund and repay
everything taken. Get a 'ROADS GOVERNOR.' Quit
making roads smaller and adding numerous road humps
in Charlotte to control traffic to major roads only. Build
many more cross traffic or added point to point major
corridors within the inner eight mile loop to town.
Addition public transportation (light-rail is critical,
particularly along the Independence Blvd. corridor). WiMax (city-wide wireless internet access) might encourage
working remotely. Car-tax incentives (i.e. deduct a
percentage of receipts for public transportation from carproperty taxes)
Freight Transportation
28206 (N.
Graham St.)
28207 (Myers
Park)
28208
(Wilkinson Ashely Rd)
8
Stem time from terminal to customer and from customer
to customer.
Widen lanes sooner, penalize those in HOV lanes, put
more law enforcement on I-77 and I-85, and around exits.
Petroleum Marketer
20
Impact on workers…….congestion especially on
interstates 85 and 75 delaying commute times
Improve roads.
Construction/
Demolition
23
We have over 30 trucks on the road
Real Estate
84
We don't go on appointments before 9:30 AM or after 4
PM. It is just not a productive use of time. It limits our
sales times to 6.5 hours a day out of the office.
1. Change HOV lane to truck bypass lane; trucks pass
through town more and they are involved in a lot of
accidents when around cars. 2. Make it so city buses can't
stop in the road, causing everyone to wait on them. 3.
Build more roads.
Major corporations/employers offering staggered work
hours. Advocating the use of mass transportation. The
creation of more work from home opportunities.
Healthcare
60
Customers do not want to drive downtown because they
are elderly, or the traffic lights don't have turn lights.
Cars go very fast and usually do not obey traffic laws
(no turn on red yellow light and red light)
Bigger, more visible street name signs, pointing in the
right directions that say ENDS HERE or BEGINS HERE
for those streets that change names 5 times in a mile. City
grid/road map directory at certain five-way intersections
(e.g. Queens/Providence/Selwyn).
[SKIPPED]
[SKIPPED]
Group Purchasing
Organization
9
Educational testing
10
During months between mid-March and June, we have a
lot of late arrivals due to heavy congestion.
No ideas.
Commercial real estate
28
Commute times can be even more outrageous if there
are ANY issues on I-77 or I-85.
Unfortunately, I have no idea, and haven't had much time
to think about it or research it.
General/Private Aviation
39
The broad picture and reality for an FBO (Fixed Based
Operation) is that traffic congestion deeply affects us
much like it does with those within the commercial
aviation industry. For example, if pilots and crew
members are not available for their flights it not only
delays the departure of the flight but overall costs are
increased tremendously with the fact that weary
travelers are highly dependant upon getting to and from
their destinations in a timely manner.
It would be most recommended that people utilize the
carpool method; I would even propose offering some sort
of monetary incentive if utilized within a determined
period (i.e. a month, quarter, or annually). This incentive
could be fuel debit cards, free vehicle inspections, etc.).
These would be great enticements to the millions of
travelers that share our overly congested roadways.
68
INNER RING
28209
(Woodlawn Park Rd)
Professional Engineering
Services
46
Some of an impact on their commute for the individuals
that live a good distance south (Waxhaw) and north
(Huntersville).
1. Improve signal timing on main corridors and reduce
cycle lengths. 2. Allow dual left turns un-protected. 3.
More night time construction.
Warehousing
88
[SKIPPED]
Engineering &
Environmental
Consulting
99
We are in the business of storing and retrieving vital
business documents (backup data tapes or paper files)
for our clients in real time. Congestion negatively
impacts our retrieval times and forces us to consider
locations that are closer to CBD and therefore higherpriced.
1. Technicians travel to job sites throughout the day and
travel time is not always billable.
Weight loss / Hypnosis /
Training / Stress release
13
Charlotte has virtually no areas where people will
comfortably readily go to - with the possible exception
of the mall area (the south-western end of Charlotte).
People tended to use solely that reason to decide not to
come in.
Insurance
29
We have very little customer traffic at our office.
Primary impact is on employee commuting, particularly
those living in northern Mecklenburg County.
What do I know? But... 1) Widen streets where possible.
2) Try to direct traffic or give incentives to use certain
routes (because the problem is citywide). 3) Promote - I
mean really PROMOTE, in a real useful and pragmatic
way - the growth and loyal convenient patronage (by
everyday people) of the newer OUTLYING
commercial/shopping areas.
Encourage flex time of largest employers. Widen I-485 in
southern Mecklenburg County, widen Providence Road
south of I-485 (big problem for some of our employees'
commute to work).
69
1. Manage traffic flow to minimize ingress/egress to
thoroughfares. 2. Require developers to address/remedy
traffic impact of proposed development. 3. Recognize
(and plan for and fund) that an efficient roadway system
is the most important element of minimizing traffic
congestion in the next couple decades, not the beginning
stages of a mass transit system that might be of greater
impact several decades from now.
Engineering and
Construction
57
Only in the increased hassle of commuting to and from
work.
1. Plan ahead five years ago. 2. Plan ahead now. 3.
Institute universal flextime.
[SKIPPED]
65
Workers: We are in South Park. Any employees driving
in from the north part of the county have to fight much
congestion. Those driving in from the Ballantyne or
Union County area do as well.
Corporate Event
Planning
83
Selwyn Rd. at the Colony Rd. intersection is very
congested with high speeds for such a dense little area.
We've heard rumors about a 'road diet' like they did to
East Blvd. and think that might be a good solution. I
don't feel the affects much because I typically travel to
my clients. They don't come here.
28210 (Rama)
Real Estate development
and investment
93
We have to understand and work with the traffic
patterns and then we either buy or build buildings that
people will want to rent.
1. Better roads: More lanes on the major interstate and
beltway routes. 2. Encourage relocation of businesses to
the SouthPark/Ballantyne/University areas in lieu of
Uptown. 3. More HOV lanes on interstates to encourage
car pooling.
1) Check traffic light timing. 2) Put some smaller roads
with retail/restaurant traffic like Selwyn Rd. on a 'Road
Diet,' to slow down cars before another accident. 3)
Educate people on safe, non-residential alternative routes,
if there are any under-used routes to uptown and other
high-density work areas. 4) Encourage large companies
to enforce flex hours, so that everyone isn't on the road at
exactly the same time.
The only way to deal with this issue in a growing city is
to get more state and local funding to improve or build
more and better roads; limit the rate of growth of the city
or reduce the amount that each person drives, which is
very hard to do in a 'driving' town.
28211
(Cotswold)
Commercial real estate
18
Congestion simply creates greater travel time to work
for employees.
Penalties for non-compact cars parking in compact
spaces, especially in congested shopping areas. Tax
breaks for households with one (or fewer) car per licensed
driver (potentially leading people to have fewer cars).
Automobile Financing
32
Back ups on hwy 51 & Monroe road can delay
employees arrival time. We do not promote outside
customer traffic.
Real Estate Development
52
Biggest problem is morning and evening commute for
my employees and tenants.
Obviously better planning by county commissioners and
the DOT!! Completing one job before starting another.
Finish I-485 Northbound to lake area. Conduct more
traffic studies and really repair the areas in need! Widen
I-485 S to Pineville.
Consider using meters on busy access ramps to the I-485,
I-77, and I-85, which would help the flow of traffic onto
those freeways during commuting hours. Widen I-485
between Pineville and Matthews. Do a better job of
timing traffic lights.
70
28212
(Idlewild)
NORTHEAST
28213
(University)
Professional Services
97
Travel times to clients are unpredictable. For example,
time to reach one specific client has ranged between 10
and 80 minutes. This gives the impression that we
aren't taking their business seriously. When meeting
subcontractors, I have to assume that they will be late
due to traffic limiting the number of client visits I can
schedule.
Mortgage Broker
58
Exotic Automotive Sales
73
What is meant by local? In general traffic congestion is
at its worst at drive time. My issue with the traffic is
poor road design...lack of turning lanes, short merge
lanes, lack of lighting and poor demand management at
signals. All of this impedes the flow of commerce. The
biggest problem we have is workers coming from the
southeast and on Independence.
Heavy congestion on Independence boulevard
especially makes test drives and the fueling of cars
nearly impossible during times of peak traffic. Heavy
congestion occasionally has a positive impact as it
allows passersby to glance further at our inventory.
Lodging
21
Exit 41 sometimes takes 15 minutes to get on Sugar
Creek, also Harris Blvd and Tryon are very congested to
reach businesses in the area.
Synchronize stop lights. Have street workers work at
night Speed up road work
Management Consulting
77
[SKIPPED]
Add basic foundation for CATS bus stops so people do
not have to stand on the grass and 'open air' between bus
arrivals and departures. Charlotte looks like an
underdeveloped city when its residents are waiting in the
rain, etc., waiting for a bus to take them downtown for
work. In addition, add sidewalks. I believe that more
people would consider walking in the University Area if
sidewalks are available from work to restaurants, etc.
71
1. Control speeding: Speeding drivers on main streets
back up traffic on side streets because drivers can't pull
out. Increased speed seems to mean more frequent
accidents, further limiting the number of cars that can get
through. 2. Encourage companies to allow working from
home. We found it a very effective solution once we
learned how to manage it properly. IP telephony and
Virtual Private Networks help; clear two-way
communication is a must.
1. More roads, less rail & buses. 2. Expand I-77 & I-485,
add lanes. 3. Expand lanes on major streets like
Providence Road to prepare for growth.
Complete the light rail project. Widen the roads.
[SKIPPED]
89
We are a service company with technicians on the road
constantly.
Marketing and
Promotional items
92
Workers experience [congestion] issues when going to
and from the work place.
28214 (Moores
Chapel Rd)
Private Country Club
and Golf Course
78
28215 (Hickory
Grove)
Construction Consulting
63
With the opening of the latest leg of 485 Mt. accessing
Mt Holly Road from our entrance is a very time
consuming process between 4:00-6:30 pm. Mt. HollyHuntersville Rd is at a stand still during this same time
frame.
Delivery times are longer. This increases cost due to
down time waiting in traffic which in turn can require
overtime to meet our customer's needs. Also causes
frustration for the drivers and can potentially lead to
lapses in safe driving.
Sales
91
Traffic congestion can really foul up an outside
salesperson's day when they have apts. set to flow - if
you are late to one then it's a domino effect.
Internet Marketing
22
It may impact operations by making myself or my
employees late for work or meetings
28262 (North
University)
72
Our business does not lend itself to mass transit or
carpooling. Technicians have company vans, and sales
people have company cars. We need to build more roads!
Complete and widen I-485. Add another lane to North I77.
1. Crack down on drivers who try to beat the system by
driving aggressively. 2. Request government to provide
more mass transit options (Metro, subway, light rail, more
express bus routes). 3. Provide government sponsored tax
incentives for merchants who use e-commerce (incentives
for website design and maintenance, SSL costs,
promotion costs, etc.).
1. Try to coordinate widening of roads and road
construction with expansion of growth. Growth seems to
always out run road improvements. 2. Offer greater
incentives for carpooling. 3. Expand bus service to more
outlying areas.
Complete all legs of I-485 and expand all sections to 3
lanes per direction on an expedited schedule. Hold stop
lights to green longer on major thoroughfares during the
rush periods. Try to re-route traffic patterns to eliminate
some of the stop lights on major roads.
Schedule road work during least busy times; spread road
work around so that if a person is forced to take an
alternate route, then it's also not having road work done
on it.
1. Upgrade I-485 in the Pineville-to-Matthews corridor.
Two lanes are not even close to being enough. 2. Provide
more carpool areas to encourage carpooling. Advertise
this in the Charlotte area. Maybe provide incentives to
businesses or employees that participate. 3. A city the
size of Charlotte needs light rail or subway. Light rail in
and out of downtown would dramatically reduce traffic
congestion.
28269 (W.T.
Harris - Mallard
Creek)
SOUTHWEST
28217 (S. Tryon
& Tyvola)
Bank Branch
31
Morning traffic congestion on 29/49 affects travel time
for many of the employees. Clients choose to go to
other locations because of the overall congestion in this
area.
Traffic congestion affects productivity since so much
time is spent in a car going to different locations.
Real Estate Sales
96
Municipal Service
District for University
City's commercial core
44
Residential Community
100
Engineering Consulting
6
Traffic congestion affects our employees and clients
with regards to the amount of time is takes to get to
work, the amount of time it takes our employees to go to
meetings and the amount of time it takes our clients to
come to our office for meetings.
1. Widen I485 between Providence Road and I-77 as
quickly as possible. 2. Widen I485 between Providence
Road and I-77 as quickly as possible. 3. Widen I485
between Providence Road and I-77 as quickly as possible.
Media
7
With a high percentage of our workers the commute is
45-minutes. It affects our sales dept. when they need to
go on sales calls.
Concentrate efforts on the most congested areas and fix
them i.e. I-485 from I-77 to Providence Rd. Minimize onlooker delay.
Car Rental
26
Properly time stop lights, widen highways, less
construction in same area at same time.
Trade Association
47
Constantly on road picking up customers or dropping
them off. It can take up to 45 minutes to go down the
street some times
Stress, work arranged to suit traffic, startup delays, long
lunch periods and employment constraint
Manufacturer's Rep
51
Impact on workers whose commuting time has
increased about 80% in the last 5 years. Primarily Rt.
51
Accelerate the completion of the I-485 ring instead of
spending hundred of millions on useless stadium, which is
just another nuisance.
Because Harris Blvd is the primary east/west connector,
getting folks out of the Research Park to eat and shop
during the day is out of the question. Because NCDOT
controls the roads and does not believe in context
sensitive design even moving around on foot or bike is
out of the question
Heavy traffic along W T Harris Blvd makes entering
and leaving our community difficult during rush hours.
73
Hold the contractors responsible for completing their
projects on time.
1. Light Rail. 2. Finish I-485.
Carpooling, building a better road grid through developer
dollar (we are working on that in our new Area Plan).
Accelerate transit to University City
[SKIPPED]
Toll roads, public transportation, infrastructure, business
location incentives, and taxes.
28273 (Steele
Creek)
Hotel
59
The left turn onto South Stream if you are traveling west
on W. Tyvola Rd. Difficult for guests to get to the hotel
and into the business park.
[SKIPPED]
Food retail
79
Think before you do.
Post-secondary
Education
95
We had problems because of the light rail construction.
People did not want to come to the store because it took
to long the get here and they did not have enough lunch
time.
Students are delayed in getting to class causing them
undue absenteeism. As well students often drop out due
to costs associated with increased commute time.
Event Production
41
Doesn't affect it that much. Adds an infrequent delay of
maybe 20 minutes.
Market Research
76
Late respondents to participate in studies, takes longer
to do everything
Triple the funds allocated to increase local road capacity
(i.e. widen existing roads, replace timed lights with
sensors, increase turning lanes, use eminent domain to
increase road space). Conduct traffic and impact studies
prior to approving building.
Improve enforcement of standard traffic laws. Change
rules that prevent accidents from being moved out of
traffic lanes. Campaign for safe and courteous vehicle
operators.
Widen I-77 and I-485, have more police present at busy
intersections.
Business service
construction
82
We deliver heavy equipment. We have eight tractor
trailers and congestion affects our delivery times. Are
deliveries are scheduled.
Change the red-light system to allow more traffic flow on
major roads. Most red-lights do not allow enough time for
roads to clear causing build up.
102
The I-485 southern loop is a disaster. Employees spend
a lot of time in their vehicles as do trucks delivering and
picking up goods.
Add lanes to I-485 between I-77 and Providence Road
immediately.
30
Makes me late for appointments in other areas of town causes stress and road rage - makes scheduling a
challenge when trying to avoid peak traffic timeframes
Widen I-485 near Pineville. Synchronize traffic lights
better throughout the city. Reinforce rules of the road for
drivers to follow (I.E.: pull over to let emergency vehicles
through, what to do if you have a fender-bender on the
highway, etc.).
Power transmission
products for off road
vehicles
28278 (Lake
Wylie)
[SKIPPED]
74
SOUTH
28226 (Rea Rd Hwy 51)
28277
(Ballantyne)
Civil Engineering - Site
Development Design &
Land Surveying
17
Only affects commute times for employees.
Technology Consulting
Professional Services
72
Limousine and Airport
transportation service
87
Traffic affects my employees' commute times and
influences their choices for living proximity to our
office. It impacts our sales and operations in planning
logistics around meeting with prospects and clients some 'local' clients are in fact 45 to 60 minutes away.
Has most significant affect on our prospects and clients
visiting our office for meetings, seminars and other
events.
We have to schedule vehicles to leave earlier for their
destination and take alternate routes.
Business Consulting
12
Effects times I go see clients and setting up training
activities
Consulting & Training
35
Several of our employees cannot get here in time with
the traffic on I-77 and I-485. Loss of work hours.
Consulting
40
Medical Practice
Non-profit arts
53
54
When going out to meet customers, particularly during
commute times, I must leave extra time to insure I am
on time.
Slows ingress and egress for employees and patients.
Traffic congestion is a deterrent to ticket buyers coming
from Charlotte's environs to Uptown. As congestion
continues to escalate travel time increases the
experience of coming to Uptown for performances and
related activities diminishes and customers opt to stay
home causing a drop in sales. Performances also drive
business for local restaurants.
75
1. Add lanes to I-485 (south side of town). 2. Additional
studies on intersection efficiency/optimization, signal
timing, etc. (& implementation of the results). 3.
Improved availability and usability of public
transportation.
Not sure question #19 works - 100% either drive alone
OR carpool. 19) Approximately what percent of your
WORKERS drive alone or carpool to work?
Change work schedules
Better timed stop lights. Widen I-485 in South. Spend
money on roads not other stuff (Providence Rd South
bound at I-485).
Put clover leaf entry-exits at the Interstate instead of all
the stupid lights. Too many lights are part of the reason
for the congestion.
Plan better when constructing roads. Widen roads that are
congested. HOV lanes.
More frequent mass transit.
1. Review and improve traffic patterns in Uptown around
Arena and PAC 2. Increase parking options in Uptown.
3. Expand I-77 corridor between I-485 and I-85
Office rental
56
We are located just off of I-485 at Johnston Road.
Unfortunately it gets so congested coming off of I-485
on the ramp towards Ballantyne that there are several
small accidents which block traffic. Also, we have
trouble at the intersection of Ballantyne Corporate Place
and Brixham Hill Road (there has been several injuries
within one year).
Both advisors being about to quickly get to
clients/prospects as well as them getting to us. Mostly
on completion of I-485 in the North.
Increase awareness of public transportation in the
suburbs. Encourage larger companies to allow flexible
work hours to help alleviate congestion. Have an HOV
lane on I-485 during rush hours.
Financial Services
61
Law Practice
66
Very little
70
Traffic congestion can affect the price of my property
and how quickly I can sell it. People who are looking at
property that I buy/rent are concerned how long it will
take for them to get to work. Currently, if you leave the
Ballantyne area at 7am you may not get to work before
8am.
Be prepared to match old roads to new more quickly; i.e.
I live near I-485 and Providence Road. At that
intersection four lanes from I-485 and four lanes from
Providence Road shrink to two lanes on Providence Road
going south.
Plan ahead by trying to schedule meetings as close as
possible at the same site. Try to avoid rush hours. Do as
much work as possible via phone, email, or internet (I
have broadband card on my laptop).
Real Estate Investing
76
Complete I-485 and widen I-485. Encourage businesses to
offer flexible hours with tax incentives.
27273
(Lancaster, SC)
Healthcare
71
Difficulty getting out onto Ardrey Kell or getting from
Blakeney Shopping Center across the street to the office
in the morning and in the afternoon. Then turning left
from Ardrey Kell onto Rea Road in the afternoon is
almost impossible.
Executive &
Performance Coaching;
Initiative Training
94
Engineering Planning
and Surveying
3
Mobility is heavily, if not severely impacted at times in
the areas of operations, sales and event delivery. E.g.
Going to the P.O box which is only a 5-mile round trip
is considered a 30-40 minute trip. Sales meetings and
training deliveries in the uptown area require a
minimum of 1-hour allocation each way taking us out of
general productivity during that time. For their own
safety & well being we do not expect our employees or
contractors to engage in phone calls while driving;
especially those in the Charlotte area.
The greatest congestion is on I-485 for most of our staff.
I-77 near uptown is a concern also at times.
77
We need a stoplight at the exit from Blakeny Shopping
Center to Ardrey Kell especially as more businesses come
to that location. With Ardrey Kell High School now open
the congestion is terrible in the mornings there. In the
afternoon the turn light from Ardrey Kell to Rea Road
needs to hold longer. People are running the yellow light
which turns red before you can turn and then the
oncoming traffic has already started to move. It is very
dangerous at this light and becoming more so every day
with the increased growth in the area. There also should
be something done with I-485 where it dumps into I-85
South along the Belmont Corridor. There is always a
traffic jam there all the way past McAdenville in the
afternoons. If we have employees coming to the Charlotte
location from the Gastonia area in the afternoons, we have
to schedule meetings that normally would take them 45
minutes to get to the office for at least 1-1/2 hours
allowing for drive time from Gastonia.
1. Use tools such as teleconferencing, WebEx, online
communities etc. to avoid physical travel. 2. Structure
individual delivery of services via phone, limiting or
eliminating face-to-face contact. 3. Work with clients
who are not in Charlotte and/or direct company growth in
areas outside of Charlotte (our most productive solution about 75% of our clients and company reps are currently
well outside of the Charlotte area).
The business community as well as local government
must continue to lobby the state for additional funds to
expedite road improvements on I-485. For other areas of
congestion, alternative resources are needed to fund the
City's transportation action plan. A 1/2 or 1 cent sales tax
should be implemented in Mecklenburg county and
designated for roadway improvements.
SOUTHEAST
28227 (Lawyers
Rd)
28104
(Matthews)
Healthcare Regulatory
Consulting
81
Depends on the time of the day. Morning rush = 3;
Evening rush = 4
Enhance rail system; complete I-485.
Commercial construction
43
Requires us to change our work hours to minimize the
lost production time caused by traffic.
Upgrade timing of traffic signals; widen I-485 from Rea
Road to I-77; more message boards on interstates and
main roads.
78
Piedmont
Public Policy
Institute
17824 Statesville Road
Suite 121
Cornelius, NC 28031
www.piedmontppi.org
Tel (704) 341-2338
Fax (704) 943-9393