Long Term Innovative Solutions for the California US-101 Corridor Congestion Management Problems

Research Team: Alexei Pozdnoukhov(lead), Alexandre Bayen

UC Campus(es): UC Berkeley

Problem Statement: Traffic congestion on the US-101 corridor between San Francisco and San Jose has increased significantly in recent years with the rapid growth of technology companies in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley area. Many of the private sector employers along the corridor have expressed concern that this issue is affecting their employees’ quality of life and possibly affecting their ability to attract and retain employees. Caltrans and the High-Speed Rail Authority, working with Caltrain, have mid-term improvements to the corridor in development or underway. However, long-term solutions that go beyond traditional approaches like active traffic management are also needed.

Project Description: The proposed project focuses on identifying groundbreaking long-term solutions for alleviating congestion in the corridor, with a focus on sustainable methods. The work will involve the following: 1. Developing an inventory of novel mobility solutions to improve corridor mobility on the 101 (e.g., the use of “mobility as a service” companies for providing last/first mile trips to transit; accommodating self-driving vehicles; developing collaborative approaches with companies’ private shuttle operations on the 101, and use of telecommuting). 2. Planning a concept of operations for a 101 with innovative long-term solutions that involves stakeholders, takes into account operational and institutional constraints, and considers possible future scenarios.3. Planning a corridor-wide simulation tool capable of encompassing non-traditional scenarios and solutions (using a data inventory as well as integrated land use and mobility models)4. Planning of a policy development process for future operations (including, for example, bus lanes).The team will provide recommendations on the prioritization of innovative long-term strategies for improving traffic conditions on the US-101 corridor between San Francisco and San Jose. additional resource: Connected Corridors [http://connected-corridors.berkeley.edu/]

Budget: $45,000