Traffic operational Impacts of Contemporary Multi-Pump Island Fueling Centers

Centers Do not oFFer anD the average trip rates oF ite May not represent reCent installations. while the nuMBer oF Fueling positions is an intuitive DesCriptor For sMaller gas stations, the relative iMpaCt oF aDDitional puMps is expeCteDly less at larger Fueling Centers. introDuCtion anD BaCkgrounD Newer, contemporary fueling centers have many commodities that traditional fueling centers do not offer. Pay at the pump, increased numbers of fueling islands , car wash facilities, convenience markets, and fast food restaurants at these gas stations have brought increased numbers of trips as fueling and dining become more convenient. Figure 1 shows one example of a site with 14 pumps, a large convenience mart, and fast-food options. Accordingly, analysis methods based on data for more traditional gas stations may not be good indicators of trips generated at these larger contemporary facilities. Currently, the primary resource for determining the expected impact of various facilities on the roadway network is the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Handbook, 7th Edition. This handbook is a standard resource for traffic engineers and planners conducting traffic impact analyses for forecasting the number of trips generated by a new site. However, the data used in the analyses for many of these facilities was collected in the 1980s. 1 Due to the rapid evolution of the fueling center and the addition of supplementary facilities such as the car wash, convenience mart, larger numbers of pumps, fast food, and so forth, there is concern in the profession that the traffic impacts of these facilities may not be accurately represented by the ITE rates. The concern of accurately forecasting traffic impacts has been noted as early as 1991, when Firtel noted that " The rapidly changing technology in many industries has outdated some traditional trip generation definitions and rates. Gas stations are one industry that has seen a significant shift in services and technology that has changed the way trips are generated. " 2