TRAFFIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT:
(TIA) means a study carried out by a registered professional engineer with demonstrable
experience in the field of traffic engineering that investigates the impact a proposed sign may
have on vehicle, pedestrian, or cyclist safety and traffic operation, which study should
recommend any mitigating measures that may be required as a result of that impact.
GUIDELINES FOR TRAFFIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT
1. Introduction
The Guidelines included therein are not intended to be prescriptive. Rather, the intention is to
establish the minimum requirements for the conduct of traffic impact assessment (TIA).
The consultant will determine the need to prepare a TIA based on an initial assessment of
transportation impacts, traffic generation, and parking generation.
For traffic generation, for example, the threshold may be taken as 100 or more new vehicle trips
during the A.M. or P.M. peak hour as generated by the project.
For parking generation, the threshold is a parking deficiency of one or more parking spaces
generated by the project. Or when a project might impact an already congested or high-accident
location, or when specific site access and safety issues are of concern.
2. Step-by-step Process
It is crucial to follow each step of the process since they are related. Furthermore, it is important
in the first step to have full knowledge of the magnitude and phasing of the development so as to
determine the scope of work and phasing of implementation.
Determination Of Scope Of Work
Step 1:
Data Collection
-Primary data (e.g., traffic surveys)
Step 2: -Secondary data
Traffic Impact Analysis
-Intersection and Arterial Capacity
Step 3: analysis
-Assessment of infrastructure
Traffic Impact Mitigation
-Identification of mitigation measures
Step 4: -Traffic management plan
The traffic management plan likewise includes the following:
a) Institutional plan,
b) Costing,
c) Implementation phasing and other information that may be required.
3. When Should Transportation Impact Analysis be Prepared?
3.1 General
A cross sampling of data collected by Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) shows that the
following situations or thresholds that commonly trigger a requirement for traffic impact
analysis:
• When a specified amount of area is being rezoned.
• When development contains a specified number of dwelling units or square footage.
• At the judgment or discretion of the staff.
• When development will occur in a sensitive area.
• When financial assessments are required and the extent of impact must be determined.
A TIA is typically appropriate for the following local processes:
• Zoning and rezoning application.
• Land subdivision application.
• Environmental assessment.
• Site plan approval.
• Special-purpose districts.
3.2 Zoning Thresholds (Deviations)
For this purpose, the Zoning Administrator shall provide the following information for the zone
in consideration:
− List of Allowed Land Uses
− Land Use Intensity Control (LUIC) ratings
The project proponent, in turn, provides the basic information on the project as follows:
− Project location
− Project classification according to the latest Housing and Urban Land Use Regulatory Board
(HLURB) Guidelines
− Total land area of project site
− Total floor area of buildings in square meters
− Resultant floor to area ratio (considering all buildings within the project site)
− Percentage of land occupancy
3.3 Project Size Thresholds
The Zoning Administrator shall prepare a list of Significantly Sized Projects (SSP) with the
corresponding thresholds. The project proponent shall, in turn, submit information that
corresponds to the required threshold criteria
3.4 Public Roadway Modification Thresholds
The project proponent shall submit its requirements for the Public Roadway Modifications to the
Zoning Administrator. A TIA shall be conducted if the modifications required fall under the
criteria specified herein.
4. Who May Prepare and Evaluate Traffic Impact Assessments?
A Transportation Engineer or Planner certified by the Environmental Management Bureau
(EMB) and the National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) of the University of the
Philippines as qualified to prepare TIA may undertake impact assessment. Adequate background
is defined as a person holding at least a master’s degree in transportation or its equivalent in
terms of training and professional experience.
5. Scope Of Work
5.1 General
The City or Municipal Planning and Development Office (CPDO or MPDO) will evaluate and
approve the proposed scope of work for a TIA.
The scope of work for the conduct of TIA includes but is not limited to the following:
• Transportation Improvements.
• Road Geometry.
• Traffic Safety.
• Site Circulation and Parking.
• Transportation facilities related to public transport, bicycle and pedestrian travel
• Transportation Demand Management.
• Neighborhood Traffic and Parking Management.
• Funding for countermeasures.
5.2 Minimum Study Area
The Minimum Study Area should include all critical site access points as well as signalized and
unsignalized intersections adjacent to the site.
5.3 Additional Study Area
Beyond the Minimum Study Area, the approving authority shall determine any additional area to
be included based on local or site-specific deficiencies, development size, traffic conditions, or
local policy potentially affected by the proposed development.
5.4 High Traffic Impact Areas
The C/MPDO should designate and maintain maps of High Traffic Impact Areas (HTIA) within
their jurisdiction. HTIAs are those that have “special sensitivity to traffic condition changes due
to existing congestion, problematic circulation patterns, burgeoning traffic operations problems,
or other traffic conditions of special concern.”
6. Traffic Impact Analysis Contents
A TIA that accurately documents the impacts of a new development should contain the following
information:
1) A description of the site and study area.
2) Purpose and objectives of the analysis.
3) Determination and identification of the area of influence of the development.
4) Description of existing roadway / transportation conditions
5) Identification of traffic congestion, accident areas and other deficiencies of the transportation
system
6) Anticipated nearby land development (planned or under construction
7) Anticipated trip generation and daily peak hour traffic volumes
8) Trip distribution and assignment of site traffic on the transportation system.
9) Projection of existing traffic to a future design year
10) A future combined traffic volume plan
11)Identification of traffic congestion, safety problems and / or other deficiencies of the future
transportation system
12) An assessment of the change in roadway operating conditions resulting from the
development (quantifying the impact of the development).
13) Development and evaluation of potential improvement measures needed to mitigate the
impact of the development
14)Recommendations for site access and transportation improvements
15) On-site issues including number and location of driveways, parking needs/layout, circulation,
bicycle and pedestrian facilities, truck access and operations, transit and safety.
16)Coordination efforts with other affected jurisdictions impacted by the development.
7. What Issues does a Traffic Impact Analysis Need to Address?
Typical issues that need to be addressed would include the following:
• What are the transportation improvements needed to serve the traffic generated by the new
development?
• How much will the improvement cost be and who will pay for them?
• Will the new project impact traffic on any existing residential streets and how will those
impacts be mitigated?
• Will the new development aggravate any existing safety hazards or create new ones and, if so,
how can those hazards be corrected?
• Can the proposed development be served by public transportation and does the design
encourage ridesharing?
• Is the design of the development friendly towards bicyclists and pedestrians who need to access
the development or who need to pass through or by the development?
• Is the on-site parking sufficient or is there an opportunity to share parking with other adjacent
uses?
• How many driveways are needed, what design should each driveway have and is there a long
enough throat for each driveway that is clear of parking spaces and other cross aisle traffic?
• If any driveway is proposed to be signalized, is the traffic signal really needed and can on-site
circulation handle the traffic that will be queuing to wait for a green light?
8. Data and References
Data for street traffic volumes, intersection traffic volumes, speed surveys, traffic signal timing
plans, and traffic collisions are available from the Department of Public Works and Highways
(DPWH), from the Traffic Engineering Center (TEC), and the concerned local governments’
related agencies (e.g., CPDO, MPDO, Office of the Municipal or City Engineer). Past
transportation impact analyses, approved development traffic plans, transportation improvement
project plans, specifications, and estimates are available for review with the DPWH or the Metro
Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
9. Capacity Analysis
For capacity analysis of intersections and arterials, several scenarios are required for analysis.
The four basic scenarios of capacity analysis for intersections and arterials are:
1. Existing Conditions
2. Background Conditions (Existing + Approved Projects)
3. Project Conditions (Existing + Approved Projects + Project)
4. Expected Growth Conditions (Existing + Approved Projects + Project + Expected Growth)
10. Standards of Significance
The standards of significance for traffic impacts for a project are based on the following:
• If the project traffic will contribute to the increase in traffic along arterials or at intersections
currently operating at unacceptable levels;
• If the project design does not have adequate parking or circulation capacity to accommodate
traffic increase.
• If traffic increase or roadway design will result in safety concerns; or
• If the project does not include adequate provision for bicycle, pedestrian, or public transport
access.
• If the project traffic will cause the existing intersection or highway roadway levels of service to
drop below acceptable levels (e.g., below LOS "D">);
