LOS analysis focuses on traffic delay and congestion, usually at intersections or roadway segments. VMT analysis focuses on the amount of vehicle travel generated by a project, measured as vehicle miles traveled. Many agencies now use VMT analysis for environmental review, while LOS analysis may still be used for local operational review, site access, roadway design, or transportation improvement planning.

An LRSP, or Local Road Safety Plan, is a data-driven safety plan that helps a city or local agency identify crash patterns, prioritize improvements, and become more competitive for safety funding opportunities. An LRSP typically includes collision analysis, identification of emphasis areas and risk factors, a list of recommended countermeasures, and an implementation strategy for improving roadway safety. GTS has prepared LRSPs and LRSP implementation grant applications for multiple Southern California agencies and uses collision data, field reviews, stakeholder input, and proven road safety countermeasures to develop plans that help agencies achieve their goals.

An SS4A Comprehensive Safety Action Plan is a plan developed under the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All program. It is intended to help an agency improve roadway safety through a complete, action-oriented framework. These plans typically include a high-injury network, safety analysis, public outreach, leadership commitment, prioritized countermeasures, and implementation steps. GTS’s SS4A work has included preparing plans that satisfy federal SS4A requirements and can also support broader grant readiness and implementation planning.

VMT stands for Vehicle Miles Traveled. It measures the total miles driven by vehicles within a specific area and time period. VMT is commonly used to understand travel demand, traffic impacts, emissions, and how transportation or land-use changes may affect driving.

VMT screening is an initial review used to determine whether a project may be exempt from detailed vehicle miles traveled analysis. A project may screen out based on factors such as location, project size, land use type, proximity to transit, affordable housing, or consistency with local VMT guidelines.

A full VMT analysis may be needed when a project does not meet local screening criteria. The analysis evaluates whether the project is expected to increase vehicle miles traveled and may identify mitigation strategies, such as transportation demand management, pedestrian improvements, bicycle infrastructure, transit access, or land use changes.

A typical VMT analysis involves reviewing the project description, investigating local screening criteria, estimating trips, using the applicable travel demand model when needed for evaluating VMT, and documenting findings in a technical memorandum or report for CEQA and entitlement review. The SB 743 shifted transportation impact analysis in California away from delay and level of service as the main CEQA metric and toward vehicle miles traveled, or VMT. In practice, that means a project may need screening or a detailed VMT analysis depending on the land use, location, trip generation, local thresholds, and agency guidelines.

Some projects may qualify for screening if they are small enough, generate limited trips, fall within a screened project type or location, or meet local agency screening criteria. The exact threshold depends on the jurisdiction and its adopted guidelines. In those cases, the work may be documented through a VMT screening memorandum rather than a full model-based VMT study.

A traffic impact study evaluates how a proposed development, roadway change, or land use project may affect nearby streets, intersections, driveways, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit access, and parking. These studies typically review existing traffic conditions, estimate future trips, analyze intersection operations, and recommend improvements to support safe and efficient transportation.

A traffic impact study is often required during the planning, entitlement, or environmental review process for projects that may generate new trips above a certain threshold or change traffic patterns. Requirements vary by city, county, and project type, but studies are commonly requested for residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, mixed-use, and redevelopment projects.

Level of service, or LOS, is a traffic operations measure used to describe the congestion level of an intersection or roadway segment. LOS analysis often considers vehicle delay, congestion, intersection capacity, turning movements, and peak-hour traffic conditions.

An active transportation plan identifies improvements for walking, biking, rolling, and other non-driving travel modes. These plans often include sidewalk gaps, bikeway networks, crossing improvements, Safe Routes to School projects, traffic calming, safety priorities, and funding strategies.

A pedestrian master plan identifies ways to make walking safer, more comfortable, and more accessible throughout a community. It typically evaluates existing sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps, pedestrian signals, ADA accessibility, safety concerns, and connections to schools, parks, transit, businesses, and neighborhoods. The plan recommends priority improvements and strategies to support safer and more walkable streets.

A bicycle master plan identifies ways to improve bicycling conditions and create a safer, more connected bike network. It typically evaluates existing bikeways, gaps in the network, roadway conditions, safety issues, bicycle parking, and connections to key destinations. The plan recommends bicycle facilities, programs, policies, and priority projects to make biking safer and more convenient.

Safe Routes to School planning focuses on improving safety and access for students walking, biking, rolling, or being dropped off near schools. These plans may include school circulation studies, crossing improvements, traffic calming, signage, striping, education programs, and grant funding strategies.

Complete streets are streets designed to serve people of all ages, abilities, and travel modes. A complete street may include facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, drivers, delivery vehicles, emergency responders, and people using mobility devices. The type of facilities will depend on the context: how much traffic the street carries, what land uses surround it, what destinations it connects, and what communities it serves. Depending on the context, complete streets projects may include sidewalks, bike lanes, protected bikeways, safer crossings, curb extensions, transit stops, traffic calming, ADA curb ramps, improved lighting, street trees, parking management, signal upgrades, and roadway redesign.

Transportation projects can be funded through local, regional, state, federal, and private funding sources. Funding may come from grants, development impact fees, transportation sales tax programs, safety programs, active transportation programs, public-private partnerships, or capital improvement budgets.

Grant funding may be available for safety improvements, active transportation, Safe Routes to School, complete streets, traffic signals, corridor improvements, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, transit access, ADA upgrades, and smart mobility projects. Eligibility depends on the funding program and project goals.

A parking study evaluates parking supply, parking demand, occupancy, turnover, user behavior, shared parking opportunities, curb use, and future parking needs. Parking studies are often used for development projects, downtown areas, campuses, commercial districts, residential neighborhoods, and mixed-use areas.

A parking study may be needed when a project proposes a reduction in required parking, involves a change in land use, affects on-street parking, raises neighborhood parking concerns, or needs to confirm that the available parking supply is sufficient. Parking studies can also help guide parking management strategies and support shared parking arrangements.

A shared parking study evaluates the parking needs of existing or planned land uses that are located near each other. The goal is to determine whether different uses can share the same parking supply because their peak parking demands occur at different times. For example, an office building and a restaurant may be able to share parking because they typically have different busiest periods. Shared parking studies can help reduce the required number of parking spaces and support a more efficient use of available space.

A traffic signal modification project may include changing phasing, adding or revising detection, updating cabinets or signal heads, installing pre-emption, revising signage and striping, or modifying equipment to support new operations or development-related improvements. The scope depends on the intersection, agency standards, and project goals.

A traffic signal warrant analysis evaluates whether a new traffic signal may be justified at an intersection. The analysis typically reviews traffic volumes, pedestrian activity, crash history, roadway geometry, school crossings, delay, and applicable traffic engineering standards.

A signal warrant analysis answers the question of whether a signal is justified. A traffic signal design answers the question of how the signal should be built or modified. The warrant analysis is an evaluation step; the design phase comes later if the agency decides to proceed.

HSIP, or the Highway Safety Improvement Program, usually requires a strong safety justification supported by collision history, proposed countermeasures, benefit-cost reasoning, and documentation that aligns with program requirements. Depending on the phase, design teams may also support preliminary design concepts, cost estimates, technical narratives, warrant analysis, and grant application materials. Once funding is awarded, design teams may need to align plans, estimates, and delivery documentation with grant and agency requirements.

In some cases, yes. A well-structured safety plan can help position an agency for multiple funding opportunities if it includes the right analysis, prioritization, and implementation framework.

No. Meeting a warrant means that a traffic signal may be considered, but engineering judgment is still required. Other solutions, such as stop control, roundabouts, pedestrian beacons, signing and striping, signal timing changes, or traffic calming, may be more appropriate depending on the location.

Traffic signal timing is the process of setting and adjusting green, yellow, red, pedestrian, and clearance intervals at signalized intersections. Good signal timing can reduce delay, improve safety, support pedestrians and bicyclists, and improve traffic flow along corridors. Traffic signal coordination helps signals along a corridor work together so vehicles, buses, pedestrians, and bicyclists can move more efficiently. Coordinated signal timing can improve travel time reliability, reduce queuing, and improve overall corridor operations.

Signing and striping plans show roadway signs, lane markings, crosswalks, bike lanes, turn lanes, stop bars, legends, pavement arrows, parking restrictions, and other traffic control elements. These plans help communicate how streets should operate for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users.

Traffic control plans are needed when construction, utility work, maintenance, or roadway improvements may affect traffic, pedestrian access, bicycle routes, parking, or transit service. Traffic control plans help maintain safety and mobility during temporary construction or phased work.

Street lighting design determines the placement, type, and performance of lighting along streets, intersections, sidewalks, parking areas, and public spaces. Good lighting supports visibility, safety, accessibility, and comfort for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users.

ITS stands for Intelligent Transportation Systems. ITS uses technology, communications, sensors, cameras, fiber networks, connected devices, and traffic management systems to improve transportation safety, operations, monitoring, and system performance.

Fiber optic cable infrastructure supports communication between traffic signals, transportation management centers, cameras, detection systems, emergency systems, and other ITS devices. Reliable fiber networks help agencies manage traffic and monitor conditions.

Yes. California has EV charging infrastructure requirements in the California Green Building Standards Code, also known as CALGreen. The requirements apply to many new construction projects and some parking additions or alterations, depending on the project type, size, and local jurisdiction. For transportation planning and site design, EV charger requirements can affect parking layout, accessible spaces, electrical infrastructure, signing and striping, circulation, curb access, and construction phasing.

ADA curb ramp improvements make sidewalks and street crossings more accessible for people with disabilities. The improvements may include compliant curb ramps, detectable warning surfaces, accessible push buttons, crosswalk placement, sidewalk transitions, and intersection upgrades.