Assessing Level of Traffic Stress on Virginia’s Roadways

Abstract

This project developed and demonstrated a practical, scalable, and reproducible framework for calculating and applying Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) classifications across Virginia using publicly available and broadly accessible datasets. The work focused on developing a workflow that can be maintained and updated over time without reliance on proprietary software or specialized data collection efforts. The resulting LTS classifications were used to support analyses of bicycle network connectivity and accessibility and develop a prototype visualization tool to support planning and decision-making. The browser-based prototype visualization tool using VTTI’s DataViz platform allows users to visualize LTS classifications throughout a network, compare different LTS calculation approaches, and conduct accessibility and routing analyses between selected origins and destinations. The application was intentionally designed to operate without specialized geographic information system software, improving accessibility for practitioners and stakeholders. Overall, this project demonstrates that statewide and regional LTS analysis is technically feasible using scalable workflows and publicly available datasets. The resulting framework provides a practical foundation for identifying low-stress network gaps, evaluating bicycle accessibility, prioritizing infrastructure improvements, and supporting multimodal transportation planning. The work also highlights the importance of moving beyond isolated segment-level classifications toward network-based evaluations of accessibility that reflect how bicyclists experience the transportation system in practice.