Traffic Impact Study Services
For nearly two decades, McCormick Taylor has consistently worked with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) providing traffic expertise for more than 350 task orders under multiple Traffic Impact Study (TIS) Services agreements.
The Challenge
Through this on-call, task order contract, TIS services are needed to support the review of rezoning and subdivision applications across New Castle, Kent, and Sussex counties, including the municipalities within each county. Timely, thorough, and professional TIS reviews are required with extensive coordination with DelDOT staff to meet schedules and resolve complex or atypical issues in a practical manner.
How We Helped
McCormick Taylor coordinates extensively with DelDOT to perform timely, thorough, and professional reviews in accordance with guidelines set forth in DelDOT’s Development Coordination Manual to meet schedules and resolve a variety of unique and complex issues associated with each project. During our TIS Services agreements, McCormick Taylor has taken on many tasks, including but not limited to the following:
- Conduct reviews of traffic impact studies prepared by others, including our assessment of roadway, intersection and traffic conditions and recommended mitigation measures.
- Preparation of traffic impact studies on behalf of DelDOT, requiring data collection, technical analysis, report preparation, and coordination beyond that required for independent study reviews.
- Field walks, performed by McCormick Taylor staff, using appropriate tools and equipment to provide accurate assessments and help develop recommendations informed by real-world field conditions, constructability, and multimodal transportation needs.
- Reevaluation of trip generation, trip assignment, bypass trips, and other development-specific assumptions and recreation of capacity analyses using Highway Capacity Software or Synchro.
Assessment of how proposed projects align with local and state comprehensive plans and other applicable policy documents. - Staff augmentation, including providing qualified staff members to DelDOT offices in Dover when needed, where they work closely with Department staff.
- Routine coordination with DelDOT Planning, Traffic, Subdivision, Transportation Solutions, HEP/HSIP, and Active Transportation Sections, as well as Delaware Transit Corporation (DART) and county representatives, to identify overlapping projects, prior studies, and other issues affecting each assignment.
The Result
Through our work on seven consecutive TIS contracts, McCormick Taylor has completed more than 350 TIS reviews since 2007 (on average roughly one every 20 days). The contract’s most recent renewal in 2024 reflects DelDOT’s continued confidence in McCormick Taylor’s ability to consistently deliver the diverse range of services required, building on a long history of successful collaboration.
This longstanding partnership with DelDOT and its partner agencies has provided McCormick Taylor with firsthand insight into Delaware’s traffic and land use characteristics, allowing us to deliver informed recommendations that continue to support transportation planning and guide future decision-making for communities across the state.
