Population and job growth continue
to define the Dallas-Fort Worth
area, and with large employers
moving to the region or expanding
their operations, this trend is likely
to continue for years to come.
The
population of the 12-county
metropolitan planning area has
surged past 7 million for the first
time, and projections indicate that
by 2040, more than 10 million
people will call North Texas home.
New residents are coming to the
region in search of well-paying jobs
and a good quality of life. Between
2010 and 2015, the region added
more than 680,000 jobs. The
population in 2017 is 7.2 million.
This growth is positive because it
provides a well-educated workforce
for employers as they look to
expand operations further. However,
the new residents add to traffic
congestion. Average daily traffic has
increased each year since 2009,
following a brief dip during the
recession. In 2016, average daily
traffic in the region increased more
than earlier in the decade.
The North Central Texas Council of
Governments and its transportation
partners must find ways to meet the
needs of a growing region,
regardless of how esidents choose
to travel. Technology provides
planners with the data necessary to determine how best to program
money.
The National Performance
Management Research Data Set
makes it possible to create speed
profiles for more than 8,000 miles
of
roads. For example, the data can
show changes by time of day
and
day of the week, resulting in a more
complete picture of reliability.
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Travel Time Maps
The performance management data
has also allowed NCTCOG to
create contour travel times for any
location in the area at a specific
time and day. Travel time contours
are valuable for businesses in
defining the area or population that
can be reached in a given time
interval from a specific location.
For example, the map below shows
the area reached within an hour, at
five-minute intervals, from Dallas
Fort Worth International Airport at
the morning peak hour on a typical
weekday.
Traffic Congestion
Several companies collect travel time data. INRIX, for example, uses the data to measure vehicle congestion in cities around the world. According to INRIX, Dallas- Fort Worth, the fourth-largest region in the US, is seventh in congestion. Although the INRIX data shows an increase in congestion in 2016, road construction is believed to have played a significant role. Major improvements continue to Interstate Highways 35E and 35W, State Highway 183, the Dallas mixmaster and other regionally significant roadways.
It is anticipated that the congestion in Dallas-Fort Worth will lessen in the short run with the completion of upcoming construction projects. Other data tells a slightly different story. According to TomTom, another company that collects and analyzes traffic data, congestion in North Texas is less severe than in many regions across the US. TomTom, which factors in the increases in travel times with respect to free-flow traffic, rates Dallas-Fort Worth traffic at No. 34 nationally, better than Houston, Austin or San Antonio.
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