Comparison of traffic impact assessment in Asian countries

Definition of traffic impact assessment

A traffic impact assessment or TIA is an evaluation of the potential effects that a particular
development’s traffic will have on the transportation network in its impact area. The
magnitude of these studies will vary depending on the type, size and location of the project.
Ideally, TIA should accompany developments which have the potential to significantly
impact the transportation network.

The term “significant” is actually a relative quantity since the contributions of different
types of developments will vary and the available capacity of a network to absorb
additional traffic is also variable. Thus, the threshold value of 100 additional vehicle trips
employed by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) may not be applicable in all
cases, especially those outside the United States and countries with similar traffic
situations. Note that it is this threshold value that is one of the criteria for requiring TIA for
developments.

In this section, the implementation of TIA in Asian countries is discussed. Particular focus
is given to the institutional framework and existing challenges for TIA to be effectively
applied in Asia. Recommendations are made for the promotion, implementation and
monitoring of TIA.

Institutional framework

Formulation and effective implementation of TIA is heavily dependent on the existence of

an institutional framework, under which the TIA process can be realized. TIA in Asia is
usually under the environmental impact assessment process and thus encounters problems
similar to those met in the implementation of EIA. Typical problems pertaining to the
implementation of EIA as identified by Briffett, et al (2003) include the following:

ƒ Institutional problems where EIA is seen as bureaucratic red tape,

ƒ Deficiencies in data management systems,
ƒ Inappropriate monitoring mechanisms,
ƒ Lack of skilled and trained manpower, and
ƒ Political interference

Such problems extend to TIA, which is subsumed by the EIA process. This is compounded
by unclear policies regarding TIA where the requirement of TIA becomes arbitrary rather
than according to established guidelines. Examples of various efforts in establishing TIA in
Asian countries are discussed in the succeeding paragraphs. Thus, a first requirement to be
able to implement TIA is to have the institutional framework to enable the TIA process.
This framework includes the existence of laws or formal policies covering TIA and is
actually found in most Asian countries.

The Japanese government enacted the “Law Concerning The Measures By Large Scale
Retail Stores For Preservation Of Living Environment” through the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry (METI) with the objective of regulating large scale commercial
developments. The law is an attempt to apply a single standard for commercial
establishments throughout the whole country; where traffic impacts may be under- or over-

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estimated depending on the location and characteristics of cities. The law covers such
elements like parking, access and egress design and the recommendation of options to the
developer regarding the alleviation of negative impacts such as potential traffic congestion
due to the project.

Japan also published formal guidelines for the conduct of traffic impact assessment
(IATSS, 2001). The committee who worked on the guidelines was composed of
representatives from government agencies, the academe and the general public. Most
provisions point to existing guidelines or regulations like the “Traffic Plan Manual for
Large-Scale Development Districts,” by the City Traffic Research Section of the Ministry
of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT), as well as those in each prefecture.

In South Korea, they have enacted the Urban Planning Law, Urban Traffic Improvement
Promotion Law (which contains the TIA guidelines), Environment Transportation Disaster
Impact Assessment Law, and the Parking Lot Law. The TIA process in South Korea is
shown in the Figure 1. The deliberation process details the entire work flow including the
inputs from the laws covering TIA.

Deliberation Process of TIA

1. Request TIA
Client
Owner of building Consulting Service Company
City Office
District Office 2. Submit TIA report

4. Pre-examination 3. Submit TIA report

(“Complementary
Assessment” or not) Laws
Urban Planning Law
- Urban Basic Planning
Mayor, Urban Traffic Improvement Promotion Law
District Chairman or - Urban Traffic Improvement Basic Planning
Country Headman (Every 20 years) – Traffic index
- TIA Guidelines
Environment Transportation Disaster Impact
5. Deliberation Assessment Law

Central Council Rural Council Parking Lot Law

- Parking lot Improvement Basic Planning

Central TIA Rural TIA

Deliberation Deliberation
(Ministry of (City or
Construction & Prefecture)
Transportation)

NO NO
Approval?

Case 1: Case 2: Case 3:

YES
Re-Discussion Conditional Approval Report of Condition

Making up for Partial amendment of Improvement of

critical mistakes the TIA report supplementary items &
confirmation by council
and submission
of “Assessment
Supplementary
Report”
Permission

Figure 1. TIA evaluation process in South Korea

(Source: Regidor, Kubota and Sakamoto, 2001)

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In Thailand, they have the Town and Country Planning Act, the Building Control Act, the
Land Development Act, and the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environment
Quality Act. The first aims to develop a comprehensive city plan and project plan at the
macroscopic level. The second deals with the building regulations and the procedures for
obtaining a building permit. The act that focuses more on the project site characteristics is
the third one as TIA guidelines were introduced under this law, which focused on
environmental problems.

The typical TIA process in Thailand as applied in Bangkok is illustrated in the flowchart in
Figure 2. Note that the process has similarities with the Korean process from the
macroscopic perspective.

Figure 2. Traffic impact assessment process in Bangkok

(Source: Hokao and Mohamed, 1999)

In the Philippines, Presidential Decree 1586 created an Environmental Impact Statement

System in 1979. This was strengthened by Department Administrative Order 96-37 that
provided guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment under which TIA was implied
but not explicitly mentioned. The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board issued a series
of memos in 2005 requiring TIA for subdivision development of 30 hectares or more.

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The TIA process for the Philippines is shown in Figure 3. In the figure, only the shaded
boxes are actually implemented and this is due to that part being under the established EIA
system. The reality is still that TIA is largely unknown in the local government level,
where cities that are expected to benefit the most from TIA have no appreciation of its
potential. Yet, even with an understanding of the TIA process, many cities are incapable to
evaluate reports and therefore are prone to be tricked by developers and their consultants
into accepting TIA’s where the cities are at a disadvantage.

TIA Application
Criteria

Site development Urban renewal or industrial Rezoning

in critical area site development

YES NO Undertake
Covered under
EIA? TIA

Prepare TIA as Prepare TIA as part of LGU review

part of EIA/IEE locational clearance and approval

EMB review LGU review Zoning plan

and approval and approval

Issuance of Locational clearance Municipal or City Council

ECC certificate review and approval

Permit to Permit to Zoning

construct construct ordinance

Figure 3. TIA process in the Philippines

(Source: Regidor and Teodoro, 2003)

Similar efforts in institutionalizing TIA have been undertaken in other Asian countries.
These, again, are usually done within the EIA framework of these countries.

Issues and concerns

TIA is often considered as a hindrance or obstacle to development. It is seen as an

additional requirement on top of the other components of an EIA. Project proponents
would often balk at the idea of having to conduct a full-scale traffic analysis due mainly to
the cost of undertaking a TIA and the additional costs that may result from the assessment
outcomes.

Limapornwanitch, et al (2005) identified obstacles to the effective implementation of TIA.

These are the following:

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 1) Institutionalization and legislation;
2) Unavailability of established and applicable standards;
3) Lack of knowledge; and
4) Budget limitation

Institutionalization and legislation refers to laws or regulations covering TIA. The

inclusion of TIA in most Asian countries’ EIA systems is often implicit and therefore also
vague. It is unclear on when TIA is required and the extent or detail that is necessary for
the assessment.

Unavailability of established and applicable standards points to the absence or unsuitable

adaptation of TIA guidelines most especially guidelines developed by the ITE. Inclusive
here are concerns regarding trip generation rates (i.e., ITE is expressed in vehicle trips),
analytical techniques (e.g., travel demand modeling and forecasting, micro-simulation),
and

Lack of knowledge is directed mainly to the capacity of government, most particularly

cities, to assess TIA reports. Capacity can be equated to knowledge in transport planning
and traffic engineering. Such is required to understand assessments and provide comments,
as well as recommendations that lead to appropriate countermeasures to potential transport
and traffic problems.

Budget limitation may mean several things. Constraints in financial resources may refer to
the cost of undertaking a TIA and the resulting costs of providing solutions to negative
impacts. These costs are to be borne by the developer or the proponent of the project and
include the cost of hiring consultants for the TIA. Budget limitations may also be
associated with costs of implementing the TIA process including the capacity building
required to review TIA reports and approve developments. As such, we can easily classify
costs into the following categories:

ƒ Cost of TIA report – these are direct costs for the impact assessment including data
collection, analysis, and simulation. These are usually costs borne by the developer
or proponent.
ƒ Cost of mitigating measures – these are costs as a result of the recommended
options for alleviating negative impacts including possibly the provision of
infrastructure to improve transport conditions, traffic management schemes, or
reduction of the magnitude of the development.
ƒ Cost of assessment of TIA report – these are costs of reviewing the TIA report.
This should also include costs attributed to the capacity that is required for the
responsible agency to be able to make the assessment. If there is little or no
capacity then costs of training or education is included in this cost category.

Challenge of implementing TIA in Asia

Monitoring is an essential component of the TIA process. This is meant to ensure that
countermeasures or proposed solutions to mitigate negative impacts are implemented.
Initially, the burden will be with government or the cities who evaluated the TIA reports.
City officials, particularly those in charge of traffic management will be blamed for the
congestion and other negative impacts of developments. As such, pressure may be exerted

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by the general public on the city to act on this responsibility. Therefore, the burden should
be passed on to the developers whose projects have been approved and implemented with
the condition that they also implement mitigation measures according to the TIA
recommendations. However, as many cases go, developers will balk at what they consider
as additional costs and will not implement countermeasures at all.

It is clear that the challenge for effectively implementing TIA in Asia continues and
requires more effort to overcome. This is due to many loopholes in the entire TIA system
that Asian countries or cities cannot put the process in practice. As such, there needs to be
the formulation of an effective strategy for this purpose. This strategy should be practical
for a more realistic implementation that involves all stakeholders in the TIA process.
Figure 4 illustrates an ideal set-up for the implementation of TIA in Asia with the academe
leading the way.

Figure 4. Implementation stages for traffic impact assessment

(Source: Limapornwanitch, et al, 2005)

The academe has long been regarded as having the knowledge or capacity required for TIA.
However, this knowledge is not efficiently used as there are often limited contacts or
involvements between the academe and the various stakeholders in TIA. On one hand, the
criticism has been that the academe seems to be on a pedestal and unwilling to contribute
by engaging stakeholders especially the government. On the other hand, there is
indifference by government and other stakeholders in engaging the academe, preferring to
maintain the illusion of its capacity in assessing TIA, and not needing assistance for
capacity building, enhancement, or education. Such an impasse needs to be resolved and a
partnership needs to be developed and cultivated among stakeholders.

Conclusion

The ultimate burden for TIA’s non-implementation is on the general public. It is the
community who will experience congestion. It is the public who will pay for the internal
costs including fuel costs and maintenance costs. The same people will pay for the
externalities brought about by congestion and other traffic problems. These include costs
associated with but not limited to the following:

ƒ Lessened productivity due to longer travel times (i.e., more delay in travel);
ƒ Increased incidence of respiratory diseases due to increased emissions; and
ƒ Increased occurrence of traffic accidents involving motorists and pedestrians
due to traffic conditions and poor provision or design of facilities.

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The implementation of an effective strategy where the academe plays an important role in
the promotion, formulation and evaluation of TIA is essential to establish TIA as a vital
and integral part of the impact assessment process where transport and traffic are necessary
components. TIA then will ultimately be viewed not as an impedance to development but a
requirement to ensure that responsible and sustainable development is realized.

References

Alshuwaikhat, H.M., “Strategic environmental assessment can help solve environmental

impact assessment failures in developing countries,” Environmental Impact Assessment
Review, 25, 307–317, 2005.

Briffett, C., Obbard, J.P., and Mackee, J., “Towards SEA for the developing nations of
Asia,” Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 23, 171–196, 2003.

Environment Canada, Strategic environmental assessment. An integrated approach to the

environmental assessment of policy, plan and program proposals, 2003.

Institute of Transportation Engineers, Traffic Access and Impact Studies for Site
Development, A Recommended Practice, Prepared by the Transportation Planners
Council Task Force on Traffic Access/Impact Studies, Brian S. Bochner, Chairperson,
Washington, D.C., 1991.

International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, Traffic Assessment Study,

Tokyo, 2001. (Original version in Japanese translated into English)

Limapornwanitch, K., Montalbo, C.M., Hokao, K., and Fukuda, A., “The Implementation
of Traffic Impact Assessment Studies in Southeast Asian Cities: Case Studies of Thailand
and the Philippines,” Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies,
Vol. 6, pp. 4208 - 4223, 2005

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, “Law Concerning The Measures By Large
Scale Retail Stores For Preservation Of Living Environment,”

Regidor, J.R.F., Kubota, H., and Sakamoto K. “A Comparative Analysis of Traffic Impact
Assessment in the Philippines, Japan and South Korea: Implementation and the Use of
Computer Simulation as an Analytical Tool,” Philippine Engineering Journal, Vol. XXII,
No. 2, pp. 1-16, 2001.

Regidor, J.R.F. and Teodoro, R.V.R., “Institutionalizing Traffic Impact Assessment in the
Philippines,” Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol. 5,
pp. 3192-3205, 2003.