An Efficient Approach to EPA’s MOVES Hot-Spot Emissions Analysis Using Comprehensive Traffic Modeling

The Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is used to estimate project level (hot-spot) emissions. Refinements in the input of vehicle activity for the MOVES model include overwriting the default vehicle operating mode profiles, specifying link drive schedules on a second-by-second basis, or inputting average link speeds. The first two approaches require expensive and extensive vehicle operating mode data collection, which is cost-prohibitive for most projects. However, utilizing only average link speeds in the model’s original context would not provide enough data resolution for areas with intricate traffic patterns. Therefore, options for refinement that represent a more efficient method were explored for the air quality analyses for a proposed mega mixed-use development project in New York City, and a methodology that uses a profile of average speeds covering all daytime hours, instead of only peak hours, was used. The traffic industry’s well-known, cost- and time-effective CORSIM model produced the necessary inputs to the MOVES model for this project. Accurate speed estimates were essential for this project, especially under the congested traffic conditions with low speeds that this project location presented, since particulate matter emissions from mobile sources are strongly speed-dependent. CORSIM has not previously been considered as an option in connection with MOVES model refinement. The methodology used for this project, which was approved by the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) and Department of Environmental Preservation (NYCDEP), could potentially apply to future projects.