Determination of traffic impact scope: Beijings experience

Determining the scope and area of traffic impact is one of the most crucial steps for traffic impact analysis (TIA). The paper first describes the result of a study on the qualitative and quantitative analysis methods which the engineering community commonly employs for determining the impact scope of projects at home and abroad. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods are analyzed. Then the paper examines in details Beijing's method for determining the traffic impact scope. The principles of Beijing's determination are presented, namely, qualitative-quantitative combination, theory-practice combination, combination of scientificity and economical efficiency, and limitation. The basic procedure for the determination is explained. A case study illustrates the general procedure and process for determining the impact scope in the study of engineering projects.