Proc. of the Intl. Conf.

on Future Trends In Civil and Structural Engineering-- FTCSE 2014

Copyright Institute of Research Engineers and Doctors. All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-63248-014-9 doi: 10.15224/ 978-1-63248-014-9-06

Implementation of Traffic Impact Assessment in

Developing Countries: Case Study of
Bangladesh
[ Nuzhat Azra and Dr. Md. Shamsul Hoque ]

AbstractDue to unplanned development, traffic congestion In case of Transit Oriented Development (TOD), integration
in the cities of Bangladesh has become a serious problem. As a of land use and transportation planning is recognized to be
result, Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) has become a necessity essential but is rarely practiced in developing countries. This
to control this unplanned growth. In Bangladesh, the concept is because of rapid and dramatic changes in city structures
of TIA has recently been introduced and is yet to be and various institutional problems.
institutionalized. Here implication of TIA faces many All through the year many development projects are
challenges which are also common in most of the developing approved i.e. office, condominium, shopping complexes,
countries. In this paper, the issues and challenges are discussed
hypermarket etc. without following any land use plan.
as well as the possible solutions. The study further discusses the
strategies for improving implementation of TIA in Bangladesh.
Many of these are even located in Central Business
District (CBD) creating more traffic congestion. These
Keywords implementation process, issues and challenges, congested conditions have prompted planners necessarily
land use plan, traffic impact assessment. implement TIA in their cities. However implementation of
TIA faces many obstacles in these cities. This paper deals
with explaining current TIA applications in developing
I. INTRODUCTION countries and comparing some strengths and weaknesses.
Moreover, the obstacles are discussed together with possible
All commercial and non-commercial (residential) improvements. Ultimately, the lessons learned and solutions
developments generate traffic movements. This generation developed are expected to be a basis for planners to learn
of traffic depends on the location and size of the how to effectively set up TIA for growth management in the
development and has an impact on the surrounding areas future.
and on the existing local and arterial transport network.
Most of the time it creates traffic congestion, air pollution, II. TRAFFIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN
and safety issues in public. These undesirable consequences
of urbanization in many cities have made planners and DEVELOPING COUNTRIES:
decision makers realize that attempts to only encourage city
growth by improving facility performances impose greater
BANGLADESH PERSPECTIVE
social costs than benefits. Therefore for the decision-
makers, to take decisions regarding new developments, Being a developing country, Bangladesh faces economic
Traffic impact analysis or assessment (TIA) is used as a tool constraints in every sector. However cities and key
to guide them to assess each development. This is not only municipalities continue to undergo development in the
for local practices, but it has now become a trend in many present economic slowdown. Areas are becoming urbanized
countries. In developed countries it is performed routinely. day by day and people are coming face to face with
However in developing countries like Bangladesh, it has congestion. So TIA has become more relevant in the light of
been introduced just recently or is yet to be institutionalized. this continual development. Planners and developers
nowadays try to alleviate if not totally solve the problems of
traffic congestions in growing cities.
Nuzhat Azra (Undergradute Student)
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Bangladesh The need to determine and prepare countermeasures for
the traffic impacts of an urban development cannot be
overemphasized. In the major Metropolitan cities like Dhaka
and Chittagong, locations of new commercial developments
Dr. Md. Shamsul Hoque
significantly follow the expansions of urban transportation
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)
Bangladesh system. So it is necessary to more carefully plan and control
the developments. Otherwise, traffic bottlenecks or critical

1
 Proc. of the Intl. Conf. on Future Trends In Civil and Structural Engineering-- FTCSE 2014
Copyright Institute of Research Engineers and Doctors. All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-63248-014-9 doi: 10.15224/ 978-1-63248-014-9-06

areas will continue to emerge, even if new facilities are enforcing a zoning system. The plan has little or no control
provided. over the intensity of development nor does it suggest the
meaningful ranges or density in each type of land use. This
In recent years, often local governments demand TIA implies that any development, regardless of its size and
study before major constructions. Sometimes entrepreneurs location, will be officially approved so long as it does not
or owners themselves hire consultants to conduct TIA as it violate the basic regulations of land use type defined by
is also a prerequisite for the project to perform well. A existing Town Improvement Act 1953. There is usually no
proper TIA conduction and appropriate measures to solve consideration of serious adverse development impacts, such
problems mean less congestion, easier access and hence as environmental or traffic congestion problems.
more popular among people. Though proposed by local Occasionally, while development project is approved based
government and often the owners, guidelines for TIA have on Town Improvement Act 1953, its TIA study may show
not been institutionalized yet. unacceptable traffic impacts in that zone or area. For
example, in Dhaka new hypermarkets were approved to be
A study on TIA institutionalization of the Philippines, located near to the critical intersections, and they caused
which is a developing Asian country like Bangladesh, is severe traffic congestions. Based on the Town Improvement
done. Comparing the four institutional mechanisms [1] with Act, those developments are appropriate as long as they do
the context of Bangladesh, this study suggests two strategies not endanger the health of the inhabitants of buildings in
for implementation of TIA in Bangladesh. any area, or in the neighboring buildings, Section
1. Through EIA framework; 2.Through local government. 38(b).However it is also essential to consider their negative
The first strategy includes mechanism of implementing TIA consequences on vicinity activity areas and local networks
under EIA. It focuses on evaluating and mitigating the in detail. Again according Section 38 (d) also states that
adverse impacts generated by development projects. The it is expedient to layout new streets or to alter existing
second strategy is to control all developments through a streets (including bridges, culverts and cause-ways),or
Local Government Unit such as RAJUK (Capital that it is necessary to provide in any area, parks, open
Development Authority).In many neighboring countries like spaces, playgrounds or similar amenities.
Thailand, The Philippines, TIA was firstly introduced According to this, a new development may avoid providing
focusing on environmental problem. In Bangladesh, this alternate access roads if it provides any parking space or
approach can be followed as EIA has been mandatory since open spaces, even if it causes severe congestion. This
1995 (Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act). shortcoming was tried to be mended in Bangladesh National
Building Code (BNBC), 2010. Here standards for parking
have been established [2]. Still it does not specify the
III. . ISSUES AND CHALLENGES situations such as that of construction of a hypermarket in
already jam prone area. The hypermarket may provide the
CONCERNING TIA required parking spaces according to BNBC, but may still
In developed countries, TIA is performed routinely, but cause severe traffic congestion.
it has been recently introduced in developing countries like Hence TIA guidelines should be independent from the law
Bangladesh. Therefore, there are some (or many) obstacles of existing land use plan so that it will avoid any conflicting
for implementing an effective TIA process in such condition that may arise.
countries. This study has been conducted based on the
Training Course on TIA for Transportation Professionals. B. Unavailability of Established and
Government officers in the organizations related with traffic
engineering and land use planning were present here and
Applicable Standards
expressed their views to institutionalization of TIA. The Bangladesh does not have the standard process of TIA to be
obstacles for implementing TIA were discussed and some used as the reference. In the U.S., they have developed their
TIA reports conducted for the development projects were own standards to conduct formal TIA, and some famous
reviewed. The training was conducted by academic persons standards are ITEs trip generation handbook and Highway
and specialists. So, their opinions were also included. It was Capacity Manual. In Dubai, British Columbia, South Korea,
found out that the obstacles could be classified into five not only the standard process was identified, but also some
issues: weak urban land use plan, unavailability of standard parameters of the simulation program in estimating traffic
process, lack of knowledge, budget limitation and political impacts were defined clearly. In Bangladesh there is no
factors. discussion on this issue yet, though experts strongly
recommend for them. Without the standard, the consultants
A. Traffic Impact Assessment under are not able to prepare an appropriate TIA study, and the
involved agencies also cannot correctly check a study and
Weak Urban Land Use Plan evaluate impact mitigation alternatives. One of the key
It has been known that the urban land use plans and factors to develop an effective TIA standard is the
regulations of Bangladesh are rather weak in developing and availability of trip rates. In recent years TIA has been

2
 Proc. of the Intl. Conf. on Future Trends In Civil and Structural Engineering-- FTCSE 2014
Copyright Institute of Research Engineers and Doctors. All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-63248-014-9 doi: 10.15224/ 978-1-63248-014-9-06

performed by consultants. They use trip rates from ITEs afraid of losing popularity. Certainly, the expenses of TIA
trip generation handbook. However this standard cannot study are not only imposed to government, but also to
directly be applicable in Bangladeshi cities. This is because developers in hiring consultant team and mitigating negative
of differences in travel characteristics, socio-economic impacts. The developers should be made to understand that
conditions, and cultures. For example, in the U.S. the while they are gaining profits, their projects are imposing
estimation of shopping trip generation is mainly developed social costs to the community. Therefore they should share
for passenger cars, as to privacy concern and high car in the responsibility of relieving additional costs.
ownership, passenger car plays as the major mode for
American people [3]. However in Dhaka, about 51% of the E. Political Factors
total trips are shared by non motorized modes and motorized As a developing country, Bangladesh has been
transport modes contribute to the rest 49% trips [4]. undergoing political turmoil since its birth. This unstable
It can be seen that determining TIA standards is an situation severely affects the development projects at hand.
important factor to establish the TIA process. The Sometimes, when government changes, there are projects
government cannot ignore the need to develop the which stop receiving funds and as a result construction is
appropriate standards. Generally, TIA study lacking the halted, no matter how important they are. Introduction of
detailed standards only determines the direct impacts at the new ideas and studies may face the same consequences. So
ingress and egress of developed area. They do not usually in the political condition like ours, where development
consider the impacts on the adjacent networks. Furthermore projects necessary for the evolution of the country do not
the unavailability of regulations for traffic impact see light, TIAs establishment will require huge effort.
mitigation, external factors, including the influence of the Again decision makers often take decisions on whim
developer, social factors, and political factors, can affect the without thinking about the impacts. Most of the locations of
assessment process directly or indirectly. Eventually, the transportation facilities are based on the orders of a political
TIA makes no provision for refusing approval, despite the leader rather than by planner with long term sustainable
findings. plan. Very few of them are constructed where they will best
serve the mass people, improve the road network or help in
C. Lack of Sufficient Knowledge implementing the master plan of the city. So there may be
cases when authority cannot take any mitigating measures
Without the experts or technicians having sufficient
even after conduction of TIA.
knowledge on TIA in the government and consultants, the
implementation of TIA process will never be successful.
Definitely, the obstacles of implementing TIA process are
The central government offices are doubtful about
not limited to the issues mentioned in this paper. There is a
institutionalization of development impact assessment in
huge debate regarding the issue of impact fees. In terms of
Bangladesh, since there is a lack of potential staffs in
policy, it is not very clear who should pay for cost of
local offices. At the same time, the experts in private
conducting TIA study, whether it is the developer only or
sector are very limited, only a few academics are truly
the developer and government. After all, a TIA study is also
experienced in TIA. A few famous consulting firms are
beneficial for updating traffic planning data of related
trying to train their engineers for this purpose. However
agencies. In case of charging impact fee to developer for a
the TIA performed by them comes out to be traffic reports
budget in alleviating undesired traffic impacts, it is still
which fail to suggest proper measures that are to be taken.
ambiguous how the fee can be estimated. This article
So, Bangladesh government must train their people to
focuses on the obstacles in the beginning stage of TIA
have enough knowledge in transportation planning, traffic
implementation. The lessons from other countries are yet to
engineering, and using computer packages.
be studied.
D. Lack of Budget
Establishment of the TIA process in developing cities
IV. IMPROVING IMPLEMENTATION
needs a lot of resources for developing the TIA standard PROCESS OF TIA
process, details of required analysis components and
methods, road classification, training staff, and for meeting This article emphasizes how to improve the implementation
among planners and developers. These steps require a huge process of TIA in the cities of developing countries. What
budget from the government side. Therefore, it becomes a the study focuses is not the problems of technicality and
serious problem for them, and some planners give up to practicality in each implementation stage, but on the
implement TIA. There is no doubt that the government has strategic points that can help to accomplish the TIA
to face the financial problem to implement TIA process, as implementation. This paper classifies the strategies into
the social costs generated by unplanned developments are following points.
never charged to developers. So the policy of impact fee for A. The Concerned Parties
urban development projects is proposed by the experts. Normally, when TIA implementation is discussed, it focuses
However government officials deny this proposal as they are on the enforcement of government. It might be unfair for the

3
 Proc. of the Intl. Conf. on Future Trends In Civil and Structural Engineering-- FTCSE 2014
Copyright Institute of Research Engineers and Doctors. All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-63248-014-9 doi: 10.15224/ 978-1-63248-014-9-06

government, if the society does not share the responsibility public and private planners to make major land use and
with them. As seen from the previous case studies of other development decisions. At the beginning, it should
ineffective land use planning in developing countries, only make all parties in the society to realize the necessity and
the governments efforts are not enough to accomplish land advantages of TIA. Academic persons who really have skills
use control measures, because many stakeholders might on TIA should motivate the government to make understand
oppose such measures. This is similar for implementing TIA and encourage them to start utilizing TIA measures. They
policy. To successfully implement the TIA process, we need can give answers to following questions
the cooperation among various stakeholders or parties. Why TIA studies are needed (benefits)?
According to Hokao et al, [5] five parties should play some When a TIA study is to be conducted?
significant roles in implementing TIA. They consist of What should be included in TIA?
government, developers, consultants, academic persons, and Who are to conduct the TIA?
the community or civil society. Simultaneously, academic persons also can discuss with
consultants on how preparing TIA study is important.
B. Co-ordination between Concerned Government should promote TIA to developers and to the
Parties community by themselves. Academic persons are not
Co-ordination between the concerned parties mentioned needed to deal with them directly. However, academic
previously is one of the most important factors in the persons can support through sharing the knowledge in
implementation of TIA. Government is the main party in public workshop or meeting. In Bangladesh, we are still in
conducting TIA as they are the one who take responsibility the promotion stage.
of city planning. They have to hold TIA as the tool to
control land development. Most of the time developers try to
D. Formulation of TIA process
avoid any assessment or mitigation process as they are The detailed TIA standards should be completed and
directly affected from the policy in increase of budget, time used as the reference of the society. These activities can be
and human resources. They should be motivated to realize conducted under the support of an academic person. They
the necessity and advantages of TIA. They should realize can develop the vital standards by cooperating with
the fact that they also gain benefits from the accessibility government planners and experts in consultant firms. A step
improved to attract more customers. On behalf of by step framework of TIA should be developed depending
developers, consultants are hired to perform a TIA study. on our socio-economic condition. Human resources are
The study team must collect on-site data, analyze impacts of essential in the TIA process. So, the academic can train the
new traffic, and propose mitigation measures. These tasks staffs of government and consultants on how to employ the
require the technical knowledge, so the consultants play an developed standards in appropriately estimating and
important role in preparing TIA study. To establish an mitigating traffic impacts. During the application of TIA in
accurate TIA framework and conduct evaluation of the the real world, it can create the consultations among the
process, assistance of the academic persons is must. In government, developers, and consultants about predicted
developing cities, most professional traffic engineers work impacts and alternatives to relieve such impacts. Definitely,
in the universities which also true in Bangladesh. These the community should have opportunities to make clear
experts should share their technical knowledge to other what they want in allowing the development inside of their
parties involved in preparing TIA study and also aware areas.
people of the necessities of TIA. The final party is the
community. When a development project is located in a E. Evaluation of TIA process
city, the community living nearby the project will be The evaluation process is a key part for successful TIA
directly or indirectly affected in term of advantages or application. Previously, due to informal evaluation process,
disadvantages. The community should have a chance to many incomplete impact studies were approved. Eventually,
participate in the implementation and application of TIA. If such development generated a lot of problems on traffic
proper co-ordination between these groups of people cannot congestion and environmental damage. Two good
be established, implementation of TIA will never be evaluation systems proposed for implementing TIA are the
possible. TIA review committee and accreditation system (Hokao et
al 2005) [5]. First, to evaluate a report of traffic impact
C. Promotion of the necessity of TIA study, it should set up a committee to check for
Although, most planners are very familiar with the completeness and adequacy. Second, it is a system to
techniques and tools in TIA process, such as classical four- guarantee that those who perform a TIA study are only
step model, network capacity analysis, traffic managements, qualified persons or firms in terms of knowledge and
etc., only few really understand what the role of TIA is in experience, such as academic background and more than
land development control, or why it is essential to be three years of experience in TIA. The qualified groups get a
established. The TIA does not intend to prohibit the certificate or accreditation. Absolutely, if they carry out a
developments, but it tries to minimize the effects of located low-quality TIA study, the accreditation can be withdrawn.
project on the transport network and thereby assist both

4
 Proc. of the Intl. Conf. on Future Trends In Civil and Structural Engineering-- FTCSE 2014
Copyright Institute of Research Engineers and Doctors. All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-63248-014-9 doi: 10.15224/ 978-1-63248-014-9-06

In evaluating a TIA report, government will discuss with the developed cities, the utilization of foreign standards may
developers or consultants, the representatives of developers, fail to provide an appropriate result. Particularly, there is
in order to find the most suitable mitigation alternatives. some uniqueness in mode choice and travel behavior of
Additional, the community should be notified as to how the people, such as high proportion of public transport and
adverse impacts will be alleviated. If they have any other paratransit riders.
requirements, they can propose to the government and The study recognized that one of the most critical
developers for the consideration. It is strongly recommended difficulties in implementing TIA in cities is the lack of
that the evaluation process is not merely finished at the motivation and cooperation among important stakeholders
roundtable meeting. The evaluators should track or monitor in the society. Therefore, strategic points for implementing
the implementation of mitigation measures of approved TIA have been proposed. Definitely this is only a first step
projects. At the same time, they must provide opportunities in institutionalizing TIA in Bangladesh. We still need to
for the community to assess the changes. If developers do conduct in-depth study for the successful implementation of
not follow the final agreement, there should be some TIA in healthy infrastructure development program.
punishment such as penalty charges. There is a case in
Dhaka city where the developer had agreed to provide an References
open space in front of their shopping complex for loading
unloading as a condition to the granting of the development 1. Regidor, J. R. F. and Teodoro, R. V. R. (2003)
permit. But later on they turned that open space into a theme Institutionalizing traffic impact assessment in the
park. Nowadays, that complex causes huge congestion due Philippines: Some issues and challenges, Journal of
to loading unloading activities on street. the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies,
A specific committee composed of TIA evaluators will Vol. 5, 3192-3205.
play an important role in enhancing the quality of TIA 2. Bangladesh National Building Code, 2010. Part 3,
study. It should be composed of senior technicians from Appendix E
various related fields, including traffic and transportation 3. Robin Chase (2010), Car-sharing Offers Convenience,
engineering, land use and urban planning, legalizing land Saves Money and Helps the Environment
development regulations. They should come from academic, http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/pamphlet/201
government, and private organizations, and also have 2/05/201205165791.html#axzz2kvxUPrUP
experiences on assessing and mitigating traffic impacts, so Accessed on: January 20, 2014
that the committee is highly qualified and independent from 4. The Strategic Transport Plan (STP) for Dhaka
political issues. Moreover, in long-term vision this Metropolitan Area (DMA), conducted by the Louise
committee can play the significant role in developing and Barger Inc. (USA) under Dhaka Urban Transport
standardizing all related components of the formal TIA (DUTP phase-III) Project, Dhaka Transport Co-
process, such as setting up the necessary parameters of ordination Board (DTCB), April 2004.
traffic simulation, identifying of impact mitigation 5. Limapornwanitch, K.,Montalbo, C. M. Jr., Hokao, K.
requirements etc. and Fukuda, A. (2005) The Implementation of Traffic
Impact Assessment in Southeast Asian Cities: Case
V. CONCLUSION Studies of Thailand and The Philippines, Journal of
Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) is a powerful tool for the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies,
engineers and planners to determine possible effects of a Vol.6,4208-4223.
project on transportation and traffic system. In recent years,
there is a growing awareness in Bangladesh on this issue.
Though governing bodies have lately shown interest, the
institutionalization of TIA needs to be more systematic and
efficient. Usual practice of TIA has been superficial. The
legal tools to control land use of the city may conflict with
TIA made suggestions. This study recommends that in a
weakly planned country like Bangladesh, the TIA should be
under a different law or guideline independent from the land
use plan, so that it can efficiently function as an investigator
of land development control.
For the obstacles of TIA process, five main issues
consisting of weak Urban Land Use Plan, unavailability of
standard process, lack of knowledge, budget limitation and
political factors have been identified. Development of the
required human resources and home grown TIA standard are
needed to perform a serious and meaningful TIA. Because,
in the cities the trip characteristics are much different from