Reedy Creek Improvement District Comp Plan - Part 5

Part one can be found here.

Part two is here.

Part three is here.

Part four is here.

The Transportation Chapter

The Walt Disney World property is massive in size and it is complex in its topography. One of the major planning challenges for the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) Comprehensive Plan is the implementation and maintenance of a diverse and safe multi-modal transportation network. The Walt Disney World resort covers more than 43 square miles and just getting around the property is a major effort. The purpose of the Transportation Chapter is to define how a community gets around internally, how it connects to the region, and the necessary infrastructure to make all of this happen.

On any given day, the WDW circulation system has to handle hundreds of thousands of guests, cast members, and service vehicles. Everybody wants to get around this massive property quickly and safely. Making this challenge even more complicated is the integration of a multi-modal system that includes uses buses, boats, monorail trains as well as the automobile.

For the RCID, the stated goal is to maintain a safe, convenient, and efficient multi-modal transportation system. With visitor traffic growing, this is a tough challenge. The RCID assumes a 2% growth per year for the theme parks and resorts. In 2008, Walt Disney World would host more than 170,000 people visiting the parks on an average day. Overnight hotel resort guests would average 114,000 per night with an additional 4,200 staying at the various DVC facilities. Close to 6,900 people would be staying at Fort Wilderness. In addition to all of these guests who have varying degrees of familiarity with the resort, you also have tens of thousands of cast members commuting to their jobs and hundreds of trucks that service the various facilities.

The Plan is a technical document and the Transportation Chapter provides a description of the existing roadway system and defines a set of roadway classifications. Each roadway fits a particular profile determined by its function. For example, World Way and Epcot Drive are considered Arterials and designed to handle a large number of vehicles. There are Connectors, many of which link destinations such as the resorts to the Arterial system. Within each development are local roads. Some carry visitors while others are set aside for use by Disney.

The capacity of the roadways is determined by Future Demand Forecasts. This type of traffic modeling is common throughout the United States. Richard Dowling, a transportation consultant based in Oakland California, describes the modeling process by stating that, “Traffic behavior can be best understood by breaking down people’s travel behavior into four sequential decisions.” These four decisions are:

1. Whether to make a trip
2. Which destination to visit
3. Which mode of transportation to use
4. Which route to use

Broken down in a way that the modeling computers can understand, the four travel behavior decisions can be quantified as trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice, and route choice. For most communities, the standards are based on statistics provided by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). The ITE has created “trip tables” that provide estimates on the trips generated by various land uses. For example, a single-family home would generate about 10 trips a day and a restaurant will generate about 90 trips for every 1,000 square-feet. However, as is the case with most things at Walt Disney World, the usual standards would not provide the flexibility needed to meet the resort unique circumstances.

The Transportation chapter is another example of how the laws guiding comprehensive plans have been modified to accommodate the unique needs of the RCID. To start, the traffic patterns are very different at WDW than in the rest of the world. You don’t have the usual rush hour in the morning and early evening. The operation of the theme parks has greatly influenced driving patterns so peak traffic at WDW is between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. The system is designed to accommodate that load.

Another consideration has been the way-finding system. You probably have noticed that the road signs are not like the ones you see on the Federal Interstates. Disney knew that most drivers would be tourists and unfamiliar with the road network. So they developed a sign program that was bright and highly readable. It was different enough to distract the driver and make them pay attention. They grouped the resorts into clusters and led you from one cluster to another. Once within a cluster, the signs break down the resorts into smaller parts. You only need to know the general area that you want to go in and still be able to find your way. The sign system has proven to be very effective in controlling driving behavior.

The Disney bus system is famous. In 2003, the resort used 324 buses. The plan proposed an increase in the bus inventory bringing the total up to 474 by 2010. However, recent press reports associated with the flurry of bus accidents have placed the inventory closer to the 2003 figure. Imagine having and additional 150 buses? No wonder the headways (the time you have to wait for the bus) have gone up each year according to the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

To show that the RCID and Disney do have some differences in the vision for the resort, the plan calls for a more robust bicycle pathway network that would connect the major destinations. Over time, as more and more developments become more compact with mixed uses as per the Land Use chapter, this idea will become more practical.

While reviewing the goals and policies, a few things stood out. The long-term vision is to create more clustered mixed-use areas as a way of reducing the number trips necessary. It should become more convenient to park once and never get back into your car. The plan does not show and extension of the monorail system.

Most importantly, there is also an emphasis to work more closely with other transit agencies outside of the RCID boundaries. The crush of visitors has put a strain on the surrounding communities. The size of the resort dictates long commutes for Cast Members. This cannot be sustained and the RCID is trying to find solutions.