Virginia Transportation Modeling Program
Harrisonburg Regional Travel Model
Model Facts
Last Update: May 2007
Developer:
Michael Baker Jr. Inc.
Completion year:
2005
Base year:
2000
Forecast year:
2030
2000 population:
61,000
Area:
106 square miles
Jurisdictions:
Harrisonburg and
Rockingham County (p*)
Air quality status:
In-attainment
Internal TAZs:
174
links/nodes:
2,281/928
Software:
TP+
Trip purposes:
• Home-based work
• Home-based other
• Non-home based
• Home-based college
• Home-based school
• Heavy truck
Time period modeled:
Daily
Modes:
Passenger
vehicle, heavy
truck
*partial jurisdiction
The model covers the Harrisonburg metropolitan planning organization (MPO), which includes Harrisonburg and part of Rockingham County.
It includes the towns of Bridgewater, Dayton and Mount Crawford.
Harrisonburg has about two thirds of the model's population.
The Harrisonburg MPO has the highest population density of any of the state's small MPOs
It is the third highest in the state, after Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, with 578 people per square mile.
The Harrisonburg region is not close to any other model regions. The nearest is Charlottesville.
Travel characteristics
Centrally located in the Shenandoah Valley along the Interstate 81 corridor, Harrisonburg is a small, growing metropolitan area.
From 1990 to 2000, Harrisonburg's population increased 32 percent, to about 40,000. Rockingham County's population increased 23 percent, to about 68,000.
The principal north-south transportation routes are I-81 and Route 42. U.S. Route 33 is the major east-west route.
The Harrisonburg area has three major academic institutions: James Madison University, Eastern Mennonite University and Bridgewater College. They are major trip generators, with 19,000 students.
Tourism to Shenandoah National Park, Luray Caverns and other nearby attractions is an important factor affecting travel.
Harrisonburg is the largest city in the Shenodoah Valley and its economic hub. It is experiencing steady growth and continued economic development.
The Harrisonburg MPO's population is projected to grow significantly from 2000 to 2030. It is forecast to increase 70 percent, from approximately 61,000 to 104,000.
