Abstract
This project is an applied research paper to evaluate the traffic and safety impacts of a new electronic billboard owned by California State University, Sacramento near Highway 50. This project analyzed traffic flow, speed, and lane occupancy for two months before and after the installation of the electronic billboard. Similarly, incident data for one year before and after its installation were compared. All of the required freeway performance data (flow rate, speed, and lane occupancy) including incident data were downloaded from the online California Freeway Performance Measurement System (PeMS) database. A review of previous research was conducted to identify the best methodology for this study. Traffic performance data were analyzed on Wednesdays during morning and afternoon two-hour peak periods for two months before and after the installation of the electronic billboard. The crash analysis was completed for a period of one year before and after the installation of the electronic billboard. Public opinion data from an on-campus intercept survey were obtained from the Department of Civil Engineering at Sacramento State. The results indicate that the presence of an electronic billboard does not appear to have a negative impact in traffic performance (flow, speed, and lane occupancy) or incidents on the study section of the freeway based on the data analyzed. More than two-thirds of the individuals surveyed who drive past this billboard regularly believed that the electronic billboard near the campus does not pose a safety risk to traffic.