2026-08-25 Product/Community Team

[joecastiglione]

Agenda

• Agency Update
  • CMAP Update
  • Agency Update Schedule
• Phase 11 Tasks
  • MWCOG Telecommute Frequency Sensitivity Test
    • Results / Next Steps
    • Scope
  • Application and Analysis Guide
    • Current Draft
    • Scope
• Other
  • Parquet Support Testing
  • Adaptive Chunking Support
    • Issue
    • Discussion
  • Phase 12 Issue Template

Notes

CMAP Agency Update (Craig Heither)

Slides

• Household travel survey: Last full survey was 2018-19 (~12,400 households). Current survey combined the originally planned Phase 2 and 3 into one (invitations sent ~3 weeks ago; ~400 completions so far). Hard-to-reach populations (larger households, BIPOC, Hispanic residents) are lagging targets; hoping to close the gap.
• ActivitySim history: Built incrementally (2011 pricing sensitivity, transit modernization/3-zone TAP structure, full calibration in 2016), then moved from CT-RAMP (Java) to ActivitySim (delivered by RSG in 2023).
• Use to date: Limited due to competing priorities (Climate Action Plan, 2026 Regional Transportation Plan, Clean Energy to Communities project with Argonne/Oak Ridge). Model of record for the 2026 RTP remains the trip-based model.
• Test applications: Exploratory I-290/Blue Line corridor modeling and an informal Metra network-plan comparison found ActivitySim more responsive to transit changes than the trip-based model, but it underestimates long-distance Metra boardings at outer stations (e.g., ~50% of actual boardings at Aurora/Naperville).
• Regional context: Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act took effect June 1, integrating CTA/Metra/Pace planning, funding, and fares, with $1B+ in new annual transit funding.
• Next 12-18 months: Build staff experience with ActivitySim, explore output visualization, and begin more rigorous scenario testing after the current work plan ends next June.
• ACTION (Craig): Email hard-to-survey data to Bhargava; reach out to TfNSW about their SHARROW conversion tool and visualization work.

MWCOG Telecommute Frequency Sensitivity Testing (Deven)

• MWCOG tested a new mode-choice logsum parameter (from TransLink) against the original model spec, across baseline and hypothetical DC CBD cordon-pricing scenarios.
• New parameter shows meaningfully greater sensitivity to cordon pricing than the original spec, which showed almost no response; subpopulation analysis of cordon-zone commuters showed directionally sensible shifts toward telecommuting.
• Open question: whether the model needs recalibration to reconcile shifted baseline shares, and whether formal re-estimation is warranted.
• ACTION (Joel Freedman): Review full results by end of week and respond via the existing email thread.
• ACTION (Joe/MWCOG/Joel): Continue discussion by email to define next steps against the original scope.

ActivitySim Application and Analysis Guide (Phase 11 task)

• Joe Flood shared a draft structure with three examples; not yet reviewed by the group (Joe Flood absent from call).
• Open questions: desired level of detail, format, and fit with original scope.
• ACTION (All): Review the draft and share feedback within the next couple weeks (target: wrap up Phase 11 tasks by end of September).
• ACTION (Joe): Send a reminder email and follow up at the next meeting.

Parquet Support Testing (Amir, TfNSW)

• Amir ran a full ActivitySim test (10K households, single processing) comparing Parquet vs. OMX for skims.
• Parquet showed a memory spike (~60 GB) during land-use initialization but saved ~5 minutes of runtime; not expected to be a bottleneck at full-population scale (typical runs use ~200 GB RAM).
• Consensus: Parquet's flexibility outweighs the memory spike; move forward with support. Jeff has proposed further optimizations (separate enhancement, not a blocking issue).

Adaptive Chunking Feature

• Joe flagged that adaptive/dynamic chunking is little-used (most agencies use explicit chunking) but recent PRs from an external contributor suggest there may still be some interest in this feature.
• Broader Product and Community Team question: deprecate underused/semi-supported features (adaptive chunking, shadow pricing defaults) or invest in improving them?
• ACTION (Joe): Agendize for the next Product and Community Team meeting (with Jeff, who coordinates with the external contributor).

Issue Template for Phase 12 Prioritization

• Joe again asked that agencies review the proposed issue template, meant to standardize detail in funding-request issues ahead of Phase 12 prioritization.
• ACTION (All): Review the template, suggest revisions, and reflect on gaps from past work-plan evaluations.
• ACTION (Joe/Consortium): Once finalized, revise/expand existing issue descriptions for fair Phase 12 evaluation.

Summary of Action Items

• Craig - email survey data to Bhargava; connect with TfNSW on visualization/Sharrow tools.
• Joel Freedman - review MWCOG telecommute results by end of week.
• Joel/MWCOG/Joe - continue next-steps discussion via email.
• All - review Application and Analysis Guide draft within two weeks.
• Joe - send reminder email and follow up on the Guide at next meeting.
• Joe - agendize adaptive chunking decision for next Product and Community Team meeting.
• All - review and comment on the Phase 12 issue template.