VisionEval Workshop: The role of VisionEval within the transportation modeling toolkit

September 14, 2025

03:30 PM – 05:00 PM at Thomas H. Swain Room

Evaluate the Vision of VisionEval

The open source VisionEval strategic planning tool has been adopted by nearly a dozen state DOTs and MPOs to support nationally critical policies, and set plans and visions to reach goals, in the face of an uncertain future. What is the VisionEval strategic planning tool and how have agencies found it helpful in setting agency strategy and quantifying the impacts of their planning decisions, with a less resource-intensive tool?

 This workshop seeks to frame VisionEval’s niche in the transportation modeling toolbox. VisionEval’s scenario analysis capabilities use an approach different from traditional travel network models. It can be used to test hundreds of alternatives rapidly to identify which combination best achieves desired outcomes. Being strategic, VisionEval strikes a balance between maintaining analytical rigor and enabling rapid, flexible analyses by providing a robust representation of travel demand with a simplified representation of supply. As such, VisionEval is especially useful for conducting key applications but not a substitute for detailed engineering analyses.

 Workshop Outline:

1. VisionEval Introduction – history/niche framing: Stephen Lawe, RSG

2. VisionEval Niche use cases -- 3 Agency “real-world” applications  

Early Conceptual Framing: Baltimore MPO use of VisionEval at an early stage, to evaluate hundreds of alternative strategies, avoids an immediate dive into engineering details required by other models. This retains big-picture thought processes appropriate for this stage and enables more efficient, informed, traditional travel modeling downstream. (Stephen Lawe, RSG)

Set Targets: MnDOT use of VisionEval in setting GHG or VMT goals for state and sub-state areas. Updated over time, VisionEval can provide useful progress tracking. (Joe Lehmen, MnDOT)

Uncertainty: Atlanta Regional Commission running many VisionEval scenarios (with TMIP-EMAT) allows decision making under deep uncertainty, reflecting an understanding of the impact of unknowns both within and outside our control. Both augment the traditional scenario planning process of identifying one package of investments under a fixed forecast of future conditions. (Tejas Kotak, ARC)

3. Moderated Panel Q&A: moderator Chris Berrens, MnDOT

Panelists: Tejas Kotak (ARC), Joe Lehmen (MnDOT), Stephen Lawe (RSG), Jeremy Raw (independent) 

4. VisionEval Future Directions: Jeremy Raw (Independent)

Focus:  Big Ideas that we should track through; Keep out of operational details

5. Closing Remarks: Chris Berrens, MnDOT

VE Open source tool/collaboration is alive & well, Join us!