New Survey Ranks 37 Largest Urban Areas, Identifies Key Factors for Reviewing Readiness Plans The American Highway Users Alliance announced a first-of-its-kind research study that.... New Survey Ranks 37 Largest Urban Areas, Identifies Key Factors for Reviewing Readiness Plans

The American Highway Users Alliance announced a first-of-its-kind research study that provides a clear and understandable rating system for planners, homeland security experts, and the public to use when considering the evacuation challenges facing the nation's urban areas.

In the new Report, only one urban area received an "A" for its evacuation capability - Kansas City. Columbus, Memphis, and Pittsburgh each received a "B". Seven areas were graded as a "C" and six received "D" grades. Twenty of the 37 urban areas examined received an "F" for their evacuation abilities. The lowest scoring areas were Detroit, Washington, DC, Phoenix, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco-San Jose, Miami, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles - with Los Angeles facing the most difficult challenge of all 37 areas.

The Report, entitled "Emergency Evacuation Report Card 2006; 25 Urban Areas Could Face Greater Challenges than New Orleans Experienced after Hurricane Katrina," evaluates the 37 largest urban areas in the country - those with more than 1,000,000 in population - to identify the evacuation challenges facing planners and residents in each area. The evaluation index grades urban areas by reviewing internal traffic flow, highway capacity of major exit routes, and automobile accessibility. The research findings also include information on planning for the transit dependent. In general, areas that scored higher have lower population densities, more substantial evacuation routes, and do not have major geographical barriers obstructing evacuation exits.

Prior to September 11, 2001, there was little or no recognized need to plan for emergency evacuations in most urban areas. Since then, security, transportation, and planning professionals have struggled to quickly develop expertise in this field. The Department of Homeland Security has recently expressed concern over "significant weakness" in evacuation planning. This report is intended to identify key factors needed for reviewing evacuation readiness plans and making short and long-term improvements on the ground.

The report reveals that urban areas rely heavily on private automobiles and publicly provided highways for evacuation, as evidenced by the evacuations in New Orleans and Houston in 2005. As a result, the capacity of roads and highways becomes the most critical element of evacuation planning. While data shows that the vast majority of Americans have access to automobiles, those without automobile access also rely on highways, because buses are the most important mechanism for evacuation for those without cars.

In addition to expanded roadway capacity and automobile access, the report calls for establishment of a national urban evacuation standards and reporting system and for the completion of urban area evacuation plans.

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