en-us Tue, 5 Jun 2012 00:24:24 UTC Inmagic DB/Text WebPublisher http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR292E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCThe Roads Economic Decision Model is an assessment tool created by the World Bank for the analysis of investments on roads with low levels of traffic in developing countries. Of the variables used in this model, roughness is one showing the highest incidence in the determination of a project's net present value (NPV). The difficulty in defining roughness, a qualitative attribute of this type of road, in a precise figure may lead to biased NPV estimates. This paper introduces the application of a fuzzy roughness index based on simple fuzzy math, which enables the translation of a qualitative, firsthand appraisal of a road's roughness into a quantitative expression—a triangular fuzzy number—and thus increases the amount of information in the model. As a result, the estimation of NPV is also interpreted in terms of fuzzy math. Investment alternatives for a road may be then compared on the basis of the representation of each fuzzy NPV obtained for the investment alternatives. An analysis conducted on the basis of fuzzy roughness and fuzzy NPVs can lead to an alternative that would have been discarded with a standard approach. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR270E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCA major body of transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies is contained in state-level climate action plans (CAPs). There has been some concern among major stakeholder groups that CAPs are not rigorously developed documents and that the reductions estimated in CAPs are unrealistic given real constraints on funding and implementation authority. This paper analyzes a subset of 84 strategies in nine states' CAPs to determine how reliable reduction estimates are and where significant sources of uncertainty arise. Measures from these CAPs are evaluated according to requirements for enactment, external factors that play a role in implementation, quantification methods, and variables used in the quantification. For enactment of strategies, nearly all of the transportation GHG reductions estimated in state CAPs would require new state legislation or state agency rulemaking. Half of the reductions would require major new funding. For implementation factors, one-third of state CAP GHG reductions relies heavily on assumptions about the future price of transportation. A relatively small portion (10 per cent) of the estimated GHG reductions depends on changes in land use. Some of the greatest uncertainty stems from strategies that are quantified with goals rather than empirical data and are not supported by a feasibility study. The authors judge that if state CAP transportation strategies are enacted as stated, roughly one-third of the estimated reductions in GHG emissions is highly uncertain. As states develop and revise CAPs in the future, they can focus on developing and quantifying strategies in a way that increases the likelihood that strategies will achieve at least the reductions estimated. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR273E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCImproving mobility is seen as key to facilitating the economic uplift of the urban poor. In South Africa, the majority of the urban poor live on the periphery of cities. They travel long distances at great cost to go to work and school and are dependent on public transport and nonmotorized transport (NMT) (walking or cycling) for their travel needs. Despite legislation and policies that emphasize the role of public transport and NMT, road planning practice in South Africa continues to be automobile-centric. The needs of other road users are often overlooked, even in areas where they are in the majority. This paper describes the use of spatial multicriteria evaluation to rank modes according to their suitability at points along a defined route by using land use, socioeconomic, environmental, and transportation factors in combination to describe the contextual setting of the route. A case study conducted along an existing arterial route in Cape Town, South Africa, is used to demonstrate the method and the results of the analysis. The research finds that contextual regimes can be identified along the route and shows that each of these regimes has differing implications for the various modes that pass through these corridors. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR274E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCThis study presents a methodology for estimating the benefit-cost ratio for transportation projects by using a regional travel demand model and benefit-cost analysis. The benefit-cost ratio can provide an objective measure with which decision makers can quantitatively evaluate the regional benefits and costs of each proposed transportation project under certain assumptions. This methodology shows the impact of one project on the entire regional transportation network. The key to this methodology is use of the total savings in vehicle hours traveled (VHT) resulting from each proposed project, converted into dollar benefits. The total VHT is estimated with congested travel time and trips instead of a simple summation of each link's VHT. A second key aspect of this methodology is estimating the economic development benefits of the proposed transportation investments. For this process, the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments used the Transportation Economic Development Impact System (TREDIS) web-based software. The input that TREDIS requires for new capacity transportation projects is total VHT or vehicle miles traveled (VMT) before a project and total VHT or VMT after the project, by trip purpose and travel mode. TREDIS offers default values such as economic value factors for driver and occupant time-saving benefits (dollars per VHT or VMT) and the vehicle cost factor for vehicle cost savings (dollars per VHT or VMT). The case study suggests that the proposed approach can be useful and effective in assessing regional transportation projects by considering their economic impacts. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR275E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCTransportation departments are beginning to recognize that adaptation for climate change must become an integral part of their planning efforts. However, staff members frequently lack the adequate local data, training, and guidance needed to begin adaptation planning assessments. As a result, planning for adapting to climate change has remained generally abstract and lacks the specificity needed to identify potential system vulnerabilities, assess risk, and prioritize responses. This report outlines a geographic information system-based method with which transportation departments can assess vulnerabilities to climate change in their multimodal surface transportation systems. The city of Portland, Oregon, is used as an illustrative case study. The proposed method allows for preliminary vulnerability identification, prioritization, and impact assessment and can also be used as a basis for more advanced analysis and scenario testing. This research also identifies and describes data gaps and other barriers to climate change adaptation planning for surface transportation. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR280E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCThis paper describes research with the objective of developing and validating a corridor arterial model to estimate the travel time index (TTI) for mobility analysis. The TTI is the ratio of the travel rate (minutes per mile) during the peak period to the travel rate (minutes per mile) during the off-peak period. The models are most useful for sketch planning purposes in areas where monitoring infrastructure is not in place. Practitioners in small and medium-sized communities, particularly those on the developing fringe of such communities, will benefit from the use of the models for tracking mobility along roadways of interest and prioritizing roadway improvements. This paper describes the development and validation of two models to assist transportation professionals in estimating TTI in the arterial environment during light and moderate congestion conditions. A 2.6-mi major arterial corridor in College Station, Texas, was used to develop the models, and three study corridors in Virginia were used to validate the models. To address limitations of existing models, the models presented in this paper (a) consider driveway density, (b) are corridor-based, (c) are a function of generally available or easy-to-obtain independent variables, (d) are calibrated and validated with extensive field data, and (e) explain a relatively high degree of variability. The use of TTI also makes the models more transferable. For sketch-planning applications, the models are a function of relatively available or easy-to-estimate data including traffic volume, driveway density, signal green time relative to the cycle time, and signal coordination conditions. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR007E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTC http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR012E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTC http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR013E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTC http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR024E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTC http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR079E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCActivity spaces are dynamic, ‘people-based’ accessibility measures that can be used to analyse spatial arrangements of travel. This paper reports on activity spaces in the context of transport policy aimed at changing travel behaviour by offering alternative transport options and new urban services within transit-oriented developments (TOD) environments. Specifically, it explores associations between TOD and activity spaces to derive visually easily comprehensible indicators, assisting practitioners and policy makers in determining decision-making effectiveness. Results are analysed from household travel diaries collected within three unique TOD precincts in Perth, Western Australia situated alongside a 72 km new metro-rail link, pre- and post-opening, to identify impacts of the major transport intervention on travel. While activity spaces have increasingly been applied as metrics for assessing the extent of urban space used by households for satisfying their daily activity needs, their application to explore potential changes in built environment induced travel behaviour is a novel feature of this research. Kernel density estimation is used, which has great flexibility and superior visualisation capabilities in representing activity spaces, to longitudinally track travel behaviour changes. Previous investigation that considered discrete origin-destination trip data, by applying kernel density estimation to data including generated route information is expanded. Findings suggest benefits of activity space analysis in investigating past transport infrastructure decisions and associated implications, promising a potential improvement for development of new policies and strategies in the transport sector. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR099E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTC http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR124E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTC http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR135E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTC http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR139E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTC http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR179E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCCollective behaviors are common in human as well as in non-human biological communities, both in day-to-day activities and in emergency situations. While escaping under panic, interactions between humans and physical features of the escape area can impede collective movement. Turning angle is one of those elements that must be designed carefully. Although previous studies on crowd disasters have highlighted the importance of considering turning movements, very limited qualitative and quantitative studies have addressed this phenomenon, particularly under panic situations. One reason for this might be the lack of empirical data to validate the predictions from mathematical models. In this work, we use empirical data collected from panicking ants and data from a crowd dynamic simulation model to describe how right-angled egress paths work ineffectively compared with straight egress paths during the collective panic egress. Empirical data with panicking ants and simulation results showed that right angled egress paths decrease the flow rate (between 20 per cent to 25 per cent) and increase the escape times significantly compared to those of straight egress paths. The results suggest that it is possible to study evacuation strategies and design solutions that can prevent crowd disasters utilizing empirical data collected from biological entities. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR182E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCIn an effort to address a number of public policy challenges, federal, state and local governments have begun to encourage bicycle riding for transport. When used as a substitute for motor vehicle use, cycling reduces traffic congestion and carbon emissions, and provides a practical source of physical activity, helping to reduce diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle, such as diabetes. An increasing number of cities are operating public bicycle share schemes (PBSS) to promote greater levels of bicycle riding. This rapid expansion of PBSS, however, has occurred in the absence of a comprehensive evaluation framework to properly assess their effectiveness and impact. The absence of such a framework hinders thoughtful, consistent analysis and constrains the ability to reliably quantify the potential broad ranging impacts of these schemes. Moreover, identifying the determinants and detractors of success of PBSS is an important goal that is greatly assisted by the establishment of an evaluation framework. This paper provides a critical review of the most recent literature on PBSS and identifies substantial gaps in current knowledge. Addressing the gaps, the first conceptual evaluation framework within which the effectiveness of PBSS can be assessed is presented. The framework brings together essential analytical elements required to quantify and assess how PBSS are performing. Using Barcelona’s PBSS as a case study, this paper provides a practical conceptual basis for improving our understanding of how to measure the impact of these increasingly popular PBSS on transport, sustainability, health, and community livability objectives. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR184E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCThe media have an important role in reporting transport news, but they can also engage in transport advocacy and shape transport policy and planning. The paper examines the campaign by The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper which developed a long term public transport plan for Sydney Australia, independent of the state government, through an Independent Public Inquiry. The process of public involvement including public meetings, submissions and a team of transport professionals produced comprehensive Preliminary and Final Reports. The campaign is positioned in the context of civic engagement and social capital models. Analysis of the reporting of the Independent Public Inquiry in the Herald shows that the newspaper did not make as full a use of its sponsored Inquiry as it could have, indicating dual reasons for the campaign of both content generation and readership, and civic engagement and social capital building. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR188E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCBike lane is an effective way to improve cycling safety and decrease greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging cycling. Improvement can be in form of high quality off-road facilities or by providing on-road bike lanes. While construction of off-road lanes is not always viable due to urban land constraint and construction costs, on-road lanes can be a cost-effective alternative. There has been no methodology proposed to design an integrated network of bike lanes. This paper introduces an optimization framework to design a network of bike lanes in an urban road network. The framework identifies links on which a bike lane should be introduced. Allocation of a lane to cyclists would increase the utility of cycling, although it can disadvantage auto traffic. The approach balances the impacts for all stakeholders. A bi-level optimization is proposed which encompasses the benefits of cyclists and car users at the upper level and a traffic assignment and a bike demand assignment model at the lower level. The objective function is defined by a weighted sum of a measure for private car users (total travel time) versus a measure for bike users (total travel distance on bike lanes). A Genetic Algorithm (GA) is developed to solve the bi-level formulation, which includes introduction of a special ‘cross over’ technique and a ‘mutation’ technique. The proposed optimization assists transport authorities at the planning stage to quantify the outcomes of different strategies of active transport. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR193E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCThere is an emerging practice in urban arterial design which seeks to shift the focus from segregating different users of the street to integrating them. In this respect the integration of traffic and place functions is identified as the way forward. After a review of the US design models - Complete Streets Smart Codes, Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) and Quilt-Net approach, this paper using a functional, physical and social evaluation approach to urban arterials, proposes a model for arterial classification. Drawing on our research based in Perth, we present a classification and design model ‘FUS-ion’ (Function, Universality, Scale) based on a management tool proposed by Curtis and Tiwari which we have subsequently refined and further developed after its application on an existing urban arterial segment in Perth, Australia. This model brings together three key dimensions of Transport, Built-form and People. It responds to varying scales ranging from street segment to metropolitan thoroughfares and is geared to be used as a tool to manage the arterial system, both within an existing urban framework as well as for the planning of new developments. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR202E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCThe problem presented in this paper, motivated for a Search and Rescue application, is a Dynamic Traveling Salesman Problem (DTSP) formulated in a stochastic-state network (SSN) setting. This problem formulation features a full recourse decision framework, and stochastic demands which are only revealed through direct observation. This problem is defined in a SSN setting, which allows for the modeling of implicitly correlated demand stochasticity. The problem is then formulated as a Markovian Decision Process, and finally provides a heuristic solution based on a 2-stage stochastic program with recourse solved on a set of aggregated networks generated using an aggregating function. Subsets of the feasible solutions obtained at each stage are fixed, and the heuristic is used iteratively to further refine the routing policy. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR205E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCThe decision of whether and when to evacuate can be characterized as decision making under risk. Presently, most models assume linear utility functions through which it is impossible to disentangle factors that influence risk attitudes and other factors that affect decision making under the risk of a threat. There is a need to disentangle and study factors that affect risk attitudes from factors that affect an evacuees preparation time. This would provide planners and practitioners an ability to measure a person’s risk attitude, and develop appropriate strategies that could motivate them to evacuate. This study is expected to connect the theory of risk developed in economic theory with behavior under threat. The paper uses the Hurricane Andrew response data in conjunction with time dependent data regarding the probability of hurricane strike and category of the hurricane data to develop a model for evacuation departure choice. A constant relative risk aversion specification is used to model risk attitudes. The process of an evacuation is abstracted as an individual being given a choice between two lotteries: to either “stay” or “leave”. The results show that the model is able to predict the total number of evacuees and the time varying evacuation rates with reasonable accuracy. Factors such as time of day, length of time spent in a region and whether or not a mandatory evacuation was issued affected risk attitudes. The presence of children affected the amount of time spent preparing if the family decided to stay. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR208E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCElectric bikes (e-bikes) are increasingly common in China, but are relatively rare in the U.S. To further understand the potential market for and use of e-bikes in the U.S., this paper presents findings from interviews with 28 e-bike owners in the Portland, Oregon region. The interviews revealed several possible demographic markets for e-bikes that could expand the overall share of the population bicycling: women, older adults, and people with physical limitations. In addition, owners noted the ability to travel with relative ease longer distances and over hills and to arrive at a destination, such as work, less sweaty or tired than with a regular bicycle. These features may overcome some of the common barriers to bicycling. Most of the e-bike owners interviewed were using their e-bikes to substitute for travel by either human-powered bicycles or traditional motor vehicles (cars, trucks, etc.). Therefore, the e-bike should be viewed as one option to address concerns over private vehicles contributing to health problems related to inactivity and pollution and other public policy problems. Whether or not e-bikes need specific policies to increase their adoption requires further research. The potential for conflict between e-bike and regular bike riders due to speed differentials is a concern. Whether speed differentials will pose a significant problem in the future will depend not only on the extent of adoption of e-bikes but the characteristics of the riders. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR212E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTCLogan City Council is a local government area of approximately 280,000 people. Over the next thirty to forty years it is planned that Logan will become home to between 260,000 and 390,000 new residents of which most will live in two satellite cities of up to 50,000 and 120,000 people. The challenge at hand is to develop an efficient transport plan to wisely invest in road and transit projects Under new planning legislation, Logan is one of the first local governments to develop a priority investment program to deliver the transport network over the next 15 years. To complete this planning task a consultative approach to road network planning between levels of government was established, new road hierarchy and service standards were developed and modelling undertaken to identify transport needs to cater for a doubling of population over forty years. These projects have then been cost estimated using a locally developed software tool built for this purpose and the resulting estimates used to develop a charging schedule for development contributions towards capital works. The new Logan City Planning Scheme and associated Priority Infrastructure Plans are expected to be adopted in 2013. http://114.111.144.247/ics-wpd/exec/icswppro.dll?AC=QUERY&TN=inroads&QY=find+RC+=+1205AR303E Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 UTC