TOOLS TO SUPPORT TRANSPORTATION EMISSIONS REDUCTION EFFORTS: A MULTIFACETED APPROACH

The transportation sector is a significant contributor to current global climatic problems, one of the most prominent problems that today's society faces. In this dissertation, three complementary problems are addressed to support emissions reduction efforts by providing tools to help reduce demand for fossil fuels. The first problem addresses alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) fleet operations considering limited infrastructure availability and vehicle characteristics that contribute to emission reduction efforts by: supporting alternative fuel use and reducing carbon-intensive freight activity. A Green Vehicle Routing Problem (G-VRP) is formulated and techniques are proposed for its solution. These techniques will aid organizations with AFV fleets in overcoming difficulties that exist as a result of limited refueling infrastructure and will allow companies considering conversion to a fleet of AFVs to understand the potential impact of their decision on daily operations and costs. The second problem is aimed at supporting SOV commute trip reduction efforts through alternative transportation options. This problem contributes to emission reduction efforts by supporting reduction of carbon-intensive travel activity. Following a descriptive analysis of commuter survey data obtained from the University of Maryland, College Park campus, ordered-response models were developed to investigate the market for vanpooling. The model results show that demand for vanpooling in the role of passenger and driver have differences and the factors affecting these demands are not necessarily the same. Factors considered include: status, willingness-to-pay, distance, residential location, commuting habits, demographics and service characteristics. The third problem focuses on providing essential input data, origin-destination (OD) demand, for analysis of various strategies, to address emission reduction by helping to improve system efficiency and reducing carbon-intensive travel activity. A two-stage subarea OD demand estimation procedure is proposed to construct and update important time-dependent OD demand input for subarea analysis in an effort to overcome the computational limits of Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) methodologies. The proposed method in conjunction with path-based simulation-assignment systems can provide an evolving platform for integrating operational considerations in planning models for effective decision support for agencies that are considering strategies for transportation emissions reduction

2003 - Geohydrologic Framework of Recharge and Seawater Intrusion in the Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, California

The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) must deal with issues of both water supply and water quality. Managing water resources for agricultural and municipal users requires maintaining a reliable water supply to meet growing demands while preventing ground-water overdraft and the related degradation of water quality. Important regional water-quality concerns include increased nitrate concentrations and seawater intrusion. To protect the quantity and quality of the ground-water supplies, the PVWMA has implemented a plan to prevent further seawater intrusion. In order to evaluate how these activities can be conducted most effectively, it is necessary to improve the understanding of the hydrogeology and geochemistry of the water resources in the Pajaro Valley. The Basin Management Plan (BMP) developed for the Pajaro Valley in 1993 (Montgomery Watson, 1993) continued to be refined to help provide reliable water resources. In order to effectively implement the BMP, it was necessary to identify the parts of the aquifer systems that were not in connection with sources of recent recharge, the parts of the aquifer system that are being actively recharged in the coastal regions and represent the renewable resource, and the sources and movement of the natural and artificial recharge and seawater intrusion.https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/hornbeck_cgb_5/1050/thumbnail.jp

Bellingham Public Development Authority proposed Cornwall development environmental impact assessment

The formerly City-owned monthly permit parking lot at the corner of Cornwall Avenue and Maple Street (1115 Cornwall Ave.) was conveyed to the Bellingham Public Development Authority (BPDA) in December 2010. The City Council deeded this property over to the BPDA at the cost of $1.5 million. Subject to further study and planning, the BPDA anticipates to leverage private ownership of the nearby 1100 Cornwall site to support the construction a 45,000-60,000 sq. ft. structure that will provide lower-level parking with surplus capacity for shared public use especially during off-hours. The structure above the parking structure provides the possibility for limited street-front retail and commercial space, office and residential use for market and workforce housing

Urban Waterfronts and Planning for Industry

The 2019 studio and this report foreground two main issues. First, WE NEED INDUSTRY. The jobs and economic prosperity that are created through industrial development are essential to the sustainability of this region. People need reliable, living-wage employment in order to provide for themselves and their loved ones; contribute to the local housing, service, and retail economies; make use of their intrinsic capacities; and give back to the communities of which they are a part. Industry is the act of working hard, as well as a certain kind of production and manufacturing economy. People in the South Sound want and need to work. Industry is a big part of this region’s past – and for sustainable urban development, it is also our future. Second, WE NEED A SHARED VISION for industrial development that respects, responds to, and sustains communities throughout the city and region. The tideflats and the deep water port are shared public assets. Yesterday’s industry will not necessarily support and protect the values that future generations rely upon, as we look to cleaner, innovative, broadly lucrative forms of growth. Elected officials and civic leaders must improve their ability to work with local constituencies, to build shared commitments around the use of resources and creation of opportunities that serve long-term investments in a healthy and prosperous region. This project grew out of the convergence of research interests from the co-instructors (Anne Taufen and Mark Pendras) and emerging tensions and development related to urban industrial planning on Tacoma’s waterfront. Ultimately, the students worked in teams of 2-3 to address these challenges; their findings are found in the following chapters, and described in some detail below. This introduction provides background and context on the need for industrial planning and sustainable waterfront development, in Tacoma and elsewhere, as well as offering perspective on the costs of failing to sufficiently engage local community constituencies in these investments and decision-making. At the end of this chapter we offer suggestions for next steps that can move the Port, the Tribe, the City, and local stakeholders forward in this regard

Regional Taxation in State Tax Reform

This article describes and evaluates a specific subset of state tax reforms—i.e., those involving regional approaches to funding subnational public goods. Reforms examined include those where policymakers devise new multijurisdictional fiscal arrangements to address regional objectives that conventional local governments, by virtue of their more limited geographic scope, are unlikely to tackle. As used in this article, the term “region” refers to a geographic area (1) constituting less than the entire jurisdiction of a state, and (2) encompassing more than one local government jurisdiction. A “regional tax” is therefore any tax (fee, assessment, etc.…) limited in its application to a geographic area so defined. A closely related policy is “regional tax base sharing”—i.e., the imposition of a tax on a base that is shared among several local jurisdictions, with the proceeds distributed among those localities. There are numerous instances of regional taxation and regional tax base sharing across the U.S. subnational public finance landscape. Some of these examples are familiar to a tax policy audience (such as the Minneapolis-St. Paul tax base sharing system), while others are less well known (such as the Denver Scientific and Cultural Facilities District). In most cases, the fiscal arrangement examined governs multiple counties spanning an entire metropolitan region. Following an evaluation of both successful and failed efforts at regional tax arrangements, the article considers possible extensions of these policies, discussing how regional taxes or tax base sharing might figure in tax reform efforts under consideration in California

Environmental Impact Assessment: Georgia-Pacific Wharf Renovation, Bellingham, WA

The Port’s proposal is to remove the existing wharf and replace it with a “seawalk” focused on community engagement, interaction with nature, visitor moorage, and local history. The seawalk will be an extension from the upcoming Waypoint Park and part of the larger Waterfront District subarea plan developed by the Port and City of Bellingham (2013). After replacing the insecure pilings and outdated wharf material, the new wharf would be available for recreational use, natural history interpretive education, shoreline habitat improvement, and community engagement such as art and First Nations’ collaboration. The estimated dimensions of the current wharf are 16 feet wide by 1,330 feet in length, leaving ample room for pedestrian access, tables and benches, and group events

Comprehensive Water Supply, Sewerage, Solid Waste and Air Pollution Control Plans

Palm Beach County, Florida Comprehensive water supply, sewerage, solid waste and air pollution control plans. David B. Smith Engineers, Inc. - Planner. West Palm Beach, Fla. : Area Planning Board of Palm Beach County, 1970

Environmental Impact Assessment: Waypoint Park

The COB plans to develop a park along the Whatcom Waterway called Waypoint Park. The park will include the creation of a beach area, native vegetation, open lawn spaces, pedestrian walkways, a play structure and an Acid Ball art piece from the former Georgia Pacific pulp and tissue mill. Waypoint Park will serve to improve shoreline ecological functions, provide public access and recreation opportunities along the waterfront and connect the waterfront to the central business district (CBD) of downtown Bellingham. The park is part of the Waterfront District Subarea Plan (SAP) approved by the Bellingham City Council in December 2013