How to Improve the Capture of Urban Goods Movement Data?

The surveys specifically focused on the thorough knowledge of urban freight transport appeared about ten years ago. The local problematic of goods transport at local level was partially taken into account by the city planners and by the researchers: until recent years, the integration of goods transport in the total urban flows models was estimated applying a multiplying factor to car traffic. Delivering goods was not considered like a concern.Because of the quick growth of car traffic in the cities, the main stakes changed too: the fight against traffic congestion, the management of the lack of space (shipment consolidation and storage), the attempts to reduce local environmental impacts and global externalities (energy saving, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions), and economic valuation of city centres (under the pressure of a slowed down economic growth).All these changes were taking place in a context in which available rooms for manoeuvre were limited by factors such as congestion, concerns about the quality of urban life and budget restriction. It resulted in a growing unease on the freight transport industry and the city authorities, the latter having little or no data, methods and references in order to elaborate a satisfactory policy framework.surveys on urban freight transport ; urban freight movements ; urban freight data collection ; urban goods data collection ; diversity of measurement units and methods ; state of the art

Housing and Mobility Toolkit for San Mateo County

Since the end of the Great Recession, San Mateo County has attracted new workers at a record rate without building anywhere near enough housing. This jobs-housing imbalance drives the cost of housing up and forces many moderate and lower-income employees and their families out of the County. A lack of access to quality affordable housing in the County and the entire Bay Area along with limited transportation options means that an increased number of employees drive in and out of the County every workday. The resultant congestion, gridlock, and long commutes along with other negative environmental, social, and economic impacts create a major concern for communities in the County and beyond. Clearly, this problem has two distinct but interrelated dimensions: housing development and transportation planning. A select group of Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) Research Associates worked closely with representatives from the San Mateo County Home for All initiative to help address this challenge by developing a toolkit of successful case studies with a holistic approach to housing development and transportation planning

External Costs of Road, Rail and Air Transport - a Bottom-Up Approach

This paper aims to describe the calculation of environmental and health externalities caused by air pollutants, accidents and noise from different transport modes (road, rail, air) on the route Frankfurt-Milan. The investigation is part of the QUITS project (QUITS = Quality Indicators for Transport Systems), commissioned by the European Commission DG VII. The evaluation of the external costs is based on a bottom-up approach. The calculation involves four stages: emissions, dispersion, impacts, and costs, following the impact pathway approach. An integrated model for the valuation of environmental and health costs due to air pollutants will be presented consisting of three computer programmes which are linked together. For passenger road traffic, total external costs amount to about 44 ECU/1000 pkm on the route Frankfurt -Milan, including the impact categories air pollutants (15.6), global warming (5.2), noise (3.8), and accidents (19.6 ECU/1000 pkm). Concerning a comparison of the transport modes, external costs of passenger road traffic are about 9 times as high as those of rail traffic and about twice as high as those of air traffic. For goods transport by road, the total external costs (30.6 ECU/1000 tkm) are about 11 times as high as those of rail traffic. --external costs,transport systems,environmental impacts,bottom-up approach

Capital Ideas - Winning State Funding for Transportation: Lessons from Recent Successes

In 2015, Congress will once again debate transportation funding at the federal level. It would be in the best interests of the nation for them to fix the perpetual shortfalls in the Highway Trust Fund and set the country on a path toward a 21st century infrastructure. It is important to note that all of the states that have acted thus far, and those working to do so this year or beyond, are doing so in expectation of ongoing federal support. Governors and legislators have acted because states face growing needs and static or falling revenues. The situation has been made worse by federal funding that has remained flat as costs have risen, and could grow disastrously worse should Congress reduce federal support in the upcoming renewal of the national program. Regardless of what happens in Washington, states know that Congress will never appropriate enough support to close the gap needed to address maintenance backlogs and build for the future. Governors and legislators recognize that they can be leaders on this issue, working across party lines, generating new funding mechanisms, and creating new coalitions in support of transportation investment. The strategies and examples discussed in this report are intended to be a helpful guide for those emerging leaders as they navigate the unique context of their own individual states to pass transportation revenue legislation, and in turn, set an example for others to follow in the future

Predicting Demand for Smart Parking Systems

Kiire areng infotehnoloogias on võimaldanud inimestel, kes ei ole antud ala eksperdid, luua täpseid masinõppe mudeleid, mis suudavad õppida olemasolevatest andmetest. Selliste mudelite rakendamine linnaplaneerimisel esinevatele probleemidele võib aidata luua paremaid elamistingimusi suurlinnades. Antud töö keskendub tehisnärvivõrgule, mis suudaks ennustada parkimisala hõivatust. Töö käigus välja töötatud mudeli integreerimine süsteemi, mis suunab inimesi parkimiskohtadele võiks anda väärtusliku toote, mis vähendaks liiklusummikuid ja parkimiskoha otsimiseks kuluvat aega.The rapid development of information technologies has enabled to create accurate machine learning models that could learn from the existing data without the need of an expert in the field. Applying these models in the field of urban design problems could help to create better living conditions in large cities. This research focuses on creating a neural network that could predict parking area occupancy. Integrating the model to a parking guidance platform would produce a valuable product that could help to reduce the traffic congestions and the cruising time for a parking spot

Enabling Factors and Durations Data Analytics for Dynamic Freight Parking Limits

Freight parking operations occur amid conflicting conditions of public space scarcity, competition with other users, and the inefficient management of loading zones (LZ) at cities’ curbside. The dynamic nature of freight operations, and the static LZ provision and regulation, accentuate these conflicting conditions at specific peak times. This generates supply–demand mismatches of parking infrastructure. These mismatches have motivated the development of Smart LZ that bring together technology, parking infrastructure, and data analytics to allocate space and define dynamic duration limits based on users’ needs. Although the dynamic duration limits unlock the possibility of a responsive LZ management, there is a narrow understanding of factors and analytical tools that support their definition. Therefore, the aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to identify factors for enabling dynamic parking durations policies. Secondly, to assess data analytics tools that estimate freight parking durations and LZ occupation levels based on operational and locational features. Semi-structured interviews and focus group analyses showed that public space use assessment, parking demand estimation, enforcement capabilities, and data sharing strategies are the most relevant factors when defining dynamic parking limits. This paper used quantitative models to assess different analytical tools that study LZ occupation and parking durations using tracked freight parking data from the City of Vic (Spain). CatBoost outperformed other machine learning (ML) algorithms and queuing models in estimating LZ occupation and parking durations. This paper contributes to the freight parking field by understanding how data analytics support dynamic parking limits definition, enabling responsive curbside management

Overview of the 2011 Congestion Management Process

A Congestion Management Process (CMP) is a systematic process for managing congestion. It identifies specific multimodal strategies for all locations in the region to minimize congestion and enhance the ability of people and goods to reach their destinations. The CMP advances the goals of the DVRPC Long-Range Plan and strengthens the connection between the Plan and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The 2011 DVRPC CMP was an update of the 2009 CMP. This document summarizes the more extensive CMP Report

Why Campaigns for Local Transportation Initiatives Succeed or Fail: An Analysis of Four Communities and National Data, MTI Report 00-01

As funding from state and national sources has dwindled and demands for relief from traffic and congestion have grown, local governments and transportation agencies are increasingly left to develop their own sources of enhanced revenues. Frequently the bid to increase available revenues comprises a local ballot measure, enabling the citizens served by these governments and agencies to express their preferences for or against increased taxation in support of an improved transportation system. What determines the success of campaigns in support of such ballot measures? To answer this question, this report includes the use of two different approaches and data sources. 1) A statistical analysis of community-level characteristics. Data from localities across the nation, as well those within the state of California, that have conducted elections for transportation tax increase are analyzed to determine what factors seem to affect the outcome of such elections. 2) Case studies of four communities that recently conducted elections for transportation tax increases (Santa Clara and Sonoma Counties in California, and the Denver and Seattle metropolitan areas). The case studies allow for in-depth, qualitative understanding of what election strategies and other campaign elements comprise successful or unsuccessful efforts to raise local revenues. Among the most significant findings from the statistical analysis of local elections were the following: Efforts to fund transportation with taxes where the proportion of elderly is greater than 9 percent are more likely to succeed In communities where the percentage of elderly is greater than 9 percent, the analysis indicates that voters may be more willing to accept local transportation taxes. However, in communities where the percentage of elderly is less than 9 percent, transportation measures may require significantly more determined marketing to enhance the probability of passage. Efforts to increase sales taxes for transportation programs will be less successful in communities with higher sales taxes. A relatively strong and negative relationship between sales tax and support for transportation tax initiatives was identified in the national election data. This suggests that communities with relatively higher sales taxes will be hard pressed to convince citizens to support additional increases

Synthesis of Practices for Mitigating the Impact of Work Zones on Traffic

Mobility and safety through work zones has become a prominent issue in work zone planning because motorists commonly expect minimal disruption to their normal driving habits. However, work zones can create unacceptable delays and queues if not adequately addressed. State transportation agencies (STAs) are currently working towards meeting the requirements of the Federal Highway Administration’s Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule, 23 CFR, Part 630. This rule requires STAs to systematically manage the impacts of work zones on federal-aid highways and other projects that have significant impact on road users. STAs therefore use various congestion mitigation strategies in their transportation management plans. This synthesis identifies and discusses many frequently used strategies and many strategies that are relatively new to several agencies. When developing transportation management plans, a well-rounded and comprehensive group of strategies can be made to work together to mitigate work zone congestion to levels that are acceptable to motorists. This synthesis thus provides a tool for STAs to use in the work zone planning stages of a project