Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Counting Program

Traffic counts are used extensively in transportation system management, planning, policy and research. Counts help us better understand spatial relationships and temporal trends in travel activity. In spite of the growing recognition of the importance of non-motorized travel, tracking of bicyclist and pedestrian travel behavior with counts lags behind comparable efforts focused on motorized travel. Count data helps agencies to better understand the non-motorized transportation activity in their jurisdictions by designing and prescribing: • data collection locations to count non-motorized transportation users; • methods appropriate for counting at each location; • data processing and management structures to assemble and quality assure data; and, • web portals to disseminate the information to the public and other stakeholders. In Vermont, non-motorized traffic counts are collected by the UVM TRC, VTrans, and several of the state’s regional planning commissions. RPCs collect counts in support of local initiatives and at the request of VTrans. The VTrans Traffic Research Unit has also collected a series of manual counts and the Agency recently purchased data from Strava, Inc., which includes data on routes used by cyclists who used the Strava app between 2014 and 2016 in Vermont. Strava’s mobile app and its desktop website interface allow athletes to track, analyze, plan, and share their training rides and runs. The Strava Metro product anonymizes and aggregates all of the cycling (and running) data recorded by Strava members for the given time frame aggregated onto a GIS of the street network. The variety of collection efforts creates a diverse set of statewide count data, but it makes compilation of a single state-wide archive challenging. The goals of this project were to create a bicycle and pedestrian count database for the state of Vermont, communicate the state of non motorized travel statewide, and make recommendations for future data collection and management

Identifying Roadway Physical Characteristics that Contribute to Emissions Differences between Hybrid and Conventional Vehicles

In this study, a second-by-second (SbS) data set obtained from monitoring vehicle emissions over a series of 75 test runs from 2 test vehicles (a conventional vehicle (CV) and a hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV)) over an 18-month period in 2010-2011 during realworld on-road operations on a specified 32-mile route in Chittenden County, Vermont was used in an innovative new method of analysis to assess emissions differences between the two propulsion systems and attribute these differences to physical roadway/infrastructure characteristics. The K-S test was used to assess the difference between the cumulative distributions of the CV and HEV emissions samples on each link, and the K-S test statistic was regressed against the full set of roadway link characteristics. The regression results allowed the team to identify specific roadway characteristics that contribute to emissions differences between the vehicle types. Overall, the models that included maximum grade and intersection control type performed best, however speed limit and horizontal curvature were also shown to be important. The performance differences identified in this project confirm that engine controls that are responsive to roadway characteristics are necessary

Managing Isolated Wetlands After Solid Waste and Tahoe: The Case of Delaware

Perhaps as few as fifteen states have adequate protection of isolated wetlands, which were left vulnerable by the U.S. Supreme Court\u27s Solid Waste decision. This paper also examines the recent Tahoe decision and the case of Delaware to assess the impact of Solid Waste on isolated wetlands. The interim between Solid Waste in 1999 and any forthcoming legislation is the most challenging time, for this is when landowners can manifest their investment-backed expectations for recently proscribed land uses. The interim also produces uncertainty, which may lead to suboptimal landowner decisions. If state law is put in place soon, the government will minimize the possibility of costly compensation for regulatory takings and minimize the degradation of isolated wetlands. One possible solution to the difficulties in crafting swift legislation is the use of moratoria