Review of California Wildfire Evacuations from 2017 to 2019

Between 2017 and 2019, California experienced a series of devastating wildfires that together led over one million people to be ordered to evacuate. Due to the speed of many of these wildfires, residents across California found themselves in challenging evacuation situations, often at night and with little time to escape. These evacuations placed considerable stress on public resources and infrastructure for both transportation and sheltering. In the face of these clear challenges, transportation and emergency management agencies across California have widely varying levels of preparedness for major disasters, and nearly all agencies do not have the public resources to adequately and swiftly evacuate all populations in danger. To holistically address these challenges and bolster current disaster and evacuation planning, preparedness, and response in California, we summarize the evacuations of eleven major wildfires in California between 2017 and 2019 and offer a cross-comparison to highlight key similarities and differences. We present results of new empirical data we collected via an online survey of individuals impacted by: 1) the 2017 October Northern California Wildfires (n=79), 2) the 2017 December Southern California Wildfires (n=226), and 3) the 2018 Carr Wildfire (n=284). These data reveal the decision-making of individuals in these wildfires including choices related to evacuating or staying, departure timing, route, sheltering, destination, transportation mode, and reentry timing. We also present results related to communication and messaging, non-evacuee behavior, and opinion of government response. Using the summarized case studies and empirical evidence, we present a series of recommendations for agencies to prepare for, respond to, and recover from wildfires

Implementation of a Rapid Assessment Unit (Intake Team): Impact on Emergency Department Length of Stay

Implementation of a Rapid Assessment Unit (Intake Team): Impact on Emergency Department Length of Stay Richard S. MacKenzie, MD, David B. Burmeister, DO, Jennifer A. Brown, RN, Melissa Teitsworth, RN, BSN, Christopher J. Kita, MEd, Megan J. Dambach, DO, Shaheen Shamji, DO, Anita Kurt, PhD, RN , Susan Friend, Marna Greenberg, DO, MPH Acknowledge: Clare M. Lenhart, PhD, MPH Objective: Emergency Department (ED) crowding is an on-going formidable issue for many EDs. A Rapid Assessment Unit (RAU) is a potential solution. This process involves the use of a team approach to convert the current “series” type evaluation to a more “parallel” evaluation and treatment of patients. The RAU concept of evaluating and treating ED patients radically changes the current methods utilized in today’s standard emergency care area. The RAU concept offers a process in which the patient walks into the ED and is seen in a unit by an intake team composed of a nurse, registrar, and provider (physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or physician) that provides evaluation and emergent treatment. This removes the redundancy of a patient giving the same information several times before they are treated. Simultaneously, the team decides whether the patient would be better served by remaining seated or requires a recumbent position. This is referred to as allowing “vertical flow” versus the default “horizontal flow” where all patients recline on a stretcher whether they need it or not. Certainly, having construction that specifically supports these processes is an innovation as well (having an area where patients can be seated and remain “vertical”). The team structure itself is unique. The nurses and providers are not assigned geographically by room but rather are defined by their function. We set out to determine if the addition of the RAU process would decreases the LOS of the discharged ambulatory arrival patient. Methods: After IRB approval, this retrospective, pre- and post intervention, observational comparison study was conducted from August 2011-March 2012 at a suburban teaching hospital in central Pennsylvania with an annual ED census of approximately 54,000. The inclusion criteria were all ambulatory discharged patients. The exclusion criteria were all patients that arrived by ambulance and admitted patients. Data points captured included: time of arrival in triage , time in triage to ED entry, time of ED entry until seen by a provider, time from ED entry to discharge, total length of stay (LOS). The data were uploaded to Horizon Business Insight™ (HBI), a cumulative data manager and exported to an Microsoft excel file for analysis. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to demonstrate differences in Median LOS. All statistical tests were 2-sided; probability values \u3c0.05 were considered significant. Results: 11, 994 pre and 10814 post-RAU patients were included in analysis. Median LOS was shorter during the post-RAU period in each subcategory of LOS with the exception of the interval from being seen in the ER to discharge which is a result of provider seeing the patient earlier in the ED encounter. Results, Table 1. Conclusions: The RAU process decreases the LOS of the discharged ambulatory arrival patient and deserves further exploration as an innovative model in the ED that improves flow

Smart Parking Management Field Test: A Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District Parking Demonstration

Smart parking management technologies may provide a cost-effective tool to address near-term parking constraints at transit stations. Smart parking management systems have been implemented in numerous European, British, and Japanese cities to more efficiently use parking capacity at transit stations by providing real-time information via changeable message signs to motorists about available parking spaces in park-and-ride lots. This working paper describes the interim results of a smart parking field operational test, which operated at a San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District station in Oakland, California from December 2004 to April 2006. This working paper includes a literature review on the travel effects of smart parking-related systems, a description of the smart parking field operational test, user analyses (focus groups and surveys), and preliminary cost estimates of the field test

EasyConnect: Low-Speed Modes Linked to Transit Planning Project

The EasyConnect Low-Speed Modes Linked to Transit Planning Project (TO 5113) project represents the integration of innovative strategies to enhance transit use during the development and construction of a suburban transit oriented development at the Pleasant Hill Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District station in the East San Francisco Bay Area. This planning project brings together a unique partnership including small technology businesses, transportation agencies, city and county government, and academia. The project components include the introduction of shared-use low speed mode vehicles and electronic lockers at the proposed TOD. The evaluation of the EasyConnect field operational test (TO 6113-the next phase of this initiative) will provide insights into whether the introduction and integration of low-speed modes and elockers at the Pleasant Hill BART station can significantly increase transit access/use and cost effectively provide a last mile solution

Carsharing and Personal Vehicle Services: Worldwide Market Developments and Emerging Trends

Carsharing (or short-term auto use) provides a flexible alternative that meets diverse transportation needs across the globe, while reducing the negative impacts of private vehicle ownership. More than 65 years ago, carsharing began appearing in Europe. It has expanded to approximately 1,100 cities worldwide, in 26 nations on five continents. This article provides a global perspective of carsharing growth and future developments from 2006 through 2015, employing data from three surveys conducted in 2006, 2008, and 2010. The authors explore the interview findings of 25 carsharing experts worldwide representing 25 of 26 nations, collected in 2010

CARSHARING’S IMPACT ON HOUSEHOLD VEHICLE HOLDINGS: RESULTS FROM A NORTH AMERICAN SHARED-USE VEHICLE SURVEY

Carsharing has grown considerably in North America during the past decade and has flourished within metropolitan regions across the United States and Canada. The result has been a new transportation landscape, which offers urban residents an alternative to automobility without car ownership. As carsharing has expanded, there has been a growing demand to understand its environmental impacts. This paper presents the results of a North American carsharing member survey (N = 6,281). The authors establish a “before-and-after ” analytical design with a focus on carsharing’s impacts on household vehicle holdings and the aggregate vehicle population. The results show that carsharing members reduce their vehicle holdings to a degree that is statistically significant. The average vehicles per household of the sample drops from 0.47 to 0.24. Most of this shift constitutes one-car households becoming carless. The average fuel economy of carsharing vehicles used most often by respondents is 10 miles per gallon (mpg) more efficient than the average vehicle shed by respondents. The median age of vehicles shed by carsharing households is 11 years, but the distribution covers a considerable range. An aggregate analysi

THE IMPACT OF CARSHARING ON HOUSEHOLD VEHICLE HOLDINGS: RESULTS FROM A NORTH AMERICAN SHARED-USE VEHICLE SURVEY

Carsharing has grown considerably in North America during the past decade and has flourished within metropolitan regions across the United States and Canada. The result has been a new transportation landscape, which offers urban residents an alternative to automobility without car ownership. As carsharing has expanded, there has been a growing demand to understand its environmental impacts. This paper presents the results of a North American carsharing member survey (N = 6,281). The authors establish a “before-and-after ” analytical design with a focus on carsharing’s impacts on household vehicle holdings and the aggregate vehicle population. The results show that carsharing members reduce their vehicle holdings to a degree that is statistically significant. The average vehicles per household of the sample drops from 0.47 to 0.24. Most of this shift constitutes one-car households becoming carless. The average fuel economy of carsharing vehicles used most often by respondents is 10 miles per gallon (mpg) more efficient than the average vehicle shed by respondents. The median age of vehicles shed by carsharing households is 11 years, but the distribution covers a considerable range. An aggregate analysi