As auto-dependent development has forced the urban limits of the city to sprawl, it has put considerable pressure on the transportation corridors that serve the city center. In Halifax, Nova Scotia, this condition is exacerbated by the downtown being bounded by water on three sides. Thus, there are a limited number of transportation corridors onto and off of the peninsula. This thesis examines how transit stations for a proposed public transportation line, within an underused rail corridor, can actively support and engage the communities they serve. A personal rapid transit network is proposed as a mobility-on-demand public transit system within this corridor. This introduction of a new transportation strategy is seen as a paradigm shift for the way transportation is conceived of in Halifax. Thus, the typology of the station will be studied in three different social and topographic environments, to form prototypes for the potential of transit stations throughout Halifax.

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Downtown San Jose is attracting new residents, visitors, and businesses. Clearly, the mobility of these residents, visitors, and businesses cannot be accommodated by streets that focus on the single-occupancy automobile mode. To increase the potential for individuals to use non-single-occupancy modes of travel, the downtown area must have a cohesive plan to integrate multimodal use and public life. Complete streets are an integral component of the multi-modal transport system and more livable communities. Complete streets refer to roads designed to accommodate multiple modes, users, and activities including walking, cycling, transit, automobile, and nearby businesses and residents. A one-way to two-way street conversion is an example of a complete streets project. Similarly, tactical urbanism can provide cost-effective modifications (e.g., through temporary road closures for events like the farmers’ market) that enrich the public life in an urban environment. The ability to serve current and future transportation needs of residents, businesses and visitors through the creation of pleasant, efficient, and safe multimodal corridors is a guiding principle of a smart city. This research project addressed questions that guide the implementation of this overarching principle. These questions relate to travel patterns and potential network impacts of the conversion of the corridor(s) into complete streets. Towards that end, core network in downtown San Jose is simulated via a validated VISSIM model for 2015 traffic conditions (i.e., the base case or Scenario 0). Three scenarios are then modeled as variations to this model. The relevant model outputs from the base and scenario models provide easily digestible information the City can convey various impacts and trade-offs to partners and stakeholders prior to implementation of these plans. The scenarios modeled are based on stakeholder input. Microsimulation allows for detailed modeling and visualization of the transportation networks including movements of individual vehicles and pedestrians. The results based on 2040 traffic volumes provided by the city based on their long-range travel demand model clearly demonstrate that the existing network cannot support the projected level of travel demand. It indicates that the city needs an aggressive travel demand management program to curb the growth of automobile traffic. The output also includes 3-D animations of the traffic flow that can be used in public forums for community outreach. A discussion for such a campaign based on best practices around using these visualizations for public outreach is also provided. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Downtown San Jose is attracting new residents, visitors, and businesses. Clearly, the mobility of these residents, visitors, and businesses cannot be accommodated by streets that focus on the single-occupancy automobile mode. To increase the potential for individuals to use non-single-occupancy modes of travel, the downtown area must have a cohesive plan to integrate multimodal use and public life. Complete streets are an integral component of the multi-modal transport system and more livable communities. Complete streets refer to roads designed to accommodate multiple modes, users, and activities including walking, cycling, transit, automobile, and nearby businesses and residents. A one-way to two-way street conversion is an example of a complete streets project. Similarly, tactical urbanism can provide cost-effective modifications (e.g., through temporary road closures for events like the farmers’ market) that enrich the public life in an urban environment. The ability to serve current and future transportation needs of residents, businesses and visitors through the creation of pleasant, efficient, and safe multimodal corridors is a guiding principle of a smart city. This research project addressed questions that guide the implementation of this overarching principle. These questions relate to travel patterns and potential network impacts of the conversion of the corridor(s) into complete streets. Towards that end, core network in downtown San Jose is simulated via a validated VISSIM model for 2015 traffic conditions (i.e., the base case or Scenario 0). A number o Threef scenarios are then modeled as variations to this model. The relevant model outputs from the base and scenario models provide easily digestible information the City can convey various impacts and trade-offs to partners and stakeholders prior to implementation of these plans. The scenarios modeled are based on stakeholder input. Microsimulation allows for detailed modeling and visualization of the transportation networks including movements of individual vehicles and pedestrians. The results based on 2040 traffic volumes provided by the city based on their long-range travel demand model clearly demonstrate that the existing network cannot support the projected level of travel demand. It indicates that the city needs an aggressive travel demand management program to curb the growth of automobile traffic. The output also includes 3-D animations of the traffic flow that can be used in public forums for community outreach. A discussion for such a campaign based on best practices around using these visualizations for public outreach is also provided.

The public transport system in South Africa is in a precarious state, capturing no more than 50% of the passenger market. The three public transport modes that are currently utilized—train, bus, and minibus-taxi—are competing for market share instead of complementing one another. Furthermore, most public transport networks have not been properly redesigned over the past three decades. Improvements were initiated reactively in the past: transit stops and routes were added or removed from the network when demand fluctuated. This reactive process has diminished the confidence of commuters in the public transport networks, forcing commuters to use private transport. A proactive redesign method is needed—one that includes all the modes of public transport, and anticipates an increase in demand and rapid development in geographic areas, while ensuring good accessibility to the network. Current network design models do not include multiple modes of public transport, and are based on the geographical layout of developed cities and their particularities, which makes them unsuitable for the South African environment with its unique land use disparities. This dissertation proposes a multimodal network design model that is capable of designing real world and large scale networks for the South African metropolitan areas. The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM) transport network area was used to develop and test the model, which consists of four components. The Geographic Information System (GIS) component has a central role in storing, manipulating, and exchanging the geographic data within the model. For the GIS the appropriate input data is identified, and a design for the geo-database is proposed. The Population Generation Algorithm (PGA) component translates the demographic data into point data representing the transit demand in the study area. The Bus Stop Placement Algorithm (BSPA) component is a metaheuristic that searches for near-optimal solutions for the placement of bus stops in the study area. A novel solution approach proposed in this dissertation uses geographic data of commuters to evaluate the bus stop placement in the study area. The Multimodal Network Design Algorithm (MNDA) component also employs a metaheuristic, enabling the design of near-optimal multimodal networks. The addition of multiple modes to the Transit Network Design Problem (TNDP) is also a novel and significant contribution. The two metaheuristic components are first tested on a test network, and subjected to a comprehensive sensitivity analysis. After identifying suitable parameter values and algorithm settings, the components are applied to the entire CTMM. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Industrial and Systems Engineering / unrestricted