Environmental planning and permitting for transportation projects is often seen as one of the top reasons for project delay. On design-build projects, this process is often treated as the critical path to advertising the project and on all transportation projects many critical phases of the project such as right of way acquisition, final design, and construction cannot begin until the environmental planning process is complete. The objective of this research is to identify challenges to the environmental planning and permitting process and opportunities for managing those challenges. To identify these challenges and opportunities, a synthesis of transportation and design-build research was done along with interviews with agencies leaders at seven State Departments of Transportation (DOTs). Once these challenges and opportunities were identified, example environmental planning documents and requests for proposals were reviewed from various State DOTs to document their usage. Additionally follow up interviews were conducted with environmental planning experts with experience on design-build projects from six of the State DOTs that were previously interviewed. This research contributes to the state of knowledge through providing comprehensive information on environmental planning and permitting challenges that must be managed on design-build transportation projects and opportunities for managing these challenges. Managing the identified challenges by utilizing these opportunities provides transportation agencies with opportunities to make the environmental planning and permitting process on design-build projects more efficient. This research contributes to the state of practice of transportation agencies through providing opportunities for streamlining environmental analysis and permitting that is vital to transportation agencies who strive to accelerate the delivery of design-build projects.

Historically, the traditional planning process has not given much attention to the road safety evaluation of development plans. To make an informed, defensible, and proactive choice between alternative plans and their safety implications, it is necessary to have a procedure for estimating and evaluating safety performance. A procedure is required for examining the influence of the urban network development on road safety, and in particular, determining the effects of the many variables that affect safety in urban planning. Safety planning models can provide a decision-support tool that facilitates the assessment of the safety implications of alternative network plans. The first objective of this research study is to develop safety planning models that are consistent with the regional models commonly used for urban transportation planning. Geographically weighted Poisson regression (GWPR), full-Bayesian semiparametric additive (FBSA), and traditional generalized linear modelling (GLM) techniques are used to develop the models. The study evaluates how well each model is able to handle spatial variations in the relationship between collision explanatory variables and the number of collisions in a zone. The evaluation uses measures of goodness of fit (GOF) and finds that the GWPR and FBSA models perform much better than the conventional GLM approach. There is little difference between the GOF values for the FBSA and GWPR models. The second objective of this research study is to examine the temporal transferability of the safety planning models and alternative updating methods. The updating procedures examine the Bayesian approach and application of calibration factors. The results show that the models are not temporally transferable in a strict statistical sense. However, relative measures of transferability indicate that the transferred models yield useful information in the application context. The results also show that the updated safety planning models using the Bayesian approach predict the number of collisions better than the calibration factor procedure.

This thesis presents a framework for resiliency planning in state departments of transportation and other transportation agencies. The development of this framework is motivated by the need for more resilient transportation systems, due of the increasing frequency and the effect both natural and man-made catastrophic disasters have on transportation systems. The resiliency framework is based on the urban transportation planning framework and is thus applied in the broader context of general transportation planning. The resiliency framework is then applied in a preliminary review to three statewide transportation plans to show the resiliency deficiencies of those plans and how the framework may be applied to increase resiliency. These plans are selected from three different states with diversity of locations and without any preconceived notions about their incorporation of resiliency in their planning process. This preliminary review reveals a reactive nature towards investments that increase an agency’s resilience. This may be attributed to the problem of limited funding for transportation investments, as well as, limited knowledge by the transportation agencies about the return on such resiliency investments, mostly due to the uncertainty associated with the occurrence of catastrophic disasters, especially the predictability of weather-related events. However, post-disaster transportation system overhauls provide enough evidence for the need for more systemic ways of addressing resiliency in planning processes.

Historically, the traditional planning process has not given much attention to the road safety evaluation of development plans. To make an informed, defensible, and proactive choice between alternative plans and their safety implications, it is necessary to have a procedure for estimating and evaluating safety performance. A procedure is required for examining the influence of the urban network development on road safety, and in particular, determining the effects of the many variables that affect safety in urban planning. Safety planning models can provide a decision-support tool that facilitates the assessment of the safety implications of alternative network plans. The first objective of this research study is to develop safety planning models that are consistent with the regional models commonly used for urban transportation planning. Geographically weighted Poisson regression (GWPR), full-Bayesian semiparametric additive (FBSA), and traditional generalized linear modelling (GLM) techniques are used to develop the models. The study evaluates how well each model is able to handle spatial variations in the relationship between collision explanatory variables and the number of collisions in a zone. The evaluation uses measures of goodness of fit (GOF) and finds that the GWPR and FBSA models perform much better than the conventional GLM approach. There is little difference between the GOF values for the FBSA and GWPR models. The second objective of this research study is to examine the temporal transferability of the safety planning models and alternative updating methods. The updating procedures examine the Bayesian approach and application of calibration factors. The results show that the models are not temporally transferable in a strict statistical sense. However, relative measures of transferability indicate that the transferred models yield useful information in the application context. The results also show that the updated safety planning models using the Bayesian approach predict the number of collisions better than the calibration factor procedure.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Bicycles offer an efficient, emission-free mode of transportation, particularly ideal for shorter distances in urban areas. Consequently, bicycling is increasingly being perceived as a viable and important part of the urban transportation mix. Despite increased progress and attention, few cities have successfully incorporated cycling as a key feature of their urban policy, or substantially increased cycling’s modal share. Meanwhile, research suggests that climate and weather influence cycling and transportation in urban areas, with cold climates in particular reducing the likelihood of cycling. This research examines how bicycling can be mainstreamed in winter cities, thereby improving cycling conditions and increasing modal share. Oulu, Finland serves as a case study. Located at 65 degrees latitude, Oulu has a twenty percent modal share for cycling. A close examination how cycling was mainstreamed is presented and synthesized. The goal is to present Oulu’s experience in bicycle planning as a model for other winter cities, particularly in Canada.

To date, the collection of comprehensive household travel data has been a challenge for most metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and state departments of transportation (DOTs) due mainly to high costs. Urban population growth, the expansion of metropolitan regions, and the general unwillingness of the public to complete surveys conflict with limited public funds. The purpose of this research is to leverage targeted marketing data, sometimes referred to as consumer data or just simply marketing data, for travel demand modeling applications. This research reveals a first step in exploring the use of targeted marketing data for representing population characteristics of a region. Four studies were completed: an aggregate validation, a household-level validation for hard-to-reach population groups, an airport passenger model, and a residential location choice model. The two validation studies of this work suggest that targeted marketing data are similar to U.S. Census data at small geographic levels for basic demographic and socioeconomic information. The studies also suggest that the existing coverage errors are at least similar, if not lower than, the levels of those in household travel surveys used today to build travel demand models. The two application studies of this work highlight the benefits of the targeted marketing data over traditional household travel surveys and U.S. Census data particularly well, including the additional behavioral information available at the household-level and the very large sample sizes. These results suggest that the combination of targeted marketing data with other third-party and non-traditional data could be particularly powerful. It offers tremendous opportunities to enhance, or even transform, existing travel demand modeling systems and data collection practices. Inexpensive, up-to-date, and detailed data would allow researchers and decision-makers alike to better understand travel behavior and to be more equipped to make important transportation-related decisions that affect our lives each day.

Many cities today are contemplating major investments in rail transit systems, especially Light Rail Transit (LRT), to address two significant planning issues which have characterized North American metropolitan growth patterns: increasing automobile use and decentralizing population and employment. Proponents of these systems argue that by building rail transit, travel behaviour and land use patterns can be changed. The experience in cities which have built these systems is mixed, but transportation and land use outcomes typically go hand-in-hand: San Diego, Denver, and Portland have increased transit ridership and intensification in station areas, whereas Buffalo and Cleveland have had minimal change occur as a result of investments in LRT. Calgary, Alberta presents an interesting case as its LRT system, first opened in 1981, generates tremendous ridership but has had relatively modest land use change in station areas. This thesis aims to understand why intensification has been so marginal at many stations, and to uncover what are the unique facets of Calgary???s experience which shaped this outcome. The approach taken is to examine the evolution of the City of Calgary???s planning philosophy towards transportation and land use since the need for rapid transit was first identified in 1966. This evolution is also placed within the context of the particularly severe cyclical economic forces that influenced both the city???s growth and policy planning approaches taken to manage this growth. The research finds that the combination of transportation and land use policy, in conjunction with market forces, which existed during the design, construction and operation of the first three LRT lines favoured intensification in Calgary???s downtown and low-density decentralization in suburban areas. However, the evolution of planning policy and market forces indicate that this less likely to be true in the future, both in the near and long term. The City is transitioning from a highly centralized mono-centric city to a poly-centric and increasingly multi-modal metropolitan region. The LRT, and other transit service, will be a key means of facilitating and managing this transformation.

Performance measurement and management have been evolving at state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in recent years, and a variety of performance data is being utilized in different ways to guide decision-making processes. However, health considerations beyond air quality and safety are not yet being incorporated into performance management programs at state DOTs. Concurrently, Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) and other public health tools have seen increasing use among Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and their stakeholders through collaboration with public health professionals. With the 2012 reauthorization of the surface transportation bill - Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) - state DOTs and MPOs have the opportunity to consider health proactively in transportation decision making to address the environmental sustainability requirements of MAP-21. This study investigates the possibility for integration between transportation performance measurement and management and the HIA approach, identifying and explaining the linkages between the two previously isolated processes. The study draws from best practices in performance measurement/management at state DOTs and various examples of health-related activities among MPOs and other planning to inform a suggested approach for incorporating health considerations and metrics in transportation decision making. The suggested approach recognizes common goals of health and transportation agencies, which are well-aligned with national objectives, and emphasizes the role of multidisciplinary interagency collaboration and partnership. This approach is intended to be a resource for state DOTs and MPOs that are interested in extending their performance measurement/management activities to formally include health considerations, as it can ease many of the implementation issues currently faced when considering broader health impacts of transportation.

Bicycles offer an efficient, emission-free mode of transportation, particularly ideal for shorter distances in urban areas. Consequently, bicycling is increasingly being perceived as a viable and important part of the urban transportation mix. Despite increased progress and attention, few cities have successfully incorporated cycling as a key feature of their urban policy, or substantially increased cycling’s modal share. Meanwhile, research suggests that climate and weather influence cycling and transportation in urban areas, with cold climates in particular reducing the likelihood of cycling. This research examines how bicycling can be mainstreamed in winter cities, thereby improving cycling conditions and increasing modal share. Oulu, Finland serves as a case study. Located at 65 degrees latitude, Oulu has a twenty percent modal share for cycling. A close examination how cycling was mainstreamed is presented and synthesized. The goal is to present Oulu’s experience in bicycle planning as a model for other winter cities, particularly in Canada.