A good understanding of the relationship between highway performance, such as crash rates and travel delays, and winter road maintenance activities under different winter weather and traffic conditions is essential to the development of cost-effective winter road maintenance policies and standards, operation strategies and technologies. This research is specifically concerned about the mobility benefit of winter road maintenance. A microscopic traffic simulation model is used to investigate the traffic patterns under adverse weather and road surface conditions. A segment of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) located in the Great Toronto Area, Ontario is used in the simulation study. Observed field traffic data from the study segment was used in the calibration of the simulation model. Different scenarios of traffic characteristics and road surface conditions as a result of weather events and maintenance operations are simulated and travel time is used as a performance measure for quantifying the effects of winter snow storms on the mobility of a highway section. The modeling results indicate that winter road maintenance aimed at achieving bare pavement conditions during heavy snowfall could reduce the total delay by 5 to 36 percent, depending on the level of congestion of the highway. The simulation results are then applied in a case study for assessing two maintenance policy decisions at a maintenance route level.

A good understanding of the relationship between highway performance, such as crash rates and travel delays, and winter road maintenance activities under different winter weather and traffic conditions is essential to the development of cost-effective winter road maintenance policies and standards, operation strategies and technologies. This research is specifically concerned about the mobility benefit of winter road maintenance. A microscopic traffic simulation model is used to investigate the traffic patterns under adverse weather and road surface conditions. A segment of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) located in the Great Toronto Area, Ontario is used in the simulation study. Observed field traffic data from the study segment was used in the calibration of the simulation model. Different scenarios of traffic characteristics and road surface conditions as a result of weather events and maintenance operations are simulated and travel time is used as a performance measure for quantifying the effects of winter snow storms on the mobility of a highway section. The modeling results indicate that winter road maintenance aimed at achieving bare pavement conditions during heavy snowfall could reduce the total delay by 5 to 36 percent, depending on the level of congestion of the highway. The simulation results are then applied in a case study for assessing two maintenance policy decisions at a maintenance route level.

Municipalities and contractors in Canada and other parts of the world rely on road surface condition information during and after a snow storm to optimize maintenance operations and planning. With an ever increasing demand for safer and more sustainable road network there is an ever increasing demand for more reliable, accurate and up-to-date road surface condition information while working with the limited available resources. Such high dependence on road condition information is driving more and more attention towards analyzing the reliability of current technology as well as developing new and more innovative methods for monitoring road surface condition. This research provides an overview of the various road condition monitoring technologies in use today. A new machine vision based mobile road surface condition monitoring system is proposed which has the potential to produce high spatial and temporal coverage. The proposed approach uses multiple models calibrated according to local pavement color and environmental conditions potentially providing better accuracy compared to a single model for all conditions. Once fully developed, this system could potentially provide intermediate data between the more reliable xed monitoring stations, enabling the authorities with a wider coverage without a heavy extra cost. The up to date information could be used to better plan maintenance strategies and thus minimizing salt use and maintenance costs.

<p>Increasing cycling as a means of personal travel couldgenerate environmental benefits if associated with acorresponding decrease in car-based transport. In seeking topromote cycling in wintertime, it is desirable to understandhow important the road surface condition is compared to otherfactors in people's decision to cycle or not. In this thesis,the possibility of increasing the number of cyclists byimproving the winter maintenance servicelevel on cycleways isexamined. The attitudes towards cycling during winter ingeneral, and in relation to winter maintenance of cycleways inparticular, is studied through questionnaire surveys. Bicyclemeasurements are related to weather data from Road WeatherInformation System, in order to know the influence on cycleflow during winter from different weather factors. Fieldstudies are performed testing unconventional winter maintenancemethods, in order to see if a higher service level could beachieved on cycleways and if that would lead to an increase inwinter cycling frequency. The field studies are evaluatedthrough road condition observations, measurements of friction,bicycle counts, a questionnaire survey and interviews. A visualmethod to assess winter road conditions on cycleways isdeveloped, in order to compare the service levels achievedusing different winter maintenance methods.</p><p>There is a clear difference in mode choice between seasons.With improved winter maintenance service level it could bepossible to increase the number of bicycle trips to work duringwinter with, at the most, 18 %, and decrease the number of cartrips with 6 %. However, it could not be concluded with bicyclemeasurements, that an enhanced service level in fact, generateda higher winter cycling frequency.</p><p>To increase cycling during winter, snow clearance is themost important maintenance measure. Skid control is not assignificant for the choice of mode but is important to attendto for safety reasons. Winter road condition propertiesimportant both with regard to safety and accessibility ofcyclists, are icy tracks formed when wet snow freezes, snowdepths greater than about 3 cm of loose snow or slush,unevenness in a snow covered surface, loose grit on a baresurface.</p><p>Weather factors with negative influence on winter cyclingfrequency, are temperatures below +5 ° C,precipitationand strong winds. Only the occurrence of precipitation, not theamount of rain or snow, is significant for the cycle flow. Lowtemperatures are more important in reducing the cycle flow thanprecipitation. Temperatures around 0 ° C seem to be extracritical for cyclists, probably due to the larger influence ofprecipitation and slippery road conditions at thesetemperatures.</p><p>An unconventional method using a power broom for snowclearance and brine or pre-wetted salt for de-icing, provides ahigher service level than winter maintenance methodstraditionally used, but it is about 2 to 3 times moreexpensive. The method has great potential in regions, such assouthern Sweden, with low snow accumulations but with major iceformation problems. To assess the maintenance service level,the visual assessment method developed and tested in thisproject is adequate for the purpose, however, furtherimprovements are desirable. As a complement to the visualassessment, a Portable Friction Tester can be used to measurethe surface friction on cycleways during wintertime.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>Cycleways, winter maintenance, maintenanceservice level, mode choice, winter cycling frequency, wintermaintenance equipment, winter road condition assessment,bicycle measurements, friction measurement.</p>

Current winter footwear provides inadequate protection from slip-related injuries on ice, and there is limited research investigating the optimal design of anti-slip devices. This study examined how ice cleat spike height and position in the heel affect slipping. No differences could be observed between spike conditions, but results demonstrated that heel spikes may prevent slips initiated between heel contact and foot-flat and forefoot spikes may be necessary to prevent foot-flat slips. Further analysis compared slip outcomes measured using two slip onset definitions: 1) heel contact, and 2) the first point of increasing positive heel acceleration. Slip onset defined as time of heel contact overestimated the number of slips and slip distances. These results demonstrate that ice cleats have the potential to protect pedestrians from slipping but some styles available to consumers (i.e. heel spikes only) may not be adequate. Choice of slip definition in footwear evaluations can significantly influence study outcomes.

No description available.

No description available.

Current winter footwear provides inadequate protection from slip-related injuries on ice, and there is limited research investigating the optimal design of anti-slip devices. This study examined how ice cleat spike height and position in the heel affect slipping. No differences could be observed between spike conditions, but results demonstrated that heel spikes may prevent slips initiated between heel contact and foot-flat and forefoot spikes may be necessary to prevent foot-flat slips. Further analysis compared slip outcomes measured using two slip onset definitions: 1) heel contact, and 2) the first point of increasing positive heel acceleration. Slip onset defined as time of heel contact overestimated the number of slips and slip distances. These results demonstrate that ice cleats have the potential to protect pedestrians from slipping but some styles available to consumers (i.e. heel spikes only) may not be adequate. Choice of slip definition in footwear evaluations can significantly influence study outcomes.

No description available.

No description available.