Infrastructure

Connected Vehicle Penetration Rate for Estimation of Arterial Measures of Effectiveness

Argote-Cabañero, Juan
Christofa, Eleni
Skabardonis, Alexander
2015

The Connected Vehicle (CV) technology is a mobile platform that enables a new dimension of data exchange among vehicles and between vehicles and infrastructure. This data source could improve the estimation of Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) for traffic operations in real-time, allowing to perfectly monitor traffic states after being fully adopted. However, as with any novel technology, the CV adoption will be a gradual process. This research focuses on determining minimum CV technology penetration rates that would guarantee accurate MOE estimates on signalized arterials. First, the...

Analysis of Freeway Improvements for Express Bus Service

Cherry, Christopher R
Tang, Eric
Deakin, Elizabeth
Skabardonis, Alexander
2005

In many urban areas, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes have been provided to permit carpools and express buses to bypass congestion and offer a significant travel time advantage to commuters willing to share a ride or take transit. In many locations, however, HOV lanes are incomplete because of difficulties in securing right-of-way or funding. In other locations, because existing HOV lanes are underutilized, express buses are undersubscribed, or both, questions about their value arise. In this research it is shown how a PARAMICS microscopic traffic simulation model can be used to analyze...

Advanced Traffic Signal Control Algorithms

Skabardonis, Alexander
Shladover, Steven
Zhang, Wei-bin
Zhang, Liping
Li, Jing-Quan
2013

Advanced signal control strategies, based on real-time information on vehicles’ location, speed and characteristics as well as communication to the signal control infrastructure, can enhance mobility, safety, and the environment. Several performance measures are proposed for evaluating signal control algorithms, and procedures for estimating the performance measures from connected vehicle data are developed using statistical techniques and kinematic wave theory. A number of control strategies are developed and tested through simulation to improve mobility: queue spillback avoidance,...

An Optimal Resource Allocation Tool for Urban Development Using GIS-based Accessibility Measures and Stochastic Frontier Analysis

Goulias, Konstadinos G.
2007

Assessments of transportation investment from a “social efficiency” viewpoint are absent from transportation policy analysis and marketing practice. This is mainly due to the lack of tools capable to assess the role of transportation infrastructure investment on the provision of activity opportunities to residents of each locality. In this report, we demonstrate a tool that identifies specific locations in an entire state where resource allocation has succeeded in maximizing benefits to the public. In addition, the tool and the Geographic Information System maps derived from this tool show...

Creating an Inclusive Bicycle Level of Service: Virtual Bicycle Simulator Study

Griswold, Julia B.
Aguilar, Edna
Wang, Han
Miah, Md Mintu
2025

Bicycle level of service (BLOS) is an essential performance measure for transportation agencies to monitor and prioritize improvements to infrastructure, but existing measures do not capture the nuance of facility differences on the state highway system. However, with the advancements in virtual reality (VR) technology, a VR bicycle simulator is an ideal tool to safely gather user feedback on a variety of bicycling environments and conditions. This research explored the benefits and limitations of using a VR environment to assess individuals’ bike infrastructure preferences. We conducted a...

Bicycle Infrastructure that Extends Beyond the Door: Examining Investments in Bicycle-Oriented Design Through a Qualitative Survey of Commercial Building Owners and Tenants

Orrick, Phyllis
Frick, Karen
Ragland, David R.
2011

This paper presents the results of a qualitative survey of commercial owners, managers, and occupants in the City of Berkeley who have invested in on-site bicycle facilities such as secure parking, showers, changing rooms, and clothing lockers, what we are calling “bicycle-oriented design” (BOD). The sites represent a selection of building types common in the commercial building stock in U.S. cities.The research is designed to answer three questions about the use of BOD: (1) what were motivations behind the decision to invest in BOD (2) what are the challenges and rewards for investing in...

Operation of Traffic Signal Systems in Oversaturated Conditions, Volume 1: Practitioner Guidance

Gettman, Douglas
Abbas, Montasir
Liu, Henry
Skabardonis, Alex
2014

This guide presents a rational approach for identifying traffic control strategies for mitigating oversaturated conditions at signalized intersections. The guide discusses the following components of the rational approach: diagnosis of the type and causes of the oversaturated condition; identification of appropriate operational objective(s) based on the observed condition(s); identification of appropriate strategies to address the situation; and identification of any necessary infrastructure, equipment, or software requirements for each strategy. The intended audience for this guide is a...

National Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Data Clearinghouse Phase I: Inventory & Framework

Nordback, Krista
Kumfer, Wesley
LaJeunesse, Seth
Thomas, Libby
Heuser, Katie
Griswold, Julia
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Highway Safety Research Center
University of California, Berkeley
2019

Safety researchers, especially those studying bicycle and pedestrian safety, often struggle to obtain sufficiently high-quality data to conduct robust safety studies. The goal of the project is to create an online centralized data clearinghouse for bicycle and pedestrian safety-related data as a national resource for safety researchers to expedite research on this topic. CSCRS Project R14, the first phase of this work, produced a pilot online pedestrian and bicycle safety data resource clearinghouse available at pedbikedata.org. It allows researchers to search from over 4,000 pedestrian...

A Data Science Framework for Planning the Growth of Bicycle Infrastructures

Olmos, Luis E.
Tadeo, Maria Sol
Vlachogiannis, Dimitris
Alhasoun, Fahad
Espinet Alegre, Xavier
Ochoa, Catalina
Targa, Felipe
González, Marta C.
2020

Cities around the world are turning to non-motorized transport alternatives to help solve congestion and pollution issues. This paradigm shift demands on new infrastructure that serves and boosts local cycling rates. This creates the need for novel data sources, tools, and methods that allow us to identify and prioritize locations where to intervene via properly planned cycling infrastructure. Here, we define potential demand as the total trips of the population that could be supported by bicycle paths. To that end, we use information from a phone-based travel demand and the trip distance...

Cities as Complex Systems—Collection Overview

Rybski, Diego
González, Marta C.
2022

This collection provides a contemporary excerpt of “Cities as complex systems”. The contributions have been submitted between April and October 2020. We briefly discuss example papers addressing the themes “urban scaling”, “urban mobility”, “flows in cities”, “spatial analysis”, “information technology and cities”, and “cities in time”. After motivating the intersection of cities and complexity, we provide an introduction and additional thoughts on urban scaling.