Policy

Optimized Policies for Adaptive Control (OPAC) is a real-time demand-responsive traffic signal timing optimization algorithm for individual intersections. It was developed at University of Lowell under the sponsorship of U.S. Department of Transportation in the early 80s. OPAC distinguishes itself from traditional cycle-split signal control strategies by dropping the concept of cycle. In OPAC, the signal control problem consists of a sequence of switching decisions made at fixed time intervals. At each decision point the question is whether to extend or terminate current phase. Dynamic...

In highly urbanized and unequal Latin America, urban health and health equity research are essential to effective policymaking. To ensure the application of relevant and context-specific evidence to efforts to reduce urban health inequities, urban health research in Latin America must incorporate strategic research translation efforts. Beginning in 2017, the Urban Health in Latin America (SALURBAL) project implemented policy-relevant research and engaged policymakers and the public to support the translation of research findings. Over 6 years, more than 200 researchers across eight...

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is developing a virtual weigh and compliance system (VWCS) for better commercial vehicle monitoring and weight enforcement. The objective of this synthesis is to document recent efforts and technologies associated with the automated monitoring and enforcement of commercial vehicles and to present the current state of the practice in dealing with overweight vehicle enforcement using advanced weigh-in-motion (WIM) technologies.

This study employs traffic data and incident data from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The conclusion in this study provides guidance on making policy about investing in VMS systems.Few studies utilize empirical traffic data. They either use costly surveys or conduct traffic simulation, which are expensive and may not conform well to reality. This study uses empirical traffic flow and occupancy data on both mainline and ramps, collected every 30 seconds to estimate the effectiveness of VMS. The variation of diversion rate before and after warning messages is...