Traffic Operations and Management

With the rapid growth occurring in the urban regions of China, it is critical to address issues of sustainability through practices that engender holistic energy efficient solutions. In this paper, we present results from a collaborative design project carried out with planning officials from the city of Jinan (population 3.4 million), for the Luokou district, a 3.1 km2 (1.2 mi2) area to the north of the CBD that is expected to house 100,000–130,000 people by 2020. By integrating sustainable building design, land use, urban design, and transportation, our proposal identified opportunities...

Since the end of World War II, the passenger transportation system in the United States has been heavily based on the automobile for short haul travel and the airplane for long-haul travel. In this paper, we show that there is a growing potential for high speed rail in the United States caused partly by increasing congestion on the existing network and based partly on the higher speeds and higher service capabilities of new technology, high-speed rail. In defining the potential for high-speed rail over the next 40 years, we used two approaches: first, a bottom-up approach in which the...

Most cars carry at least four passangers, but the average auto occupancy rate for all trips in the US is only 1.6 persons. Because all the empty seats in cars represent our greatest source of untapped transportation capacity, promoting ridesharing is of considerable interest. Government agencies across the country employ ridesharing programs both to provide transportation at low cost and to reduce traffic congestion and the other costs of solo driving. The rigidity of conventional ridesharing arrangements, which generally require fixed travel times, presents a barrier to many people. But...

Planning for transit-oriented infill development often calls for adding new buildings, residents, and attractions within a quarter to half-mile radius of the station. This paper discusses planning and parking management research conducted for three station areas of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), all located in older commercial districts. The research is based on interviews with key stakeholders, parking occupancy and turnover studies, counts, and surveys of users of the three station areas. This research provides insights into the complexities of managing parking...