Seminar 3
June 16, 2010: ENCOURAGING SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL
Introductions by Larry Orcutt, Caltrans Division of Research & Innovation
Q+A session by Karen Philbrick, Mineta Transportation Institute
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Download the Seminar 3 Flier (PDF) - Please note that Susan Handy is unable to present this time. Check back in the fall for her participation in future seminars.
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Write-ups, recordings, and other seminar materials are available on the Materials page.
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Presentations & Speakers: |
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Measuring Walking and Cycling: A Low-Cost Survey Method for Local Communities Communities nationwide seek to promote walking and cycling as an important strategy to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, traffic congestion, and public health concerns. A key component of successful planning for increased walking and cycling is to collect data on use of these modes so that planners can track the success of their efforts. However, most communities currently lack a feasible mechanism to regularly collect this data. In response to that need, this report presents a simple, inexpensive survey method to measure local walking and cycling levels. To make survey implementation easy for local staff, a detailed manual lays out start-to-finish directions, from how to obtain an appropriate sample of households to basic methods for analyzing and interpreting the results. Asha Weinstein Agrawal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at San José State University, and also Director of the Mineta Transportation Institute’s National Transportation Finance Center. Her research interests include multi-modal transportation planning, transportation finance, and transportation history. |
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Intelligent Transportation Systems as a Way to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions It is clear from both field data and from sophisticated models that there can be significant energy and emission savings from implementing Intelligent Transportation Systems. Some of the more common characteristics of these “green” ITS programs include: 1) reducing severe congestion to allow traffic to flow at higher speeds; 2) reducing excessively high freeflow speeds to more moderate conditions; and 3) eliminating the acceleration/deceleration events associated with stop-and-go traffic during congested conditions. It is also important to keep any induced travel demand in check after the implementation of any ITS project. Details on several green ITS research projects that have these key characteristics will be presented. The projects come from the UC Riverside Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) has been studying the linkages between ITS and the environment for several years. Matthew Barth is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at UC Riverside, holds the Yeager Family Chair, and is also the Director of the College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT). Dr. Barth’s research focuses is in Transportation Systems, in particular how it relates to energy and air quality issues. Current research interests include Intelligent Transportation System Technology, Transportation/Emissions Modeling, Vehicle Activity Analysis, and Vehicle Navigation. |
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How to Ease Women’s Fear of Transportation Environments: Case Studies of Best Practices Desolate bus stops and train cars, dimly lit park-and-ride lots, and overcrowded transit vehicles represent stressful settings for women. Some choose not to patronize transit because of fear for their safety. This study identifies the distinct safety concerns of women transit riders, assesses if their needs are met, and discusses best practices addressing women’s fear of transit environments. Only a handful of transit operators in the U.S. have specific programs targeting women’s safe travel. In contrast, some other countries have adopted policies in response to women’s transit safety needs. A mismatch exists in the US between the needs of women riders and the types and locations of common safety/security strategies adopted by transit agencies. Based on feedback from interviews and case studies the study offers policy recommendations for women’s safe travel. Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris is Professor at the UCLA Department of Urban Planning. Her projects include transit and pedestrian safety, transportation needs of women, cultural determinants of design, cultural tourism, revitalization of inner city neighborhoods, and examination of the impacts of new rail lines on communities. She is the co-author of Urban Design Downtown: Poetics and Politics of Form, and Sidewalks: Conflict and Negotiation over Public Space, andthe co-editor of Jobs and Economic Development for Minority Communities, and the forthcoming: Companion to Urban Design. |
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How Do We Get More People Bicycling? Evidence from the Davis Bicycle Studies POST-PONED UNTIL FALL 2010 Communities throughout the US are giving increased priority to bicycling as a mode of transportation. However, it is not clear what factors are most important in promoting bicycling in these communities. A 2006 survey of residents of six small U.S. cities shows that bicycle ownership and use depend on individual characteristics, as well as aspects of the physical environment and the social environment. Critical factors include how much a person enjoys bicycling and how comfortable they are bicycling. In addition, bicycling-oriented people tend to “self-select” bicycling-oriented communities as places to live. Among characteristics of the physical environment, distances to destination are most important. Bicycle infrastructure seems to play an indirect role through its influence on comfort and safety. For the social environment, negative perceptions of other bicyclists seem to be a greater deterrent to bicycling than positive perceptions are an encouragement. These results suggest that to foster bicycling, communities must adopt land use policies that put destinations within bicycling distances of residents and create a safe bicycling environment through investments in infrastructure and other policies. To increase bicycling substantially, communities must also create programs that encourage bicycling by increasing comfort levels and changing the way their residents think about bicycling. Dr. Susan Handy is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy and the Director of the University Transportation Center at the University of California Davis. Her research interests focus on the relationships between transportation and land use, particularly the impact of land development patterns on travel behavior, and on strategies for reducing automobile dependence. She is a member of the Committee on Women’s Issues in Transportation and the Committee on Transportation Education of the Transportation Research Board. |
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Corridor Management |
Freight & Goods Movement |
Encouraging Sustainable Behavior |
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