UCTC 2010-2011 Faculty Grant Abstracts
ECO-Friendly Navigation System Research for Heavy-Duty Trucks Project
Project Director: Matthew Barth
College of Engineering – Center for Environmental Research and Technology
(CE-CERT)
UC Riverside
1084 Columbia Ave, Riverside, CA 92507
T: 951 781-5782
F: 951 781-5790
barth@cert.ucr.edu
Abstract: Heavy-duty trucks are a critical component of the U.S. goods movement system; however, these trucks consume a large amount of fuel and emit significant pollutants and greenhouse gases. The trucking industry is always looking for any measure to improve operations and reduce fuel consumption, including efficient routing and scheduling. Most existing routing systems are based on minimizing total miles traveled. However, fuel consumption and emissions aren’t necessarily minimized by distance, particularly in congestion and areas that have significant changes in road grade. In this project, it is proposed to develop a new set of routing algorithms that are specifically designed to minimize fuel consumption and emissions for heavy-duty trucks. These ECO-Friendly Navigation algorithms will build upon our previous research in eco-routing algorithms developed for light-duty vehicles. The key innovation in this proposed research is the integration of our navigation technology with a rich set of truck energy and emissions data collected by CE-CERT’s state-of-the-art heavy-duty Mobile Emissions Laboratory (MEL) as well as sophisticated truck energy and emission models that CE-CERT has developed over the years. New algorithms will be researched and developed, followed by an actual prototype implementation in our heavy-duty truck (MEL). Using this prototype system, the effectiveness of the routing algorithms will be carefully evaluated. It is expected that significant fuel and emission savings will occur, particularly when road congestion is high and in areas that have significant elevation changes.
Research Objective: The overall research objective is to design and develop eco-friendly navigation algorithms for heavy-duty trucks, implement a prototype system, and evaluate its impact on reducing GHG emissions and fuel consumption.
Tasks: 1) Expand the Dynamic Roadway Network; 2) Develop Real-Time Truck Traffic Speed Estimation Algorithms; 3) Create Energy Operational Parameter Sets for Heavy-Duty Trucks; 4) Implement Route Planning Optimization; 5) Perform System Integration and Testing.
New Project
Potential Benefits: The ultimate outcomes from this project will be the reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emission from heavy-duty trucks.
Key Words: Greenhouse gas emissions; fuel consumption; dynamic feedback; driving behavior.
Total Direct Cost: $75,981
Spatially Focused Travel Survey Data Collection and Analysis: Closing Data Gaps for SB 375 Implementation
Project Director: Marlon Boarnet
Dept. of Planning, Policy, and Design
Room 218-E Social Ecology I Building
UC Irvine
T:
949-824-7695
F: 949-824-8566
mgboarne@uci.edu
Other Key Academic Participant:
Douglas Houston
Dept. of Planning, Policy, and Design
Room 200, Social Ecology I Building
UC Irvine
T: 949-824-0563
F: 949-824-8566
houston@uci.edu
Abstract: This research will help close a crucial data gap in land use-travel behavior studies. Current estimates of land use-travel behavior relationships are typically based on average effects for metropolitan areas or larger geographies. That gives little insight into the effect of small-area land use policies such as targeted infill development, transit-oriented land uses near stations, or similarly localized policies. In California, Senate Bill (SB) 375 requires that metropolitan planning organizations incorporate land use-transportation planning, but existing travel diary surveys have very few observations in areas of policy interest. This research will obtain a large number of travel diary surveys in small neighborhoods of high policy relevance for SB 375, providing data that will assist in SB 375 and related policy development. In addition to data and analysis that will directly benefit greenhouse gas emission reduction policy, the methods developed in this research will advance efforts toward low-cost, rapid travel data collection that can be used in before-and-after transportation program evaluations.
Key Words: Travel behavior; climate change policy; land use; travel survey data.
Research Objective: To supplement Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)’s regional travel survey data with focused travel data collection in areas near transit stations or other locations that are highly relevant to SB 375 goals, while also concept-testing methods for rapid travel data collection.
Tasks: (1) Study Area Selection (approximately four study areas), (2) Survey Pilot Test and Comparison of Web-Survey and GPS logger VMT data, (3) Final Travel Survey Design, (4) Travel Survey, (5) Data Analysis and Final Report.
New Project
Potential Benefits: The data and findings will directly support SCAG's models and tools related to SB 375 compliance, while providing land use-travel results that will be useful statewide and beyond and while concept-testing methods for rapid travel data collection.
Total Direct Cost: $88,918
Development and Evaluation of Intelligent Energy Management Strategies for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles
Project Director: Kanok Boriboonsomsin
College of Engineering – Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERTS)
UC Riverside
1084 Columbia Ave, Riverside, CA 92507
T:
951-781-5792
F: 951-781-5744
kanok@cert.ucr.edu
Abstract: Recently, there has been significant interest in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) as a means to decrease dependence on imported oil and to reduce emissions. One of the critical considerations in PHEV development is the design of the energy management strategy, which determines how energy in a hybrid powertrain should be produced and utilized as a function of various vehicle parameters. Existing pre-set strategies often do not optimize the vehicle’s energy and emissions performance due to the lack of a priori knowledge of the trip the vehicle will make. By introducing more flexible, intelligent strategies, greater energy savings and lower emissions are possible. This project will develop intelligent energy management strategies for PHEVs. These comprehensive strategies will consist of charge-depleting control strategies and battery recharging strategies. The battery recharging strategies will consider a pre-planned itinerary for the day and the information about available charging infrastructures in determining the optimal initial and terminal battery state of charge for each trip. Then, the charge-depleting control strategies will take into account this information and a priori knowledge of vehicle location, road characteristics, and traffic information along the route to achieve more efficient energy use and lower emissions for each trip.
Research Objective: The overall research objective is to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of intelligent energy management strategies for PHEVs.
Tasks: 1) Incorporation of Road Grade into DynaNet; 2) Development of Vehicle Velocity Trajectory Synthesis Method; 3) Implementation of Dynamic Programming of Charge-Depleting Control; 4) Evaluation of Trip-based Charge-Depleting Control Strategies; 5) Optimization of Tour-based Battery Recharging Strategies; 6) Evaluation of Integrated Intelligent Energy Management Strategies.
New Project
Potential Benefits: Enhanced energy and emissions performance of PHEVs.
Key Words: Fuel consumption; emissions; plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; traffic information; vehicle activity.
Total Direct Cost: $72,020
TOD, infill housing, and car share: A feasibility study
Project Director: Karen Chapple
Dept. of City & Regional Planning Campus Address
228 Wurster Hall
UC Berkeley
T: 510-642-1868
F: 510-642-0908
chapple@berkeley.edu
Other Key Academic Participant Jacob Wegmann
Dept. of City & Regional Planning
UC Berkeley
228 Wurster Hall
T: 510-642-3256
F: 510-642-0908
jagw@berkeley.edu
Abstract: Planners increasingly look to transit-oriented development (TOD) as an effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, TOD residents tend to rely on private vehicles for non-work travel, and thus still require parking, which makes housing more expensive. Pricing low-income households out of TODs is not just a social equity concern, but also increasingly an environmental problem as well, since it forces commuters to live in outlying areas, increasing their auto commutes. This study will investigate the feasibility of reducing parking requirements around TOD and the impact of such a strategy on small-scale infill housing production. Specifically, using the case of five BART stations in San Francisco’s East Bay, we will examine auto ownership and parking demand patterns in the station areas; infill development potential; potential use of car share; and the financial feasibility of development with reduced parking requirements. Through this combined analysis of transportation demand and housing supply, we hope to show how infill housing development might reduce its provision of parking while increasing local affordability.
Key Words: TOD; parking requirements; car share infill; affordable housing.
Research Objective: This project will examine the feasibility of linking car share and TOD in order to reduce parking requirements, thereby lowering housing costs.
Tasks: Collecting secondary source data, conducting interviews with local planners, estimating infill housing potential through GIS, conducting survey of carshare users, interviewing car share managers and infill housing developers, surveying small-scale infill developers.
New Project
Potential Benefits: The project will help show how to reduce VMT by adding housing with reduced parking around TODs.
Total Direct Cost: $50,547
Psychological economics, travel behavior, residential location choice, and sustainability: Possible new rationales for policy intervention
Project Director: Daniel G. Chatman
Dept. of
City and Regional Planning
College of Environmental Design
410A Wurster Hall, MC 1850
UC Berkeley
T:
510-642-2454
F: 510-642-1641
dgc@berkeley.edu
Other Key Academic Participant: Joan Walker
Dept. of
Civil and Environmental Engineering
111 McLaughlin Hall
UC
Berkeley
T:
510-642-6897
F: 510-643-5264
joanwalker@berkeley.edu
Abstract: Reducing carbon emissions and other problems of auto use is thought to require incentivizing or requiring developers to build more densely, and reforming existing regulations that contribute to low-density development and an oversupply of parking. But it is possible that the problems leading to too much sprawl and too much auto use are not limited to external costs like congestion, pollution, and accident risks, or problems with government regulation. It could also be that imperfect decision making plays an important role—a common theme in psychological economics. In trading up for housing size and school quality in suburban locations, households may receive sparse social networks, more commute-related stress, and reduced time with their families. Such decisions may not be optimal for some households and if so this would reduce consumer demand for dense locations. This research will explore the importance of imperfect decision making when choosing where to live and how to travel, and discuss possible policy responses for consumer demand for sustainable living. Using laboratory survey experiments and a mail survey of a more representative population we investigate two decision making phenomena: (a) systematic over-prediction of future housing and commute satisfaction, and (b) failure to consider less salient criteria such as social networks and time scarcity.
Key Words: Commuting; travel behavior; sprawl; residential choice.
Research Objective: To investigate how much residential and travel choices are affected by imperfect decision making, how sustainability may be affected, and policy implications.
Tasks: 1. Review literature. 2. Design and program lab experiment. 3. Conduct pretest (100 participants). 4-5. Revise & conduct full lab experiment (900 participants). 6. Survey 1,000 respondents by mail. 7. Conduct data analysis. 8. Write report focusing on policy and future research implications.
New project
Potential Benefits: Help understand how location and travel decisions that affect VMT and GHGs might require targeted demand approaches such as information provision and social marketing.
Total Direct Cost: $42,591
Behavioral Integration of Location, Activity and Travel Behavior
Project Director: Konstadinos Goulias
Geography Dept. 5706 Ellison Hall
University of California Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-6230
T: 805-284-1597
F: 805-893-3146
Goulias@geog.ucsb.edu
Abstract: This project fills a critical gap of knowledge in the behavioral relationships among land use, transportation, and the environment. It exploits recently developed databases to integrate location choices, lifecycle stages, activity participation, and travel behavior. The databases contain a fractal representation of space that includes land parcels, US Census blocks, US Census block groups, US Census tracts, and with a rich combination of land use and transportation network attributes. Geographically attached to these databases is also a travel behavior survey that locates each household and its daily travel in space. In this way a combined database that contains a union of data of all the mentioned databases will be used to study the relationship at the level of decision makers among residential location, work location(s), school location(s), car ownership, and daily activity/travel using statistical and econometric models. These are the models that are needed for large regional forecasting simulation systems to assess the impacts of SB 375 policy actions. A key innovation in the approach proposed here is the use of tested ideas from time geography (e.g., Hagerstrand’s time-space prism) and intrahousehold bargaining behavior (e.g., negotiation of time allocation to activities among household members) as well as a fractal approach to compute accessibility indicators at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The models developed here incorporate the findings from past research in UCTC projects by Goulias and Yoon on space time activity and travel behavior. They also take advantage of the considerable investment in data assembly and model building in projects by Goulias from the Southern California Association of Governments and by Goulias and Henson for the UC Office of the President.
Key Words: Location choice; travel behavior; land use; accessibility.
Research Objective: Identify the behavioral relationships between location choices and travel behavior and show how to build more informative and behaviorally integrated models.
Tasks: In Task 1 a secondary assembly of data from different projects is performed. Task 2 is the design and estimation of structural equations models. Task 3 is the refinement and use of the models in forecasting.
New Project
Potential Benefits: Build behaviorally integrated models for location activity and travel for the largest region in the US to more precisely assess land use policies.
Total Direct Cost: $82,114
Affordable Housing in Transportation Corridors—Built Environment, Accessibility, and Air Pollution Implications of Near-Roadway Residential Locations
Project Director: Doug Houston
Dept. of Planning, Policy and Design
202 Social Ecology I
UC Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-7075
T:
949-824-1870
F: 949-824-8566 E-mail
houston@uci.edu
Other Key Academic Participants: Co-Principal Investigator Jun Wu,
Epidemiology & Program in Public Health
UC Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-7555
T/F:
949-824-0548
junwu@uci.edu
Graduate Student Researcher Dongwoo Yang
Dept. of Planning, Policy and Design
202 Social Ecology I
UC Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-7075
dongwooy@uci.edu
Abstract: Near-roadway areas are important sites for infill affordable housing. These areas at times have compact, mixed-use characteristics that could be associated with reduced auto dependency and more active travel and transit use. Integrated land use and transportation planning for these areas offer the potential of helping reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but near-roadway smart growth strategies could exacerbate air pollution exposures since vehicle-related air pollutants and related adverse health effects are highly localized near major roadways. The proposed research will evaluate the distribution of affordable housing projects in Southern California which have received support from the Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE VI) and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) programs in relation to built environment and transportation resources and near-roadway air pollution hazards in order to improve affordable housing site selection and design criteria. We will also use portable GPS and pollution tracking technologies to measure the travel behavior and air pollution exposure of residents of HOPE VI projects across transportation microenvironments and near-roadway locations in goods movement corridors. The resulting highly-revolved activity/exposure profiles will support the development of more effective land use, housing and transportation policies to mitigate near-roadway air pollution hazards for diverse and low-income communities.
Key Words: Affordable housing; land use; smart growth; travel behavior; air pollution exposure.
Research Objective: To evaluate the distribution of affordable housing in relation to transportation resources and near-roadway air pollution hazards, and to measure the travel behavior and air pollution exposure of affordable housing residents in goods movement corridors.
Tasks: Geographic analysis of affordable housing projects, project-level analysis of nearby transportation resources and air pollution, travel and pollution exposure monitoring using portable devices.
New Project
Potential Benefits: The project will support the development of more effective land use, housing and transportation policies to mitigate near-roadway air pollution hazards for diverse and low-income communities.
Total Direct Cost: $89,885
Drivers' Asynchronous Day-to-Day Route Choices with Information Provision
Project Director: Wenlong Jin
Dept.
of Civil Engineering
Institute of Transportation Studies
UC Irvine
4038 AIR Building
Irvine, CA 92697
T: (949) 824-1672
F: (949) 824-8385
wjin@uci.edu
Abstract: With the diffusion of information and communication technologies into the transportation sector, more traffic information will be available to drivers. In an advanced traveler information system, interactions among road networks, drivers, and traffic information could impact safety, efficiency, environmental, and other characteristics of the overall transportation system. In this project, we propose a new modeling framework to systematically study how information provision would impact drivers' day-to-day route choice decisions. In this framework, individual drivers have heterogeneous decision intervals and make asynchronous decisions. With an internet-based experimental platform, we will investigate the distribution of drivers' decision intervals and how drivers respond to different information provision schemes. With simulations and theoretical investigations, we will study stability and efficiency of the overall transportation system under different demand levels, information provision schemes, and distributions of drivers' decision intervals. This project could lead to more insights on impacts of information provision on drivers' behaviors in transportation networks. Through this project, we will develop a set of theoretical, simulation, and experimental tools for studying drivers' route choice behaviors. The developed tools and gained insights could be helpful for understanding how such new technologies as inter-vehicle communications can help reduce congestion and emissions through proper route guidance.
Key Words: ATIS; day-to-day route choices; response frequencies; decision intervals; asynchronous game.
Research Objective: The objective of this research is to systematically understand temporal rhythms and habits of drivers' day-to-day route choice behaviors and provide suggestions on how to improve ATIS services to make transportation systems more stable and efficient via experimental, simulation, and theoretical studies.
Tasks: 1. Review the literature on day-to-day route choice behaviors with information provision 2. Develop an experimental platform and analyze heterogeneous decision intervals with experiments 3. Carry out experiments with different information provision schemes 4. Simulate route choice dynamics with heterogeneous response intervals and information provision schemes 5. Discuss theoretical properties of the modeling framework 6. Write final Summary report and academic papers
New Project
Potential Benefits: The expected benefits include a framework and tools for evaluating the benefits of information and communication technologies, as well as new insights into strategies and policies that can promote ATIS services.
Total Direct Cost: $92,376
The Economics of Speed—Assessing the performance of High Speed Rail in Intermodal Transportation
Project Director: Adib Kanafani
Dept. of
Civil and Environmental Engineering
UC Berkeley
112 McLaughlin Hall #1712
Berkeley 94720-1712
T: 510-642-0367
F: 510-642-5687
Kanafani@berkeley.edu
Abstract: The purpose of the proposed research is to understand how the operating speed of a high-speed system influences its performance within the context of the inter-modal transportation system. It aims to clarify how performance enhancement resulting from a marginal increase in line-haul speed varies depending on the structure of the intermodal network. The research focuses initially on the supply side with the specification and estimation of rail cost functions in which speed is included explicitly. These can then be integrated into origin-destination performance measures at the intermodal level. Additional work can follow to look at the demand side. There are many fairly good models of demand that relate performance to market share and other related indicators, although speed is often embedded in these models and is not easily parsed out as a decision variable. But there is a real dearth of cost models, especially ones where speed is an explicit exogenous variable. This research aims to fill this gap. It will add to current UCTC funded work on intermodal measures of performance by integrating speed into the performance assessment of intermodal systems. The ultimate purpose is to inform policy regarding the choice of technology and configuration for high-speed rail systems.
Key Words: Transportation planning; intermodal transportation; transportation economics; transportation cost modeling.
Research Objectives: Develop an understanding of the relation between speed and the performance of high-speed rail systems in intermodal networks.
Tasks: 1. Literature Search 2. Assembling data on the performance of high-speed rail systems worldwide 3. Estimating cost functions relating speed to cost and other performance indicators 4. Integrating results into an intermodal performance measurement context 5. Policy Recommendations
New Project
Potential Benefits: Improvement performance assessment of intermodal systems including high-speed rail.
Total Direct Cost: $59,809
Impact of Access Modes on Urban Transit Systems Technology and Network Configuration
Project Director: Samer Madanat
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
UC Berkeley
110 McLaughlin Hall
T: 643-1084
F: 643-3955
madanat@ce.berkeley.edu
Other Key Academic Participants: Yuwei Li
Institute of Transportation Studies
416 McLaughlin Hall
UC Berkeley
T:/F:643-2930
yuwei@path.berkeley.edu
Abstract: The research will explore how the speed and cost characteristics of the access modes for a transit trunk line (e.g. rail, BRT) influence the optimal choice of trunk technology and network configuration for an urban transit system. We intend to examine if and how alternative access modes can make capital-intensive technologies such as rail and BRT more competitive backbones to integrated hierarchical urban transit systems. The access modes to be examined in these analyses will include: walking, bicycling, electric bikes, taxis, personal automobiles, and buses, both when operated as part of fixed-route and flexible-route feeder service. The trunk technologies to be analyzed will include: buses, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), light and heavy rail. Two types of passenger travel demand profiles will be studied: CBD-focused vs uniformly distributed. These will be examined for cities of varying sizes. The continuous approximation approach will be used to formulate cost models for access modes. Analytic models that jointly determine trunk configuration and access mode will be developed, such that insights can be obtained regarding the causal relation between transit access and trunk network configuration.
Key Words: Urban transit systems; access mode; optimization; trunk; network configuration.
Research Objective: The research will explore the impact of the speed and cost of specific transit access modes on the optimal trunk technology choice and network configuration for an urban transit system.
Tasks: Task 1: Literature Review; Task 2: Model Development; Task 3: Design Guidelines
New Project
Potential Benefits: The research will show if and how alternative access modes can make capital intensive technologies such as light rail and bus rapid transit economically competitive as the backbone of urban transit systems.
Total Direct Cost: $90,620
A Dynamic Normative Model of Conditions for Viability of Alternative Fuel Vehicles
Project Director: Will Recker
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Institute of Transportation Studies
UC Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-3600
T:
(949) 824-5642
F: (949) 824-8385
wwrecker@uci.edu
Abstract:With California Air Resources Board’s legislation of Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) and Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandates in 1990, and with California legislative acts AB 32 and SB 375 more recently, there have been positive expectations for Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) adoption. In this project we present an approach for addressing the demand for AFVs by explicitly incorporating dynamics and normative influences in a utility maximizing framework. Rather than attempting to predict the dynamics of demand associated with any particular AFV, we focus on identifying stable “final” states that are likely to be achievable vis-à-vis assumed vehicle characteristics, supply environment, and normative influences. Put simply, we ask the question “Under what circumstances would the competition among the various alternative fuel alternatives lead to a stable equilibrium in which those vehicles have a certain share of the market.” The main objective of this project is to assess the conditions under which certain classes of AFVs can be expected to find at least a niche market within the fleet of vehicles purchased by consumers. In attacking this problem, we first attempt to quantify the role of the so-called “bandwagon” effect evident in consumers’ adoption of the Toyota Prius. Then, incorporating this effect, together with supply-side conditions related to the refueling of AFVs, into a dynamic demand model, we seek to identify conditions leading to possible stable equilibria in which AFVs (or a subset of such AFVs) are significantly represented in the vehicle fleet. This assessment the dynamics of AFV adoption possibilities will provide a benchmark that will assist in determining the potential impacts of future AFV penetration into the automobile market..
Key Words: energy, green transportation, alternative fuel vehicles, dynamic choice, normative behavior
Research Objective: The main objective of this project is to assess the conditions under which certain classes of AFVs can be expected to find at least a niche market within the fleet of vehicles purchased by consumers.
Tasks: 1: Collect and analyze California DMV registration data for Hybrid vehicle sales. 2: Formulate and estimate dynamic vehicle choice model for the two-vehicle choice case of Prius vs. Civic Hybrid to identify “bandwagon” and native growth rate parameters. 3: Analyze the dynamics relative to temporal availability of HOV lane access stickers for qualified AFVs. 4: Assess overall likelihood of stable equilibria being achievable for various “supply-dependent” AFVs. 5: Provide guidance on policy options emerging from Tasks 1 through 4 that might be expected to lead to futures in which AFVs have sufficient market penetration to result in significant, positive, changes in energy usage.
New Project
Potential Benefits: This assessment the dynamics of AFV adoption possibilities will provide a benchmark that will assist in determining the potential impacts of future AFV penetration into the automobile market, as well as categorize the factors that could be expected to lead to their viability as a significant segment.
Total Direct Cost: $70,169
Tour-Based and Activity-Based Modeling of Clean Trucks at Southern California Ports
Project Director: Stephen G. Ritchie
Dept.
of Civil Engineering
Institute of Transportation Studies
UC Irvine
4000 AIR Building
Irvine, CA 92697
T: (949) 824-4214
F: (949) 824-8385
s-ritchie@uci.edu
Abstract: The San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP) of Los Angeles and Long Beach in Southern California represent one of the major container port complexes in the world, contributing very significantly to both Southern California and national economies. However, projected SPBP growth and the associated economic benefits are threatened by negative externalities of port operations such as increasing traffic congestion, air pollution, and adverse health impacts in the local community. Widespread concerns about these problems caused directly by freight movements have led to measures to mitigate traffic congestion and air quality in the SPBP area. However, forecast freight demand utilizing these strategies has largely been estimated by conventional four-step planning models, as used for passenger transportation. Such models cannot adequately capture the complex structure and behavior of freight movements, and advances in logistics and information technology. This research will explore and develop more behaviorally-oriented tour-based and activity-based models of SPBP drayage truck movements, using GPS data. Expected results include new and improved insights into the spatial and temporal operations of port trucks, contributions to the port-related component of urban freight modeling, as well as to the evaluation of traffic and environmental impacts of SPBP operating policies and air pollution mitigation strategies.
Key Words: San Pedro Bay Ports; drayage trucks; tour-based model; activity-based model; air pollution
Research Objective: To explore and develop more behaviorally-oriented tour-based and activity-based models of port drayage truck movements, using GPS and other readily available data.
Tasks: Collect and integrate SPBP GPS data with GIS, TAZ and RFID data; algorithm development; tour-based model development; activity-based model development; write report and journal papers.
New Project
Potential Benefits: This study will reveal for the first time in the public domain (as far as we are aware) the spatial and temporal characteristics of clean drayage truck trip patterns and trip chaining in Southern California, and the potential of more behaviorally-based freight models to be estimated with readily available data and thereby contribute to both urban freight transportation modeling and evaluation of SPBP congestion and pollution mitigation strategies.
Total Direct Cost: $97,930
Greening freight transportation: An analysis of some social benefits from shifting freight traffic to off-peak hours
Project Director: Jean-Daniel Saphores
Dept.
of Civil Engineering
Institute of Transportation Studies
40280 AIR Building
UC Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697
T:
(949) 824-7334
F: (949) 824-8385
saphores@uci.edu
Other Key Academic Participants (Co-PIs) R. Jayakrishnan
Dept. of Civil Engineering
UC Irvine
T: (949) 824-4214
F: (949) 824-8385
rjayakri@uci.edu
Jun Wu
Program in Public Health and Epidemiology
UC Irvine
T:/F: (949) 824-0548
junwu@uci.edu
Abstract: Freight movement is essential to our prosperity, but it also generates large external costs in the form of additional congestion, air pollution, and truck-related accidents that further compound congestion and air pollution. Unfortunately, these external costs are not yet fully understood. The idea of shifting freight delivery off-peak was proposed a long time ago but it is still controversial. The purpose of this project is to better assess some of the social benefits of shifting freight operations off peak with an emphasis on congestion, air pollution (CO2, NOx, and PM), its health impacts, and accidents related to freight trucks, using an innovative approach and state-of-the-art tools. Our focus will be on the San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP) of Los Angeles and Long Beach in Southern California, which is one of the largest container port complexes in the world; it contributes significantly to both California’s and the nation’s economies but its growth is threatened by its environmental performance. We will build on our previous UCTC research in order to provide new insights into the impacts of off-peak SPBP freight corridor operations.
Key Words: Traffic simulation; drayage truck; air pollution; health impacts; accidents.
Research Objective: This objective of this research is to estimate some social benefits from shifting freight traffic to off-peak hours.
Tasks: build simulation network; compile traffic count data; compile accident data; model accidents statistically; run simulations; generate emissions; dispersion modeling; public health impacts implications; write report and journal papers.
New Project
Potential Benefits: This research will bring new insights into some key social benefits related to accidents, congestion, and air pollution of shifting freight traffic to off-peak hours.
Total Direct Cost: $95,778
Up in the Air: New Urban Designs for LRT Stations in Highway Medians
Project Director: Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris
Dept. of Urban Planning
UCLA
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656
T: (310) 206-9679
F: 310 206-5566
sideris@ucla.edu
Other Key Academic Participants: Dana Cuff
Dept. of Urban Planning and Dept. of Architecture and Urban Design
UCLA
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1467
T: (310) 794-6125
F: (310) 825-8959
dcuff@aud.ucla.edu
Harrison T. Higgins
Dept. of Architecture and Urban Design
UCLA
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1467
T: (850) 933-6274
F: (310) 825-8959 Email:
hhiggins@ucla.edu
Abstract: Transit advocates argue for the positive implications of transit stations on their surroundings, yet certain physical factors and site restrictions may undermine positive outcomes. To contain construction costs, avoid right-of-way acquisition, increase train speeds, and limit modal conflicts, some cities, including several in California, construct light rail train systems in existing highway rights-of-way. Some questions, however, about this strategy, include the impact such stations have on adjacent neighborhoods (in terms of land values, noise, and safety) and the lack of integration with surrounding activities and land uses, resulting in lost opportunities for transit-oriented development. Scholarship exists on the effects of such stations on real estate values and economic development but little has been done on how urban design might achieve better integration of highway median stations with neighborhoods. The proposed research 1) documents the various obstacles such stations face in leveraging LRT investments for transit-oriented development; 2) examines case studies of different urban design strategies for better integration of such stations to their surroundings; 3) develops a set of performance and functional measures for different urban design solutions; and 4) suggests urban design guidelines to enhance the potential for developing transit supportive nodes in the vicinity of highway median stations.
Key Words: Highway-median light rail Stations; land use policy; TOD; urban design.
Research Objective: Improve access to and better integrate highway-median light rail stations to surrounding urban contexts, thus enabling opportunities for TODs.
Tasks: 1) Literature review; 2) Analysis of Existing Conditions; 3) Urban Design Case Studies; 4) Case Evaluation; 5) LRT Station Urban Design Demonstrations; 6) Urban Design Guidelines.
New Project
Potential Benefits: Enable TOD development in problematic sites, thus helping the implementation of SB 375.
Total Direct Cost: $93,826
Measuring intersection safety
Project Director: Pravin Varaiya
Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
271M Cory Hall
UC Berkeley
T: 510-642-5270
F: 510-642-7815
varaiya@eecs.berkeley.edu
Other Key Academic Participant: Roberto Horowitz
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
5138 Etcheverry Hall
UC Berkeley
T:
510-642-4675
F: 510-642-7815
horowitz@me.berkeley.edu
Abstract: We propose to measure the time when every vehicle enters an intersection, together with its speed and the signal phase. These data will be analyzed to score how unsafe the vehicle’s entrance to the intersection is, e.g., score is 0 if the vehicle enters during green below the speed limit, or 1 if the vehicle enters during amber or red or faster than the speed limit. An aggregation of the score will create an intersection safety index (ISI). Changes in ISI over time will be correlated with traffic conditions and with the intersection signal control plan, to tease out the impact of the latter on ISI. There are two tasks. The first is to design modifications to 170 controllers to extract signal phase and time-synchronize it with the detector measurements of each vehicle’s speed. The second task is to collect and analyze data at several intersections. The ISI technique differs from the three approaches to intersection safety: the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) intersection design guidelines based on an assessment of crash statistics; the Traffic Conflict Technique (TCT) using trained observers to watch an intersection and assess the occurrence of near-accident events; and RITA/CICAS initiative to assist drivers to improve safety.
Key Words: Intersection safety, driver unsafe behavior, signal control , traffic conflict technique.
Research Objective: To measure the safety of a signalized intersection.
Tasks: 1. Design of modification of 170 controllers to extract signal phase. 2. Collection and analysis of data.
New Project
Potential Benefits: This appears to be the first attempt to measure intersection safety and its relation to signal control.
Total Direct Cost: $83,699
CommunityBuilder: Integrating Community Visioning, Modeling, and Planning
Project Director: Paul Waddell
Dept. of City and Regional Planning
UC Berkeley
228 Wurster Hall #1850 Berkeley, CA 94720-1850
T:/F: 510-926-5956
waddell@berkeley.edu
Abstract: This proposal seeks to link much more closely the currently rather disconnected exercises of community visioning, modeling and planning for land use and transportation. We propose to build on two existing platforms: I-PLACE3S, which has come into wide use for community visioning efforts in California and elsewhere, and UrbanSim, a modeling system that is being widely adopted by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and other users to model alternative policy scenarios of land use and transportation. The passage of SB375 in California has pressed MPOs to use advanced models and information technology to assess the use of land use policies and tools to help achieve GHG emissions targets. Our proposed research would assist in providing useful tools to address the complex challenges of coordinating metropolitan transportation planning with local land use planning, and involving community stakeholders in a meaningful process to create visions for their communities, and to find the combinations of policies that will help them achieve those visions. The results will include an Open Source software platform that can be used by planning organizations and other stakeholders, and a web site for access to the software, documentation, and related research.
Key Words: Land use; transportation; modeling; visioning; I-PLACE3S.
Research Objective: The main research objective of this project is to more closely couple community visioning, modeling and planning by developing an Open Source platform that supports two main use cases in support of SB375: a community vision process that involves stakeholders in developing objectives and plans, and a reality check process that uses empirically grounded models to provide feedback to stakeholders regarding the potential effectiveness of alternative scenarios in achieving their objectives.
Tasks: 1. Launch project website 2. Identify advisory group 3. Assess I-PLACE3S Implementation 4. Design Architecture 5. Develop Prototype of the Community Vision Use Case 6. Develop Prototype of the Reality Check Use Case 7. Implement Indicators 8. Develop visualizations 9. Test the system in a workshop 10. Disseminate results.
New Project
Potential Benefits: This project could significantly improve the value of stakeholder engagement processes such as the Sacramento Blueprint project, by more closely coupling land use and transportation modeling with community visioning, and generating an iterative learning and engagement process that allows stakeholders to become more familiar with the potential impacts of alternative courses of action in achieving local objectives and the mandates of reducing GHG emissions as prescribed in AB32 and SB375.
Total Direct Cost: $84,662
Revisiting the use of traveler information to induce mode shifts
Project Directors: Joan Walker and Raja Sengupta
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
UC Berkeley
111 McLaughlin Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
T:/F: (510)642-6897
joanwalker@berkeley.edu
Abstract: The goal of this research is to revisit the interaction between traveler information and users in light of recent technological and scientific developments, and to discover whether it is possible to use this information to influence mode choice. Web and GPS-enabled smartphones have not only become an increasingly important delivery channel for travel information, they have also changed the nature, accuracy and personalization of information that can be distributed to and collected from travelers. Moreover, advances in behavioral economics have given researchers new insights into decision factors in mode and route choice which were previously not recognized. Research at UC Berkeley has shown that there is significant potential for personalized information on environmental and health impacts of a person’s choices to create mode shifts, but so far it has not been possible to verify these findings in a complex, real-life setting. This project will make use of an innovative traveler information system developed at UC Berkeley that has already found widespread use and that will allow the collection of travel data from participating individuals. Using these data, the research team will estimate discrete choice models explaining the observed behavior, offering a new perspective on the value of personalized traveler information.
Key Words: Travel behavior; information systems; behavioral economics; smartphones; sustainability.
Research Objective: To revisit the interaction between traveler information and users in light of developments in smartphone technology and behavioral economics, and to discover whether it is possible to use this information to influence mode choice using data from a real-life setting.
Tasks: Leverage literature to design and develop new mobile travel information application. Deploy application and collect behavioral data. Develop behavioral models to determine the impact of information and its potential for mode shifts.
New Project (although related to Walker’s 2009/10 UCTC award)
Potential Benefits: Design of personalized travel information delivered via new smartphone applications that incorporate behavioral economics, and analysis as to whether such approaches can induce mode shifts away from the automobile.
Total Direct Cost: $99,000
