Digital Commons Network^™

The Nature Of Context-Sensitive Solutions, Stakeholder Involvement And Critical Issues In The Urban Context, Marta Panero, Jan Botha

Mineta Transportation Institute

Over the last several decades many transportation and planning agencies have experienced conflicting demands emerging from the need to develop projects in an expeditious manner while at the same time involving stakeholders in the decision-making process, which sometimes is perceived as slowing project delivery and/or increasing costs. Given this tension between apparently conflicting demands, it is important to understand how the stakeholder involvement is being carried out and what best practices may be recommended. This study examines the issue in the context of a relatively new policy framework – Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) – which supports the early integration of …

Eleventh Annual Garrett Morgan Sustainable Transportation Symposium, Mti Report S-11-01, Mineta Transportation Institute

Mineta Transportation Institute

On March 30, 2011, the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) continued its support of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program by conducting the Eleventh National Garrett Morgan Symposium and Videoconference on Sustainable Transportation. The ongoing mission of this national videoconference is to stimulate the minds of young people, and to encourage them to pursue challenging academic programs, including mathematics and science—an education course that will prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s challenging transportation careers. Participating school were: Juan Crespi Middle School, El Sobrante CA; Monument Middle School, Rio Dell CA; Morada Middle School, Stockton, CA; …

Continuity Of Operations/Continuity Of Government For State-Level Transportation Organizations, Research Report 11-02, Frances Edwards, Daniel C. Goodrich

Mineta Transportation Institute

The Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20 (HSPD-20) requires all local, state, tribal and territorial government agencies, and private sector owners of critical infrastructure and key resources (CI/KR) to create a Continuity of Operations/Continuity of Government Plan (COOP/COG). There is planning and training guidance for generic transportation agency COOP/COG work, and the Transportation Research Board has offered guidance for transportation organizations. However, the special concerns of the state-level transportation agency’s (State DOT’s) plan development are not included, notably the responsibilities for the entire State Highway System and the responsibility to support specific essential functions related to the State DOT Director’s role …

Wellness Lessons From Transportation Companies, Research Report Wp 11-01, Asbjorn Osland, Nanette C. Clinch, Lauren Ramsay, Pamela Wells

Mineta Transportation Institute

The purpose of this report is to describe wellness programs and offer two suggestions for improving how they are delivered to commercial drivers and operators. It is not a large sample empirical study from which generalizations can be made. Rather, the Mineta Transportation Institute commissioned brief case studies of transportation companies to show what several organizations have done. Stress, nicotine use, sleep apnea, obesity and lack of information are significant barriers to wellness in commercial drivers/operators. Many wellness programs ask the individual driver/operator to lose weight; exercise more; and monitor blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol and other such indicators of health. …

Do-It‐Yourself Urban Design: Making Local Improvements Through Unauthorized Alterations Of Urban Space, Gordon Douglas

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

This study examines “spatial interventions”: street art, guerrilla gardening, public space invasions, and other unauthorized practices of place-based, site-specific art or activism that challenge the normative uses or meanings of particular urban spaces. In recent years, a growing number of individuals have taken up these forms of site-specific direct action. Some argue that they represent new strategies of political expression, even “resistance”; others, that it is little more than vandalism or pointless juvenile acting out. Yet my research suggests that many of these actions are rather connected by something more subtle, a simple willingness to reimagine the built environment on …

Generic Continuity Of Operations/Continuity Of Government Plan For State-Level Transportation Agencies, Research Report 11-01, Frances L. Edwards, Daniel C. Goodrich, William M. Medigovich

Mineta Transportation Institute

The Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20 (HSPD-20) requires all local, state, tribal and territorial government agencies, and private sector owners of critical infrastructure and key resources (CI/KR) to create a Continuity of Operations/Continuity of Government Plan (COOP/COG). There is planning and training guidance for generic transportation agency COOP/COG work, and the Transportation Research Board has offered guidance for transportation organizations. However, the special concerns of the state-level transportation agency’s (State DOT’s) plan development are not included, notably the responsibilities for the entire State Highway System and the responsibility to support specific essential functions related to the State DOT Director’s role …

Revisiting Factors Associated With The Success Of Ballot Initiatives With A Substantial Rail Transit Component, Research Report 10-13, Peter J. Haas, Katherine Estrada

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report presents the replication of an MTI study conducted in 2001 by Peter Haas and Richard Werbel. That research, itself a continuation of an earlier project completed in 2000, included an analysis of transportation tax elections in 11 urban areas across the nation and culminated in the identification of 17 community-level factors with potential impact on the success of ballot measures for sales tax increases to fund transportation packages with substantial rail components. Trends observed in these more recent case studies were generally highly consistent with the following findings from the 2001 study. Thus this analysis reaffirms the importance …

What Do Americans Think About Federal Transportation Tax Options? Results From Year 2 Of A National Survey, Research Report 10-12, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Hilary Nixon

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report summarizes the results of a national random-digit-dial public opinion poll that asked 1,516 respondents if they would support various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues. The 11 specific tax options tested were variations on raising the federal gas tax rate, creating a new mileage tax, and creating a new federal sales tax. In addition, the survey collected standard socio-demographic data, some minimal travel behavior data, and attitudinal data about how respondents view the quality of their local transportation system and their priorities for government spending on transportation in their state. All of this information is used to …

Examination Of Regional Transit Service Under Contracting: A Case Study In The Greater New Orleans Region, Research Report 10-09, Hiroyuki Iseki, Charles R. Rivasplata, Rebecca Houtman, Adam L. Smith

Mineta Transportation Institute

Many local governments and transit agencies in the United States face financial difficulties in providing adequate public transit service in individual systems, and in providing sufficient regional coordination to accommodate transit trips involving at least one transfer between systems. These difficulties can be attributed to the recent economic downturn, continuing withdrawal of the state and federal funds that help support local transit service, a decline in local funding for transit service in inner cities due to ongoing suburbanization, and a distribution of resources that responds to geographic equity without addressing service needs. This study examines two main research questions: (1) …

Potential Economic Consequences Of Local Nonconformity To Regional Land Use And Transportation Plans Using A Spatial Economic Model, Caroline Rodier, Margot Spiller, John E. Abraham, John D. Hunt

Mineta Transportation Institute

To achieve the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets that are required by California’s global warming legislation (AB32), the state of California has determined that recent growth trends in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) must be curtailed. In recognition of this, Senate Bill 375 (SB375) requires regional governments to develop land use and transportation plans or Sustainable Community Strategies (SCSs) that will achieve regional GHG targets largely though reduced VMT. Although the bill requires such a plan, it does not require local governments to adopt general plans that conform to this plan. In California, it is local, not regional, governments that have …

Understanding Household Preferences For Alternative-Fuel Vehicle Technologies, Hilary Nixon, Jean-Daniel Saphores

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report explores consumer preferences among four different alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs): hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) vehicles, and electric vehicles (EVs). Although researchers have been interested in understanding consumer preferences for AFVs for more than three decades, it is important to update our estimates of the trade-offs people are willing to make between cost, environmental performance, vehicle range, and refuel¬ing convenience. We conducted a nationwide, Internet-based survey to assess consumer preferences for AFVs. Respondents participated in a stated-preference ranking exercise in which they ranked a series of five vehicles (four AFVs and …

User Evaluations Of Intermodal Travel To Work: Exploratory Studies, Research Report Wp 10-03, Steven D. Silver

Mineta Transportation Institute

The general importance of intermodal travel (i.e., travel in which there is a combination of modes to a destination, for example, train or light rail and a bus connection) has been emphasized in extensive congressional hearings and in state and regional spon¬sored transportation studies. Available empirical studies of the use of intermodal travel have predominantly been in cases where travel is across cities or regions. These studies have most often related use of intermodal travel options to distance, time of day and user demographics and user-identified factors and ratings that evaluate these factors. The principal objective of this explor¬atory study …

Tribal Corridor Management Planning: Model, Case Study, And Guide For Caltrans District 1, Research Report 10-01, Jay K. Adams, Mary Scoggin

Mineta Transportation Institute

In Northern California, tribal governments and personnel of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 1, have applied innovative context-sensitive solutions to meet a variety of transportation challenges along state highways that traverse tribal lands. This report describes and discusses the efforts under way and offer suggestions for continuing and extending these initiatives through the development of Tribal Corridor Management Plans (TCMPs). The methods employed in this project are multidisciplinary and include: (1) content analysis of existing corridor management plans; (2) literature review to identify “best practices;” (3) participant observation; (4) interviews with local stakeholders; (5) focus group interviews with …

Planting Seeds For An Improved Agrifood System? Linking The Aims Of The Alternative Agrifood Movement To Executive Action In The First Two Years Of The Obama Administration, K. Glowa, Sarah Carvill, Costanza Rampini

Faculty Publications, Environmental Studies

This paper uses several case studies to look at the dialogic relationship between the Obama administration and the alternative agrifood movement. We evaluate the case studies based on criteria developed from the agroecology literature and literature on food security, agrarianism, and the alternative agrifood movement as a whole. Additionally we compare the policy tools utilized and the funding levels of each of the cases. Our findings suggest that the Obama administration is committed to tackling issues of food security and promoting the well-being of small- and mid-scale farmers and their local agrifood economies. Deconsolidation of large agribusiness, equitable trade, and …

What Do Americans Think About Federal Transportation Tax Options? Results From Year 2 Of A National Survey, Asha W. Agrawal, Hilary Nixon

Hilary Nixon

This report summarizes the results of a national random-digit-dial public opinion poll that asked 1,516 respondents if they would support various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues. The 11 specific tax options tested were variations on raising the federal gas tax rate, creating a new mileage tax, and creating a new federal sales tax. In addition, the survey collected standard socio-demographic data, some minimal travel behavior data, and attitudinal data about how respondents view the quality of their local transportation system and their priorities for government spending on transportation in their state. All of this information is used to …

Bicycling Access And Egress To Transit: Informing The Possibilities, Kevin J. Krizek

Mineta Transportation Institute

When effectively integrated with transit services, considerable room exists for bicycling to realize various benefits to communities. A successful marriage between bicycling and transit will likely increase the use and efficiency of both modes. A core problem, however, exists in that the predominant approach for integrating bicycles and transit—bicycles aboard transit vehicles—frequently runs up against capacity restraints. Integrating bicycling and transit requires analysis of a broad range of alternatives that considers both the travel patterns and needs of individuals but also accompanying urban form characteristics. What are the most cost effective strategies likely to generate the largest number of cyclists …

Mandatory Pet Sterilization And Overpopulation: Have Santa Cruz County's Policies Reduced Animal Shelter Intake And Euthanasia?, Amy Winkleblack

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.

The Intersection Of Urban Form And Mileage Fees: Findings From The Oregon Road User Fee Pilot Program, Research Report 10-04, Zhan Guo, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Jennifer Dill, Megan Quirk

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report analyzes data from the 2006-2007 Oregon Road User Fee Pilot program to assess if and how urban form variables correlate with travel behavior changes that participants made in response to the mileage-based fee program. It finds that charging a noticeably higher fee for driving in congested conditions can successfully motivate households to reduce their VMT in those times and places where congestion is most a problem. Households in both traditional (mixed use, dense, transit-accessible) and suburban (single-use, low density) neighborhoods will likely reduce their peak-hour and overall travel under a charging scheme that charges a high-rate for peak-hour …

How We Think: Thinking Critically And Creatively And How Military Professionals Can Do It Better, Richard Mcconnell, Leonard Lira, Ken Long, Mark Gerges, Bill Mccollum

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Haiti Earthquake January 2010: What Actions And Policies Can The Government Of Haiti Implement To Improve Emergency Management Response, Steve Cohen

Master's Projects

In 2010, Haiti experienced a devastating earthquake that destroyed much of its capital city and the governmental offices that should have guided the response to the disaster. This research focuses on how Haiti can benefit from the Caribbean Disaster Management Agency’s standards for disaster resilience as it works to recover from the earthquake. Unfortunately, Haiti has long been dependent on assistance from non-governmental organizations due to its extreme poverty; its recovery is complicated by the need to integrate disaster assistance and on-going economic and social assistance into its development of a more resilient society.

Getting Around When You’Re Just Getting By: The Travel Behavior And Transportation Expenditures Of Low-Income Adults, Mti Report 10-02, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Evelyn A. Blumenberg, Sarah Abel, Gregory Pierce, Charles N. Darrah

Mineta Transportation Institute

How much do people with limited resources pay for cars, public transit, and other means of travel? How does their transportation behavior change during periods of falling employment and rising fuel prices? This research uses in-depth interviews with 73 adults to examine how rising transportation costs impact low-income families. The interviews examine four general areas of interest: travel behavior and transportation spending patterns; the costs and benefits of alternative modes of travel; cost management strategies; and opinions about the effect of changing transportation prices on travel behavior. Key findings include: Most low-income household are concerned about their transportation costs. Low-income …

Lessons Learned In Attempting To Survey Hard-To-Reach Ethnic Segments Along With The Presentation Of A Comprehensive Questionnaire, Research Report Wp-10-02, Richard A. Werbel

Mineta Transportation Institute

A survey questionnaire was developed and administered to transit users in the Sacramento Metropolitan Area to analyze the degree to which global satisfaction with transit is impacted by ethnicity and other relevant independent variables. Although the data collected was not analyzed because the sample size was substantially smaller than required, the questionnaire used, which is included in its entirety in an appendix, has some uncommon variables and measurement approaches that can be used in a number of other survey questionnaires used in transit studies. Options involving sampling methodology and methods of administering the questionnaire that would have generated an acceptable …

Nevada County’S Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program: A Model For Other California Counties To Adopt?, Ralph J. Murrieta Jr.

Master's Projects

In May 2008, Nevada County became the first county in California to fully implement an Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) program under the guidelines established by Assembly Bill 1421 (Keller, 2011). The Assisted Outpatient Treatment Demonstration Project Act of 2002, more commonly known as “Laura’s Law”, established guidelines for the court ordering of treatment for persons incapacitated by a mental disorder (California Department of Mental Health [CA DMH], 2003).

Passed in September 2002, the bill was highly controversial leading up to its passage and remains a very divisive issue today (Fagan, 2010). This paper will focus on the provisions of the …