Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Development And Application Of A Safety Index For Transit Stops: A Case Study From Las Vegas, Nevada, Rithesh Shivuni

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research developed a methodology to evaluate safety proximate to transit stops through a Safety Index, identified key factors associated with fatal crashes proximate to bus transit stops, and illustrated the applications of these using a case study based on the Las Vegas metropolitan area in Nevada, USA. The methodology is based on motor vehicle crashes that involve pedestrians recorded in the proximity of transit stops, and the severity of the crash outcomes. It focused on crashes which involved pedestrians that occurred within walking distances of individual transit stops. The severity of the crash outcomes was classified based on the …

Nexuscapes: A Landscape Approach For A Transdisciplinary Water-Energy-Food Nexus Decision-Making Process, Fortino Acosta

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study develops a reliable transdisciplinary framework for complex ecological and social systems by characterizing, mapping, typifying, assessing, and testing enhanced water-energy-food nexus scenarios under critical time constraints, specialized skills, or sensitive data accessibility. Detached management of limited essential resources like fresh water, reliable energy from renewable sources, and nutritious food can jeopardize regional economies and governance. Using a novel landscape approach, this study recommends a decision-making the framework focused on the circular economy that induces collaboration among diverse sectors and brings strategic coordination, specificity, and magnitude to the proposed solutions. The study elaborates on a decision-making tool that integrates …

Improving Pedestrian Safety With The Implementation Of The Demand-Responsive Transverse Rumble Strip As A New Traffic Safety Countermeasure, Md Shakhawat Hossen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The traditional TRS has been extensively used as a traffic calming device to provide cognitive alerts in the form of sound and vibration to drivers. However, TRS always remains fixed on the road and thus exerts cognitive alerts, irrespective of any potential downstream hazards. Moreover, the continuous exposure to rumble strips has been identified as a source of discomfort and annoyance for drivers, which limits its application to potentially useful scenarios. This study explores a rumble strip design with dynamic behavior named as Demand-Responsive Transverse Rumble Strip (DRTRS) in order to address the limitations of static TRS. The study incorporates …

Temporal And Spatial Analysis Of The Wage Gap For Women And Underrepresented Minorities In The Architecture, Engineering, And Construction (Aec) Workforce, Saba Nikkhah Manesh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has failed to solve persistent labor shortage problems or to fill the labor demand in the workforce by recruiting from untapped/underrepresented groups such as Women and Underrepresented Minorities (WUMs). There have been several studies on diversity and inclusion in the AEC industry, but the issue still persists, as the AEC industry has failed to solve these issues. If the industry better understands the status of wage gaps by gender and race, as well as how the industry has performed in terms of providing comparable wages for the workforce over time, along with the …

Sizing A New Bike Sharing System For The University Of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nesley Orochena

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The strategic planning objectives for a novel Bike Sharing Systems (BSS) are to locate the BSS stations, size the stations, and determine the bicycle fleet size, among others. Current guidelines to design BSS programs are tailored to city centers with large coverage areas and high bicycle to population ratios, and thus not directly transferable to a university setting. An ordered probit model was created using data from a university online stated preference survey to determine the key factors that affect the uptake rates for the UNLV BSS program and to estimate the potential demand. The demand analysis was incorporated into …

Modeling Driver-Pedestrian-Infrastructure Interactions At Signalized Midblock Crosswalks, Boniphace Kutela

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cities and metropolitan areas are increasingly facilitating pedestrians’ movement by the provision of pedestrian walking facilities. As pedestrian traffic increases, the risk of crash involvement increases, especially at midblock locations, where pedestrians are exposed to unsafe interactions with vehicular traffic. To improve pedestrians’ safety at midblock locations, various countermeasures are provided, which include signalized crosswalks. Several studies have analyzed driver-pedestrian interactions, as well as pedestrian-infrastructure interactions at signalized midblock crosswalks. However, more in-depth studies are necessary, due to shortfalls of study assumptions, which have led to the application of improper statistical models, as seen in the literature. Improved models are …

A Business Intelligence Framework For Network-Level Traffic Safety Analyses, Naveen Kumar Veeramisti

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Currently, there are both methodological and practical barriers that together preclude a substantial use of theoretically sound approaches, such as the ones recommended by the Highway Safety Manual (HSM), for traffic safety management. Although the state-of-the-art provides theoretically sound approaches such as the Empirical Bayes method, there are still various important capabilities missing. Methodological barriers include among others (i) lack of a theoretically sound approach for corridor-level network screening, (ii) lack of a comprehensive approach for estimation of Safety Performance Functions based on a simultaneous consideration of both crash patterns and associated explanatory variables, and (iii) lack of theoretically sound …

What Is Light Rail And How Can It Benefit Las Vegas?, Robert E. Lang

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Brookings Mountain West will lead an analysis of selected rail transportation systems in place and under construction throughout the United States, with an emphasis on the development of light rail systems in America's western cities. The implications for developing a light rail system in the Las Vegas Valley, including the impact on traffic congestion, environmental conditions, and the larger metropolitan economy will be explored. In addition, Keolis, a rail and transit operator in the United States and Canada, will be available to discuss the light rail option from a technological perspective. This summit is brought to you by Brookings Mountain …

Safety Analysis Of Freeway Segments With Unobserved Heterogeneity And Second Order Spatial Effects, Eneliko Mujuni Mulokozi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Safety analysis of freeway networks entails the quantification of crash frequency influencing factors which include roadway and traffic characteristics, environmental factors as well as human factors. This quantification can be used to detect locations with large impacts on the occurrence of crashes which in turn assist engineers and planners to improve safety levels of the network. Roadway characteristics are comprised of the physical elements of the road geometry such as section length, median and right shoulders, speed-exchange lanes, the number of main facility as well as geometry of the entrance from and exit to the main freeway facility. Traffic characteristics …

A Comparative Study: Utilizing Data Mining Techniques To Classify Traffic Congestion Status, Abbas Mirakhorli

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Performance measure is a process of evaluating and quantifying a system. Performance measure provides us with information about how good a system is working and how well the predefined goals are met. In order to analyze the performance of a transportation system, the traffic data such as speed, volume, occupancy and travel time of the system need to be collected. These data will generate valuable historical database that can be used to develop models to improve the quality of service of transportation system. The performance measures in transportation studies can be categorized to following main groups: Congestion, Mobility, Accessibility, Reliability, …

Highway Routine Maintenance Cost Estimation For Nevada, Monika Hagood

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

State highway agencies are obligated to maintain existing roads for the highway systems to work efficiently and with greater longevity. Every year NDOT is responsible for approximately 13,150 lane miles of existing infrastructure. With that in mind, resources need to be provided to maintain the highway system.

The purpose of this research was to estimate annual routine maintenance cost for several typical treatment methods of highways. Five prioritization categories of highways used by NDOT were considered. Linear regression models were developed that present the relationship between costs including total maintenance cost and five maintenance cost components: labor, equipment, materials, manpower …

Simultaneous Equation Modeling For Crash Rate Of Freeway Segments, Anthony Ramos

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 2010, the total number of reported traffic crashes in the state of Nevada was 51,664 of which 235 (0.6%) resulted in one or more deaths (Nevada Department of Transportation, 2012). The state's "Zero Fatalities" traffic safety campaign aims to reduce the rate even further. Out of the total number of crashes, Clark County (includes Las Vegas) accounted for 78.89%. This study examines safety improvement by developing advanced crash prediction models. The system of crash prediction equations consider geometric conditions and traffic volume using simultaneous equation modeling (SEM). The models are based on geometric characteristics and traffic volume data collected …

Performance Comparison Of Design-Build And Construction Manager/General Contractor Highway Projects, Binita Shakya

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Researchers have conducted numerous studies comparing project performance of design-bid-build (DBB) and design-build (DB) highway projects. However, little research has been done to compare the performance of DB and construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) highway projects. Therefore, an exploratory study was conducted to compare the performance of 55 DB and 34 CM/GC highway projects from various States Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in terms of cost, change orders, and construction intensity. The results showed that contract award cost growth was significantly lower in DB projects than in CM/GC projects. In contrast to this, the total cost growth of DB projects was higher …

Calibration Of Microscopic Traffic Flow Models Considering All Parameters Simultaneously, Victor Hugo Molano Paz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study proposes a methodology to calibrate microscopic traffic flow simulation models. The proposed methodology has the capability to calibrate simultaneously all the calibration parameters as well as demand patterns for any network topology. These parameters include global and local parameters as well as driver behavior and vehicle performance parameters; all based on multiple performance measures, such as link counts and speeds. Demand patterns are included in the calibration framework in terms of turning volumes.

A Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation (SPSA) algorithm is proposed to search for the vector of the model‟s parameters that minimizes the difference between actual and …

Investigation Of Crashes And Identifying The Best Practices For Setting Up Speed Zones In Towns Along Rural Highways In Nevada, Krishna Prasad Shrestha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 2010, 51,664 crashes occurred in Nevada. Only about 9% of those crashes occurred in rural areas of the state. However, if only fatal crashes are considered, 41% of those fatal crashes occurred in rural areas. Generally, speed zones are provided in towns along rural highways to reduce speed-related crashes. However, a guideline is necessary for a consistent procedure to setup speed zones throughout the state. The main objectives of this study are to determine factors associated with crashes and to identify the best practices for setting up speed zones in towns along rural highways.

Eleven towns along rural highways …

Estimation Of Performance Indices For The Planning Of Sustainable Transportation Systems, Alexander Paz, Pankaj Maheshwari, Pushkin Kachroo, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

In the context of sustainable transportation systems, previous studies have either focused only on the transportation system or have not used a methodology that enables the treatment of incomplete, vague, and qualitative information associated with the available data. This study proposes a system of systems (SOS) and a fuzzy logic modeling approach. The SOS includes the Transportation, Activity, and Environment systems. The fuzzy logic modeling approach enables the treatment of the vagueness associated with some of the relevant data. Performance Indices (PIs) are computed for each system using a number of performance measures. The PIs illustrate the aggregated performance of …

Estimation Of Performance Indices For The Planning Of Sustainable Transportation Systems, Pankaj Maheshwari, Alexander Paz, Pushkin Kachroo

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

In simple words, the objective of this research is the estimation of performance indices for the planning of sustainable transportation systems Sustainability is achieved when the Transportation system, Activity system and Environmental system have all reached minimum and stable levels of quality so that they can continue operating in perpetuity at less than these levels

Fall Prevention Training And Its Impact To Southern Nevada Construction Workers, Vedaspati Joshi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Death and injury from falls are a long-standing and continuing problem in construction, responsible for at least a third of the construction deaths in the U.S. from 2004 to 2007. Each of those years, Nevada has exceeded the national percentage. Although 29 CFR 1926.503 sets forth Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)'s requirements that construction employers train employees exposed to fall hazards and document such training, the incidence of deaths and injuries from falls are an indicator that this training was not provided or else was not effective.

Conventional fall protection training is more narrowly focused on recognizing fall hazards …

Unlv Stars Unabridged Report, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Reports (USI)

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, by earning a 2011 Silver Rating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Ratings System (STARS), is ahead of the curve among public universities – and improving.

STARS is a voluntary, self–reporting framework developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) to help measure sustainability performance over time and among colleges and universities nationwide. The UNLV Sustainability Council oversaw STARS, which by measuring sustainability can help UNLV to reduce energy consumption and waste, improve education, attract research, and generate jobs.

A rating of Silver puts UNLV in great company – with …

An Empirical Comparison Of Life Cycle Cost Of Green School Buildings And Non-Green School Buildings, Nitisha Pushpala

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

One of the major economic concerns today of the world is reduction of energy consumption because of depleting energy sources in the world. The construction sector in the United States is also contributing in reducing the energy consumption and construction cost of the buildings by constructing cost and energy efficient buildings with energy efficient materials and techniques. The U.S Department of Energy introduced the Building Technologies Program that develops techniques, tools and technologies for making buildings more energy efficient. Other private bodies like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which is developed by the U.S. Green Building Council …

Keynote 2: The Alberta Oil Sands — Wrestling Bitumen Out Of The Wild North, David Rudolph

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Athabasca Oil Sand Reserve:

- Oil sands are contained within the Cretaceous McMurray Formation. (149,000 km2)

- 2.5 trillion barrels of extractable oil (~ 25 % of Canada Crude Oil Production)

- Surface mineable deposits cover 2,800 km2

- 450 billion L of process water used annually

- Currently over 130 km2 of tailings ponds (largest man-made structures in the world)

Panel Discussion Presentation: U.S. – Mexico Transboundary Perspectives, Martin J. Pasqualetti

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Perspectives

Principal Question: What are the implications of the energy/ water nexus at the US/Mexico border?

1. Water Supply and Demand

2. Water Costs of Electricity

3. Virtual Water Transfers

4. Renewable Energy Resources

5. Solar/Water nexus at the US/Mexico Border

Panel Discussion Presentation: Regional Politics, International Dreams, Kathryn Furlong

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Canada Transboundary Perspective

The Main Idea:

What are the drivers of hydro-electric development? What are the influences of domestic politics? In what ways are they international?

Panel Discussion Presentation: Columbia River Treaty, Kelvin Ketchum

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Canada Transboundary Perspectives

Slide titles:

- Columbia River Treaty – the setting

- What does the Treaty Do?

- Social & Environmental Costs of the Treaty in Canada

- Treaty benefits and term

- Treaty priorities for water usage

- Example of Flood Control Curves

- Actual Treaty operations

- Supplemental operating agreements

- Treaty Implementation

- Reasons for Treaty Success

Event Program, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

The North American Energy-Water Nexus roundtable was held April 1, 2011, to promote the discussion of how energy and water issues converge in addressing international relations. The roundtable focused on water issues specific to the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders, including stakeholder-driven solutions for water policies and water technologies. The event was co-sponsored by the UNLV Urban Sustainability Initiative; Desert Research Institute; the Canadian Consulate of Los Angeles; and the government of Ontario, Canada.

Analysis And Evaluation Of Safety Impacts Of Median Types And Midblock Left Turn Treatments For Urban Arterials, Timur Mauga

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Urban growth leads to new land-uses abutting arterials requiring driveways for their accessibility. Uncontrolled number and locations of such access points causes safety, mobility and accessibility problems. The solution to these problems is access management (AM) which controls the number and location of the access points. AM techniques are normally documented in the form of guidelines for engineers and planners to follow when implementing the techniques. However, AM guidelines may not cover every technique due to the fact that AM is still growing. For example, the current AM guideline prepared by The Nevada Department of Transportation addresses many AM techniques. …

Evaluation Of Safety Impact Of Access Management In Urban Areas, Xuecai Xu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The access provided by streets and highways to adjacent lands are managed by controlling the spacings between the access points including signals, driveways, and media openings on mid-block segments, and setting the limit on the corner clearances around intersections. There have been studies on evaluating the impact of access management techniques on safety and mobility in urban areas. Samples of mid-block segments and intersections can be collected from selected arterials. Because the mid-block segments or intersections in the same arterials share the same missing information, safety and mobility on them show unique features that should be taken into account when …

Statistical Modeling And Analysis Of Injury Severity Sustained By Occupants Of Passenger Vehicles Involved In Crashes With Large Trucks, Ahmad Koupaenejad

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Crashes are the result of complex interactions between several factors representing driver, roadway, vehicle, and environmental characteristics. Understanding to what degree each factor contributes to the severity of a crash is not a simple task. The outcomes of crashes in the US have been an average of 42,000 deaths and 3 million injuries per year. To better understand the role of significant contributors to crashes, three sets of models using multinomial logit and one using ordered probit were calibrated. To calibrate these models, forty two independent predictor variables including driver/occupants characteristics, crash environment at the crash location, crash characteristics, and …

Incident Management In Intelligent Transportation Systems, Kaan Ozbay, Pushkin Kachroo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

Since the conception of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in the 1980s, many transportation researchers have also worked on the development of incident management models and integrated systems for real-time operations. ITS created the required infrastructure for collecting, processing, and managing real-time traffic data that can be used to develop on-line incident management strategies. This book provides the reader with a broad picture of the overall incident management process in the context of ITS along with a quick review of the models and systems developed by numerous researchers worldwide. This book is a direct result of the long-term incident management research …

Sliding Mode For User Equilibrium Dynamic Traffic Routing Control, Pushkin Kachroo, Kaan Ozbay

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

Presents a solution to the user equilibrium dynamic traffic routing (DTR) problem for a point diversion case using feedback control methodology. The sliding mode control technique which is a robust control methodology applicable to nonlinear systems in canonical form is employed to solve the user equilibrium DTR problem. The canonical form for this problem is obtained by using a feedback linearization technique, and the uncertainties of the system are countered by using the sliding mode principle. Simulation results show promising results.