Transportation Engineering Commons^™

Traffic Safety In Tacoma: A Dual Study On Community Perceptions Of Vision Zero And The Application Of The Safe System Framework, Janeroza W. Matyenyi

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The city of Tacoma adopted Vision Zero in 2020 and is planning to achieve zero traffic deaths and severe injuries by 2035. As part of its outreach plan to engage the local community, the city of Tacoma’s Vision Zero team surveyed the critical issues affecting traffic safety as perceived by road users. One of the Vision Zero strategies is to implement safer speeds across streets by reducing speed limits that are too high. This study aims to analyze the factors influencing the perceptions of speeding and high-speed limits as safety concerns, analyze narratives from respondents on issues affecting traffic safety, …

Analysis Of Port Traffic Growth For Optimization Of Traffic Flow: A Microscopic Traffic Simulation Study Of Jaxport's Blount Island Marine Terminal, Amy A. Aida

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To accommodate increasing cargo volumes and remain competitive, ports worldwide are facing growing pressure to expand and modernize their facilities. However, these expansions can place additional strain on land transportation networks, leading to congestion, delays and operational inefficiencies. This study used VISSIM, a microscopic traffic simulation tool, to model and analyze the complex traffic dynamics at the Blount Island Marine Terminal in Jacksonville, Florida, which is currently undergoing expansion.

To account for future traffic conditions, time series analysis was employed to project growth in traffic demand, taking into consideration anticipated expansions in tenant yard facilities, as well as increases in …

Understanding Fare Capping In Public Transit: Socioeconomic Predictors And Ridership Outcomes, Maige Majuto

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fare capping is a transit policy that limits how much a rider pays within a certain period, after which all rides are free for the rest of that period. Fare capping has become a potential strategy to reverse the trend of declining transit ridership, which has been caused by factors like fare increases, service reductions, and shifts in travel behavior. While demographic and socioeconomic characteristics are known to influence ridership, their role in fare capping adoption remains underexplored. This study examines how factors like age, income, race, education, and car ownership affect fare capping adoption at the neighborhood level and …

Assessment And Optimization Of Electric Vehicles Charging Infrastructure: Addressing Accessibility Disparities In Urban And Rural Areas, Dennis B. Bwire

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is essential for advancing sustainable transportation systems; however, disparities in the spatial distribution of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) present significant challenges for equitable access. This thesis investigates both the inequities in EVCS accessibility and offers a data driven approach for optimizing the siting of future charging infrastructure.

The first part of the study investigates the accessibility of EVCS in rural and urban areas, focusing on how socio-demographic factors influence accessibility metrics. Using geographic information systems (GIS), network analysis, and binary logistic regression, spatial data on EVCS locations and socio-demographic attributes such as …

Connecting Bicyclists And Transit: A Multimodal Routing Tool With Bicycle Facilities Scoring, Raphael Y. Mrema

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research develops a comprehensive, data-driven framework for assessing multimodal bicycle accessibility using open-source technologies and real-time routing data. Traditional active transportation studies often depend on proprietary GIS tools and static network datasets, which limit scalability, reproducibility, and integration with live mobility systems. In contrast, this study introduces a Python-based approach that leverages GeoPandas, the Google Maps Directions API, and General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data to dynamically evaluate infrastructure quality, operational stress, and multimodal connectivity. The framework was applied to Duval County, Florida, to examine how roadway design, facility type, and transit availability jointly influence bicycle network performance and …

Spatial Equity In Accessing Critical Facilities During Hurricanes, Pooya Komeilian

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida encounters multiple natural disasters every year, making evacuation a critical mitigation plan when severe impacts are predicted. Evacuation is a complex procedure that involves everything from household decision-making to large-scale traffic network analysis. It also addresses logistical issues, such as transporting impacted people to shelters or medical centers. Access to shelters, gas stations, and lodgings is of utmost importance, as numerous studies and surveys have shown that some people prefer not to evacuate, even if they perceive the disaster risk to be very high.

Based on this, the present study follows two phases to address gaps in evacuation studies. …

Sustainable Transportation: Behavioral Analysis Of Working-From-Home And Electric Vehicles Adoption, Zeinab Bayati

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable transportation plays a crucial role in mitigating environmental impacts, and this study examines two key aspects, namely working from home (WFH) and the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), in the context of promoting sustainable practices.

The first part of this thesis focuses on how people's perceptions towards working from home have changed as a result of their experiences during COVID-19. To analyze these changes, a random parameter logit (RPL) model is developed based on a nationwide public dataset collected during the pandemic in the United States. Dependent variable of the model is constructed through comparing data from the first …

Extracting Road Surface Marking Features From Aerial Images Using Deep Learning, Michael Kimollo

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The traffic and roadway safety agencies spend significant efforts each year collecting roadway data, including lane configurations and other road surface marking data, such as areas with school zone markings, sidewalks, left turns, right turns, bicycle lanes, etc., for safety analysis and planning purposes. The current manual data collection methods pose significant operational and quality control challenges as they are costly and prone to errors. In addition to that the manual data collection is labor intensive and takes too much time involving high equipment costs, questionable data accuracy guarantees, and concerns about the safety of the crew.

This study aims …

Exploring Of User Experience And Evaluating Mobility Benefits Of Micromobility Systems And Golf Carts: Case Study Of Florida, Kabhabhela C. Bukuru

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Micromobility devices and golf carts (GCs)/Low speed vehicles(LSVs) are urban transportation solutions that provide short-distance travel options, including first- and last-mile trips. They mostly operate at speeds of 15 mi/h to 35 mi/h. The micromobility devices include e-scooters and e-bikes. The micromobility devices and golfcarts are increasing rapidly in the transportation system, and thus, it is necessary to explore their various factors. The objective of this study is to explore the user experience and evaluate the mobility benefits of the micromobility systems in Florida.

A survey was conducted in various cities with a substantial user base of micromobility devices. Various …

Investigating Changes In Trends Of Traffic Crashes Due To Covid-19 Pandemic In Florida’S Freeways, Ntagwanko Kisabanzira

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak caused a shift in traffic patterns that have in turn influenced a change in traffic accident trends. Due to stay-at-home orders that were issued across the United States, transportation agencies reported low traffic demands on highways after the pandemic outbreak. Low traffic volumes are associated with relatively higher speeds that are linked to increased severity of crashes. Several states reported an increase in fatal crashes after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper evaluates the traffic crash trends on three interstates in Florida (I-10, I-75, and I-95) and sheds light on what happened before, during, …

Analysis Of Shared Micromobility Related Crashes: Case Study Of Florida, Enock E. Mwambeleko

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

United States cities have adopted shared micromobility systems to mitigate problems facing the transportation industry. The State of Florida has at least 13 established shared micromobility systems. Identifying the factors influencing the injury severity is critical for improving the safe operations of micromobility devices. This study investigates the leading factors affecting the injury severity for micromobility related crashes in Florida. The study investigates 463 crashes involving e-scooters or e-bikes between 2018 and 2022 in Florida, extracted by the Text-Mining approach from the SignalFour Analytics database. Analyses consisted of exploratory data analysis to discover trends and patterns. First, using the Pedestrian …

Macrotexture Assessment Of Florida Pavements, Alexander C. Oracheff

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When water has nowhere to escape from the surface of a roadway, it can disrupt the tire-to-pavement adhesion of a traveling vehicle and lead to hydroplaning. Pavement macrotexture provides the pathways for water to drain, which allows for the necessary grip between tire and pavement. Macrotexture, which is quantified by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in terms of mean profile depth (MPD), is analyzed by the State Materials Office using a high-speed point-laser mounted along the driver side wheel path of a friction testing vehicle.

While point-lasers are capable of accurately measuring MPD on flexible pavement, the system fails …

Exploring The Use Of Drones For Conducting Traffic Mobility And Safety Studies, Abdallah N. Kinero

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Advanced traffic data collection methods, including the application of aerial sensors (drones) as traffic data collectors, can provide real-time traffic information more efficiently, effectively, and safely than traditional methods. Traffic trajectory data like vehicles’ coordinates and point timestamps are challenging to obtain at intersections using traditional field survey methods. The coordinates and timestamps crucial in calculating trajectories can be obtained using drones and their particular integrated software. Thus, this study explores the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), particularly tethered drones, to obtain traffic parameters for traffic mobility and safety studies at an unsignalized intersection in Tallahassee, Florida. Tethered …

Analyzing Benefits Of Connected Vehicle Technologies During Incidents On Freeways And Diversion Strategies Implementation: A Microsimulation-Based Case Study Of Florida's Turnpike, Francisca P. Kasubi

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The full utilization of connected vehicles (CVs) is highly anticipated to become a reality soon. As CVs become increasingly prevalent in our roadway network, connected technologies have enormous potential to improve safety. This study conducted a microscopic simulation to quantify the benefits of CVs in improving freeway safety along a 7.8-mile section on Florida’s Turnpike (SR-91) system. The simulation incorporated driver compliance behavior in a CV environment. The simulation was implemented via an existing VISSIM network model partially developed by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). In addition, the study analyzed how CVs would assist in detour operations as a …

A Microscopic Simulation Approach For Developing Ramp Metering Activation Guidelines For Weekends, Sarah T. Kasomi

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traffic congestion is one of the major concerns in urban motorways. Agencies are implementing various Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSM&O) strategies to reduce traffic congestion on roadway networks. Ramp metering is a TSM&O strategy that utilizes signals installed at freeways’ on-ramps to dynamically manage traffic entering the freeway. RMSs have been effective at alleviating recurring congestion. Recurring congestion, however, constitutes less than half of all congestion. More than half of all congestion is due to non-recurring events such as incidents, work zones, adverse weather conditions, special events, etc., that adversely affect the performance of a highway. Non-recurring congestion on …

Developing And Simulating A Communication Plan For Mitigation Of Secondary Crashes: Leveraging Connected Vehicle Technologies, Denis Elia Monyo

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has identified secondary crashes (SCs) on United States (US) highways as one of the core transportation issues that needs to be addressed. These crashes contribute to increased property damage, injuries, and fatalities and a decline in traffic flow conditions on freeways and adjacent arterials. The purpose of this study was to 1) propose a communication plan that leverages connected vehicle (CV) technologies to increase awareness to road users to target the mitigation of SCs, and 2) to evaluate the potential benefits of the proposed communication plan with CV technologies in alleviating SCs.

This study used …

Investigating The Leading Causes Of Fatalities Of Aging Pedestrians Using Bayesian Network Model, Luciano Lalika

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Identifying factors associated with older pedestrian fatalities is key to implementing strategies aimed at improving pedestrian safety. This study focused on investigating the leading risk factors for older pedestrian fatalities at Florida roadway intersections. Analyses consisted of a Bayesian logistic regression (BLR) model to identify significant factors influencing pedestrian fatality, followed by a Bayesian Network (BN) model to identify the leading cause of pedestrian fatality among the statistically significant risk factors. Furthermore, the probabilistic inference of the leading causes of older pedestrian fatalities obtained from the BN was conducted through individual evidence predictive inference, diagnostic inference, and combined evidence predictive …

The Operational And Safety Effects Of Heavy Duty Vehicles Platooning, Ahmed Alzahrani

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Although researchers have studied the effects of platooning, most of the work done so far has focused on fuel consumption. There are a few studies that have targeted the impact of platooning on the highway operations and safety. This thesis focuses on the impact of heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) platooning on highway characteristics. Specifically, this study aims at evaluating the effects of platooning of HDVs on capacity, safety, and CO₂ emissions.

This study is based on a hypothetical model that was created using the VISSIM software. VISSIM is a powerful simulation software designed to mimic the field traffic flow …

Investigating The Effects Of Rainfall On Traffic Operations On Florida Freeways, Lucia Andrew

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rainfall affects the performance of traffic operations and endangers safety. A common and conventional method (rain gauges) for rainfall measurements mostly provide precipitation records in hourly and 15-minute intervals. However, reliability, continuity, and wide area coverage pose challenges with this data collection method. There is also a greater likelihood for data misrepresentation in areas where short duration rainfall is predominant, i.e., reported values may not reflect the actual equivalent rainfall intensity during subintervals over the entire reporting period. With recent weather and climate patterns increasing in severity, there is a need for a more effective and reliable way of measuring …

Evaluating The Performance Of Cooperative Merging Assistance System For Aging Drivers, Flavius Matata

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freeway merging maneuvers demand considerable attention by drivers and are among the more complex operations drivers must perform on freeways. Aging drivers, a growing population in the United States, face added challenges when merging. This study utilized Vissim models created in a previous study that modeled the behavior of aging drivers during freeway merging. An algorithm for Cooperative Merging Assistance System (CMAS) that utilizes Connected Vehicle (CV) technology was developed in this study. The Vissim models were created for two interchanges on I-75 in Fort Myers, Florida, each with different geometric characteristics. Acceleration lane lengths of 1000ft and 1500ft were …

An Analysis Of Hydroacoustic Transmission Loss Associated With Marine Pile Driving, Jonathan Paul Berube

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been a growing concern in recent years about the effects of anthropogenic noise due to marine pile driving on underwater wildlife. Current guidelines for mitigating hydroacoustic effects associated with these events are based upon relatively simple transmission loss formulations. The advantage to these guidelines is that computing transmission loss using their prescribed methods is not labor intensive, but their disadvantage is that they may not take all variables into account. Because of this, it may be possible to improve transmission loss computations. To better-characterize marine pile driving sound transmission loss, a unique in-water instrumentation system was developed. This …

Evaluating Mobility And Safety Benefits Of Freeway Service Patrols: A Case Study Of Florida's Road Rangers, Jimoku H. Salum

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Florida’s Road Rangers monitor the freeways for incidents to minimize their adverse impacts on traffic. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the extent to which Road Rangers reduce incident clearance duration (ICD), incident-induced traffic delays (IITDs) and secondary crashes (SCs).

Since ICD distributions are often right-skewed, the study applied quantile regression to relate ICD to influencing factors. Data skewed to the right is usually a result of lower bounds in a data set being extremely low relative to the rest of the data. Data from 28,000 incidents that occurred on freeways in Jacksonville, Florida were analyzed. Of …

The Use Of Real-Time Connected Vehicles And Here Data In Developing An Automated Freeway Incident Detection Algorithm, Hendry Nyanza Imani

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traffic incidents cause severe problems on roadways. About 6.3 million highway crashes are reported annually only in the United States, among which more than 32,000 are fatal crashes. Reducing the risk of traffic incidents is key to effective traffic incident management (TIM). Quick detection of unexpected traffic incidents on roadways contribute to quick clearance and hence improve safety. Existing techniques for the detection of freeway incidents are not reliable.

This study focuses on exploring the potential of emerging connected vehicles (CV) technology in automated freeway incident detection in the mixed traffic environment. The study aims at developing an automated freeway …

Simulation Exploration Of The Potential Of Connected Vehicles In Mitigating Secondary Crashes, Mike Alvin Soloka

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Secondary crashes (SCs) on freeways are a major concern for traffic incident management systems. Studies have shown that their occurrence is significant and can lead to deterioration of traffic flow conditions on freeways in addition to injury and fatalities, albeit their magnitudes are relatively low when compared to primary crashes. Due to the limited nature of crash data in analyzing freeway SCs, surrogate measures provide an alternative for safety analysis for freeway analysis using conflict analysis. Connected Vehicles (CVs) have seen compelling technological advancements since the concept was introduced in the 1990s. In recent years, CVs have emerged as a …

A Microscopic Simulation Study Of Applications Of Signal Phasing And Timing Information In A Connected Vehicle Environment, Gwamaka Lameck Njobelo

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The connected vehicle technology presents an innovative way of sharing information between vehicles and the transportation infrastructure through wireless communications. The technology can potentially solve safety, mobility, and environmental challenges that face the transportation sector. Signal phasing and timing information is one category of information that can be broadcasted through connected vehicle technology. This thesis presents an in-depth study of possible ways signal phasing and timing information can be beneficial as far as safety and mobility are concerned. In total, three studies describing this research are outlined.

The first study presented herein focuses on data collection and calibration efforts of …

Evaluation Of Traffic Incident Timeline To Quantify The Performance Of Incident Management Strategies, Henrick Joseph Haule

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transportation agencies are introducing new strategies and techniques that will improve traffic incident management. Apart from other indicators, agencies measure the performance of the strategies by evaluating the incidents timeline. An effective strategy has to reduce the length of the incident timeline. An incident timeline comprises various stages in the incident management procedure, starting when the incident was detected, and ending when there is the recovery of normal traffic conditions. This thesis addresses three issues that are related to the traffic incident timeline and the incident management strategies.

First, co-location of responding agencies has not been investigated as other incident …

Bayesian Approach On Quantifying The Safety Effects Of Pedestrian Countdown Signals To Drivers, Angela E. Kitali

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pedestrian countdown signals (PCSs) are viable traffic control devices that assist pedestrians in crossing intersections safely. Despite the fact that PCSs are meant for pedestrians, they also have an impact on drivers’ behavior at intersections. This study focuses on the evaluation of the safety effectiveness of PCSs to drivers in the cities of Jacksonville and Gainesville, Florida. The study employs two Bayesian approaches, before-and-after empirical Bayes (EB) and full Bayes (FB) with a comparison group, to quantify the safety impacts of PCSs to drivers. Specifically, crash modification factors (CMFs), which are estimated using the aforementioned two methods, were used to …

Enhancing The Existing Microscopic Simulation Modeling Practice For Express Lane Facilities, Kelvin S. Machumu

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The implementation of managed lanes (MLs), also known as dynamically priced express lanes, to improve freeway traffic flow and personal throughput is on the rise. Congestion pricing is increasingly becoming a common strategy for congestion management, often requiring microscopic simulation during both planning and operational stages. VISSIM is a recognized microscopic simulation software used for analyzing the performance of managed lanes (MLs). This thesis addressed two important microscopic simulation issues that affect the evaluation results of MLs.

One of the microscopic simulation issues that has not yet been addressed by previous studies is the required minimum managed lane routing decision …

Modeling Older Driver Behavior On Freeway Merging Ramps, Lina Lwambagaza

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Merging from on-ramps to mainline traffic is one of the most challenging driving maneuvers on freeways. The challenges are further heightened for older drivers, as they are known to have longer perception-reaction times, larger acceptance gaps, and slower acceleration rates. In this research, VISSIM, a microscopic traffic simulation software, was used to evaluate the influence of the aging drivers on the operations of a typical diamond interchange. First, drivers were recorded on video cameras as they negotiated joining the mainline traffic from an on-ramp acceleration lane at two sites along I-75 in Southwest Florida. Several measures of effectiveness were collected …

Effect Of Lateral Stiffness On Bridge Deck Performance, Andrea Del Pilar Toro

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of the empirical deck design method has increased its acceptance due to the economic advantages that it presents when compared to its counterpart, the traditional method. This can be attributed to the fact that the empirical method provides an appropriate design where the deck withstands stress not only due to the steel reinforcement but to an implicit arching membrane stress set-up as an effect of the lateral restraint surrounding the deck slab known as Compressive Membrane Action (CMA).

It has been proved through research that most design codes underestimate the strength of laterally restrained slabs. However, there is …