Social and Behavioral Sciences 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 …

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 …

Rail Fixed Guideway Systems In Western U.S. Regions, Kelly A. Beavers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research explores the policy factors influencing the intraregional development of rail transit. For the purpose of this research, policy factors include: institutional arrangements, factors associated with governance, and factors in the policymaking process. The research questions are studied in five case study MSAs within the Pacific West and Mountain West regions of the United States: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ; Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO; Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA; and Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR. The foundational problems that frame this research are the challenges of urban planning at a regional scale, specifically for transportation. The more specific challenge of transportation planning is situated within …

Analysis Of High-Speed Rail Operations Using Vissim Simulation To Determine Access Charges And The Impact Of Incidents On A Shared Network, Komal Sree Teja Boyapati

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Shared High-Speed Rail (HSR) networks are networks where two or more railway operators use the same railway network infrastructure for train operations. The train operations in the shared HSR network can be composed of different types of trains operating at different speeds with varying stops at stations in a network. The interactions between different types of trains in the shared HSR network depends on the characteristics of the network’s infrastructure and train operations, and affect the capacity of the network. When a rail operator who owns the infrastructure allows other operators to access its infrastructure, the additional traffic will lead …

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 …

Effects Associated With The Deployment Of Autonomous And Connected Vehicles: Insights From Las Vegas, Nv, Sarah Dennis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Autonomous and connected vehicles (ACVs) are quickly evolving and becoming part of our transportation systems. Adoption of this technology is largely dependent on public perceptions and comfort. The objective of this study was to evaluate public perceptions of ACVs and gain knowledge regarding potential use and important aspects towards acceptance of ACVs. Specifically, the differences in perceptions of people who have ridden an ACV are compared to those who have not. A stated preference approach was utilized, as this is an emerging technology. Two different survey questionnaires were distributed. The first survey was distributed to participants considered to be members …

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 Framework To Capture Dynamic Traffic Trends From Historical Sensor Data, Carlos Gaviria

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The typical approach of increasing infrastructure to alleviate traffic issues such as congestion is becoming unviable due to limited space, high cost, and associated externalities. Control and management strategies using Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) seek to maximize the use of existent infrastructure. Many ITS strategies, such as the deployment of information, require or benefit from knowledge about traffic patterns and trends. This study proposes a mathematical programming formulation and solution algorithm that considers multiple time intervals for the estimation of network-wide traffic states and calculation of the corresponding transition probabilities. The proposed solution enables the determination of sections of the …

Distracted Driving In Clark County, Nevada: Analysis Of An Intervention On College Students, Heidi Ann Manlove

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Distracted driving is a growing public health concern. Highlighted in the media, local and government agencies and in peer-review literature are increased associations of motor vehicle crash related injuries and fatalities with distracted driving, especially involving youth drivers. The goal of this thesis was to analyze the effects of a distracted driving intervention on college students at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Quantitative statistical analysis was performed to compare self-reported pre and post-intervention questionnaire responses of the experimental and control groups. Between-group analysis was performed using independent t-tests and ANOVA. Within-group differences were analyzed with Repeated Measures ANOVA (RM-ANOVA) and …

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 …

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 …

Robust Observability, Control, & Economics Of Complex Cyber-Physical Networks, Shaurya Agarwal

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation deals with various aspects of cyber-physical system. As an example of cyber physical systems, we take transportation networks and solve various problems, namely: 1) Network Observability Problem, 2) Network Control Problem, and 3) Network Economics Problem. We have divided the dissertation into three parts which solve these three problems separately. First part of the dissertation presents a novel approach for studying the observability problem on a general network topology of a traffic network. We develop a new framework which investigates observability in terms of flow information on arcs and the routing information. Second part of the dissertation presents …

Developing Seamless Connections In The Urban Transit Network: A Look Toward High-Speed Rail Interconnectivity, Tingting Yu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the past, the studies in the U.S. on high speed rail have been on economic impact. Recently, there are a few studies on the multimodal connectivity at high speed rail stations. High speed rail stations are viewed as hubs that are connected by different modes of public transportation by which passengers are transported to their destinations. How and in which way these different modes are connected to high speed rail stations influence the ridership of high speed rail stations. As the development of high speed rail system in the U.S. has come to the stage for actual design and …

Modeling And Analysis Of Pedestrian Flows, Romesh Khaddar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

According to the Traveler Opinion and Perception Survey of 2005, about 107.4 million Americans regularly use walking as a mode of transport during their commute, which amounts for 51% of the total American population. In 2009, 4092 pedestrian fatalities were reported nationwide, out of 59,000 pedestrian crashes. This amounts for 12% of the fatalities in the total traffic accidents recorded, and shows an over-representation of pedestrians incidents. Thus, it is imperative to understand the causes behind such statistics, and conduct a comprehensive research on pedestrian walking behavior and their interaction with surroundings.

A lot of researches on pedestrian flows have …

City Of North Las Vegas Complete Streets Corridor Ranking Study Evaluation, Yasmin Dixon, Brianna Lawrence, Sarah Saenz, Imari Thompson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A Complete Street is a corridor that is accessible by all users and modes of transportation; it promotes livability and economic vitality in the surrounding community, and is a new approach to improving transportation networks. Prior to the implementation of Complete Streets projects, cities conduct corridor ranking studies to determine potential project locations. The City of North Las Vegas Planning Department (CNLV) is currently working on a corridor ranking study in partnership with the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) and an external consulting group, Atkins International (Atkins). This is the first Complete Streets planning study for the City of North Las …

Numerical Simulations Of Traffic Flow Models, Puneet Lakhanpal

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traffic flow has been considered to be a continuum flow of a compressible liquid having a certain density profile and an associated velocity, depending upon density, position and time. Several one-equation and two-equation macroscopic continuum flow models have been developed which utilize the fluid dynamics continuity equation and help us find analytical solutions with simplified initial and boundary conditions. In this thesis, the one-equation Lighthill Witham and Richards (LWR) model combined with the Greenshield's model, is used for finding analytical and numerical solutions for four problems: Linear Advection, Red Traffic Light turning into Green, Stationary Shock and Shock Moving towards …

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, …

Smart Data Collection Using Mobile Devices To Improve Transportation Systems, Tharindu Dasun Abeygunawardana

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Travel time is a matter that affects most of us, especially those that live in highly congested cities. Ideally, we want to reduce travel time as much as possible, thereby freeing up more of our time and enabling a higher quality of life. Data collection of transportation metrics helps us get a clearer picture of the transportation system, and helps us make smarter choices when it comes to improving the existing system. The rapid emergence of interconnected mobile devices carried along by travelers opens up many possibilities for gathering data as they travel, and also to serve them relevant data …

Observability In Traffic Modeling: Eulerian And Lagrangian Coordinates, Sergio Contreras

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traditionally, one of the ways traffic flow has been studied is by using the kinematic wave model. This model is studied in the Eulerian framework. Recently, the kinematic wave model has been transformed into Lagrangian coordinates. This model of traffic flow together with the concept of observability for linear time invariant discrete time systems is applied to study the observability of four sections of a freeway in both Eulerian and Lagrangian coordinates. A system with densities in four sections of a freeway is designed, and the observability of the system is studied with different situations for sensors. When the system …

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 …

Study Of Seat-Belt Usage In Nevada & Driver's Performance, Atul Sancheti

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), motor vehicle incidents has been reported to be the leading cause of the accidental deaths in the United States accounting for more than 42,000 deaths every year. Distracted driving and Driving under influence (DUI) are the major contributors to these roadway crashes. Moreover, drivers fatigue and drowsiness behind the wheel is another important factor contributing to the high fatality rate. These factors results in significant decline in the driver's abilities of perception, recognition and vehicle control.

It has also been reported by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that about 292,471 …

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 …

Performance Measure For Transportation Network: A Study In Travel Time Dynamics, Anuj Nayyar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Arterial Performance Measurement and Monitoring is one of the leading goals of any transportation agency. The complexity of the differences between performance measures is highlighted and the various data collection methodologies are highlighted. A major performance measure that impacts end users and traffic planners is travel time. This study presents defining a mathematical system for modeling travel time. The modeling in real-time is presented and methods are proposed to evaluate it using vehicle trajectories. Also comparative results are presented between the actual sensor data sets and simulated data to study the effectiveness of the system developed.

Estimation Of Travel Time Based On Vehicle-Tracking Models, Anuj Nayyar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this thesis we study the travel time problem based on the known traffic density model. Using the conservation law, we model the travel time function by a boundary value problem of a non homogeneous linear hyperbolic equation. The equation is transformed into an initial value hyperbolic equation, and the well-posedness of the problem is discussed. The mathematical analysis for both density and travel problems are given. We also derive the analytic solutions for several special cases of traffic density. Numerical schemes are proposed for solving for travel time problem. Several numerical examples are presented and error analysis on the …

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 …

An End To End V.M.T Framework With Controlled V.M.T Tax Rate Using Optimal Feedback Control Technique, Pratik Verma

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Vehicle Mile Travel (VMT) is a study related to available alternatives for the road

revenue collection system. As per the demand, the existing Gas/Fuel tax based revenue

collection system is not found an appropriate option in the longer run. Due

to existing system constraints like: no eective tax process for vehicles based on alternative

fuel (e.g. electric vehicles), no eective changes in tax due to economical

ination, and more highway expenditure than generated revenue, an alternative revenue

collection mechanism is required. Hence, the objective is to study an alternative

option in detail, which can address the gaps between required revenue …

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 …

Traffic Modeling In Lagrangian Coordinates Using Smartphone Apps, Sergio Contreras

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traditionally, one of the ways traffic flow has been studied is by using the kinematic wave model. This model is derived in the Eulerian framework by using conservation of the number of vehicles. Recently, the kinematic wave model has been transformed into Lagrangian coordinates. In this framework, the independent variables are unique

vehicles and time. The detailed change in framework, and the properties of the model in the changed framework are reviewed. Numerical results from different traffic cases are explained. Since vehicle trajectory data can be easily collected from smartphones,

a smartphone application is developed for this purpose. This data …

The Impact Of Airport Service Quality Dimension On Overall Airport Experience And Impression, Redha Widarsyah

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research examines the relationship between seven airport service dimensions (Access, Services and Facilities, Dining, Shopping, Service Personnel and Security, Environment, and Immigration and Customs) and overall passenger perceptions of service quality. The study used convenience sampling collecting data from a total of 304 travelers who were passengers at four major international airports in the West Coast region of United States - Las Vegas McCarran International, Los Angeles International, San Francisco International, and Seattle-Tacoma International. The data was collected online through Qualtrics with a self-administered questionnaire and it was analyzed using multiple linear regression.

Airport access, environment, dining, and immigration …