Infrastructure Commons^™

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 …

Public Utilities Commission Of Nevada: A Research Design For Data Collection, Mario Heresi, Jamie Stout, Brandy Davis, Cheyenne Pasquale

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) needs tools to develop a system by which reliable data can be collected in order to assist in the regulation of public utilities in Nevada. Their particular emphasis is on low-income and elderly populations. The PUCN needs to have reliable data they can utilize to make decisions that are fact based. Part of their needs is to have a thorough understanding of the factors that affect both low-income and elderly populations. Like so many other organizations, the PUCN does not have a set system to investigate all issues and makes decisions on a …

The Integration Of Biomimicry Into A Built Environment Design Process Model: An Alternative Approach Towards Hydro-Infrastructure, Timothy Lee Albertson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Current methods and processes that support the planning, design and construction of a sustainable built environment include ambiguous principles (Roseland 2000), lack feedback loops (Van Bueren and Jong 2007) and lack a common language between disciplines (Brandon et al 1997). As a result of 3.8 billion years of "research and development" (evolution), nature provides a set of design blueprints that may be used to guide us to create elegant, sustainable, and innovative designs for human technologies (Benyus 1997). The field of biomimicry analyzes nature's best ideas and adapts them for human use (Benyus 1997). The built environment could benefit from …

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 …

The Environmental And Economic Benefits Of Highway Access Management: A Multivariate Analysis Using System Dynamics, Dan Andersen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Better management of highway operations can be achieved, in part, by controlling vehicular access to adjacent properties and cross streets. This tactic, referred to as access management, has proven safety and operational benefits. However, doubts remain regarding its environmental and economic benefits.

I hypothesize that one environmental indicator, carbon emissions, will decrease with proper access management. Controlling access increases the speed at which vehicles travel, improving fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. My hypothesis relative to financial impacts is that access management will neither help nor harm businesses. Controlling access can reduce travel time which has the effect of increasing …

A Safety Analysis Of Roundabouts In The Las Vegas Valley Clark County, Nevada, Michael J. Janssen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This professional paper reviews current research on the safety of modern roundabouts and studies the recent, widespread use of them in the Las Vegas valley of Southern Nevada. A roundabout is a form of intersection control (as opposed to a traffic signal or stop sign) that is common in Europe and Australia. Only recently have they been used significantly in the United States. A safety analysis of roundabouts in the Las Vegas Valley was conducted. The study reviewed accident data and hard copy accident reports, obtained average daily traffic counts, and compared these operational aspects of the roundabouts with intersections …

The Policies Of Implementing Traffic Calming In The Las Vegas Valley, David A. Guerra

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper illustrates how policies that relate to traffic calming devices are implemented in the Las Vegas Valley. Traffic calming is the attempt to achieve calm, safe, environmentally improved conditions on streets, and the lowering of speeds. Traffic calming measures reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior and improve conditions for non-motorized street users. An analysis of The Nevada Revised Statutes was conducted to understand state directives pertaining to the implementation of policies at municipal levels of government. The study investigated how four governments (Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Clark County, and Henderson) implement traffic calming …

Financing Public Infrastructure: A Case Study On Whether Development Impact Fees & Exactions Or Property Taxes Should Be Used To Support The Financing Of New Public Infrastructure, John P. Korkosz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Development impact fees and exactions are financing mechanisms that local governments increasingly use to finance the cost of public infrastructure. The primary reason that local governments favor development impact fees and exactions to finance public infrastructure is that the costs associated with growth falls on developers. Two legal cases --Golden v. The Planning Board of The Town of Ramapo, New York and the Construction Industry Association of Sonoma County v. The City of Petaluma, California-- serve as the basis for the support of development impact fees and exactions as a method to manage growth (So & Getzels: 53, 1988).