Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Oregon Dot Slow-Speed Weigh-In-Motion (Swim) Project: Analysis Of Initial Weight Data, Tim Swope, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This report presents the results of a preliminary analysis of axle weights from the Oregon DOT Slow-Speed Weigh in Motion (SWIM) scale at the Wyeth weigh station.* This report includes an analysis of methodology and variables used in the study; estimates of accuracy and precision of the WIM readings; and a regression analysis of the WIM and static scale weighings. Axles weights were collected from the traffic stream.

Measuring The Impact Of Light Rail Systems On Single Family Home Values: A Hedonic Approach With Gis Application, Hong Chen, Anthony M. Rufolo, Kenneth Dueker

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

In theory, proximity to a light rail (LRT) may have two different effects on residential property values. On the one hand, accessibility (proximity to the LRT stations) may increase property values. On the other hand, nuisance effects (proximity to the LRT line and stations) may decrease property values. Existing empirical studies are inconclusive, and failure to separate the effects of accessibility from the nuisance effects may explain some of the ambiguity. This paper examines the impact of the light-rail system (MAX) in Portland, Oregon, on single-family home values using distance to rail stations as a proxy for accessibility and distance …

Feedback Control Solutions To Network Level User-Equilibrium Real-Time Dynamic Traffic Assignment Problems, Pushkin Kachroo, Kaan Ozbay

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

A new method for performing dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) is presented which is applicable in real time, since the solution is based on feedback control. This method employs the design of nonlinear H∞ feedback control systems which is robust to certain class of uncertainties in the system. The solution aims at achieving user equilibrium on alternate routes in a network setting.

Falling From Favor: The Demise Of Electric Trolleys In Los Angeles, Beth Lorraine Tillitson

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Metro 2040 Framework Update, Fall 1996/Winter 1997, Metro (Or.)

Metro Collection

No abstract provided.

Travel And Parking Behavior In The United States, Gerard C. Mildner, James G. Strathman, Martha J. Bianco

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper looks at the connection between the regulation of parking by cities, transit service levels, and travel and parking behavior in the United States. Travel behavior information comes from the 1990 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) and the Federal Urban Mass Transportation Administration’s 1990 Section 15 Report. Data on the current state of parking programs in place in central business districts of the U.S. is identified through telephone interviews of local officials responsible for parking policies from the twenty cities identified in the NPTS. The travel behavior analyses and the data from the parking officials interviews were combined with …

Exurban Development, Transportation Infrastructure And Access Management, Philip J. Wuest

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper explores the changing role of state highway corridors in an era of continued urban growth and decentralization. Its primary focus is on the impact of exurban development on state highway corridors and on the policy of access management to control or limit those impacts. The role of access management in distributing the benefits and costs of access to public facilities is outlined. As urban areas expand at the fringe, it is important to clarify to what extent the public good of roadways is diminished by direct corridor access by the private sector. This work is timely and relevant …

Transit Time Internet Access: Prototype And Progress, Janet Vorvick

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Transit Time Internet Access Version (TTIA1) is a prototype messaging program which delivers real-time bus schedule information to users of the Internet. Using the World Wide Web and the well developed hypertext markup language (html), TTIA1 allows a bus user to request and receive schedule deviation information about a specific bus at a specific timepoint. TTIA1 is part of a project whose goal is to evaluate the effect on riders behavior and riders level of satisfaction of actual arrival time information.

Under Construction: Building A Livable Future, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District Of Oregon

TriMet Collection

No abstract provided.

Neotraditional Design: Resisting The Decentralizing Forces Of New Spatial Technologies, Kenneth Dueker, Martha J. Bianco

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The New Urbanist, or Neotraditional, movement that has characterized urban planning since the beginning of the 1990s has a vision of how people should live, work, and travel in a manner that, planners believe, will be "best" for society and for the environment. At the core of this vision is the notion that a return to the high densities, architectural form, and lifestyle of the period prior to World War II will result in a better society. A question that is ignored by the neotraditional proposals is the extent to which changing technologies might make calls for higher densities obsolete. …

Beyond The Field Of Dreams: Light Rail And Growth Management In Portland, G. B. Arrington Jr., Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District Of Oregon

TriMet Collection

No abstract provided.

Bus Stop Based Schedule Database For The Transit Time Internet, Jun Qui

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS) are a subset of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Bus Dispatch Systems (BDS) are importatnt components of APTS. Based on the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) technology, the BDS generates exception reports for buses not adhering to their schedule. A Transit Time Internet Access System (TTIA) is under development. It currently reports bus schedule times and bus arrival times for time points (abbreviate as TP) along routes. The objective of a subsequent version of the TTIA is to provide user with schedule time at the bus stop level. This a report on progress to estimate stop level …

Metro 2040 Framework Update, Fall 1995/Winter 1996, Metro (Or.)

Metro Collection

No abstract provided.

Intelligent Control Of Vehicles: Preliminary Results On The Application Of Learning Automata Techniques To Automated Highway System, Cem Unsal, John S. Bay, Pushkin Kachroo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

We suggest an intelligent controller for an automated vehicle to plan its own trajectory based on sensor and communication data received. Our intelligent controller is based on an artificial intelligence technique called learning stochastic automata. The automaton can learn the best possible action to avoid collisions using the data received from on-board sensors. The system has the advantage of being able to work in unmodeled stochastic environments. Simulations for the lateral control of a vehicle using this AI method provides encouraging results.

Flexible Low-Cost Automated Scaled Highway (Flash) Laboratory For Studies On Automated Highway Systems, Pushkin Kachroo, Kaan Ozbay, Robert G. Leonard, Cem Unsal

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

This paper addresses the development of a flexible low-cost automated scale highway (FLASH) laboratory which is intended to serve as a catalyst for accelerating the development of many intelligent vehicle highway system (IVHS) concepts. It also highlights the significance of the laboratory for the research, evaluation, and testing of automated highway system (AHS) configurations, architectures, designs and technologies. This laboratory, using small scale standardized vehicles will serve as a test bed for the economical development and evaluation of various hardware, software, and management systems before full scale testing and deployment. The laboratory will provide the capability to test day and …

Least-Cost Transportation Planning In Odot: Feasability Report, Anthony M. Rufolo, Lois M. Bronfman, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Least Cost Planning or Integrated Resource Planning is used in the electric utility industry to broaden the scope of choices to meet service requirements. This typically includes methods to reduce the demand for electricity as well as the more traditional electric generation options. Techniques have been developed to compare the cost of electricity generation with the cost of meeting service requirements by reducing electricity usage. In addition to cost considerations, utilities typically take account of uncertainty associated with forecasts and a variety of other considerations in specifying their least cost plan.

Private Profit Versus Public Service: Competing Demands In Urban Transportation History And Policy, Portland, Oregon, 1872-1970, Martha J. Bianco

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation is a case study of the history of urban transportation policy in Portland, Oregon, between 1872 and 1970. The emphasis is on mass transit policy formulated and implemented by the private and public sectors as response to crises within both the local transit industry and the urban political economy. These crises are placed in the context of the continuing conflict between the industry's right to profit and its obligation to meet the competing demands of its constituencies: ridership's demands for low fares and comprehensive service; labor's demands for competitive wages; downtown businesses' demands for peak-hour service; and the …

The Evolution Of Federal Transit Policy, Sy Adler

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Examines how the US federal government came to subsidize a greater share of transit industry costs than most other national governments. Since World War II, downtown activists sought to boost their transit systems in the face of increasingly intense competition from suburban business centers; the transit systems of Los Angeles and San Francisco in particular were shaped by this competition. Downtown activists tried, with varying success, to influence the newly formed regional transit agencies and the Federal Department of Transportation, created in 1964. The federal government's role in urban transit has been characterized by a tension between economic rationalization and …

Issues In Calculating Traffic Impact Fees: A Review Of The Literature, Anthony M. Rufolo, Catherine T. Lawson

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Over time, the concern has grown that government is not funding infrastructure investment in United States at a sufficient level. Funding of infrastructure has been a joint effort of all levels of government, but reductions in the federal contribution (after adjusting for inflation) have shifted more of the cost onto state and local governments. Many studies have identified massive funding requirements that are not being met. The failure to meet requirements would be rational if they are based on standards of service which are set unrealistically high or on other conceptual errors; however, failure to provide the funding likely to …

Request For Qualifications: Region 2040: Transportation And Land Use Concepts: Phase 1, Metro (Or.)

Metro Collection

No abstract provided.

Traffic Data Selection: An Evaluation Of Siting Criteria For Permanent Traffic Recorders, Richard Ledbetter, Kenneth Dueker, Milan Krukar, Vern Tabery

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Traffic volume data are needed for design and construction zone traffic management. In addition, continuous traffic volume data (collected by automatic traffic recorders) is needed to factor short counts (24 hours or more) collected at key sites on the states highway network.

This study evaluates the procedures used by the Oregon Department of Transportation for collecting continuous traffic volume data to determine: (1) if the current location and number of automatic traffic recorders (ATRs) on Oregon's highway network is adequate for estimating monthly seasonal factors, and (2) if the current procedure of using group means, based on geographical regions, to …

An Analysis Of Bus Ridership Potential To Oregon Health Sciences University Using A Geographic Information System Approach, Richard Lycan, James D. Orrell, Transportation Northwest (Transnow)

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

GIS address-matching and overlay techniques can be used in the analysis of specialized transportation problems. These techniques enhance the spatial resolution of transportation services relative to the locations of potential users of the service. This allows planners to evaluate accessibility issues for identifiable user groups and thus make decisions about the feasibility of adjusting routes or schedules, or providing new services for these users. A case study focused on the commuter base of Oregon Health Sciences University is presented as an example of such an application.

The Motivations Of Exurban Commuters Within A Region, Judy Seppanen Davis

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This case study of the Portland, Oregon, region analyzes and compares the emerging commuting patterns of exurban, small town, and suburban households. The analysis is based on a mail survey of 1408 households who purchased homes in 1987. By examining the types of households moving to exurbia, their reasons for moving, and the impacts of their moves on journey-to-work a picture is drawn of the forces shaping exurban development and the implications of this type of development for transportation planning and policy.

Challenges Confronting Metropolitan Portland's Transportation Decision-Making Regime, Sheldon Edner, Sy Adler, Peter B. Morris

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

In this paper we discuss the structure and dynamics of this consensus process through an exploration of a series of challenges to the regime. These challenges include: (1) cultivating new sources of project finance, as the federal government reduces its contribution; and (2) integrating transport projects with regional and local land use plans designed to manage urban growth; in the context of (3) intensifying competition between -business centers within the region, as rapidly growing suburban areas seek transport projects that will facilitate locally-oriented economic growth. We first discuss the institutional and normative elements of the regional consensus process in historical …

Analysis Of Westside Bypass Freeway Corridor Using Pcarc/Info And Idrisi Geographic Information Systems, Matt Newman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The purpose of this research project is to examine the functionality and interface of two Geographic Information Systems, and to perform a potential environmental assessment of the Westside Bypass Freeway corridor in suburban Portland. First is a discussion which describes elementary GIS concepts, data format and fundamental GIS operations. Next is a description of pcARC/INFO and IDRIS! and an analysis of their functionality. Following this, a description of the methodologies used to analyze the Westside Bypass Freeway corridor, is presented. The inventory of resource themes and conflicts with the freeway alignments is discussed next, emphasizing some of the more interesting …

An Evaluation Of Automatic Passenger Counters: Validation, Sampling, And Statistical Inference, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

While automatic passenger counters (APC's) offer the potential for cait effective data recovery and management, they also introduce new complications in the data recovery process. This report addresses three issues associated with the implementation of APC's, based on an evaluation of the recent experiences of the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Tri-Met). First is the issue of validation, which is concerned with both the recovery and accuracy of APC passenger data. The second issue concerns the development of a sampling methodology for APC's compatible with UMTA's Section 15 reporting requirements. Third is the issue of inferring system-level ridership from …

Site Location Study For An Integrated Traffic Data Collection System: Phase 1 Report, Kenneth Dueker, Richard Ledbetter, Bruce Rex

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Improved technology for counting, classifying, and weighing vehicles in the highway traffic stream is becoming increasingly available. Research has been undertaken to make effective use of these new technologies, not just to replace current data collection programs of counting, classifying, and weighing with more efficient versions. This reports on the Phase I research, which had three major objectives;

• a literature review to guide the analysis of alternative methods;
• a statement of requirements to modernize and integrate the data collection programs of traffic counting, vehicle classification and truck weights, and to identify the type and use of traffic data for design, …

Sampling Bus Ridership At The Route Level: Initial Results From Efforts To Improve The Precision Of Sample Estimates, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

UMTA's Section 15 reporting requirements establish precision standards and corresponding sampling plans for estimating bus ridership at the system level. However, many transit providers are interested in recovering data with sufficient precision to permit ridership analysis at the route level. One outcome of extending a system sampling plan to route level data collection and analysis would be a large increase in the sample sizes required to achieve a reasonable standard of precision. Given the costs involved in expanding the data recovery process beyond what is required for Section 15 reporting, alternative means of improving the precision of route level data …

Augmented Analysis Of Oregon's Special Need Transportation Providers, Janice Dean, Sheldon Edner, Kenneth Dueker, Transportation Northwest (Transnow)

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This analysis extends the work originally provided in the 1988 Oregon Public Transportation Study by the same authors. The intent is to focus attention on a particularly diverse segment of the public transportation community, special need providers (SNT), in an effort to further specify and define their nature and role in the public transportation system. The results of this analysis are intended to assist the Oregon Department of Transportation, Public Transit Division, with its efforts to implement Oregon's public transportation programs and to provide a basis for further specifying additional research needs in this area.

Constructing The 1990 Public Transportation Study Process: Reflections Of The 1988 Research Team, Janice Dean, Sheldon Edner

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The 1988 Oregon Public Transportation Study provided a solid foundation of information about Oregon’s transportation providers. In particular, it furnishes information on which revenue sources members of the industry are utilizing, expenditure patterns, capital and operating revenue needs, the protected increased demands for public transportation, and the ability of provides to makes use of available resources in their strategic planning. The study also substantiated that many members of the industry do not identify themselves as transportation providers, particularly the Special Need Transportation providers. The research process also revealed several additional factors about the process of collecting information that should be …