Research
Transportation Planning
Over the past half century, Connecticut and other parts of the country witnessed highway congestion at increasing scales. Early attempts to alleviate it focused exclusively on expanding highway capacity to accommodate increasing demand. To address both congestion and the "pricing mismatch" generated by the fuel tax, economists and transportation officials have proposed funding mechanisms that more accurately represent actual highway usage and costs. This system of user fees, broadly known as "road pricing" or "value pricing" levies tolls that more closely mirror the true costs of congestion and road maintenance imposed by individual drivers. Our research will draw on theoretical and practical experience with various types of pricing strategies to propose realistic value pricing policy scenarios for Connecticut. Dr. Norman W. Garrick, P.I. norman.garrick@uconn.edu
Freight Transportation Planning
This research addresses several areas of freight planning: optimal zone delineation, statewide traffic demand models, and nation-wide freight generation. A main premise of this research is that freight movement must be modeled at the national or continental level in addition to state and regional scales. This is necessitated by the geographic scale over which policy decisions, such as modal substitution and intermodal facility siting, must be made. The work has been funded through the Connecticut Department of Transportation, the New England University Transportation Center and USDOT.
Dr. Lisa Aultman-Hall, P.I.
Travel Route Choice Behavior
Data concerning the travel route choice behavior of automobile drivers are not frequently collected under real-world conditions. Between 2002 and 2003, the methods to extract route data from field-measured GPS data were developed under a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and were key to facilitating this research project. The University of Connecticut and the New England University Transportation Center have supported this work. NSF recently awarded a three-year grant to extend the GPS-based route work to include vehicle emissions with the objective of developing real-world emission models. Dr. Lisa Aultman-Hall, P.I.
Accuracy of GPS Receivers for Vehicle Tracking
CTI researchers have teamed up with UConn researchers from Natural Resources and the CT Department of Transportation to conduct field research on GPS accuracy for vehicle tracking. Vehicles with three different GPS receivers are being repeatedly driven in cruise, acceleration and deceleration patterns at the Consumer’s Union test track in Connecticut. These results will be useful for ongoing tailpipe emissions research as well as the DOT's photologging and inventory work using the ARAN van (pictured). Scott Zinke, Research Engineer scott.zinke@uconn.edu
Increasing the Accuracy of Trip Rate Information from Passive Multi-Day GPS Travel Datasets
With the availability of GPS receivers to capture vehicle location, it is now feasible to easily collect multiple days of travel data automatically. However, GPS-collected data are not ready for direct use in trip rate or route choice research until trip ends are identified within large GPS data streams. In this research, 12 10-day real-world GPS travel datasets were used to develop, calibrate and compare three methods to identify trip start points in the data stream. They correctly identified 94% of trip ends. Dr. Lisa Aultman-Hall, P.I.
Development of an Optimal Nationwide Freight Planning Zone System
The objective of this work is to use GIS spatial analysis capabilities to establish an optimal national zone system for freight
planning. Although to date most freight transportation planning analyses have been undertaken at the state or metropolitan scale,
the need to evaluate the intermodal network and pursue modal substitution has necessitated that planners start to focus on nation-scale
analyses. The work is funded through the New England University Transportation Center and the USDOT. Dr. Lisa Aultman-Hall,
P.I.
Fulbright Research on Transportation and Urban Planning in Jamaica
This research examines the role of transportation in fostering sustainable development and environmental stewardship in Jamaica, with a
focus on public transportation in Kingston. The study documents the process of collapse and recovery of the transit system as a case
study in understanding the role of local government and the international lending agencies in promoting different transportation and land use strategies. Dr. Norman W. Garrick, P.I. norman.garrick@uconn.edu
Parking Demand Management for Sustainable Development: Learning From Innovative: New England Communities
The goal of this project is to better understand parking and parking provision in smaller cities and towns with mixed-use centers. Specifically, we wanted to address how having a dense, walkable, mixed-use center affects parking supply and demand, and how mixed-use centers compare to centers designed along more conventional lines. We tested these questions by conducting case study assessments of six sites in New England . Three of the sites were designated study sites because they were dense, walkable, mixed-use centers. They were contrasted with three control sites that were centers with more conventional development patterns. Dr. Norman Garrick, P.I. norman.garrick@uconn.edu
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