Browsing by Subject "Roads"
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Item Mapping Mueller : a post occupancy evaluation of transportation choices in a new urbanist community in Austin, Texas(2014) Tepper, Rachel Cathryn; Wilson, Barbara B. (Barbara Brown)The 711-acre Mueller development is located just three miles northeast of downtown on the former site of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. Planned as one of Austin’s major transit-oriented New Urbanist developments, Mueller contains a pattern of pedestrian and bike friendly streets to encourage a range of transportation options for residents and visitors. Mueller is 30% complete and provides housing and jobs to over 3000 residents and 3000 employees. This MDS seeks to understand how current residents, employees, and visitors use the bike lanes, sidewalks, and roads in the Mueller community. To evaluate the transportation infrastructure, the author designed and coded a custom Google Maps survey that asked residents to draw common routes, points of interest, and points of concern related to their transportation choices. The results of this study then influenced a future urban design of the undeveloped portion of Mueller.Item Modeling heterogeneity in transportation infrastructure deterioration(2007-05) Hong, Feng, 1977-; Prozzi, Jorge AlbertoOne of the key elements for managing transportation infrastructure is to accurately capture and predict the performance of the facility through well established deterioration models. A sound deterioration model should incorporate 1) physical principle that reflects the deterioration mechanism; 2) relevant variables affecting the deterioration process; and 3) rigorous statistical approach to estimating the model. This dissertation aims at addressing these critical issues with focus on highway pavements. Data collected from in-service pavement sections are adopted to capture the real-world pavement deterioration process. A widely used pavement performance indicator, riding quality in terms of International Roughness Index (IRI) is used. A nonlinear model with a hierarchical parameter structure is formulated to effectively account for both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. The model is estimated through an econometric technique, Maximum Simulated Likelihood estimation. Simulation is employed to solve the computationally challenging problem of multi-dimensional integration. Engineering implications based on estimation results are discussed. The findings are not only consistent with engineering judgment but also helpful to reveal and enhance understanding of the pavement deterioration mechanism. Furthermore, the proposed methodology provides flexibility to obtain both parameters reflecting deterioration for all units and each individual unit of the population. The second part of the dissertation establishes and evaluates optimal maintenance policy on the basis of realistic deterioration models. The optimal policy is obtained so that the total cost, agency plus user cost, is minimized. A steady state resurfacing problem is investigated in the case study. In particular, the effect of model accuracy related to unobserved heterogeneity on total cost is discussed. This study makes a contribution to transportation infrastructure management and design in the following sense. From a management viewpoint, the proposed methodology with hierarchical parameters can accommodate both network and project levels of management. It also facilitates decision making for budget planning and resource allocation. From a design viewpoint, model estimation results can be used to update the current AASHTO pavement design equation by incorporating other critical factors.Item Modeling heterogeneity in transportation infrastructure deterioration: application to pavement(2007) Hong, Feng; Prozzi, Jorge A.One of the key elements for managing transportation infrastructure is to accurately capture and predict the performance of the facility through well established deterioration models. A sound deterioration model should incorporate 1) physical principle that reflects the deterioration mechanism; 2) relevant variables affecting the deterioration process; and 3) rigorous statistical approach to estimating the model. This dissertation aims at addressing these critical issues with focus on highway pavements. Data collected from in-service pavement sections are adopted to capture the real-world pavement deterioration process. A widely used pavement performance indicator, riding quality in terms of International Roughness Index (IRI) is used. A nonlinear model with a hierarchical parameter structure is formulated to effectively account for both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. The model is estimated through an econometric technique, Maximum Simulated Likelihood estimation. Simulation is employed to solve the computationally challenging vi problem of multi-dimensional integration. Engineering implications based on estimation results are discussed. The findings are not only consistent with engineering judgment but also helpful to reveal and enhance understanding of the pavement deterioration mechanism. Furthermore, the proposed methodology provides flexibility to obtain both parameters reflecting deterioration for all units and each individual unit of the population. The second part of the dissertation establishes and evaluates optimal maintenance policy on the basis of realistic deterioration models. The optimal policy is obtained so that the total cost, agency plus user cost, is minimized. A steady state resurfacing problem is investigated in the case study. In particular, the effect of model accuracy related to unobserved heterogeneity on total cost is discussed. This study makes a contribution to transportation infrastructure management and design in the following sense. From a management viewpoint, the proposed methodology with hierarchical parameters can accommodate both network and project levels of management. It also facilitates decision making for budget planning and resource allocation. From a design viewpoint, model estimation results can be used to update the current AASHTO pavement design equation by incorporating other critical factors.Item Paving the way to a new future : the case of Lomas del Valle(2010-08) Almlie, Peter Christopher; Sletto, Bjørn; Roberts, Bryan R.The challenge of both the public and private sector to provide infrastructure to meet the demand of current and future housing has emerged as a central issue in discussions urbanization in the developing world. Informal settlements, rapidly developing on the outer peripheries of urban areas are straining cities abilities to provide the infrastructure resources necessary for their survival. This thesis is based on a case study of an informal settlement in Tijuana, Mexico named Las Lomas del Valle. This thesis explores the conditions of infrastructure within the colonia, focusing on the condition of the current road network and its interrelationship with the residents of Las Lomas. It explores the current needs of the residents and how their dependency on the road network and its conditions is essential to their well being.Item Prediction of Passenger Riding Comfort From Acceleration Data(Council for Advanced Transportation Studies, 1976-03) Smith, Craig C.; McGehee, David; Healy, Anthony J.Various methods for evaluating ride quality in automobiles are investigated by means of a field study involving two different automobiles, seventy eight different passengers, and eighteen different roadway sections. Passenger rating panels were used to obtain subjective evaluation of the various rides, and measured vibration spectra were compared on the basis of various evaluation techniques to determine their ability to predict the subjective ratings. Included in the evaluation criteria considered are the ISO (International Standards Organization) Standard, the UTACV (Urban Tracked Air Cushion Vehicle) Specification, and the Absorbed Power method of Lee and Pradko. Excellent correlation was found to exist between the subjective ride ratings and simple root mean square acceleration measurements at either the vehicle floorboard or passenger/seat interface. Equations were developed to predict the subjective ride rating from measured vibration spectra.Item The Roads of Ethiopia: Italian Occupation and Mengistu's Regime(2019-05) McDonald, Bailey