Rails-Next-to-Trails: A Methodology for Selecting Appropriate Safety Treatments at Complex Multimodal Intersections

2018 ◽  
Vol 2672 (10) ◽  
pp. 12-27
Author(s):  
Anna Bovbjerg Alligood ◽  
Manali Sheth ◽  
Anne Goodchild ◽  
Edward McCormack ◽  
Polina Butrina
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Professional Judgment ◽  
Railroad Tracks ◽  
Rail Vehicles ◽  
Video Observations ◽  
Railroad Crossings ◽  
Disproportionate Number

There are more than 212,000 at-grade railroad crossings in the United States. Several feature paths running adjacent to the railroad tracks, and crossing a highway; they serve urban areas, recreational activities, light rail station access, and a variety of other purposes. Some of these crossings see a disproportionate number of violations and conflicts between rail, vehicles, and pedestrians and bikes. This research focuses on developing a methodology for appropriately addressing the question of treatments in these complex, multimodal intersections. The methodology is designed to be able to balance a predetermined, prescriptive approach with the professional judgment of the agency carrying out the investigation. Using knowledge and data from the literature, field studies, and video observations, a framework for selecting treatments based on primary issues at a given location is developed. Using such a framework allows the agency to streamline their crossing improvement efforts; to easily communicate and inform the public of the decisions made and their reasons for doing so; to secure stakeholder buy-in prior to starting a project or investigation; to make sure that approach and selected treatments are more standardized; and to ensure transparency in the organization to make at-grade crossings safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, without negatively impacting trains or vehicles.

A Case Study of Planning

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlon Boarnet ◽  
Randall C. Crane
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
San Diego ◽  
The United States ◽  
San Diego County ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
The South

The facts, figures, and inferences in chapter 7 regarding municipal behavior toward transit-oriented housing opportunities illustrate many points. Still, there is much that even a careful statistical analysis might miss or misunderstand. For that reason, we also explored what we could learn by talking to real planners about these issues. The case of San Diego is interesting and useful for several reasons. First, the San Diego Trolley is the oldest of the current generation of light rail projects in the United States. Unlike many newer systems, the age of San Diego’s rail transit (the South Line opened in 1981) allows time for land use planning to respond to the fixed investment. Second, the San Diego system is no stranger to modern transit-based planning ideas. The San Diego City Council approved a land-use plan for their stations that includes many of the ideas promoted by transit-oriented development (TOD) advocates (City of San Diego, 1992). Third, the light rail transit (LRT) authority in San Diego County, the Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB), is often regarded as one of the more successful municipal LRT agencies. The initial parts of the MTDB rail transit system were constructed strictly with state and local funds, using readily available, relatively low-cost technology (Demoro and Harder, 1989, p. 6). Portions of San Diego’s system have high fare-box recovery rates, including the South Line, which in its early years recovered as much as 90 percent of operating costs at the fare box (Gómez-Ibáñez, 1985). All of these factors make San Diego potentially a “best-case” example of TOD implementation. When generalizing from this case study, it is important to remember that the transit station area development process in San Diego is likely better developed than in many other urban areas in the United States. The results from San Diego County can illustrate general issues that, if they have not already been encountered, might soon become important in other urban areas with rail transit systems. Also, given San Diego County’s longer history of both LRT and TOD when compared with most other regions, any barriers identified in San Diego County might be even more important elsewhere.

scholarly journals Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Accidents - The Problems

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert T. Hintersteiner
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
General Public ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Public ◽  
Railroad Tracks ◽  
Pedestrian Traffic ◽  
Grade Crossing ◽  
Grade Separation ◽  
The Cost

The Paper Will Address The Crisis Of Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Accidents In The United States. A Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Is Where A Public Or Private Roadway Crosses Railroad Tracks. Over The Years, There Have Been Many Studies And Programs To Warn The General Public Of The Hazards Of Crossing Railroad Tracks. However, The Same Types Of Railroad-Highway Crossing Accidents Continue To Occur, Despite Attempts To Educate The Public. As Will Be Discussed, Communication Between Transportation Professionals And Coordination Of Railroad And Highway Operations Also Contributes To The Crisis. The Most Effective Way To Eliminate Grade Crossing Accidents Is To Provide Grade Separation Of The Railroad From Vehicle And Pedestrian Traffic. This Has Been Completed At 39,68 1 Locations. It Is A Very Expensive Proposition. Therefore, It Has Been Done Only In Urban Areas, And Along Limited Access Highways And Arterials. The Cost Of Constructing A Grade Separated Crossing Is Estimated To Be Five Million Dollars Per Location.

Rail Transit in the Next Millennium: Some Global Perspectives

2000 ◽  
Vol 1704 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert S. Levinson
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Transit Systems ◽  
Global Perspectives ◽  
Rail Systems ◽  
Per Capita

Worldwide rail transit is discussed, focusing on grade-separated metro and light rail systems. Systems are compared by continent and country, number of lines per urban area, line lengths, station spacing, rail kilometers per million persons, annual rides per capita, and riders per route kilometer. Nine countries—the United States, the former Soviet Union, Germany, Japan, France, China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Canada—account for 68 percent of all rail transit systems. Ridership per capita is generally lowest in North America and highest on systems in the former Soviet Union. Europe has the largest number of systems, the most rail kilometers per million persons, and the third highest level in annual rides per capita. Comparisons and trends suggest a need for additional rail transit in the next millennium, as urban areas throughout the world continue to grow.

Development of Crash Energy Management for Light Rail Vehicles

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven W. Kirkpatrick ◽  
Robert A. MacNeill ◽  
Glenn Gough ◽  
Emil Hice
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Energy Management ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vehicle Design ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Rail Vehicle ◽  
Design Methodologies ◽  
Rail Vehicles ◽  
Rail Industry

Rail vehicle safety standards for the United States have historically placed emphasis on static structural strength requirements to ensure safety. The primary requirements to ensure crash safety of light rail vehicles were static load cases including car body buff loads, collision post loads, corner post loads, etc. More recent developments for light rail vehicles in the United States have included crash energy management design methodologies. This is consistent with the trend in other modes of transportation applying modern crashworthiness engineering. The challenges of incorporating crash energy management into light rail vehicles are the lack of crashworthiness standards for the light rail industry, the introduction of new design methodologies, and the concerns of compatibility of new and older equipment. This issue of compatibility in vehicle designs would often inhibit introduction of innovations and potential safety improvements within an existing light rail transit system. However, there are ongoing efforts to address each of these challenges. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has a committee working on the development of a new safety standard for light rail vehicles. Light rail vehicle manufacturers are increasingly using modern crashworthiness design principles. In addition, modern crash analysis methodologies allow for the assessment of vehicle incompatibilities in the design process. In this paper, the developments of crash energy management strategies in the light rail industry are discussed. These include the ongoing standards development efforts and the application of crash energy management principles in recent light rail vehicle design efforts. Examples will be provided for the use of crash analyses in a vehicle design. The interaction of the crash and static analyses will be discussed and examples of both compatible and incompatible collision scenarios will be presented.

scholarly journals The oxidizing power of the dark side: Rapid nocturnal aging of biomass burning as an overlooked source of oxidized organic aerosol

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Kodros ◽  
Dimitris Papanastasiou ◽  
Marco Paglione ◽  
Mauro Masiol ◽  
Stefania Squizzato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Organic Aerosol ◽  
The United States ◽  
Photochemical Activity ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Ambient Atmosphere ◽  
Chemical Transport Model

<p>Oxidized organic aerosol (OOA) is a major component of ambient particulate matter, substantially affecting both climate and human health. A considerable body of evidence has established that OOA is readily produced in the presence of daylight, thus leading to the association of high concentrations of OOA in the summer or mid-afternoon. However, this current mechanistic understanding fails to explain elevated OOA concentrations during night or wintertime periods of low photochemical activity, thus leading atmospheric models to under predict OOA concentrations by a factor of 3-5. Here we show that fresh emissions from biomass burning rapidly forms OOA in the laboratory over a few hours and without any sunlight. The resulting OOA chemical composition is consistent with the observed OOA in field studies in major urban areas. To estimate the contribution of nocturnally aged OOA in the ambient atmosphere, we incorporate this nighttime-aging mechanism into a chemical-transport model and find that over much of the United States greater than 75% of the OOA formed from fresh biomass burning emissions underwent nighttime aging processes. Thus, the conceptual framework that OOA is predominantly formed in the presence of daylight fails to account for a substantial and rapid oxidation process occurring in the dark.</p>

scholarly journals Modeling and simulation of a control system of wheels of wheelset

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 73-83
Author(s):  
Andrzej Chudzikiewicz ◽  
Juraj Gerlici ◽  
Magdalena Sowińska ◽  
Anna Stelmach ◽  
Wojciech Wawrzyński
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Bogie Frame ◽  
Passenger Rail ◽  
Rail Vehicles ◽  
Control Concept ◽  
Angular Velocities

Modern light rail vehicles, such as a tram or rail bus, due to the need to provide mobility for the elderly or disabled people and the requirements of operators operating passenger rail transport or transport in urban areas must have a 100% low floor. Structurally, this is associated with the use of wheelset with independently rotating wheels (IRW) in such vehicles. It is also possible to use a bogie structure without the use of a wheelset axle by mounting the wheels directly in the side parts of the bogie frame. This construction is more complex and will not be discussed in this article. Bearing in mind the dynamic behavior of such vehicles during operation (lateral stability, profile wear) in various driving conditions (curve traffic, crossovers) and taking into account operating costs, it becomes necessary to install wheel rotation control systems to maintain center movement mass of the wheelset around the centerline of the track. The subject of the article will be considerations on modeling and simulation of rail vehicle bogie motion with IRW sets including the wheel control system. Nominal and mathematical models of the analyzed vehicle will be presented, as well as a controlled strategy based on the comparison of the angular velocities of the wheels of the wheelset A review of works on solutions of such systems will be presented, and a control concept will be proposed. The summary contains conclusions regarding the possibility of practical use of the proposed method of steering wheels of a wheelset in the c ase of independently rotating wheels.

Use of Biomonitoring to Control Toxics in the United States

1988 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson A. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Chronic Toxicity ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Toxicity Tests ◽  
Toxic Pollutants ◽  
Receiving Waters ◽  
Biological Field

A biomonitoring program has been developed in support of the National Policy for the Development of Water Quality-Based Permit Limitations for Toxic Pollutants. The program focuses on the use of laboratory toxicity tests on aquatic plants and animals to predict ecosystem impact caused by toxic pollutants. Both acute and chronic toxicity tests were developed to test effluents and ambient waters. Laboratory and biological field studies were conducted at nine sites. Single species laboratory toxicity tests were found to be good predictors of impacts on the ecosystem when two or more species were used. Biomonitoring can be undertaken either on effluents and/or on the receiving waters. In that toxicity related to seeps, leachates and storm sewers has often been found upstream from dischargers, it is beneficial to conduct both effluent and ambient biomonitoring.

scholarly journals Presentation, Management, and Outcomes across the Rural-Urban Continuum for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kali Zhou ◽  
Trevor A Pickering ◽  
Christina S Gainey ◽  
Myles Cockburn ◽  
Mariana C Stern ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Tumor Stage ◽  
The United States ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Urban Residents ◽  
Place Of Residence ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
Receive Treatment

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of few cancers with rising incidence and mortality in the United States. Little is known about disease presentation and outcomes across the rural-urban continuum. Methods Using the population-based SEER registry, we identified adults with incident hepatocellular carcinoma between 2000–2016. Urban, suburban and rural residence at time of cancer diagnosis were categorized by the Census Bureau’s percent of the population living in non-urban areas. We examined association between place of residence and overall survival. Secondary outcomes were late tumor stage and receipt of therapy. Results Of 83,368 cases, 75.8%, 20.4%, and 3.8% lived in urban, suburban, and rural communities, respectively. Median survival was 7 months (IQR 2–24). All stage and stage-specific survival differed by place of residence, except for distant stage. In adjusted models, rural and suburban residents had a respective 1.09-fold (95% CI = 1.04–1.14, p < .001) and 1.08-fold (95% CI = 1.05–1.10, p < .001) increased hazard of overall mortality as compared to urban residents. Furthermore, rural and suburban residents had 18% (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.10–1.27, p < .001) and 5% (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.02–1.09, p = .003) higher odds of diagnosis at late stage and were 12% (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.80–0.94, p < .001) and 8% (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.88–0.95, p < .001) less likely to receive treatment, respectively, compared to urban residents. Conclusions Residence in a suburban and rural community at time of diagnosis was independently associated with worse indicators across the cancer continuum for liver cancer. Further research is needed to elucidate the primary drivers of these rural-urban disparities.

Identification of Potential Freight Parking Locations in Urban Areas

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812110130
Author(s):  
Glenn Vorhes ◽  
Ernest Perry ◽  
Soyoung Ahn
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Information System ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Truck Drivers ◽  
Short List ◽  
Automated Processes ◽  
Parking Facilities ◽  
Urban Sites

Truck parking is a crucial element of the United States’ transportation system as it provides truckers with safe places to rest and stage for deliveries. Demand for truck parking spaces exceeds supply and shortages are especially common in and around urban areas. Freight operations are negatively affected as truck drivers are unable to park in logistically ideal locations. Drivers may resort to unsafe practices such as parking on ramps or in abandoned lots. This report seeks to examine the potential parking availability of vacant urban parcels by establishing a methodology to identify parcels and examining whether the identified parcels are suitable for truck parking. Previous research has demonstrated that affordable, accessible parcels are available to accommodate truck parking. When used in conjunction with other policies, adaptation of urban sites could help reduce the severity of truck parking shortages. Geographic information system parcel and roadway data were obtained for one urban area in each of the 10 Mid America Association of Transportation Officials region states. Area and proximity filters were applied followed by spectral analysis of satellite imagery to identify candidate parcels for truck parking facilities within urban areas. The automated processes created a ranked short list of potential parcels from which those best suited for truck parking could be efficiently identified for inspection by satellite imagery. This process resulted in a manageable number of parcels to be evaluated further by local knowledge metrics such as availability and cost, existing infrastructure and municipal connections, and safety.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document