Exposure-Based Models of Trail User Crashes at Roadway Crossings

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812199869
Author(s):  
Robert J. Schneider ◽  
Andrew Schmitz ◽  
Greg Lindsey ◽  
Xiao Qin
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Traffic Volume ◽  
Signalized Intersections ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Statistical Relationship ◽  
Lognormal Model ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
The City

Multi-use trails are popular for transportation and recreation, but pedestrians and bicyclists are exposed to motor vehicle traffic at trail crossings (locations where trails cross roadways), creating the risk of crashes, injuries, and fatalities. Many trail crossing design guidelines suggest best practices to make trail crossings safe, but few studies have quantified the statistical relationship between trail user crashes and a broad set of trail crossing characteristics. Our study developed one of the first trail crossing crash models using trail user crashes reported at 197 crossings in the city of Minneapolis, MN, and in the Milwaukee, WI, region between 2011 and 2018. We took advantage of widespread trail counting programs and historic aerial and street-level imagery to create and test more than 30 theoretically important potential explanatory variables. We addressed the challenge that many crossings had small numbers of crashes (or zero crashes) during the study period by using a Poisson-lognormal model. Our model showed significant associations between trail crossing crashes and trail traffic volume, roadway motor vehicle volume, three-way intersections where the trail crosses perpendicular to the mainline roadway, and total crossing length. Although not statistically significant, signalized intersections and limited sight lines between drivers and trail users near crossings may also be associated with more crashes. Future research can build on this study and expand systemic efforts to improve trail crossing safety.

scholarly journals Double P! Public Spaces in Dubai: a Paranoiac Panopticon

2020 ◽  
pp. 247-262
Author(s):  
Therese Chidiac
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cultural Images ◽  
Human Scale ◽  
Free Market Capitalism ◽  
Back Stage ◽  
The City

Despite the crisis of the metaphoric growth of its superficiality to its deadening sterility, Dubai stands as an attractive destination in the desert simulating a collage of cultural images from around the world with a centrally-planned free market capitalism attracting investors and developers. This paper is part of my master in architecture thesis at Politecnico di Milano titled: 5km/hr Manifesto and it outlines the problematical aspect of Dubai DNA: Dubai public spaces. The city is metaphorically analysed, as a collage city of exogenous fragments and a system city resembling a biological cell with defects in it’s the so-called public spaces that are designed as a model of a virtual panopticon of social surveillance forged by a set of do’s and don’ts. Built up rapidly over the past few years on the wealth gotten from oil, public spaces in Dubai have no depth of history or indigenous culture, no complexity, no conflicts, no doubts, nothing to stand in the way of its being shaped into the ultimate wonderland. The Arab notion of public has been dramatically ignored in the planning of the city and has been replaced with a collage of regulated western modernist spaces that have failed to create pockets of interaction and communication bringing in mind a problematical situation and an utopic question: How to demystify the panopticon effect and make Dubai more liveable? This leads to the recall of the qualities of the endogenous Arabic Public Space: The Souk. A set of characteristics has been concluded and if integrated, might really change Dubai public spaces from a paranoic panopticon to a more liveable space. Enclosure and privacy, human scale and density, the stage and back stage effect were essential conditions in the souk and are elaborated in this paper presenting a set of new design guidelines for claiming back what is supposed to be public and might develop into further future research.

scholarly journals The impact of different saturation headway values on intersection capacity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dražen Cvitanić ◽  
Biljana Maljković
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Flow Structure ◽  
Road Network ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Traffic Volume ◽  
Signalized Intersections ◽  
Signal Timing ◽  
Bad Weather ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Elements of the city road network that determine its capacity are signalized intersections. Their capacity depends of many factors: traffic volume and distribution, traffic flow structure, signal timing, and number of bicyclists and pedestrians. However, the starting parameter for calculation of intersection capacity is saturation headway. This research explores the influence of weather conditions and purpose of trip on saturation headway. Saturation headways were determined on few intersections in the morning peak hour of working and weekend day, in good and bad weather conditions. The impact of different trip purposes and different weather conditions on intersection capacity is analysed, as well as the influence of using mean and median values of saturation headway when calculating the intersection capacity.

scholarly journals The irruption of AirBNB and its effects on hotels' profitability: An analysis of Barcelona's hotel sector

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Aznar ◽  
Josep M Sayeras ◽  
Alba Rocafort ◽  
Jorge Galiana
Keyword(s):  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Return On Equity ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Strategic Variable ◽  
The City

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyze the existence of a relationship between the presence of nearby substitute products, mainly Airbnb flats or rooms, and the effect on the revenue and profitability of hotels.Design/methodology/approach: The empirical study is based on the analysis of financial information provided in the annual reports of a sample consisting of 43 hotels (11.78% of the population). As an explanatory variable for profitability, we have considered the presence of apartments listed in Airbnb that are no farther than one kilometer from each hotel. Considering that most of the variables used do not follow a normal distribution, the existence of a relationship between profitability and the explanatory variables has been tested using non-parametric tests, namely, the Spearman correlation coefficient and Kruskall-Wallis test.Findings: We found a positive correlation between presence of Airbnb apartments and return on equity. This fact can be explained by considering the presence of Airbnb apartments as a variable that measures the attractiveness of the location from a tourist’s point of view. Hotels located near the city center or main tourist areas of the city have a higher level of profitability. We also found no evidence of any relationship between profitability and star category; 4- and 3-star hotels have experienced, on average, a lower drop in revenues between 2008 and 2013 and they also obtained a higher average level of profitability in 2013 as compared to the upper segment of 5-star hotels.Research limitations/implications: This research has been conducted in the city of Barcelona. Future research using the same methodology should be applied to other cities with an important hospitality sector to reinforce our findings. The main implications of this research refer to the importance of location as a key strategic variable in hospitality, and to the change in the system customers use to evaluate the quality of a hotel, according to which the traditional star category system has been partially replaced by new sources of information available through the new communication technologies.Originality/value: This paper is one of the first contributions that scholars have made to obtain a deeper understanding of the effects of the new forms of the sharing economy, focusing on the hospitality industry.

Development and Validation of a Seven-County Regional Pedestrian Volume Model

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812199236
Author(s):  
Robert J. Schneider ◽  
Andrew Schmitz ◽  
Xiao Qin
Keyword(s):  
Low Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Negative Binomial Regression ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cube Root ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
New Variables ◽  
Development And Validation

This study describes the development and validation of pedestrian intersection crossing volume models for the seven-county Milwaukee metropolitan region. The set of three models, among the first developed at a multi-county scale, can be used to estimate the total number of pedestrian crossings per year at four-leg intersections along state highways and other major thoroughfares. Outputs are appropriate for annual volumes ranging from 1,000 to 650,000. We used negative binomial regression to relate annual pedestrian volumes at 260 intersections to roadway and surrounding neighborhood socioeconomic and land-use variables. The three models include seven variables that have significant positive associations with annual pedestrian volume: population density within 400 m of the intersection; employment density within 400 m; number of bus stops within 100 m; number of retail businesses within 100 m; number of restaurant and bar businesses within 100 m; presence of a school within 400 m; and proportion of households without a motor vehicle within 400 m. Results suggest that square root or cube root transformations of continuous explanatory variables could potentially improve model fit. The models have fair accuracy, with each of the three model formulations predicting 60% or more of validation intersection counts to within half or double the observed value. Future research could address overprediction by creating new variables to better represent the number of lanes on each intersection leg and low socioeconomic status of adjacent neighborhoods.

scholarly journals An Online Reputation Analysis of the Tourism Industry in Marbella: A Preliminary Study on Open Innovation

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
María Jesús Carrasco-Santos ◽  
Antonio Manuel Ciruela-Lorenzo ◽  
Juan Gabriel Méndez Pavón ◽  
Carmen Cristófol Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Full Data ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
Specific Advice ◽  
Sociodemographic Profile ◽  
The One ◽  
Online Reputation ◽  
The City

This research analyzed the online reputation of Marbella as a tourist destination and the profiles of the reviewers according to sociodemographic characteristics. A correlational, quantitative research technique was used in this study based on the manual extraction of more than 4000 reviews generated on TripAdvisor. The data used in this study were collected from the TripAdvisor website, taking, as a sample, tourists who had visited the city in the last three years. Ratings that did not provide full data on the variables were excluded. The findings show that Marbella is considered a luxury shopping destination. The preliminary conclusions allow us to generalize about the sociodemographic profile of its tourists. The findings of the study will provide valuable information for Marbella’s Destination Management Organization (DMO). On the one hand, this study highlights the importance of ranking the attractions of the city to create better communication strategies and enhance the appeal of those attractions that receive the best ratings, establishing the true vocation of Marbella as a tourist destination. On the other hand, it provides information on what tourists perceive to be negative elements, allowing the administration to create an improvement plan. The novelty of this research paper is that it delves into Marbella’s online reputation through an analysis of specific attractions’ ratings. Areas that require further attention in future research have been highlighted, along with specific advice on each attraction that contributes to the tourist offerings of the city.

scholarly journals COVID Lockdowns, Social Distancing, and Fatal Car Crashes: More Deaths on Hobbesian Highways?

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 238-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marshall W. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Traffic Volume ◽  
Similar Data ◽  
World War ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Usa

Abstract Research Question What happened to US traffic safety during the first US COVID-19 lockdown, and why was the pattern the opposite of that observed in previous sudden declines of traffic volume? Data National and local statistics on US traffic volume, traffic fatalities, injury accidents, speeding violations, running of stop signs, and other indicators of vehicular driving behavior, both in 2020 and in previous US economic recessions affecting the volume of road traffic. Methods Comparative analysis of the similarities and differences between the data for the COVID-19 lockdown in parts of the USA in March 2020 and similar data for the 2008–2009 global economic crisis, as well as other US cases of major reductions in traffic volume. Findings The volume of traffic contracted sharply once a COVID-19 national emergency was declared and most states issued stay-at-home orders, but motor vehicle fatality rates, injury accidents, and speeding violations went up, and remained elevated even as traffic began returning toward normal. This pattern does not fit post-World War II recessions where fatality rates declined with the volume of traffic nor does the 2020 pattern match the pattern during World War II when traffic dropped substantially with little change in motor vehicle fatality rates. Conclusions The findings are consistent with a theory of social distancing on highways undermining compliance with social norms, a social cost of COVID which, if not corrected, poses potential long-term increases in non-compliance and dangerous driving.

scholarly journals How Much Is Enough? First Steps to a Social Ecology of the Pergamon Microregion

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 479
Author(s):  
Julian Laabs ◽  
Daniel Knitter
Keyword(s):  
Carrying Capacity ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Cultural Dynamics ◽  
Imperial Period ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Complementary Region ◽  
The City

In this study, we present a transparent and reproducible approach to model agricultural production with respect to environmental characteristics and available labour. Our research focuses on the city of Pergamon and its surroundings, with an emphasis on the transition between the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial Period, where widespread demographic changes took place. We investigated the degree of local self-sufficiency using different concepts of a city’s complementary region. Using simple topographic derivatives, we derive a measure of environmental suitability that we translate into a carrying capacity index. Our results show that workforce was not a limiting factor for local self-sufficiency. However, environmental carrying capacity may have been limiting in a scenario with a large population. An active investment into the environment, e.g., by the construction of terraces, could have helped to increase the degree of self-sufficiency. Future research should investigate the level of resilience of such a coupled socio-ecological system in relation to environmental and socio-cultural dynamics.

scholarly journals Anchoring the social economy at the metropolitan scale: Findings from the Liverpool City Region

Urban Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 004209802097265
Author(s):  
Matthew Thompson ◽  
Alan Southern ◽  
Helen Heap
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
City Region ◽  
Anchor Institutions ◽  
Urban Economic Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Economies ◽  
The City

This article revisits debates on the contribution of the social economy to urban economic development, specifically focusing on the scale of the city region. It presents a novel tripartite definition – empirical, essentialist, holistic – as a useful frame for future research into urban social economies. Findings from an in-depth case study of the scale, scope and value of the Liverpool City Region’s social economy are presented through this framing. This research suggests that the social economy has the potential to build a workable alternative to neoliberal economic development if given sufficient tailored institutional support and if seen as a holistic integrated city-regional system, with anchor institutions and community anchor organisations playing key roles.

scholarly journals Extracting Road Traffic Volume in the City before and during covid-19 through Video Remote Sensing

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2329
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Macioszek ◽  
Agata Kurek
Keyword(s):  
Travel Behavior ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Traffic Volume ◽  
The Road ◽  
Traffic Characteristics ◽  
Annual Average Daily Traffic ◽  
On The Road ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Continuous, automatic measurements of road traffic volume allow the obtaining of information on daily, weekly or seasonal fluctuations in road traffic volume. They are the basis for calculating the annual average daily traffic volume, obtaining information about the relevant traffic volume, or calculating indicators for converting traffic volume from short-term measurements to average daily traffic volume. The covid-19 pandemic has contributed to extensive social and economic anomalies worldwide. In addition to the health consequences, the impact on travel behavior on the transport network was also sudden, extensive, and unpredictable. Changes in the transport behavior resulted in different values of traffic volume on the road and street network than before. The article presents road traffic volume analysis in the city before and during the restrictions related to covid-19. Selected traffic characteristics were compared for 2019 and 2020. This analysis made it possible to characterize the daily, weekly and annual variability of traffic volume in 2019 and 2020. Moreover, the article attempts to estimate daily traffic patterns at particular stages of the pandemic. These types of patterns were also constructed for the weeks in 2019 corresponding to these stages of the pandemic. Daily traffic volume distributions in 2020 were compared with the corresponding ones in 2019. The obtained results may be useful in terms of planning operational and strategic activities in the field of traffic management in the city and management in subsequent stages of a pandemic or subsequent pandemics.

Sustainability Certification and Green Public Procurement: Ideals and Outcomes in a New Jersey School District

2021 ◽  
pp. 097340822110125
Author(s):  
Cluny Mendez ◽  
Christopher L. Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
New Jersey ◽  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Green Public Procurement ◽  
The Subject

The implementation of sustainability and green public procurement (GPP) initiatives in school districts has been the subject of some debate; questions over definitions and programme goals have led to inconsistency and concerns about programme achievements. The legitimacy of programmes rests not only with the announcement of policy by officials, but with adherence to policy and staff buy-in. This study examines barriers districts face, and makes recommendations based upon district experience on ways to successfully implement sustainability and GPP initiatives. A review of the literature on GPP and legitimacy in the execution of public functions within the education domain begins the study. Major components relative to best practices for GPP programmes are studied through the review of GPP-related documents from a school district in New Jersey considered as an exemplar of such programmes. Analysis of an interview with the district’s representatives suggests that, despite the normative approval such programmes receive, and widespread understanding of the rationale for pursuing such initiatives, there remain critical failings in implementation of these programmes, stemming from education, resourcing of initiatives and prioritization of green procurement in relation to other district priorities. The study concludes with lessons learned from this case, which is important given its positioning within New Jersey as an exemplar and recommendations for future research where work in this area is needed.

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