Speaker:

William Gartner

Description:

Minnesota has over 130 publicly supported airports. Most are small and located in rural areas of the state. In recent years concern has been raised over whether there is sufficient economic impact generated by the airports to justify the public expenditures necessary to keep them active.

In an attempt to deal with part of the economic impact question a web site was created that houses an Economic Impact calculator. This calculator allows airport managers to answer some straightforward questions about the types of activity taking place at the airport. Using an equation developed from primary data research the answers to the questions allow for final output (expenditures) to be estimated. These final output numbers are subjected to county based economic multipliers (IMPLAN) with the resulting output detailing economic impact by type of economic activity and the numbers of jobs supported by the calculated level of expenditures.

Speaker:

Frank Douma

Description:

Car-sharing programs have been in existence in a number of cities in the United States for over five years and have since seen steadily expanding memberships. The purpose of this research is to identify markets and neighborhoods where a car-sharing program might be effective in the Twin Cities region, and to develop a model where low-income individuals could better access this new alternative. For the purposes of understanding the qualities of car-sharing program members and the ways in which they used the service, the researchers conducted exploratory focus group interviews with users of established car-sharing programs in Seattle, WA and Chicago, IL. The researchers discovered that car sharing is a promising element in a multi-modal transportation strategy, and that many opportunities exist for coordination with public transit systems. Thus, in addition to developing recommendations for potential sites for the implementation of a car-sharing service in the Twin Cities, the policy implications of this research will assist in the development of a car-sharing program that could provide better transportation services to the transit-dependent population.

Speaker:

Mihai Marasteanu

Description:

This presentation describes the result of an effort to characterize asphalt emulsions that are typically used in cold in-place recycling (CIR) applications using the current specifications for asphalt binders. Four asphalt emulsions were investigated: CRS-2P, CSS-1, EE, and HFMS-2P. The emulsions were cured using two methods: 1) cure in air at room temperature (air-cured), and 2) use a modified RTFOT approach (RTFOT-cured). The air-cured samples were also aged in the PAV. The residues were tested using the Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR) and the Direct Tension Test (DTT) at low temperatures and the Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) at high and intermediate temperatures.

The methods described in AASHTO M 320 and MP1a specifications were used to determine the critical temperatures for the four asphalt emulsions and master curves of the absolute value of the complex modulus |G*| were obtained to investigate the rheological behavior of the residues over a wide range of temperatures and frequencies.

Speaker:

Nic Ward

Description:

The crash risk associated with cell phone use while driving is a contentious issue. In response, some states are imposing restrictions on the use of hand-held phones. However, there is ample evidence that a risk remains for hands-free phones because of the mental distraction associated with cell phone conversations. Moreover, many states are introducing Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) that may be accessed with cell phones while driving (e.g., 511 Traveler Information Services). In these contexts, relevant research is needed to determine the risk of cell phone use. One method to determine this risk is to compare the driver impairment resulting from cell phone use relative to other identified risks in the driving environment. This study compared driver performance while using a cell phone with performance while operating common in-vehicle controls (e.g., radio, fan, air conditioning) and while intoxicated (BAC 0.08). In addition, the study examined the combined effects of being distracted and being intoxicated, given that many crashes resulted from a combination of risk factors. This presentation will discuss the study process and results.