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November 2005
Access to Destinations projects underway
CTS has begun research in the interdisciplinary "Access to Destinations" Study. The research program follows the national Access to Destinations conference that brought researchers from around the world to Minneapolis in November 2004 (view the conference proceedings). The following five projects have been approved for funding:
Development of Accessibility Measures
David Levinson,
Civil Engineering
Sponsor: Mn/DOT
The goal of this research is to develop a set of possible performance measurements that can be used to analyze variable sets of historical land use and travel time data—including data from the freeway networks, surface streets, transit systems, and non-motorized travel—to understand accessibility. Transportation agencies can use these measures in a variety of operational planning and public involvement activities to ascertain how investments, transportation strategies, and land use policies affect the performance of the transportation-land use system.
Refining Methods for Calculating Non-Auto Travel Times
Kevin
Krizek, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
Sponsors: Hennepin
County and Mn/DOT
This research will generate and refine methodologies for calculating non-auto (transit, bicycle, walking) travel times between origins and destinations within the Twin Cities. When married with detailed measures of land use activity, these derived travel times can then be used as required input parameters to calculate the accessibility of destinations within the metro area using differing modes of transportation.
Estimation of Arterial Travel Times
Gary Davis,
Civil Engineering
Sponsor:
Mn/DOT
The main objective of this project is to develop, test, and recommend methods for network-wide estimation and prediction of travel time on arterials.
Generation of Travel-Time Data for the Metro Freeway Network
Taek Kwon, University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD)
Eil Kwon, Mn/DOT
Sponsor: Mn/DOT
This collaborative effort between UMD and the Mn/DOT Office of Traffic, Security, and Operations will generate estimated travel-time data for selected routes in the metro freeway network using archived detector data. The resulting travel-time data could be used for various needs, including the estimation of network traffic performance at Mn/DOT as well as support for other research activities.
Twin Cities Metrowide Traffic Microsimulation: Feasibility Investigation
Panos
Michalopoulos, Civil Engineering
Sponsor: Mn/DOT
The goal of this first phase is to evaluate the feasibility of creating a metro-wide microscopic simulation model. The investigation will include questions such as: Which is the most appropriate simulation application currently on the market? Which will allow for the most cost-effective upgrades in order to meet all requirements? What are the data requirements of a metrowide model?