Class Notes - Class 12 (Wednesday,
October 3, 2001)
Today's class will provide a review for
examination #1.
Click here
for lecture notes. Exam format:
- The examination will be closed
book.
- You will have the entire class
period to complete the exam.
- You should bring blank paper,
pencils and an eraser, and a calculator.
- An equation sheet will be provided
with the examination. However, none of the variables will be defined
and there will be more equations than you will need. In other words,
you need to be able to recognize the correct equation to use for a
particular problem.
- The exam will not just be using
equations, however. You should make sure that you understand the
material that we have covered in sufficient depth so that you can discuss
concepts clearly and that you can show that you can analyze new situations
using the tools that you have learned during the first five weeks of the
semester.
General topic areas to review
- During the first week, we discussed
policies issues related to transportation planning.
- During the second and third weeks,
we discussed the Highway Capacity Manual and how it is used to determine
quality of service for pedestrian facilities.
- During the fourth week, we conducted
an origin-destination study and learned how this technique can be used to
study travel patterns in a corridor.
- During the fifth week, we studied
the planning method of the Highway Capacity Manual for signalized
intersections.
Most important note: As you
prepare for the exam, go beyond the equations: what are the key points
that you can learn about each topic. What is important about each
technical method? How is it used or applied?
Policy and planning questions to
consider from week 1.
- In the chapter by Meyer and Gomez-Ibanez,
(Autos, Transit, and Cities, Chapter 1, The evolution of public concerns and
policies), they make the following assertion: "solving problems
created by the automobile will require modifications in both the use and
design of the automobile itself. Nothing less will suffice.
Other policies, such as improving alternative types of transit, can help,
but cannot do the job alone". Based on your reading of this
chapter, what is the basis for this statement?
- Meyer and Gomez-Ibanez
also state that: "Public policy in urban transportation has all
too often been based on on highly oversimplified diagnosis, without any
recognition of the interactions among various urban transportation policies
and other public policy goals. Specifically, public policy has tended
to shift from one simple panacea to another. ... Unfortunately, the need all
along has not been for large-scale attempts to solve the urban
transportation problem at one swoop but rather for a sustained, systematic,
simultaneous effort on many fronts. This effort, moreover, must
include an undertaking to make the automobile a more acceptable and
civilized part of the urban scene; problems created by the dominance of the
automobile in urban transportation cannot be solved by seeking a solution
through indirect expedients." What past policies, according to
Meyer and Gomez-Ibanez, have been attempted and have not succeeded?
- Altshuler describes the
problems of urban transportation as highway congestion, the decline of mass
transit, the disruptive effects of highway construction, and the high rate
of highway accidents. How would you propose to measure whether these
are actual problems or only perceptions?
- Taebel and Cornehls
describe seven ideological categories that can be used to classify
approaches that have been taken to analyze or assess the urban
transportation problem. These categories include the auto monopolists,
the auto apologists, the social engineers, the trustbusters, the transit
technicians, the balancers, and the ecologists. Why do you suppose
that it is important for transportation planners to understand these
categories as they address transportation problems?
- Meyer and Miller describe
the classic approach to transportation planning as one that produces a
plan. The product of the planning process "can be any
form of communication with decision-makers that provides useful information
in identifying alternative actions and selecting among them."
What do they mean by this assertion?
- Meyer and Miller list eight trends
that provide a context for urban transportation. These trends were
identified in the early 1980s and include: fiscal austerity as a theme of
governmental policy, increased awareness of an uncertain future, a changing
perspective on the role of the automobile, changing household
characteristics, a broadening of the roles for transportation, moving away
from technological solutions, continuing suburbanization of urban areas, and
increasing attention to system rehabilitation and maintenance.
Carefully consider each trend. Based on your view of today's
conditions (in the U.S. or in your home country), would you eliminate any of
these trends as not characterizing today's conditions? Or, would you
add any trends that have occurred in the past twenty years that should be
added to this list?
- Meyer and Miller define
transportation planning as (1) understanding the types of decisions that
need to be made, (2) assessing opportunities and limitations of the future,
(3) identifying the short- and long-term consequences of alternative choices
designed to take advantage of these opportunities or respond to these
limitations, (4) relating alternative decisions to the goals and objectives
established for an urban area, agency, or firm, and (5) presenting this
information to decision makers in a readily understandable and useful
form. Consider these five elements that they propose, list some of the
factors that need to be included in a transportation planning process
designed to determine how to solve the congestion that exists at a
signalized intersection.
- Meyer and Miller propose
four steps that constitute the urban transportation planning process:
diagnosis and data management, analysis and evaluation, scheduling and
budgeting, and monitoring. Considering the example described above
(congestion at a signalized intersection), what activities do you think
should be conducted as part of a transportation planning process?
- Meyer and Miller assert
that the urban transportation system can be characterized by three major
components: (1) the spatial configuration of the transportation
system, (2) the technology of urban transportation, and (3) the
institutional foundation of the urban transportation system. Briefly
describe each component and why it is significant.
Multimodal level of service issues to
consider from weeks 2 and 3.
- What are the differences between the
HCM procedure and the Florida DOT procedure for determine the level of
service at a pedestrian facility? When (for what conditions) should
each procedure be applied?
- What are the components of the
Florida DOT procedure to analyze the level of service at pedestrian
facilities? How important is each component in determining level of
service?
License plate survey from week 4.
- Why is it important to understand
travel patterns along a corridor or a street?
- What are the elements of a license
plate survey?
- What factors must be considered in
the field data collection?
- What factors must be considered in
the analysis of the field data?
Signalized intersection planning
analysis method from week 5.
- What are the input requirements for
this method?
- What left turn (LT) treatments are
possible in this model?
- What is the critical sum?
- What is lost time?
- What is the critical v/c ratio?
- How is the critical v/c ratio
determined?
|