Transportation Planning (Final Exam)

Front 1

4 steps of the traditional four-step process

Back 1

Trip Generation, Trip Distribution, Mode Split, Traffic Asssignment; (draw the diagram if time permits)

Front 2

major pollutants emitted by automobiles and how are these emitted?

Back 2

Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), Carbon monoxide (CO), Particulates (PM10) emitted by exaust, Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOCs) emitted by evaporative emissions

Front 3

Two simulation models available for air quality analysis? Base premise? Who developed them?

Back 3

emission models - computes HC, CO, and NO emissions for different vehicle types in low/high altitude and california, developed by EPA ; dispersion models - computes concentration of pollutants in atmosphere, developed by UC-Riverside

Front 4

factors that have an affect on vehicle emission rates (from Table 7.11)

Back 4

Vehicle parameters, fuel parameters, environmental factors, vehicle operating conditions

Front 5

methods identified to reduce emissions?

Back 5

lower VMT (connectivity, centrally focused, no high speed peripheral routes), optimize operations (keep speeds between 15 and 45 mph, minimize speed changes, minimize idle)

Front 6

3 sources of noises associated with automobiles and how can they be reduced?

Back 6

wind shear, engine & mechanical parts, tire/pavement friction, can be reduced by source, path, and receiver

Front 7

several ways for automobile noise to reach from the vehicle to the residences nearby, what are these ways?

Back 7

direct, reflected, diffracted, transmitted

Front 8

primary effects of noise?

Back 8

auditory effects (hearing loss, speech interference), physiological/sociological effects (annoyance, sleep interference), socio-economic effects (land value reduction)

Front 9

project evaluation

Back 9

process of determining the desirability of different courses of action and of presenting this information to decision makers in a comprehensive and useful form

Front 10

What are the characteristics of an effective evaluation procedure? (8 listed pp. 486-488)

Back 10

1. Focus on the decisions being faced by decision makers
2. Relate the consequences of alternatives to goals and objectives
3. Determine how different groups are affected by transportation proposals
4. Be sensitive to the time frame in which project impacts are likely to occur
5. In the case of regional transportation planning, produce information on the likely impacts of alternatives at a level of aggregation that permits varying levels of assessment
6. Analyze the implementation requirements of each
alternative
7. Assess the financial feasibility of the actions
recommended in the plan
8. Provide information to decision makers on the value of alternatives in a readily understandable form and in a timely fashion

Front 11

6 general characteristics of benefits and costs?

Back 11

Real and pecuniary impacts, direct and indirect benefits & costs, tangible or intangible impacts, internal/external benefits & costs, user and nonuser benefits & costs, total and incremental costs & benefits

Front 12

6 social costs of transportation?

Back 12

1-Personal non monetary costs of using motor vehicles, 2-explicitly priced private sector motor vehicle goods and services, net of producer surplus, taxes and fees, 3-“Bundled” private sector goods (implicitly priced), 4-Government services charged partly to motor vehicles users (annual fees), 5-Monetary externalities (travel delay), 6-Non-monetary externalities (pollution)

Front 13

explain the framework for evaluation. (Sec. 8.3)?

Back 13

A hierarchy of benefits and costs commonly considered as part of a transportation planning process

Front 14

explain the cost effectiveness evaluation – why is this method useful? (Sec. 8.4)

Back 14

estimates the level of goals and objectives attainment per dollar of net expenditure, captures as much as possible all of the benefits associated with a project

Front 15

explain the four methods of single-objective assessment. (Sec. 8.6.1)

Back 15

Present worth- discount costs and benefits to get present value and compare
Annual worth- determine the discounted annual equivalent benefits and costs for each alternative and compare annualized values
Benefit/cost- separate costs from benefits and compare equivalent annual (or present) values for each – calculate B/C ratio
Return-on-investment- find the interest rate that balances present and future cash flows and

Front 16

What are the characteristics of a programming process and the considerations for such a process? (Sec. 9.1)

Back 16

resource availability, resource distribution, staging of projects over time

Front 17

What is a TIP?

Back 17

transportation improvement plan

Front 18

How often must a TIP be updated?

Back 18

at least every 2 years

Front 19

What recent federal regulations have been provided for the TIP?

Back 19

1975 required each urbanized area to have a TIP

Front 20

Transportation and Land Development Cycle – explain this process.

Back 20

The construction of new arterial streets, or major reconstruction of an existing thoroughfare, modifies the accessibility of an area; this, in turn, leads to development and increased traffic demands.

Front 21

describe the basic approaches to provide information on project priorities: goal achievement

Back 21

Identifies objectives that are important to a region and subsequently links project priorities to goals achievement

Front 22

describe the basic approaches to provide information on project priorities: numerical ratings

Back 22

B/C analysis
Net present worth
Cost effectiveness
Bridge sufficiency ratings

Front 23

describe the basic approaches to provide information on project priorities: priority indexes

Back 23

Most commonly used approach
Based on measures of user benefit, environmental
impacts, safety, and current facility condition

Front 24

describe the basic approaches to provide information on project priorities: programming evaluation matrices

Back 24

Similar to the evaluation matrix in Chapter 8, except that criteria relate to project priorities instead of project impacts

Front 25

describe the basic approaches to provide information on project priorities: multi-objective systems analysis techniques

Back 25

Assessment of methods that results in an “optimal” time-staged sequencing of projects over the investment period
Most often uses linear programming designed to maximize discounted net benefits subject to a series of constraints
Not generally used at metropolitan level for reasons outlined in the text

Front 26

Forces which influence the dynamics of land development

Back 26

government policy, change in family income or transport system including LOS provided by the transport system

Front 27

Transportation planning vs. site planning

Back 27

Identify major travel corridors and provide projections of the approximate volume of traffic within these corridors transportation planning cannot provide detail data such as turning volumes and peak hour volumes which are needed for actual physical facility design.

Front 28

Stratification of the planning process (4 levels). Where does site planning fit in?

Back 28

Level 1 - infinite
Level 2 - 20yr horizon
Level 3 - short range, 5 to 10 yrs (site planning)
Level 4 - individual public works projects and private developments

Front 29

Linear site planning and the benefits of a systems approach

Back 29

building location and design, on-site parking & circulation, access location & design does not allow feedback or proper access design, systems approach involves engineer from the beginning

Front 30

Proposed development review process

Back 30

Financial feasibility study, Site-plan review, Traffic impact analysis (TIA)

Front 31

Purpose of a traffic impact analysis and the basic principles of access management

Back 31

determine the need for any improvements to the adjacent and nearby
road system

Front 32

evaluation

Back 32

process of determining the desirability of different courses of action and presenting to decision makers

Front 33

benefit

Back 33

additions to a community's welfare

Front 34

cost

Back 34

diminished welfare of community or capital cost

Front 35

efficiency frontier

Back 35

slope on cost-benefit graph with highest value return

Front 36

programming

Back 36

“the matching of available projects with available
funds to accomplish the goals of a given period”