Research Reports

Persistent link for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11299/241

The Center for Transportation Studies' research reports present the results of University of Minnesota projects in all areas of transportation research.

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Browsing Research Reports by Author "Alarcon, Frank"

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    The ABC Parking Ramps in Minneapolis: A Unique Past. A Visionary Future.
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2019-03) Douma, Frank; Cao, Jason; Corcoran, Heidi; Fan, Yingling; Lari, Adeel; Rohde, Barbara; Alarcon, Frank; Dame, Rachel; Karner, Kevin
    In 1992 the ABC Ramps were completed in downtown Minneapolis as part of the I-394 construction project. The purpose of the ramps is to have programs that support efforts to reduce congestion and improve air quality by reducing SOV trips from the I-394 corridor. At the time the ramps were built, the ramp goals were aligned with the city of Minneapolis' parking system goals and the I-394 Corridor Management Plan. Since that time, however, the transportation modes, technologies, and plans surrounding the ramps have changed as well as the travel behaviors of the users. As the ramps reach the midpoint of their design life, this study examined the programs, policies, and goals developed for the ramps to ensure they continue to address current transportation challenges and align with regional stakeholder's goals and emerging trends, behaviors, and technology. The project culminated in a series of recommendations with implementation strategies for the ABC ramp management to improve its practice towards reducing congestion and improving air quality in downtown Minneapolis through innovative programming and marketing.
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    Toward Greater Understanding of the Relationship between Public Perceptions of Speed, Speed Laws, and Safety
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2018-02) Douma, Frank; Alarcon, Frank
    Speed continues to be a leading factor contributing to traffic fatalities in the U.S., implicated in over 9,500 deaths in 2015. Despite this, in recent years, some states have moved toward more lenient speed enforcement regimes. A public choice problem may be to blame: voters may not be demanding effective speed enforcement regimes of their elected officials. To explore this dilemma, this project attempts to ascertain whether there is a relationship between state speed laws, roadway fatality rates, and public perceptions of speed. Better data are needed for definitive conclusions to be made regarding a possible relationship between these three bodies of knowledge. This report suggests that by improving data on the role of speed in crashes and public perceptions regarding speed, developing a standard measurement of speed law enforcement in each state, and adopting more consistent speed laws across states, a virtuous cycle can be initiated that helps dismantle the public choice problem, thus enabling the establishment of more effective speed enforcement regimes throughout the U.S.