Browsing by Author "Becker, Carol"

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    Funding Surface Transportation in Minnesota: Past, Present and Prospects (Research Brief)
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2011-03) Zhao, Zhirong (Jerry); Das, Kirti Vardhan; Becker, Carol
    This two-page document summarizes Funding Surface Transportation in Minnesota: Past, Present and Prospects (CTS 10-02), a study of funding for past transportation projects, current transportation funding challenges, and transportation funding options for the future.
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    Funding Surface Transportation in Minnesota: Past, Present, and Prospects
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2010-01) Zhao, Zhirong (Jerry); Das, Kirti Vardhan; Becker, Carol
    Transportation systems play an imperative role in enhancing the productivity and the quality of life in the United States. The funding and financing of transportation is a complex process requiring joint efforts of federal, state, and local governments. To meet current and future transportation needs, policymakers must constantly assess the mechanism of transportation finance to ensure adequate and sustainable investment. In recent years, depleting state and local budgets and growing capital and maintenance costs related to transportation have been a common challenge. The state of Minnesota is estimated to have billions in unmet transportation needs to keep up with inflation and the increase in transportation demands. This report reviews the funding of public surface transportation systems (including highways, transit and local roads) in Minnesota. We look at how transportation projects have been funded, identify current and future policy issues likely to affect transportation funding, and go over some of the funding options suggested by other researchers. The aim is to encourage better understanding and management of issues related to transportation funding in Minnesota.
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    Mitigating Highway Construction Impacts Through the Use of Transit
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2013-05) Becker, Carol
    Human beings are creatures of habit. Traveling patterns are routines that we repeat over and over until something disrupts those patterns. When disruption occurs, there is an opportunity to entice travelers into new travel patterns. Surveys found that the highway construction in Duluth disrupted travel patterns for 40% of persons surveyed. During the Duluth Megaproject highway construction project, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the Duluth Transit Authority (DTA) used the opportunity to entice travelers to transit. Additional trips and park and rides were added, which made transit more attractive to more travelers. Also, dedicated bus lanes were added to reduce travel time. Free fares enticed travelers to transit. A large promotional effort was undertaken to let travelers know about these enhanced options. Surveys of transit riders found that all of these efforts helped attract riders to transit. Surveys also looked at what factors were important for keeping riders on transit after highway construction ended. Once new habits are formed, it is likely travelers continue those habits until another event forces them to examine their travel patterns. This research found less than 15% of transit riders changed their behavior within two years and all did due to life changes, primarily job change or finishing school. It appears that once travelers change to transit, riders continue to use transit as long as it is a reasonable option. Increasing fares to normal levels did not create a significant incentive to stop using transit.
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    Rural and Small Urban Multimodal Alternatives for Minnesota
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2014-11) Becker, Carol
    This paper looks at alternatives for promoting and strengthening multimodal transportation in rural and small urban areas. It outlines 65 different innovative activities around the United States that have been undertaken to promote multimodalism in rural areas and smaller towns. These activities are grouped into six categories: improving transit options; accommodating alternative vehicles; supporting pedestrian and bicycle travel; multimodal land use planning; the use of financial incentives to promote multimodal land use development; and other alternatives that do not fit in these five categories. From this, six case studies have been developed. These case studies include retrofitting sidewalks in Olympia Washington: the network of interurban transit options in North Dakota; providing mileage reimbursement for seniors arranging their own rides in Mesa Arizona; the State of Oregon’s “Main Street as a Highway” guidance for integrating highways into the fabric of smaller towns; the use to transportation impact fees to fund transportation infrastructure, including concurrency fees, development fees and special district fees; and a “Complete Streets” project in Clinton, Iowa.