Browsing by Author "Fonseca-Sarmiento, Camila"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Assessing the Economic Effects of Context-Sensitive Main Street Highways in Small Cities
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2022-09) Fonseca-Sarmiento, Camila; Zeerak, Raihana; Phinney, Robin; Clausen, Barrett; Jiang, Haiyue; Zhao, Jerry
    Complete Streets is a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned, designed, operated, and maintained to enable safe, convenient, and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of their mode of transportation. While there have been multiple studies on Complete Streets in metropolitan areas, little is known about these projects impacts in small cities. In this research, we assess the economic impacts of Complete Streets projects on small-city businesses through case studies and by comparing economic measures from a group of cities with Complete Streets projects to comparable control groups without these streets. Our findings show that few respondents perceive a direct impact for their business, but many feel that the reconstructions have been (would be) beneficial for the city. Mechanisms through which Complete Streets might impact businesses and the local economy include altering of business practices, changing of city practices, or acting as a catalyst for additional investment. In addition, our results suggest that Complete Streets projects may improve the economic activity of small cities to some extent, particularly when considering revenues from property taxes. The research team also develops a consistent set of economic metrics that MnDOT and local transportation agencies can use to evaluate and communicate the effect of context-sensitive main street highways.
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    Enhancing Managed Lanes Equity Analysis
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2023-04) Douma, Frank; Fonseca-Sarmiento, Camila; Lari, Adeel; Murphy, Daniel; Morris, Paul; Zhao, Jerry
    Planning and environmental studies involving managed lanes still have difficulty determining how to effectively evaluate project alternatives from an equity perspective. To most people, "equity" is ubiquitous with income, but this is a narrow focus that limits the scope of what can be considered equity, and indeed this can be true when it comes to managed lanes. As the Minnesota Department of Transportation analyzes the expansion of E-ZPass corridors, it is imperative it evaluates project alternatives from an equity perspective. The results of this study suggest that E-ZPass lane users are more racially diverse than users in the travelsheds. In two out of the four E-ZPass lane corridors, a higher proportion of E-ZPass lane users have household incomes below $100,000 compared to the travelsheds. Overall, there is a lower percentage of people with disabilities among E-ZPass lane users than those in the travelsheds. These results are driven by the makeup of E-ZPass lane users. In addition, this research project demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating quantitative and qualitative equity measures into the alternatives analysis process. The demonstration shows that the quantitative measures are all feasible with existing tools, provide meaningful information to the alternatives analysis process, and can be put into practice immediately.
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    Funding Shared Mobility as an Extension of Existing Public Transit Services
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2022-10) Fonseca-Sarmiento, Camila; Zeerak, Raihana; Schuette, Anthony; Panchal, Niyati; Zhao, Jerry
    Public transit services are vital for the mobility and connectivity of communities. Rural public transit services connect users to health care, education, employment, and social and recreational activities. However, rural communities are limited in their mobility due to high costs and limited availability of affordable and reliable transportation options. Shared mobility is an innovative strategy to meet demand for public transit in rural areas that also provides social and environmental benefits. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is exploring how public transit funding may be used to fund shared mobility services as an extension of existing public transit services in small urban and rural areas in Minnesota. This study identifies funding available for this purpose, as well as the limitations in the federal and state regulations for use of such funding sources. In addition, this research explores how transit agencies across the U.S. have funded similar projects and identify opportunities for improvements in Minnesota.
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    The Impacts of Deferred Maintenance in Minnesota
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2022-04) Fonseca-Sarmiento, Camila; Zeerak, Raihana; Jiang, Haiyue; Zhao, Jerry
    The roadway system is critical to social development, economic growth, and the overall quality of life. In the U.S., the condition of highways and roads is being compromised due to several reasons including age deterioration, rising costs of construction, and a decline in funding. Similarly, in Minnesota, the majority of pavements are aging and in need of significant maintenance or reconstruction, but there is an expected deficit of $17.7 billion for state roads over the next 20 years. At the local level, pavement conditions along state-aid roads and county, city, and township roads are anticipated to deteriorate significantly based on current funding levels. In addition, significant budgetary impacts on maintenance spending are expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given these budget limitations, agencies often postpone planned maintenance to make funding available for other transportation purposes, but the deferred maintenance will negatively affect asset life, leading to higher future maintenance costs and lower roadway safety. This research analyzes spatial patterns of maintenance expenditures across localities in Minnesota, explores how fiscal conditions affect maintenance expenditures, and examines roadway maintenance decision-making across localities.
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    Workforce Development Strategies for Brooklyn Park, MN: Group 2 Report - Connecting Communities to Opportunity
    (Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2016) Ferguson, Vincent; Fonseca-Sarmiento, Camila; Sun, Yu
    This project was completed as part of the 2016-2017 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Brooklyn Park. Unemployment rates in Brooklyn Park are higher than those for the state of Minnesota. Although suburban cities generally do not focus on workforce development, instead relying on county or state agencies to fill this role, Brooklyn Park is interested in supporting local workforce development efforts. The goal of this project was to determine effective workforce development strategies that address cultural competency in the workplace, prepare new immigrants and other underrepresented groups for employment, and examine transit-oriented development workforce development strategies in other suburban communities. Brooklyn Park project lead Erik Hansen worked with students in PA 5512: Economic and Workforce Development, to create a set of recommendations around local workforce development strategies. The students' final report is available.