Browsing by Subject "Rural areas"
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Item Advanced LED Warning Signs for Rural Intersections Powered by Renewable Energy(Minnesota Department of Transportation Research Services Section, 2010-12) Kwon, Taek Mu; Weidemann, RyanA majority of intersection-related fatal crashes occur at rural, through/stop intersections. At these intersections, sight restrictions caused by vertical and horizontal curves negatively affect a driver’s ability to safely accept a gap in the traffic stream. Static advanced warning signs are sometimes installed at these intersections to warn drivers on the main, through approaches that an intersection is ahead. These warning signs appear to be ineffective. A new Advanced Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Warning System was developed and deployed at a rural, through/stop intersection with limited intersection sight distance due to a severe vertical curve. This warning system actively detects vehicles on all approaches and activates LED blinker warning signs for the conflicting movements. The research project included analysis of driver behavior obtained through video data and a survey of local residents and frequent users of the intersection. This report describes the development, implementation, and evaluation results of this new warning system.Item Advanced LED Warning System for Rural Intersections: Phase 2 (ALERT-2)(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2014-02) Kwon, Taek M.; Ismail, HusamThis report presents findings of the second phase of the Advanced LED Warning System for Rural Intersections (ALERT) project. Since it is the next generation of the same system, the second phase system is referred to as the ALERT-2 system while the first system is referred to as the ALERT-1 system. The ALERT systems demand use of four basic Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies: LED-based signs, renewable energy, non-intrusive sensors, and wireless communication. Use of these four basic technologies remained the same for both phases of the system. In the first phase, the data showed that the ALERT-1 system reduced vehicle speeds on the main approach, increased STOP wait time on minor approaches, and eliminated roll-throughs for vehicles on minor approaches when a conflict existed in the intersection. However, when no conflict exists in the intersection, an increase in roll-throughs for vehicles on the minor approaches was observed. The ALERT-2 system was redesigned to mitigate this increased roll-throughs. With respect to technological advances, the ALERT-2 system improves many aspects of the basic technologies, providing higher system reliability, easier installation and maintainability, and better self-sustainability through redesign of the renewable energy application. To assess the driver behaviors at the test site, 13 moths worth of video data and a survey of local residents were collected. This report describes the system development, implementation, and analysis of the video and survey data.Item An Analysis of the Public and Private Transportation Costs of a Rural Agricultural Area(1992-01) Fruin, Jerry; Halbach, DanThe objective of this study was to develop a computer simulation model to determine the types and amounts of transportation costs in a rural agricultural area under the conditions existing in 1989. Then different assumptions about the road infrastructure could be made and corresponding changes made to the model. The simulation model would be rerun for each set of assumptions and the results analyzed to determine how the different costs change with different infrastructures. This unique approach considers both the public costs such as the maintenance and construction costs paid by tax payers and user fees and the private costs, which are the costs incurred by individuals and firms operating vehicles over the road systems as they travel or move goods.Item College and University Campuses in Greater Minnesota as Traffic Generators(University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, 2009-06) Vandrasek, Barbara J.; Adams, John S.This report evaluates the significance of selected Minnesota college and university campuses located in regional centers outside the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan commuter field with respect to the highway traffic that they generate. It examines campuses as places that generate motor vehicle traffic each day, and analyzes the absolute and relative significance of campuses in Greater Minnesota as traffic generators within the counties and wider commuting field in which they are situated. Expanding upon findings from two previous studies that investigated land development trends and increasing highway traffic for a sample of Minnesota’s 49 regional centers and their adjacent commuting fields, the report examines the volume of personnel moving to and from campuses each day, estimates traffic generation rates for different types of schools and their varying impact on traffic generation using trip generation factors supplied by the Institute of Transportation Engineers. It provides 27 campus-based cases, and discusses societal trends likely to affect schools as traffic generators, and concludes with speculations on the implications of these trends for transportation planning in Greater Minnesota. The geographical scale of analysis matters in assessing the relative impact of a school or campus as a traffic generator. If the impact if extremely local, it is likely to be a city responsibility. If the scale of analysis is the county, both city streets and county roads experience traffic impacts. At the scale of the entire commuting field, state highways may be affected. In this analysis, counties were used as the most appropriate spatial unit of analysis.Item Development of a Sensor Platform for Roadway Mapping: Part B – Mapping the Road Fog Lines(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2015-04) Davis, Brian; Donath, MaxOur objective is the development and evaluation of a low-cost, vehicle-mounted sensor suite capable of generating map data with lane and road boundary information accurate to the 10 cm (4 in) level. Such a map could be used for a number of different applications including GNSS/GPS based lane departure avoidance systems, smart phone based dynamic curve speed warning systems, basemap improvements, among others. The sensor suite used consists of a high accuracy GNSS receiver, a side-facing video camera, and a computer. Including cabling and mounting hardware, the equipment costs were roughly $30,000. Here, the side-facing camera is used to record video of the ground adjacent to the passenger side of the vehicle. The video is processed using a computer vision algorithm that locates the fog line within the video frame. Using vehicle position data (provided by GNSS) and previously collected video calibration data, the fog line is located in real-world coordinates. The system was tested on two roads (primarily two-lane, undivided highway) for which high accuracy (<10 cm) maps were available. This offset between the reference data and the computed fog line position was generally better than 7.5 cm (3 in). The results of this work demonstrate that it is feasible to use a camera to detect the position of a road’s fog lines, or more broadly any other lane markings, which when integrated into a larger mobile data collection system, can provide accurate lane and road boundary information about road geometry.Item Examining Optimal Sight Distances at Rural Intersections(Minnesota Department of Transportation., 2019-07) Morris, Nichole L.; Craig, Curtis M.; Achtemeier, Jacob D.Decisions made regarding driver sight distance at rural intersections are complex and require considerations for safety, efficiency, and environmental factors. Sight distance, cross-traffic velocity, and vehicle placements significantly affect driver judgment and behavior atthese intersections. A series of rural, two-lane thru-STOP simulated intersections with differing sight distances and traffic speeds were created and then validated by county and state engineers. Experimental data from 36 participants in a time-to-collision (TTC) intersection crossing judgment task and a rural highway thru-STOP intersection driving simulation task was analyzed to clarify the influence of rural thru-STOP intersection characteristics on driving performance and decision-making. Results demonstrated that longer sight distances of1,000 ft. and slower crossing speeds (i.e., 55 mph) were more accommodating for participants attempting to select gaps and cross from the minor road, corresponding with (1) lower mental workload, perceived risk, difficulty, and anxiousness, and (2) better performance in terms of estimated crash rate, and larger TTCs. Second, longer distances of 1,000 ft. appear to aid drivers’ responsiveness on the main road approaching an intersection, specifically when another driver on the minor road runs the stop sign. Minor road drivers positioned close tothe roadway at the stop sign, compared to standard stop bar placement, tended to help reduce the speed of main road drivers. Overall,results demonstrated a systematic improvement in the performance of both minor and major road drivers with the implementation of a1,000-foot sight distance at rural thru-STOP intersections.Item 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, JerryPublic 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.Item Minnesota Department of Transportation Rural Intersection Conflict Warning System (RICWS) Reliability Evaluation(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2014-06) Menon, Arvind; Donath, MaxThe Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) developed the Rural Intersection Conflict Warning System (RICWS) Deployment project to reduce crashes at stop-controlled intersections. It is a statewide, Intelligent Transportation Systems project that will deploy intersection conflict warning systems at up to 50 rural, stop-controlled intersections. These systems will address crashes at stop-controlled intersections by providing drivers - on both the major and minor road - with a dynamic warning of other vehicles approaching the intersection. The first RICWS site, Trunk Highway 7 and Carver County CSAH 33, was evaluated for a period of 34 days to demonstrate the reliability of the system. During this period, the RICWS signs, beacons, and any other displays were covered and unavailable for driver interaction. The University of Minnesota installed a portable Intersection Surveillance System (ISS) and collected data from the RICWS as well as from the ISS. The data collected from the RICWS was validated against data recorded by the ISS in order to determine the accuracy and reliability of the RICWS. The RICWS was determined to have an activation rate of 99.98%, and meets the MnDOT specification of 99.95% sign activation rate. Sign activations were also validated using video captured at the site and a sample of times for valid activations and valid periods when the sign was inactive were recorded.Item Pedestrian Crossings and Safety on Four Anishinaabe Reservations in Minnesota(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2020-11) Lindsey, Greg; Hourdos, John; Dirks, Peter; Duhn, Melissa; Qi, Yunlei; Singer-Berk, Lila; Petesch, MichaelThe Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has identified Native American as one of six priority populations in the state that face disproportionate risks as pedestrians. This report summarizes results from observations of pedestrian crossing behaviors on four Anishinaabe reservations in northern Minnesota. The University of Minnesota Traffic Observatory (MTO) video-taped and classified pedestrian crossings at 10 intersections identified by Tribal transportation managers as high priority because of perceived risks. Across the intersections, pedestrian crossing volumes during daylight hours ranged from 3 per day to 136 per day. The percent of pedestrian crossings that involved interactions with vehicles ranged from 9% to 54%. Tribal transportation managers from the Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, and Mille Lacs Bands, MnDOT, county engineers, and the investigators collaborated to identify countermeasures to address risks to pedestrians. Proposed countermeasures varied by intersection and included vegetation removal and line-of-sight improvements, new lighting, crosswalk improvements, Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons with advanced warning signs, ADA-compliant ramps, pedestrian education programs, realignment of intersections, and at one intersection a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon. Prospects for implementation of countermeasures vary by intersection and reservation and are contingent on Tribal and transportation agency budgets, state and county plans for roadway improvements, and categorical grant programs such as Minnesota's Transportation Alternatives Program. Some countermeasures are being implemented, and MnDOT is extending the approach to additional reservations.Item Scenarios and Justification for Automated Vehicle Demonstration in Rural Minnesota(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2019-06) Douma, Frank; Petersen, ErinAutomated vehicles (AVs) have the potential to disrupt the current transportation system and culture. While experts debate the exact timeline, the question is likely a matter of when, not if. Therefore, communities of all kinds need to prepare for this future. Small urban and rural communities, in particular, could benefit from the development of the technology, as many of their residents are unable to drive due to age and/or disability. Automated technology could provide a cost-effective and efficient solution for these communities, but so far, most of the AV testing has been conducted in densely populated urban areas. This project provides justification for why rural and small urban communities should host AV demonstrations and how these communities can create a plan to do so. We accomplish this task by providing information about rural and small urban communities and by reviewing the current state of AV technology, the legal environment for AVs, and best practices from past and current AV demonstrations. We also engage with two small urban communities in Minnesota to gather information about real community needs, desires, and limitations.Item Urban and Rural Freight Interdependence: Challenges and Opportunities in Minnesota - White Paper(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2020-12) Liao, Chen-FuThis white paper provides a brief overview of freight activities in Minnesota. It mainly focuses on the interdependence of rural and urban freight movement and the value of a well-connected freight network. It largely considers the seven-county Twin Cities metro area as entirely urban and the rest of the Minnesota region (or Greater Minnesota) as rural. This white paper aims to help audiences better understand the interdependence of rural and urban freight activities in the state and the benefit and value of freight investment to all Minnesotans.