Browsing by Subject "Rural transportation"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    How Much Transportation Infrastructure Does Rural America Need?
    (1992-04) Fruin, Jerry E.; Baumel, C. Phillip
    Rural America has been the beneficiary of large investments in freight and passenger surface transportation infrastructure. Unfortunately, this infrastructure is becoming out-of-date due to the technological changes occurring in the transportation industry and related industries, and is showing the effects of time. Rural America needs further investments in the transportation infrastructure in order to move the large quantities of heavy products it produces long distances to market and because of the geographic dispersion of the rural population. Parsimonious funding for the rehabilitation of the rural infrastructure means that future sources of funding will have to be found. Reduced state allocations to the local rural road system suggest that agriculture and other rural groups will face the dilemma of increased property taxes to fund the maintenance and reconstruction of the existing local rural road system or face a reduction in the miles of road. Agriculture must also be concerned about the deterioration of the aging inland waterway system, especially since federal funding of new construction must be matched by waterway user taxes. Moreover, the railroad industry still has 41 percent of its trackage still hauling only one percent of the total net ton miles. This suggests further rail abandonment as these tracks need rehabilitation. Technological and structural change in agriculture and transportation have made some rural transportation infrastructure investments less than beneficial to agriculture and rural America. The 21st century will witness the emergence of an economic environment that will require agriculture and other rural interests to decide which transportation infrastructure investments to support and which investments they can, after all do without.
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    Itasca County Area Transportation Study
    (University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, 2009-12) Douma, Frank; Fan, Yingling; Robinson, Ferrol; Baas, Gina; Cureton, Colin; Schmit, Matt
    A team of researchers from University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and Center for Transportation Studies conducted a study evaluating the cost and ease of implementing a variety of options for people to travel within and outside Itasca County, Minnesota. The county presents a challenge to transportation planners, as it is the 3rd largest in the state by land area, but one of the smallest in terms of population. To gain an understanding of the key transportation needs, we held a series of focus groups, listening sessions, and one-on-one interviews, and also conducted background research that included demographic analysis, mapping of the “mis-match” between the location of jobs and where the workers lived, and a national scan of best practices in providing rural transportation. This work resulted in a number of recommendations ranging from improving bike routes and awareness of public transportation, to improving bus service linking Itasca County to Duluth and launching an online carpool service. The recommendations fall into five functional categories: • Policy and Administrative changes • Communications, Education and Outreach changes • Opportunities for Coordination and Cooperation • Operations, Maintenance and/or Service Improvements • Cost Sharing or Saving Opportunities
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    Rural Transportation Safety and the Strategic Highway Safety Plan: An Examination of Select State Programs and Practices
    (University of Minnesota Center for Excellence in Rural Safety, 2008-02) Munnich, Lee Jr; More, Alec
    This first in a series of Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS) research summaries examines the current state of safety planning through interviews and a comprehensive review of the newly mandated strategic highway safety plans (SHSPs) and supporting documents from six states representing different U.S. regions: Alabama, Idaho, Maryland, Minnesota, Vermont, and Washington. The researchers took several steps to develop a knowledge base of existing conditions pertaining to safety planning in the six states. During the analysis, five key themes emerged: 1. A focus on changing driver behavior; 2. The importance of state-level public policy and political leadership; 3. The use of emerging technologies; 4. The importance of sustained, collaborative approaches; and 5. The use of measurement-driven approaches, which rely on enhanced data collection and new interpretive methodologies. In addition to these findings, case studies of each state provide a synopsis of certain aspects of their SHSPs. Recommendations concerning the SHSP development process and emphasis areas include: strengthening public engagement activities and initiatives to communicate the importance of roadway safety, reviewing the development structure and safety stakeholders involved, and continuing integration across agencies contributing to safety.
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    Rural Transportation Safety: A Summary of Useful Practices
    (Center for Excellence in Rural Safety, 2012-06) Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS)
    The purpose of this document is to provide the public, engineers, and policy-makers with a variety of methods and tools for increasing rural highway safety. This is not a fully comprehensive document; it aims to offer an introduction to the problem and then to provide three general areas of safety improvements: policy, engineering, and organizational change.