78 FR 36091 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-17

... Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship...; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal... the Safety Zone; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

77 FR 35854 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-15

... Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship...; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal... enforce a segment of the Safety Zone; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines...

75 FR 52462 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-26

... Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship...; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal... enforce a segment of the Safety Zone; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines...

78 FR 40635 - Safety Zone; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-08

... Zone; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship...; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal... Coast Guard will enforce a segment of the Safety Zone; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan...

75 FR 73966 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-30

... Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship...; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal... enforce a segment of the Safety Zone; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines...

76 FR 26607 - Safety Zone; Air Power Over Hampton Roads, Back River, Hampton, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-09

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Air Power Over Hampton Roads, Back River, Hampton, VA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... the safety of life on navigable waters during the Air Power Over Hampton Roads Air Show. This action.... This safety zone is in the interest of public safety during the Hampton Roads Air Show and will be...

76 FR 35106 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-16

...-AA00 Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago..., DHS. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is establishing a permanent safety zone from Brandon... Safety Zones; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary...

77 FR 66541 - Safety Zone; Alliance Road Bridge Demolition; Black Warrior River, Locust Fork; Birmingham, AL

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-06

... 1625-AA00 Safety Zone; Alliance Road Bridge Demolition; Black Warrior River, Locust Fork; Birmingham... of the Alliance Road Bridge (Co. Rd. 61). Entry into, transiting or anchoring in this zone is.... [[Page 66542

75 FR 26094 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-11

...-AA00 Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago... establishing a temporary safety zone from Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan. This temporary safety...

33 CFR 165.T09-0166 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock... Areas Ninth Coast Guard District § 165.T09-0166 Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan.... waters of the Des Plaines River located between mile marker 286.0 (Brandon Road Lock and Dam) and mile...

33 CFR 334.370 - Chesapeake Bay, Lynnhaven Roads; danger zones, U.S. Naval Amphibious Base.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Chesapeake Bay, Lynnhaven Roads; danger zones, U.S. Naval Amphibious Base. 334.370 Section 334.370 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS... REGULATIONS § 334.370 Chesapeake Bay, Lynnhaven Roads; danger zones, U.S. Naval Amphibious Base. (a...

Influence of forest road buffer zones on sediment transport in the Southern Appalachian Region

Treesearch

Johnny M. Grace; Stanley J. Zarnoch

2013-01-01

A gap exists in the understanding of the effectiveness of forest road best management practices (BMP) in controlling sediment movement and minimizing risks of sediment delivery to forest streams. The objective of this paper is to report the findings of investigations to assess sediment travel distances downslope of forest roads in the Appalachian region, relate...

Drawing a line in the sand: Effectiveness of off-highway vehicle management in California's Sonoran desert

USGS Publications Warehouse

Custer, Nathan; Defalco, Lesley A.; Nussear, Kenneth E.; Esque, Todd C.

2017-01-01

Public land policies manage multiple uses while striving to protect vulnerable plant and wildlife habitats from degradation; yet the effectiveness of such policies are infrequently evaluated, particularly for remote landscapes that are difficult to monitor. We assessed the use and impacts of recreational vehicles on Mojave Desert washes (intermittent streams) in the Chemehuevi Desert Wildlife Management Area (DWMA) of southern California. Wash zones designated as open and closed to off-highway vehicle (OHV) activity were designed in part to protect Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) habitat while allowing recreation in designated areas. OHV tracks were monitored in washes located near access roads during winter and early spring holidays – when recreation is typically high – and at randomly dispersed locations away from roads. Washes near access roads had fewer vehicle tracks within closed than open zones; further away from roads, OHV tracks were infrequent and their occurrence was not different between wash designations. Washes were in better condition in closed zones following major holidays as indicated by less vegetation damage, presence of trash, and wash bank damage. Furthermore, the frequency of washes with live tortoises and their sign was marginally greater in closed than open wash zones. Collectively, these results suggest that low impacts to habitats in designated closed wash zones reflect public compliance with federal OHV policy and regulations in the Chemehuevi DWMA during our study. Future monitoring to contrast wash use and impacts during other seasons as well as in other DWMAs will elucidate spatial and temporal patterns of recreation in these important conservation areas.

Drawing a line in the sand: Effectiveness of off-highway vehicle management in California's Sonoran desert.

PubMed

Custer, Nathan A; DeFalco, Lesley A; Nussear, Kenneth E; Esque, Todd C

2017-05-15

Public land policies manage multiple uses while striving to protect vulnerable plant and wildlife habitats from degradation; yet the effectiveness of such policies are infrequently evaluated, particularly for remote landscapes that are difficult to monitor. We assessed the use and impacts of recreational vehicles on Mojave Desert washes (intermittent streams) in the Chemehuevi Desert Wildlife Management Area (DWMA) of southern California. Wash zones designated as open and closed to off-highway vehicle (OHV) activity were designed in part to protect Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) habitat while allowing recreation in designated areas. OHV tracks were monitored in washes located near access roads during winter and early spring holidays - when recreation is typically high - and at randomly dispersed locations away from roads. Washes near access roads had fewer vehicle tracks within closed than open zones; further away from roads, OHV tracks were infrequent and their occurrence was not different between wash designations. Washes were in better condition in closed zones following major holidays as indicated by less vegetation damage, presence of trash, and wash bank damage. Furthermore, the frequency of washes with live tortoises and their sign was marginally greater in closed than open wash zones. Collectively, these results suggest that low impacts to habitats in designated closed wash zones reflect public compliance with federal OHV policy and regulations in the Chemehuevi DWMA during our study. Future monitoring to contrast wash use and impacts during other seasons as well as in other DWMAs will elucidate spatial and temporal patterns of recreation in these important conservation areas. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

33 CFR 165.930 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock... Guard District § 165.930 Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines... COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) PORTS AND WATERWAYS SAFETY REGULATED NAVIGATION...

76 FR 65609 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-24

... Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal... enforcement of regulation. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard will enforce a segment of the Safety Zone; Brandon Road....S. Army Corps of Engineers' dispersal barrier maintenance operations. During the enforcement period...

76 FR 30906 - Foreign-Trade Zone 277-Western Maricopa County, AZ; Application for Reorganization Under...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-27

...'s standard 2,000-acre activation limit for a general-purpose zone project. The application was... Pointe Business Park, Waddell Road and Litchfield Road, Surprise; Site 3 (235 acres)--within the 1,600-acre Palm Valley 303 Industrial Park, Camelback Road and State Road 303, Goodyear; and, Site 4 (320...

Effects of road construction intensity and operations on rural freeway work zone capacity.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-11-01

Capacity is affected by construction type and its intensity on adjacent open traffic lanes. The effect on capacity is a function of : vehicles moving in and out of the closed lanes of the work zone, and the presence of heavy construction vehicles. Co...

Environmental exposure of road borders to zinc.

PubMed

Blok, J

2005-09-15

The emissions of zinc along roads originating from tyre wear, corrosion of safety fence and other traffic-related sources have been quantified and validated by measured long-term loads in road run-off and airborne solids (drift) for 29 published case studies. The distribution pattern over the road border at various distances from the edge of the paved surface is assessed on the basis of 38 published case studies with measured concentrations in soil. For the impact assessment, the road border is differentiated into a zone that is part of the "technosphere" and the "target zone" beyond that technosphere that can be considered as part of the receiving environment. The "technosphere" of the road includes the central reservation, the hard and the soft shoulder or, if one or both shoulders are not present, the so-called obstacle "free zone" that is defined by road engineers. Pollution within the technosphere may require appropriate management of solid disposal and isolation from groundwater to prevent further distribution of pollutants to the environment. In the target zone along regional roads, the zinc load is about 4 mg/m(2) year and this is of the same order of magnitude as that of atmospheric deposition in areas beyond the influence of roads (background). In the target zone along highways, the zinc load is increased in comparison to the background deposition. The average load of about 38 mg/m(2) year is similar to that in fertilised agricultural land. Because most of the emitted zinc stays in the technosphere, the total amount entering this target zone along highways is limited. From the 140 tons of zinc per year that is released from tyre wear in The Netherlands, 64 tons is emitted in the urban area, 6.5 tons reaches to the target zones of all roads and only 1.1 tons of zinc will enter the target zone along highways. This amount will be further decreased by the application of porous asphalt in the near future. The emission from safety fence corrosion does not enter the target zone. Only in special cases, such as bridges, crossings and squares the release of zinc from these sources may enter the aquatic environment by the discharge of run-off.

76 FR 65609 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-24

... Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship...; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal...; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal...

49 CFR 222.39 - How is a quiet zone established?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...-rail grade crossings within the quiet zone, the State agency responsible for highway and road safety... for highway and road safety; the State agency responsible for grade crossing safety; and the Associate..., and the State agency responsible for highway and road safety stating that the railroad, vehicular...

49 CFR 222.39 - How is a quiet zone established?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...-rail grade crossings within the quiet zone, the State agency responsible for highway and road safety... for highway and road safety; the State agency responsible for grade crossing safety; and the Associate..., and the State agency responsible for highway and road safety stating that the railroad, vehicular...

Assessment of rockfall hazard at Al-Noor Mountain, Makkah city (Saudi Arabia) using spatio-temporal remote sensing data and field investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Youssef, Ahmed M.; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Al-Kathery, Mohamed; Bathrellos, George D.; Skilodimou, Hariklia D.

2015-01-01

Rockfall is one of the major concerns along different urban areas and highways all over the world. Al-Noor Mountain is one of the areas that threaten rockfalls to the Al-Noor escarpment track road and the surrounding urban areas. Thousands of visitors and tourisms use the escarpment track road to visit Hira cave which is located at the top of Al-Noor Mountain. In addition, the surrounding urban areas of Al-Noor Mountain are continuously spreading over the recent years. The escarpment track road and the surrounding urban areas are highly vulnerable and suffers from recurrent rockfall mostly in the rainy season. The steep and highly jointed slope along the different faces of the mountain makes these zones prone to failure due to different actions such as weathering, erosion and anthropogenic effect. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this study to determine the Al-Noor cliff stability, by identifying the unstable areas, and to apply the rockfall simulations. A combination of remote sensing, field study and 2D computer simulation rockfall program were performed to assess surface characteristics of the cliff faces. Bounce height, total and translational kinetic energy, translational velocity, and number of blocks have been estimated. Different unstable zones along the Al-Noor Mountain and escarpment track road were determined using filed investigation and remote sensing based image analysis. In addition the rockfall simulation analysis indicated that rockfall in zone 1 and zone 2 of the Al-Noor Mountain may reach the urban areas, whereas rockfall in zone 3 will not reach the urban areas, and rockfalls along the Al-Noor escarpment track road will have highly impact on the tourists. Proper preventive measures are also suggested to arrest the movement of falling rocks before reaching the urban areas and the Al-Noor escarpment track road. If proper care is taken, then further uncertain rockfall hazards can be prevented.

23 CFR 630.1108 - Work zone safety management measures and strategies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... workers and road users, such as: (1) Work zones that provide workers no means of escape from motorized... exposure to motorized traffic and exposure of road users to work activities, while also providing adequate... individual projects, such as: (1) Full road closures; (2) Ramp closures; (3) Median crossovers; (4) Full or...

23 CFR 630.1108 - Work zone safety management measures and strategies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... workers and road users, such as: (1) Work zones that provide workers no means of escape from motorized... exposure to motorized traffic and exposure of road users to work activities, while also providing adequate... individual projects, such as: (1) Full road closures; (2) Ramp closures; (3) Median crossovers; (4) Full or...

23 CFR 630.1108 - Work zone safety management measures and strategies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... workers and road users, such as: (1) Work zones that provide workers no means of escape from motorized... exposure to motorized traffic and exposure of road users to work activities, while also providing adequate... individual projects, such as: (1) Full road closures; (2) Ramp closures; (3) Median crossovers; (4) Full or...

23 CFR 630.1108 - Work zone safety management measures and strategies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... workers and road users, such as: (1) Work zones that provide workers no means of escape from motorized... exposure to motorized traffic and exposure of road users to work activities, while also providing adequate... individual projects, such as: (1) Full road closures; (2) Ramp closures; (3) Median crossovers; (4) Full or...

The effect of road network patterns on pedestrian safety: A zone-based Bayesian spatial modeling approach.

PubMed

Guo, Qiang; Xu, Pengpeng; Pei, Xin; Wong, S C; Yao, Danya

2017-02-01

Pedestrian safety is increasingly recognized as a major public health concern. Extensive safety studies have been conducted to examine the influence of multiple variables on the occurrence of pedestrian-vehicle crashes. However, the explicit relationship between pedestrian safety and road network characteristics remains unknown. This study particularly focused on the role of different road network patterns on the occurrence of crashes involving pedestrians. A global integration index via space syntax was introduced to quantify the topological structures of road networks. The Bayesian Poisson-lognormal (PLN) models with conditional autoregressive (CAR) prior were then developed via three different proximity structures: contiguity, geometry-centroid distance, and road network connectivity. The models were also compared with the PLN counterpart without spatial correlation effects. The analysis was based on a comprehensive crash dataset from 131 selected traffic analysis zones in Hong Kong. The results indicated that higher global integration was associated with more pedestrian-vehicle crashes; the irregular pattern network was proved to be safest in terms of pedestrian crash occurrences, whereas the grid pattern was the least safe; the CAR model with a neighborhood structure based on road network connectivity was found to outperform in model goodness-of-fit, implying the importance of accurately accounting for spatial correlation when modeling spatially aggregated crash data. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A population study on risk factors for insomnia among adult Japanese women: a possible effect of road traffic volume.

PubMed

Kageyama, T; Kabuto, M; Nitta, H; Kurokawa, Y; Taira, K; Suzuki, S; Takemoto, T

1997-11-01

In an effort to identify risk factors for insomnia and determine the contribution of nightime road traffic volume to insomnia in the general population, a questionnaire survey was carried out among 3,600 adult Japanese women living in eight urban residential areas. The crude prevalence rate of insomnia was 11.2%. Multivariate analysis revealed that aging, living with a child/children aged six or younger, undergoing medical treatment, experiencing major life events, having an irregular bedtime, having a sleep apnealike symptom, and living near a road with a heavy volume of traffic are risk factors for insomnia. Taking into account other risk factors, there was a level-response relationship between the nighttime traffic volume of main roads and the risk of insomnia in the subjects living in the zones 0-20 m from these roads. These results suggest that road traffic noise raises the sound level in bedrooms in such zones, and consequently the prevalence rate of insomnia among the residents, and that noise-induced insomnia is an important public health problem, at least in highly urbanized areas. To confirm this, a further study on noise exposure is needed.

The relationship between traffic noise and insomnia among adult Japanese women

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasazawa, Y.; Kawada, T.; Kiryu, Y.; Suzuki, S.

2004-10-01

To clarify the relationship between traffic noise and insomnia, the authors conducted a survey and measured the actual sound level of noise in an urban area. Questionnaires were distributed to adult women who lived within 150 m from two major roads and were completed by 648 of the 1286 subjects (50.4%). The area was divided into three zones according to distance from the road (more than 50, 20-50 and 0-19.9 m). Fifty-seven subjects (8.8%) were classified as having insomnia. Average values of sound level at distances of 20, 50, and 100 m from the major road were Leq 64.7, 57.1, and 51.8 dBA, respectively. Overall, there were no significant differences among the three zones in the prevalence of insomnia and no association between distance from the road and insomnia. However, the result from a sub-data set of the subjects who lived in the areas that showed decreasing noise level as the distance from the main road increased showed that distance from the road was associated with insomnia. This study suggests that researchers should consider the actual traffic situation and its sound level in epidemiological studies about the effects of traffic noise on insomnia.

76 FR 63199 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-12

... Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship...; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal... of Engineers' scheduled maintenance shutdown of Barrier IIB. During the enforcement period, entry...

76 FR 78161 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-16

... Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship...; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal... the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' maintenance operations of dispersal barrier IIB. During these...

77 FR 25595 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-01

... Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship...; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal... Corps of Engineers' post-maintenance testing of Barrier IIA and IIB. During the enforcement period...

Determining soil erosion from roads in coastal plain of Alabama

Treesearch

McFero Grace; W.J. Elliot

2008-01-01

This paper reports soil losses and observed sediment deposition for 16 randomly selected forest road sections in the National Forests of Alabama. Visible sediment deposition zones were tracked along the stormwater flow path to the most remote location as a means of quantifying soil loss from road sections. Volumes of sediment in deposition zones were determined by...

Response of moose to a high‐density road network

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wattles, David W.; Zeller, Katherine A.; DeStefano, Stephen

2018-01-01

Road networks and the disturbance associated with vehicle traffic alter animal behavior, movements, and habitat selection. The response of moose (Alces americanus) to roads has been documented in relatively rural areas, but less is known about moose response to roads in more highly roaded landscapes. We examined road‐crossing frequencies and habitat use of global positioning system (GPS)‐collared moose in Massachusetts, USA, where moose home ranges have road densities approximately twice that of previous studies. We compared seasonal road‐crossing frequencies of moose with a null movement model. We estimated moose travel speeds during road‐crossing events and compared them with speeds during other home range movements. To estimate the extent of the road effect zone and determine how roads influenced moose habitat use, we fit a third‐order resource selection function. With the exception of the lowest use road class (<10 vehicles/day), we found moose crossed roads less than expected based on the null movement model and frequency decreased with increasing road size and traffic. Moose crossed roads faster than they traveled during other times. This effect increased with increasing road use intensity. Overall, roads were a major factor determining what portions of Massachusetts moose used and how they moved among habitat patches. Our results suggest that moose in Massachusetts can adapt to a high‐density road network, but the road effect is still strongly negative and, in some cases, is more pronounced than in study areas with lower road densities. Future road construction and the expansion of road networks may have a large effect on moose and other wildlife.

33 CFR 165.503 - Security Zone; Captain of the Port Hampton Roads Zone.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... section— Certain dangerous cargo or CDC means a material defined as CDC in 33 CFR 160.204. Designated... a passenger vessel or vessel carrying a CDC, while the passenger vessel or vessel carrying CDC is... vessel or vessel carrying a CDC within the Captain of the Port Hampton Roads zone, unless traveling at...

33 CFR 165.503 - Security Zone; Captain of the Port Hampton Roads Zone.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... section— Certain dangerous cargo or CDC means a material defined as CDC in 33 CFR 160.204. Designated... a passenger vessel or vessel carrying a CDC, while the passenger vessel or vessel carrying CDC is... vessel or vessel carrying a CDC within the Captain of the Port Hampton Roads zone, unless traveling at...

33 CFR 165.503 - Security Zone; Captain of the Port Hampton Roads Zone.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... section— Certain dangerous cargo or CDC means a material defined as CDC in 33 CFR 160.204. Designated... a passenger vessel or vessel carrying a CDC, while the passenger vessel or vessel carrying CDC is... vessel or vessel carrying a CDC within the Captain of the Port Hampton Roads zone, unless traveling at...

30 CFR 761.14 - Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal mining operations within the buffer zone of a public... operations within the buffer zone of a public road. (a) This section does not apply to: (1) Lands for which a...

30 CFR 761.14 - Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal mining operations within the buffer zone of a public... operations within the buffer zone of a public road. (a) This section does not apply to: (1) Lands for which a...

30 CFR 761.14 - Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal mining operations within the buffer zone of a public... operations within the buffer zone of a public road. (a) This section does not apply to: (1) Lands for which a...

30 CFR 761.14 - Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal mining operations within the buffer zone of a public... operations within the buffer zone of a public road. (a) This section does not apply to: (1) Lands for which a...

INTERIOR OF WEST SPAN LOOKING WEST (SHADOW OF VERTICAL LAPS ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

INTERIOR OF WEST SPAN LOOKING WEST (SHADOW OF VERTICAL LAPS PLACED ON ZONE III; ASPHALT ZONE IX) - Honey Run Bridge, Spanning Butte Creek, bypassed section of Honey Run Road (originally Carr Hill Road), Paradise, Butte County, CA

Uncertainty analysis of accident notification time and emergency medical service response time in work zone traffic accidents.

PubMed

Meng, Qiang; Weng, Jinxian

2013-01-01

Taking into account the uncertainty caused by exogenous factors, the accident notification time (ANT) and emergency medical service (EMS) response time were modeled as 2 random variables following the lognormal distribution. Their mean values and standard deviations were respectively formulated as the functions of environmental variables including crash time, road type, weekend, holiday, light condition, weather, and work zone type. Work zone traffic accident data from the Fatality Analysis Report System between 2002 and 2009 were utilized to determine the distributions of the ANT and the EMS arrival time in the United States. A mixed logistic regression model, taking into account the uncertainty associated with the ANT and the EMS response time, was developed to estimate the risk of death. The results showed that the uncertainty of the ANT was primarily influenced by crash time and road type, whereas the uncertainty of EMS response time is greatly affected by road type, weather, and light conditions. In addition, work zone accidents occurring during a holiday and in poor light conditions were found to be statistically associated with a longer mean ANT and longer EMS response time. The results also show that shortening the ANT was a more effective approach in reducing the risk of death than the EMS response time in work zones. To shorten the ANT and the EMS response time, work zone activities are suggested to be undertaken during non-holidays, during the daytime, and in good weather and light conditions.

33 CFR 334.500 - St. Johns River, Atlantic Ocean, Sherman Creek; restricted areas and danger zone, Naval Station...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... north by Perimeter Road, and on the east by Mayport Road. (5) Danger zone. The danger zone shall... hours a day, seven days a week. Warning signs notifying individuals of the restricted area boundary and... will be in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Warning signs notifying individuals of the...

The Atlantic Richfield Company Black Thunder mine haul road dust study. [Wyoming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maxwell, D.R.; Hormel, T.R.; Ives, J.A.

An examination of the effectiveness of various haul road dust control measures was performed at ARCO's Black Thunder Mine near Wright, Wyoming by evaluating both visible observations and quantitative measurements of particle concentrations. In order to evaluate dust control effectiveness both a 300 foot (91.5 meter) and 175 foot (53.4 meter) section of the main coal haul road was selected for testing. The test sections were separated by a 200 foot (61 meter) buffer zone. Each test section was relatively straight and away from interferences from other mine sources. The five haul road treatment test sequences evaluated for control measuremore » effectiveness were: an untreated road segment; water treatment two times per hour; water treatment four times per hour; previously chemically treated segment of haul road (ARCO 2400 dust suppressant); and testing after application of Coherex (10% dilution). By comparing uncontrolled situations with various controlled situations, an estimate of the control efficiency of the dust control measures was determined. Based upon the results of the study a fugitive dust control scheme was selected considering control effectiveness, economics and operational efficiency.« less

National ITS/intermodal freight program requirements

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-07-01

The Share the Road Research Study final report reviews and documents the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety Share the Road program called the No-Zone Campaign. The No-Zone is a highway safety term used to desc...

Criteria for setting speed limits in urban and suburban areas in Florida

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-03-01

Current methods of setting speed limits include maximum statutory limits by road class and geometric characteristics and speed zoning practice for the roads where the legislated limit does not reflect local differences. Speed limits in speed zones ar...

Evaluation of road failure vulnerability section through integrated geophysical and geotechnical studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adiat, K. A. N.; Akinlalu, A. A.; Adegoroye, A. A.

2017-06-01

In order to investigate the competence of the proposed road for pavement stability, geotechnical and geophysical investigations involving Land Magnetic, Very Low Frequency Electromagnetic (VLF-EM) and Electrical Resistivity methods were carried out along Akure-Ipinsa road Southwestern Nigeria. The magnetic profile was qualitatively and quantitatively interpreted to produce geomagnetic section that provides information on the basement topography and structural disposition beneath the proposed road. Similarly, the VLF-EM profile was equally interpreted to provide information on the possible occurrence of linear features beneath the study area. These linear features pose a potential risk to the proposed road as they are capable of undermining the stability of the pavement structure. The geoelectric parameters obtained from the quantitative interpretation of the VES data were used to generate geoelectric section. The geoelectric section generated shows that the study area was underlain by four geoelectric layers namely the topsoil, the weathered layer, the partly weathered/fractured basement and the fresh basement. The major part of the topsoil, which constitutes the subgrade, is characterized by relatively low resistivity values (<100 Ωm) suggestive of weak zones that are capable of undermining the stability of the proposed road. This therefore suggests that the layer is composed of incompetent materials that are unsuitable for engineering structures. Furthermore, fractured basement was also delineated beneath some portion of the proposed road. Since fracture is a weak zone, its presence can facilitate failure of the proposed road especially when it is occurring at shallow depth. The geotechnical results reveal that most of the investigated soil samples are clayey in nature. Integration of the results demonstrates that there is a good correlation between geophysical results and the geotechnical results. Furthermore, a vulnerability section that divided the road segments into three zones based on the degree of vulnerability was produced. These zones were high, moderate and low vulnerability zones. It is estimated that about 60% of the road segments constitutes moderate degree of vulnerability while 30% and 10% of the segments respectively constitute high and low degree of vulnerability.

Near-road measurements for nitrogen dioxide and its association with traffic exposure zones

EPA Science Inventory

Near-road measurements for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) using passive air samplers were collected weekly in traffic exposure zones (TEZs) in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina (USA) during Fall 2014. Land use regression (LUR) analysis and pairwise comparisons of T...

Comparison of modeled traffic exposure zones using on-road air pollution measurements

EPA Science Inventory

Modeled traffic data were used to develop traffic exposure zones (TEZs) such as traffic delay, high volume, and transit routes in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina (USA). On-road air pollution measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxid...

Traffic safety program for school children through safe action and safe condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yulianto, Budi; Setiono, Mahmudah, Amirotul Musthofiah Hidayah; Santoso, Anjar Budi

2017-06-01

The facts indicate that the rights of pedestrians is on the wane. Many motorists are unwilling to provide a space for pedestrians, even when they want to cross the road at zebra-cross facility. The data of traffic accident in Surakarta City showed that 7.0% of accident victims in 2014 to 2015 were children aged 5-15 or the group of school-aged children. In general, the location of schools is on the edge of the road where a lot of vehicles run at high speed. Hence, it is very dangerous for the school children to cross the road. Pertaining to this issue, the Department of Transportation implements a program named School Safety Zone (ZoSS). ZoSS is a time-dependent speed control zone consisting of road markings, traffic signs, optional traffic signals, and rumble strips. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the ZoSS based on the perception of the users, including the students, teachers, parents, and community. This study was conducted through a series of activities including the distribution of questionnaire to obtain the road users' perceptions. The results showed that most of the respondents understood the meaning, aim, and benefit of ZoSS. However, it also found that traffic sign and method of cross the road (Four-T) was not recognized appropriately by the respondents. ZoSS program was generally ineffective since the pedestrians felt unsafe to cross the road due to the high-speed vehicles.

a Cross-Sectional Study on Insomnia among Japanese Adult Women in Relation to Night-Time Road Traffic Noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kageyama, T.; Kabuto, M.; Nitta, N.; Kurokawa, Y.; Taira, K.; Suzuki, S.; Takemoto, T.

1997-08-01

In an effort to determine the contribution of night-time road traffic noise to insomnia in the general population, 3600 adult Japanese women living in urban residential areas were surveyed. Living near a road with a heavy traffic volume is one of the risk factors for insomnia. The risk for insomnia in the zones 0-20 m from the main roads increased linearly with the night-time traffic volume. This suggests that road traffic noise raises the sound level in bedrooms in such zones, and consequently the prevalence rate of insomnia among the residents, and that noise-induced insomnia is an important public health problem, at least in highly urbanized areas.

Soil disturbance effects on the composition of seed-dispersing ants in roadside environments.

PubMed

Palfi, Zsofia; Spooner, Peter G; Robinson, Wayne

2017-02-01

Myrmecochory (the dispersal of seeds by ants) is a significant ecological process in sclerophyll woodlands, but habitat disturbance is known to alter the extent and success of this mutualism. We investigated the influence of soil disturbance on the composition of the seed-dispersing ant community. Surveys were conducted in roadside verges where soils are regularly disturbed by road maintenance activities. Using a 'cafeteria' bait station approach, we selected 24 roads of different widths to investigate ant composition and abundance in relation to soil disturbance. We found ant species richness was greater in non-disturbed than disturbed zones, where road verge width significantly influenced results. The composition and abundance of individual seed-dispersing ant species varied between disturbed and non-disturbed zones. Rhytidoponera metallica were more abundant in non-disturbed sites, whereas Melophorus bruneus and Monomorium rothseini were more frequently recorded in disturbed areas. Commonly found Iridomyrmex purpureus was significantly more abundant in disturbed zones in narrow roadsides and vice versa in wide roadsides, and strongly influenced total community composition. Variation in the abundance of commonly recorded Iridomyrmex and Monomorium genera were related more to site conditions (roadside width and habitat) than soil disturbance. The rich composition of seed dispersing ants in roadside environments, and the effects of soil disturbances on these ant communities that we describe, provide a key insight to important seed dispersal vectors occurring in fragmented rural landscapes.

An empirical model to predict road dust emissions based on pavement and traffic characteristics.

PubMed

Padoan, Elio; Ajmone-Marsan, Franco; Querol, Xavier; Amato, Fulvio

2018-06-01

The relative impact of non-exhaust sources (i.e. road dust, tire wear, road wear and brake wear particles) on urban air quality is increasing. Among them, road dust resuspension has generally the highest impact on PM concentrations but its spatio-temporal variability has been rarely studied and modeled. Some recent studies attempted to observe and describe the time-variability but, as it is driven by traffic and meteorology, uncertainty remains on the seasonality of emissions. The knowledge gap on spatial variability is much wider, as several factors have been pointed out as responsible for road dust build-up: pavement characteristics, traffic intensity and speed, fleet composition, proximity to traffic lights, but also the presence of external sources. However, no parameterization is available as a function of these variables. We investigated mobile road dust smaller than 10 μm (MF10) in two cities with different climatic and traffic conditions (Barcelona and Turin), to explore MF10 seasonal variability and the relationship between MF10 and site characteristics (pavement macrotexture, traffic intensity and proximity to braking zone). Moreover, we provide the first estimates of emission factors in the Po Valley both in summer and winter conditions. Our results showed a good inverse relationship between MF10 and macro-texture, traffic intensity and distance from the nearest braking zone. We also found a clear seasonal effect of road dust emissions, with higher emission in summer, likely due to the lower pavement moisture. These results allowed building a simple empirical mode, predicting maximal dust loadings and, consequently, emission potential, based on the aforementioned data. This model will need to be scaled for meteorological effect, using methods accounting for weather and pavement moisture. This can significantly improve bottom-up emission inventory for spatial allocation of emissions and air quality management, to select those roads with higher emissions for mitigation measures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

76 FR 30907 - Proposed Foreign-Trade Zone-Eloy, AZ; Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-27

... Toltec Road, Eloy; and, proposed Site 4 (293 acres)--Red Rock Industrial Park, located along Interstate 10 and the Union Pacific Railroad line opposite Sasco Road, Red Rock. The sites are owned by the City... Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Room 2111, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution...

A snapshot of summer 2001 work zone activity : based on information reported on state road closure and construction websites

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-02-01

In a study sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), researchers conducted a survey of 789 work zones posted on 13 state road closure and construction websites during a two-week snapshot of the peak summer roadwork season in 2001. The g...

Hydrogeomorphic connectivity on roads crossing in rural headwaters and its effect on stream dynamics.

PubMed

Thomaz, Edivaldo L; Peretto, Gustavo T

2016-04-15

Unpaved roads are ubiquitous features that have been transforming the landscape through human history. Unpaved roads affect the water and sediment pathways through a catchment and impacts the aquatic ecosystem. In this study, we describe the effect of unpaved road on the hydrogeomorphic connectivity at the rural headwater scale. Measurement was based on the stream crossing approach, i.e., road superimposing the drainage system. We installed a Parshall flume coupled with single-stage suspended sediment sampler at each stream crossing. In addition, we displayed our monitoring scheme with an upscaling perspective from second-order to third-order stream. We concluded that the road-stream coupling dramatically changed the stream dynamic. The increase of discharge caused by roads at the headwater was 50% larger compared to unaffected streams. Additionally, suspended sediment concentration enhancement at stream crossings ranged from to 413% at second-order streams to 145% at third-order streams. The landform characteristics associated with the road network produced an important hydrogeomorphic disruption in the landscape. As a result, the sediment filter function of the riparian zone was reduced dramatically. Therefore, we recommend that projects for aquatic system restoration or conservation in rural landscape consider the role of the road network on stream dynamics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A global strategy for road building.

PubMed

Laurance, William F; Clements, Gopalasamy Reuben; Sloan, Sean; O'Connell, Christine S; Mueller, Nathan D; Goosem, Miriam; Venter, Oscar; Edwards, David P; Phalan, Ben; Balmford, Andrew; Van Der Ree, Rodney; Arrea, Irene Burgues

2014-09-11

The number and extent of roads will expand dramatically this century. Globally, at least 25 million kilometres of new roads are anticipated by 2050; a 60% increase in the total length of roads over that in 2010. Nine-tenths of all road construction is expected to occur in developing nations, including many regions that sustain exceptional biodiversity and vital ecosystem services. Roads penetrating into wilderness or frontier areas are a major proximate driver of habitat loss and fragmentation, wildfires, overhunting and other environmental degradation, often with irreversible impacts on ecosystems. Unfortunately, much road proliferation is chaotic or poorly planned, and the rate of expansion is so great that it often overwhelms the capacity of environmental planners and managers. Here we present a global scheme for prioritizing road building. This large-scale zoning plan seeks to limit the environmental costs of road expansion while maximizing its benefits for human development, by helping to increase agricultural production, which is an urgent priority given that global food demand could double by mid-century. Our analysis identifies areas with high environmental values where future road building should be avoided if possible, areas where strategic road improvements could promote agricultural development with relatively modest environmental costs, and 'conflict areas' where road building could have sizeable benefits for agriculture but with serious environmental damage. Our plan provides a template for proactively zoning and prioritizing roads during the most explosive era of road expansion in human history.

Alien roadside species more easily invade alpine than lowland plant communities in a subarctic mountain ecosystem.

PubMed

Lembrechts, Jonas J; Milbau, Ann; Nijs, Ivan

2014-01-01

Effects of roads on plant communities are not well known in cold-climate mountain ecosystems, where road building and development are expected to increase in future decades. Knowledge of the sensitivity of mountain plant communities to disturbance by roads is however important for future conservation purposes. We investigate the effects of roads on species richness and composition, including the plant strategies that are most affected, along three elevational gradients in a subarctic mountain ecosystem. We also examine whether mountain roads promote the introduction and invasion of alien plant species from the lowlands to the alpine zone. Observations of plant community composition were made together with abiotic, biotic and anthropogenic factors in 60 T-shaped transects. Alpine plant communities reacted differently to road disturbances than their lowland counterparts. On high elevations, the roadside species composition was more similar to that of the local natural communities. Less competitive and ruderal species were present at high compared with lower elevation roadsides. While the effects of roads thus seem to be mitigated in the alpine environment for plant species in general, mountain plant communities are more invasible than lowland communities. More precisely, relatively more alien species present in the roadside were found to invade into the surrounding natural community at high compared to low elevations. We conclude that effects of roads and introduction of alien species in lowlands cannot simply be extrapolated to the alpine and subarctic environment.

The Effects of Spatial Resolution on Impervious Cover Classifications in Watersheds and Riparian Zones in Vermont

EPA Science Inventory

Impervious cover (roads, rooftops, etc.) is a known stressor on stream biota and habitat and is often used as an indicator for assessing the effects of urbanization on stream health. Understanding how spatial data resolution impacts estimates of impervious cover is important for ...

Travel and the home advantage.

PubMed

Pace, A; Carron, A V

1992-03-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relative contributions of various travel related variables to visiting team success in the National Hockey League. A multiple regression design was used with game outcome as the dependent variable. The independent variables of interest included, as main effects and interactions, number of time zones crossed, direction of travel, distance traveled, preparation/adjustment time, time of season, game number on the road trip, and the home stand. Visiting team success was negatively associated with the interaction of number of time zones crossed and increased preparation time between games, and was positively associated with game number on the road. It was concluded that only a small portion of the variance in the home advantage/visitor disadvantage can be explained by travel related factors.

30 CFR 761.14 - Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal mining operations within the buffer zone of a public road. 761.14 Section 761.14 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT... Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal mining...

77 FR 33089 - OPSAIL 2012 Virginia, Port of Hampton Roads, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-05

... of Hampton Roads. The Coast Guard will establish safety zones as a part of these regulations to... other time deemed necessary for safety and security by the Captain of the Port, Hampton Roads, vessels...] RIN 1625-AA00, AA08, AA11 OPSAIL 2012 Virginia, Port of Hampton Roads, VA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS...

Impact of Stream Management Zones and Road Beautifying Buffers on Long-Term Fiber Supply in Georgia

Treesearch

Michal Zasada; Chris J. Cieszewski; Roger C. Lowe

2005-01-01

Streamside management zones (SMZs) and road beautifying buffers (RBBs) in Georgia have had an unknown impact on the available wood supply in the state. We used Forest Inventory and Analysis data, Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery, Gap Analysis Program and other geographic information system data to estimate the potential impact of SMZs and RBBs in the current and future...

Surface faulting near Livermore, California, associated with the January 1980 earthquakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bonilla, Manuel G.; Lienkaemper, James J.; Tinsley, John C.

1980-01-01

The earthquakes of 24 January (Ms 5.8) 1980 north of Livermore, California, and 26 January (Ms 5.2), were accompanied by surface faulting in the Greenville fault zone and apparently in the Las Positas fault zone also. The surface faulting was discontinuous and of small displacement. The main rupture within the Greenville fault zone trended about N.38°W. It was at least 4.2 km long and may have extended southward to Interstate Highway 580, giving a possible length of 6.2 km; both of these lengths included more gaps than observed surface rupture. Maximum displacements measured by us were about 25 mm of right slip (including afterslip through 28 January); vertical components of as much as 50 mm were seen locally, but these included gravity effects of unknown amount. The main break within the Greenville fault zones is very close to a fault strand mapped by Herd (1977, and unpublished data). A subsidiary break within the Greenville fault zone was about 0.5 km. long, had a general trend of N.46°W., and lay 0.12 to 0.25 km east of the main break. It was characterized by extension of as much as 40 mm and right slip of as much as 20 mm. This break was no more than 25 m from a fault mapped by Herd (unpublished data). Another break within the Greenville fault zone lay about 0.3 km southwest of the projection of the main break and trended about N33°W. It was at least 0.3 km long and showed mostly extension, but at several places a right-lateral component (up to 5 mm) was seen. This break was 80 to 100 m from a strand of the Greenville fault mapped by Herd (1977). Extensional fractures within the Greenville fault zone on the frontage roads north and south of Interstate Highway 580 may be related to regional extension or other processes, but do not seem to have resulted from faulting of the usual kind. One exception in this group is a fracture at the east side of Livermore valley which showed progressive increase in right-lateral displacement in February and March, 1980, and is directly on the projection of a fault in the Greenville fault zone mapped by Herd (1977). A group of more than 20 extensional fractures in Laughlin Road 1 km north of Interstate 580 probably are related to small tectonic displacements on faults in the Greenville fault zone. They are adjacent and parallel to two faults mapped by Herd (1977), are diagonal to the road, and most of them developed between 25 and 29 January, a period that included the Ms 5.2 shock of 26 January. Observations at two locations indicate tectonic displacement on the Las Positas fault zone as mapped by Herd (1977). At Vasco Road a prominent break on a strand of the fault showed about 0.5 mm of left-lateral strike slip on 7 February. An alinement array across this and other fractures at the locality indicates about 6 mm of left-lateral displacement occurred between 21 February and 26 March. On Tesla Road several right-stepping fractures, one of which showed 1.5 mm of left-lateral strike slip, lie on or close tp previously mapped strands of the Las Positas fault zone. The evidence at these two localities indicates that tectonic surface displacement occurred along at least 1.1 km of the Las Positas fault zone.

Full road closure for work zone operations, a cross-cutting study : reducing congestion and crashes through full road closure for maintenance and construction.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-08-01

The objective of this report is to raise awareness among designers construction engineers, and managers of the applications and benefits of full road closure during rehabilitation and construction activities. Based on interviews with project personne...

49 CFR 222.51 - Under what conditions will quiet zone status be terminated?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... agency responsible for grade crossing safety, and the State agency responsible for highway and road... agency responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road safety... State agency responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road...

49 CFR 222.51 - Under what conditions will quiet zone status be terminated?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... agency responsible for grade crossing safety, and the State agency responsible for highway and road... agency responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road safety... State agency responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road...

Air quality improvements following implementation of Lisbon's Low Emission Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, F.; Gomes, P.; Tente, H.; Carvalho, A. C.; Pereira, P.; Monjardino, J.

2015-12-01

Air pollution levels within Lisbon city limits have been exceeding the limit values established in European Union and national legislation since 2001, with the most problematic cases related to the levels of fine particles (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), mainly originated by road traffic. With the objective of answering this public health issue, an Air Quality Action Plan was developed in 2006 and the respective Enforcement Plan was published in 2009. From the overall strategy, one of the major measures presented in this strategy was the creation of a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in Lisbon, which has been operating since July 2011. Implemented at different stages it has progressively expanded its area, including more vehicle types and adopting more stringent requirements in terms of minimum emission standards (currently LEZ phase 2 with EURO 2 in the city center - zone 1 and EURO 1 in the rest of the LEZ area - zone 2). At the same time the road axis comprised of Marquês de Pombal square and Avenida da Liberdade was subjected to profound changes in its traffic circulation model, reducing road traffic volumes. The analysis of the air quality data before and after the LEZ phase 2 has shown positive evolution when comparing the period between 2011 (before measures) and 2013 (after measures). In 2013, there was a reduction in PM10 annual average concentration of 23% and NO2 annual average concentrations of 12%, compared with the year 2011. Although PM10 reductions were more significant inside the LEZ area, the same was not valid for NO2, suggesting that the implementation of these measures was not as effective in reducing NO2 levels as shown by results in other cities like Berlin and London. The results from road traffic characterization indicate a relevant effect on fleet renewal with an overall decrease in the relative weight of pre-EURO 2 vehicles in 2012/2013, compared with data from 2011. An important increase in the share of EURO 4 and EURO 5 vehicles was also observed. Our conclusions show that the level of ambition is relevant for the observed effects. Therefore, stricter restriction standards should be enforced in the future stages of the Lisbon LEZ in conjunction with a higher effort and investment on LEZ enforcement.

Integrated geomorphologic and GIS analysis for the assessment of erosion zones and its relationship with hazardous zones in the Zacatecas and Guadalupe quadrangles, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Escalona-Alcázar, F. d. J.; Escobedo-Arellano, B.; Castillo-Félix, B.; Carrillo-Castillo, C.; García-Sandoval, P.; Gurrola-Menchaca, L. L.; Núñez-Peña, E. P.; Esparza-Martínez, A.; Bluhm-Gutiérrez, J.; Guijarro-Rodríguez, C. J.

2012-04-01

The morphology of the Zacatecas and Guadalupe quadrangles is composed to the West by a NNE-SSW fault bounded range and to the East a valley cut by minor hills. The most important and fast growing cities in the state are located in that range. However, in urban development plans variables such as the geology and geomorphologic processes, as well as the land cover characteristics, are poorly taken into consideration. Due to the landscape modification the erosion agents, mainly water, removes loose materials that are either natural or artificial. The effects on the buildings and roads are fractures, slope instability, and rock falling. In this study we present a model that considers the detailed geologic mapping, the geomorphology, land use, vegetation, and the digital slope model scale 1:50 000. The geomorphologic parameters considered were: relief energy, dissection density, general dissection density, and maximum dissection depth. The location and internal characteristics of mapped talus deposits were the basis to define the erosion criteria. High erosion zones are located in slopes over 20° where the talus deposits initiate due to the relative abundance of loose debris. Medium erosion areas are located in slopes over 10° that downslope has progressive accumulation of sediments. While the low erosion zones are located in slopes ranging from 5° to 20° with almost flat lying beds. These parameters were analyzed in ArcGIS together with the digital slope model, detailed geology mapping, the land use cover, and the soil information. The results where verified in the range where the city has been growing in recent years. The soils all over the range are lithosols which are only 10 to 15 cm thick; while the vegetation is composed mainly of bushes and nopals. Even though both, vegetation and soil are not modified, the erosion effects in them are very slow regardless of their location. The faults located in high erosion zones facilitate rock falling mainly during the rainy season; whereas in medium erosion zones it occurs if the road cuts or cliffs are steep. The rocks varying from loose to moderately consolidated, as well as the artificial fillings and talus deposits, are easily or difficultly eroded according with the erosion zones proposed in our model. The effects observed are fractured roads and house walls, removal of soil underneath the buildings, gullies formation, and slope instability. The model defines areas where the erosion effects can be related to the development of hazardous zones. This model gives criteria for land use planning and urban development.

Detection of the local sliding in the tyre-road contact by measuring vibrations on the inner liner of the tyre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niskanen, Arto J.; Tuononen, Ari J.

2017-04-01

Intelligent tyres can provide vital information from the tyre-road contact, especially for autonomous cars and intelligent infrastructure. In this paper, the acceleration measured on the inner liner of a tyre is used to detect the local sliding in the tyre-road contact. The Hilbert-Huang transform is utilized to extract the relevant vibration components and localize them in the wheel rotation angle domain. The energy of the vibration in the trailing part of the contact is shown to increase in low-friction conditions which can be related to the sliding of the tread part as a result of the shear stresses exceeding the local friction limit. To separate the effect of the surface roughness and the friction, different road surfaces were used in the measurements. In addition, the effects of different driving manoeuvres on the measured accelerations and the propagation of the sliding zone in the contact patch during braking are illustrated.

78 FR 57838 - Foreign-Trade Zone 15-Kansas City, Missouri, Area; Site Renumbering Notice

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-20

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board Foreign-Trade Zone 15--Kansas City, Missouri, Area; Site Renumbering Notice Foreign-Trade Zone 15 was approved by the Foreign-Trade Zones Board on... War Road, Carthage; Site 7 (1,567 acres)--Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport/ Industrial Park, 1540...

Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Among US Military Basic Trainees, 2005-06 Season

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-04-01

receive mandatory influenza vaccination , either the trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine by injection (FluZone, Sanofi Pasteur, Lyon, France) or...Naval Health Research Center Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Among US Military Basic Trainees, 2005–06 Season J. K. Strickler A. W...Naval Health Research Center 140 Sylvester Road San Diego, California 92106 Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness among US Military Basic Trainees, 2005

77 FR 61017 - Draft Habitat Conservation Plan and Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Yamhill County, OR

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-05

..., although they are identified as being mostly positive. Road maintenance activities will occur along 1.02... Maintenance Zones when revegetating disturbed or bare areas. 4. Restricting normal gravel road maintenance... endangered Fender's blue butterfly incidental to otherwise lawful activities associated with county road...

23 CFR 630.1106 - Policy and procedures for work zone safety management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... established in accordance with 23 CFR 630.1006, shall include the consideration and management of road user...; Exposure Control Measures to avoid or minimize worker exposure to motorized traffic and road user exposure... road users. (b) Agency processes, procedures, and/or guidance should be based on consideration of...

Determining Level of Service for Multilane Median Opening Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, Paydar; Johnnie, Ben-Edigbe

2017-08-01

The road system is a capital-intensive investment, requiring thorough schematic framework and funding. Roads are built to provide an intrinsic quality of service which satisfies the road users. Roads that provide good services are expected to deliver operational performance that is consistent with their design specifications. Level of service and cumulative percentile speed distribution methods have been used in previous studies to estimate the quality of multilane highway service. Whilst the level of service approach relies on speed/flow curve, the cumulative percentile speed distribution is based solely speed. These estimation methods were used in studies carried out in Johor Malaysia. The aim of the studies is to ascertain the extent of speed reduction caused by midblock U-turn facilities as well as verify which estimation method is more reliable. At selected sites, road segments for both directional flows were divided into free-flow and midblock zones. Traffic volume, speed and vehicle type data for each zone were collected continuously for six weeks. Both estimation methods confirmed that speed reduction would be caused by midblock u-turn facilities. However level of service methods suggested that the quality of service would improve from level F to E or D at midblock zone in spite of speed reduction. Level of service was responding to traffic volume reduction at midblock u-turn facility not travel speed reduction. The studies concluded that since level of service was more responsive to traffic volume reduction than travel speed, it cannot be solely relied upon when assessing the quality of multilane highway service.

76 FR 13425 - Federal Property Suitable as Facilities To Assist the Homeless

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-11

..., public space (roads and hwy) and utilities easements, asbestos and lead base paint identified most... clear zone, Extensive deterioration. Former Aviation Hanger Hartwell Road Bedford MA Landholding Agency...

Work Zone Intrusion Report Interface Design

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-02-02

While necessary for roadways, work zones present a safety risk to crew. Half of road workers deaths between 2005 and 2010 were due to collisions with motorists intruding on the work zone. Therefore, addressing intrusions is an important step for ensu...

Work zone simulator analysis : driver performance and acceptance of alternate merge sign configurations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-06-01

Improving work zone road safety is an issue of great interest due to the high number of crashes observed in work : zones. Departments of Transportation (DOTs) use a variety of methods to inform drivers of upcoming work zones. One method : used by DOT...

Road displacement model based on structural mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Xiuqin; Guo, Qingsheng; Zhang, Yi

2006-10-01

Spatial conflict resolution is an important part of cartographic generalization, and it can deal with the problems of having too much information competing for too little space, while feature displacement is a primary operator of map generalization, which aims at resolving the spatial conflicts between neighbor objects especially road features. Considering the road object, this paper explains an idea of displacement based on structural mechanics. In view of spatial conflict problem after road symbolization, it is the buffer zones that are used to detect conflicts, then we focus on each conflicting region, with the finite element method, taking every triangular element for analysis, listing stiffness matrix, gathering system equations and calculating with iteration strategy, and we give the solution to road symbol conflicts. Being like this until all the conflicts in conflicting regions are solved, then we take the whole map into consideration again, conflicts are detected by reusing the buffer zones and solved by displacement operator, so as to all of them are handled.

Iowa Work Zone Fatalities

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

From March through November, the Iowa DOT may have up to 500 road construction work zones, and each of the department's maintenance garages may establish one or more short-term work zones per day. Couple that with the work of cities and counties, and...

75 FR 49912 - Foreign-Trade Zone 40-Cleveland, OH; Site Renumbering Notice

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-16

...)--Cleveland Business Park, Cleveland; Site 3 (450 acres)--Burke Lakefront Airport, 1501 North Marginal Road..., Glenwillow; Site 5 (17 acres)--within the Collinwood Industrial Park, South Waterloo (South Marginal) Road...

An Intelligent Parking Management System for Urban Areas.

PubMed

Vera-Gómez, Juan A; Quesada-Arencibia, Alexis; García, Carmelo R; Suárez Moreno, Raúl; Guerra Hernández, Fernando

2016-06-21

In this article we describe a low-cost, minimally-intrusive system for the efficient management of parking spaces on both public roads and controlled zones. This system is based on wireless networks of photoelectric sensors that are deployed on the access roads into and out of these areas. The sensors detect the passage of vehicles on these roads and communicate this information to a data centre, thus making it possible to know the number of vehicles in the controlled zone and the occupancy levels in real-time. This information may be communicated to drivers to facilitate their search for a parking space and to authorities so that they may take steps to control traffic when congestion is detected.

Factors associated with NO2 and NOX concentration gradients near a highway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richmond-Bryant, J.; Snyder, M. G.; Owen, R. C.; Kimbrough, S.

2018-02-01

The objective of this research is to learn how the near-road gradient, in which NO2 and NOX (NO + NO2) concentrations are elevated, varies with changes in meteorological and traffic variables. Measurements of NO2 and NOX were obtained east of I-15 in Las Vegas and fit to functions whose slopes (dCNO2/dx and dCNOX/dx, respectively) characterize the size of the near-road zone where NO2 and NOX concentrations from mobile sources on the highway are elevated. These metrics were used to learn about the near-road gradient by modeling dCNO2/dx and dCNOX/dx as functions of meteorological variables (e.g., wind direction, wind speed), traffic (vehicle count), NOX concentration upwind of the road, and O3 concentration at two fixed-site ambient monitors. Generalized additive models (GAM) were used to model dCNO2/dx and dCNOX/dx versus the independent variables because they allowed for nonlinearity of the variables being compared. When data from all wind directions were included in the analysis, variability in O3 concentration comprised the largest proportion of variability in dCNO2/dx, followed by variability in wind direction. In a second analysis constrained to winds from the west, variability in O3 concentration remained the largest contributor to variability in dCNO2/dx, but the relative contribution of variability in wind speed to variability in dCNO2/dx increased relative to its contribution for the all-wind analysis. When data from all wind directions were analyzed, variability in wind direction was by far the largest contributor to variability in dCNOX/dx, with smaller contributions from hour of day and upwind NOX concentration. When only winds from the west were analyzed, variability in upwind NOX concentration, wind speed, hour of day, and traffic count all were associated with variability in dCNOX/dx. Increases in O3 concentration were associated with increased magnitude near-road dCNO2/dx, possibly shrinking the zone of elevated concentrations occurring near roads. Wind direction parallel to the highway was also related to an increased magnitude of both dCNO2/dx and dCNOX/dx, again likely shrinking the zone of elevated concentrations occurring near roads. Wind direction perpendicular to the road decreased the magnitude of dCNO2/dx and dCNOX/dx and likely contributed to growth of the zone of elevated concentrations occurring near roads. Thus, variability in near-road concentrations is influenced by local meteorology and ambient O3 concentration.

75 FR 2487 - Foreign-Trade Zone 176-Rockford, IL; Application for Reorganization/Expansion Under Alternative...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-15

... parcels located in and around the Chicago Rockford International Airport (including the [[Page 2488...) and a parcel located at 1635 New Milford School Road/1129 18th Avenue, Rockford; Site 3: (566 acres... Road and Gurler Road, DeKalb; Site 11: (46 acres) Loves Park Corporate Center, located at Bell School...

77 FR 22755 - Foreign-Trade Zone 257-Imperial County, CA; Site Renumbering Notice

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-17

...); Site 10: (78.11 acres)--Desert Real Estate parcels, Cole Road and Sunset Boulevard, Calexico (formerly part of Site 3b); Site 11: (35.47 acres)--Portico Industrial Park, Cole Road and Enterprise Boulevard, Calexico (formerly part of Site 3b); Site 12: (59.49 acres)--Kloke Tract, Cole Road, Portico Boulevard and...

Spatially Characterizing Effective Timber Supply

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berry, J. K.; Sailor, J.

1982-01-01

The structure of a computer-oriented cartographic model for assessing roundwood supply for generation of base load electricity is discussed. The model provides an analytical procedure for coupling spatial information of harvesting economics and owner willingness to sell stumpages. Supply is characterized in terms of standing timber; of accessibility considering various harvesting and hauling factors; and of availability as affected by ownership and residential patterns. Factors governing accessibility to timber include effective harvesting distance to haulic roads as modified by barriers and slopes. Haul distance is expressed in units that take into account the relative ease of travel along various road types to a central processing facility. Areas of accessible timber are grouped into spatial units, termed 'timbersheds', of common access to particular haul road segments that belong to unique 'transport zones'. Timber availability considerations include size of ownership parcels, housing density and excluded areas. The analysis techniques are demonstrated for a cartographic data base in western Massachusetts.

Capacity and road user cost analysis of selected freeway work zones in Texas.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-09-01

This research was developed to produce usable and meaningful estimates for work zone capacities under a variety of roadway and traffic conditions, work zone configurations, and lane closure scenarios within Texas. Using data collected at eighteen wor...

Estimation of traffic impacts at work zones : state of the practice.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-01-01

Assessing the safety and mobility impacts of work zones across the project development phases of road construction and maintenance projects is an emphasis area of the Federal Highway Administration's Final Rule on Work Zone Safety and Mobility1 (Fina...

75 FR 51757 - Foreign-Trade Zone 167-Green Bay, WI; Site Renumbering Notice

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-23

... South Point Road and Airport Road adjacent to Austin Straubel Airport in Ashwaubenon, Brown County; Site..., Winnebago County; Site 3 (1,654 acres)--Austin Straubel Airport located in Ashwaubenon and Hobart, Brown...

Understanding three decades of land use changes and a cloudburst in Phewa Lake Watershed, Western Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudmeier-Rieux, Karen; Tonini, Marj; Vulliez, Cindy; Sanjaya, Devkota; Derron, Marc-Henri; Jaboyedoff, Michel

2017-04-01

This paper details an extreme rainfall event, or cloudburst (315 mm/ 24 hours) which occurred on July 29-30, 2015 in the Phewa Lake Watershed, Western Nepal, three months after the April 25, 2015 Gorkha Earthquake. The event triggered over 170 landslides and debris flows, caused 8 deaths and considerable damage to livelihoods. The fatal debris flow started from one of the numerous rural roads, which have proliferated exponentially over the past decades. In addition to mapping landslides due to this extreme rainfall event, our study sought to document and analyze underlying natural and human land use factors that may have impacted the occurrence of landsliding (Vulliez et al submitted). To do so, our study analyzed land cover/ land use changes for the period 1979-2016 based on an interpretation of aerial photos and satellite images, combined with ground truthing. We studied how land use / land cover changes have resulted in a shift of active erosion zones from overgrazing around streams and forests to an exponential number of small failures along unplanned earthen rural roads, or "bulldozer roads". With several hundred small failures documented along roadsides (Leibundgut et al., 2016) as compared to only 14 landslides prior to 2015 extreme rainfall event - and none triggered by the 2015 earthquake - roads are thus a major driver of active erosion zones and small failures in the watershed. More effective management of the current unsustainable mode of rural road construction is required to reduce further environmental and economic impacts on vulnerable populations in Nepal. Leibundgut, G., Sudmeier-Rieux, K. Devkota, S., Jaboyedoff, M., Derron, M-H., Penna, I. Nguyen, L. (2016). Rural earthen roads impact assessment in Phewa watershed, Western region, Nepal. Geoenvironmental Disasters (2016) 3:13. DOI 10.1186/s40677-016-0047-8 Vulliez, C, Tonini, M., Sudmeier-Rieux, K. Devkota, S., Derron, M-H, Jaboyedoff, M. (submitted) Land use changes, landslides and roads in the Phewa Watershed, Western Nepal from 1979 to 2016. Applied Geography

Evaluation of work zone safety operations and issues.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-03-01

Work zone activities are one of the areas with a high potential for compromised safety for workers and road users. Various measures have been taken to increase the level of safety in work zones; including the use of double fines for speeding and the ...

Highway performance monitoring system catalog : new technology and techniques

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-03-01

The Share the Road Campaign Research Study Final Report documents the independent study and review of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety's (OMCHS), Share the Road program called the No-Zone Campaign....

Maximizing Conservation and Production with Intensive Forest Management: It's All About Location

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tittler, Rebecca; Filotas, Élise; Kroese, Jasmin; Messier, Christian

2015-11-01

Functional zoning has been suggested as a way to balance the needs of a viable forest industry with those of healthy ecosystems. Under this system, part of the forest is set aside for protected areas, counterbalanced by intensive and extensive management of the rest of the forest. Studies indicate this may provide adequate timber while minimizing road construction and favoring the development of large mature and old stands. However, it is unclear how the spatial arrangement of intensive management areas may affect the success of this zoning. Should these areas be agglomerated or dispersed throughout the forest landscape? Should managers prioritize (a) proximity to existing roads, (b) distance from protected areas, or (c) site-specific productivity? We use a spatially explicit landscape simulation model to examine the effects of different spatial scenarios on landscape structure, connectivity for native forest wildlife, stand diversity, harvest volume, and road construction: (1) random placement of intensive management areas, and (2-8) all possible combinations of rules (a)-(c). Results favor the agglomeration of intensive management areas. For most wildlife species, connectivity was the highest when intensive management was far from the protected areas. This scenario also resulted in relatively high harvest volumes. Maximizing distance of intensive management areas from protected areas may therefore be the best way to maximize the benefits of intensive management areas while minimizing their potentially negative effects on forest structure and biodiversity.

78 FR 48884 - Final Flood Hazard Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-12

..., Building and Zoning Office, 111 West Fox Street, Yorkville, IL 60560. Village of Montgomery Village Hall..., and Zoning Office, 111 West Fox Road, Yorkville, IL 60560. White County, Indiana, and Incorporated...

An Intelligent Parking Management System for Urban Areas

PubMed Central

Vera-Gómez, Juan A.; Quesada-Arencibia, Alexis; García, Carmelo R.; Suárez Moreno, Raúl; Guerra Hernández, Fernando

2016-01-01

In this article we describe a low-cost, minimally-intrusive system for the efficient management of parking spaces on both public roads and controlled zones. This system is based on wireless networks of photoelectric sensors that are deployed on the access roads into and out of these areas. The sensors detect the passage of vehicles on these roads and communicate this information to a data centre, thus making it possible to know the number of vehicles in the controlled zone and the occupancy levels in real-time. This information may be communicated to drivers to facilitate their search for a parking space and to authorities so that they may take steps to control traffic when congestion is detected. PMID:27338397

Impacts of transportation routes on landscape diversity: a comparison of different route types and their combined effects.

PubMed

Su, Shiliang; Xiao, Rui; Li, Delong; Hu, Yi'na

2014-03-01

A comparison of different transportation route types and their combined effects on landscape diversity was conducted within Tiaoxi watershed (China) between 1994 and 2005. Buffer analysis and Mann-Kendall's test were used to quantify the relationships between distance from transportation routes (railway, highway, national, and provincial road) and a family of landscape diversity parameters (Simpson's diversity index, Simpson's evenness index, Shannon's diversity index, and Shannon's evenness index). One-way ANOVA was further applied to compare influences from different route types and their combined effects. Five other landscape metrics (patch density, edge density, area-weighted mean shape index, connectance index, and Euclidean nearest neighbor distance) were also calculated to analyze the associations between landscape diversity and landscape pattern characteristics. Results showed that transportation routes exerted significant impacts on landscape diversity. Impact from railway was comparable to that from highway and national road but was more significant than that from provincial road. The spatial influential range of railway and national road was wider than that of highway and provincial road. Combined effects of routes were nonlinear, and impacts from different route types were more complex than those from the same type. The four landscape diversity metrics were comparably effective at the buffer zone scale. In addition, landscape diversity can be alternatively used to indicate fragmentation, connectivity, and isolation at route buffer scale. This study demonstrates an applicable approach to quantitatively characterize the impacts from transportation routes on landscape patterns and has potential to facilitate route network planning.

Use of Barriers in Rural Open Road Conditions--A Synthesis Study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-05-01

The use of wide medians and clear zones that do not require median and roadside barriers is the current design practice for new and : reconstructed rural highway facilities. Constructing or reconstructing roads with fullwidth medians and clear zon...

Use of Barriers in Rural Open Road Condition--A Synthesis Study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-05-01

The use of wide medians and clear zones that do not require median and roadside barriers is the current design practice for new and : reconstructed rural highway facilities. Constructing or reconstructing roads with fullwidth medians and clear zon...

Traffic control and work zone safety for high volume roads.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-07-01

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) predominantly addresses work performed : along the centerline of roadways and low-speed roads. This work does not apply to the majority of : situations encountered by New Jersey Department of Tran...

Examining the impact of ASE (automated speed enforcement) in work zones on driver attention : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-01

Each year, there are over 500 fatal crashes in work zones in the U.S., with over 100 road construction workers : killed on work sites (NSC, 2011; FARS, 2011). Speed and distraction are among the top contributing factors to : work zone crashes (Garber...

Factors associated with NO2 and NOX concentration gradients near a highway.

PubMed

Richmond-Bryant, J; Snyder, M G; Owen, R C; Kimbrough, S

2017-11-21

The objective of this research is to learn how the near-road gradient, in which NO 2 and NO X (NO + NO 2 ) concentrations are elevated, varies with changes in meteorological and traffic variables. Measurements of NO 2 and NO X were obtained east of I-15 in Las Vegas and fit to functions whose slopes (dC NO 2 /dx and dC NO X /dx, respectively) characterize the size of the near-road zone where NO 2 and NO X concentrations from mobile sources on the highway are elevated. These metrics were used to learn about the near-road gradient by modeling dC NO 2 /dx and dC NO X /dx as functions of meteorological variables (e.g., wind direction, wind speed), traffic (vehicle count), NO X concentration upwind of the road, and O 3 concentration at two fixed-site ambient monitors. Generalized additive models (GAM) were used to model dC NO 2 /dx and dC NO X /dx versus the independent variables because they allowed for nonlinearity of the variables being compared. When data from all wind directions were included in the analysis, variability in O 3 concentration comprised the largest proportion of variability in dC NO 2 /dx, followed by variability in wind direction. In a second analysis constrained to winds from the west, variability in O 3 concentration remained the largest contributor to variability in dC NO 2 /dx, but the relative contribution of variability in wind speed to variability in dC NO 2 /dx increased relative to its contribution for the all-wind analysis. When data from all wind directions were analyzed, variability in wind direction was by far the largest contributor to variability in dC NO X /dx, with smaller contributions from hour of day and upwind NO X concentration. When only winds from the west were analyzed, variability in upwind NO X concentration, wind speed, hour of day, and traffic count all were associated with variability in dC NO X /dx. Increases in O 3 concentration were associated with increased magnitude near-road dC NO 2 /dx, possibly shrinking the zone of elevated concentrations occurring near roads. Wind direction parallel to the highway was also related to an increased magnitude of both dC NO 2 /dx and dC NO X /dx, again likely shrinking the zone of elevated concentrations occurring near roads. Wind direction perpendicular to the road decreased the magnitude of dC NO 2 /dx and dC NO X /dx and likely contributed to growth of the zone of elevated concentrations occurring near roads. Thus, variability in near-road concentrations is influenced by local meteorology and ambient O 3 concentration.

Rockfall hazard mapping along a mountainous road in Switzerland using a GIS-based parameter rating approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baillifard, F.; Jaboyedoff, M.; Sartori, M.

A posteriori studies of rock slope instabilities generally show that rockfalls do not occur at random locations: the failure zone can be classified as sensitive from geomorphological evidence. Zones susceptible to failure can there-fore be detected. Effects resulting from degrading and triggering factors, such as groundwater circulation and freeze and thaw cycles, must then be assessed in order to evaluate the probability of failure. A simple method to detect rock slope instabilities was tested in a study involving a 2000 m3 rockfall that obstructed a mountainous road near Sion (Switzerland) on 9 January 2001. In order to locate areas from which a rock-fall might originate, areas were assessed with respect to the presence or absence of five criteria: (1) a fault, (2) a scree slope within a short distance, (3) a rocky cliff, (4) a steep slope, and (5) a road. These criteria were integrated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) using existing topo-graphic, geomorphological, and geological vector and raster digital data. The proposed model yields a rating from 0 to 5, and gives a relative hazard map. Areas yielding a high relative hazard have to meet two additional criteria if they are to be considered as locations from which a rockfall might originate: (1) the local structural pattern has to be unfavourable, and (2) the morphology has to be susceptible to the effects of degrading and triggering factors. The rockfall of 9 January 2001, has a score of 5. Applied to the entire length of the road (4 km), the present method reveals two additional areas with a high relative hazard, and allows the detection of the main instabilities of the site.

Trees and highway safety.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-03-01

To minimize the severity of run-off-road collisions of vehicles with trees, departments of transportation (DOTs) : commonly establish clear zones for trees and other fixed objects. Caltrans clear zone on freeways is 30 feet : minimum (40 feet pref...

Evaluation of NDOR's actuated advance warning systems.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-12-01

"Driver behavior within the dilemma zone can be a major safety concern at high-speed signalized intersections. The : Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) has developed and implemented an actuated advance warning (AAW) dilemma : zone protection system....

33 CFR 165.T11-0511 - Safety Zone; Big Sioux River from the Military Road Bridge North Sioux City to the confluence of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the Military Road Bridge North Sioux City to the confluence of the Missouri River, SD. 165.T11-0511... River from the Military Road Bridge North Sioux City to the confluence of the Missouri River, SD. (a... Bridge, North Sioux City, SD at 42.52 degrees North, 096.48 West longitude to the confluence of the...

78 FR 24157 - Foreign-Trade Zone 20-Suffolk, Virginia; Application for Reorganization and Expansion Under the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-24

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [B-34-2013] Foreign-Trade Zone 20--Suffolk..., Routes 340, 522 and 661, Front Royal; Site 8 (133 acres)--Bridgeway Commerce Park, Interstate 664... Commerce Park, I-264, Portsmouth; Site 13 (139 acres)--Suffolk Industrial Park, 595 Carolina Road, Suffolk...

77 FR 8806 - Foreign-Trade Zone 183-Austin, TX; Application for Reorganization Under the Alternative Site...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-15

... Gardner Road, Austin; Site 2 (50 acres)--Balcones Research site located in north central Austin at the... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [Docket 8-2012] Foreign-Trade Zone 183--Austin, TX; Application for Reorganization Under the Alternative Site Framework An application has been...

76 FR 73587 - Foreign-Trade Zone 183-Austin, Tx; Site Renumbering Notice

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-29

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board Foreign-Trade Zone 183--Austin, Tx; Site... Research site located in north central Austin at the intersection of Burnett Road and Longhorn Boulevard... (Board Order 1366). FTZ 183 currently consists of 8 ``sites'' totaling some 2,818 acres in the Austin...

23 CFR 630.1106 - Policy and procedures for work zone safety management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Policy and procedures for work zone safety management... Policy and procedures for work zone safety management. (a) Each agency's policy and processes, procedures... established in accordance with 23 CFR 630.1006, shall include the consideration and management of road user...

Dilemma zone protection on high-speed arterials.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-12-01

Driver behavior within the dilemma zone can be a major safety concern at high-speed signalized intersections, especially : for heavy trucks. The Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) has developed and implemented an Actuated Advance : Warning (AAW) dil...

Impacts of Future Climate Change on Ukraine Transportation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khomenko, Inna

2016-04-01

Transportation not only affects climate, but are strongly influenced with the climate conditions, and key hubs of the transportation sector are cities. Transportation decision makers have an opportunity now to prepare for projected climate changes owing to development of emission scenarios. In the study impact of climate change on operation of road transport along highways are analyzed on the basis of RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. Data contains series of daily mean and maximum temperature, daily liquid (or mixed) and solid precipitation, daily mean relative humidity and daily mean and maximum wind speed, obtained for the period of 2011 to 2050 for 8 cities (Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Odesa, Ternopil, Vinnytsia and Voznesensk) situated down the highways. The highways of 'Odesa-Voznesensk-Dnipropetrovsk-Kharkiv' and 'Dnipropetrovsk-Kirovohrad-Vinnytsia-Khmelnytskyi-Ternopil' are considered. The first highway goes across the Black Sea Lowland, the Dnieper Upland and Dnieper Lowland, the other passes through the Dnieper and Volhynia-Podillia Uplands. The both highways are situated in steppe and forest-steppe native zones. For both scenarios, significant climate warming is registered; it is revealed in significant increase of average monthly and yearly temperature by 2-3°C in all cities in questions, and also, in considerable increment of frequency of days with maximum temperature higher than +30 and 35°C, except Kharkiv, where decrease number of days with such temperatures is observed. On the contrary, number of days with daily mean temperature being equal to or below 0°C decreases in the south of steppe, is constant in the north of steppe and increases in the forest-steppe native zone. Extreme negative temperatures don't occur in the steppe zone, but takes place in the forest-steppe zone. Results obtained shows that road surface must hold in extreme maximum temperature, and in the forest-steppe zone hazards of extreme negative temperatures must be considered. Frequency of winter events that make road surface worse such as glaze-clear ice, frozen snow that had initially melted on a warm road surface, ice and snow slippery coats etc., are high enough, especially in the forest-steppe zone. In the Black Sea Lowland among winter events the frozen snow that had initially melted on a warm road surface is most commonly observed, that is connected with high occurrence of the thaws. Because of increase in frequency of shower precipitation in all cities wet road surface is observed most frequently, especially in May and June; it must be taken into account for construction of roads, too. Monthly mean wind speed shows that in Odesa and Kharkiv significant increase in average monthly and yearly wind speeds are observed, by 0,5-1 m/s in comparison with the period of 1961 to 1990. On the contrary, in Dnipropetrovsk, wind speed decreases by 0,7 m/s. Frequency distribution of maximum wind speed shows that high wind speeds are more frequent in the winter months.

An empirical study of estimating vehicle emissions under cordon and distance based road user charging in Leeds, UK.

PubMed

Namdeo, Anil; Mitchell, Gordon

2008-01-01

This paper presents the impact of road user charging (RUC) on vehicle emissions through application of traffic assignment and pollutant emission models. It presents results of an analysis of five RUC schemes on vehicle emissions in Leeds, UK for 2005. The schemes were: a 3 pound sterling inner ring road cordon charge; a double cordon with a 2 pound sterling inner ring road and a 1 pound sterling outer ring road charge; and distance charges of 2, 10 and 20 p/km levied for travel within the outer cordon. Schemes were compared to a no charge option and results presented here. Emissions are significantly reduced within the inner cordon, whilst beyond the cordon, localised increases and decreases occur. The double cordon exhibits a similar but less marked pattern. Distance charging reduces city-wide emissions by 10% under a 2 p/km charge, 42-49% under a 10 p/km charge and 52-59% under a 20 p/km charge. The higher distance charges reduce emissions within the charge zone, and are also associated with elevated emissions outside the zone, but to a lesser extent than that observed for cordon charging.

Variable Speed Limit (VSL) - Best Management Practice [Summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-01

In variable speed limit (VSL) zones, the speed : limit changes in response to traffic congestion, : adverse weather, or road conditions. VSL zones are : often highly automated and have been employed : successfully in several U.S. and European : locat...

Environmental Engineering and Ecological Baseline Investigations along the Yukon River-Prudhoe Bay Haul Road.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-09-01

the past when these ties. zones were thought to have shifted in response In this study 21 maps (scale 1:6,000) of repre- to climatic changes . sentative...Alaska Grasses Roads Climate Permafrost Soil erosion Drainage Pipelines Vegetation Environmental engineering Restoration Erosion control Revegetation 20...of changes in the environment associated with the road, 3) documentation of flora and vegetation along the 577-km-long transect, 4) methodologies for

Field guide to summit area and upper east rift zone, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

The field trip is divided into two sections: (1) Crater Rim Road; and (2) Chain of Craters Road. Most bibliographic references are omitted from the text, but a selected list of references to recent Hawaiian volcanic activity and to special studies is included.

49 CFR 222.59 - When may a wayside horn be used?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... zone, the State agency responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road safety, and the Associate Administrator. This notice shall provide the date on which the... responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road safety, and the...

49 CFR 222.59 - When may a wayside horn be used?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... zone, the State agency responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road safety, and the Associate Administrator. This notice shall provide the date on which the... responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road safety, and the...

23 CFR 630.1002 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING AND TRAFFIC OPERATIONS PRECONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES Work Zone Safety and Mobility § 630.1002 Purpose. Work zones directly impact the safety and mobility of road users and highway workers. These safety and mobility impacts are exacerbated by an aging...

23 CFR 630.1002 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING AND TRAFFIC OPERATIONS PRECONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES Work Zone Safety and Mobility § 630.1002 Purpose. Work zones directly impact the safety and mobility of road users and highway workers. These safety and mobility impacts are exacerbated by an aging...

23 CFR 630.1002 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING AND TRAFFIC OPERATIONS PRECONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES Work Zone Safety and Mobility § 630.1002 Purpose. Work zones directly impact the safety and mobility of road users and highway workers. These safety and mobility impacts are exacerbated by an aging...

Disturbance of beach sediment by off-road vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anders, Fred J.; Leatherman, Stephen P.

1987-10-01

A three-year investigation was undertaken to examine the effects of off-road vehicles (ORVs) on the beach at Fire Island, New York. Within the National Seashore over 45,000 vehicle trips per year are concentrated in the zone seaward of the dune toe. The experimental approach was adopted in order to assess the environmental effects of ORVs. Specially developed instrumentation was used to measure the direct displacement of sand by vehicles traversing the beach. Direct displacement data were reduced graphically and analyzed by stepwise linear regression. The results of 89 field experiments (788 cases) showed that slope, sand compaction, and number of vehicle passes in the same track were the principal factors controlling the measured net seaward displacement of sand. The data suggest that ORV use levels within the National Seashore could be contributing to the overall erosion rate by delivering large quantities of sand to the swash zone (max. of 119,300 m3/yr). However, with proper management downslope movement of sand could be reduced by an order of magnitude. While vehicular passage over the open beach displaces sand seaward, it is not known if such activity actually increases the amount of erosion, measured as net loss to the beach face.

CAD-DRASTIC: chloride application density combined with DRASTIC for assessing groundwater vulnerability to road salt application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salek, Mansour; Levison, Jana; Parker, Beth; Gharabaghi, Bahram

2018-06-01

Road salt is pervasively used throughout Canada and in other cold regions during winter. For cities relying exclusively on groundwater, it is important to plan and minimize the application of salt accordingly to mitigate the adverse effects of high chloride concentrations in water supply aquifers. The use of geospatial data (road network, land use, Quaternary and bedrock geology, average annual recharge, water-table depth, soil distribution, topography) in the DRASTIC methodology provides an efficient way of distinguishing salt-vulnerable areas associated with groundwater supply wells, to aid in the implementation of appropriate management practices for road salt application in urban areas. This research presents a GIS-based methodology to accomplish a vulnerability analysis for 12 municipal water supply wells within the City of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The chloride application density (CAD) value at each supply well is calculated and related to the measured groundwater chloride concentrations and further combined with soil media and aquifer vadose- and saturated-zone properties used in DRASTIC. This combined approach, CAD-DRASTIC, is more accurate than existing groundwater vulnerability mapping methods and can be used by municipalities and other water managers to further improve groundwater protection related to road salt application.

Improving safety in high-speed work zones : a Super 70 study : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-08-01

Highway work zones, particularly those on urban high-speed roads, require special attention and adequate traffic management to reduce the adverse impact of altered geometry and traffic that differ from typical conditions. Super 70 was an urban recons...

Utilization of remote traffic monitoring devices for urban freeway work zone assessment.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-01

The objective of this project was to promote and facilitate analysis and evaluation of the impacts of road construction activities in Smart : Work Zone Deployment Initiative (SWZDI) states. : The two primary objectives of this project were to assess ...

Distance from roads and cities as a predictor of habitat loss and fragmentation in the caatinga vegetation of Brazil.

PubMed

Santos, A M; Tabarelli, M

2002-11-01

Roads and cities represent huge sources of degradation for adjacent ecosystems regarding nutrient cycling, energy, water flow and species composition. In this study we test the hypothesis that distance from roads and cities is associated with habitat loss and fragmentation in the caatinga vegetation--a dry forest to scrub vegetation that covers ca. 736,000 km2 of northeast Brazil. The study site comprised a 2,828.8 km2 piece (64 km x 44.2 km) of Xingó region (09 degrees 36'S, 37 degrees 50'W), which is located between the States of Alagoas and Sergipe. Based on satellite imagery we mapped the remaining vegetation, 145 km of paved roads and the seven small-sized cities set in the study site. A positive correlation was found between the combined distance from roads and cities and the percentage of remaining vegetation as it dropped from 18% at 12 km distant to 5.9% at 1 km distant from cities and roads. Thus, remaining vegetation was reduced by one third near cities and roads. A positive correlation was also found between distance from cities and roads and the percentage of fragments larger than 200 ha, which ranged from 3.6% (within 3 km distance class) to 23.3% (15 km distance class) of all fragments. Our results suggest a road/city-effect zone of 12 to 15 km width, over which habitat loss and fragmentation extend throughout the caatinga vegetation. These findings should be considered in the regional polices for biodiversity conservation and economic development of the caatinga region.

76 FR 79214 - Certain Products Containing Interactive Program Guide and Parental Controls Technology...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-21

... Systems, Inc. of Tortola, the British Virgin Islands. The complaint alleges violations of section 337.... Box 71, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. (b) The respondents are the following entities...: Vizio, Inc., 39 Tesla, Irvine, CA 92618. Haier Group Corp., 1 Haier Road, Hi-Tech Zone, Qingdao...

75 FR 17126 - Foreign-Trade Zone 26-Atlanta, Georgia, Application for Expansion and Reorganization under...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-05

..., Jeffersonville (Twiggs County); Site 16 (308 acres) -- Meridian 75 Logistics Center, located at Interstate 75 and Rumble Road, Forsyth (Monroe County); Site 17 (193 acres) -- Majestic Airport Center III, located at... Futral Road, Griffin (Spalding County); Site 9 (321 acres) -- at the Hamilton Mill Business Center...

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) genotypes differ between coastal sites and inland road corridors in the Northeastern US

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a North American grass that exhibits vast genetic diversity across its geographic range. In the Northeast, switchgrass was restricted to a narrow zone adjacent to the coastal salt marsh, but current populations inhabit inland road verges raising questions about t...

Snow supporting structures for avalanche hazard reduction, 151 Avalanche, US 89/191, Jackson, Wyoming.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-04-01

The 151 Avalanche, near Jackson, Wyoming has, historically, avalanched to the road below 1.5 to 2 times a year. The road, US 89/191 is four lanes and carries an estimated 8,000 vehicles per day in the winter months. The starting zone of the 151 Avala...

Snow supporting structures for milepost 151 Avalanche, Highway US 89/191, Jackson, Wyoming : plans.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-04-01

The 151 Avalanche, near Jackson, Wyoming has, historically, avalanched to the road below 1.5 to 2 times a year. The road, US 89/191 is four lanes and carries an estimated 8,000 vehicles per day in the winter months. The starting zone of the 151 Avala...

Reading Text While Driving

PubMed Central

Horrey, William J.; Hoffman, Joshua D.

2015-01-01

Objective In this study, we investigated how drivers adapt secondary-task initiation and time-sharing behavior when faced with fluctuating driving demands. Background Reading text while driving is particularly detrimental; however, in real-world driving, drivers actively decide when to perform the task. Method In a test track experiment, participants were free to decide when to read messages while driving along a straight road consisting of an area with increased driving demands (demand zone) followed by an area with low demands. A message was made available shortly before the vehicle entered the demand zone. We manipulated the type of driving demands (baseline, narrow lane, pace clock, combined), message format (no message, paragraph, parsed), and the distance from the demand zone when the message was available (near, far). Results In all conditions, drivers started reading messages (drivers’ first glance to the display) before entering or before leaving the demand zone but tended to wait longer when faced with increased driving demands. While reading messages, drivers looked more or less off road, depending on types of driving demands. Conclusions For task initiation, drivers avoid transitions from low to high demands; however, they are not discouraged when driving demands are already elevated. Drivers adjust time-sharing behavior according to driving demands while performing secondary tasks. Nonetheless, such adjustment may be less effective when total demands are high. Application This study helps us to understand a driver’s role as an active controller in the context of distracted driving and provides insights for developing distraction interventions. PMID:25850162

33 CFR 3.25-10 - Sector Hampton Roads Marine Inspection Zone and Captain of the Port Zone.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... and Stafford County, VA boundaries to the western bank of the Potomac River at a point 38°30′13″ N... Potomac River and Stafford, King George, Westmoreland, and Northumberland Counties in Virginia to a point...

Work zone impacts assessment : an approach to assess and management work zone safety and mobility impacts of road projects

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-05-01

To help transportation agencies understand and implement the provisions of the Rule, FHWA has : developed four guidance documents. This Guide is designed to help transportation agencies : develop and/or update their own policies, processes, and proce...

Impact of lane closures on roadway capacity, phase 2 : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-01-01

Maintenance or construction on two-lane roads often requires setting up a work zone which closes one lane and uses the other for both traffic directions. Workers posted at each end of the work zone allow traffic to flow alternately one way and then t...

Shorter duration, safer work zones, more satisfied travelers : successful applications of full road closure in work zones

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-06-01

In January 1996, US Department of Transportation Secretary Federico Pena unveiled the Operation Timesaver initiative at the annual meeting of the transportation Research Board (TRB). The Secretary set a national goal of building and deploying an Inte...

76 FR 50717 - Foreign-Trade Zone 74, Baltimore, MD; Application for Reorganization/Expansion Under Alternative...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-16

... 28 (2.5 acres)-- McCormick & Company, Inc., 11102 McCormick Road, Hunt Valley (Baltimore County); Proposed Site 29 (17.6 acres)--McCormick & Company, Inc., 10901 Gilroy Road, Hunt Valley (Baltimore County); and, Proposed Site 30 (8.48 acres)--McCormick & Company, Inc., 4607 Appliance Drive, Belcamp (Harford...

49 CFR Appendix F to Subchapter B... - Commercial Zones

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., N. Mex. 18 Ravenswood, W. Va. 19 Lake Charles, La. 20 Syracuse, N.Y. 21 Baltimore, Md. 22 Cleveland... in respect of a shipment which has had a prior, or will have a subsequent movement by water carrier... Boulevard to its junction with St. Charles Rock Road, thence westerly along St. Charles Rock Road to its...

NPS pollution related to forest management activities in southern states

Treesearch

Johnny M. Grace

2004-01-01

Road systems on the nation’s public lands are vital links; providing access to perform management prescriptions, fire management, and recreation opportunities. Sediment movement downslope of forest road systems is a concern because these sediments have the potential to reach stream systems. Filter strips and stream side management zones (SMZs) are recommended and...

Magnitude and outcomes of road traffic accidents at Hospitals in Wolaita Zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia.

PubMed

Hailemichael, Feleke; Suleiman, Mohammed; Pauolos, Wondimagegn

2015-04-09

A Road traffic accident is an incident on a way or street open to public traffic, resulting in one or more persons being killed or injured, and involving at least one moving vehicle. The aim of this study is to assess magnitude and outcome of road traffic accidents among trauma victims at hospitals in Wolaita zone. A cross sectional hospital based study design using retrospective chart review was conducted from March 5th to March 25th, 2014. Simple random sampling technique was applied to identify sample population. The data was entered in to Epi info version 3.5.1 and transferred to SPSS version 16 for further analysis. A total of 384 trauma victims were incorporated in the study of which 240 (62.5%) were due to road traffic accidents. The majority of patients were male 298 (77.6%) and most commonly aged between 20-29 (35.42%). The principal outcome of injury was more commonly lower extremity (182 patients, 47.4%), compared to upper extremity (126 patients, 32.8%). Of all trauma patient presenting to hospitals (62.5%) are the result of road traffic accident. Hence, the provision of tailored messages to all members of the community regarding knowledge and practices of road safety measures like appropriate use of pavements by pedestrians and avoiding risky driving behaviors. Besides this make use of compulsory motorcycle helmets would appear to be a very important intervention.

Macro-level vulnerable road users crash analysis: A Bayesian joint modeling approach of frequency and proportion.

PubMed

Cai, Qing; Abdel-Aty, Mohamed; Lee, Jaeyoung

2017-10-01

This study aims at contributing to the literature on pedestrian and bicyclist safety by building on the conventional count regression models to explore exogenous factors affecting pedestrian and bicyclist crashes at the macroscopic level. In the traditional count models, effects of exogenous factors on non-motorist crashes were investigated directly. However, the vulnerable road users' crashes are collisions between vehicles and non-motorists. Thus, the exogenous factors can affect the non-motorist crashes through the non-motorists and vehicle drivers. To accommodate for the potentially different impact of exogenous factors we convert the non-motorist crash counts as the product of total crash counts and proportion of non-motorist crashes and formulate a joint model of the negative binomial (NB) model and the logit model to deal with the two parts, respectively. The formulated joint model is estimated using non-motorist crash data based on the Traffic Analysis Districts (TADs) in Florida. Meanwhile, the traditional NB model is also estimated and compared with the joint model. The result indicates that the joint model provides better data fit and can identify more significant variables. Subsequently, a novel joint screening method is suggested based on the proposed model to identify hot zones for non-motorist crashes. The hot zones of non-motorist crashes are identified and divided into three types: hot zones with more dangerous driving environment only, hot zones with more hazardous walking and cycling conditions only, and hot zones with both. It is expected that the joint model and screening method can help decision makers, transportation officials, and community planners to make more efficient treatments to proactively improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effect of the Road Environment on Road Safety in Poland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budzynski, Marcin; Jamroz, Kazimierz; Antoniuk, Marcin

2017-10-01

Run-off-road accidents tend to be very severe because when a vehicle leaves the road, it will often crash into a solid obstacle (tree, pole, supports, front wall of a culvert, barrier). A statistical analysis of the data shows that Poland’s main roadside hazard is trees and the severity of vehicles striking a tree in a run-off-road crash. The risks are particularly high in north-west Poland with many of the roads lined up with trees. Because of the existing rural road cross-sections, i.e. having trees directly on road edge followed immediately by drainage ditches, vulnerable road users are prevented from using shoulders and made to use the roadway. With no legal definition of the road safety zone in Polish regulations, attempts to remove roadside trees lead to major conflicts with environmental stakeholders. This is why a compromise should be sought between the safety of road users and protection of the natural environment and the aesthetics of the road experience. Rather than just cut the trees, other road safety measures should be used where possible to treat the hazardous spots by securing trees and obstacles and through speed management. Accidents that are directly related to the road environment fall into the following categories: hitting a tree, hitting a barrier, hitting a utility pole or sign, vehicle rollover on the shoulder, vehicle rollover on slopes or in ditch. The main consequence of a roadside hazard is not the likelihood of an accident itself but of its severity. Poland’s roadside accident severity is primarily the result of poor design or operation of road infrastructure. This comes as a consequence of a lack of regulations or poorly defined regulations and failure to comply with road safety standards. The new analytical model was designed as a combination of the different factors and one that will serve as a comprehensive model. It was assumed that it will describe the effect of the roadside on the number of accidents and their consequences. The design of the model was based on recommendations from analysing other models. The assumptions were the following: the model will be used to calculate risk factors and accident severity, the indicators will depend on number of vehicle kilometres travelled or traffic volumes, analyses will be based on accident data: striking a tree, hitting a barrier, hitting a utility pole or sign. Additional data will include roadside information and casualty density measures will be used - killed and injured.

Methyl tert‐butyl ether degradation in the unsaturated zone and the relation between MTBE in the atmosphere and shallow groundwater

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baehr, Arthur L.; Charles, Emmanuel G.; Baker, Ronald J.

2001-01-01

Atmospheric methyl tert‐butyl ether (MTBE) concentrations in southern New Jersey generally exceeded concentrations in samples taken from the unsaturated zone. A simple unsaturated zone transport model indicates that MTBE degradation can explain the attenuation with half‐lives from a few months to a couple of years. Tert‐butyl alcohol (TBA), a possible degradation product of MTBE, was detected in unsaturated‐zone samples at concentrations exceeding atmospheric levels at some sites, suggesting the possible conversion of MTBE to TBA. At sites where MTBE was detected in shallow groundwater, the concentration was typically higher than the overlying unsaturated‐zone concentration. This observation is consistent with outgassing from the aquifer and combined with the unsaturated‐zone attenuation suggests some of the MTBE detections in shallow groundwater are nonatmospheric in origin, coming from leaking tanks, road runoff, or other sources. The identification of sources of MTBE in groundwater and attenuation mechanisms through the hydrologic cycle is critical in developing an understanding of the long‐term effect of MTBE releases.

Determination of pumper truck intervention ratios in zones with high fire potential by using geographical information system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aricak, Burak; Kucuk, Omer; Enez, Korhan

2014-01-01

Fighting forest fires not only depends on the forest type, topography, and weather conditions, but is also closely related to the technical properties of fire-fighting equipment. Firefighting is an important part of fire management planning. However, because of the complex nature of forests, creating thematic layers to generate potential fire risk maps is difficult. The use of remote sensing data has become an efficient method for the discrete classification of potential fire risks. The study was located in the Central District of the Kastamonu Regional Forest Directorate, covering an area of 24,320 ha, 15,685 ha of which is forested. On the basis of stand age, crown closure, and tree species, the sizes and distributions of potential fire risk zones within the study area were determined using high-resolution GeoEye satellite imagery and geographical information system data. The status of pumper truck intervention in zones with high fire risk and the sufficiency of existing forest roads within an existing forest network were discussed based on combustible matter characteristics. Pumper truck intervention was 83% for high-risk zones, 79% for medium-risk zones, and 78% for low-risk zones. A pumper truck intervention area map along existing roads was also created.

Paving the Road for Student Success: Building a Case for Integrated Strategic Planning from Pre-K to Post-Doc

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kealey, Jarrett; Peterson, Renee; Thompson, Angela; Waters, Kristin

2015-01-01

The road from prekindergarten (pre-K) to post-doctoral (post-doc) work is riddled with potholes, detours, u-turns, and construction zones. National education initiatives such as No Child Left Behind, the Common Core, Race to the Top, Performance-Based Funding, College Readiness and Completion Acts, and Post-Graduate Gainful Employment Reports…

Evaluating the safety risk of roadside features for rural two-lane roads using reliability analysis.

PubMed

Jalayer, Mohammad; Zhou, Huaguo

2016-08-01

The severity of roadway departure crashes mainly depends on the roadside features, including the sideslope, fixed-object density, offset from fixed objects, and shoulder width. Common engineering countermeasures to improve roadside safety include: cross section improvements, hazard removal or modification, and delineation. It is not always feasible to maintain an object-free and smooth roadside clear zone as recommended in design guidelines. Currently, clear zone width and sideslope are used to determine roadside hazard ratings (RHRs) to quantify the roadside safety of rural two-lane roadways on a seven-point pictorial scale. Since these two variables are continuous and can be treated as random, probabilistic analysis can be applied as an alternative method to address existing uncertainties. Specifically, using reliability analysis, it is possible to quantify roadside safety levels by treating the clear zone width and sideslope as two continuous, rather than discrete, variables. The objective of this manuscript is to present a new approach for defining the reliability index for measuring roadside safety on rural two-lane roads. To evaluate the proposed approach, we gathered five years (2009-2013) of Illinois run-off-road (ROR) crash data and identified the roadside features (i.e., clear zone widths and sideslopes) of 4500 300ft roadway segments. Based on the obtained results, we confirm that reliability indices can serve as indicators to gauge safety levels, such that the greater the reliability index value, the lower the ROR crash rate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Online Optimal Control of Connected Vehicles for Efficient Traffic Flow at Merging Roads

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rios-Torres, Jackeline; Malikopoulos, Andreas; Pisu, Pierluigi

2015-01-01

This paper addresses the problem of coordinating online connected vehicles at merging roads to achieve a smooth traffic flow without stop-and-go driving. We present a framework and a closed-form solution that optimize the acceleration profile of each vehicle in terms of fuel economy while avoiding collision with other vehicles at the merging zone. The proposed solution is validated through simulation and it is shown that coordination of connected vehicles can reduce significantly fuel consumption and travel time at merging roads.

Seismic risk assessment for road in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toyfur, Mona Foralisa; Pribadi, Krishna S.

2016-05-01

Road networks in Indonesia consist of 446,000 km of national, provincial and local roads as well as toll highways. Indonesia is one of countries that exposed to various natural hazards, such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, etc. Within the Indonesian archipelago, several global tectonic plates interact, such as the Indo-Australian, Pacific, Eurasian, resulting in a complex geological setting, characterized by the existence of seismically active faults and subduction zones and a chain of more than one hundred active volcanoes. Roads in Indonesia are vital infrastructure needed for people and goods movement, thus supporting community life and economic activities, including promoting regional economic development. Road damages and losses due to earthquakes have not been studied widely, whereas road disruption caused enormous economic damage. The aim of this research is to develop a method to analyse risk caused by seismic hazard to roads. The seismic risk level of road segment is defined using an earthquake risk index, adopting the method of Earthquake Disaster Risk Index model developed by Davidson (1997). Using this method, road segments' risk level can be defined and compared, and road risk map can be developed as a tool for prioritizing risk mitigation programs for road networks in Indonesia.

How wide is a road? The association of roads and mass-wasting in a forested montane environment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Larsen, M.C.; Parks, J.E.

1997-01-01

A spatial data base of 1609 landslides was analysed using a geographic information system to determine landslide frequency in relation to highways. A 126 km long transportation network in a 201km2 area of humid-tropical, mountainous, forested terrain in Puerto Rico was used in conjunction with a series of 20 buffer (disturbance) zones varying from 5 to 400m in length, measured perpendicular to the highways. Average landslide frequency in the study area at distances greater than 85m from roads was about six landslides per square kilometre. At distances of 85m or less on either side of a highway, landslide frequency was about 30 landslides per square kilometre. On average, this elevated disturbance rate affected 330m2km-2a-1 within the 170m swath. The mass-wasting rate outside of the disturbance zone affected 40m2km-2 a-1. These results indicate that the rate of mass-wasting disturbance is increased from five to eight times in a 170m wide swath along road corridors. The lateral extent of the environmental impact of roads in the study area is greater than is commonly perceived. The approach described herein demonstrates a simple method to assess the spatial association of mass-wasting with highways. ?? 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Identifying significant predictors of head-on conflicts on two-lane rural roads using inductive loop detectors data.

PubMed

Shariat-Mohaymany, Afshin; Tavakoli-Kashani, Ali; Nosrati, Hadi; Ranjbari, Andisheh

2011-12-01

To identify the significant factors that influence head-on conflicts resulting from dangerous overtaking maneuvers on 2-lane rural roads in Iran. A traffic conflict technique was applied to 12 two-lane rural roads in order to investigate the potential situations for accidents to occur and thus to identify the geometric and traffic factors affecting traffic conflicts. Traffic data were collected via the inductive loop detectors installed on these roads, and geometric characteristics were obtained through field observations. Two groups of data were then analyzed independently by Pearson's chi-square test to evaluate their relationship to traffic conflicts. The independent variables were percentage of time spent following (PTSF), percentage of heavy vehicles, directional distribution of traffic (DDT), mean speed, speed standard deviation, section type, road width, longitudinal slope, holiday or workday, and lighting condition. It was indicated that increasing the PTSF, decreasing the percentage of heavy vehicles, increasing the mean speed (up to 75 km/h), increasing DDT in the range of 0 to 60 percent, and decreasing the standard deviation of speed significantly increased the occurrence of traffic conflicts. It was also revealed that traffic conflicts occur more frequently on curve sections and on workdays. The variables road width, slope, and lighting condition were found to have a minor effect on conflict occurrence. To reduce the number of head-on conflicts on the aforementioned roads, some remedial measures are suggested, such as not constructing long "No Passing" zones and constructing passing lanes where necessary; keeping road width at the standard value; constructing roads with horizontal curves and a high radius and using appropriate road markings and overtaking-forbidden signs where it is impossible to modify the radius; providing enough light and installing caution signs/devices on the roads; and intensifying police control and supervision on workdays, especially in peak hours.

Impact of traffic intensity and pavement aggregate size on road dust particles loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amato, F.; Pandolfi, M.; Alastuey, A.; Lozano, A.; Contreras González, J.; Querol, X.

2013-10-01

Road dust emissions severely hamper PM10 urban air quality and their burden is expected to increase relatively to primary motor exhaust emissions. Beside the large influence of climate and meteorology, the emission potential varies widely also from one road to another due to numerous factors such as traffic conditions, pavement type and external sources. Nevertheless none of these factors is sufficiently known for a reliable description in emission modelling and for decision making in air quality management. In this study we carried out intensive road dust measurement campaigns in South Spain, with the aim of investigating the relationship between emission potential (i.e. road dust load) and traffic intensity, pavement aggregate size and distance from braking zones. Results indicate that, while no impact from braking activity can be drawn on the bulk road dust mass, an increase in traffic intensity or mean pavement aggregate size clearly reduce the single vehicle emission potential.

Reading text while driving: understanding drivers' strategic and tactical adaptation to distraction.

PubMed

Liang, Yulan; Horrey, William J; Hoffman, Joshua D

2015-03-01

In this study, we investigated how drivers adapt secondary-task initiation and time-sharing behavior when faced with fluctuating driving demands. Reading text while driving is particularly detrimental; however, in real-world driving, drivers actively decide when to perform the task. In a test track experiment, participants were free to decide when to read messages while driving along a straight road consisting of an area with increased driving demands (demand zone) followed by an area with low demands. A message was made available shortly before the vehicle entered the demand zone. We manipulated the type of driving demands (baseline, narrow lane, pace clock, combined), message format (no message, paragraph, parsed), and the distance from the demand zone when the message was available (near, far). In all conditions, drivers started reading messages (drivers' first glance to the display) before entering or before leaving the demand zone but tended to wait longer when faced with increased driving demands. While reading messages, drivers looked more or less off road, depending on types of driving demands. For task initiation, drivers avoid transitions from low to high demands; however, they are not discouraged when driving demands are already elevated. Drivers adjust time-sharing behavior according to driving demands while performing secondary tasks. Nonetheless, such adjustment may be less effective when total demands are high. This study helps us to understand a driver's role as an active controller in the context of distracted driving and provides insights for developing distraction interventions. © 2014, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Application of remote sensing and geographical information system in mapping forest fire risk zone at Bhadra wildlife sanctuary, India.

PubMed

Sowmya, S V; Somashekar, R K

2010-11-01

Fire is the most spectacular natural disturbance that affects the forest ecosystem composition and diversity. Fire has a devastating effect on the landscape and its impact is felt at every level of the ecosystem and it is possible to map forest fire risk zone and thereby minimize the frequency of fire. There is a need for supranational approaches that analyze wide scenarios of factors involved and global fire effects. Fires can be monitored and analyzed over large areas in a timely and cost effective manner by using satellite imagery. Also Geographical Information System (GIS) can be used effectively to demarcate the fire risk zone map. Bhadra wildlife Sanctuary located in Kamataka, India was selected for this study. Vegetation, slope, distance from roads, settlements parameters were derived for a study area using topographic maps and field information. The Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS)-based forest fire risk model of the study area appeared to be highly compatible with the actual fire-affected sites. The temporal satellite data from 1989 to2006 have been analyzed to map the burnt areas. These classes were weighted according to their influence on forest fire. Four categories of fire risk regions such as Low, Moderate, High and Very high fire intensity zones were identified. It is predicted that around 10.31% of the area falls undermoderate risk zone.

75 FR 28567 - New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires From the People's Republic of China: Notice of Partial...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-21

... Limited, Laizhou Xiongying Rubber Industry Co., Ltd., Qingdao Free Trade Zone Full World International Trading Co., Ltd., Qingdao Taifa Group Co., Ltd., and Weihai Zhongwei Rubber Co., Ltd. The Department then... Resources Limited, Laizhou Xiongying Rubber Industry Co., Ltd., Qingdao Free Trade Zone Full World...

77 FR 31307 - Foreign-Trade Zone 41-Milwaukee, WI; Application for Reorganization (Expansion of Service Area...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-25

... limit for a general-purpose zone project. The application was submitted pursuant to the Foreign-Trade... temporary sites as ``usage-driven'' sites: Site 12 (113.4 acres)-- Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, 5485 County Road ``V'', Sheboygan Falls, Sheboygan County; and, Site 13 (15.1 acres)--Sigma-Aldrich Corporation...

Atlantic tropical forest mapping in the northern coastal zone of Sao Paulo State, Brazil

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simi, R. Jr.; Almeida, S.A.S.; Manso, A.P.

1997-06-01

The northern coastal zone of Sao Paulo State includes the cities of Ubatuba, Caraguatatuba, Sao Sebastiao and Ilha Bela. Large development projects, such as road and highway constructions and joint real estate exploration of susceptible coastal ecosystems have threatened the harmony and ecological stability of these ecosystems. Recently, the Atlantic tropical rain forest has been the most destructed ecosystem in the coastal zone in response to real estate investments in urban areas along the main roads. In the northern coastal zone of Sao Paulo State, 80% of the counties are included in the State Park of Serra do Mar. Asmore » tourism is a strong growing economical activity, as well as coastal production, it should be of interest to create a plan for sustainable development. The objective of this study is to map and characterize land use cover changes with emphasis on the Atlantic tropical rain forest degradation using Landsat TM images. Preliminary results for land use cover changes indicate that the Atlantic tropical rain forest was reduced by 6.1 % during the period of July 1992 and October 1995.« less

The ecological impact assessment of a proposed road development (the Slovak approach)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Igondova, Erika, E-mail: erika.igondova@gmail.com; Pavlickova, Katarina, E-mail: pavlickova60@gmail.com; Majzlan, Oto, E-mail: majzlan@fns.uniba.sk

The construction of roads is one of the most widespread forms of natural landscape modification. Over the last 20 years, dozens of road constructions have been assessed in Slovakia, which makes it possible to talk about methodological positives and negatives. A special feature of Slovakia is that many planned or renovated roads are located in protected areas or are in contact with them (including Natura 2000 sites). Therefore, it is important to understand the scope of the roads' ecological impacts and find ways for their appropriate evaluation and incorporation into the Environmental Impact Assessment process. For this reason, the Ecologicalmore » Impact Assessment methodology can be used as a basis for our research, which consists of three stages. In the first stage (scoping), a buffer circumventing the proposed road is created to determine the area for impact prediction and evaluation. Subsequently, the landscape structure and baseline landscape conditions are discussed, a map of current landscape structure is created and the current ecological status of the affected area is calculated. In the second stage (the evaluation of ecological resources), important ecological parts of the landscape are delineated. This step is based on the importance of previous information and its vulnerability, and leads to the mapping of the road ecological impact zone. In the third stage (impact assessment), important ecological parts are spatially correlated with the proposed road construction. Finally, the significance of ecological impacts of the activity is evaluated by applying specific criteria (duration, reversibility, magnitude, size and road ecological impact zone significance). A scale is proposed for each criterion to evaluate the total significance of impacts. In this way, detailed significant ecological impacts can be found which will help lead to proposed correct mitigation measures and a post-project analysis. - Highlights: • This paper proposes a methodology for the EcIA of road construction. • It tries to understand the spatial structure and configuration of landscape elements. • The most important ecological parts within the territory are identified. • The total significance of ecological receptors is evaluated by applying criteria.« less

75 FR 53637 - Foreign-Trade Zone 104-Savannah, GA; Application for Reorganization Under Alternative Site Framework

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-01

... Site 10 (62.9 acres)--Savannah Logistics Park at Morgan Center, S.H. Morgan Parkway and Pooler Parkway...)--SPA Industrial Park, East of the I-95/U.S. 80 Interchange, Chatham County; Site 5 (24.0)--Savannah... Industrial Park, 380 Sunbury Road, Midway; Site 8 (98.0 acres)--Tremont Road near I-16 and Georgia 516...

Watershed sustainability: Downstream effects of timber harvest in the Ozarks of Missouri

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jacobson, Robert B.

2004-01-01

The downstream effects of timber harvest in the Ozarks of Missouri can be evaluated by analogy to other geographic areas and by historical analysis of responses to past land use activities. Based on research from other geographic regions, timber harvest in the Ozarks would be expected to have minor effects on annual water yield and dissolved-phase water quality. The potential exists for haul roads to increase stormflow discharges and sediment yields. Of the possible downstream effects, sediment yield is potentially the most severe and difficult to predict; siting and design of roads are probably the most critical management concerns for minimizing downstream effects. Historical analysis shows that Ozark streams have been destabilized by past land use practices, primarily in the riparian zone. Therefore, present-day timber harvest takes place in a landscape where streams have lowered resilience to disturbance. Predictions of future downstream effects of timber harvest in the Ozarks are complicated by the inherent complexity of cumulative watershed effects and the lack of detailed, long-term instrumental records at appropriate scales.

Impact of Transport Zone Number in Simulation Models on Cost-Benefit Analysis Results in Transport Investments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chmielewski, Jacek

2017-10-01

Nowadays, feasibility studies need to be prepared for all planned transport investments, mainly those co-financed with UE grants. One of the fundamental aspect of feasibility study is the economic justification of an investment, evaluated in an area of so called cost-benefit analysis (CBA). The main goal of CBA calculation is to prove that a transport investment is really important for the society and should be implemented as economically efficient one. It can be said that the number of hours (PH - passengers hours) in trips and travelled kilometres (PK - passengers kilometres) are the most important for CBA results. The differences between PH and PK calculated for particular investment scenarios are the base for benefits calculation. Typically, transport simulation models are the best source for such data. Transport simulation models are one of the most powerful tools for transport network planning. They make it possible to evaluate forecast traffic volume and passenger flows in a public transport system for defined scenarios of transport and area development. There are many different transport models. Their construction is often similar, and they mainly differ in the level of their accuracy. Even models for the same area may differ in this matter. Typically, such differences come from the accuracy of supply side representation: road and public transport network representation. In many cases only main roads and a public transport network are represented, while local and service roads are eliminated as a way of reality simplification. This also enables a faster and more effective calculation process. On the other hand, the description of demand part of these models based on transport zones is often stable. Difficulties with data collection, mainly data on land use, resulted in the lack of changes in the analysed land division into so called transport zones. In this paper the author presents an influence of land division on the results of traffic analyses, and hence on CBA outcome. Moreover, the paper shows that the effectiveness of investments as represented in the results of cost-benefit analyses is strictly correlated to a transport model detail.

36 CFR 13.912 - Kantishna area summer season firearm safety zone.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... firearm safety zone. 13.912 Section 13.912 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM UNITS IN ALASKA Special Regulations-Denali National Park and... State Omnibus Act Road right-of-way, from the former Mt. McKinley National Park boundary at mile 87.9 to...

Assessing large-scale wildlife responses to human infrastructure development

PubMed Central

Torres, Aurora; Jaeger, Jochen A. G.; Alonso, Juan Carlos

2016-01-01

Habitat loss and deterioration represent the main threats to wildlife species, and are closely linked to the expansion of roads and human settlements. Unfortunately, large-scale effects of these structures remain generally overlooked. Here, we analyzed the European transportation infrastructure network and found that 50% of the continent is within 1.5 km of transportation infrastructure. We present a method for assessing the impacts from infrastructure on wildlife, based on functional response curves describing density reductions in birds and mammals (e.g., road-effect zones), and apply it to Spain as a case study. The imprint of infrastructure extends over most of the country (55.5% in the case of birds and 97.9% for mammals), with moderate declines predicted for birds (22.6% of individuals) and severe declines predicted for mammals (46.6%). Despite certain limitations, we suggest the approach proposed is widely applicable to the evaluation of effects of planned infrastructure developments under multiple scenarios, and propose an internationally coordinated strategy to update and improve it in the future. PMID:27402749

Assessing large-scale wildlife responses to human infrastructure development.

PubMed

Torres, Aurora; Jaeger, Jochen A G; Alonso, Juan Carlos

2016-07-26

Habitat loss and deterioration represent the main threats to wildlife species, and are closely linked to the expansion of roads and human settlements. Unfortunately, large-scale effects of these structures remain generally overlooked. Here, we analyzed the European transportation infrastructure network and found that 50% of the continent is within 1.5 km of transportation infrastructure. We present a method for assessing the impacts from infrastructure on wildlife, based on functional response curves describing density reductions in birds and mammals (e.g., road-effect zones), and apply it to Spain as a case study. The imprint of infrastructure extends over most of the country (55.5% in the case of birds and 97.9% for mammals), with moderate declines predicted for birds (22.6% of individuals) and severe declines predicted for mammals (46.6%). Despite certain limitations, we suggest the approach proposed is widely applicable to the evaluation of effects of planned infrastructure developments under multiple scenarios, and propose an internationally coordinated strategy to update and improve it in the future.

33 CFR 165.930 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Des Plaines River located between mile marker 286.0 (Brandon Road Lock and Dam) and mile marker 290.0... Sanitary and Ship Canal. All U.S. waters of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal between mile marker 290.0... (Main Branch) and North Branch Chicago River). (4) Chicago River (Main Branch). All U.S. waters of the...

Distribution of dilemma zone after intelligent transportation system established

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Yuanchang; Yang, Huiqin; Wu, Linying

2017-03-01

Dilemma zone refers to an area where vehicles can neither clear the intersection during the yellow interval nor stop safely before the stop line. The purpose of this paper is to analyzing the distribution of two types of dilemma zone after intelligent transportation system (ITS) established at Outer Ring Roads signalized intersections in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center. To collect field data a drone aircraft was used. When calculating the type II dilemma zone's distribution, we considered the information of drivers' aggressiveness, which was classified by driving speed and type I dilemma zone as well. We also compared the two types dilemma zone's distribution before and after ITS established and analyzed the changes, which was brought by ITS.

Sleep-related vehicle crashes on low speed roads.

PubMed

Filtness, A J; Armstrong, K A; Watson, A; Smith, S S

2017-02-01

Very little is known about the characteristics of sleep related (SR) crashes occurring on low speed roads compared with current understanding of the role of sleep in crashes occurring on high speed roads e.g. motorways. To address this gap, analyses were undertaken to identify the differences and similarities between (1) SR crashes occurring on roads with low (≤60km/h) and high (≥100km/h) speed limits, and (2) SR crashes and not-SR crashes occurring on roads with low speed limits. Police reports of all crashes occurring on low and high speed roads over a ten year period between 2000 and 2009 were examined for Queensland, Australia. Attending police officers identified all crash attributes, including 'fatigue/fell asleep', which indicates that the police believe the crash to have a causal factor relating to falling asleep, sleepiness due to sleep loss, time of day, or fatigue. Driver or rider involvement in crashes was classified as SR or not-SR. All crash-associated variables were compared using Chi-square tests (Cramer's V=effect size). A series of logistic regression was performed, with driver and crash characteristics as predictors of crash category. A conservative alpha level of 0.001 determined statistical significance. There were 440,855 drivers or riders involved in a crash during this time; 6923 (1.6%) were attributed as SR. SR crashes on low speed roads have similar characteristics to those on high speed roads with young (16-24y) males consistently over represented. SR crashes on low speed roads are noticeably different to not-SR crashes in the same speed zone in that male and young novice drivers are over represented and outcomes are more severe. Of all the SR crashes identified, 41% occurred on low speed roads. SR crashes are not confined to high speed roads. Low speed SR crashes warrant specific investigation because they occur in densely populated areas, exposing a greater number of people to risk and have more severe outcomes than not-SR crashes on the same low speed roads. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of noise environment during construction of a major bridge and associated approach road.

PubMed

Roy, T K; Mukhopadhyay, A R; Ghosh, S K; Majumder, G

2011-10-01

In this paper a methodology to quantify the noise environment, during a major bridge construction and upgrading approach road connectivity, has been provided. Noise levels were monitored at eleven sites. These eleven sites have been classified into three categories - commercial, residential and silence zones. The study was carried out to measure the ambient noise levels in all the eleven sites falling in the above three categories during both day and night times considering both "working" and "non-working" days. It was found that the mean noise level during night time was more, compared to that during day time for commercial, residential as well as silence zones. The likely causes of more noise during night time have been explored. Appropriate remedial measures have been suggested to reduce the noise levels. In addition, the noise levels in the above three zones have been compared, wherever feasible statistically, with the respective zonal standards. Significance has been found in all the cases. The underlying causes and remedies have been provided.

Cardiorespiratory demands during an inline speed skating marathon race: a case report.

PubMed

Stangier, Carolin; Abel, Thomas; Mierau, Julia; Hollmann, Wildor; Strüder, Heiko K

2016-09-01

This study was designed to investigate the intensity profile during an inline speed skating marathon road race. A highly-trained male athlete (20 y, 73.4 kg, 178 cm, V̇O2 peak: 60.8 mL·kg-1·min-1) participated in a marathon road race. Oxygen uptake (V̇O2), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), heart rate (HR) and speed were measured using a portable gas analysis system with a HR monitor and GPS-Sensor integrated. The athlete´s peak V̇O2, HR and speed at ventilatory thresholds were assessed during an incremental field test (22 km·h-1, increase 2 km·h-1 every 5 min) one week before the race. During the race, the absolute time spent in the "easy intensity zone" (V̇O2 below VT1) was 1 min, 49 min "moderate intensity zone" (V̇O2 between VT1 and VT2), and 26 min in the "hard intensity zone" (V̇O2 above VT2). The average HR was 171±6 bpm, corresponding to 95% of the maximum. This study shows that inline speed skating road races over a marathon are conducted at moderate to high V̇O2 and heart rate levels. The physiological racing pattern is very intermittent, requiring both a high level of aerobic and anaerobic capacity.

Effect of pulsed current GTA welding parameters on the fusion zone microstructure of AA 6061 aluminium alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, T. Senthil; Balasubramanian, V.; Babu, S.; Sanavullah, M. Y.

2007-08-01

AA6061 aluminium alloy (Al-Mg-Si alloy) has gathered wide acceptance in the fabrication of food processing equipment, chemical containers, passenger cars, road tankers, and railway transport systems. The preferred process for welding these aluminium alloys is frequently Gas Tungsten Arc (GTA) welding due to its comparatively easy applicability and lower cost. In the case of single pass GTA welding of thinner sections of this alloy, the pulsed current has been found beneficial due to its advantages over the conventional continuous current processes. The use of pulsed current parameters has been found to improve the mechanical properties of the welds compared to those of continuous current welds of this alloy due to grain refinement occurring in the fusion zone. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to develop a mathematical model to predict the fusion zone grain diameter incorporating pulsed current welding parameters. Statistical tools such as design of experiments, analysis of variance, and regression analysis are used to develop the mathematical model. The developed model can be effectively used to predict the fusion grain diameter at a 95% confidence level for the given pulsed current parameters. The effect of pulsed current GTA welding parameters on the fusion zone grain diameter of AA 6061 aluminium alloy welds is reported in this paper.

75 FR 44720 - Safety Zone; Live-Fire Gun Exercise, M/V Del Monte, James River, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-29

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Live-Fire Gun Exercise, M/V Del Monte, James River, VA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... mariners from the hazards associated with live fire and explosive training events. DATES: This rule is... Hampton Roads was notified that the U.S. Navy will conduct a live fire and explosive training event...

76 FR 38013 - Safety Zone; Big Sioux River From the Military Road Bridge North Sioux City to the Confluence of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-29

... rising flood water. Operation in this zone is restricted unless specifically authorized by the Captain of... rising flood water. The impacts on routine navigation are expected to be minimal. Small Entities Under... vessels from destruction, loss or injury due to the hazards associated with rising flood water. If you are...

Analysis of traffic congestion induced by the work zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fei, L.; Zhu, H. B.; Han, X. L.

2016-05-01

Based on the cellular automata model, a meticulous two-lane cellular automata model is proposed, in which the driving behavior difference and the difference of vehicles' accelerations between the moving state and the starting state are taken into account. Furthermore the vehicles' motion is refined by using the small cell of one meter long. Then accompanied by coming up with a traffic management measure, a two-lane highway traffic model containing a work zone is presented, in which the road is divided into normal area, merging area and work zone. The vehicles in different areas move forward according to different lane changing rules and position updating rules. After simulation it is found that when the density is small the cluster length in front of the work zone increases with the decrease of the merging probability. Then the suitable merging length and the appropriate speed limit value are recommended. The simulation result in the form of the speed-flow diagram is in good agreement with the empirical data. It indicates that the presented model is efficient and can partially reflect the real traffic. The results may be meaningful for traffic optimization and road construction management.

Proximity of public elementary schools to major roads in Canadian urban areas

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Epidemiologic studies have linked exposure to traffic-generated air and noise pollution with a wide range of adverse health effects in children. Children spend a large portion of time at school, and both air pollution and noise are elevated in close proximity to roads, so school location may be an important determinant of exposure. No studies have yet examined the proximity of schools to major roads in Canadian cities. Methods Data on public elementary schools in Canada's 10 most populous cities were obtained from online databases. School addresses were geocoded and proximity to the nearest major road, defined using a standardized national road classification scheme, was calculated for each school. Based on measurements of nitrogen oxide concentrations, ultrafine particle counts, and noise levels in three Canadian cities we conservatively defined distances < 75 m from major roads as the zone of primary interest. Census data at the city and neighborhood levels were used to evaluate relationships between school proximity to major roads, urban density, and indicators of socioeconomic status. Results Addresses were obtained for 1,556 public elementary schools, 95% of which were successfully geocoded. Across all 10 cities, 16.3% of schools were located within 75 m of a major road, with wide variability between cities. Schools in neighborhoods with higher median income were less likely to be near major roads (OR per $20,000 increase: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.65, 1.00), while schools in densely populated neighborhoods were more frequently close to major roads (OR per 1,000 dwellings/km2: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.16). Over 22% of schools in the lowest neighborhood income quintile were close to major roads, compared to 13% of schools in the highest income quintile. Conclusions A substantial fraction of students at public elementary schools in Canada, particularly students attending schools in low income neighborhoods, may be exposed to elevated levels of air pollution and noise while at school. As a result, the locations of schools may negatively impact the healthy development and academic performance of a large number of Canadian children. PMID:22188682

Proximity of public elementary schools to major roads in Canadian urban areas.

PubMed

Amram, Ofer; Abernethy, Rebecca; Brauer, Michael; Davies, Hugh; Allen, Ryan W

2011-12-21

Epidemiologic studies have linked exposure to traffic-generated air and noise pollution with a wide range of adverse health effects in children. Children spend a large portion of time at school, and both air pollution and noise are elevated in close proximity to roads, so school location may be an important determinant of exposure. No studies have yet examined the proximity of schools to major roads in Canadian cities. Data on public elementary schools in Canada's 10 most populous cities were obtained from online databases. School addresses were geocoded and proximity to the nearest major road, defined using a standardized national road classification scheme, was calculated for each school. Based on measurements of nitrogen oxide concentrations, ultrafine particle counts, and noise levels in three Canadian cities we conservatively defined distances < 75 m from major roads as the zone of primary interest. Census data at the city and neighborhood levels were used to evaluate relationships between school proximity to major roads, urban density, and indicators of socioeconomic status. Addresses were obtained for 1,556 public elementary schools, 95% of which were successfully geocoded. Across all 10 cities, 16.3% of schools were located within 75 m of a major road, with wide variability between cities. Schools in neighborhoods with higher median income were less likely to be near major roads (OR per $20,000 increase: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.65, 1.00), while schools in densely populated neighborhoods were more frequently close to major roads (OR per 1,000 dwellings/km²: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.16). Over 22% of schools in the lowest neighborhood income quintile were close to major roads, compared to 13% of schools in the highest income quintile. A substantial fraction of students at public elementary schools in Canada, particularly students attending schools in low income neighborhoods, may be exposed to elevated levels of air pollution and noise while at school. As a result, the locations of schools may negatively impact the healthy development and academic performance of a large number of Canadian children.

Interior detail of basement door, woodenlouvered transom and glass doorknob, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Interior detail of basement door, wooden-louvered transom and glass doorknob, facing southeast. - Gorgas Hospital, Administration & Clinics Building, Culebra Road, Balboa Heights, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ

Road guide to volcanic deposits of Mount St. Helens and vicinity, Washington

USGS Publications Warehouse

Doukas, Michael P.

1990-01-01

Mount St. Helens, the most recently active and most intensively studied Cascades volcano, is in southwestern Washington. The volcano is a superb outdoor laboratory for studying volcanic processes, deposits of observed events, and deposits whose origins are inferred by classic geologic techniques, including analogy to recent deposits. During the past 4,500 years, Mount St. Helens has been more active and more explosive than any other volcano in the conterminous United States. Mount St. Helens became active in mid-March 1980, and eruptive activity began on March 27. Since the climactic eruption of May 18, 1980, the volcano has continued to be active at least until 1988. The 1890 activity of Mount St. Helens is summarized in U.S. Geological Survey Professional Papers 1249 and 1250. This road guide is a tour of Mount St. Helens volcano and vicinity, with emphasis on the effects and deposits of the 1980 eruption. The road log starts from the U.S. Geological Survey's David A. Johnston Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington. The guide is organized around two primary routes. LEG I is on paved and gravel roads from Vancouver to areas east of Mount St. Helens, including Windy Ridge Overlook near Spirit Lake. This is possibly the most scenic route described in the guide, including a transect of the devastated zone of May 18, 1980, Spirit Lake, and numerous vistas of the volcano. LEG II leads to areas west of the volcano from Vancouver via U.S. Interstate Highway 5, then on a paved ... road along the Toutle River. Highlights include the spectacular effects of mudflows and a view of the huge debris-avalanche deposit that was formed on May 18, 1980.

Assessing reactivation of the Pourewa Landslide Zone, Auckland, New Zealand, using Structure-from-Motion, LiDAR, and geophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brook, Martin; Liu, Shanshan; Richards, Nick; Bevan, David; Prebble, Warwick

2017-04-01

Landslides pose significant risks to communities and infrastructure particularly in urban areas, and mitigating these risks relies on understanding landslide triggering processes that may cause reactivation. Previous work has shown that landslides are often complex, multiphase processes where gradual deterioration of shear strength within the subsurface precedes slope failure and the appearance of surface morphological features. Here, we combine a suite of remote sensing and direct invasive testing techniques to assess reactivation of the Pourewa Landslide Zone (PLZ), located in Auckland, New Zealand. The PLZ is located on the inner wall of the north-eastern flank of the Orakei volcano, 4 km east of Auckland CBD. The landslide zone occupies slopes above the east bank of the tidal Pourewa Creek, which lies within a residential area. Four landslides are located within the PLZ (from west to east): Ngapipi Road Landslide, Kepa Road Landslide, St Josephs Landslide, and Pourewa Landslide. Inward collapse of the crater walls since the initial eruption (>85 ka) has enlarged the crater to c. 1000 m diameter, with some slopes prone to ongoing mass movements. Indeed, reactivation during the 20th century led to the realignment of Kepa Road, and surface cracking of roads in the vicinity is ongoing. LiDAR imagery was used to develop high resolution geomorphological maps, and this data was compared with more recent Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry, obtained from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The digital surface models and derived cross-sections developed from these data allow both the initial failure, and subsequent reactivations to be assessed in detail. Geophysical surveys included Electromagnetic Induction (EMI), augmented by information relating to lithological, moisture and strength variation with depth, allowing initial interpretation of zones likely to be prone to reactivation. Ongoing slope deformation includes shallow, retrogressive failure on the upper slopes, and translation and flow toward the toe. Taken together, results indicate that reactivation is strongly controlled by lithology, as well as porewater pressure. The study highlights the value of a combined geophysical and direct testing approach for landslide hazard assessment in order to mitigate risk to infrastructure.

Respirable Crystalline Silica Exposures During Asphalt Pavement Milling at Eleven Highway Construction Sites

PubMed Central

Hammond, Duane R.; Shulman, Stanley A.; Echt, Alan S.

2016-01-01

Asphalt pavement milling machines use a rotating cutter drum to remove the deteriorated road surface for recycling. The removal of the road surface has the potential to release respirable crystalline silica, to which workers can be exposed. This paper describes an evaluation of respirable crystalline silica exposures to the operator and ground worker from two different half-lane and larger asphalt pavement milling machines that had ventilation dust controls and water-sprays designed and installed by the manufacturers. Manufacturer A completed milling for eleven days at four highway construction sites in Wisconsin, while Manufacturer B completed milling for ten days at seven highway construction sites in Indiana. To evaluate the dust controls, full-shift personal breathing zone air samples were collected from an operator and ground worker during the course of normal employee work activities of asphalt pavement milling at eleven different sites. Forty-two personal breathing zone air samples were collected over 21 days (sampling on an operator and ground worker each day). All samples were below 50 µg/m3 for respirable crystalline silica, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommended exposure limit. The geometric mean personal breathing zone air sample was 6.2 µg/m3 for the operator and 6.1 µg/m3 for the ground worker for the Manufacturer A milling machine. The geometric mean personal breathing zone air sample was 4.2 µg/m3 for the operator and 9.0 µg/m3 for the ground worker for the Manufacturer B milling machine. In addition, upper 95% confidence limits for the mean exposure for each occupation were well below 50 µg/m3 for both studies. The silica content in the bulk asphalt material being milled ranged from 7% to 23% silica for roads milled by Manufacturer A and from 5% to 12% silica for roads milled by Manufacturer B. The results indicate that engineering controls consisting of ventilation controls in combination with water-sprays are capable of controlling occupational exposures to respirable crystalline silica generated by asphalt pavement milling machines on highway construction sites. PMID:26913983

Respirable crystalline silica exposures during asphalt pavement milling at eleven highway construction sites.

PubMed

Hammond, Duane R; Shulman, Stanley A; Echt, Alan S

2016-07-01

Asphalt pavement milling machines use a rotating cutter drum to remove the deteriorated road surface for recycling. The removal of the road surface has the potential to release respirable crystalline silica, to which workers can be exposed. This article describes an evaluation of respirable crystalline silica exposures to the operator and ground worker from two different half-lane and larger asphalt pavement milling machines that had ventilation dust controls and water-sprays designed and installed by the manufacturers. Manufacturer A completed milling for 11 days at 4 highway construction sites in Wisconsin, and Manufacturer B completed milling for 10 days at 7 highway construction sites in Indiana. To evaluate the dust controls, full-shift personal breathing zone air samples were collected from an operator and ground worker during the course of normal employee work activities of asphalt pavement milling at 11 different sites. Forty-two personal breathing zone air samples were collected over 21 days (sampling on an operator and ground worker each day). All samples were below 50 µg/m(3) for respirable crystalline silica, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommended exposure limit. The geometric mean personal breathing zone air sample was 6.2 µg/m(3) for the operator and 6.1 µg/m(3) for the ground worker for the Manufacturer A milling machine. The geometric mean personal breathing zone air sample was 4.2 µg/m(3) for the operator and 9.0 µg/m(3) for the ground worker for the Manufacturer B milling machine. In addition, upper 95% confidence limits for the mean exposure for each occupation were well below 50 µg/m(3) for both studies. The silica content in the bulk asphalt material being milled ranged from 7-23% silica for roads milled by Manufacturer A and from 5-12% silica for roads milled by Manufacturer B. The results indicate that engineering controls consisting of ventilation controls in combination with water-sprays are capable of controlling occupational exposures to respirable crystalline silica generated by asphalt pavement milling machines on highway construction sites.

Prognosis of flow conditions for de-centralized seepage of rainwater from roads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Martin; Hasan, Issa; Sallwey, Jana; Graeber, Peter-Wolfgang

2013-04-01

Urbanization programs that include the construction of new settlements or roads lead to an increase in surface sealing. Conventional road drainage is being carried out by a rainwater sewage system coupled with collection and detention basins. This leads to local decreases in evaporation and groundwater recharge, disturbing the natural local water balance. The increased number of climate changed induced extreme precipitation events leads to a higher risk of road floodings as a result of a failure of these systems. Furthermore, the treatment of the discharge loaded with contaminants (such as heavy metals and MTBE) is resolved neither ecologically nor technologically. By using a natural, effective and sustainable evaporation and drainage strategy it is possible to reduce the probability of road floodings, to restore the natural local water balance and to establish ecologically and economically more beneficial rainwater drainage. By using PCSiWaPro®, a simulation tool for unsaturated soil zone processes developed at the Institute of Waste Management and the Technical University of Dresden, the effects of different atmospheric, hydrological and hydrogeological parameters and system conditions on the subsurface drainage flow conditions in the vicinity of a typical German highway road were studied. Special attention was given to the influence of extreme precipitation events on the drainage time at differently tilted parts of the surface, on surface drainages from lateral noise-protection barriers and on the probability of road surface underwashing. Differently constructed upper soil stratifications were tested for their ability to quickly drain water into the ground, which, besides the reduced risk of road flooding, also influence the duration time for the drainage water in each soil layer. Individual rainwater infiltration rates were applied for different regions of the model. The behaviours of three different types of soil (coarse sand, slightly silty sand and medium silty sand) were tested for their applicability as road base materials. The simulation results showed that for extreme precipitation events, the optimized decentralized road drainage system was able to discharge the accumulated rainwater. In future applications, the unsaturated flow model will be extended to a reactive transport model in order to develop strategies for optimal local drainage system design with special regard to natural purification features of different soil layer types. Additionally, PCSiWaPro® can be coupled to a groundwater model to simulate the influence of potential local groundwater contamination by road discharge on the whole underlying aquifer.

Survey of roadside alien plants in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and adjacent residential areas 2001-2005

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bio, Keali'i F.; Pratt, Linda W.; Jacobi, James D.

2012-01-01

The sides of all paved roads of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO) were surveyed on foot in 2001 to 2005, and the roadside presence of 240 target invasive and potentially invasive alien plant species was recorded in mile-long increments. Buffer zones 5–10 miles (8–16 km) long along Highway 11 on either side of the Kīlauea and Kahuku Units of the park, as well as Wright Road that passed by the disjunct `Ōla`a Tract Unit, were included in the survey. Highway 11 is the primary road through the park and a major island thoroughfare. Three residential subdivisions adjacent to the park were similarly surveyed in 0.5–1 mile (0.8–1.6 km) intervals in 2003, and data were analyzed separately. Two roads to the east and northeast were also surveyed, but data from these disjunct areas were analyzed separately from park roads. In total, 174 of the target alien species were observed along HAVO roads and buffers, exclusive of residential areas, and the mean number of target aliens per mile surveyed was 20.6. Highway 11 and its buffer zones had the highest mean number of target alien plants per mile (26.7) of all park roads, and the Mauna Loa Strip Road had the lowest mean (11.7). Segments of Highway 11 adjacent to HAVO and Wright Road next to `Ōla`a Tract had mean numbers of target alien per mile (24–47) higher than those of any internal road. Alien plant frequencies were summarized for each road in HAVO. Fifteen new records of vascular plants for HAVO were observed and collected along park roads. An additional 28 alien plant species not known from HAVO were observed along the buffer segments of Highway 11 adjacent to the park. Within the adjacent residential subdivisions, 65 target alien plant species were sighted along roadsides. At least 15 potentially invasive species not currently found within HAVO were observed along residential roads, and several other species found there have been previously eliminated from the park or controlled to remnant populations. Data collected from this survey can be used by the park and other landowners to help detect and manage invasive plant species that threaten the natural resources of their lands, and survey findings will inform managers of threats from alien species established along corridors beyond park boundaries. Recommendations were made for refining the list of incipient invasive plant species to search for near the park and for the repetition of periodic roadside weed surveys in the park.

Looking West From rear (East) End of Office Building Including ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Looking West From rear (East) End of Office Building Including Recycle Storage Area, Loading Docks, and Decontamination Zone - Hematite Fuel Fabrication Facility, Office, 3300 State Road P, Festus, Jefferson County, MO

Temporary traffic control handbook, 2016 edition.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-01

This handbook provides a broad, easy to understand : reference for temporary traffic control in work zones, : addressing the safe and efficient accommodation of all road : users: motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and those with special : needs. Whe...

A mobile GPR system for evaluating road landslide damage and effectiveness of the restoration works at Potenza District scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loperte, A.; Bavusi, M.; Soldovieri, F.

2012-04-01

Basilicata Region (Southern Italy) is affected by a large amount of landslides due to its geological structure and orogenic history. In particular, due to its location in the Italian Apennine chain, the District of Potenza is particularly affected by this natural hazard, which threatens private buildings and public infrastructures. In this framework, the transport infrastructures result greatly exposed to this kind of damage since there is a great probability that a road intercepts a landslide in its path. In addition, this can have relevant "social and economic" effects at large distance from the landslide due to the interconnected character of the road network. A classical remediation strategy for a damaged road, especially when affected by a localised landslide, consists in restoring its planarity by filling the depression induced by the damage. Moreover a such intervention often causes the recurrence of the damage since it results in a weakness zone in the road section. The result is that there is always an interrupted road somewhere in Basilicata. In order to design an effective remediation strategy at the scale of the district road network, a fast low-cost diagnosis method is needed in order to: • Detect damaged/restored treats of roads; • Characterize previous restoration intervention quality; • Provide a geo-database reporting all at-risk road sections; • Predict which road sections might be damaged with the upcoming rainfall events. In this framework, the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis (IMAA-CNR), also thanks to the cooperation of the Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment (IREA-CNR) has equipped a van with a high-resolution Ground Penetrating Radar and differential GPS instrumentations so to achieve a mobile GPR system. The main elements of the GPR are the control unit IDS DAD MCH Fast-Wave, horn antenna air-launched IDS HN-1000b and high speed encoder, differential GPS 1200 Leica. Main feature of this system regards its high sampling speed allowing to gather a radargram with velocities greater than 50 Km/h. The system is able to acquire up to 100 Km per day of geo-referred radargrams. In order to test the system and the automatic processing routines needed in order to process a huge amount of data, several surveys have been preformed on few roads affected by landslides. The results of the GPR mobile system have been compared and integrated with the outcomes of surveys performed by a GSSI SIR 3000 System with a 400 MHz ground coupled antenna so to achieve information about the section of the road to depths significant for a reliable monitoring and in this work some acquisition examples are described and discussed. Acknowledgements. The research leading to these results has received funding from Provincia di Potenza. Moreover the authors would like to thank Valter Baroncini of Ingegneria dei Sistemi S.p.A for his availability and professionality demonstrated during the preparation of the mobile system.

The potential of volunteered geographic information to investigate peri-urbanization in the conservation zone of Mexico City.

PubMed

Heider, Katharina; Lopez, Juan Miguel Rodriguez; Scheffran, Jürgen

2018-03-14

Due to the availability of Web 2.0 technologies, volunteered geographic information (VGI) is on the rise. This new type of data is available on many topics and on different scales. Thus, it has become interesting for research. This article deals with the collective potential of VGI and remote sensing to detect peri-urbanization in the conservation zone of Mexico City. On the one hand, remote sensing identifies horizontal urban expansion, and on the other hand, VGI of ecological complaints provides data about informal settlements. This enables the combination of top-down approaches (remote sensing) and bottom-up approaches (ecological complaints). Within the analysis, we identify areas of high urbanization as well as complaint densities and bring them together in a multi-scale analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Furthermore, we investigate the influence of settlement patterns and main roads on the peri-urbanization process in Mexico City using OpenStreetMap. Peri-urbanization is detected especially in the transition zone between the urban and rural (conservation) area and near main roads as well as settlements.

Spatio-temporal patterns of hazards and their use in risk assessment and mitigation. Case study of road accidents in Romania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catalin Stanga, Iulian

2013-04-01

Road accidents are among the leading causes of death in many world countries, partly as an inherent consequence of the increasing mobility of today society. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.3 million people died in road accidents in 2011, which means 186 deaths per million. The tragic picture is completed by millions of peoples experiencing different physical injuries or by the enormous social and economic costs that these events imply. Romania has one of the most unsafe road networks within the European Union, with annual averages of 9400 accidents, 8300 injuries and almost 2680 fatalities (2007-2012). An average of 141 death per million is more than twice the average fatality rate in European Union (about 60 death per million). Other specific indicators (accidents or fatalities reported to the road length, vehicle fleet size, driving license owners or adult population etc.) are even worst in the same European context. Road accidents are caused by a complex series of factors, some of them being a relatively constant premise, while others act as catalyzing factors or triggering agent: road features and quality, vehicle technical state, weather conditions, human related factors etc. All these lead to a complex equation with too many unknown variables, making almost impossible a probabilistic approach. However, the high concentration of accidents in a region or in some road sectors is caused by the existence of a specific context, created by factors with permanent or repetitive character, and leads to the idea of a spatial autocorrelation between locations of different adjoining accident. In the same way, the increasing frequency of road accidents and of their causes repeatability in different periods of the year would allow to identify those black timeframes with higher incidence of road accidents. Identifying and analyzing the road blackspots (hotspots) and black zones would help to improve road safety by acting against the common causes that create the spatial or temporal clustering of crash accidents. Since the 1990's, Geographical Informational Systems (GIS) became a very important tool for traffic and road safety management, allowing not only the spatial and multifactorial analysis, but also graphical and non-graphical outputs. The current paper presents an accessible GIS methodology to study the spatio-temporal pattern of injury related road accidents, to identify the high density accidents zones, to make a cluster analysis, to create multicriterial typologies, to identify spatial and temporal similarities and to explain them. In this purpose, a Geographical Information System was created, allowing a complex analysis that involves not only the events, but also a large set of interrelated and spatially linked attributes. The GIS includes the accidents as georeferenced point elements with a spatially linked attribute database: identification information (date, location details); accident type; main, secondary and aggravating causes; data about driver; vehicle information; consequences (damages, injured peoples and fatalities). Each attribute has its own number code that allows both the statistical analysis and the spatial interrogation. The database includes those road accidents that led to physical injuries and loss of human lives between 2007 and 2012 and the spatial analysis was realized using TNTmips 7.3 software facilities. Data aggregation and processing allowed creating the spatial pattern of injury related road accidents through Kernel density estimation at three different levels (national - Romania; county level - Iasi County; local level - Iasi town). Spider graphs were used to create the temporal pattern or road accidents at three levels (daily, weekly and monthly) directly related to their causes. Moreover the spatial and temporal database relates the natural hazards (glazed frost, fog, and blizzard) with the human made ones, giving the opportunity to evaluate the nature of uncertainties in risk assessment. At the end, this paper provides a clustering methodology based on several environmental indicators intended to classify the spatial and temporal hotspots of road traffic insecurity. The results are a useful guide for planners and decision makers in developing effective road safety strategies and measures.

Using FIA and GIS Data to Estimate Areas and Volumes of Potential Stream Management Zones and Road Beautifying Buffers

Treesearch

Michael Zasada; Chris J. Cieszewski; Roger C. Lowe; Jarek Zawadzki; Mike Clutter; Jacek P. Siry

2005-01-01

Georgia Stream Management Zones (SMZ) are voluntary and have an unknown extent and impact. We use FIA data, Landsat TM imagery, and GAP and other GIS data to estimate the acreages and volumes of these buffers. We use stream data classified into trout, perennial, and intermittent, combined with DEM files containing elevation values, to assess buffers with widths...

Transforming GIS data into functional road models for large-scale traffic simulation.

PubMed

Wilkie, David; Sewall, Jason; Lin, Ming C

2012-06-01

There exists a vast amount of geographic information system (GIS) data that model road networks around the world as polylines with attributes. In this form, the data are insufficient for applications such as simulation and 3D visualization-tools which will grow in power and demand as sensor data become more pervasive and as governments try to optimize their existing physical infrastructure. In this paper, we propose an efficient method for enhancing a road map from a GIS database to create a geometrically and topologically consistent 3D model to be used in real-time traffic simulation, interactive visualization of virtual worlds, and autonomous vehicle navigation. The resulting representation provides important road features for traffic simulations, including ramps, highways, overpasses, legal merge zones, and intersections with arbitrary states, and it is independent of the simulation methodologies. We test the 3D models of road networks generated by our algorithm on real-time traffic simulation using both macroscopic and microscopic techniques.

U. S. Naval Forces, Vietnam Monthly Historical Summary for October 1971

DTIC Science & Technology

1971-12-01

COUNTY (LST-1166) as the Third Coastal Zone LST. t NNIMCB-5 Detail Bronco completed assigned tasks at ACTOVRAD Site Nui Ta Kou and returned to Bien...The last two weeks in Ca Mau were spent building access roads with very wet conditions prevailing. Detail Bronco at Nui Ta Kou, ACTOVRAD Site Nine...completed all work on 20 October and redeployed all material and men to Bien Hoa on the same doty. During October, Detail Bronco had finished road and

Effects of heterogeneous traffic with speed limit zone on the car accidents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marzoug, R.; Lakouari, N.; Bentaleb, K.; Ez-Zahraouy, H.; Benyoussef, A.

2016-06-01

Using the extended Nagel-Schreckenberg (NS) model, we numerically study the impact of the heterogeneity of traffic with speed limit zone (SLZ) on the probability of occurrence of car accidents (Pac). SLZ in the heterogeneous traffic has an important effect, typically in the mixture velocities case. In the deterministic case, SLZ leads to the appearance of car accidents even in the low densities, in this region Pac increases with increasing of fraction of fast vehicles (Ff). In the nondeterministic case, SLZ decreases the effect of braking probability Pb in the low densities. Furthermore, the impact of multi-SLZ on the probability Pac is also studied. In contrast with the homogeneous case [X. Li, H. Kuang, Y. Fan and G. Zhang, Int. J. Mod. Phys. C 25 (2014) 1450036], it is found that in the low densities the probability Pac without SLZ (n = 0) is low than Pac with multi-SLZ (n > 0). However, the existence of multi-SLZ in the road decreases the risk of collision in the congestion phase.

[Determination of cadmium by HG-aFS in soil of virescent zone in Chengdu city].

PubMed

Chen, Yuan; Zeng, Ying; Wu, Hong-ji; Wang, Qin-er

2008-12-01

The different speciations of cadmium in soil samples from Chengdu greenbelt were extracted by Tessier sequential extraction method. The contents of total cadmium and different speciation cadmium were determined using HG-AFS. Under optimization condition of HG-AFS and using 2% HCl as medium, and 30 g x L(-1) KBH4 as reductive reagent, 1 mg x L(-1) Co2+ acting together with 10 g x L(-1) CH4N2S can advance the generating efficiency of cadmium compound. The effects of the coexisting elements in soil on the determination of cadmium can be reduced if certain amount of Na4P2O7, K2SO4 and BaCl2 are added. The linear range is 0-10 mg x L(-1) with r=0.9991 and the detection limit is 0.016 mg x L(-1). The recovery is 97.80%-100.2% with RSD of 1.93%. The analytical method is very sensitive and accurate. The distribution of average percentage of five speciations of cadmium in experimental soil samples is: residual fraction (62.1%) > exchangeable fraction (11.7%) > Fe-Mn oxide-bound (9.71%) > carbonate-bound (4.17%) > organic-bound (3.47%). Although residual fraction is the main speciation of cadmium in soil, the content of exchangeable fraction is relatively high. Thus the bioactivity of cadmium in the research area should be recognized. The concentration of cadmium exceeds the country standard in 19 soil sample, accounting for 86. 4% of all soil samples. The soil from Chengdu greenbelt located in 1st ring road, 2nd ring road and 3rd ring road was polluted to different degree. The relative pollution magnitude of them is: 2nd ring road > 1st ring road > 3rd ring road.

General view of building in context showing row of residences ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

General view of building in context showing row of residences adjacent to golf course, facing northeast. - Marine Barracks, Panama Canal, Officers' Quarters, 800' West of Bruja Road, Balboa, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ

The cost-effectiveness of mandatory 20 mph zones for the prevention of injuries.

PubMed

Peters, Jaime L; Anderson, Rob

2013-03-01

Traffic calming and speed limits are major public health strategies for further reducing road injuries, especially for vulnerable pedestrians such as children and the elderly. We conducted a cost-benefit analysis (CBA-favoured by transport economists) alongside a cost-utility analysis (CUA-favoured by health economists) of mandatory 20 mph zones, providing a unique opportunity to compare assumptions and results. A CUA from the public sector perspective and a CBA from a broader societal perspective. One-way, threshold and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were undertaken. In low casualty areas the intervention was not cost-effective regardless of approach (CUA: cost per QALY = £429 800; CBA: net present value = -£25 500). In high casualty areas, the intervention was cost-effective from the CBA (a saving of £90 600), but not from the CUA [cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) = £86 500; assuming National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's benchmark for approving health technologies]. Mandatory 20 mph zones may be cost-effective in high casualty areas when a CBA from a societal perspective is considered. Although CBA may appear, in principle, more appropriate, the quality, age or absence of reliable data for many parameters means that there is a great deal of uncertainty and the results should be interpreted with caution.

Effect of joint mechanism on vehicle redirectional capability of water-filled road safety barrier systems.

PubMed

Thiyahuddin, M I; Thambiratnam, D P; Gu, Y T

2014-10-01

Portable water-filled barriers (PWFBs) are roadside appurtenances that prevent vehicles from penetrating into temporary construction zones on roadways. PWFBs are required to satisfy the strict regulations for vehicle re-direction in tests. However, many of the current PWFBs fail to re-direct the vehicle at high speeds due to the inability of the joints to provide appropriate stiffness. The joint mechanism hence plays a crucial role in the performance of a PWFB system at high speed impacts. This paper investigates the desired features of the joint mechanism in a PWFB system that can re-direct vehicles at high speeds, while limiting the lateral displacement to acceptable limits. A rectangular "wall" representative of a 30m long barrier system was modeled and a novel method of joining adjacent road barriers was introduced through appropriate pin-joint connections. The impact response of the barrier "wall" and the vehicle was obtained and the results show that a rotational stiffness of 3000kNm/rad at the joints seems to provide the desired features of the PWFB system to re-direct impacting vehicles and restrict the lateral deflection. These research findings will be useful to safety engineers and road barrier designers in developing a new generation of PWFBs for increased road safety. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dust-Metal Sources in an Urbanized Arid Zone: Implications for Health-Risk Assessments.

PubMed

García-Rico, Leticia; Meza-Figueroa, Diana; Gandolfi, A Jay; Del Río-Salas, Rafael; Romero, Francisco M; Meza-Montenegro, Maria Mercedes

2016-04-01

The available information concerning metal pollution in different dust sources and the health effects in children remains limited in Mexico. This study focuses on Hermosillo, which is an urbanized area located in the Sonoran Desert in which soil resuspension and dust emission processes are common. The metal content of arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), and lead (Pb) were determined in three dust sources (playgrounds, roofs, and roads), each representing different exposure media (EM) for these elements. The metal levels in dust were found in the order of Mn > Cr > Pb > As with the highest metal content found in road dust. Despite the similar average metal distributions, principal component analysis shows a clear separation of the three EM with playground dust related to Cr and Mn and road dust to As and Pb. However, the geoaccumulation index results indicate that dust samples are uncontaminated to moderately polluted, except for Pb in road dust, which is considerably high. In addition, the enrichment factor suggests an anthropogenic origin for all of the studied metals except for Mn. In this context, the hazard index (HI) for noncarcinogenic risk is >1 in this population and thus represents a potential health risk. The spatial distribution for each metal on EM and the HI related to the marginality index could represent a more accurate decision-making tool in risk assessment studies.

Meta-analysis of the effect of road work zones on crash occurrence.

PubMed

Theofilatos, Athanasios; Ziakopoulos, Apostolos; Papadimitriou, Eleonora; Yannis, George; Diamandouros, Konstantinos

2017-11-01

There is strong evidence that work zones pose increased risk of crashes and injuries. The two most common risk factors associated with increased crash frequencies are work zone duration and length. However, relevant research on the topic is relatively limited. For that reason, this paper presents formal meta-analyses of studies that have estimated the relationship between the number of crashes and work zone duration and length, in order to provide overall estimates of those effects on crash frequencies. All studies presented in this paper are crash prediction models with similar specifications. According to the meta-analyses and after correcting for publication bias when it was considered appropriate, the summary estimates of regression coefficients were found to be 0.1703 for duration and 0.862 for length. These effects were significant for length but not for duration. However, the overall estimate of duration was significant before correcting for publication bias. Separate meta-analyses on the studies examining both duration and length was also carried out in order to have rough estimates of the combined effects. The estimate of duration was found to be 0.953, while for length was 0.847. Similar to previous meta-analyses the effect of duration after correcting for publication bias is not significant, while the effect of length was significant at a 95% level. Meta-regression findings indicate that the main factors influencing the overall estimates of the beta coefficients are study year and region for duration and study year and model specification for length. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a statewide user cost manual for rural work zones.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-11-01

Over recent years, the number of reconstruction and rehabilitation projects has increased significantly due to increased travel demand and a need for maintaining highway infrastructures. With the increased road rehabilitation projects, reducing conge...

Development of Opportunity Zones Utilizing Transportation Assets : Executive Summary Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-06-01

The challenge that spurred this project is that transportation is traditionally an afterthought when it comes : to company site selection. This yields three chief problems: : 1. Ohios expansive transportation network (ex. roads, rails, ports, and ...

Improvement of the Assignment Methodology of the Approach Embankment Design to Highway Structures in Difficult Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chistyy, Y.; Kuzakhmetova, E.; Fazilova, Z.; Tsukanova, O.

2018-03-01

Design issues of junction of bridges and overhead road with approach embankment are studied. The reasons for the formation of deformations in the road structure are indicated. Activities to ensure sustainability and acceleration of the shrinkage of a weak subgrade approach embankment are listed. The necessity of taking into account the man-made impact of the approach embankment on the subgrade behavior is proved. Modern stabilizing agents to improve the properties of used soils in the embankment and the subgrade are suggested. Clarified methodology for determining an active zone of compression in the subgrade under load from the weight of the embankment is described. As an additional condition to the existing methodology for establishing the lower bound of the active zone of compression it is offered to accept the accuracy of evaluation of soil compressibility and determine shrinkage.

Unmixing techniques for better segmentation of urban zones, roads, and open pit mines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolov, Hristo; Borisova, Denitsa; Petkov, Doyno

2010-10-01

In this paper the linear unmixing method has been applied in classification of manmade objects, namely urbanized zones, roads etc. The idea is to exploit to larger extent the possibilities offered by multispectral imagers having mid spatial resolution in this case TM/ETM+ instruments. In this research unmixing is used to find consistent regression dependencies between multispectral data and those gathered in-situ and airborne-based sensors. The correct identification of the mixed pixels is key element for the subsequent segmentation forming the shape of the artificial feature is determined much more reliable. This especially holds true for objects with relatively narrow structure for example two-lane roads for which the spatial resolution is larger that the object itself. We have combined ground spectrometry of asphalt, Landsat images of RoI, and in-situ measured asphalt in order to determine the narrow roads. The reflectance of paving stones made from granite is highest compared to another ones which is true for open and stone pits. The potential for mapping is not limited to the mid-spatial Landsat data, but also may be used if the data has higher spatial resolution (as fine as 0.5 m). In this research the spectral and directional reflection properties of asphalt and concrete surfaces compared to those of paving stone made from different rocks have been measured. The in-situ measurements, which plays key role have been obtained using the Thematically Oriented Multichannel Spectrometer (TOMS) - designed in STIL-BAS.

A full Bayes before-after study accounting for temporal and spatial effects: Evaluating the safety impact of new signal installations.

PubMed

Sacchi, Emanuele; Sayed, Tarek; El-Basyouny, Karim

2016-09-01

Recently, important advances in road safety statistics have been brought about by methods able to address issues other than the choice of the best error structure for modeling crash data. In particular, accounting for spatial and temporal interdependence, i.e., the notion that the collision occurrence of a site or unit times depend on those of others, has become an important issue that needs further research. Overall, autoregressive models can be used for this purpose as they can specify that the output variable depends on its own previous values and on a stochastic term. Spatial effects have been investigated and applied mostly in the context of developing safety performance functions (SPFs) to relate crash occurrence to highway characteristics. Hence, there is a need for studies that attempt to estimate the effectiveness of safety countermeasures by including the spatial interdependence of road sites within the context of an observational before-after (BA) study. Moreover, the combination of temporal dynamics and spatial effects on crash frequency has not been explored in depth for SPF development. Therefore, the main goal of this research was to carry out a BA study accounting for spatial effects and temporal dynamics in evaluating the effectiveness of a road safety treatment. The countermeasure analyzed was the installation of traffic signals at unsignalized urban/suburban intersections in British Columbia (Canada). The full Bayes approach was selected as the statistical framework to develop the models. The results demonstrated that zone variation was a major component of total crash variability and that spatial effects were alleviated by clustering intersections together. Finally, the methodology used also allowed estimation of the treatment's effectiveness in the form of crash modification factors and functions with time trends. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial and temporal disaggregation of the on-road vehicle emission inventory in a medium-sized Andean city. Comparison of GIS-based top-down methodologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez, C. D.; González, C. M.; Osses, M.; Aristizábal, B. H.

2018-04-01

Emission data is an essential tool for understanding environmental problems associated with sources and dynamics of air pollutants in urban environments, especially those emitted from vehicular sources. There is a lack of knowledge about the estimation of air pollutant emissions and particularly its spatial and temporal distribution in South America, mainly in medium-sized cities with population less than one million inhabitants. This work performed the spatial and temporal disaggregation of the on-road vehicle emission inventory (EI) in the medium-sized Andean city of Manizales, Colombia, with a spatial resolution of 1 km × 1 km and a temporal resolution of 1 h. A reported top-down methodology, based on the analysis of traffic flow levels and road network distribution, was applied. Results obtained allowed the identification of several hotspots of emission at the downtown zone and the residential and commercial area of Manizales. Downtown exhibited the highest percentage contribution of emissions normalized by its total area, with values equal to 6% and 5% of total CO and PM10 emissions per km2 respectively. These indexes were higher than those obtained in residential-commercial area with values of 2%/km2 for both pollutants. Temporal distribution showed strong relationship with driving patterns at rush hours, as well as an important influence of passenger cars and motorcycles in emissions of CO both at downtown and residential-commercial areas, and the impact of public transport in PM10 emissions in the residential-commercial zone. Considering that detailed information about traffic counts and road network distribution is not always available in medium-sized cities, this work compares other simplified top-down methods for spatially assessing the on-road vehicle EI. Results suggested that simplified methods could underestimate the spatial allocation of downtown emissions, a zone dominated by high traffic of vehicles. The comparison between simplified methods based on total traffic counts and road density distribution suggested that the use of total traffic counts in a simplified form could enhance higher uncertainties in the spatial disaggregation of emissions. Results obtained could add new information that help to improve the air pollution management system in the city and contribute to local public policy decisions. Additionally, this work provides appropriate resolution emission fluxes for ongoing research in atmospheric modeling in the city, with the aim to improve the understanding of transport, transformation and impacts of pollutant emissions in urban air quality.

23 CFR 630.1102 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... zone fatalities and injuries to workers and road users by establishing minimum requirements and..., installation and maintenance of temporary traffic control devices, and use of uniformed law enforcement officers during construction, utility, and maintenance operations, and by requiring contract pay items to...

78 FR 30863 - Foreign-Trade Zone 40-Cleveland, Ohio; Application for Reorganization and Expansion Under...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-23

... Beaver Meadow Parkway, Glenwillow; Site 5 (17 acres)--Collinwood Industrial Park, South Waterloo Road and... be so exempted. The application would have no impact on FTZ 40's previously authorized subzones. In...

78 FR 4071 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-18

... hazards associated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Electromagnetic Fields evaluation operations... Michigan has determined that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Electromagnetic Fields evaluation operations...

75 FR 47549 - Foreign-Trade Zone 119 - Minneapolis, Minnesota, Site Renumbering Notice

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-06

...)--Chaska Bio-Science Corporate Campus, located at the intersection of Carver County Road 10 and New U.S. Highway 212, Chaska (sunset provision - June 30, 2017); Site 8 (200 acres)--Elk Run Bio-Business Park...

Visual warning system for worker safety on roadside work-zones.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

Growing traffic on US roadways and heavy construction machinery on road construction sites pose a critical safety : threat to construction workers. This report summarizes the design and development of a worker safety system using : Dedicated Short Ra...

Evaluation of bus emissions generated near bus stops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Qian; Li, Tiezhu

2014-03-01

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate a methodology for quantification of bus emissions generated near bus stops based on the real-world on-road emissions data collected by the Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS). Data collection was carried out on an urban diesel bus throughout a bus line under normal operation condition on four work days. Stop influence zone is defined as the area in which the normal bus driving is interrupted by bus stops. The second-by-second data were screened out within the stop influence zone. And the bus running state near a stop was classified into three driving modes, deceleration, idling, and acceleration. Then emission characteristics were analyzed for each mode. Under the idling condition, the emission rates (g s-1) were not constant all the time. The NOX emission rate decreased in the first 4-6 s while the corresponding emission rates of CO2, CO, NOX, and HC increased in the last 4 s of idling. Besides, the influence of bus stop characteristics on emissions was investigated using statistical methods. Platform type, length and location of bus stops showed significant effects on the length of the stop influence zone. However, there were no significant effects on distance-based emission factors.

Maximal lipidic power in high competitive level triathletes and cyclists

PubMed Central

González‐Haro, C; Galilea, P A; González‐de‐Suso, J M; Drobnic, F; Escanero, J F

2007-01-01

Objective To describe the fat‐oxidation rate in triathlon and different modalities of endurance cycling. Methods 34 endurance athletes (15 male triathletes, 4 female triathletes, 11 road cyclists and 4 male mountain bikers) underwent a progressive cycloergometer test until exhaustion. Relative work intensity (VO2max), minimal lactate concentration (La−min), lactic threshold, individual lactic threshold (ILT), maximal fat‐oxidation rate (Fatmax, Fatmax zone) and minimal fat‐oxidation rate (Fatmin) were determined in each of the groups and were compared by means of one‐way analysis of variance. Results No significant differences were found for Fatmax, Fatmin or for the Fatmax zone expressed as fat oxidation rate (g/min). Intensities −20%, −10% and −5% Fatmax were significantly lower for mountain bikers with respect to road cyclists and female triathletes, expressed as % VO2max. Intensities 20%, 10% and 5% Fatmax were significantly lower for mountain bikers with respect to male triathletes and female triathletes, and for male triathletes in comparison with female triathletes, expressed as % VO2max. Lactic threshold and La−min did not show significant differences with respect to Fatmax. Lactic threshold was found at the same VO2max with respect to the higher part of the Fatmax zone, and La−min at the same VO2max with respect to the lower part of the Fatmax zone. Conclusions The VO2max of Fatmax and the Fatmax zone may explain the different endurance adaptations of the athletes according to their sporting discipline. Lactic threshold and La−min were found at different relative work intensities with respect to those of Fatmax even though they belonged to the Fatmax zone. PMID:17062656

Use of Barriers in Rural Open Road Conditions--A Synthesis Study : [Technical Summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-01

Although sufficiently wide medians and clear zones improve : roadside safety, the AASHTO Design Policy allows : for the use of barriers under restricted conditions. Recent : experience with Indianas I-69 corridor challenges : the current design pr...

75 FR 47537 - Foreign-Trade Zone 136-Brevard County, FL; Application for Reorganization Under Alternative Site...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-06

... 2 (500 acres)--Titusville-Cocoa Space Center Executive Airport Industrial Park, Titusville; Site 3... Park at State Road 520, Cocoa; and Site 5 (5 acres)--718 and 720 North Drive, Melbourne. The grantee's...

78 FR 17099 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-20

... associated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Electromagnetic Fields evaluation operations. During any of... has determined that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Electromagnetic Fields evaluation operation poses...

Literature review of methods to determine road user costs in construction zones

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

As freeway construction increases with the need to expand, repair and maintain the existing infrastructure, the desire to quantify the inconvenience or delay costs to the user of the freeway undergoing construction has increased and become neccessary...

Integrated capabilities in heavy vehicles : human factors research needs

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-10-09

The Full Road Closure method uses facility closure and total traffic diversion, which may be for one direction or bi-directional traffic flow, to accelerate construction and reduce the negative impacts of work zones. With good planning, interagency c...

77 FR 47815 - Foreign-Trade Zone 90-Onondaga County, NY Application for Expansion and Reorganization Under...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-10

... Industrial Park, Steelway Boulevard, Clay. The grantee's proposed service area under the ASF would be...)--Clay Business Park, NYS Route 31 and Caughdenoy Road, Clay, Onondaga County; and, Proposed Site 3 (35...

PAEs occurrence and sources in road dust and soil in/around parks in May in Tianjin, China.

PubMed

Zhao, Jie; Ji, Yaqin; Zhu, Zhenyu; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Lei; Zhao, Jingbo

2018-01-01

This is the first study reporting the presence of six phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in 45 composite soil and road dust samples collected in the urban zone of Tianjin, China. Three sample types (one soil and two road dust) were collected from the city parks. Soil samples (SI) were obtained from inside the park, road dust samples (RDI) were gathered from inside the park roads and the others (RDA) from roads surrounding parks. The range of concentrations of ∑ 6 PAEs in SI, RDI and RDA were 0.07-0.92μgg -1 , 0.42-6.32μgg -1 and 0.40-7.54μgg -1 , respectively. The highest SI ∑ 6 PAEs concentration (0.92μgg -1 in The People's Park) was 13 times higher than that of the lowest content (0.07μgg -1 in XiLiu Park). Furthermore, the spatial distribution of PAEs in RDI showed higher contents in the Nankai and Hexi districts. PAEs concentrations in different types of roads displayed significant differences (P < 0.05). The RDA PAEs distribution expressed decreasing order for different types of roads such as arterial road > sub-arterial road > branch road. The results of nonparametric tests on ∑ 6 PAEs revealed significant differences between every two different sample types (P < 0.05). The analysis of the six PAEs types indicated DnBP and DEHP were the primary contaminating compounds in all sample types. The PCA results showed cosmetics and personal care products were important sources of PAEs in SI, and plasticizers were the key sources of PAEs in RDI and RDA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessment of thermal load on transported goats administered with ascorbic acid during the hot-dry conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minka, N. S.; Ayo, J. O.

2012-03-01

The major factor in the induction of physiological stress during road transportation of livestock is the complex fluctuations of the thermal transport microenvironment, encountered when animals are transported across different ecological zones. Recommended guidelines on optimum "on-board" conditions in which goats should be transported are lacking, and there are no acceptable ranges and limits for the thermal loads to which goats may be subjected during long-distance road transportation in hot-dry conditions. Panting score (PS), rectal temperature (RT), heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) were employed as reliable stress indices to assess the effects of different thermal loads, measured as temperature humidity index (THI), encountered in the vehicle during 12 h of road transportation of 40 goats, and to suggest the administration of 100 mg/kg body weight of ascorbic acid (AA) as an ameliorating agent. The results obtained showed that the PS, RT, HR and RR rose above normal reference values with increase in the THI and journey duration. The rise in PS value, which is a visual indicator of the severity of thermal load, was the most pronounced. The results suggest that values of THI in the vehicle up to 94.6 constitute no risk, while at of 100 it presents a moderate risk and above 100 may result in severe stress. The relationships between the thermal load and the physiological variables were positive and significant ( P < 0.05). They reflect the degree of stress imposed by each THI value during the transportation, and may be used as recommended ranges and limit thermal load values in transported goats. The results demonstrated that administration of 100 mg/kg body weight of AA before road transportation mitigated the risk of adverse effects of high THI values and other stress factors due to road transportation in goats.

Understanding fatal older road user crash circumstances and risk factors.

PubMed

Koppel, Sjaan; Bugeja, Lyndal; Smith, Daisy; Lamb, Ashne; Dwyer, Jeremy; Fitzharris, Michael; Newstead, Stuart; D'Elia, Angelo; Charlton, Judith

2018-02-28

This study used medicolegal data to investigate fatal older road user (ORU) crash circumstances and risk factors relating to four key components of the Safe System approach (e.g., roads and roadsides, vehicles, road users, and speeds) to identify areas of priority for targeted prevention activity. The Coroners Court of Victoria's Surveillance Database was searched to identify coronial records with at least one deceased ORU in the state of Victoria, Australia, for 2013-2014. Information relating to the ORU, crash characteristics and circumstances, and risk factors was extracted and analyzed. The average rate of fatal ORU crashes per 100,000 population was 8.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.0-10.2), which was more than double the average rate of fatal middle-aged road user crashes (3.6, 95% CI 2.5-4.6). There was a significant relationship between age group and deceased road user type (χ 2 (15, N = 226) = 3.56, p < 0.001). The proportion of deceased drivers decreased with age, whereas the proportion of deceased pedestrians increased with age. The majority of fatal ORU crashes involved a counterpart (another vehicle: 59.4%; fixed/stationary object: 25.4%), and occurred "on road" (87.0%), on roads that were paved (94.2%), dry (74.2%), and had light traffic volume (38.3%). Road user error was identified by the police and/or coroner for the majority of fatal ORU crashes (57.9%), with a significant proportion of deceased ORU deemed to have "misjudged" (40.9%) or "failed to yield" (37.9%). Road user error was the most significant risk factor identified in fatal ORU crashes, which suggests that there is a limited capacity of the Victorian road system to fully accommodate road user errors. Initiatives related to safer roads and roadsides, vehicles, and speed zones, as well as behavioral approaches, are key areas of priority for targeted activity to prevent fatal older road user crashes in the future.

Determining Banjar Boundary and Tourism Planning using Participatory Mapping (Case Study in Pesinggahan Village, Klungkung Regency, Bali, Indonesia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sunarta, I. N.; Kusmawati, T.; Hutauruk, J.; Lestari, N. K. D. A.

2017-12-01

Banjar is a legal community unity that has territorial boundaries based on origin and customs in Bali. Banjar is the smallest administrative area in Bali Province, Indonesia. Pesinggahan village located in Dawan Sub-district of Klungkung Regency, Bali, Indonesia which consists of five banjar and each has the potential of different areas. Pesinggahan village also established into a ritual village and has tourist attractions such as Goa Lawah and unique landscape oh Subak’s ricefields. The tourism in Pesinggahan village has not yet develop due to lack of spatial planning that accommodate the tourism development.The purpose of this research is to determine the banjar boundary in Pesinggahan village and to analyse the tourism development plan using participatory mapping. The Pesinggahan Village is consists of five banjar consist of Banjar Kanginan, Banjar Sukahati, Banjar Suwitrayasa, Banjar Belatung, Banjar Pundukdawa. Tourism area in Pesinggahan Village is Goa Lawah in Banjar Kanginan and Agricultural Land in Subak Pesinggahan in Banjar Suwitrayasa. Boundary Analysis of Villages and Banjar with spatial plan regulation of Klungkung Regency results that the Pesinggahan village are divide into Food Crop Agriculture Zone, Dryland Plantation Zone, Green Open Space and Residential Zone. Participatory mapping process produce several locations of tourism development planning such as homestay area, restaurant, road development around Goa Lawah tourism object, and planning of jogging track, cycling track, farm road, fishing pond, and restaurant around Subak Pesinggahan. Tourism development are located in accordance with zoning allotment of Pesinggahan village that is consists of zone of settlement, agriculture and green open space.

Spatial regression analysis of traffic crashes in Seoul.

PubMed

Rhee, Kyoung-Ah; Kim, Joon-Ki; Lee, Young-ihn; Ulfarsson, Gudmundur F

2016-06-01

Traffic crashes can be spatially correlated events and the analysis of the distribution of traffic crash frequency requires evaluation of parameters that reflect spatial properties and correlation. Typically this spatial aspect of crash data is not used in everyday practice by planning agencies and this contributes to a gap between research and practice. A database of traffic crashes in Seoul, Korea, in 2010 was developed at the traffic analysis zone (TAZ) level with a number of GIS developed spatial variables. Practical spatial models using available software were estimated. The spatial error model was determined to be better than the spatial lag model and an ordinary least squares baseline regression. A geographically weighted regression model provided useful insights about localization of effects. The results found that an increased length of roads with speed limit below 30 km/h and a higher ratio of residents below age of 15 were correlated with lower traffic crash frequency, while a higher ratio of residents who moved to the TAZ, more vehicle-kilometers traveled, and a greater number of access points with speed limit difference between side roads and mainline above 30 km/h all increased the number of traffic crashes. This suggests, for example, that better control or design for merging lower speed roads with higher speed roads is important. A key result is that the length of bus-only center lanes had the largest effect on increasing traffic crashes. This is important as bus-only center lanes with bus stop islands have been increasingly used to improve transit times. Hence the potential negative safety impacts of such systems need to be studied further and mitigated through improved design of pedestrian access to center bus stop islands. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Light intensity distribution optimization for tunnel lamps in different zones of a long tunnel.

PubMed

Lai, Wei; Liu, Xianming; Chen, Weimin; Lei, Xiaohua; Cheng, Xingfu

2014-09-22

The light distributions in different tunnel zones have different requirements in order to meet the driver's visual system. In this paper, the light intensity distributions of tunnel lamps in different zones of a long tunnel are optimized separately. A common nonlinear optimization approach is proposed to minimize the consuming power as well as satisfy the luminance and glare requirements both on the road surface and on the wall set by International Commission on Illumination (CIE). Compared with that of the reported linear optimization method, the optimization model can save energy from 11% to 57.6% under the same installation conditions.

33 CFR 165.814 - Security Zones; Captain of the Port Houston-Galveston Zone.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Ship Channel Light 133 (LLNR-24450) west to the T & N Rail Road Swing Bridge at the entrance to Buffalo...°59′12″ W (LLNR-23525), and Houston Ship Channel Light 91, 29°41′00″ N, 94°59′00″ W (LLNR-23375) (NAD...°23′16″ N, 94°53′15″ W (NAD 1983). (5) Freeport, Texas. (i) The Dow Barge Canal, containing all waters...

33 CFR 165.814 - Security Zones; Captain of the Port Houston-Galveston Zone.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Ship Channel Light 133 (LLNR-24450) west to the T & N Rail Road Swing Bridge at the entrance to Buffalo...°59′12″ W (LLNR-23525), and Houston Ship Channel Light 91, 29°41′00″ N, 94°59′00″ W (LLNR-23375) (NAD...°23′16″ N, 94°53′15″ W (NAD 1983). (5) Freeport, Texas. (i) The Dow Barge Canal, containing all waters...

33 CFR 165.814 - Security Zones; Captain of the Port Houston-Galveston Zone.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Ship Channel Light 133 (LLNR-24450) west to the T & N Rail Road Swing Bridge at the entrance to Buffalo...°59′12″ W (LLNR-23525), and Houston Ship Channel Light 91, 29°41′00″ N, 94°59′00″ W (LLNR-23375) (NAD...°23′16″ N, 94°53′15″ W (NAD 1983). (5) Freeport, Texas. (i) The Dow Barge Canal, containing all waters...

33 CFR 165.814 - Security Zones; Captain of the Port Houston-Galveston Zone.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Ship Channel Light 133 (LLNR-24450) west to the T & N Rail Road Swing Bridge at the entrance to Buffalo...°59′12″ W (LLNR-23525), and Houston Ship Channel Light 91, 29°41′00″ N, 94°59′00″ W (LLNR-23375) (NAD...°23′16″ N, 94°53′15″ W (NAD 1983). (5) Freeport, Texas. (i) The Dow Barge Canal, containing all waters...

Development of MASH TL-3 transition between guardrail and portable concrete barriers.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

Often, road construction causes the need to create a work zone. In these scenarios, portable concrete barriers (PCBs) : are typically installed to shield workers and equipment from errant vehicles as well as prevent motorists from striking other : ro...

User delay costs due to work zone operations Near Echo Junction.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-11-01

With the increasing number of road rehabilitation projects across the United States, the need to reduce user costs due to congestion is more important than ever. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has proposed replacing two I-80 bridges ove...

Assessment of alternatives in vegetation management at the edge of pavement.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-05-01

WSDOT has historically maintained a bare ground strip (formerly referred to as Zone 1) along : most state highway pavement edges with the use of non-selective herbicides. However, many : other state DOTs and county road maintenance organizations do n...

78 FR 4381 - Foreign-Trade Zone 45-Portland, Oregon; Application for Reorganization and Expansion Under...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-22

... following sites: Site 1 (1,830 acres)--Rivergate Industrial Park, Port Terminal Nos. 5 and 6, and the... Way and NE Alderwood Road, Portland; Site 3 (254 acres)--Portland Ship Repair Yard, 5555 N. Channel...

Effects of automated speed enforcement in Montgomery County, Maryland, on vehicle speeds, public opinion, and crashes.

PubMed

Hu, Wen; McCartt, Anne T

2016-09-01

In May 2007, Montgomery County, Maryland, implemented an automated speed enforcement program, with cameras allowed on residential streets with speed limits of 35 mph or lower and in school zones. In 2009, the state speed camera law increased the enforcement threshold from 11 to 12 mph over the speed limit and restricted school zone enforcement hours. In 2012, the county began using a corridor approach, in which cameras were periodically moved along the length of a roadway segment. The long-term effects of the speed camera program on travel speeds, public attitudes, and crashes were evaluated. Changes in travel speeds at camera sites from 6 months before the program began to 7½ years after were compared with changes in speeds at control sites in the nearby Virginia counties of Fairfax and Arlington. A telephone survey of Montgomery County drivers was conducted in Fall 2014 to examine attitudes and experiences related to automated speed enforcement. Using data on crashes during 2004-2013, logistic regression models examined the program's effects on the likelihood that a crash involved an incapacitating or fatal injury on camera-eligible roads and on potential spillover roads in Montgomery County, using crashes in Fairfax County on similar roads as controls. About 7½ years after the program began, speed cameras were associated with a 10% reduction in mean speeds and a 62% reduction in the likelihood that a vehicle was traveling more than 10 mph above the speed limit at camera sites. When interviewed in Fall 2014, 95% of drivers were aware of the camera program, 62% favored it, and most had received a camera ticket or knew someone else who had. The overall effect of the camera program in its modified form, including both the law change and the corridor approach, was a 39% reduction in the likelihood that a crash resulted in an incapacitating or fatal injury. Speed cameras alone were associated with a 19% reduction in the likelihood that a crash resulted in an incapacitating or fatal injury, the law change was associated with a nonsignificant 8% increase, and the corridor approach provided an additional 30% reduction over and above the cameras. This study adds to the evidence that speed cameras can reduce speeding, which can lead to reductions in speeding-related crashes and crashes involving serious injuries or fatalities.

Bicycle-vehicle interactions at mid-sections of mixed traffic streets: Examining passing distance and bicycle comfort perception.

PubMed

Apasnore, Peter; Ismail, Karim; Kassim, Ali

2017-09-01

This paper studies the relevant factors in mixed urban traffic that may impact the lateral spacing between bicycles and vehicles (passing distance, PD), and their resulting effect on a bicyclists' comfort based on a study of six sites in Ottawa, Canada. The observations are: [i] the average position of bicycles from the curb is 0.57m, and lesser (i.e. 0.35m) in the presence of parking; [ii] 90% of passes exceed 1.23m; [iii] PD is positively correlated with motor vehicle speed, lane width, and bicycle position from adjacent curb edge line, whiles inversely correlated to ambient traffic density and bicycle speed; [iv] motor vehicle speed has the highest prediction of PD variability; [v] PD and ambient traffic density (ATD) are found to be the most important factors to a bicyclists' comfort perception (BCP). Two linear regression models for PD and BCP were developed and significant variables are identified as: motor vehicle speed, bicycle speed, ATD, number of lanes, and lane width. The presence or absence of a grade slope is found to be significant to the PD model and not to BCP. The models both exhibit limited predictive ability, however residual plots and significance of included variables are indicative of correct assumptions for the models. It is recommended that speed calming, sharrows, road signs instructing road sharing, and educating road users against "dooring" crashes be considered in improving road sharing, especially for narrow lanes (i.e. less than 3.6m) and lanes wider than 4.5m. It is also prudent for designers to avoid installing parking zones on narrow shared roads. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of traffic volume and composition on the air quality and pedestrian exposure in urban street canyon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakowska, Agata; Wong, Ka Chun; Townsend, Thomas; Chan, Ka Lok; Westerdahl, Dane; Ng, Simon; Močnik, Griša; Drinovec, Luka; Ning, Zhi

2014-12-01

Vehicle emissions are identified as a major source of air pollution in metropolitan areas. Emission control programs in many cities have been implemented as part of larger scale transport policy interventions to control traffic pollutants and reduce public health risks. These interventions include provision of traffic-free and low emission zones and congestion charging. Various studies have investigated the impact of urban street configurations, such as street canyon in urban centers, on pollutants dispersion and roadside air quality. However, there are few investigations in the literature to study the impact of change of fleet composition and street canyon effects on the on-road pollutants concentrations and associated roadside pedestrian exposure to the pollutants. This study presents an experimental investigation on the traffic related gas and particle pollutants in and near major streets in one of the most developed business districts in Hong Kong, known as Central. Both street canyon and open roadway configurations were included in the study design. Mobile measurement techniques were deployed to monitor both on-road and roadside pollutants concentrations at different times of the day and on different days of a week. Multiple traffic counting points were also established to concurrently collect data on traffic volume and fleet composition on individual streets. Street canyon effects were evident with elevated on-road pollutants concentrations. Diesel vehicles were found to be associated with observed pollutant levels. Roadside black carbon concentrations were found to correlate with their on-road levels but with reduced concentrations. However, ultrafine particles showed very high concentrations in roadside environment with almost unity of roadside/on-road ratios possibly due to the accumulation of primary emissions and secondary PM formation. The results from the study provide useful information for the effective urban transport design and bus route reorganization to minimize the impact of traffic emissions on the urban air quality and public health. Observations on the elevated ultrafine particle concentrations in roadside pedestrian levels also demonstrate the urgent need to improve roadside air quality to reduce pedestrians' health risks especially inside street canyon.

The ambient acoustic environment in Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

PubMed

Seger, Kerri D; Thode, Aaron M; Swartz, Steven L; Urbán, Jorge R

2015-11-01

Each winter gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) breed and calve in Laguna San Ignacio, Mexico, where a robust, yet regulated, whale-watching industry exists. Baseline acoustic environments in LSI's three zones were monitored between 2008 and 2013, in anticipation of a new road being paved that will potentially increase tourist activity to this relatively isolated location. These zones differ in levels of both gray whale usage and tourist activity. Ambient sound level distributions were computed in terms of percentiles of power spectral densities. While these distributions are consistent across years within each zone, inter-zone differences are substantial. The acoustic environment in the upper zone is dominated by snapping shrimp that display a crepuscular cycle. Snapping shrimp also affect the middle zone, but tourist boat transits contribute to noise distributions during daylight hours. The lower zone has three source contributors to its acoustic environment: snapping shrimp, boats, and croaker fish. As suggested from earlier studies, a 300 Hz noise minimum exists in both the middle and lower zones of the lagoon, but not in the upper zone.

The Italian drilling project of the Mont Blanc road tunnel in the late fifties: an example of no geological care and lack of ethics in carrying out a big work.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gosso, Guido; Croce, Giuseppe; Matteucci, Ruggero; Peppoloni, Silvia; Piacente, Sandra; Wasowski, Janusz

2013-04-01

In the first decade after the Second World War Italy was rushing to recover a positive role among European countries; basic needs as road communications with European neighbours became main priorities. The necessity of a rapid connection with South-eastern France, a subject already debated between the two nations over more than 50 years, appeared then on first line; the two countries convened on a joint investment for the construction of a tunnel across the international border of Mont Blanc, along the shortest track between Courmayeur and Chamonix. The political agreements were in favour of the quickest start of the drilling operations and such obligation imposed on the Italian side an impoverishment of the project content, specially concerning geological issues. No surveys were performed on fracture systems, cataclastic zones and faults, on the few rock ridges standing above the tunnel line and outcropping through thick talus cones, moraines, ice tongues and their related ice plateaus. Metasediments, migmatites and poorly foliated granites were to be drilled. Three Italian academics were allowed by the drilling company to track the working progress and collect rocks for comparison with other Alpine types; they mapped the lithology and the fault zonesall along the freshly excavated tunnel; the results of such survey appeared after the end of works. Geologists from Florence University published the surface granite faulting pattern 20 years after the road tunnel became operative. Such geological cares could have located the risky zones in time for the tunnel project, mitigating the catastrophic effects of sudden drainage of subglacial water from the Vallée Blanche ice plateau (Ghiacciaio del Gigante) at progression 3800m, that caused dramatic accidents and affected negatively the economy of the drilling. Also the wallrock temperature drops, measured during the drill, should have warned the company management on the location of dangerous fracture zones. Anxiety of national renaissance probably committed the Italian team to a fast conclusion, skipping attention from geological urgencies. But did attitudes change since then? This late episode gives us the opportunity to reflect on the necessity of making politicians seriously aware of the importance of geology when carrying out big works, to impose by law more effective policies and make interrelations between the involved professionals mandatory. Firm geoethic principles should guide choices and decisions in projects of great environmental impact.

Using road markings as a continuous cue for speed choice.

PubMed

Charlton, Samuel G; Starkey, Nicola J; Malhotra, Neha

2018-08-01

The potential for using road markings to indicate speed limits was investigated in a driving simulator over the course of two sessions. Two types of experimental road markings, an "Attentional" set designed to provide visually distinct cues to indicate speed limits of 60, 80 and 100 km/h, and a "Perceptual" set designed to also affect drivers' perception of speed, were compared to a standard undifferentiated set of markings. Participants (n = 20 per group) were assigned to one of four experimental groups (Attentional-Explicit, Attentional-Implicit, Perceptual-Explicit, Perceptual-Implicit) or a Control group (n = 22; standard road markings). The Explicit groups were instructed about the meaning of the road markings while those in the Implicit and Control groups did not receive any explanation. Participants drove five 10 km simulated roads containing three speed zones (60, 80 and 100 km/h) during the first session. The participants returned to the laboratory approximately 3 days later to drive five more trials including roads they had not seen before, a trial that included a secondary task, and a trial where speed signs were removed and only markings were present. The findings indicated that both types of road markings improved drivers' compliance with speed limits compared to the control group, but that explicit instruction as to the meaning of the markings was needed to realise their full benefit. Although previous research has indicated the benefit of road markings used as warnings to indicate speed reductions in advance of horizontal or vertical curves, the findings of the present experiment also suggest that systematically associating road markings with specific speed limits may be a useful way to improve speed limit compliance and increase speed homogeneity. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

An open-terrain line source model coupled with street-canyon effects to forecast carbon monoxide at traffic roundabout.

PubMed

Pandian, Suresh; Gokhale, Sharad; Ghoshal, Aloke Kumar

2011-02-15

A double-lane four-arm roundabout, where traffic movement is continuous in opposite directions and at different speeds, produces a zone responsible for recirculation of emissions within a road section creating canyon-type effect. In this zone, an effect of thermally induced turbulence together with vehicle wake dominates over wind driven turbulence causing pollutant emission to flow within, resulting into more or less equal amount of pollutants upwind and downwind particularly during low winds. Beyond this region, however, the effect of winds becomes stronger, causing downwind movement of pollutants. Pollutant dispersion caused by such phenomenon cannot be described accurately by open-terrain line source model alone. This is demonstrated by estimating one-minute average carbon monoxide concentration by coupling an open-terrain line source model with a street canyon model which captures the combine effect to describe the dispersion at non-signalized roundabout. The results of the modeling matched well with the measurements compared with the line source model alone and the prediction error reduced by about 50%. The study further demonstrated this with traffic emissions calculated by field and semi-empirical methods. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hydrostratigraphic interpretation of test-hole and geophysical data, Upper Loup River Basin, Nebraska, 2008-10

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hobza, Christopher M.; Asch, Theodore H.; Bedrosian, Paul A.

2011-01-01

Test-hole drilling has indicated greater variation in the base-of-aquifer elevation in the western part of the upper Loup study area than in the eastern part reflecting a number of deep paleovalleys incised into the Brule Formation of the White River Group. TDEM measurements within the upper Loup study area were shown to be effective as virtual boreholes in mapping out the base of the aquifer. TDEM estimates of the base of aquifer were in good accordance with existing test-hole data and were able to improve the interpreted elevation and topology of the base of the aquifer. In 2010, AMT data were collected along a profile, approximately 12 miles (19 kilometers) in length, along Whitman Road, in Grant and Cherry Counties. The AMT results along Whitman Road indicated substantial variability in the elevation of the base of the High Plains aquifer and in the distribution of highly permeable zones within the aquifer.

Effect of shipping emissions on European ground-level ozone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stergiou, Ioannis; -Eleni Sotiropoulou, Rafaella; Tagaris, Efthimios

2017-04-01

Shipping emissions contribution to the global nitrogen oxides emissions is about 15%, affecting ozone formation and the chemical composition of the atmosphere. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of shipping emissions on ozone levels over Europe suggesting regions where air quality degradation due to shipping emissions dominates against the rest of the anthropogenic source emissions. Ranking the importance of the Standard Nomenclature for Air Pollution (SNAP) categories on ozone mixing ratio, road transport has the major impact followed by other mobile sources, power generation, and industrial combustion sectors. All other sectors have a minor impact, therefor, our analysis is focused on these four emission categories. Results suggest that shipping emissions seem to play an important role on ozone levels compared to road transport sector near the coastal zone, while they could partly offset the benefits from the emissions reduction of other mobile sources, power generation and industrial combustion sources, over a great part of the European land.

Hazardous Waste Cleanup: GM Assembly Division in Linden, New Jersey

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The General Motors Assembly Division (GM) site is 35 acres and is located at 1016 West Edgar Road in an area zoned for residential, commercial and manufacturing/industrial uses in Linden, New Jersey. The facility has operated since 1935 as a manufacturing

Photographic copy of architectural drawing no. 413319 dated 1917 on ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Photographic copy of architectural drawing no. 4133-19 dated 1917 on file at the Engineering and Planning Office, Panama Canal Commission, Balboa, Republic of Panama. Cross section along line "AA". - Gorgas Hospital, Isolation Ward, Culebra Road, Balboa Heights, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ

Investigating the impact of static roadside advertising on drivers' situation awareness.

PubMed

Young, Kristie L; Stephens, Amanda N; Logan, David B; Lenné, Michael G

2017-04-01

Roadside advertising has the potential to create a crash risk for drivers as it may distract attention from driving at critical times. In an on-road instrumented vehicle study, we examined if and how static advertising billboards affect drivers' situation awareness across different driving environments. Nineteen fully licensed drivers drove an instrumented vehicle around a 38 km urban test route comprising freeway, busy urban retail and arterial road sections. The route contained a number of static billboards. Drivers provided continuous verbal protocols throughout the drive. Results indicated that the structure and content of drivers' situation awareness was not appreciably affected by the billboards in any of the road environments examined. Drivers focused their attention on the billboards when driving demand was low, such as when driving on the freeway with light to moderate traffic, in lower speed zones, or when stationary. However, when drivers were required to perform a manoeuvre or driving demands increased, drivers directed less attention to the billboards and focussed their awareness on the immediate driving task. This suggests that drivers can, at least under some conditions, effectively self-regulate their attention to billboards when required to focus on the immediate traffic or driving situation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigating the relationship between jobs-housing balance and traffic safety.

PubMed

Xu, Chengcheng; Li, Haojie; Zhao, Jingya; Chen, Jun; Wang, Wei

2017-10-01

This study aimed to investigate the effects of jobs-housing balance on traffic safety. The crash, demographic characteristics, employment, road network, household characteristics and traffic data were collected from the Los Angeles in 2010. One-way ANOVA tests indicated that the jobs-housing ratio significantly affects traffic safety in terms of crash frequency at traffic analysis zone (TAZ). To quantify the safety impacts of jobs-housing balance, the semi-parametric geographically weighted Poisson regression (S-GWPR) was further used to link crash frequency at TAZ with jobs-housing ratio and other contributing factors. The S-GWPR provides better fitness to the data than do the generalized linear regression, as the S-GWPR accounts for the spatial heterogeneity. The S-GWPR results showed that the jobs-housing relationship has a significant association with crash frequency at TAZ when the factors of traffic, network, and household characteristics are controlled. Crash frequency at TAZ level increases with an increase in the jobs-housing ratio. To further investigate the interactive effects between jobs-housing ratio and other factors, a comparative analysis was conducted to compare the variable elasticities under different jobs-housing ratios. The results indicate considerable interactive effects that traffic conditions and road network characteristics have different effects on crash frequency under various jobs-housing ratios. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Non-linear effects of the built environment on automobile-involved pedestrian crash frequency: A machine learning approach.

PubMed

Ding, Chuan; Chen, Peng; Jiao, Junfeng

2018-03-01

Although a growing body of literature focuses on the relationship between the built environment and pedestrian crashes, limited evidence is provided about the relative importance of many built environment attributes by accounting for their mutual interaction effects and their non-linear effects on automobile-involved pedestrian crashes. This study adopts the approach of Multiple Additive Poisson Regression Trees (MAPRT) to fill such gaps using pedestrian collision data collected from Seattle, Washington. Traffic analysis zones are chosen as the analytical unit. The effects of various factors on pedestrian crash frequency investigated include characteristics the of road network, street elements, land use patterns, and traffic demand. Density and the degree of mixed land use have major effects on pedestrian crash frequency, accounting for approximately 66% of the effects in total. More importantly, some factors show clear non-linear relationships with pedestrian crash frequency, challenging the linearity assumption commonly used in existing studies which employ statistical models. With various accurately identified non-linear relationships between the built environment and pedestrian crashes, this study suggests local agencies to adopt geo-spatial differentiated policies to establish a safe walking environment. These findings, especially the effective ranges of the built environment, provide evidence to support for transport and land use planning, policy recommendations, and road safety programs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Geophysical logging data from the Mills Gap Road area near Asheville, North Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chapman, Melinda J.; Huffman, Brad A.

2011-01-01

In September 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was requested to assist the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 Superfund Section in the development of a conceptual groundwater flow model in the area of the Mills Gap Road contaminant investigation near Asheville, North Carolina (Site ID A4P5) through an Interagency Grant and work authorization IAD DW number 14946085. The USGS approach included the application of established and state-of-the-science borehole geophysical tools and methods used to delineate and characterize fracture zones in the regolith-fractured bedrock groundwater system. Borehole geophysical logs were collected in eight wells in the Mills Gap Road project area from January through June 2010. These subsurface data were compared to local surface geologic mapping data collected by the North Carolina Geological Survey (NCGS) from January through May 2010.

77 FR 46797 - Notice of Fiscal Year 2013 Safety Grants and Solicitation for Applications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-06

... emphasis on texting and hand-held cell phone prohibitions, work zone enforcement, rural road safety, and... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Notice of Fiscal Year 2013 Safety Grants and Solicitation for Applications AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety...

The Third Indochina Conflict: Cambodia’s Total War

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-12

Military Region. NR National Road. OMZ Operational Military Zone. PAVN People’s Army of Vietnam. PMC Provincial Military Command. PRK People’s......of the Khmer Rouge regime escaped to the Cambodian-Thai border and started a resistance movement aimed at deposing the PRK and driving out the

76 FR 39069 - Foreign-Trade Zone 29-Louisville, KY; Application for Expansion

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-05

... (316 acres)--Cedar Grove Business Park, on Highway 480, near Interstate 65, Shepherdsville, Bullitt... 10 (25 acres)--Global Port Business Park, 6201 Global Distribution Way, Louisville; Site 11 (261...), 8100 Air Commerce Drive (44 acres) and the Louisville Metro Commerce Center, 1900 Outer Loop Road (101...

78 FR 30270 - Foreign-Trade Zone 247-Erie, Pennsylvania; Application for Subzone; GE Transportation, Lawrence...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-22

..., Pennsylvania; Application for Subzone; GE Transportation, Lawrence Park Township, Pennsylvania An application... Transportation, located in Lawrence Park Township, Pennsylvania. The application was submitted pursuant to the... located at 2901 East Lake Road, Lawrence Park Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania. No production activity...

Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Xerox Corporation - Joseph C. Wilson Center for Technology in Webster, New York

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Xerox Corporation campus is located at 800 Phillips Road in Webster, New York. The facility occupies approximately one thousand acres in the Town of Webster. The areas adjacent to the site to the east south and west are zoned for industrial, commercial

Probing the deep critical zone beneath the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buss, Heather; Brantley, S. L.; Scatena, Fred

2013-01-01

Recent work has suggested that weathering processes occurring in the subsurface produce the majority of silicate weathering products discharged to the world s oceans, thereby exerting a primary control on global temperature via the well-known positive feedback between silicate weathering and CO2. In addition, chemical and physical weathering processes deep within the critical zone create aquifers and control groundwater chemistry, watershed geometry and regolith formation rates. Despite this, most weathering studies are restricted to the shallow critical zone (e.g., soils, outcrops). Here we investigate the chemical weathering, fracturing and geomorphology of the deep critical zone in the Bisley watershed inmore » the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory, Puerto Rico, from two boreholes drilled to 37.2 and 27.0 m depth, from which continuous core samples were taken. Corestones exposed aboveground were also sampled. Weathered rinds developed on exposed corestones and along fracture surfaces on subsurface rocks slough off of exposed corestones once rinds attain a thickness up to ~1 cm, preventing the corestones from rounding due to diffusion limitation. Such corestones at the land surface are assumed to be what remains after exhumation of similar, fractured bedrock pieces that were observed in the drilled cores between thick layers of regolith. Some of these subsurface corestones are massive and others are highly fractured, whereas aboveground corestones are generally massive with little to no apparent fracturing. Subsurface corestones are larger and less fractured in the borehole drilled on a road where it crosses a ridge compared to the borehole drilled where the road crosses the stream channel. Both borehole profiles indicate that the weathering zone extends to well below the stream channel in this upland catchment; hence weathering depth is not controlled by the stream level within the catchment and not all of the water in the watershed is discharged to the stream.« less

Probing the deep critical zone beneath the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buss, Heather L.; Brantley, Susan L.; Scatena, Fred; Bazilevskaya, Katya; Blum, Alex E.; Schulz, Marjorie S.; Jiménez, Rafael; White, Arthur F.; Rother, G.; Cole, D.

2013-01-01

Recent work has suggested that weathering processes occurring in the subsurface produce the majority of silicate weathering products discharged to the world's oceans, thereby exerting a primary control on global temperature via the well-known positive feedback between silicate weathering and CO2. In addition, chemical and physical weathering processes deep within the critical zone create aquifers and control groundwater chemistry, watershed geometry and regolith formation rates. Despite this, most weathering studies are restricted to the shallow critical zone (e.g. soils, outcrops). Here we investigate the chemical weathering, fracturing and geomorphology of the deep critical zone in the Bisley watershed in the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory, Puerto Rico, from two boreholes drilled to 37.2 and 27.0 m depth, from which continuous core samples were taken. Corestones exposed aboveground were also sampled. Weathered rinds developed on exposed corestones and along fracture surfaces on subsurface rocks slough off of exposed corestones once rinds attain a thickness up to ~1 cm, preventing the corestones from rounding due to diffusion limitation. Such corestones at the land surface are assumed to be what remains after exhumation of similar, fractured bedrock pieces that were observed in the drilled cores between thick layers of regolith. Some of these subsurface corestones are massive and others are highly fractured, whereas aboveground corestones are generally massive with little to no apparent fracturing. Subsurface corestones are larger and less fractured in the borehole drilled on a road where it crosses a ridge compared with the borehole drilled where the road crosses the stream channel. Both borehole profiles indicate that the weathering zone extends to well below the stream channel in this upland catchment; hence weathering depth is not controlled by the stream level within the catchment and not all of the water in the watershed is discharged to the stream

To what extent can theory account for the findings of road safety evaluation studies?

PubMed

Elvik, Rune

2004-09-01

This paper proposes a conceptual framework that can be used to assess to what extent the findings of road safety evaluation research make sense from a theoretical point of view. The effects of road safety measures are modelled as passing through two causal chains. One of these, termed the engineering effect, refers to the intended effects of a road safety measure on a set of risk factors related to accident occurrence or injury severity. The engineering effect of road safety measures is modelled in terms of nine basic risk factors, one or more of which any road safety measure needs to influence in order to have the intended effect on accidents or injuries. The other causal chain producing the effects of road safety measures is termed the behavioural effect, and refers to road user behavioural adaptations to road safety measures. The behavioural effect is related to the engineering effect, in the sense that certain properties of the engineering effect of a road safety measure influence the likelihood that behavioural adaptation will occur. The behavioural effect of a road safety measure is modelled in terms of six factors that influence the likelihood that behavioural adaptation will occur. The nine basic risk factors representing the engineering effect of a road safety measure, and the six factors influencing the likelihood of behavioural adaptation can be used as checklists in assessing whether or not the findings of road safety evaluation studies make sense from a theoretical point of view. At the current state of knowledge, a more stringent evaluation of the extent to which theory can explain the findings of road safety evaluation studies is, in most cases, not possible. Copyright 2003 Elsevier Ltd.

Differential Effects of Roads and Traffic on Space Use and Movements of Native Forest-Dependent and Introduced Edge-Tolerant Species

PubMed Central

Chen, Hsiang Ling; Koprowski, John L.

2016-01-01

Anthropogenic infrastructure such as roads and non-native species are major causes of species endangerment. Understanding animal behavioral responses to roads and traffic provides insight into causes and mechanisms of effects of linear development on wildlife and aids effective mitigation and conservation. We investigated effects of roads and traffic on space use and movements of two forest-dwelling species: endemic, forest-dependent Mount Graham red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis) and introduced, edge-tolerant Abert’s squirrels (Sciurus aberti). To assess the effects of roads on space use and movement patterns, we compared the probability that a squirrel home range included roads and random lines in forests, and assessed effects of traffic intensity on rate of road crossing and movement patterns. Red squirrels avoided areas adjacent to roads and rarely crossed roads. In contrast, Abert’s squirrels were more likely to include roads in their home ranges compared to random lines in forests. Both red squirrels and Abert’s squirrels increased speed when crossing roads, compared to before and after road crossings. Increased hourly traffic volume reduced the rate of road crossings by both species. Behavioral responses of red squirrels to roads and traffic resemble responses to elevated predation risk, including reduced speed near roads and increased tortuosity of movement paths with increased traffic volume. In contrast, Abert’s squirrels appeared little affected by roads and traffic with tortuosity of movement paths reduced as distance to roads decreased. We found that species with similar body size category (<1 kg) but different habitat preference and foraging strategy responded to roads differently and demonstrated that behavior and ecology are important when considering effects of roads on wildlife. Our results indicate that roads restricted movements and space use of a native forest-dependent species while creating habitat preferred by an introduced, edge-tolerant species. PMID:26821366

Differential Effects of Roads and Traffic on Space Use and Movements of Native Forest-Dependent and Introduced Edge-Tolerant Species.

PubMed

Chen, Hsiang Ling; Koprowski, John L

2016-01-01

Anthropogenic infrastructure such as roads and non-native species are major causes of species endangerment. Understanding animal behavioral responses to roads and traffic provides insight into causes and mechanisms of effects of linear development on wildlife and aids effective mitigation and conservation. We investigated effects of roads and traffic on space use and movements of two forest-dwelling species: endemic, forest-dependent Mount Graham red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis) and introduced, edge-tolerant Abert's squirrels (Sciurus aberti). To assess the effects of roads on space use and movement patterns, we compared the probability that a squirrel home range included roads and random lines in forests, and assessed effects of traffic intensity on rate of road crossing and movement patterns. Red squirrels avoided areas adjacent to roads and rarely crossed roads. In contrast, Abert's squirrels were more likely to include roads in their home ranges compared to random lines in forests. Both red squirrels and Abert's squirrels increased speed when crossing roads, compared to before and after road crossings. Increased hourly traffic volume reduced the rate of road crossings by both species. Behavioral responses of red squirrels to roads and traffic resemble responses to elevated predation risk, including reduced speed near roads and increased tortuosity of movement paths with increased traffic volume. In contrast, Abert's squirrels appeared little affected by roads and traffic with tortuosity of movement paths reduced as distance to roads decreased. We found that species with similar body size category (<1 kg) but different habitat preference and foraging strategy responded to roads differently and demonstrated that behavior and ecology are important when considering effects of roads on wildlife. Our results indicate that roads restricted movements and space use of a native forest-dependent species while creating habitat preferred by an introduced, edge-tolerant species.

[Evidence-based effectiveness of road safety interventions: a literature review].

PubMed

Novoa, Ana M; Pérez, Katherine; Borrell, Carme

2009-01-01

Only road safety interventions with scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness should be implemented. The objective of this study was to identify and summarize the available evidence on the effectiveness of road safety interventions in reducing road traffic collisions, injuries and deaths. All literature reviews published in scientific journals that assessed the effectiveness of one or more road safety interventions and whose outcome measure was road traffic crashes, injuries or fatalities were included. An exhaustive search was performed in scientific literature databases. The interventions were classified according to the evidence of their effectiveness in reducing road traffic injuries (effective interventions, insufficient evidence of effectiveness, ineffective interventions) following the structure of the Haddon matrix. Fifty-four reviews were included. Effective interventions were found before, during and after the collision, and across all factors: a) the individual: the graduated licensing system (31% road traffic injury reduction); b) the vehicle: electronic stability control system (2 to 41% reduction); c) the infrastructure: area-wide traffic calming (0 to 20%), and d) the social environment: speed cameras (7 to 30%). Certain road safety interventions are ineffective, mostly road safety education, and others require further investigation. The most successful interventions are those that reduce or eliminate the hazard and do not depend on changes in road users' behavior or on their knowledge of road safety issues. Interventions based exclusively on education are ineffective in reducing road traffic injuries.

Assessment of commuters' daily exposure to flash flooding over the roads of the Gard region, France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debionne, Samuel; Ruin, Isabelle; Shabou, Saif; Lutoff, Céline; Creutin, Jean-Dominique

2016-10-01

Flash floods are responsible for a majority of natural disaster fatalities in the USA and Europe and most of them are vehicle-related. If human exposure to flood is generally assessed through the number of inhabitants per buildings located in flood prone zone, it is clear that this number varies dramatically throughout the day as people move from place to place to follow their daily program of activities. Knowing the number of motorists exposed on flood prone road sections or the factors determining their exposure would allow providing a more realistic evaluation of the degree of exposure. In order to bridge this gap and provide emergency managers with methods to assess the risk level for motorists, this paper describes two methods, a simple rough-and-ready estimate and a traffic attribution method, and applies both of them on datasets of the Gard département, an administrative region of Southern France with about 700 000 inhabitants over 5875 km2. The first method to obtain an overall estimation of motorists flood exposure is to combine (i) the regional density of roads and rivers to derive a count of potential road cuts and (ii) the average daily kilometers driven by commuters of the study area to derive the number of people passing these potential cuts. If useful as a first approximation, this method fails to capture the spatial heterogeneities introduced by the geometry of river and road networks and the distribution of commuters' itineraries. To address this point, this paper (i) uses a pre-established detailed identification of road cuts (Naulin et al., 2013) and (ii) applies a well-known traffic attribution method to existing and freely available census datasets. Both methods indicate that commuters' exposure is much larger than the number of commuters itself, illustrating the risk amplification effect of mobility. Comparing the results from both methods shows that (i) the road network geometry plays a significant role in reducing the risk of river-road dangerous intersections and (ii) not all commuters are equally exposed. Evidently commuters who have longer routes are more exposed, but residents of rural municipalities as well as professionals with highly qualified jobs are also more exposed. Finally, these exposure assessment methods applied to the Gard area allows locating road sections where commuters' exposure to flood is high. It also sets the first step toward the implementation of a modeling platform able to combine the estimation of daily travel patterns exposure and behavioral response of motorists to road flooding, a critical input for emergency services and services in charge of the management of road networks in flash flood prone areas.

Assessment of honking impact on traffic noise in urban traffic environment of Nagpur, India.

PubMed

Vijay, Ritesh; Sharma, Asheesh; Chakrabarti, Tapan; Gupta, Rajesh

2015-01-01

In context of increasing traffic noise in urban India, the objective of the research study is to assess noise due to heterogeneous traffic conditions and the impact of honking on it. Traffic volume, noise levels, honking, road geometry and vehicular speed were measured on national highway, major and minor roads in Nagpur, India. Initial study showed lack of correlation between traffic volume and equivalent noise due to some factors, later identified as honking, road geometry and vehicular speed. Further, frequency analysis of traffic noise showed that honking contributed an additional 2 to 5 dB (A) noise, which is quite significant. Vehicular speed was also found to increase traffic noise. Statistical method of analysis of variance (ANOVA) confirms that frequent honking (p < 0.01) and vehicular speed (p < 0.05) have substantial impact on traffic noise apart from traffic volume and type of road. The study suggests that honking must also be a component in traffic noise assessment and to identify and monitor "No Honking" zones in urban agglomerations.

Concentrating anthropogenic disturbance to balance ecological and economic values: applications to forest management.

PubMed

Tittler, Rebecca; Messier, Christian; Fall, Andrew

2012-06-01

To maintain healthy ecosystems, natural-disturbance-based management aims to minimize differences between unmanaged and managed landscapes. Two related approaches may help accomplish this goal, either applied together or in isolation: (1) concentrating anthropogenic disturbance through zoning (with protected areas and intensive management); and (2) emulating natural disturbances. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of these two approaches, applied both in isolation and in combination, on the structure of the forest landscape. To do so, we use a spatially explicit landscape simulation model on a large fire-dominated landscape in eastern Canada. Specifically, we examine the effects of (1) increasing the maximum size of logged stands (cutblocks) to better emulate the full range of fire sizes in a fire-dominated landscape, (2) increasing protected areas, and (3) adding aggregated or dispersed intensive wood production areas to the landscape in addition to protected areas (triad management). We focus on maximizing the amount and minimizing the fragmentation of old-growth forest and on reducing road construction. Increasing maximum cutblock size and adding protected areas led to reduced road construction, while the latter also resulted in less fragmentation and more old growth. Although protected areas led to reduced harvest volume, the addition of an intensive production zone (triad management) counterbalanced this loss and resulted in more old growth than equivalent scenarios with protected areas but no intensive production zone. However, we found no differences between aggregated and dispersed intensive wood production. Our results imply that differences between unmanaged and managed landscapes can be reduced by concentrating logging efforts through a combination of protected areas and intensive wood production, and by creating some larger cutblocks. We conclude that the forest industry and regulators should therefore seek to increase protected areas through triad management and consider increasing maximum cutblock size. These results add to a growing body of literature indicating that intensive management on a small part of the landscape may be better than less intensive management spread out over a much larger part of the landscape, whether this is in the context of forestry, agriculture, or urban development.

Do roads reduce painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) populations?

PubMed

Dorland, Alexandra; Rytwinski, Trina; Fahrig, Lenore

2014-01-01

Road mortality is thought to be a leading cause of turtle population decline. However, empirical evidence of the direct negative effects of road mortality on turtle population abundance is lacking. The purpose of this study was to provide a strong test of the prediction that roads reduce turtle population abundance. While controlling for potentially confounding variables, we compared relative abundance of painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) in 20 ponds in Eastern Ontario, 10 as close as possible to high traffic roads (Road sites) and 10 as far as possible from any major roads (No Road sites). There was no significant effect of roads on painted turtle relative abundance. Furthermore, our data do not support other predictions of the road mortality hypothesis; we observed neither a higher relative frequency of males to females at Road sites than at No Road sites, nor a lower average body size of turtles at Road than at No Road sites. We speculate that, although roads can cause substantial adult mortality in turtles, other factors, such as release from predation on adults and/or nests close to roads counter the negative effect of road mortality in some populations. We suggest that road mitigation for painted turtles can be limited to locations where turtles are forced to migrate across high traffic roads due, for example, to destruction of local nesting habitat or seasonal drying of ponds. This conclusion should not be extrapolated to other species of turtles, where road mortality could have a larger population-level effect than on painted turtles.

Do Roads Reduce Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) Populations?

PubMed Central

Dorland, Alexandra; Rytwinski, Trina; Fahrig, Lenore

2014-01-01

Road mortality is thought to be a leading cause of turtle population decline. However, empirical evidence of the direct negative effects of road mortality on turtle population abundance is lacking. The purpose of this study was to provide a strong test of the prediction that roads reduce turtle population abundance. While controlling for potentially confounding variables, we compared relative abundance of painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) in 20 ponds in Eastern Ontario, 10 as close as possible to high traffic roads (Road sites) and 10 as far as possible from any major roads (No Road sites). There was no significant effect of roads on painted turtle relative abundance. Furthermore, our data do not support other predictions of the road mortality hypothesis; we observed neither a higher relative frequency of males to females at Road sites than at No Road sites, nor a lower average body size of turtles at Road than at No Road sites. We speculate that, although roads can cause substantial adult mortality in turtles, other factors, such as release from predation on adults and/or nests close to roads counter the negative effect of road mortality in some populations. We suggest that road mitigation for painted turtles can be limited to locations where turtles are forced to migrate across high traffic roads due, for example, to destruction of local nesting habitat or seasonal drying of ponds. This conclusion should not be extrapolated to other species of turtles, where road mortality could have a larger population-level effect than on painted turtles. PMID:24858065

Maps showing estimated sediment yield from coastal landslides and active slope distribution along the Big Sur coast, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hapke, Cheryl J.; Green, Krystal R.; Dallas, Kate

2004-01-01

The 1982-83 and 1997-98 El Ni?os brought very high precipitation to California?s central coast; this precipitation resulted in raised groundwater levels, coastal flooding, and destabilized slopes throughout the region. Large landslides in the coastal mountains of Big Sur in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties blocked sections of California State Route 1, closing the road for months at a time. Large landslides such as these occur frequently in the winter months along the Big Sur coast due to the steep topography and weak bedrock. A large landslide in 1983 resulted in the closure of Highway 1 for over a year to repair the road and stabilize the slope. Resulting work from the 1983 landslide cost over $7 million and generated 30 million cubic yards of debris from landslide removal and excavations to re-establish the highway along the Big Sur coast. Before establishment of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) in 1992, typical road opening measures involved disposal of some landslide material and excess material generated from slope stabilization onto the seaward side of the highway. It is likely that some or most of this disposed material, either directly or indirectly through subsequent erosion, was eventually transported downslope into the ocean. In addition to the landslides that initiate above the road, natural slope failures sometimes occur on the steep slopes below the road and thus deliver material to the base of the coastal mountains where it is eroded and dispersed by waves and nearshore currents. Any coastal-slope landslide, generated through natural or anthropogenic processes, can result in sediment entering the nearshore zone. The waters offshore of the Big Sur coast are part of the MBNMS. Since it was established in 1992, landslide-disposal practices came under question for two reasons. The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 15, Section 922.132 prohibits discharging or depositing, from beyond the boundary of the Sanctuary, any material or other matter that subsequently enters the Sanctuary and injures a Sanctuary resource or quality. The landslide-disposal practices previously used had the potential to alter nearshore zone habitat by converting marine habitats from rocky substrate to soft bottom. In addition, the disposal practices had the potential to increase concentrations of suspended sediment in the nearshore zone, and thereby possibly impact coastal biological communities. On the other hand, natural mass-wasting processes, including coastal cliff erosion coastal and landslides, as well as streams deliver sediment to the coast in unknown quantities and thus provide nutrients as well as source material for beaches. Current road maintenance and repair practices along the Coast Highway 1 corridor that restrict disposal of material within the MBNMS may actually reduce sediment input relative to natural processes.

Children's Playgrounds and Everyday City Life of Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Filipova, Alexandra Gennadyevna; Syroed, Nadezhda Savvovna; Goncharova, Svetlana Vladimirovna

2016-01-01

Play areas of entertainment and development are new recourses for modern city children, but at the same time, they produce risks of road traffic accidents, deviation, social inequality and social exclusion. Playgrounds in city/town yards are free zones of children's pastime, where children communicate and play together. The aim of this article is…

75 FR 71079 - Site Renumbering Notice; Foreign-Trade Zone 29-Louisville, KY

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-22

... part of the airport's fuel system; Site 6 (316 acres)--Cedar Grove Business Park, on Highway 480, near..., 2300 Harbor Road, Owensboro; Site 9 (82 acres)--two parcels within the 4 Star Regional Business Park... Star Way, Robards); Site 10 (25 acres)--Global Port Business Park, 6201 Global Distribution Way...

Surface and Internal Wave Processes in the Coastal Zone of an Atoll Island

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-30

an Atoll Island Mark A. Merrifield 1000 Pope Road, MSB 317 Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 phone: (808) 956-6161 fax: (808) 956-2352 email...recovered at the end of the cruise. A second year PhD graduate student from the University of Hawaii , Mika Siegelman, will take part in the October

75 FR 69398 - Foreign-Trade Zone 78-Nashville, TN; Application for Expansion

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-12

... Cowan Street, Nashville; Site 2 (57.0 acres)--Cockrill Bend Industrial Park, 7355 Cockrill Bend Boulevard, Nashville; Site 3 (9.2 acres)--Irish Express Way Logistics, 323 Mason Road, La Vergne; Site 4 (39 acres)--Space Park North Industrial Park, 1000 Cartwright Street, Goodlettsville; Site 5 (19 acres)--Old...

A tool to analyze environmental impacts of roads on forest watersheds

Treesearch

Ajay Prasad

2007-01-01

The construction and use of forest roads can have impacts on geomorphic processes and erosion patterns in forested basins. Analyzing these impacts will help forest managers to effectively manage road and road drainage system and hence minimize the negative impacts of forest roads. To manage forest roads effectively the USDA Forest Service (USFS) has developed a road...

Road Accident Prevention with Instant Emergency Warning Message Dissemination in Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network.

PubMed

Gokulakrishnan, P; Ganeshkumar, P

2015-01-01

A Road Accident Prevention (RAP) scheme based on Vehicular Backbone Network (VBN) structure is proposed in this paper for Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET). The RAP scheme attempts to prevent vehicles from highway road traffic accidents and thereby reduces death and injury rates. Once the possibility of an emergency situation (i.e. an accident) is predicted in advance, instantly RAP initiates a highway road traffic accident prevention scheme. The RAP scheme constitutes the following activities: (i) the Road Side Unit (RSU) constructs a Prediction Report (PR) based on the status of the vehicles and traffic in the highway roads, (ii) the RSU generates an Emergency Warning Message (EWM) based on an abnormal PR, (iii) the RSU forms a VBN structure and (iv) the RSU disseminates the EWM to the vehicles that holds the high Risk Factor (RF) and travels in High Risk Zone (HRZ). These vehicles might reside either within the RSU's coverage area or outside RSU's coverage area (reached using VBN structure). The RAP scheme improves the performance of EWM dissemination in terms of increase in notification and decrease in end-to-end delay. The RAP scheme also reduces infrastructure cost (number of RSUs) by formulating and deploying the VBN structure. The RAP scheme with VBN structure improves notification by 19 percent and end-to-end delay by 14.38 percent for a vehicle density of 160 vehicles. It is also proved from the simulation experiment that the performance of RAP scheme is promising in 4-lane highway roads.

Road Accident Prevention with Instant Emergency Warning Message Dissemination in Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network

PubMed Central

P, Gokulakrishnan; P, Ganeshkumar

2015-01-01

A Road Accident Prevention (RAP) scheme based on Vehicular Backbone Network (VBN) structure is proposed in this paper for Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET). The RAP scheme attempts to prevent vehicles from highway road traffic accidents and thereby reduces death and injury rates. Once the possibility of an emergency situation (i.e. an accident) is predicted in advance, instantly RAP initiates a highway road traffic accident prevention scheme. The RAP scheme constitutes the following activities: (i) the Road Side Unit (RSU) constructs a Prediction Report (PR) based on the status of the vehicles and traffic in the highway roads, (ii) the RSU generates an Emergency Warning Message (EWM) based on an abnormal PR, (iii) the RSU forms a VBN structure and (iv) the RSU disseminates the EWM to the vehicles that holds the high Risk Factor (RF) and travels in High Risk Zone (HRZ). These vehicles might reside either within the RSU’s coverage area or outside RSU’s coverage area (reached using VBN structure). The RAP scheme improves the performance of EWM dissemination in terms of increase in notification and decrease in end-to-end delay. The RAP scheme also reduces infrastructure cost (number of RSUs) by formulating and deploying the VBN structure. The RAP scheme with VBN structure improves notification by 19 percent and end-to-end delay by 14.38 percent for a vehicle density of 160 vehicles. It is also proved from the simulation experiment that the performance of RAP scheme is promising in 4-lane highway roads. PMID:26636576

Wash flow disturbance and summer wash flow in the Mojave Desert: Influence on dispersion, production, and physiological functioning of dominant shrubs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newlander, April

In many Mojave Desert ecosystems, water infiltrates to root-zones in greatest proportion via washes. As such, washes have a pronounced effect on plant dispersion and size across these landscapes. Desert roads alter the natural spatial patterns of washes on alluvial fans (locally called bajadas) and potentially affect plant production and distribution. As a winter-rainfall dominated ecosystem, climate changes in the Mojave Desert that increase summer precipitation may also play an important role in altering vegetation processes influenced by washes. Road effects on the spatial distribution of desert plants on a Mojave Desert bajada were examined using remotely sensed LiDAR data and ground based measurements of plant size. Plant physiological responses to summer wash flow were also quantified by measuring gas exchange and water status of two dominant perennial species, Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa. Larrea and Ambrosia plants were nearly 7x and 4x larger where wash flow has been enhanced by road culverts, relative to undisturbed areas and areas where flow has been cut-off by the presence of a road/railroad. Clustering of large plants occurred along wash margins, with clustering most pronounced in areas of enhanced wash flow. No clustering was found where wash flow has been eliminated. For ecophysiological traits, both species showed pronounced responses to the pulse of water; however, these responses varied as a function of distance from wash. Larrea plants within 3 m and Ambrosia plants within ca. 2 m from the wash responded to the pulse of water. Leaf phenology dictated the timing of carbon gain as Larrea experienced a rapid but short-lived increase in stomatal conductance compared to a significant response for over a month following the pulse for Ambrosia. These results indicate that disturbance of desert washes has a pronounced impact on vegetation structure, and changing climatic conditions that impact plant function could potentially lead to even greater vegetation shifts through time.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sahoo, Satiprasad; Dhar, Anirban, E-mail: anirban.dhar@gmail.com; Kar, Amlanjyoti

Environmental management of an area describes a policy for its systematic and sustainable environmental protection. In the present study, regional environmental vulnerability assessment in Hirakud command area of Odisha, India is envisaged based on Grey Analytic Hierarchy Process method (Grey–AHP) using integrated remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. Grey–AHP combines the advantages of classical analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and grey clustering method for accurate estimation of weight coefficients. It is a new method for environmental vulnerability assessment. Environmental vulnerability index (EVI) uses natural, environmental and human impact related factors, e.g., soil, geology, elevation, slope, rainfall, temperature, windmore » speed, normalized difference vegetation index, drainage density, crop intensity, agricultural DRASTIC value, population density and road density. EVI map has been classified into four environmental vulnerability zones (EVZs) namely: ‘low’, ‘moderate’ ‘high’, and ‘extreme’ encompassing 17.87%, 44.44%, 27.81% and 9.88% of the study area, respectively. EVI map indicates that the northern part of the study area is more vulnerable from an environmental point of view. EVI map shows close correlation with elevation. Effectiveness of the zone classification is evaluated by using grey clustering method. General effectiveness is in between “better” and “common classes”. This analysis demonstrates the potential applicability of the methodology. - Highlights: • Environmental vulnerability zone identification based on Grey Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) • The effectiveness evaluation by means of a grey clustering method with support from AHP • Use of grey approach eliminates the excessive dependency on the experience of experts.« less

Why are some animal populations unaffected or positively affected by roads?

PubMed

Rytwinski, Trina; Fahrig, Lenore

2013-11-01

In reviews on effects of roads on animal population abundance we found that most effects are negative; however, there are also many neutral and positive responses [Fahrig and Rytwinski (Ecol Soc 14:21, 2009; Rytwinski and Fahrig (Biol Conserv 147:87-98, 2012)]. Here we use an individual-based simulation model to: (1) confirm predictions from the existing literature of the combinations of species traits and behavioural responses to roads that lead to negative effects of roads on animal population abundance, and (2) improve prediction of the combinations of species traits and behavioural responses to roads that lead to neutral and positive effects of roads on animal population abundance. Simulations represented a typical situation in which road mitigation is contemplated, i.e. rural landscapes containing a relatively low density (up to 1.86 km/km(2)) of high-traffic roads, with continuous habitat between the roads. In these landscapes, the simulations predict that populations of species with small territories and movement ranges, and high reproductive rates, i.e. many small mammals and birds, should not be reduced by roads. Contrary to previous suggestions, the results also predict that populations of species that obtain a resource from roads (e.g. vultures) do not increase with increasing road density. In addition, our simulations support the predation release hypothesis for positive road effects on prey (both small- and large-bodied prey), whereby abundance of a prey species increased with increasing road density due to reduced predation by generalist road-affected predators. The simulations also predict an optimal road density for the large-bodied prey species if it avoids roads or traffic emissions. Overall, the simulation results suggest that in rural landscapes containing high-traffic roads, there are many species for which road mitigation may not be necessary; mitigation efforts should be tailored to the species that show negative population responses to roads.

How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A G; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; van der Ree, Rodney; van der Grift, Edgar A

2016-01-01

Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these measures vary greatly. We conducted a meta-analysis using data from 50 studies that quantified the relationship between road-kill and a mitigation measure designed to reduce road-kill. Overall, mitigation measures reduce road-kill by 40% compared to controls. Fences, with or without crossing structures, reduce road-kill by 54%. We found no detectable effect on road-kill of crossing structures without fencing. We found that comparatively expensive mitigation measures reduce large mammal road-kill much more than inexpensive measures. For example, the combination of fencing and crossing structures led to an 83% reduction in road-kill of large mammals, compared to a 57% reduction for animal detection systems, and only a 1% for wildlife reflectors. We suggest that inexpensive measures such as reflectors should not be used until and unless their effectiveness is tested using a high-quality experimental approach. Our meta-analysis also highlights the fact that there are insufficient data to answer many of the most pressing questions that road planners ask about the effectiveness of road mitigation measures, such as whether other less common mitigation measures (e.g., measures to reduce traffic volume and/or speed) reduce road mortality, or to what extent the attributes of crossing structures and fences influence their effectiveness. To improve evaluations of mitigation effectiveness, studies should incorporate data collection before the mitigation is applied, and we recommend a minimum study duration of four years for Before-After, and a minimum of either four years or four sites for Before-After-Control-Impact designs.

How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A. G.; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C. Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; van der Ree, Rodney; van der Grift, Edgar A

2016-01-01

Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these measures vary greatly. We conducted a meta-analysis using data from 50 studies that quantified the relationship between road-kill and a mitigation measure designed to reduce road-kill. Overall, mitigation measures reduce road-kill by 40% compared to controls. Fences, with or without crossing structures, reduce road-kill by 54%. We found no detectable effect on road-kill of crossing structures without fencing. We found that comparatively expensive mitigation measures reduce large mammal road-kill much more than inexpensive measures. For example, the combination of fencing and crossing structures led to an 83% reduction in road-kill of large mammals, compared to a 57% reduction for animal detection systems, and only a 1% for wildlife reflectors. We suggest that inexpensive measures such as reflectors should not be used until and unless their effectiveness is tested using a high-quality experimental approach. Our meta-analysis also highlights the fact that there are insufficient data to answer many of the most pressing questions that road planners ask about the effectiveness of road mitigation measures, such as whether other less common mitigation measures (e.g., measures to reduce traffic volume and/or speed) reduce road mortality, or to what extent the attributes of crossing structures and fences influence their effectiveness. To improve evaluations of mitigation effectiveness, studies should incorporate data collection before the mitigation is applied, and we recommend a minimum study duration of four years for Before-After, and a minimum of either four years or four sites for Before-After-Control-Impact designs. PMID:27870889

Road impacts on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado, with emphasis on effects to surface- and shallow ground-water hydrology - A literature review

USGS Publications Warehouse

Andersen, Douglas C.

2007-01-01

A review of published research on unpaved road effects on surface-water and shallow ground-water hydrology was undertaken to assist the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado, in understanding factors potentially influencing refuge ecology. Few studies were found that addressed hydrological effects of roads on a comparable area of shallow slope in a semiarid region. No study dealt with road effects on surface- and ground-water supplies to ephemeral wetlands, which on the refuge are sustained by seasonal snowmelt in neighboring mountains. Road surfaces increase runoff, reduce infiltration, and serve as a sediment source. Roadbeds can interfere with normal surface- and ground-water flows and thereby influence the quantity, timing, and duration of water movement both across landscapes and through the soil. Hydrologic effects can be localized near the road as well as widespread and distant. The number, arrangement, and effectiveness of road-drainage structures (culverts and other devices) largely determine the level of hydrologic alteration produced by a road. Undesirable changes to natural hydrologic patterns can be minimized by considering potential impacts during road design, construction, and maintenance. Road removal as a means to restore desirable hydrologic conditions to landscapes adversely affected by roads has yet to be rigorously evaluated.

Quantifying rockfall risk on roads in the Port Hills, Christchurch, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unterrader, Stefan; Fuchs, Sven

2016-04-01

The Canterbury earthquake sequence starting on 22 September 2010 triggered widespread mass movements in the Port Hills area of Christchurch, the largest agglomeration of New Zealand's South Island. The MW 6.2 Christchurch earthquake of 22 February 2011 in particular generated the largest ground motions ever recorded in New Zealand and as a result initiated several thousands of rockfalls. Over 6,000 boulders were released and mapped shortly after the event. The risk from rockfall to residents in the Port Hills was quantitatively assessed by the regulatory authorities in order to develop an adjusted land zoning policy. Apart from damaging residential buildings many of these boulders also hit several road sections across the Port Hills. Due to the inherent differences between identifying hazard and risk to people in static structures and in moving objects, a recently carried out risk assessment of rockfall was limited to exposed properties. However, given the importance of local road infrastructure for commuter traffic, local risk management strategies would clearly benefit from quantifying the threat of boulders endangering traffic lines. For this study, existing datasets describing the hazard including recently estimated frequency-magnitude bands for earthquakes and non-seismic triggering events, boulder production rates, boulder size distribution and associated run-out distances, were used. These data were provided by the Christchurch City Council's (CCC) GIS web service. A digital layer of the local road network as well as a detailed dataset of traffic counts was used for GIS analysis, and the probability of individuals being hit by boulders was calculated for each road segment that intersects one or more rockfall hazard zones. Finally, risk was computed. The method applied follows a state-of-the-art approach in risk assessment which is generally based on the risk equation defining risk as the probability of occurrence of an event times the expected loss. More specifically, both the annual collective risk and individual risk of being hit by rockfalls on the Port Hills traffic lines were calculated. Both risk terms were assessed by drawing on a well-established method originally developed for evaluating snow avalanche risk on high-alpine pass roads. In order to reflect the discontinuous distribution of rockfall across the hazard zone (i.e. boulders will only hit certain points or follow one specific run-out path compared to the typical snow avalanche run-out behaviour) the original risk equation was adjusted. Hence, (1) the annual collective risk as well as the individual risk of being hit by rockfalls when travelling on the local road network was quantified, (2) the temporal dynamics of most susceptible elements at risk (i.e. commuter traffic) were identified and related dynamics in risk were assessed, and (3) the specific case of waiting traffic and the associated increase in fatality risk compared to moving traffic was computed. The results of this study provide first insights in both the collective and individual rockfall fatality risk on important traffic lines across the Port Hills. Road sections that are most prone to rockfall hazard were clearly identified in high spatial resolution. Sensitivity analysis of main parameters showed that the decrease in seismic hazard expected over the next decades resulted in decreasing rockfall hazard and therefore decreasing fatality risk even if currently increasing traffic volumes will further rise. Furthermore, a closer look on the individual risk of commuters was addressing some of the challenges within the inherent static approach of the risk concept, namely the temporal dynamics in traffic flow. It was further shown that the main traffic line, Tunnel Road, is characterized by a strongly diurnal variability including two traffic peaks between 7 and 9 a.m. and around 5 to 6 p.m. Additionally, the influence of road blockage by boulders falling onto endangered road sections was also responsible for an increasing annual fatality risk of road users on most of the studied road sections. Several conceptual shortcomings in previous studies were addressing this issue, particularly with respect to simplifying assumptions repeatedly made during the risk computation. The results of this study highlight some of the most important aspects in this regard. Finally, the risk of being hit by rockfalls while travelling on the roads of the study area were compared to other risks faced (and tolerated) by the New Zealand citizens. The spatio-temporal dynamics in rockfall risk across the Port Hills road network clearly had shown the inherent limitations of any static risk assessment. Fatality numbers in the Port Hills were low during the 22 February 2011 event because the earthquake hit around noon and it is shown that similar ground shaking intensities occurring during rush hour are likely to cause several fatalities on the main transportation lines. These risks are further increased as traffic jams are very likely to form after extensive road blockage. In addition, rockfall hitting critical infrastructure not only pose fatality risk to people travelling along these lines but also affect the ability of emergency response teams to safely assess parts of the area which otherwise would be cut off. This temporal aspect has yet to be incorporated into local risk management strategies. The clear identification of the road segments most prone to boulder hits can serve the authorities as decision support for any future mitigation works.

[Effects of road construction on regional vegetation types].

PubMed

Liu, Shi-Liang; Liu, Qi; Wang, Cong; Yang, Jue-Jie; Deng, Li

2013-05-01

As a regional artificial disturbance component, road exerts great effects on vegetation types, and plays a substantial role in defining vegetation distribution to a certain extent. Aiming at the tropical rainforest degradation and artificial forest expansion in Yunnan Province of Southwest China, this paper analyzed the effects of road network extension on regional vegetation types. In the Province, different classes of roads had different effects on the vegetation types, but no obvious regularity was observed in the effects on the patch areas of different vegetation types due to the great variations of road length and affected distance. However, the vegetation patch number was more affected by lower class roads because of their wide distribution. As for different vegetation types, the vegetations on cultivated land were most affected by roads, followed by Castanopsis hystrix and Schima wallichii forests. Road network formation contributed most to the vegetation fragmentation, and there existed significant correlations between the human disturbance factors including village- and road distributions.

75 FR 64147 - Safety Zone, Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan Including Des Plaines River, Chicago...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-19

... protect the waterways, waterway users, and vessels from hazards associated with intensive fish sampling... sampling efforts will include the setting of nets throughout this portion of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The purpose of this sampling is to provide essential information in connection with efforts to...

77 FR 67391 - Notice of Proposed Supplementary Rules on Public Land in Water Canyon, Humboldt County, NV

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-09

... speed limit is proposed because there have been numerous accidents along the main access/canyon road in Zone 1. These accidents have primarily been a result of excess speed due to no posted or enforceable..., or irritant gas device. Motor vehicle includes, but is not limited to, automobiles, motorcycles, all...

77 FR 19001 - Foreign-Trade Zone 94-Laredo, TX; Application for Reorganization Under Alternative Site Framework

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-29

... Portal Industrial Park, 8421 Amparan Road, Laredo; and, Site 11 (3.463 acres, expires 9/ 30/14)--Sony... be able to serve sites throughout the service area based on companies' needs for FTZ designation. The... facts and information presented in the application and case record and to report findings and...

76 FR 12022 - Foreign-Trade Zone 147-Berks County, PA; Site Renumbering Notice; Correction

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-04

..., sunset 5/31/2014)--Key Logistics Park, Centerville Road, Newville; Site 19 (292 acres, sunset 5/31/2014... Park, Maiden Creek Township; Site 4 (272.33 acres total)--within the International Trade District of... the Penn Township Industrial Park located at 762 Wilson Avenue in York (10.55 acres), at 14 Barnhart...

77 FR 66796 - Foreign-Trade Zone 147-Reading, PA Application for Reorganization Under Alternative Site Framework

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-07

...)--United Business Park, 7810 Olde Scotland Road, Shippensburg; Site 18 (208 acres)--Key Logistics Park... Park, Maiden Creek Township; Site 4 (272.33)--International Trade District of York, York; Site 5 (54.42 acres)--Penn Township Industrial Park, York; Site 7 (155 acres)--Greensprings Industrial Park, 305 Green...

Efficacy of buffer zones in disconnecting roads and streams in the coastal plain

Treesearch

J.M. III Grace; E. Davis

2010-01-01

Established forest BMPs rely heavily on the forest floor to disconnect upslope activities from stream systems. Optimizing the buffer length required to negate the storm runoff contribution of upslope activities has been a point of interest for soil scientist, hydrologist, and conservation professionals for the last century. Minimum buffer lengths have been recommended...

The second Southern African Bird Atlas Project: Causes and consequences of geographical sampling bias.

PubMed

Hugo, Sanet; Altwegg, Res

2017-09-01

Using the Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP2) as a case study, we examine the possible determinants of spatial bias in volunteer sampling effort and how well such biased data represent environmental gradients across the area covered by the atlas. For each province in South Africa, we used generalized linear mixed models to determine the combination of variables that explain spatial variation in sampling effort (number of visits per 5' × 5' grid cell, or "pentad"). The explanatory variables were distance to major road and exceptional birding locations or "sampling hubs," percentage cover of protected, urban, and cultivated area, and the climate variables mean annual precipitation, winter temperatures, and summer temperatures. Further, we used the climate variables and plant biomes to define subsets of pentads representing environmental zones across South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. For each environmental zone, we quantified sampling intensity, and we assessed sampling completeness with species accumulation curves fitted to the asymptotic Lomolino model. Sampling effort was highest close to sampling hubs, major roads, urban areas, and protected areas. Cultivated area and the climate variables were less important. Further, environmental zones were not evenly represented by current data and the zones varied in the amount of sampling required representing the species that are present. SABAP2 volunteers' preferences in birding locations cause spatial bias in the dataset that should be taken into account when analyzing these data. Large parts of South Africa remain underrepresented, which may restrict the kind of ecological questions that may be addressed. However, sampling bias may be improved by directing volunteers toward undersampled regions while taking into account volunteer preferences.

Was The 01.09.2001 Etarpas Rockfall Detectable? Answer Using A Gis Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baillifard, F.; Jaboyedoff, M.; Rouiller, J.-D.; Sartori, M.

As a general rule, "a posteriori" studies of rock slope instabilities show that rock- falls don't occur in casual locations. First, many geomorphologic arguments allow to identify the rupture zone as sensitive; secondly, external factors such as groundwa- ter circulations, freezing and thaw cycles, etc., induce long-term solicitations of the rock mass, and thus the diminution of the resistance along the discontinuities and the probably progressive rupture of the thrust. Once the sensitive zones are detected, the global activity induced by the external factors must be assessed, and the probability of rupture may be evaluated. Taking the opportunity of a 2'000 m3 rockfall that occurred on January, 9th, 2001, along a mountain road near Sion (Switzerland), a simple method to detect rock slope instabilities was tested. In order to locate sensitive areas, a set of five criterions was chosen, using available GIS formatted data such as vectorized topographic and geological maps, and a 25 m grid DTM. The chosen criterions are: the presence of faults and screes within a short distance, the presence of a rock face, a steep slope and a road. This scaling leads to a linear rating from 0 to 5. The location of the 01.09.01 rockfall obtains a score of 5. Once applied to the entire length of the road (4 km), the present method indicates two others areas which are highly sensitive to rupture, allowing to detect the main instabilities along this road. Such methods based on rough available parameters have now to be applied to larger areas. They also must be calibrated using a survey of past events. The studied rockfall area is affected by a high probability of rupture, as far as some necessary criteria are respected: first, the structural pattern has to be unfavorable; sec- ondly, the morphological conditions have to be favorable to the action of external factors.

Disentangle the Causes of the Road Barrier Effect in Small Mammals through Genetic Patterns.

PubMed

Ascensão, Fernando; Mata, Cristina; Malo, Juan E; Ruiz-Capillas, Pablo; Silva, Catarina; Silva, André P; Santos-Reis, Margarida; Fernandes, Carlos

2016-01-01

Road barrier effect is among the foremost negative impacts of roads on wildlife. Knowledge of the factors responsible for the road barrier effect is crucial to understand and predict species' responses to roads, and to improve mitigation measures in the context of management and conservation. We built a set of hypothesis aiming to infer the most probable cause of road barrier effect (traffic effect or road surface avoidance), while controlling for the potentially confounding effects road width, traffic volume and road age. The wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus was used as a model species of small and forest-dwelling mammals, which are more likely to be affected by gaps in cover such as those resulting from road construction. We confront genetic patterns from opposite and same roadsides from samples of three highways and used computer simulations to infer migration rates between opposite roadsides. Genetic patterns from 302 samples (ca. 100 per highway) suggest that the highway barrier effect for wood mouse is due to road surface avoidance. However, from the simulations we estimated a migration rate of about 5% between opposite roadsides, indicating that some limited gene flow across highways does occur. To reduce highway impact on population genetic diversity and structure, possible mitigation measures could include retrofitting of culverts and underpasses to increase their attractiveness and facilitate their use by wood mice and other species, and setting aside roadside strips without vegetation removal to facilitate establishment and dispersal of small mammals.

Disentangle the Causes of the Road Barrier Effect in Small Mammals through Genetic Patterns

PubMed Central

Ascensão, Fernando; Mata, Cristina; Malo, Juan E.; Ruiz-Capillas, Pablo; Silva, Catarina; Silva, André P.; Santos-Reis, Margarida; Fernandes, Carlos

2016-01-01

Road barrier effect is among the foremost negative impacts of roads on wildlife. Knowledge of the factors responsible for the road barrier effect is crucial to understand and predict species’ responses to roads, and to improve mitigation measures in the context of management and conservation. We built a set of hypothesis aiming to infer the most probable cause of road barrier effect (traffic effect or road surface avoidance), while controlling for the potentially confounding effects road width, traffic volume and road age. The wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus was used as a model species of small and forest-dwelling mammals, which are more likely to be affected by gaps in cover such as those resulting from road construction. We confront genetic patterns from opposite and same roadsides from samples of three highways and used computer simulations to infer migration rates between opposite roadsides. Genetic patterns from 302 samples (ca. 100 per highway) suggest that the highway barrier effect for wood mouse is due to road surface avoidance. However, from the simulations we estimated a migration rate of about 5% between opposite roadsides, indicating that some limited gene flow across highways does occur. To reduce highway impact on population genetic diversity and structure, possible mitigation measures could include retrofitting of culverts and underpasses to increase their attractiveness and facilitate their use by wood mice and other species, and setting aside roadside strips without vegetation removal to facilitate establishment and dispersal of small mammals. PMID:26978779

The model of the optical-electronic control system of vehicles location at level crossing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verezhinskaia, Ekaterina A.; Gorbachev, Aleksei A.; Maruev, Ivan A.; Shavrygina, Margarita A.

2016-04-01

Level crossing - one of the most dangerous sections of the road network, where railway line crosses motor road at the same level. The collision of trains with vehicles at a level crossing is a serious type of road traffic accidents. The purpose of this research is to develop complex optical electronic control system of vehicles location in the dangerous zone of level crossing. The system consists of registration blocks (including photodetector, lens, infrared emitting diode), determinant devices and camera installed within the boundaries of level crossing. The system performs detection of objects (vehicles) by analysing the time of the object movement opposite to the registration block and level of the reflected signal from the object. The paper presents theoretical description and experimental research of main principles of the system operation. Experimental research of the system model with selected optical-electronic components have confirmed the possibility of metal objects detection at the required distance (0.5 - 2 m) with different values of background illuminance.

Human Migration and Agricultural Expansion: An Impending Threat to the Maya Biosphere Reserve

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sader, Steven; Reining, Conard; Sever, Thomas L.; Soza, Carlos

1997-01-01

Evidence is presented of the current threats to the Maya Biosphere Reserve in northern Guatemala as derived through time-series Landsat Thematic Mapper observations and analysis. Estimates of deforestation rates and trends are examined for different management units within the reserve and buffer zones. The satellite imagery was used to quantify and monitor rates, patterns, and trends of forest clearing during a time period corresponding to new road construction and significant human migration into the newly accessible forest region. Satellite imagery is appropriate technology in a vast and remote tropical region where aerial photography and extensive field-based methods are not cost-effective and current, timely data is essential for establishing conservation priorities.

Transport solutions for cleaner air.

PubMed

Kelly, Frank J; Zhu, Tong

2016-05-20

In cities across the globe, road transport remains an important source of air pollutants that are linked with acute and chronic health effects. Decreasing vehicle emissions--while maintaining or increasing commuter journeys--remains a major challenge for city administrators. In London, congestion-charging and a citywide low-emission zone failed to bring nitrogen dioxide concentrations under control. In Beijing, controls on the purchase and use of cars have not decreased transport emissions to a sufficient extent. As cities continue to grow, not even zero-emission vehicles are the solution. Moving increasingly large numbers of people efficiently around a city can only be achieved by expanding mass transit systems. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Geographic distribution of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus collected from used tires in Vietnam.

PubMed

Higa, Yukiko; Yen, Nguyen Thi; Kawada, Hitoshi; Son, Tran Hai; Hoa, Nguyen Thuy; Takagi, Masahiro

2010-03-01

The spatial distribution of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in environmental and geographical zones, e.g., urban-rural, coastal-mountainous, and north-south, was investigated throughout Vietnam. Immature stages were collected from used tires along roads. The effects of regions, seasons, and the degree of urbanization on the density and the frequency were statistically analyzed. Aedes aegypti predominated in the southern and central regions, while Ae. albopictus predominated in the northern region, which may be related to climatic conditions (temperature and rainfall). Larval collection from used tires may be suitable to assess rapidly the current distribution of dengue mosquitoes for estimating health risks and implementing vector control measures.

Estimating temporal trend in the presence of spatial complexity: A Bayesian hierarchical model for a wetland plant population undergoing restoration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rodhouse, T.J.; Irvine, K.M.; Vierling, K.T.; Vierling, L.A.

2011-01-01

Monitoring programs that evaluate restoration and inform adaptive management are important for addressing environmental degradation. These efforts may be well served by spatially explicit hierarchical approaches to modeling because of unavoidable spatial structure inherited from past land use patterns and other factors. We developed Bayesian hierarchical models to estimate trends from annual density counts observed in a spatially structured wetland forb (Camassia quamash [camas]) population following the cessation of grazing and mowing on the study area, and in a separate reference population of camas. The restoration site was bisected by roads and drainage ditches, resulting in distinct subpopulations ("zones") with different land use histories. We modeled this spatial structure by fitting zone-specific intercepts and slopes. We allowed spatial covariance parameters in the model to vary by zone, as in stratified kriging, accommodating anisotropy and improving computation and biological interpretation. Trend estimates provided evidence of a positive effect of passive restoration, and the strength of evidence was influenced by the amount of spatial structure in the model. Allowing trends to vary among zones and accounting for topographic heterogeneity increased precision of trend estimates. Accounting for spatial autocorrelation shifted parameter coefficients in ways that varied among zones depending on strength of statistical shrinkage, autocorrelation and topographic heterogeneity-a phenomenon not widely described. Spatially explicit estimates of trend from hierarchical models will generally be more useful to land managers than pooled regional estimates and provide more realistic assessments of uncertainty. The ability to grapple with historical contingency is an appealing benefit of this approach.

Using medico-legal data to investigate fatal older road user crash circumstances and risk factors.

PubMed

Koppel, Sjaan; Bugeja, Lyndal; Smith, Daisy; Lamb, Ashne; Dwyer, Jeremy; Fitzharris, Michael; Newstead, Stuart; D'Elia, Angelo; Charlton, Judith

2018-02-17

This study used medico-legal data to investigate fatal older road user (ORU, aged 65 years and older) crash circumstances and risk factors relating to 4 key components of the Safe System approach (e.g., roads and roadsides, vehicles, road users, and speeds) to identify areas of priority for targeted prevention activity. The Coroners' Court of Victoria's (CCOV) Surveillance Database was searched to identify and describe the frequency and rate per 100,000 population of fatal ORU crashes in the Australian state of Victoria for 2013-2014. Information relating to the deceased ORU, crash characteristics and circumstances, and risk factors was extracted and analyzed. One hundred and thirty-eight unintentional fatal ORU crashes were identified in the CCOV Surveillance Database. Of these fatal ORU crashes, most involved older drivers (44%), followed by older pedestrians (32%), older passengers (17%), older pedal cyclists (4%), older motorcyclists (1%), and older mobility scooter users (1%). The average annual rate of fatal ORU crashes per 100,000 population was 8.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.0-10.2). In terms of the crash characteristics and circumstances, most fatal ORU crashes involved a counterpart (98%), of which the majority were passenger cars (50%) or fixed/stationary objects (25%), including trees (46%) or embankments (23%). In addition, most fatal ORU crashes occurred close to home (73%), on-road (87%), on roads that were paved (94%), on roads with light traffic volume (37%), and during low-risk conditions: between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. (44%), on weekdays (80%), during daylight (75%), and under dry/clear conditions (81%). Road user (RU) error was identified by the police and/or the coroner for the majority of fatal crashes (55%), with a significant proportion of deceased ORUs deemed to have failed to yield (54%) or misjudged (41%). RU error was the most significant factor identified in fatal ORU crashes, which suggests that there is a limited capacity of the road system to fully accommodate RU errors. Initiatives related to safer roads and roadsides, vehicles, speed zones, as well as behavioral approaches are key areas of priority for targeted activity to prevent fatal ORU crashes in the future.

Effects of Canals and Roads on Hydrologic Conditions and Health of Atlantic White Cedar at Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge Coastal Reserve, North Carolina, 2003-2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ferrell, Gloria M.; Strickland, A. Gerald; Spruill, Timothy B.

2007-01-01

The effects of canals and roads on hydrologic conditions and on the health of Atlantic white cedar at the Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge Coastal Reserve in North Carolina were evaluated by using data collected from the 1980s to 2006. Water levels were monitored along two transects established perpendicular to roads and canals in areas of healthy and unhealthy Atlantic white cedar as part of a study conducted from February 2003 through March 2006. Because of the low hydraulic gradient at the Reserve, the rate and direction of water movement are sensitive to disturbance. Canals increased drainage and contributed to lower water levels in some parts of the Reserve, whereas roads, depending on orientation, impeded drainage. Canals also appeared to facilitate movement of brackish water from the Alligator River into the interior of the Reserve during storms and wind tides. Data indicate that an influx of brackish water occurred in mid-September 2005 several days after the passage of Hurricane Ophelia. Although precipitation amounts and wind speeds associated with Hurricane Ophelia were not large, substantial changes in specific conductance occurred at the canal site on the unhealthy Atlantic white cedar transect. No corresponding increase in specific conductance was observed at the canal site on the healthy Atlantic white cedar transect. The specific conductance of water samples from canals and piezometers was highly correlated with concentrations of chloride and sodium. Ion ratios of some of the water samples, particularly samples with high specific conductance, were similar to those of seawater. Thermal and chemical stratification of water in the canals occurred during summer and winter months, and turnover and mixing occurred in the spring and fall. Upwelling of ground water as a result of excavation for roads did not appear to have a significant effect on the water quality of samples from the canals or piezometers. The specific conductance of water samples from piezometers installed in the root zone of healthy stands of Atlantic white cedar generally was lower than in water samples from unhealthy stands. This pattern also was observed in samples from piezometers installed on the transects and in other areas of the Reserve. Roads appear to have isolated some areas of the Reserve from the high-conductivity water in nearby canals. The paths by which brackish water entered the Reserve cannot be determined from the data obtained during this investigation. It appears that water can enter the Reserve from various directions, depending on wind patterns and water levels in the Alligator River.

[HYGIENIC ASSESSMENT OF NOISE FACTOR OF THE LARGE CITY].

PubMed

Chubirko, M L; Stepkin, Yu I; Seredenko, O V

2015-01-01

The article is devoted to the problem of the negative impact of traffic noise on the health and living conditions of the population in conditions of the large city. Every day on the streets there are appeared more and more different modes of transport, and to date almost all transportation network has reached his traffic performance. The increase in traffic noise certainly has an impact on the human body. The most common and intense noise is caused by the traffic of urban automobile and electric transport. This is explained by the existence of the heavy traffic (2-3 thousand crews/h) on almost all main roads in historically emerged parts of the city. In addition, sources of external noise in the city can be a railway running in residential zone, access roads, industrial enterprises, located in close proximity to residential areas and on the borders of residential zones, planes of military and civil aviation. For the evaluation of the different noises sound levels were measured with the use of sound level meters. The most common parameter for the assessment ofthe noise generatedfrom motor vehicles on residential areas and usedfor the noise characteristics of the traffic flows, is the equivalent sound level/A EQ dB. This parameter is used in the majority of normative-technical documentation as hygienic noise standard. With the aim of the assessment of noise exposure there were selected 122 control points at intersections of roads of different traffic performance where there were made instrumental measurements the equivalent sound level, followed by its comparison with permissible levels.

1. VIEW, LOOKING SOUTH, OF THE NORTH ELEVATION OF BUILDING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. VIEW, LOOKING SOUTH, OF THE NORTH ELEVATION OF BUILDING 792A. BUILDING 792A, AT PORTAL 3, IS ONE OF THREE PEDESTRIAN ACCESS POINTS THROUGH THE PERIMETER SECURITY ZONE INTO THE PROTECTED AREA. - Rocky Flats Plant, Access Control Building, North of building 771, in parking area 71, just south of North Perimeter Road, Golden, Jefferson County, CO

76 FR 25301 - Foreign-Trade Zone 141-County of Monroe, New York; Application for Reorganization Under...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-04

..., Rochester; Site 9 (0.6 acres)--Supply Chain Services warehouse, 847 West Avenue, Building 10, Rochester... 2, 1987 (Board Order 355, 52 FR 12219, 4/15/87) and expanded on April 23, 1996 (Board Order 813, 64... Street, Honeoye Falls; Site 4 (38 acres)--200 Carlson Road, Rochester; Site 5 (5 acres)--Monroe FTZ...

15 CFR Supplement No. 7 to Part 748 - Authorization Validated End-User (VEU): List of Validated End-Users, Respective Items Eligible...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

..., 48 & 49, River Front Harbor, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, 1387 Zhangdong Rd., Pudong, Shanghai, 201203 AMD Technology Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd., 18F, North Building, Raycom Infotech, Park Tower C, No... Depot c/o Sinotrans Jiangsu Fuchang Logistics Co., Ltd. 1 Xi Qin Road, Wuxi Export Processing Zone Wuxi...

Analysis of Landscape Structure in the Southeastern Missouri Ozarks

Treesearch

Ming Xu; Sari C. Saunders; Jiquan. Chen

1997-01-01

We characterized the landscape structure within and surrounding the MOFEP study sites using Landsat TM data and GIS databases. Up to 31 percent of the landscape was within Iiparian zones. Road density was 1.4 km/km2 within the landscape but reached 2.0 km/km2 within 40-m stream buffers. More than 99 percent of the region...

Spatial Resolution Requirements for Traffic-Related Air Pollutant Exposure Evaluations

PubMed Central

Batterman, Stuart; Chambliss, Sarah; Isakov, Vlad

2014-01-01

Vehicle emissions represent one of the most important air pollution sources in most urban areas, and elevated concentrations of pollutants found near major roads have been associated with many adverse health impacts. To understand these impacts, exposure estimates should reflect the spatial and temporal patterns observed for traffic-related air pollutants. This paper evaluates the spatial resolution and zonal systems required to estimate accurately intraurban and near-road exposures of traffic-related air pollutants. The analyses use the detailed information assembled for a large (800 km2) area centered on Detroit, Michigan, USA. Concentrations of nitrogen oxides (NOx) due to vehicle emissions were estimated using hourly traffic volumes and speeds on 9,700 links representing all but minor roads in the city, the MOVES2010 emission model, the RLINE dispersion model, local meteorological data, a temporal resolution of 1 hr, and spatial resolution as low as 10 m. Model estimates were joined with the corresponding shape files to estimate residential exposures for 700,000 individuals at property parcel, census block, census tract, and ZIP code levels. We evaluate joining methods, the spatial resolution needed to meet specific error criteria, and the extent of exposure misclassification. To portray traffic-related air pollutant exposure, raster or inverse distance-weighted interpolations are superior to nearest neighbor approaches, and interpolations between receptors and points of interest should not exceed about 40 m near major roads, and 100 m at larger distances. For census tracts and ZIP codes, average exposures are overestimated since few individuals live very near major roads, the range of concentrations is compressed, most exposures are misclassified, and high concentrations near roads are entirely omitted. While smaller zones improve performance considerably, even block-level data can misclassify many individuals. To estimate exposures and impacts of traffic-related pollutants accurately, data should be geocoded or estimated at the most-resolved spatial level; census tract and larger zones have little if any ability to represent intraurban variation in traffic-related air pollutant concentrations. These results are based on one of the most comprehensive intraurban modeling studies in the literature and results are robust. Recommendations address the value of dispersion models to portray spatial and temporal variation of air pollutants in epidemiology and other studies; techniques to improve accuracy and reduce the computational burden in urban scale modeling; the necessary spatial resolution for health surveillance, demographic, and pollution data; and the consequences of low resolution data in terms of exposure misclassification. PMID:25132794

Effects of roads on survival of San Clemente Island foxes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Snow, N.P.; Andelt, William F.; Stanley, T.R.; Resnik, J.R.; Munson, L.

2012-01-01

Roads generate a variety of influences on wildlife populations; however, little is known about the effects of roads on endemic wildlife on islands. Specifically, road-kills of island foxes (Urocyon littoralis) on San Clemente Island (SCI), Channel Islands, California, USA are a concern for resource managers. To determine the effects of roads on island foxes, we radiocollared foxes using a 3-tiered sampling design to represent the entire population in the study area, a sub-population near roads, and a sub-population away from roads on SCI. We examined annual survival rates using nest-survival models, causes of mortalities, and movements for each sample. We found the population had high annual survival (0.90), although survival declined with use of road habitat, particularly for intermediate-aged foxes. Foxes living near roads suffered lower annual survival (0.76), resulting from high frequencies of road-kills (7 of 11 mortalities). Foxes living away from roads had the highest annual survival (0.97). Road-kill was the most prominent cause of mortality detected on SCI, which we estimated as killing 3-8% of the population in the study area annually. Based on movements, we were unable to detect any responses by foxes that minimized their risks from roads. The probabilities of road-kills increased with use of the road habitat, volume of traffic, and decreasing road sinuosity. We recommend that managers should attempt to reduce road-kills by deterring or excluding foxes from entering roads, and attempting to modify behaviors of motorists to be vigilant for foxes. ?? 2011 The Wildlife Society.

Damage Assessment for Disaster Relief Efforts in Urban Areas Using Optical Imagery and LiDAR Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahr, Thomas

2014-05-01

Imagery combined with LiDAR data and LiDAR-derived products provides a significant source of geospatial data which is of use in disaster mitigation planning. Feature rich building inventories can be constructed from tools with 3D rooftop extraction capabilities, and two dimensional outputs such as DSMs and DTMs can be used to generate layers to support routing efforts in Spatial Analyst and Network Analyst workflows. This allows us to leverage imagery and LiDAR tools for disaster mitigation or other scenarios. Software such as ENVI, ENVI LiDAR, and ArcGIS® Spatial and Network Analyst can therefore be used in conjunction to help emergency responders route ground teams in support of disaster relief efforts. This is exemplified by a case study against the background of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti's capital city of Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010. Soon after, both LiDAR data and an 8-band WorldView-2 scene were collected to map the disaster zone. The WorldView-2 scene was orthorectified and atmospherically corrected in ENVI prior to use. ENVI LiDAR was used to extract the DSM, DTM, buildings, and debris from the LiDAR data point cloud. These datasets provide a foundation for the 2D portion of the analysis. As the data was acquired over an area of dense urbanization, the majority of ground surfaces are roads, and standing buildings and debris are actually largely separable on the basis of elevation classes. To extract the road network of Port-au-Prince, the LiDAR-based feature height information was fused with the WorldView-2 scene, using ENVI's object-based feature extraction approach. This road network was converted to a network dataset for further analysis by the ArcGIS Network Analyst. For the specific case of Haiti, the distribution of blue tarps, used as accommodations for refugees, provided a spectrally distinct target. Pure blue tarp pixel spectra were selected from the WorldView-2 scene and input as a reference into ENVI's Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) classification routine, together with a water-shadow mask to prevent false positives. The resulting blue tarp shape file was input into the ArcGIS Point Density tool, a feature of the Spatial Analyst toolbox. The final distribution map shows the density of blue tarps in Port-au-Prince and can be used to roughly delineate camps of refugees. Analogous, a debris density map was generated after separating the debris elevation class. The combination of this debris density map with the road network allowed to construct an intact road network of Port-au-Prince within the ArcGIS Network Analyst. Moderate density debris was used as a cost-increase barrier feature of the network dataset, and high density debris was used as a total obstruction barrier feature. Based on this information, two hypothetical routing scenarios were analyzed. One involved routing a ground team between two different refugee concentration zones. For the other, potential helicopter landing zones were computed from the LiDAR-derived products and added as facility features to the Network Analyst. Routes from the helicopter landing zones to refugee concentration access points were solved using closest facility logic, again making use of the obstructed network.

Linkages between unpaved forest roads and streambed sediment: why context matters in directing road restoration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Al-Chokhachy, Robert K.; Black, Tom A.; Thomas, Cameron; Luce, Charlie H.; Rieman, Bruce; Cissel, Richard; Carlson, Anne; Hendrickson, Shane; Archer, Eric K.; Kershner, Jeffrey L.

2016-01-01

Unpaved forest roads remain a pervasive disturbance on public lands and mitigating sediment from road networks remains a priority for management agencies. Restoring roaded landscapes is becoming increasingly important for many native coldwater fishes that disproportionately rely on public lands for persistence. However, effectively targeting restoration opportunities requires a comprehensive understanding of the effects of roads across different ecosystems. Here, we combine a review and a field study to evaluate the status of knowledge supporting the conceptual framework linking unpaved forest roads with streambed sediment. Through our review, we specifically focused on those studies linking measures of the density of forest roads or sediment delivery with empirical streambed sediment measures. Our field study provides an example of a targeted effort of linking spatially explicit estimates of sediment production with measures of streambed sediment. Surprisingly, our review uncovered few studies (n = 8) that empirically tested the conceptual framework linking unpaved forest roads and streambed sediment, and the results varied considerably. Field results generally supported the conceptual model that unpaved forest roads can control streambed sediment quality, but demonstrated high-spatial variability in the effects of forest roads on streambed sediment and the need to address hotspots of sediment sources. The importance of context in the effects of forest roads is apparent in both our review and field data, suggesting the need for in situ studies to avoid misdirected restoration actions.

Relationship between forest clearing and biophysical factors in tropical environments: Implications for the design of a forest change monitoring approach. [Costa Rica

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sader, S. A.; Joyce, A. T.

1984-01-01

The relationship between forest clearing, biophysical factors (e.g, ecological zones, slope gradient, soils), and transportation network in Costa Rica was analyzed. The location of forested areas at four reference datas (1940, 1950, 1961, and 1977) as derived from aerial photography and LANDSAT MSS data was digitilized and entered into a geographically-referenced data base. Ecological zones as protrayed by the Holdridge Life Zone Ecology System, and the location of roads and railways were also digitized from maps of the entire country as input to the data base. Information on slope gradient and soils was digitized from maps of a 21,000 square kilometer area. The total area of forest cleared over four decades are related to biophysical factors was analyzed within the data base and deforestation rates and trends were tabulated. The relatiohship between forest clearing and ecological zone and the influence of topography, sils, and transportation network are presented and discussed.

The effect of forest roads on the reproductive success of forest-dwelling passerine birds

Treesearch

David I. King; Richard M. DeGraaf

2002-01-01

Recent studies indicate that forest roads may affect the distribution of forest-dwelling birds. However, previous studies have not demonstrated any significant effects of forest roads on avian productivity. We studied the effect of maintained and unmaintained forest roads on (1) forest bird nest survival, (2) reproductive parameters of ovenbirds (Seiurus...

Proximity to a high traffic road: glucocorticoid and life history consequences for nestling white-crowned sparrows.

PubMed

Crino, O L; Van Oorschot, B Klaassen; Johnson, E E; Malisch, J L; Breuner, C W

2011-09-01

Roads have been associated with decreased reproductive success and biodiversity in avian communities and increased physiological stress in adult birds. Alternatively, roads may also increase food availability and reduce predator pressure. Previous studies have focused on adult birds, but nestlings may also be susceptible to the detrimental impacts of roads. We examined the effects of proximity to a road on nestling glucocorticoid activity and growth in the mountain white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha). Additionally, we examined several possible indirect factors that may influence nestling corticosterone (CORT) activity secretion in relation to roads. These indirect effects include parental CORT activity, nest-site characteristics, and parental provisioning. And finally, we assessed possible fitness consequences of roads through measures of fledging success. Nestlings near roads had increased CORT activity, elevated at both baseline and stress-induced levels. Surprisingly, these nestlings were also bigger. Generally, greater corticosterone activity is associated with reduced growth. However, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis matures through the nestling period (as nestlings get larger, HPA-activation is greater). Although much of the variance in CORT responses was explained by body size, nestling CORT responses were higher close to roads after controlling for developmental differences. Indirect effects of roads may be mediated through paternal care. Nestling CORT responses were correlated with paternal CORT responses and paternal provisioning increased near roads. Hence, nestlings near roads may be larger due to increased paternal attentiveness. And finally, nest predation was higher for nests close to the road. Roads have apparent costs for white-crowned sparrow nestlings--increased predation, and apparent benefits--increased size. The elevation in CORT activity seems to reflect both increased size (benefit) and elevation due to road proximity (cost). Whether or not roads are good or bad for nestlings remains equivocal. However, it is clear that roads affect nestlings; how or if these effects influence adult survival or reproduction remains to be elucidated. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perils of using speed zone data to assess real-world compliance to speed limits.

PubMed

Chevalier, Anna; Clarke, Elizabeth; Chevalier, Aran John; Brown, Julie; Coxon, Kristy; Ivers, Rebecca; Keay, Lisa

2017-11-17

Real-world driving studies, including those involving speeding alert devices and autonomous vehicles, can gauge an individual vehicle's speeding behavior by comparing measured speed with mapped speed zone data. However, there are complexities with developing and maintaining a database of mapped speed zones over a large geographic area that may lead to inaccuracies within the data set. When this approach is applied to large-scale real-world driving data or speeding alert device data to determine speeding behavior, these inaccuracies may result in invalid identification of speeding. We investigated speeding events based on service provider speed zone data. We compared service provider speed zone data (Speed Alert by Smart Car Technologies Pty Ltd., Ultimo, NSW, Australia) against a second set of speed zone data (Google Maps Application Programming Interface [API] mapped speed zones). We found a systematic error in the zones where speed limits of 50-60 km/h, typical of local roads, were allocated to high-speed motorways, which produced false speed limits in the speed zone database. The result was detection of false-positive high-range speeding. Through comparison of the service provider speed zone data against a second set of speed zone data, we were able to identify and eliminate data most affected by this systematic error, thereby establishing a data set of speeding events with a high level of sensitivity (a true positive rate of 92% or 6,412/6,960). Mapped speed zones can be a source of error in real-world driving when examining vehicle speed. We explored the types of inaccuracies found within speed zone data and recommend that a second set of speed zone data be utilized when investigating speeding behavior or developing mapped speed zone data to minimize inaccuracy in estimates of speeding.

An experimental assessment of vehicle disturbance effects on migratory shorebirds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tarr, Nathan M.; Simons, T.R.; Pollock, K.H.

2010-01-01

Off-road vehicle (ORV) traffic is one of several forms of disturbance thought to affect shorebirds at migration stopover sites. Attempts to measure disturbance effects on shorebird habitat use and behavior at stopover sites are difficult because ORV disturbance is frequently confounded with habitat and environmental factors. We used a before-after-control-impact experimental design to isolate effects of vehicle disturbance from shorebird responses to environmental and habitat factors. We manipulated disturbance levels within beach closures along South Core Banks, North Carolina, USA, and measured changes in shorebird abundance and location, as well as the activity of one focal species, the sanderling (Calidris alba), within paired control and impact plots. We applied a discrete treatment level of one flee-response-inducing event every 10 minutes on impact plots. We found that disturbance reduced total shorebird and black-bellied plover (Pluvialis squatarola) abundance and reduced relative use of microhabitat zones above the swash zone (wet sand and dry sand) by sanderlings, black-bellied plovers, willets (Tringa semipalmata), and total shorebirds. Sanderlings and total shorebirds increased use of the swash zone in response to vehicle disturbance. Disturbance reduced use of study plots by sanderlings for resting and increased sanderling activity, but we did not detect an effect of vehicle disturbance on sanderling foraging activity. We provide the first estimates of how a discrete level of disturbance affects shorebird distributions among ocean beach microhabitats. Our findings provide a standard to which managers can compare frequency and intensity of disturbance events at other shorebird stopover and roosting sites and indicate that limiting disturbance will contribute to use of a site by migratory shorebirds. ?? 2010 The Wildlife Society.

Landscape evaluation of female black bear habitat effectiveness and capability in the North Cascades, Washington.

Treesearch

William L. Gaines; Andrea L. Lyons; John F. Lehmkuhl; Kenneth J. Raedeke

2005-01-01

We used logistic regression to derive scaled resource selection functions (RSFs) for female black bears at two study areas in the North Cascades Mountains. We tested the hypothesis that the influence of roads would result in potential habitat effectiveness (RSFs without the influence of roads) being greater than realized habitat effectiveness (RSFs with roads). Roads...

Fractal Dimension Change Point Model for Hydrothermal Alteration Anomalies in Silk Road Economic Belt, the Beishan Area, Gansu, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, H. H.; Wang, Y. L.; Ren, G. L.; LI, J. Q.; Gao, T.; Yang, M.; Yang, J. L.

2016-11-01

Remote sensing plays an important role in mineral exploration of “One Belt One Road” plan. One of its applications is extracting and locating hydrothermal alteration zones that are related to mines. At present, the extracting method for alteration anomalies from principal component image mainly relies on the data's normal distribution, without considering the nonlinear characteristics of geological anomaly. In this study, a Fractal Dimension Change Point Model (FDCPM), calculated by the self-similarity and mutability of alteration anomalies, is employed to quantitatively acquire the critical threshold of alteration anomalies. The realization theory and access mechanism of the model are elaborated by an experiment with ASTER data in Beishan mineralization belt, also the results are compared with traditional method (De-Interfered Anomalous Principal Component Thresholding Technique, DIAPCTT). The results show that the findings produced by FDCPM are agree with well with a mounting body of evidence from different perspectives, with the extracting accuracy over 80%, indicating that FDCPM is an effective extracting method for remote sensing alteration anomalies, and could be used as an useful tool for mineral exploration in similar areas in Silk Road Economic Belt.

Road networks predict human influence on Amazonian bird communities

PubMed Central

Ahmed, Sadia E.; Lees, Alexander C.; Moura, Nárgila G.; Gardner, Toby A.; Barlow, Jos; Ferreira, Joice; Ewers, Robert M.

2014-01-01

Road building can lead to significant deleterious impacts on biodiversity, varying from direct road-kill mortality and direct habitat loss associated with road construction, to more subtle indirect impacts from edge effects and fragmentation. However, little work has been done to evaluate the specific effects of road networks and biodiversity loss beyond the more generalized effects of habitat loss. Here, we compared forest bird species richness and composition in the municipalities of Santarém and Belterra in Pará state, eastern Brazilian Amazon, with a road network metric called ‘roadless volume (RV)’ at the scale of small hydrological catchments (averaging 3721 ha). We found a significant positive relationship between RV and both forest bird richness and the average number of unique species (species represented by a single record) recorded at each site. Forest bird community composition was also significantly affected by RV. Moreover, there was no significant correlation between RV and forest cover, suggesting that road networks may impact biodiversity independently of changes in forest cover. However, variance partitioning analysis indicated that RV has partially independent and therefore additive effects, suggesting that RV and forest cover are best used in a complementary manner to investigate changes in biodiversity. Road impacts on avian species richness and composition independent of habitat loss may result from road-dependent habitat disturbance and fragmentation effects that are not captured by total percentage habitat cover, such as selective logging, fire, hunting, traffic disturbance, edge effects and road-induced fragmentation. PMID:25274363

A theoretical perspective on road safety communication campaigns.

PubMed

Elvik, Rune

2016-12-01

This paper proposes a theoretical perspective on road safety communication campaigns, which may help in identifying the conditions under which such campaigns can be effective. The paper proposes that, from a theoretical point of view, it is reasonable to assume that road user behaviour is, by and large, subjectively rational. This means that road users are assumed to behave the way they think is best. If this assumption is accepted, the best theoretical prediction is that road safety campaigns consisting of persuasive messages only will have no effect on road user behaviour and accordingly no effect on accidents. This theoretical prediction is not supported by meta-analyses of studies that have evaluated the effects of road safety communication campaigns. These analyses conclude that, on the average, such campaigns are associated with an accident reduction. The paper discusses whether this finding can be explained theoretically. The discussion relies on the distinction made by many modern theorists between bounded and perfect rationality. Road user behaviour is characterised by bounded rationality. Hence, if road users can gain insight into the bounds of their rationality, so that they see advantages to themselves of changing behaviour, they are likely to do so. It is, however, largely unknown whether such a mechanism explains why some road safety communication campaigns have been found to be more effective than others. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Heterogeneous road networks have no apparent effect on the genetic structure of small mammal populations.

PubMed

Grilo, Clara; Del Cerro, Irene; Centeno-Cuadros, Alejandro; Ramiro, Victor; Román, Jacinto; Molina-Vacas, Guillem; Fernández-Aguilar, Xavier; Rodríguez, Juan; Porto-Peter, Flávia; Fonseca, Carlos; Revilla, Eloy; Godoy, José A

2016-09-15

Roads are widely recognized to represent a barrier to individual movements and, conversely, verges can act as potential corridors for the dispersal of many small mammals. Both barrier and corridor effects should generate a clear spatial pattern in genetic structure. Nevertheless, the effect of roads on the genetic structure of small mammal populations still remains unclear. In this study, we examine the barrier effect that different road types (4-lane highway, 2-lane roads and single-lane unpaved roads) may have on the population genetic structure of three species differing in relevant life history traits: southern water vole Arvicola sapidus, the Mediterranean pine vole Microtus duodecimcostatus and the Algerian mouse Mus spretus. We also examine the corridor effect of highway verges on the Mediterranean pine vole and the Algerian mouse. We analysed the population structure through pairwise estimates of FST among subpopulations bisected by roads, identified genetic clusters through Bayesian assignment approaches, and used simple and partial Mantel tests to evaluate the relative barrier or corridor effect of roads. No strong evidences were found for an effect of roads on population structure of these three species. The barrier effect of roads seems to be site-specific and no corridor effect of verges was found for the pine vole and Algerian mouse populations. The lack of consistent results among species and for each road type lead us to believe that the ability of individual dispersers to use those crossing structures or the habitat quality in the highway verges may have a relatively higher influence on gene flow among populations than the presence of crossing structures per se. Further research should include microhabitat analysis and the estimates of species abundance to understand the mechanisms that underlie the genetic structure observed at some sites. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

77 FR 2698 - Foreign-Trade Zone 230-Piedmont Triad Area, NC; Application for Reorganization Under Alternative...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-19

...) located at 4183, 4189, 4193 and 4197 Eagle Hill Drive; Federal Ridge Business Park (Parcel B, 39 acres) at... (Parcel 1, 2,722 acres), adjacent to U.S. 68 and U.S. 421, Greensboro (Guilford County); Bull Ridge Lot 1 (Parcel 2, 55 acres), Pleasant Ridge Road, Greensboro (Guilford County); and, 311 F and 311 G Chimney Rock...

Riverside East Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) - California

Science.gov Websites

Los Mogotes East Nevada Amargosa Valley Dry Lake Dry Lake Valley North Gold Point Millers New Mexico Pavement Cultural Gravel Bench I 10 Wiley Well Road South Wiley Well Rest Stop Ford Dry Lake Get Adobe there are also dry lake beds, sandy areas, and dry washes with ironwood and other trees. Some areas are

Road-edge effects on herpetofauna in a lowland Amazonian rainforest

Treesearch

Ross J. Maynard; Nathalie C. Aall; Daniel Saenz; Paul S. Hamilton; Matthew A. Kwiatkowski

2016-01-01

The impact of roads on the flora and fauna of Neotropical rainforest is perhaps the single biggest driver of habitat modification and population declines in these ecosystems. We investigated the road-edge effect of a low-use dirt road on amphibian and reptile abundance, diversity, and...

Analysis on ventilation pressure of fire area in longitudinal ventilation of underground tunnel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiaxin; Li, Yanfeng; Feng, Xiao; Li, Junmei

2018-03-01

In order to solve the problem of ventilation pressure loss in the fire area under the fire condition, the wind pressure loss model of the fire area is established based on the thermodynamic equilibrium relation. The semi-empirical calculation formula is obtained by using the model experiment and CFD simulation. The validity of the formula is verified. The results show that the ventilation pressure loss in the fire zone is proportional to the convective heat release rate at the critical velocity, which is inversely proportional to the upstream ventilation velocity and the tunnel cross-sectional area. The proposed formula is consistent with the law of the tunnel fire test fitting formula that results are close, in contrast, the advantage lies in a clear theoretical basis and ventilation velocity values. The resistance of road tunnel ventilation system is calculated accurately and reliably, and then an effective emergency ventilation operation program is developed. It is necessary to consider the fire zone ventilation pressure loss. The proposed ventilation pressure loss formula can be used for design calculation after thorough verification.

Child pedestrian safety knowledge, behaviour and road injury in Cape Town, South Africa.

PubMed

Koekemoer, Karin; Van Gesselleen, Megan; Van Niekerk, Ashley; Govender, Rajen; Van As, Arjan Bastiaan

2017-02-01

Pedestrian injuries are a leading cause of death among South African children, and young children residing in low-income communities are more at risk, due to various factors such as inadequate road infrastructure, exposure to traffic due to reliance on walking as a means of transport, and lack of supervision. This study used a cross-sectional, non-randomized self-report survey to assess pedestrian safety knowledge, road-crossing behaviour and pedestrian injuries of primary school children in selected low-income settings in Cape Town. The survey focused on three primary schools that had joined the Safe Kids Worldwide Model School Zone Project and was administered to 536 children aged 6-15 years, in their home language of isiXhosa. Descriptive and bivariate analyses as well as multivariate regression analyses were conducted to investigate potential predictor variables for pedestrian collision severity and unsafe road-crossing behaviour. Walking was the sole form of travel for 81% of the children, with a large proportion regularly walking unsupervised. Children who walk to or from school alone were younger and reported riskier road-crossing behaviour, although children who walk accompanied tended to have higher pedestrian collision severity. "Negligent Behaviour" related to road-crossing was significantly associated with higher pedestrian collision severity, with predictors of "Negligent Behaviour" including the lack of pedestrian safety knowledge and greater exposure to traffic in terms of time spent walking. More than half of the reported pedestrian collisions involved a bicycle, and older boys (10-15 years) were most at risk of experiencing a severe pedestrian injury. The findings substantiate emerging evidence that children in low-income settings are at greater risk for child pedestrian injury, and emphasise the need for evidence-based safety promotion and injury prevention interventions in these settings. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Adapting Road Safety Audits to Local Rural Roads

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-10-01

Many rural governments do not have an effective safety improvement program for their roads, yet crash rates are significantly higher on rural roads than on urban, state, and federal roads. Smaller agencies seldom have the financial resources or exper...

A lane line segmentation algorithm based on adaptive threshold and connected domain theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Hui; Xu, Guo-sheng; Han, Yi; Liu, Yang

2018-04-01

Before detecting cracks and repairs on road lanes, it's necessary to eliminate the influence of lane lines on the recognition result in road lane images. Aiming at the problems caused by lane lines, an image segmentation algorithm based on adaptive threshold and connected domain is proposed. First, by analyzing features like grey level distribution and the illumination of the images, the algorithm uses Hough transform to divide the images into different sections and convert them into binary images separately. It then uses the connected domain theory to amend the outcome of segmentation, remove noises and fill the interior zone of lane lines. Experiments have proved that this method could eliminate the influence of illumination and lane line abrasion, removing noises thoroughly while maintaining high segmentation precision.

Additional road markings as an indication of speed limits: results of a field experiment and a driving simulator study.

PubMed

Daniels, Stijn; Vanrie, Jan; Dreesen, An; Brijs, Tom

2010-05-01

Although speed limits are indicated by road signs, road users are not always aware, while driving, of the actual speed limit on a given road segment. The Roads and Traffic Agency developed additional road markings in order to support driver decisions on speed on 70 km/h roads in Flanders-Belgium. In this paper the results are presented of two evaluation studies, both a field study and a simulator study, on the effects of the additional road markings on speed behaviour. The results of the field study showed no substantial effect of the markings on speed behaviour. Neither did the simulator study, with slightly different stimuli. Nevertheless an effect on lateral position was noticed in the simulator study, showing at least some effect of the markings. The role of conspicuity of design elements and expectations towards traffic environments is discussed. Both studies illustrate well some strengths and weaknesses of observational field studies compared to experimental simulator studies. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Road networks predict human influence on Amazonian bird communities.

PubMed

Ahmed, Sadia E; Lees, Alexander C; Moura, Nárgila G; Gardner, Toby A; Barlow, Jos; Ferreira, Joice; Ewers, Robert M

2014-11-22

Road building can lead to significant deleterious impacts on biodiversity, varying from direct road-kill mortality and direct habitat loss associated with road construction, to more subtle indirect impacts from edge effects and fragmentation. However, little work has been done to evaluate the specific effects of road networks and biodiversity loss beyond the more generalized effects of habitat loss. Here, we compared forest bird species richness and composition in the municipalities of Santarém and Belterra in Pará state, eastern Brazilian Amazon, with a road network metric called 'roadless volume (RV)' at the scale of small hydrological catchments (averaging 3721 ha). We found a significant positive relationship between RV and both forest bird richness and the average number of unique species (species represented by a single record) recorded at each site. Forest bird community composition was also significantly affected by RV. Moreover, there was no significant correlation between RV and forest cover, suggesting that road networks may impact biodiversity independently of changes in forest cover. However, variance partitioning analysis indicated that RV has partially independent and therefore additive effects, suggesting that RV and forest cover are best used in a complementary manner to investigate changes in biodiversity. Road impacts on avian species richness and composition independent of habitat loss may result from road-dependent habitat disturbance and fragmentation effects that are not captured by total percentage habitat cover, such as selective logging, fire, hunting, traffic disturbance, edge effects and road-induced fragmentation. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

The impact of forest roads on understory plant diversity in temperate hornbeam-beech forests of Northern Iran.

PubMed

Deljouei, Azade; Abdi, Ehsan; Marcantonio, Matteo; Majnounian, Baris; Amici, Valerio; Sohrabi, Hormoz

2017-08-01

Forest roads alter the biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems, modifying temperature, humidity, wind speed, and light availability that, in turn, cause changes in plant community composition and diversity. We aim at investigating and comparing the diversity of herbaceous species along main and secondary forest roads in a temperate-managed hornbeam-beech forest, north of Iran. Sixteen transects along main and secondary forest roads were established (eight transects along main roads and eight along secondary roads). To eliminate the effect of forest type, all transects were located in Carpinetum-Fagetum forests, the dominant forest type in the study area. The total length of each transect was 200 m (100 m toward up slope and 100 m toward down slope), and plots were established along it at different distances from road edge. The diversity of herbaceous plant species was calculated in each plot using Shannon-Wiener index, species richness, and Pielou's index. The results showed that diversity index decreased when distance from road edge increases. This decreasing trend continued up to 60 m from forest road margin, and after this threshold, the index slightly increased. Depending on the type of road (main or secondary) as well as cut or fill slopes, the area showing a statistical different plant composition and diversity measured through Shannon-Wiener, species richness, and Pielou's index is up to 10 m. The length depth of the road edge effect found in main and secondary forest roads was small, but it could have cumulative effects on forest microclimate and forest-associated biota at the island scale. Forest managers should account for the effect of road buildings on plant communities.

Effects of road mortality and mitigation measures on amphibian populations.

PubMed

Beebee, Trevor J C

2013-08-01

Road mortality is a widely recognized but rarely quantified threat to the viability of amphibian populations. The global extent of the problem is substantial and factors affecting the number of animals killed on highways include life-history traits and landscape features. Secondary effects include genetic isolation due to roads acting as barriers to migration. Long-term effects of roads on population dynamics are often severe and mitigation methods include volunteer rescues and under-road tunnels. Despite the development of methods that reduce road kill in specific locations, especially under-road tunnels and culverts, there is scant evidence that such measures will protect populations over the long term. There also seems little likelihood that funding will be forthcoming to ameliorate the problem at the scale necessary to prevent further population declines. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Single and multiple stressor effect of road deicers and Cu on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) alevins from hatching till swim-up.

PubMed

Mahrosh, Urma; Rosseland, Bjørn Olav; Salbu, Brit; Teien, Hans-Christian

2018-04-01

Road salts are frequently used for deicing of roads in the Nordic countries. During snow-melt, the road run-off containing high concentrations of road salt and various metals such as Cu remobilized from sand, silt and dust may negatively influence organisms in downstream receiving water bodies. The present work focuses on the impact of road salt (NaCl) and Cu, separately and in mixtures on Atlantic salmon alevins from hatching till swim-up. The results showed that high road salt concentrations could induce a series of negative effects in alevins such as reduced growth, deformities, delayed swim-up and mortality. For alevins exposed to all tested road salt concentrations (100-1000mg/L), mortality was significantly higher compared to control. In exposure to Cu solutions (5-20μgCu/L), no effects on growth, morphology, swim-up or mortality of alevins compared to control were observed. In mixture solutions (road salt and Cu), ultrafiltration of the exposure water demonstrated that only 20%-40% of Cu was present as positively charged low molecular mass (LMM) Cu species assumed to be bioavailable. When exposed to road salt and Cu mixtures, negative effects in alevins such as reduced growth, deformities, delayed swim-up and mortality were observed. The overall results indicated that the road salt application could seriously affect sensitive life stages of Atlantic salmon, and application of road salt should be avoided during the late winter-early spring period. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Invasive Brown Treesnake movements at road edges indicate road-crossing avoidance

USGS Publications Warehouse

Siers, Shane R.; Savidge, Julie S; Reed, Robert N.

2014-01-01

Roads have significant impacts on the dispersal of wildlife. Although this poses a threat to the abundance and diversity of desirable flora and fauna, it also affords some opportunity for enhancing control of invasive species. Roads are the most common terrain features that may affect the rate of landscape-scale movements of invasive Brown Treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) throughout Guam. We radio tracked 45 free-ranging Brown Treesnakes in close proximity to two roads in Guam and recorded instances where daily relocations of snakes spanned roads. Then we reconstructed observed movement histories with randomized turning angles, which served as a useful null hypothesis for assessing the effect of roads or road edge habitat on Brown Treesnake movement patterns. Random walk simulations demonstrated that Brown Treesnakes crossed these roads at a rate far lower than would be expected if snake movement was random with respect to roads and road edge habitat. We discuss two alternative hypotheses for these results: 1) habitat gaps posed by roads physically or behaviorally restrict snake movement; or 2) road edges provide preferred foraging habitat from which snakes are reluctant to depart. Because roads often form the boundaries of jurisdictional and management units, the effects of roads on the movement of invasive Brown Treesnakes will influence the prospects for success of future landscape-level suppression efforts.

Evaluating the impact of bike network indicators on cyclist safety using macro-level collision prediction models.

PubMed

Osama, Ahmed; Sayed, Tarek

2016-12-01

Many cities worldwide are recognizing the important role that cycling plays in creating green and livable communities. However, vulnerable road users such as cyclists are usually subjected to an elevated level of injury risk which discourages many road users to cycle. This paper studies cyclist-vehicle collisions at 134 traffic analysis zones in the city of Vancouver to assess the impact of bike network structure on cyclist safety. Several network indicators were developed using Graph theory and their effect on cyclist safety was investigated. The indicators included measures of connectivity, directness, and topography of the bike network. The study developed several macro-level (zonal) collision prediction models that explicitly incorporated bike network indicators as explanatory variables. As well, the models incorporated the actual cyclist exposure (bike kilometers travelled) as opposed to relying on proxies such as population or bike network length. The macro-level collision prediction models were developed using generalized linear regression and full Bayesian techniques, with and without spatial effects. The models showed that cyclist collisions were positively associated with bike and vehicle exposure. The exponents of the exposure variables were less than one which supports the "safety in numbers" hypothesis. Moreover, the models showed positive associations between cyclist collisions and the bike network connectivity and linearity indicators. In contrast, negative associations were found between cyclist collisions and the bike network continuity and topography indicators. The spatial effects were statistically significant in all of the developed models. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Forest roads: a synthesis of scientific information.

Treesearch

Hermann Gucinski; Michael J. Furniss; Robert R. Ziemer; Martha H. Brookes

2001-01-01

Effects of roads in forested ecosystems span direct physical and ecological ones (such as geomorphic and hydrologic effects), indirect and landscape level ones (such as effects on aquatic habitat, terrestrial vertebrates, and biodiversity conservation), and socioeconomic ones (such as passive-use value, economic effects on development and range management). Road...

Forest roads: A synthesis of scientific information

Treesearch

Hermann Gucinski; Michael J. Furniss; Robert R. Ziemer; Martha H. Brookes

2001-01-01

Effects of roads in forested ecosystems span direct physical and ecological ones (such as geomorphic and hydrologic effects), indirect and landscape level ones (such as effects on aquatic habitat, terrestrial vertebrates, and biodiversity conservation), and socioeconomic ones (such as passive-use value, economic effects on development and range management). Road...

Dynamic simulation of train-truck collision at level crossings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ling, Liang; Guan, Qinghua; Dhanasekar, Manicka; Thambiratnam, David P.

2017-01-01

Trains crashing onto heavy road vehicles stuck across rail tracks are more likely occurrences at level crossings due to ongoing increase in the registration of heavy vehicles and these long heavy vehicles getting caught in traffic after partly crossing the boom gate; these incidents lead to significant financial losses and societal costs. This paper presents an investigation of the dynamic responses of trains under frontal collision on road trucks obliquely stuck on rail tracks at level crossings. This study builds a nonlinear three-dimensional multi-body dynamic model of a passenger train colliding with an obliquely stuck road truck on a ballasted track. The model is first benchmarked against several train dynamics packages and its predictions of the dynamic response and derailment potential are shown rational. A geometry-based derailment assessment criterion is applied to evaluate the derailment behaviour of the frontal obliquely impacted trains under different conditions. Sensitivities of several key influencing parameters, such as the train impact speed, the truck mass, the friction at truck tyres, the train-truck impact angle, the contact friction at the collision zone, the wheel/rail friction and the train suspension are reported.

An Empirical Bayes before-after evaluation of road safety effects of a new motorway in Norway.

PubMed

Elvik, Rune; Ulstein, Heidi; Wifstad, Kristina; Syrstad, Ragnhild S; Seeberg, Aase R; Gulbrandsen, Magnus U; Welde, Morten

2017-11-01

This paper presents an Empirical Bayes before-after evaluation of the road safety effects of a new motorway (freeway) in Østfold county, Norway. The before-period was 1996-2002. The after-period was 2009-2015. The road was rebuilt from an undivided two-lane road into a divided four-lane road. The number of killed or seriously injured road users was reduced by 75 percent, controlling for (downward) long-term trends and regression-to-the-mean (statistically significant at the 5 percent level; recorded numbers 71 before, 11 after). There were small changes in the number of injury accidents (185 before, 123 after; net effect -3%) and the number of slightly injured road users (403 before 279 after; net effect +5%). Motorways appear to mainly reduce injury severity, not the number of accidents. The paper discusses challenges in implementing the Empirical Bayes design when less than ideal data are available. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Unofficial Road Building in the Brazilian Amazon: Dilemmas and Models for Road Governance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perz, Stephen G.; Overdevest, Christine; Caldas, Marcellus M.; Walker, Robert T.; Arima, Eugenio Y.

2007-01-01

Unofficial roads form dense networks in landscapes, generating a litany of negative ecological outcomes, but unofficial roads in frontier areas are also instrumental in local livelihoods and community development. This trade-off poses dilemmas for the governance of unofficial roads. Unofficial road building in frontier areas of the Brazilian Amazon illustrates the challenges of 'road governance.' Both state-based and community based governance models exhibit important liabilities for governing unofficial roads. Whereas state-based governance has experienced difficulties in adapting to specific local contexts and interacting effectively with local interest groups, community-based governance has a mixed record owing to social inequalities and conflicts among local interest groups. A state-community hybrid model may offer more effective governance of unofficial road building by combining the oversight capacity of the state with locally grounded community management via participatory decision-making.

Determination of traffic intensity from camera images using image processing and pattern recognition techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehrübeoğlu, Mehrübe; McLauchlan, Lifford

2006-02-01

The goal of this project was to detect the intensity of traffic on a road at different times of the day during daytime. Although the work presented utilized images from a section of a highway, the results of this project are intended for making decisions on the type of intervention necessary on any given road at different times for traffic control, such as installation of traffic signals, duration of red, green and yellow lights at intersections, and assignment of traffic control officers near school zones or other relevant locations. In this project, directional patterns are used to detect and count the number of cars in traffic images over a fixed area of the road to determine local traffic intensity. Directional patterns are chosen because they are simple and common to almost all moving vehicles. Perspective vision effects specific to each camera orientation has to be considered, as they affect the size and direction of patterns to be recognized. In this work, a simple and fast algorithm has been developed based on horizontal directional pattern matching and perspective vision adjustment. The results of the algorithm under various conditions are presented and compared in this paper. Using the developed algorithm, the traffic intensity can accurately be determined on clear days with average sized cars. The accuracy is reduced on rainy days when the camera lens contains raindrops, when there are very long vehicles, such as trucks or tankers, in the view, and when there is very low light around dusk or dawn.

Regional landslide susceptibility assessment using multi-stage remote sensing data along the coastal range highway in northeastern Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Ching-Fang; Huang, Wei-Kai; Chang, Yu-Lin; Chi, Shu-Yeong; Liao, Wu-Chang

2018-01-01

Typhoons Megi (2010) and Saola (2012) brought torrential rainfall which triggered regional landslides and flooding hazards along Provincial Highway No. 9 in northeastern Taiwan. To reduce property loss and saving lives, this study combines multi-hazard susceptibility assessment with environmental geology map a rock mass rating system (RMR), remote sensing analysis, and micro-topography interpretation to develop an integrated landslide hazard assessment approach and reflect the intrinsic state of slopeland from the past toward the future. First, the degree of hazard as indicated by historical landslides was used to determine many landslide regions in the past. Secondly, geo-mechanical classification of rock outcroppings was performed by in-situ investigation along the vulnerable road sections. Finally, a high-resolution digital elevation model was extracted from airborne LiDAR and multi-temporal remote sensing images which was analyzed to discover possible catastrophic landslide hotspot shortly. The results of the analysis showed that 37% of the road sections in the study area were highly susceptible to landslide hazards. The spatial distribution of the road sections revealed that those characterized by high susceptibility were located near the boundaries of fault zones and in areas of lithologic dissimilarity. Headward erosion of gullies and concave-shaped topographic features had an adverse effect and was the dominant factor triggering landslides. Regional landslide reactivation on this coastal highway are almost related to the past landslide region based on hazard statistics. The final results of field validation demonstrated that an accuracy of 91% could be achieved for forecasting geohazard followed by intense rainfall events and typhoons.

TECHNICAL BASIS DOCUMENT OF MARSSIM FIELD CALIBRATION FOR QUANTIFICATION OF CS-137 VOLUMETRICALLY CONTAMINTED SOILS IN THE BC CONTROLLED AREA USING A 4 BY 4 BY 16 INCH SODIUM IODIDE DETECTOR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

PAPPIN JL

The purpose of this paper is to provide the Technical Basis and Documentation for Field Calibrations of radiation measurement equipment for use in the MARSSIM Seeping Surveys of the BC Controlled Area (BCCA). The Be Controlled Area is bounded on tt1e north by (but does not include) the BCCribs & Trenches and is bounded on the south by Army Loop Road. Parts of the BC Controlled Area are posted as a Contamination Area and the remainder is posted as a Soil Contamination Area. The area is approximately 13 square miles and divided into three zones (Zone A , Zone B.more » and Zone C). A map from reference 1 which shows the 3 zones is attached. The MARSSIM Scoping Surveys are intended 10 better identify the boundaries of the three zones based on the volumetric (pCi/g) contamination levels in the soil. The MARSSIM Field Calibration. reference 2. of radiation survey instrumentation will determine the Minimum Detectable Concentration (MDC) and an algorithm for converting counts to pCi/g. The instrumentation and corresponding results are not intended for occupational radiation protection decisions or for the release of property per DOE Order 5400.5.« less

36 CFR 294.21 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... maintenance: The ongoing upkeep of a road necessary to retain or restore the road to the approved road...) Has a geographic feature that aids in creating an effective fire break, such as a road or a ridge top..., Appendix Q. Forest road: As defined at 36 CFR 212.1, the term means a road wholly or partly within or...

The Use of Theatre Tours in Road Safety Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powney, Janet; And Others

The Scottish Road Safety Campaign and the Road Safety Council of Wales have made a large investment in theater tours as a method of providing road safety education. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a road safety message delivered by a theater group, Road Safety Officers (RSOs), or, teachers for pupils in upper secondary classes.…

Influences of roads and development on bird communities in protected Chihuahuan Desert landscapes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gutzwiller, K.J.; Barrow, W.C.

2003-01-01

Our objective was to improve knowledge about effects of broad-scale road and development variables on bird communities in protected desert landscapes. Bird species richness and the relative abundance or probability of occurrence of many species were significantly associated with total length of roads within each of two spatial extents (1- and 2-km radii), distance to the nearest road, distance to the nearest development, or the two-way interactions of these variables. Regression models reflected non-linear relations, interaction effects, spatial-extent effects, and interannual variation. Road and development effects warrant special attention in protected areas because such places may be important sources of indigenous bird communities in a region.

USSR and Eastern Europe Scientific Abstracts Engineering and Equipment, Number 35.

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-11-17

title and series) are available through Bell & Howell , Old Mansfield Road, Wooster, Ohio, 44691. Correspondence pertaining to matters other than... Design 36 EQUIPMENT Acoustical and Ultrasonic 37 38 46 Aeronautical and Space 3° Gyroscopic Industrial *° Marine and Shipbuilding 5...621.039.5.001.24 THE PRACTICE OF DESIGN OF THE TRANSITION ZONE OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT REACTOR BODIES Leningrad ENERGOMASHINOSTROYENIYE in Russian No 3, 1977

Faulting along the southern margin of Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee

USGS Publications Warehouse

Van Arsdale, R.; Purser, J.; Stephenson, W.; Odum, J.

1998-01-01

The Reelfoot Lake basin, Tennessee, is structurally complex and of great interest seismologically because it is located at the junction of two seismicity trends of the New Madrid seismic zone. To better understand the structure at this location, a 7.5-km-long seismic reflection profile was acquired on roads along the southern margin of Reelfoot Lake. The seismic line reveals a westerly dipping basin bounded on the west by the Reelfoot reverse fault zone, the Ridgely right-lateral transpressive fault zone on the east, and the Cottonwood Grove right-lateral strike-slip fault in the middle of the basin. The displacement history of the Reelfoot fault zone appears to be the same as the Ridgely fault zone, thus suggesting that movement on these fault zones has been synchronous, perhaps since the Cretaceous. Since the Reelfoot and Ridgely fault systems are believed responsible for two of the mainshocks of 1811-1812, the fault history revealed in the Reelfoot Lake profile suggests that multiple mainshocks may be typical of the New Madrid seismic zone. The Ridgely fault zone consists of two northeast-striking faults that lie at the base of and within the Mississippi Valley bluff line. This fault zone has 15 m of post-Eocene, up-to-the-east displacement and appears to locally control the eastern limit of Mississippi River migration. The Cottonwood Grove fault zone passes through the center of the seismic line and has approximately 5 m up-to-the-east displacement. Correlation of the Cottonwood Grove fault with a possible fault scarp on the floor of Reelfoot Lake and the New Markham fault north of the lake suggests the Cottonwood Grove fault may change to a northerly strike at Reelfoot Lake, thereby linking the northeast-trending zones of seismicity in the New Madrid seismic zone.

Comparing treatment effects of oral THC on simulated and on-the-road driving performance: testing the validity of driving simulator drug research.

PubMed

Veldstra, J L; Bosker, W M; de Waard, D; Ramaekers, J G; Brookhuis, K A

2015-08-01

The driving simulator provides a safe and controlled environment for testing driving behaviour efficiently. The question is whether it is sensitive to detect drug-induced effects. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate the sensitivity of the driving simulator for detecting drug effects. As a case in point, we investigated the dose-related effects of oral ∆(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), i.e. dronabinol, on simulator and on-the-road driving performance in equally demanding driving tasks. Twenty-four experienced driver participants were treated with dronabinol (Marinol®; 10 and 20 mg) and placebo. Dose-related effects of the drug on the ability to keep a vehicle in lane (weaving) and to follow the speed changes of a lead car (car following) were compared within subjects for on-the-road versus in-simulator driving. Additionally, the outcomes of equivalence testing to alcohol-induced effects were investigated. Treatment effects found on weaving when driving in the simulator were comparable to treatment effects found when driving on the road. The effect after 10 mg dronabinol was however less strong in the simulator than on the road and inter-individual variance seemed higher in the simulator. There was, however, a differential treatment effect of dronabinol on reactions to speed changes of a lead car (car following) when driving on the road versus when driving in the simulator. The driving simulator was proven to be sensitive for demonstrating dronabinol-induced effects particularly at higher doses. Treatment effects of dronabinol on weaving were comparable with driving on the road but inter-individual variability seemed higher in the simulator than on the road which may have potential effects on the clinical inferences made from simulator driving. Car following on the road and in the simulator were, however, not comparable.

Phthalate pollution in an Amazonian rainforest.

PubMed

Lenoir, Alain; Boulay, Raphaël; Dejean, Alain; Touchard, Axel; Cuvillier-Hot, Virginie

2016-08-01

Phthalates are ubiquitous contaminants and endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can become trapped in the cuticles of insects, including ants which were recognized as good bioindicators for such pollution. Because phthalates have been noted in developed countries and because they also have been found in the Arctic, a region isolated from direct anthropogenic influence, we hypothesized that they are widespread. So, we looked for their presence on the cuticle of ants gathered from isolated areas of the Amazonian rainforest and along an anthropogenic gradient of pollution (rainforest vs. road sides vs. cities in French Guiana). Phthalate pollution (mainly di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)) was higher on ants gathered in cities and along road sides than on those collected in the pristine rainforest, indicating that it follows a human-mediated gradient of disturbance related to the use of plastics and many other products that contain phthalates in urban zones. Their presence varied with the ant species; the cuticle of Solenopsis saevissima traps higher amount of phthalates than that of compared species. However, the presence of phthalates in isolated areas of pristine rainforests suggests that they are associated both with atmospheric particles and in gaseous form and are transported over long distances by wind, resulting in a worldwide diffusion. These findings suggest that there is no such thing as a "pristine" zone.

Geospatial Assessment of Cholera in a Rapidly Urbanizing Environment.

PubMed

Olanrewaju, Olajumoke Esther; Adepoju, Kayode Adewale

2017-01-01

This study mapped out and investigated the spatial relationship between cholera incidences and environmental risk factors in the study area. The study area was stratified into eight zones. Water samples from each zone were collected and analyzed to determine the colony forming units. GIS layers including housing density, digitized roads, rivers, buildings, and cholera incidence data from hospital archives were also collected and analyzed using ArcGIS 10.1. It was observed that there was an association between the ERFs ( p < 0.001). Similarly, 18 out of the 44 waste dump sites, seven out of 18 markets, and two out of 36 abattoirs were found near the historical cholera cases. Similarly, 4 (21.1%) locations were traced to be predominantly close to rivers and waste dump site. All the historical cholera cases were found adjoining to roads and buildings. Highest CFU count was found in the wells and streams of areas with a cluster of all the environmental risk factors and high housing density. This study revealed that waste dump sites and market had the highest predisposing attribute while the least was abattoir. The uniqueness of the study lies in the combination of mapping and microbial analyses to identify and assess the pattern of cholera risk and also to provide clear information for development of strategies for environmental supervision.

Characterization of air pollutant concentrations, fleet emission factors, and dispersion near a North Carolina interstate freeway across two seasons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saha, Provat K.; Khlystov, Andrey; Snyder, Michelle G.; Grieshop, Andrew P.

2018-03-01

We present field measurement data and modeling of multiple traffic-related air pollutants during two seasons at a site adjoining Interstate 40, near Durham, North Carolina. We analyze spatial-temporal and seasonal trends and fleet-average pollutant emission factors and use our data to evaluate a line source dispersion model. Month-long measurement campaigns were performed in summer 2015 and winter 2016. Data were collected at a fixed near-road site located within 10 m from the highway edge, an upwind background site and, under favorable meteorological conditions, along downwind perpendicular transects. Measurements included the size distribution, chemical composition, and volatility of submicron particles, black carbon (BC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), meteorological conditions and traffic activity data. Results show strong seasonal and diurnal differences in spatial distribution of traffic sourced pollutants. A strong signature of vehicle emissions was observed within 100-150 m from the highway edge with significantly higher concentrations during morning. Substantially higher concentrations and less-sharp near-road gradients were observed in winter for many species. Season-specific fleet-average fuel-based emission factors for NO, NOx, BC, and particle number (PN) were derived based on up- and down-wind roadside measurements. The campaign-average NOx and PN emission factors were 20% and 300% higher in winter than summer, respectively. These results suggest that the combined effect of higher emissions and their slower downwind dispersion in winter dictate the observed higher downwind concentrations and wider highway influence zone in winter for several species. Finally, measurements of traffic data, emission factors, and pollutant concentrations were integrated to evaluate a line source dispersion model (R-LINE). The dispersion model captured the general trends in the spatial and temporal patterns in near-road concentrations. However, there was a tendency for the model to under-predict concentrations near the road in the mornings and over-predict concentrations in the evenings.

Effects of winter road grooming on bison in YNP

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bjornlie, Daniel D.; Garrott, R.A.

2001-01-01

The effects of winter recreation—specifically snowmobiling—on wildlife in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have become high-profile management issues. The road grooming needed to support oversnow travel in YNP is also being examined for its effects on bison (Bison bison) ecology. Data were collected from November 1997 through May 1998 and from December 1998 through May 1999 on the effects of road grooming on bison in Madison–Gibbon–Firehole (MGF) area of YNP Peak bison numbers occurred during late March—early April and were strongly correlated with the snow water equivalent measurements in the Hayden Valley area (1997–1998: r* = 0.62, p:0.001: 1998–1999: r2 = 0.64, P-0.001). Data from an infrared trail monitor on the Mary Mountain trail between the Hayden and Firehole valleys suggest that this trail is the sole corridor for major bison distributional shifts between these locations. Of the 28,293 observations of individual bison made during the study, 8% were traveling and 69% were foraging. These percentages were nearly identical during the period of winter road grooming (7% and 68%, respectively). During this period, 77% of bison foraging activity and 12% of bison traveling activity involved displacing snow. Most travel took place off roads (P<0.001), Bison utilized geothermal features, a network of trails they established, and river and stream banks for travel. Bison road use was negatively correlated with road grooming, with peak use in April and lowest use during the road-grooming period. Bison in the MGF area of YNF neither seek out nor avoid groomed roads. The minimal use of roads compared to off-road areas, the short distances traveled on the roads, the decreased use of roads during the over snow vehicle (OSV) season, and the increased costs of negative interactions with OSVs suggest that grooming roads during winter does not have a major influence on bison ecology.

An experimental investigation into the effects of traffic noise on distributions of birds: avoiding the phantom road

PubMed Central

McClure, Christopher J. W.; Ware, Heidi E.; Carlisle, Jay; Kaltenecker, Gregory; Barber, Jesse R.

2013-01-01

Many authors have suggested that the negative effects of roads on animals are largely owing to traffic noise. Although suggestive, most past studies of the effects of road noise on wildlife were conducted in the presence of the other confounding effects of roads, such as visual disturbance, collisions and chemical pollution among others. We present, to our knowledge, the first study to experimentally apply traffic noise to a roadless area at a landscape scale—thus avoiding the other confounding aspects of roads present in past studies. We replicated the sound of a roadway at intervals—alternating 4 days of noise on with 4 days off—during the autumn migratory period using a 0.5 km array of speakers within an established stopover site in southern Idaho. We conducted daily bird surveys along our ‘Phantom Road’ and in a nearby control site. We document over a one-quarter decline in bird abundance and almost complete avoidance by some species between noise-on and noise-off periods along the phantom road and no such effects at control sites—suggesting that traffic noise is a major driver of effects of roads on populations of animals. PMID:24197411

Road traffic and nearby grassland bird patterns in a suburbanizing landscape.

PubMed

Forman, Richard T T; Reineking, Bjorn; Hersperger, Anna M

2002-06-01

An extensive road system with rapidly increasing traffic produces diverse ecological effects that cover a large land area. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of roads with different traffic volumes on surrounding avian distributions, and its importance relative to other variables. Grassland bird data (5 years) for 84 open patches in an outer suburban/rural landscape near Boston were analyzed relative to: distance from roads with 3000-8000 to >30,000 vehicles/day; open-habitat patch size; area of quality microhabitat within a patch; adjacent land use; and distance to other open patches. Grassland bird presence and regular breeding correlated significantly with both distance from road and habitat patch size. Distance to nearest other open patch, irrespective of size, was not significant. Similarly, except for one species, adjacent land use, in this case built area, was not significant. A light traffic volume of 3000-8000 vehicles/day (local collector street here) had no significant effect on grassland bird distribution. For moderate traffic of 8000-15,000 (through street), there was no effect on bird presence although regular breeding was reduced for 400 m from a road. For heavier traffic of 15,000-30,000 (two-lane highway), both bird presence and breeding were decreased for 700 m. For a heavy traffic volume of > or =30,000 vehicles/day (multilane highway), bird presence and breeding were reduced for 1200 m from a road. The results suggest that avian studies and long-term surveys near busy roads may be strongly affected by traffic volume or changes in volume. We conclude that road ecology, especially the effects extending outward >100 m from roads with traffic, is a sine qua non for effective land-use and transportation policy.

Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 39 Crew

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-05-05

ISS039-E-018541 (5 May 2014) --- New York City is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 39 crew member on the International Space Station. This detailed image reveals the narrow shape of Manhattan located between the Hudson River and the East River, a feature familiar to crews on the space station. The ragged line of shadow cast by the Palisades cliff crosses the bottom of the image. Wharves jut into the rivers; bridges are visible mainly because of the shadows they cast, and the grid pattern of major roads stands out. On the island of Manhattan itself the main visual features are Central Park (with playing fields as white dots) and two darker zones where the tallest buildings in Midtown East and the Financial District cast strong shadows, even in this early afternoon view. Rivers and parks reduce the effect of the urban heat island – the local zone of higher surface and atmospheric temperatures generated by storage and later release of heat by city materials such as concrete and tarmac. Rivers provide pathways for wind and the cooling effect of parks is detectable by instruments on spacecraft that can measure the temperature of the ground surface. Tall buildings have a more complex effect. Shadowed zones in the "urban canyons" between tall buildings – as shown in this image – receive fewer hours of direct sun per day. But where the sun can reach canyon floors, the sun's energy is reflected back up at the walls of the buildings where it is absorbed and later released as heat. This is especially the case at night when urban canyons retain more heat than those sections of the city with shorter buildings.

Does Temperature Modify the Effects of Rain and Snow Precipitation on Road Traffic Injuries?

PubMed

Lee, Won-Kyung; Lee, Hye-Ah; Hwang, Seung-sik; Kim, Ho; Lim, Youn-Hee; Hong, Yun-Chul; Ha, Eun-Hee; Park, Hyesook

2015-01-01

There are few data on the interaction between temperature and snow and rain precipitation, although they could interact in their effects on road traffic injuries. The integrated database of the Korea Road Traffic Authority was used to calculate the daily frequency of road traffic injuries in Seoul. Weather data included rain and snow precipitation, temperature, pressure, and fog from May 2007 to December 2011. Precipitation of rain and snow were divided into nine and six temperature range categories, respectively. The interactive effects of temperature and rain and snow precipitation on road traffic injuries were analyzed using a generalized additive model with a Poisson distribution. The risk of road traffic injuries during snow increased when the temperature was below freezing. Road traffic injuries increased by 6.6% when it was snowing and above 0 °C, whereas they increased by 15% when it was snowing and at or below 0 °C. In terms of heavy rain precipitation, moderate temperatures were related to an increased prevalence of injuries. When the temperature was 0-20 °C, we found a 12% increase in road traffic injuries, whereas it increased by 8.5% and 6.8% when it was <0 °C and >20 °C, respectively. The interactive effect was consistent across the traffic accident subtypes. The effect of adverse weather conditions on road traffic injuries differed depending on the temperature. More road traffic injuries were related to rain precipitation when the temperature was moderate and to snow when it was below freezing.

Does Temperature Modify the Effects of Rain and Snow Precipitation on Road Traffic Injuries?

PubMed Central

Lee, Won-Kyung; Lee, Hye-Ah; Hwang, Seung-sik; Kim, Ho; Lim, Youn-Hee; Hong, Yun-Chul; Ha, Eun-Hee; Park, Hyesook

2015-01-01

Background There are few data on the interaction between temperature and snow and rain precipitation, although they could interact in their effects on road traffic injuries. Methods The integrated database of the Korea Road Traffic Authority was used to calculate the daily frequency of road traffic injuries in Seoul. Weather data included rain and snow precipitation, temperature, pressure, and fog from May 2007 to December 2011. Precipitation of rain and snow were divided into nine and six temperature range categories, respectively. The interactive effects of temperature and rain and snow precipitation on road traffic injuries were analyzed using a generalized additive model with a Poisson distribution. Results The risk of road traffic injuries during snow increased when the temperature was below freezing. Road traffic injuries increased by 6.6% when it was snowing and above 0°C, whereas they increased by 15% when it was snowing and at or below 0°C. In terms of heavy rain precipitation, moderate temperatures were related to an increased prevalence of injuries. When the temperature was 0–20°C, we found a 12% increase in road traffic injuries, whereas it increased by 8.5% and 6.8% when it was <0°C and >20°C, respectively. The interactive effect was consistent across the traffic accident subtypes. Conclusions The effect of adverse weather conditions on road traffic injuries differed depending on the temperature. More road traffic injuries were related to rain precipitation when the temperature was moderate and to snow when it was below freezing. PMID:26073021

High-Fidelity Roadway Modeling and Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Jie; Papelis, Yiannis; Shen, Yuzhong; Unal, Ozhan; Cetin, Mecit

2010-01-01

Roads are an essential feature in our daily lives. With the advances in computing technologies, 2D and 3D road models are employed in many applications, such as computer games and virtual environments. Traditional road models were generated by professional artists manually using modeling software tools such as Maya and 3ds Max. This approach requires both highly specialized and sophisticated skills and massive manual labor. Automatic road generation based on procedural modeling can create road models using specially designed computer algorithms or procedures, reducing the tedious manual editing needed for road modeling dramatically. But most existing procedural modeling methods for road generation put emphasis on the visual effects of the generated roads, not the geometrical and architectural fidelity. This limitation seriously restricts the applicability of the generated road models. To address this problem, this paper proposes a high-fidelity roadway generation method that takes into account road design principles practiced by civil engineering professionals, and as a result, the generated roads can support not only general applications such as games and simulations in which roads are used as 3D assets, but also demanding civil engineering applications, which requires accurate geometrical models of roads. The inputs to the proposed method include road specifications, civil engineering road design rules, terrain information, and surrounding environment. Then the proposed method generates in real time 3D roads that have both high visual and geometrical fidelities. This paper discusses in details the procedures that convert 2D roads specified in shape files into 3D roads and civil engineering road design principles. The proposed method can be used in many applications that have stringent requirements on high precision 3D models, such as driving simulations and road design prototyping. Preliminary results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Effects of forest road amelioration techniques on soil bulk density, surface runoff, sediment transport, soil moisture and seedling growth

Treesearch

Randy K. Kolka; Mathew F. Smidt

2004-01-01

Although numerous methods have been used to retire roads, new technologies have evolved that can potentially ameliorate soil damage, lessen ,the generation of nonpoint source pollution and increase tree productivity on forest roads. In this study we investigated the effects of three forest road amelioration techniques, subsoiling, recontouring and traditional...

Roads influence movement and home ranges of a fragmentation-sensitive carnivore, the bobcat, in an urban landscape

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poessel, Sharon A; Boydston, Erin E.; Lyren, Lisa M.; Fisher, Robert N.; Burdett, Christopher L.; Alonso, Robert S.; Crooks, Kevin R.

2014-01-01

Roads in urbanized areas can impact carnivore populations by constraining their movements and increasing mortality. Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are felids capable of living in urban environments, but are sensitive to habitat fragmentation and, thus, useful indicators of landscape connectivity; in particular, bobcat habitat selection, movement, and mortality may be affected by roads. We analyzed movement patterns of 52 bobcats in southern California in three study sites and investigated: (1) how bobcats responded to two types of roads within their home ranges; (2) how they placed their home ranges with respect to roads within the study area; and (3) whether male and female bobcats differed in their behavioral responses to roads. Within home ranges, primary and secondary roads did not influence movements, but bobcats more frequently crossed secondary roads when road densities were higher within their home ranges, thus increasing mortality risk. However, road densities within each study site were several times higher than road densities within home ranges, suggesting bobcats selected against roaded areas in home-range placement. Male home ranges bordering roads were smaller than home ranges for other males, but male home ranges containing roads were larger than those without roads. Male bobcats also were more likely to cross roads than females, potentially reflecting larger male home range sizes. Our results suggest roads have important impacts on urban bobcats, with stronger effects on males than females, and continued efforts to mitigate the effects of roads on carnivores and other fragmentation-sensitive species would help promote connectivity conservation in urban systems.

Large roads reduce bat activity across multiple species.

PubMed

Kitzes, Justin; Merenlender, Adina

2014-01-01

Although the negative impacts of roads on many terrestrial vertebrate and bird populations are well documented, there have been few studies of the road ecology of bats. To examine the effects of large roads on bat populations, we used acoustic recorders to survey bat activity along ten 300 m transects bordering three large highways in northern California, applying a newly developed statistical classifier to identify recorded calls to the species level. Nightly counts of bat passes were analyzed with generalized linear mixed models to determine the relationship between bat activity and distance from a road. Total bat activity recorded at points adjacent to roads was found to be approximately one-half the level observed at 300 m. Statistically significant road effects were also found for the Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis), big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), and silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans). The road effect was found to be temperature dependent, with hot days both increasing total activity at night and reducing the difference between activity levels near and far from roads. These results suggest that the environmental impacts of road construction may include degradation of bat habitat and that mitigation activities for this habitat loss may be necessary to protect bat populations.

Cyclists' Anger As Determinant of Near Misses Involving Different Road Users.

PubMed

Marín Puchades, Víctor; Prati, Gabriele; Rondinella, Gianni; De Angelis, Marco; Fassina, Filippo; Fraboni, Federico; Pietrantoni, Luca

2017-01-01

Road anger constitutes one of the determinant factors related to safety outcomes (e.g., accidents, near misses). Although cyclists are considered vulnerable road users due to their relatively high rate of fatalities in traffic, previous research has solely focused on car drivers, and no study has yet investigated the effect of anger on cyclists' safety outcomes. The present research aims to investigate, for the first time, the effects of cycling anger toward different types of road users on near misses involving such road users and near misses in general. Using a daily diary web-based questionnaire, we collected data about daily trips, bicycle use, near misses experienced, cyclist's anger and demographic information from 254 Spanish cyclists. Poisson regression was used to assess the association of cycling anger with near misses, which is a count variable. No relationship was found between general cycling anger and near misses occurrence. Anger toward specific road users had different effects on the probability of near misses with different road users. Anger toward the interaction with car drivers increased the probability of near misses involving cyclists and pedestrians. Anger toward interaction with pedestrians was associated with higher probability of near misses with pedestrians. Anger toward cyclists exerted no effect on the probability of near misses with any road user (i.e., car drivers, cyclists or pedestrians), whereas anger toward the interactions with the police had a diminishing effect on the occurrence of near misses' involving all types of road users. The present study demonstrated that the effect of road anger on safety outcomes among cyclists is different from that of motorists. Moreover, the target of anger played an important role on safety both for the cyclist and the specific road users. Possible explanations for these differences are based on the difference in status and power with motorists, as well as on the potential displaced aggression produced by the fear of retaliation by motorized vehicle users.

Plant-based plume-scale mapping of tritium contamination in desert soils

USGS Publications Warehouse

Andraski, Brian J.; Stonestrom, David A.; Michel, R.L.; Halford, K.J.; Radyk, J.C.

2005-01-01

Plant-based techniques were tested for field-scale evaluation of tritium contamination adjacent to a low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) facility in the Amargosa Desert, Nevada. Objectives were to (i) characterize and map the spatial variability of tritium in plant water, (ii) develop empirical relations to predict and map subsurface contamination from plant-water concentrations, and (iii) gain insight into tritium migration pathways and processes. Plant sampling [creosote bush, Larrea tridentata (Sessé & Moc. ex DC.) Coville] required one-fifth the time of soil water vapor sampling. Plant concentrations were spatially correlated to a separation distance of 380 m; measurement uncertainty accounted for <0.1% of the total variability in the data. Regression equations based on plant tritium explained 96 and 90% of the variation in root-zone and sub-root-zone soil water vapor concentrations, respectively. The equations were combined with kriged plant-water concentrations to map subsurface contamination. Mapping showed preferential lateral movement of tritium through a dry, coarse-textured layer beneath the root zone, with concurrent upward movement through the root zone. Analysis of subsurface fluxes along a transect perpendicular to the LLRW facility showed that upward diffusive-vapor transport dominates other transport modes beneath native vegetation. Downward advective-liquid transport dominates at one endpoint of the transect, beneath a devegetated road immediately adjacent to the facility. To our knowledge, this study is the first to document large-scale subsurface vapor-phase tritium migration from a LLRW facility. Plant-based methods provide a noninvasive, cost-effective approach to mapping subsurface tritium migration in desert areas.

Analysis of biophysical and anthropogenic variables and their relation to the regional spatial variation of aboveground biomass illustrated for North and East Kalimantan, Borneo.

PubMed

Van der Laan, Carina; Verweij, Pita A; Quiñones, Marcela J; Faaij, André Pc

2014-12-01

Land use and land cover change occurring in tropical forest landscapes contributes substantially to carbon emissions. Better insights into the spatial variation of aboveground biomass is therefore needed. By means of multiple statistical tests, including geographically weighted regression, we analysed the effects of eight variables on the regional spatial variation of aboveground biomass. North and East Kalimantan were selected as the case study region; the third largest carbon emitting Indonesian provinces. Strong positive relationships were found between aboveground biomass and the tested variables; altitude, slope, land allocation zoning, soil type, and distance to the nearest fire, road, river and city. Furthermore, the results suggest that the regional spatial variation of aboveground biomass can be largely attributed to altitude, distance to nearest fire and land allocation zoning. Our study showed that in this landscape, aboveground biomass could not be explained by one single variable; the variables were interrelated, with altitude as the dominant variable. Spatial analyses should therefore integrate a variety of biophysical and anthropogenic variables to provide a better understanding of spatial variation in aboveground biomass. Efforts to minimise carbon emissions should incorporate the identified factors, by 1) the maintenance of lands with high AGB or carbon stocks, namely in the identified zones at the higher altitudes; and 2) regeneration or sustainable utilisation of lands with low AGB or carbon stocks, dependent on the regeneration capacity of the vegetation. Low aboveground biomass densities can be found in the lowlands in burned areas, and in non-forest zones and production forests.

76 FR 22076 - Bussel 484, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Idaho, Shoshone County

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-20

... miles of system road construction on National Forest System lands, 0.2 miles of road construction across... construction, 5.4 miles of road reconstruction, installing effective motorized vehicle restriction devices...,137 acres; approximately 5.1 miles of system road construction, 0.5 miles of temporary road...

Habitat or matrix: which is more relevant to predict road-kill of vertebrates?

PubMed

Bueno, C; Sousa, C O M; Freitas, S R

2015-11-01

We believe that in tropics we need a community approach to evaluate road impacts on wildlife, and thus, suggest mitigation measures for groups of species instead a focal-species approach. Understanding which landscape characteristics indicate road-kill events may also provide models that can be applied in other regions. We intend to evaluate if habitat or matrix is more relevant to predict road-kill events for a group of species. Our hypothesis is: more permeable matrix is the most relevant factor to explain road-kill events. To test this hypothesis, we chose vertebrates as the studied assemblage and a highway crossing in an Atlantic Forest region in southeastern Brazil as the study site. Logistic regression models were designed using presence/absence of road-kill events as dependent variables and landscape characteristics as independent variables, which were selected by Akaike's Information Criterion. We considered a set of candidate models containing four types of simple regression models: Habitat effect model; Matrix types effect models; Highway effect model; and, Reference models (intercept and buffer distance). Almost three hundred road-kills and 70 species were recorded. River proximity and herbaceous vegetation cover, both matrix effect models, were associated to most road-killed vertebrate groups. Matrix was more relevant than habitat to predict road-kill of vertebrates. The association between river proximity and road-kill indicates that rivers may be a preferential route for most species. We discuss multi-species mitigation measures and implications to movement ecology and conservation strategies.

Effect of drivers' age and push button locations on visual time off road, steering wheel deviation and safety perception.

PubMed

Dukic, T; Hanson, L; Falkmer, T

2006-01-15

The study examined the effects of manual control locations on two groups of randomly selected young and old drivers in relation to visual time off road, steering wheel deviation and safety perception. Measures of visual time off road, steering wheel deviations and safety perception were performed with young and old drivers during real traffic. The results showed an effect of both driver's age and button location on the dependent variables. Older drivers spent longer visual time off road when pushing the buttons and had larger steering wheel deviations. Moreover, the greater the eccentricity between the normal line of sight and the button locations, the longer the visual time off road and the larger the steering wheel deviations. No interaction effect between button location and age was found with regard to visual time off road. Button location had an effect on perceived safety: the further away from the normal line of sight the lower the rating.

Spatial Resolution Effect on Forest Road Gradient Calculation and Erosion Modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, L.; Elliot, W.

2017-12-01

Road erosion is one of the main sediment sources in a forest watershed and should be properly evaluated. With the help of GIS technology, road topography can be determined and soil loss can be predicted at a watershed scale. As a vector geographical feature, the road gradient should be calculated following road direction rather than hillslope direction. This calculation might be difficult with a coarse (30-m) DEM which only provides the underlying topography information. This study was designed to explore the effect of road segmentation and DEM resolution on the road gradient calculation and erosion prediction at a watershed scale. The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model was run on road segments of 9 lengths ranging from 40m to 200m. Road gradient was calculated from three DEM data sets: 1m LiDAR, and 10m and 30m USGS DEMs. The 1m LiDAR DEM calculated gradients were very close to the field observed road gradients, so we assumed the 1m LiDAR DEM predicted the true road gradient. The results revealed that longer road segments skipped detail topographical undulations and resulted in lower road gradients. Coarser DEMs computed steeper road gradients as larger grid cells covered more adjacent areas outside road resulting in larger elevation differences. Field surveyed results also revealed that coarser DEM might result in more gradient deviation in a curved road segment when it passes through a convex or concave slope. As road segment length increased, the gradient difference between three DEMs was reduced. There were no significant differences between road gradients of different segment lengths and DEM resolution when segments were longer than 100m. For long segments, the 10m DEM calculated road gradient was similar to the 1m LiDAR gradient. When evaluating the effects of road segment length, the predicted erosion rate decreased with increasing length when road gradient was less than 3%. In cases where the road gradients exceed 3% and rill erosion dominates, predicted erosion rates exponentially increased with segment length. At the watershed scale, most of the predicted soil loss occurred on segments with gradients ranging from 3% to 9%. Based on the road gradient calculated with the 10-m and 30-m DEMs, soil loss was overestimated when compared to the 1m LiDAR DEM. Both the 10m and 30m DEM result in similar total road soil loss.

A Review of Vehicles Speed on School Safety Zone Areas in Pekanbaru City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwi Putri, Lusi; Soehardi, Fitridawati; Saleh, Alfian

2017-12-01

School Safety Zone is a location or region on particular roads that are time-based speed zone to set the speed of the vehicle in the school environment. The maximum speed limit permits entering a School Safety Zone, especially in Pekanbaru City is 25 km / h and an outline of the speed limit permit vehicles that pass through the School Safety Zone in Indonesia is generally 20-30 km / h. However, the vehicles speeds that pass School Safety Zone are higher than permit speeds.To ensure the level of vehicle offense across the territory of the School Safety Zone so it is necessary a primary data which is taken randomly based on field survey for 3 days at schools that has that facility ie SDN 3 Jalan Kesehatan Pekanbaru City, SDN 68 Jalan Balam Ujung Kota Pekanbaru and SDN 143 Jalan Taskurun Kota Pekanbaru. Furthermore, the data were taken in good condition that is at 6:30 to 7:30 am and at 12:00 to 13:00 pm. In addition, the data obtained is mileage and travel time of the vehicle. Both of these data can generate good speed value that passes through the area of School Safety Zone. Based on the research findings, the vehicle speed passing through the area of School Safety Zone is incompatible with speed permit at 35 km / h with a maximum average percentage of the rate of offense in the area of the school zone is 91.7%. This indicates that the vehicle passes School Safety Zone not following the rules of the maximum limit area and can be potentially harmful to elementary school students.

36 CFR 212.57 - Monitoring of effects of motor vehicle use on designated roads and trails and in designated areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... motor vehicle use on designated roads and trails and in designated areas. 212.57 Section 212.57 Parks... Roads, Trails, and Areas for Motor Vehicle Use § 212.57 Monitoring of effects of motor vehicle use on designated roads and trails and in designated areas. For each administrative unit of the National Forest...

Reclamation of skid roads with fiber mats and native vegetation: effects on erosion

Treesearch

shawn T. Grushecky; David w. McGill; William Grafton; John Edwards; Lisa Tager

2007-01-01

A research study was established to test the effectiveness of fiber mats and native seed mixtures in reducing soil erosion from newly-constructed skid roads in the Elk River Watershed in central West Virginia. Twelve road sections of equal grade were paired with a randomly-selected section receiving a fiber mat and native grass seed while the other road section was not...

Graduated driver licensing and differential deterrence: The effect of license type on intentions to violate road rules.

PubMed

Poirier, Brigitte; Blais, Etienne; Faubert, Camille

2018-01-01

In keeping with the differential deterrence theory, this article assesses the moderating effect of license type on the relationship between social control and intention to violate road rules. More precisely, the article has two objectives: (1) to assess the effect of license type on intentions to infringe road rules; and (2) to pinpoint mechanisms of social control affecting intentions to violate road rules based on one's type of driver license (a restricted license or a full license). This effect is examined among a sample of 392 young drivers in the province of Quebec, Canada. Drivers taking part in the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program have limited demerit points and there is zero tolerance for drinking-and-driving. Propensity score matching techniques were used to assess the effect of the license type on intentions to violate road rules and on various mechanisms of social control. Regression analyses were then conducted to estimate the moderating effect of license type. Average treatment effects from propensity score matching analyses indicate that respondents with a restricted license have lower levels of intention to infringe road rules. While moral commitment and, to a lesser extent, the perceived risk of arrest are both negatively associated with intentions to violate road rules, the license type moderates the relationship between delinquent peers and intentions to violate road rules. The effect of delinquent peers is reduced among respondents with a restricted driver license. Finally, a diminished capability to resist peer pressure could explain the increased crash risk in months following full licensing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

2010/11 McMurdo Station Snow Road Strength and Maintenance

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-01

McMurdo Station. Part of this study in- cluded tracking the road maintenance and temperature and testing the road strength at predetermined mile...data provides insight as to the direct effects of various maintenance and environmental factors on the strength of the roads . Un- derstanding the...13 4.2 Maintenance vs. road strength

Safety effects of low-cost engineering measures. An observational study in a Portuguese multilane road.

PubMed

Vieira Gomes, Sandra; Cardoso, João Lourenço

2012-09-01

Single carriageway multilane roads are not, in general, a very safe type of road, mainly because of the high number of seriously injured victims in head-on collisions, when compared with dual carriageway multilane roads, with a median barrier. In this paper the results of a study on the effect of the application of several low cost engineering measures, aimed at road infrastructure correction and road safety improvement on a multilane road (EN6), are presented. The study was developed by the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC) for the Portuguese Road Administration and involved a comparison of selected aspects of motorized traffic behaviour (traffic volumes and speeds) measured in several sections of EN6, as well as monitoring of road safety developments in the same road. The applied low cost engineering measures allowed a reduction of 10% in the expected annual number of personal injury accidents and a 70% decrease in the expected annual number of head-on collisions; the expected annual frequency of accidents involving killed and seriously injured persons was reduced by 26%. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Child-related Road Traffic Accidents in Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vu, Anh Tuan; Nguyen, Dinh Vinh Man

2018-04-01

In recent years, the number of road traffic accidents, fatalities and injuries have been decreasing, but the figures of children road traffic accidents have been increasing in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam. This fact strongly calls for implementing effective solutions to improve traffic safety for children by the local government. This paper presents the trends, patterns and causes of road traffic accidents involving children based on the analysis of road traffic accident data over the period 2010-2015 and the video-based observations of road traffic law violations at 15 typical school gates and 10 typical roads. The results could be useful for the city government to formulate solutions to effectively improve traffic safety for children in Ho Chi Minh City and other cities in Vietnam.

Detection of Hazardous Cavities Below a Road Using Combined Geophysical Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Giorgi, L.; Leucci, G.

2014-07-01

Assessment of the risk arising from near-surface natural hazard is a crucial step in safeguarding the security of the roads in karst areas. It helps authorities and other related parties to apply suitable procedures for ground treatment, mitigate potential natural hazards and minimize human and economic losses. Karstic terrains in the Salento Peninsula (Apulia region—South Italy) is a major challenge to engineering constructions and roads due to extensive occurrence of cavities and/or sinkholes that cause ground subsidence and both roads and building collapse. Cavities are air/sediment-filled underground voids, commonly developed in calcarenite sedimentary rocks by the infiltration of rainwater into the ground, opening up, over a long period of time, holes and tunnels. Mitigation of natural hazards can best be achieved through careful geoscientific studies. Traditionally, engineers use destructive probing techniques for the detection of cavities across regular grids or random distances. Such probing is insufficient on its own to provide confidence that cavities will not be encountered. Frequency of probing and depth of investigation may become more expensive. Besides, probing is intrusive, non-continuous, slow, expensive and cannot provide a complete lateral picture of the subsurface geology. Near-surface cavities usually can be easily detected by surface geophysical methods. Traditional and recently developed measuring techniques in seismic, geoelectrics and georadar are suitable for economical investigation of hazardous, potentially collapsing cavities. The presented research focused on an integrated geophysical survey that was carried out in a near-coast road located at Porto Cesareo, a small village a few kilometers south west of Lecce (south Italy). The roads in this area are intensively affected by dangerous surface cracks that cause structural instability. The survey aimed to image the shallow subsurface structures, including karstic features, and evaluate their extent, as they may cause rock instability and lead to cracking of the road. Seismic refraction tomography and ground-penetrating radar surveys were carried out along several parallel traverses extending about 100 m on the cracked road. The acquired data were processed and interpreted integrally to elucidate the shallow structural setting of the site. Integrated interpretation led to the delineation of hazard zones rich with karstic features in the area. Most of these karstic features are associated with vertical and subvertical linear features and cavities. These features are the main reason of the rock instability that resulted in potentially dangerous cracking of road.

Archaeological Testing and Survey: Testing of Three Sites and Survey of a Road Detour within Proposed Project Construction Zones, Burlington Dam Flood Control Project Area, Upper Souris River, North Dakota,

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-01-01

reported in Burgess et al. (1973:19). Low bottom species in the study area include American elm (Ulmus americanus), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica...deposits with "Calgon" before water screening. Because of slow permeability clay is very slippery when it becomes wet and can be hazardous to workers. The

Assessing Military Use of Training Areas Using a Geographic Information System

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

potential impacts to sensitive cultural and natural resources with training activities. Purple amole – Fed. Threatened Arroyo Toad – Fed. Endangered Rock...purple amole o One incident (Nov. 2000) of Engineers driving off-road during wet season and outside dig-zone results in more stringent...Environmental Review process for the TA. Purple Amole (Chlorogalum purpureum var. purpureum) Fed. Threatened, CNPS 1B.1 Photo by Laura Ann Eliassen 6360

Bobcats ( Lynx rufus) as a Model Organism to Investigate the Effects of Roads on Wide-Ranging Carnivores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Litvaitis, John A.; Reed, Gregory C.; Carroll, Rory P.; Litvaitis, Marian K.; Tash, Jeffrey; Mahard, Tyler; Broman, Derek J. A.; Callahan, Catherine; Ellingwood, Mark

2015-06-01

We are using bobcats ( Lynx rufus) as a model organism to examine how roads affect the abundance, distribution, and genetic structure of a wide-ranging carnivore. First, we compared the distribution of bobcat-vehicle collisions to road density and then estimated collision probabilities for specific landscapes using a moving window with road-specific traffic volume. Next, we obtained incidental observations of bobcats from the public, camera-trap detections, and locations of bobcats equipped with GPS collars to examine habitat selection. These data were used to generate a cost-surface map to investigate potential barrier effects of roads. Finally, we have begun an examination of genetic structure of bobcat populations in relation to major road networks. Distribution of vehicle-killed bobcats was correlated with road density, especially state and interstate highways. Collision models suggested that some regions may function as demographic sinks. Simulated movements in the context of the cost-surface map indicated that some major roads may be barriers. These patterns were supported by the genetic structure of bobcats. The sharpest divisions among genetically distinct demes occurred along natural barriers (mountains and large lakes) and in road-dense regions. In conclusion, our study has demonstrated the utility of using bobcats as a model organism to understand the variety of threats that roads pose to a wide-ranging species. Bobcats may also be useful as one of a group of focal species while developing approaches to maintain existing connectivity or mitigate the negative effects of roads.

The credibility of speed limits on 80 km/h rural roads: The effects of road and person(ality) characteristics.

PubMed

Goldenbeld, Charles; van Schagen, Ingrid

2007-11-01

The present study aimed to operationalise the concept of credible speed limits and to make a first step to elaborate it in such a way that road authorities can put the concept into practice. The study focused on the credibility of an 80 km/h limit for different rural roads and assessed the effects of characteristics of the road and its environment as well as the effects of person and personality characteristics. Almost 600 Dutch car drivers were asked to judge 27 photographs of (different) rural roads with a posted speed limit of 80 km/h. To determine the degree of credibility, for each road scene the subjects filled in the preferred speed and the speed limit they considered to be safe. The results show large differences in both preferred speed and the safe speed limit between the road scenes, both below and above the limit of 80 km/h. These differences were related to a number of characteristics of the road and the road environment, such as the presence or absence of a curve and characteristics concerning the field of view (sight distance, clarity of situation). There were also large differences between subjects and these were related to age, the degree of sensation seeking, the number of speeding tickets in the last 3 years and the part of the country they lived in. Subjects were influenced by more or less the same road features.

Bobcats (Lynx rufus) as a Model Organism to Investigate the Effects of Roads on Wide-Ranging Carnivores.

PubMed

Litvaitis, John A; Reed, Gregory C; Carroll, Rory P; Litvaitis, Marian K; Tash, Jeffrey; Mahard, Tyler; Broman, Derek J A; Callahan, Catherine; Ellingwood, Mark

2015-06-01

We are using bobcats (Lynx rufus) as a model organism to examine how roads affect the abundance, distribution, and genetic structure of a wide-ranging carnivore. First, we compared the distribution of bobcat-vehicle collisions to road density and then estimated collision probabilities for specific landscapes using a moving window with road-specific traffic volume. Next, we obtained incidental observations of bobcats from the public, camera-trap detections, and locations of bobcats equipped with GPS collars to examine habitat selection. These data were used to generate a cost-surface map to investigate potential barrier effects of roads. Finally, we have begun an examination of genetic structure of bobcat populations in relation to major road networks. Distribution of vehicle-killed bobcats was correlated with road density, especially state and interstate highways. Collision models suggested that some regions may function as demographic sinks. Simulated movements in the context of the cost-surface map indicated that some major roads may be barriers. These patterns were supported by the genetic structure of bobcats. The sharpest divisions among genetically distinct demes occurred along natural barriers (mountains and large lakes) and in road-dense regions. In conclusion, our study has demonstrated the utility of using bobcats as a model organism to understand the variety of threats that roads pose to a wide-ranging species. Bobcats may also be useful as one of a group of focal species while developing approaches to maintain existing connectivity or mitigate the negative effects of roads.

Testing bird response to roads on a rural environment: A case study from Central Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morelli, Federico; Jerzak, Leszek; Pruscini, Fabio; Santolini, Riccardo; Benedetti, Yanina; Tryjanowski, Piotr

2015-11-01

The construction of roads is currently well spread in many parts of our world and impacts strongly on wildlife distribution. Some bird species avoid, while other prefer to be in the vicinity of these human structures. However, studies on roads effects on birds, in terms of strength or direction of these effects, are scarce. Therefore, in a study carried out in Central Italy we tested the responses of different bird species to roads at a local spatial scale, using generalized linear models (GLM). Analysis were conducted on a large dataset (more than 1400 sampled sites, mainly on rural environments). Both positive and negative effects of roads on birds were found for bird species of close or semi-close environments, while the negative effects of roads were negligible for bird species of open and semi-open environments. This fact suggest that roads can be a source of "functional heterogeneity" on semi-open environments, providing marginal habitats, hedgerows and residual vegetation typical of roadsides, offering breeding and feeding habitat for some bird species. The proposed methodology provide a useful explorative tool, in order to develop conservation policies to preserve the biodiversity, mainly in rural landscapes. The outputs of GLM can be used as inputs in ecological planning: direction and strength of the effects of roads on bird species are adequate to estimate the response of bird community, up front to the presence of new structures, or identifying which of them should be mitigated to reduce negative effects on the biodiversity.

Supporting drivers in forming correct expectations about transitions between rural road categories.

PubMed

Stelling-Konczak, Agnieszka; Aarts, Letty; Duivenvoorden, Kirsten; Goldenbeld, Charles

2011-01-01

In order to support drivers in forming the right expectations on the road, road categories are being made recognisable and predictable in the Netherlands. The present study investigated which of the selected road layouts can make rural road categories most recognisable for road users, especially in transitions from one road category to another. A second objective was to study whether explicit information could contribute to a better recognisability of transitions. The experiment was performed with a series of photographs showing sections of two road categories with an intersection in between. The road layout of road categories varied in markings and separation of driving direction (within-subjects factor). Informed and non-informed participants (between-subjects factor) had to indicate their expectations regarding speed limit and access restriction of each road section, before and after a transition. The results show that for transitions between distributor and through roads, the physicality of separation of driving direction is a better distinctive characteristic than the currently used edge marking. The green centre marking on through roads also enhances recognisability, but only with additional information. As far as transitions between distributor and access roads are concerned, the results demonstrate that this type of transitions is better recognised when no markings on access roads are present. Physical separation of driving directions on distributor roads also improves recognisability, although this layout is associated with higher speed limits. Providing explicit information has in general a positive effect on the reconisability of transitions. Implications are discussed in the light of potential safety effects. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

BOOK REVIEW OF "ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ROADS"

EPA Science Inventory

Throughout the world, roads have become a permanent part of our environment. The ecological effects of roads and traffic are as consequential as other topical issues such as losses in biological diversity and damage by exotic and invasive species. However, this issue has usuall...

Populations potentially exposed to traffic-related air pollution in seven world cities.

PubMed

Su, Jason G; Apte, Joshua S; Lipsitt, Jonah; Garcia-Gonzales, Diane A; Beckerman, Bernardo S; de Nazelle, Audrey; Texcalac-Sangrador, José Luis; Jerrett, Michael

2015-05-01

Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) likely exerts a large burden of disease globally, and in many places, traffic is increasing dramatically. The impact, however, of urban form on the portion of population potentially exposed to TRAP remains poorly understood. In this study, we estimate portions of population potentially exposed to TRAP across seven global cities of various urban forms. Data on population distributions and road networks were collected from the best available sources in each city and from remote sensing analysis. Using spatial mapping techniques, we first overlaid road buffers onto population data to estimate the portions of population potentially exposed for four plausible impact zones. Based on a most likely scenario with impacts from highways up to 300meters and major roadways up to 50meters, we identified that the portions of population potentially exposed for the seven cities ranged from 23 to 96%. High-income North American cities had the lowest potential exposure portions, while those in Europe had the highest. Second, we adjusted exposure zone concentration levels based on a literature suggested multiplier for each city using corresponding background concentrations. Though Beijing and Mexico City did not have the highest portion of population exposure, those in their exposure zones had the highest levels of exposure. For all seven cities, the portion of population potentially exposed was positively correlated with roadway density and, to a lesser extent, with population density. These analyses suggest that urban form may influence the portion of population exposed to TRAP and vehicle emissions and other factors may influence the exposure levels. Greater understanding of urban form and other factors influencing potential exposure to TRAP may help inform interventions that protect public health. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High resolution tsunami modelling for the evaluation of potential risk areas in Setúbal (Portugal)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribeiro, J.; Silva, A.; Leitão, P.

2011-08-01

The use of high resolution hydrodynamic modelling to simulate the potential effects of tsunami events can provide relevant information about the most probable inundation areas. Moreover, the consideration of complementary data such as the type of buildings, location of priority equipment, type of roads, enables mapping of the most vulnerable zones, computing of the expected damage on man-made structures, constrain of the definition of rescue areas and escape routes, adaptation of emergency plans and proper evaluation of the vulnerability associated with different areas and/or equipment. Such an approach was used to evaluate the specific risks associated with a potential occurrence of a tsunami event in the region of Setúbal (Portugal), which was one of the areas most seriously affected by the 1755 tsunami. In order to perform an evaluation of the hazard associated with the occurrence of a similar event, high resolution wave propagation simulations were performed considering different potential earthquake sources with different magnitudes. Based on these simulations, detailed inundation maps associated with the different events were produced. These results were combined with the available information on the vulnerability of the local infrastructures (building types, roads and streets characteristics, priority buildings) in order to impose restrictions in the production of high-scale potential damage maps, escape routes and emergency routes maps.

A synthesis of postfire road treatments for BAER teams: methods, treatment effectiveness, and decisionmaking tools for rehabilitation

Treesearch

Randy B. Foltz; Peter R. Robichaud; Hakjun Rhee

2008-01-01

We synthesized post-fire road treatment information to assist BAER specialists in making road rehabilitation decisions. We developed a questionnaire; conducted 30 interviews of BAER team engineers and hydrologists; acquired and analyzed gray literature and other relevant publications; and reviewed road rehabilitation procedures and analysis tools. Post-fire road...

Effects of roads on habitat quality for bears in the southern Appalachians: A long-term study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reynolds-Hogland, M. J.; Mitchell, M.S.

2007-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that gravel roads, not paved roads, had the largest negative effect on habitat quality for a population of American black bears (Ursus americanus) that lived in a protected area, where vehicle collision was a relatively minimal source of mortality. We also evaluated whether road use by bears differed by sex or age and whether annual variation in hard mast productivity affected the way bears used areas near roads. In addition, we tested previous findings regarding the spatial extent to which roads affected bear behavior negatively. Using summer and fall home ranges for 118 black bears living in the Pisgah Bear Sanctuary in western North Carolina during 1981-2001, we estimated both home-range-scale (2nd-order) and within-home-range-scale (3rd-order) selection for areas within 250, 500, 800, and 1,600 m of paved and gravel roads. All bears avoided areas near gravel roads more than they avoided areas near paved roads during summer and fall for 2nd-order selection and during summer for 3rd-order selection. During fall, only adult females avoided areas near gravel roads more than they avoided areas near paved roads for 3rd-order selection. We found a positive relationship between use of roads by adults and annual variability in hard mast productivity. Overall, bears avoided areas within 800 m of gravel roads. Future research should determine whether avoidance of gravel roads by bears affects bear survival. ?? 2007 American Society of Mammalogists.

Road safety measures : a catalogue of estimates of effect : summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-04-01

This report contains a catalogue of estimates of the effects on road safety of selected road safety measures. The report is intended to be used as a reference manual in drafting the national transport plan for Norway for the term 2006-2015.

Effectiveness of best management practices that have application to forest roads: a literature synthesis

Treesearch

Pamela J. Edwards; Frederica Wood; Robin L. Quinlivan

2016-01-01

Literature describing the effectiveness of best management practices (BMPs) applicable to forest roads is reviewed and synthesized. Effectiveness is considered from the perspective of protecting water quality and water resources. Both paved and unpaved forest roads are considered, but BMPs that involve substantial engineering are not considered. Some of the BMPs...

Effects of Road Density and Road-Salt Application Practices on Sodium and Chloride Loads to the Scituate Reservoir, Rhode Island

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waldron, M. C.; Nimiroski, M.

2001-05-01

The Scituate Reservoir drainage basin is the drinking-water source area for two thirds of the population of Rhode Island. The effects of road density and road-salt-application practices on sodium and chloride concentrations in streams in the drainage basin were examined using concentration data collected at intervals of one to six months from January 1982 through June 2000 at 32 stream sites distributed throughout the basin. Median concentrations of sodium and chloride for individual streams during the period of data collection were related to 1995 road densities (road miles per square mile of subbasin) for roads maintained by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (State-maintained roads) and for roads maintained by the four municipalities in the drainage basin (locally maintained roads). Nearly 60 percent of the variation in median stream sodium and chloride concentrations was accounted for by the variation in density of State-maintained roads (R2= 0.595, p < 0.0001). In contrast, no correlations could be identified between median concentrations of sodium and chloride in streams and the densities of locally maintained roads in the subbasins (R2 = 0.001, p = 0.8771). Also, there was no difference in the relations between median stream sodium concentrations and subbasin road densities for data collected before and after a 1990 State-mandated reduction in the rate of application of sodium during winter deicing of State-maintained roads. Analysis of data on sources of sodium and chloride in the Scituate Reservoir drainage basin during water year 2000 (October 1999 through September 2000) indicates that, while the lengths and densities of locally maintained roads were greater than those of State-maintained roads in most subbasins, the total amount of sodium applied during water year 2000 was nearly three times greater for State-maintained roads than for locally maintained roads. This would be expected, given that State-maintained roads carry more traffic at higher speeds than do locally maintained roads. In addition, the State-maintained roads tend to have more efficient drainage systems that quickly transport runoff directly to the streams. The lack of effect of the reduced sodium application rate on the relation between median stream sodium concentration and density of State-maintained roads may be due to inaccurate monitoring of application rates or to mobilization of sodium previously applied and stored in drainage basin soils. Thus, the amounts of sodium and chloride transported by tributary streams to the Scituate Reservoir depend more on the type of roads and other conditions in the tributary subbasins than on the actual length or density of the roads.

Road analysis: a tool for cost-effective rehabilitation measures for Finnish roads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roimela, Petri; Salmenkaita, Seppo; Maijala, Pekka; Saarenketo, Timo

2000-04-01

Public funding for road network maintenance has decreased 30% during the last few years in Finland. Reduced resources, together with the current rehabilitation strategies, will in the long term result in increasing deterioration of the Finnish road network. For this reason road rehabilitation funding should be focused more specifically on those roads and road sections requiring measures and these measures should be optimized to ensure that only the specific problem structure will be repaired. Roadscanners Oy, in cooperation with the Finnish National Road Administration (Finnra), has developed a new and effective Road Analysis technique to survey the condition of roads and road networks. Road Analysis is based on the integrated analysis of the measured data collected from the road under survey. The basic survey methods used in Road Analysis include Ground Penetrating Data (GPR), falling weight deflectometer (FWD), roughness and rutting measurements, pavement distress mapping and GPS-positioning, as well as reference drilling based on preliminary GPR data analysis. The collected road survey data is processed, interpreted, analyzed and classified using Road Doctor software, specifically developed for this purpose. GPR measurements in road analysis are carried out using a 400 MHz ground-coupled antenna and a 1.0 GHz horn antenna. Horn antenna data is used to measure the thickness of the pavement and base course layers, as well as to evaluate their quality based on their dielectric properties. The 400 MHz ground-coupled data is used to estimate the thickness of the pavement structure and embankment. Ground-coupled antenna data is used for subgrade quality estimations and in evaluating the causes of subgrade- related frost defects. GPR data also provides important location information about special structures, such as steel reinforcements, cables and pipelines. Road Analysis includes a classification of the critical elements affecting the lifetime of the road: (1) overall pavement condition, (2) condition assessment of the unbound pavement structure, (3) road fatigue related to subgrade frost-action, (4) drainage condition and (5) local damages, such as settlements of the surveyed road. The results of Road Analysis provide a better understanding of the causes of defects occurring on the road and allow more precise rehabilitation measures for problem layers.

The effect of a road safety educational program for kindergarten children on their parents' behavior and knowledge.

PubMed

Ben-Bassat, Tamar; Avnieli, Shani

2016-10-01

Road safety education for children is one of the most important means for raising awareness of road safety and for educating children to behave safely as pedestrians, bicycle riders, and vehicle passengers. The current research presents a novel attempt to examine the effect of a unique road safety educational program for kindergarten children on a secondary target group-the parents. The program, named the "Zahav Bagan" program (ZBP), is presented at kindergartens once a week during the entire academic year. It is conducted by senior citizen volunteers and is part of the formal education of the children. The main purpose of the current study was to compare the behavior, awareness, and knowledge about child road safety, of two groups of parents-those whose children participated in the ZBP group, and those whose children did not; this latter group was the control group. A telephone-based survey was conducted using a sample of 76 ZBP parents and 59 control group parents. Results of the survey showed no effect of ZBP on parents' knowledge of child road safety law and recommendations, but more importantly, the results did show a significant effect in terms of parents' observance of safe behavior and in their awareness of road safety in everyday life. These results confirm the importance of educational programs on road safety, especially as triggers and reminders to children and to their parents, to act as cautious road users. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

USER'S GUIDE: EMISSION CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES AND EMISSION FACTORS FOR UNPAVED ROAD FUGITIVE EMISSIONS

EPA Science Inventory

This document assists control agency personnel in evaluating unpaved road fugitive emissions control plans and helps industry personnel develop effective control strategies for unpaved roads. he brochure describes control techniques for reducing unpaved road emissions and methods...

Prototype road weather performance management (RW-PM) tool and Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) field evaluation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-01-01

FHWAs Road Weather Management Program developed a Prototype Road Weather Management (RW-PM) Tool to help DOTs maximize the effectiveness of their maintenance resources and efficiently adjust deployments dynamically, as road conditions and traffic ...

Reducing road traffic injuries: effectiveness of speed cameras in an urban setting.

PubMed

Pérez, Katherine; Marí-Dell'Olmo, Marc; Tobias, Aurelio; Borrell, Carme

2007-09-01

We assessed the effectiveness of speed cameras on Barcelona's beltway in reducing the numbers of road collisions and injuries and the number of vehicles involved in collisions. We designed a time-series study with a comparison group to assess the effects of the speed cameras. The "intervention group" was the beltway, and the comparison group consisted of arterial roads on which no fixed speed cameras had been installed. The outcome measures were number of road collisions, number of people injured, and number of vehicles involved in collisions. We fit the data to Poisson regression models that were adjusted according to trends and seasonality. The relative risk (RR) of a road collision occurring on the beltway after (vs before) installation of speed cameras was 0.73 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.63, 0.85). This protective effect was greater during weekend periods. No differences were observed for arterial roads (RR=0.99; 95% CI=0.90, 1.10). Attributable fraction estimates for the 2 years of the study intervention showed 364 collisions prevented, 507 fewer people injured, and 789 fewer vehicles involved in collisions. Speed cameras installed in an urban setting are effective in reducing the numbers of road collisions and, consequently, the numbers of injured people and vehicles involved in collisions.

Use of Guardrail on Low-Volume Roads According to Safety and Cost Effectiveness

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-05-01

The objective of this study was to develop guidelines for the use of guardrail on low-volume roads (LVR) in Kansas according to safety and cost effectiveness. LVR are generally defined as roads with #400 average daily traffic (ADT), although many LVR...

The use of screening effects in modelling route-based daytime road surface temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Yumei; Almkvist, Esben; Lindberg, Fredrik; Bogren, Jörgen; Gustavsson, Torbjörn

2016-07-01

Winter road maintenance is essential for road safety. Accurate predictions of the road surface temperature (RST) and conditions can enhance the efficiency of winter road maintenance. Screening effects, which encompass shading effects and the influence of the sky-view factor ( ψ s ), influence RST distributions because they affect road surface radiation fluxes. In this work, light detection and ranging (Lidar) data are used to derive shadow patterns and ψ s values, and the resulting shadow patterns are used to model route-based RST distributions along two stretches of road in Sweden. The shading patterns and road surface radiation fluxes calculated from the Lidar data generally agreed well with measured RST values. Variation in land use types and the angle between the road direction and solar azimuth may introduce uncertainties, and accounting for these factors may improve the results obtained in certain cases. A simple shading model that only accounts for the direct radiation at the instant of measurement is often sufficient to provide reasonably accurate RST estimates. However, in certain cases, such as those involving measurements close to sunset, it is important to consider the radiation accumulated over several hours. The inclusion of ψ s improves the model performance even more in such cases. Overall, RST models based on the accumulated direct shortwave radiation offered an optimal balance of simplicity and accuracy. General radiation models were built for country road and highway environments, explaining up to 70 and 65 %, respectively, of the observed variation in RST along the corresponding stretches of road.

Dynamic Speed Adaptation for Path Tracking Based on Curvature Information and Speed Limits.

PubMed

Gámez Serna, Citlalli; Ruichek, Yassine

2017-06-14

A critical concern of autonomous vehicles is safety. Different approaches have tried to enhance driving safety to reduce the number of fatal crashes and severe injuries. As an example, Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) systems warn the driver when the vehicle exceeds the recommended speed limit. However, these systems only take into account fixed speed limits without considering factors like road geometry. In this paper, we consider road curvature with speed limits to automatically adjust vehicle's speed with the ideal one through our proposed Dynamic Speed Adaptation (DSA) method. Furthermore, 'curve analysis extraction' and 'speed limits database creation' are also part of our contribution. An algorithm that analyzes GPS information off-line identifies high curvature segments and estimates the speed for each curve. The speed limit database contains information about the different speed limit zones for each traveled path. Our DSA senses speed limits and curves of the road using GPS information and ensures smooth speed transitions between current and ideal speeds. Through experimental simulations with different control algorithms on real and simulated datasets, we prove that our method is able to significantly reduce lateral errors on sharp curves, to respect speed limits and consequently increase safety and comfort for the passenger.

Using GIS for Developing Sustainable Urban Growth Case Kyrenia Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kara, C.; Akçit, N.

2018-03-01

It is critical to develop urban layers for analysis sustainable urban development possibilities within planning process. Kyrenia Region has many physical, environmental or economic issues that may danger the growth possibilities in sustainable manner. From this point, this study uses different spatial layers such as slope, distance to roads, distance to central zone, vegetation, soil productivity, environmental protection zones, distance to open/green space, distance to education for supporting sustainable urban growth policies and define suitable areas for urban development within this perspective. The study tries to convert sustainable urban growth policies such as; compact growth, environmental protection, equal accessibility to basic services; into spatial layers and establish proper framework for multi criteria evaluation in Kyrenia Region within using geographical information systems. It shows suitability values for Kyrenia region and constraints zones at final section. It clearly presents the suitable areas for the sustainable urbanization and also unsuitable or risky areas for reducing the possible disasters and may happen in the future.

Assessing deforestation in the coastal zone of the Campeche State, Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mas, J.F.; Vega, A.P.; Aponte, G.P.

1997-06-01

In order to determine rates of deforestation in the State of Campeche, Mexico, forest maps of 1978/80 and 1992 were compared within a geographic information system (GIS). Results indicate that more than 25 per cent of the tropical forest and mangroves were deforested and other 29 per cent were fragmented during this period. The rate of deforestation in the whole state is about 4.4 per cent per year, but the analysis showed that rates of deforestation are much higher in the coastal zone. For this reason an attempt was made to study deforestation patterns in the coastal zone. Data suchmore » as distance from roads and from settlements images were incorporated in the GIS data base and a model which represents influence of population on its environment was developed in order to establish the influence of socioeconomic factors on forest clearing. Results indicate that deforestation presents a higher correlation with levels of poverty and social abandonment than with demographic aspects.« less

The application of non-destructive methods in the diagnostics of the approach pavement at the bridges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miskiewicz, M.; Lachowicz, J.; Tysiac, P.; Jaskula, P.; Wilde, K.

2018-05-01

The article presents the possibility of using non-destructive methods of road pavement diagnostics as an alternative to traditional means to assess the reasons for premature cracks adjacent to bridge objects. Two scanning methods were used: laser scanning to measure geometric surface deformation and ground penetrating radar (GPR) inspection to assess the road pavement condition. With the use of a laser scanner, an effective tool for road deformation assessment several approach pavement surfaces next to the bridges were scanned. As the result, a point cloud was obtained including spatial information about the pavement deformation. The data accuracy was about 3 mm, the deformations were presented in the form of deviation maps between the reference surface and the actual surface. Moreover characteristic pavement surface cross-sections were presented. The in situ measurements of the GPR method were performed and analysed in order to detect non-homogeneity in the density of structural layers of the pavement. Due to the analysis of the permittivity of individual layers, it was possible to detect non-homogeneity areas. The performed GPR measurements were verified by standard invasive tests carried out by drilling boreholes and taking cores from the pavement and testing the compaction and air voids content in asphalt layers. As a result of the measurements made by both methods significant differences in layer compacting factor values were diagnosed. The factor was much smaller in the area directly next to the bridgehead and much larger in the zone located a few meters away. The research showed the occurrence of both design and erection errors as well as those related to the maintenance of engineering structures.

Secondhand smoke in public places: can Bangalore metropolitan transport corporation be a role model for effective implementation of Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003?

PubMed

Nayak, N S; Annigeri, V B; Revankar, D R; Kenchaigol, S

2010-07-01

The Indian government enacted 'The cigarettes and other tobacco products act, 2003' (COTPA), which prohibits smoking in public places. To validate the efficacy of the Act of 2003, enacted by the Government of India, to prevent secondhand smoking in public places. The study is based on a non-random sample survey of 2,600 bus passengers carried out in the premises of three mega public road transport organizations in Karnataka state, India, in June 2007. The information was gathered through administration of structured schedules. A sample of 1,000 each for the terminus of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) in Bangalore and, 600 for North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) in Hubli-Dharwad city was distributed proportionately according to the number of platforms in each terminus. Simple Averages. There is some reduction in smoking in general as perceived by 69% of the passengers as compared to the scenario a year before the enactment of COTPA. The observed smoking is lower in the bus premises of BMTC where there is strict regulation, and higher in the bus premises of NWKRTC, which has not taken any regulatory measures. Knowing smoking is banned in public places can itself create awareness depending on the coverage extended by media and implementing an agency to reach the public. The implementation of an act depends on the willingness of stakeholders to act upon it. The implementation of COTPA as done by BMTC could well become a role model for replication elsewhere, if BMTC can strive harder to accomplish a 100% smoke-free zone.

Toward understanding the ecological impact of transportation corridors

Treesearch

Victoria J. Bennett; Winston P. Smith; Matthew G. Betts

2011-01-01

Transportation corridors (notably roads) affect wildlife habitat, populations, and entire ecosystems. Considerable effort has been expended to quantify direct effects of roads on wildlife populations and ecological communities and processes. Much less effort has been expended toward quantifying indirect effects. In this report, we provide a comprehensive review of road...

The effectiveness of wildlife crossing structures for black bears in Madison County, North Carolina.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-08-15

Roads have become an integral part of our society, but recently society has begun to realize the ecological impact that : roads have on their surroundings. One major effect that roads have on large mammals is creating a barrier to movement of : indiv...

Investigations of Section Speed on Rural Roads in Podlaskie Voivodeship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziolkowski, Robert

2017-10-01

Excessive speed is one of the most important factors considered in road safety and not only affects the severity of a crash but is also related to the risk of being involved in a crash. In Poland the problem of speeding drivers is widely common. Properly recognized and defined drivers behaviour is the base for any effective activities taken towards road safety improvements. Effective enforcement of speed limits especially on rural road plays an important role but conducted speed investigations basically focus on spot speed omitting travel speed on longer sections of roads which can better reflect driver’s behaviour. Possible solutions for rural roads are limited to administrative means of speed limitations, installations of speed cameras and police enforcement. However due to their limited proved effectiveness new solutions are still being sought. High expectations are associated with the sectional speed system that has recently been introduced in Poland and covered a number of national road sections. The aim of this paper is to investigate section speed on chosen regional and district roads located in Podlaskie Voivodeship. Test sections included 19 road segments varied in terms of functional and geometric characteristics. Speed measurements on regional and district roads were performed with the use of a set of two ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras. Conducted research allowed to compare driver’s behaviour in terms of travel speed depending on roads’ functional classification as well as to evaluate the influence of chosen geometric parameters on average section speed.

Analysis of zone of vulnurability and impact of forest fires in forest ecosystems in north algeria by susing remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zegrar, Ahmed

2010-05-01

The Forest in steppe present ecological diversity, and seen climatic unfavourable conditions in zone and impact of forest fires; we notes deterioration of physical environment particularly, deterioration of natural forest. This deterioration of forests provokes an unbalance of environment witch provokes a process of deterioration advanced in the ultimate stadium is desertification. By elsewhere, where climatic conditions are favourable, the fire is an ecological and acted agent like integral part of evolution of the ecosystems, the specific regeneration of plants are influenced greatly by the regime of fire (season of fire, intensity, interval), witch leads to the recuperation of the vegetation of meadow- fire. In this survey we used the pictures ALSAT-1 for detection of zones with risk of forest fire and their impact on the naturals forests in region named TLEMCEN in the north west of Algeria. A thematic detailed analysis of forests well attended ecosystems some processing on the picture ALSAT-1, we allowed to identify and classifying the forests in there opinion components flowers. We identified ampleness of fire on this zone also. Some parameters as the slope, the proximity to the road and the forests formations were studied in the goal of determining the zones to risk of forest fire. A crossing of diaper of information in a GIS according to a very determined logic allowed classifying the zones in degree of risk of fire in semi arid zone witch forest zone not encouraging the regeneration but permitting the installation of cash of steppe which encourages the desertification.

The Advocacy for Pedestrian Safety Study: Cluster Randomised Trial Evaluating a Political Advocacy Approach to Reduce Pedestrian Injuries in Deprived Communities

PubMed Central

Lyons, Ronan A.; Kendrick, Denise; Towner, Elizabeth M. L.; Coupland, Carol; Hayes, Mike; Christie, Nicola; Sleney, Judith; Jones, Sarah; Kimberlee, Richard; Rodgers, Sarah E.; Turner, Samantha; Brussoni, Mariana; Vinogradova, Yana; Sarvotham, Tinnu; Macey, Steven

2013-01-01

Objective To determine whether advocacy targeted at local politicians leads to action to reduce the risk of pedestrian injury in deprived areas. Design Cluster randomised controlled trial. Setting 239 electoral wards in 57 local authorities in England and Wales. Participants 617 elected local politicians. Interventions Intervention group politicians were provided with tailored information packs, including maps of casualty sites, numbers injured and a synopsis of effective interventions. Main outcome measures 25–30 months post intervention, primary outcomes included: electoral ward level: percentage of road traffic calmed; proportion with new interventions; school level: percentage with 20 mph zones, Safe Routes to School, pedestrian training or road safety education; politician level: percentage lobbying for safety measures. Secondary outcomes included politicians’ interest and involvement in injury prevention, and facilitators and barriers to implementation. Results Primary outcomes did not significantly differ: % difference in traffic calming (0.07, 95%CI: −0.07 to 0.20); proportion of schools with 20 mph zones (RR 1.47, 95%CI: 0.93 to 2.32), Safe Routes to School (RR 1.34, 95%CI: 0.83 to 2.17), pedestrian training (RR 1.23, 95%CI: 0.95 to 1.61) or other safety education (RR 1.16, 95%CI: 0.97 to 1.39). Intervention group politicians reported greater interest in child injury prevention (RR 1.09, 95%CI 1.03 to 1.16), belief in potential to help prevent injuries (RR 1.36, 95%CI 1.16 to 1.61), particularly pedestrian safety (RR 1.55, 95%CI 1.19 to 2.03). 63% of intervention politicians reported supporting new pedestrian safety schemes. The majority found the advocacy information surprising, interesting, effectively presented, and could identify suitable local interventions. Conclusions This study demonstrates the feasibility of an innovative approach to translational public health by targeting local politicians in a randomised controlled trial. The intervention package was positively viewed and raised interest but changes in interventions were not statistically significance. Longer term supported advocacy may be needed. Trial Registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN91381117 PMID:23577088

Do unpaved, low-traffic roads affect bird communities?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mammides, Christos; Kounnamas, Constantinos; Goodale, Eben; Kadis, Costas

2016-02-01

Unpaved, low traffic roads are often assumed to have minimal effects on biodiversity. To explore this assertion, we sampled the bird communities in fifteen randomly selected sites in Pafos Forest, Cyprus and used multiple regression to quantify the effects of such roads on the total species richness. Moreover, we classified birds according to their migratory status and their global population trends, and tested each category separately. Besides the total length of unpaved roads, we also tested: a. the site's habitat diversity, b. the coefficient of variation in habitat (patch) size, c. the distance to the nearest agricultural field, and d. the human population size of the nearest village. We measured our variables at six different distances from the bird point-count locations. We found a strong negative relationship between the total bird richness and the total length of unpaved roads. The human population size of the nearest village also had a negative effect. Habitat diversity was positively related to species richness. When the categories were tested, we found that the passage migrants were influenced more by the road network while resident breeders were influenced by habitat diversity. Species with increasing and stable populations were only marginally affected by the variables tested, but the effect of road networks on species with decreasing populations was large. We conclude that unpaved and sporadically used roads can have detrimental effects on the bird communities, especially on vulnerable species. We propose that actions are taken to limit the extent of road networks within protected areas, especially in sites designated for their rich avifauna, such as Pafos Forest, where several of the affected species are species of European and global importance.

PBDEs and novel brominated flame retardants in road dust from northern Vietnam: Levels, congener profiles, emission sources and implications for human exposure.

PubMed

Anh, Hoang Quoc; Tomioka, Keidai; Tue, Nguyen Minh; Tri, Tran Manh; Minh, Tu Binh; Takahashi, Shin

2018-04-01

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and selected novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) were examined in road dust samples collected from three representative areas in northern Vietnam, including seven inner districts of Hanoi metropolitan area, an industrial park in Thai Nguyen province and a rural commune in Bac Giang province. This study aims to provide basic information on the contamination status, potential sources and human exposure to PBDEs and NBFRs associated with road dust in northern Vietnam. PBDEs were detected in all the samples at a range of 0.91-56 ng g -1 with a median value of 16 ng g -1 . PBDE concentrations in road dusts from urban sites were significantly higher than those from industrial zone and rural area, suggesting their environmental load related to urbanization in northern Vietnam. BDE-209, major component of deca-BDE technical mixtures, dominated the congener patterns in all samples, accounting for 60.8-91.9% of total PBDE levels. Decabromodiphenyl ethane, an alternative of deca-BDE, was observed in a detection frequency of 100% in urban and industrial areas and at levels comparable to those of BDE-209. Other NBFRs such as pentabromoethylbenzene, hexabromobiphenyl and 1,2-bis-(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane, were found at trace levels. Daily intake doses of PBDEs via road dust ingestion from 2.3 × 10 -5 to 0.11 ng kg-bw -1 d -1 were estimated for residents in study areas, indicating a negligible risk with hazard indexes of 10 -9 to 10 -5 for selected congeners such as BDE-47, 99, 153 and 209. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A theoretical study for the propagation of rolling noise over a porous road pavement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keung Lui, Wai; Ming Li, Kai

2004-07-01

A simplified model based on the study of sound diffracted by a sphere is proposed for investigating the propagation of noise in a hornlike geometry between porous road surfaces and rolling tires. The simplified model is verified by comparing its predictions with the published numerical and experimental results of studies on the horn amplification of sound over a road pavement. In a parametric study, a point monopole source is assumed to be localized on the surface of a tire. In the frequency range of interest, a porous road pavement can effectively reduce the level of amplified sound due to the horn effect. It has been shown that an increase in the thickness and porosity of a porous layer, or the use of a double layer of porous road pavement, attenuates the horn amplification of sound. However, a decrease in the flow resistivity of a porous road pavement does little to reduce the horn amplification of sound. It has also been demonstrated that the horn effect over a porous road pavement is less dependent on the angular position of the source on the surface of tires.

Evaluation of rumble stripes on low-volume rural roads in Iowa : phase II.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-11-01

Single-vehicle run-off-road crashes are the most common crash type on rural two-lane Iowa roads. Rumble strips have proven effective in mitigating these crashes, but the strips are commonly installed in paved shoulders on higher-volume roads that are...

Unplanned roads impacts assessment in Phewa Lake watershed, Western region, Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leibundgut, Geoffroy; Sudmeier-Rieux, Karen; Devkota, Sanjaya; Jaboyedoff, Michel; Penna, Ivanna; Adhikari, Anu; Khanal, Rajendra

2015-04-01

This work describes current research being conducted in the Phewa Lake watershed, near Pokhara in Nepal's Siwaliks/Middle hills, a moist sub-tropical zone with the highest amount of annual rainfall in Nepal (4,500 - 5,000 mm). The watershed lithology is mainly siltstone, sandstones and intensively weathered rocks, highly prone to erosion and shallow landslides (Agrawala et al., 2003). The main purpose of this study is to focus on the impact of unplanned earthen road construction in the Phewa Lake watershed as part of land use changes over 30 years in one of Nepal's most touristic regions. Over the past three decades, the road network has expanded exponentially and a majority of rural earthen roads are often funded by communities themselves, with some government subsidies. They are usually constructed using a local bulldozer contractor with no technical or geological expertise increasing erosion processes, slope instabilities risk and impacts to settlements, forests, water sources, agriculture lands, and infrastructure. Moreover, these human-induced phenomena are being compounded by increasingly intense monsoon rains, likely due to climate change (Petley, 2010). Research methods were interdisciplinary and based on a combination of remote sensing, field observations and discussions with community members. The study compared 30 year-old aerial photos with current high resolution satellite images to correlate changes in land use with erosion and slope instabilities. Secondly, most of the watershed's roads were surveyed in order to inventory and quantify slope instabilities and soil loss events. Using a failure-characteristics grid, their main features were measured (location, size, type and extension of damage areas, etc.) and a GIS data base was created. We then estimated economic impacts of these events in terms of agriculture lands losses and road maintenance, based on field observations and discussions with affected people. Field work investigations have shown that unplanned road excavations are producing mainly embankment failures and/or gullying which affect primarily roads themselves, wiping them out and blocking vehicle circulation, and secondly, destroying or burying agriculture lands. Initial results of the remote sensing analysis demonstrate that there is high probability of a correlation between the expansion of the road network and increased erosion/deposition in the watershed. Finally a few deep-seated and potentially very destructive failures were observed in the watershed, in large part triggered by road construction. All phenomena present economic impacts for communities due to costly interventions for clearing roads and losses of crop production. References: Agrawala, S., et al. (2003). Development and Climate Change in Nepal: Focus on Water Resources and Hydropower. Paris, OECD: 64pp. Petley, D. N. (2010). On the impact of climate change and population growth on the occurrence of landslides in Asia. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, 43 (4), 487-496.

Newly Discovered Orangutan Species Requires Urgent Habitat Protection.

PubMed

Sloan, Sean; Supriatna, Jatna; Campbell, Mason J; Alamgir, Mohammed; Laurance, William F

2018-05-03

Nater, et al.[1] recently identified a new orangutan species (Pongo tapanuliensis) in northern Sumatra, Indonesia-just the seventh described species of living great ape. The population of this critically-endangered species is perilously small, at only ∼800 individuals [1], ranking it among the planet's rarest fauna. We assert that P. tapanuliensis is highly vulnerable to extinction because its remaining habitat is small, fragmented, and poorly protected. While road incursions within its habitat are modest-road density is only one-eighth that of northern Sumatra-over one-fifth of its habitat is zoned for agricultural conversion or is comprised of mosaic agricultural and regrowth/degraded forest. Additionally, a further 8% will be affected by flooding and infrastructure development for a hydroelectric project. We recommend urgent steps to increase the chance that P. tapanuliensis will persist in the wild. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Traction Control Strategy with an Efficiency Model in a Distributed Driving Electric Vehicle

PubMed Central

Lin, Cheng

2014-01-01

Both active safety and fuel economy are important issues for vehicles. This paper focuses on a traction control strategy with an efficiency model in a distributed driving electric vehicle. In emergency situation, a sliding mode control algorithm was employed to achieve antislip control through keeping the wheels' slip ratios below 20%. For general longitudinal driving cases, an efficiency model aiming at improving the fuel economy was built through an offline optimization stream within the two-dimensional design space composed of the acceleration pedal signal and the vehicle speed. The sliding mode control strategy for the joint roads and the efficiency model for the typical drive cycles were simulated. Simulation results show that the proposed driving control approach has the potential to apply to different road surfaces. It keeps the wheels' slip ratios within the stable zone and improves the fuel economy on the premise of tracking the driver's intention. PMID:25197697

A traction control strategy with an efficiency model in a distributed driving electric vehicle.

PubMed

Lin, Cheng; Cheng, Xingqun

2014-01-01

Both active safety and fuel economy are important issues for vehicles. This paper focuses on a traction control strategy with an efficiency model in a distributed driving electric vehicle. In emergency situation, a sliding mode control algorithm was employed to achieve antislip control through keeping the wheels' slip ratios below 20%. For general longitudinal driving cases, an efficiency model aiming at improving the fuel economy was built through an offline optimization stream within the two-dimensional design space composed of the acceleration pedal signal and the vehicle speed. The sliding mode control strategy for the joint roads and the efficiency model for the typical drive cycles were simulated. Simulation results show that the proposed driving control approach has the potential to apply to different road surfaces. It keeps the wheels' slip ratios within the stable zone and improves the fuel economy on the premise of tracking the driver's intention.

Improvement of Groundwater Regime Through Innovative Rainwater Harvesting Along Road Sides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, S. K.

The paper deals about viable and immediate solution of shortage of drinking water in the countries like India, Asian, and African continents. The paper highlights rainwater harvesting along both the sides of roads with the help of suitable, simple structures, which are easy to maintain. This may turn out to be long-term solution for the areas, which are draught prone, or having below normal rainfall. The example given in the paper for “Golden Quadrilateral” project of express national highways in India is quite illustrative and is applicable to other countries also falling in almost similar kind of climatic zones. The concept given in the paper would enhance water availability 8—10 times compared to natural process of rainfall infiltration. It would also improve quality of ground water and would save considerable energy in lifting the water due to the rise in water levels.

Reptile road-kills in Southern Brazil: Composition, hot moments and hotspots.

PubMed

Gonçalves, Larissa Oliveira; Alvares, Diego Janisch; Teixeira, Fernanda Zimmermann; Schuck, Gabriela; Coelho, Igor Pfeifer; Esperandio, Isadora Beraldi; Anza, Juan; Beduschi, Júlia; Bastazini, Vinicius Augusto Galvão; Kindel, Andreas

2018-02-15

Understanding road-kill patterns is the first step to assess the potential effects of road mortality on wildlife populations, as well as to define the need for mitigation and support its planning. Reptiles are one of the vertebrate groups most affected by roads through vehicle collisions, both because they are intentionally killed by drivers, and due to their biological needs, such as thermoregulation, which make them more prone to collisions. We conducted monthly road surveys (33months), searching for carcasses of freshwater turtles, lizards, and snakes on a 277-km stretch of BR-101 road in Southernmost Brazil to estimate road-kill composition and magnitude and to describe the main periods and locations of road-kills. We modeled the distribution of road-kills in space according to land cover classes and local traffic volume. Considering the detection capacity of our method and carcass persistence probability, we estimated that 15,377 reptiles are road-killed per year (55reptiles/km/year). Road-kills, especially lizards and snakes, were concentrated during summer, probably due to their higher activity in this period. Road-kill hotspots were coincident among freshwater turtles, lizards, and snakes. Road-kill distribution was negatively related to pine plantations, and positively related to rice plantations and traffic volume. A cost-benefit analysis highlighted that if mitigation measures were installed at road-kill hotspots, which correspond to 21% of the road, they could have avoided up to 45% of recorded reptile fatalities, assuming a 100% mitigation effectiveness. Given the congruent patterns found for all three taxa, the same mitigation measures could be used to minimize the impacts of collision on local herpetofauna. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Road Infrastructure Safety Management in Poland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budzynski, Marcin; Jamroz, Kazimierz; Kustra, Wojciech; Michalski, Lech; Gaca, Stanislaw

2017-10-01

The objective of road safety infrastructure management is to ensure that when roads are planned, designed, built and used road risks can be identified, assessed and mitigated. Road transport safety is significantly less developed than that of rail, water and air transport. The average individual risk of being a fatality in relation to the distance covered is thirty times higher in road transport that in the other modes. This is mainly because the different modes have a different approach to safety management and to the use of risk management methods and tools. In recent years Poland has had one of the European Union’s highest road death numbers. In 2016 there were 3026 fatalities on Polish roads with 40,766 injuries. Protecting road users from the risk of injury and death should be given top priority. While Poland’s national and regional road safety programmes address this problem and are instrumental in systematically reducing the number of casualties, the effects are far from the expectations. Modern approaches to safety focus on three integrated elements: infrastructure measures, safety management and safety culture. Due to its complexity, the process of road safety management requires modern tools to help with identifying road user risks, assess and evaluate the safety of road infrastructure and select effective measures to improve road safety. One possible tool for tackling this problem is the risk-based method for road infrastructure safety management. European Union Directive 2008/96/EC regulates and proposes a list of tools for managing road infrastructure safety. Road safety tools look at two criteria: the life cycle of a road structure and the process of risk management. Risk can be minimized through the application of the proposed interventions during design process as reasonable. The proposed methods of risk management bring together two stages: risk assessment and risk response occurring within the analyzed road structure (road network, road stretch, road section, junction, etc.). The objective of the methods is to help road authorities to take rational decisions in the area of road safety and road infrastructure safety and understand the consequences occurring in the particular phases of road life cycle. To help with assessing the impact of a road project on the safety of related roads, a method was developed for long-term forecasts of accidents and accident cost estimation as well as a risk classification to identify risks that are not acceptable risks. With regard to road safety audits and road safety inspection, a set of principles was developed to identify risks and the basic classification of mistakes and omissions. This work has added to the Polish experience of preparing and implementing such tools within the competent road authorities.

Vegetation ecological restoration during geothermic exploratory perforation: A case study in Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ortega-Rubio, A.; Salinas, F.; Naranjo, A.

1997-12-31

At Las Tres Virgenes, B.C.S., Mexico developed the Geothermic exploratory drilling of the area. One of the main recommendations of our Environmental Impact Assessment Study includes transplantation of the plant individuals found in the zones of roads and drilling platforms. In this work we describe the methodologies used to transplant the vegetal individuals found in such zones. We listed the species selected and the survivorship rate obtained for every one of them. From a total of 4,266 transplanted individuals, including many endemic species, a total of 2349 survived. Members of the Agavaceae and Cactaceae families show the maximum survivorship rate,more » meanwhile the members of the Burseraceae, Euphorbiaceae and Fouqueriaceae families exhibited the minimum survivorship rate (between 12.7% and 20%).« less

A Study on the Effects of Alternatives to Speed Humps Using a Driving Simulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jong-Min; Noh, Kwan-Sub

A road alignment which has a long straight section followed by sharp curve is dangerous, because drivers have the habit to accelerate on the long straight section and then accidents occur on the short curve as the result of speeding. This study evaluated the alternatives to speed humps in order to reduce speed safely and comfortably on roads with this incorrect road alignment. There are several speed control facilities to reduce speed on roads with wrong road alignment. The speed hump is dangerous at high speeds because drivers must reduce speed rapidly and because of the physical impact. The image hump provides less effect for drivers who already know of its presence. So, to resolve these matters, we propose a new type of speed control facility. An image hump with transverse grooving will be effective in reducing speed because the transverse grooving gives vibration and noise to drivers who are already aware of the presence of the image hump, but it does not give the hard physical impact to vehicles. The study on the effect of the alternatives to speed humps was carried out using the K-ROADS (KICT-Road Analysis Driving Simulator) which has been developed to analyze and evaluate road safety at the project HuRoSAS (Human & Road Safety Analysis System) since 2003. K-ROADS has two distinct functions. One is the visual system which has a 360 degree F. O. V. to reduce dead angles on black spots such as at-grade intersections. The other is the motion system which has high frequency vibration to reproduce vibrations made in irregular road surfaces. This study found out that the image hump with transverse grooving is a safe speed control facility in order to reduce driving speed safely and comfortably on a straight section followed by a sharp curve, even if drivers are known the existence of image hump.

Characteristics of tree bark as an indicator in high-immission areas : II. Contents of heavy metals.

PubMed

Lötschert, W; Köhm, H -J

1978-01-01

1. Studies on indicator characteristics of bark of deciduous trees have been continued by measuring accumulation of Pb, Cd, Ni and Mn in the bark of Fraxinus excelsior at 34 sampling sites over an area of 150 km 2 in the immission area of Frankfurt am Main. 2. Iso-lines of equal Pb-contamination have been found. They include zones of graduated immissions. The pattern of these zones shows an eccentrical orientation and is the result of the distribution of the main traffic roads. A significant correlation of Pb in the bark and traffic congestion has been found. 3. The zones of Cd-contamination stretch from SW to NE. The orientation of these zones is determined by the distribution of the big emittenrs and the centers of heating power in the area and the predominating direction of wind. 4. A correlation between the accumulation of Pb and Cd has been detected. It is less significant than that between pH-value and sulfur content in the bark of trees in former investigations. 5. The distribution of Pb and Mn is antagonistic in the bark of Fraxinus excelsior and parallel in the needles of Taxus baccata. The content of Mn in the bark of Fraxinus is low. It must be accepted that this is partly an effect of elution by sulfur acid-aerosol formation. 6. The strongest accumulation of heavy metal immissions is found in mosses on the ground, mainly in Bryum argenteum. Nevertheless the bark of Fraxinus excelsior has shown consequently its accumulation characteristics as a good immission indicator for heavy metal contaminations by traffic and big emittents.

Influences on Young Children's Knowledge: The Case of Road Safety Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cullen, Joy

1998-01-01

Argues that effective road safety education for young children needs to incorporate constructivist and socio-cultural perspectives on learning. Excerpts interviews with young children highlighting the variety of influences affecting children's road safety knowledge and examination of a road safety curriculum to illustrate the value of a dual…

Costs of performance based maintenance for local roads: Case study Albania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jokanović, Igor; Grujić, Bojana; Zeljić, Dragana; Grujić, Žarko; Svilar, Mila

2017-12-01

The provision and maintenance of road infrastructure is a major global business, consequently it is essential that road maintenance services are provided in the most cost effective manner. Without regular maintenance, roads can rapidly fall into disrepair, preventing realization of the longer term impacts of road improvements on development, such as increased agricultural production and growth in school enrollment, which is of particular importance for a network of local (access) roads. Inadequate local roads maintenance in Albania is proposed to be solved by implementing performance based maintenance approach for which the costing exercise is presented within the paper.

Investigations of coastal zones using a modular amphibious vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeziulin, Denis; Makarov, Vladimir; Filatov, Valery; Beresnev, Pavel; Belyakov, Vladimir; Kurkin, Andrey

2017-04-01

The project aims to develop a means of verification of data on sea excitement derived from Autonomous mobile robotic system (AMRS) for coastal monitoring and forecasting marine natural disasters [Kurkin A., Pelinovsky E., Tyugin D., Giniyatullin A., Kurkina O., Belyakov V., Makarov V., Zeziulin D., Kuznetsov K. Autonomous Robotic System for Coastal Monitoring // Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment MEDCOAST. 2015. V. 2. P. 933-944]. The chassis of the developed remote-controlled modular amphibious vehicle (MAV) will be equipped with a video camera and a hydrostatic wave-plotting device with strings sensors mounted on the stationary body's supports. To track the position of the MAV there will be installed the navigation system in order to correct the measurement data. The peculiarity of the tricycle MAV is the ability to change its geometric parameters that will increase its stability to actions of destructive waves and mobility. In May-June 2016 authors took part in conducting field tests of the AMRS on the Gulf of Mordvinov (Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin Island). Participation in this expedition contributed to obtaining experimental data on the topography and the physical and mechanical properties of the surf zone of the most promising field of using the MAV as a road for its moving. Within the project there was developed a mathematical model of the MAV motion in coastal conditions taking into account the new analytical dependences describing the physical and mechanical characteristics of the ground surfaces and the landscape, as well as hydrodynamic effects of surf zones. The reasonable selection of rational parameters of the MAV and developing the methodology of creating effective vehicles for investigations of specific coastal areas of the Okhotsk Sea will be made by using the mathematical model.

A Study on Project Priority Evaluation Method on Road Slope Disaster Prevention Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sekiguchi, Nobuyasu; Ohtsu, Hiroyasu; Izu, Ryuutarou

To improve the safety and security of driving while coping with today's stagnant economy and frequent natural disasters, road slopes should be appropriately managed. To achieve the goals, road managers should establish project priority evaluation methods for each stage of road slope management by clarifying social losses that would result by drops in service levels. It is important that road managers evaluate a project priority properly to manage the road slope effectively. From this viewpoint, this study proposed "project priority evaluation methods" in road slope disaster prevention, which use available slope information at each stage of road slope management under limited funds. In addition, this study investigated the effect of managing it from the high slope of the priority by evaluating a risk of slope failure. In terms of the amount of available information, staged information provision is needed ranging from macroscopic studies, which involves evaluation of the entire route at each stage of decision making, to semi- and microscopic investigations for evaluating slopes, and microscopic investigations for evaluating individual slopes. With limited funds, additional detailed surveys are difficult to perform. It is effective to use the slope risk assessment system, which was constructed to complement detailed data, to extract sites to perform precise investigations.

Road Extraction from AVIRIS Using Spectral Mixture and Q-Tree Filter Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Margaret E.; Roberts, Dar A.; Funk, Chris; Noronha, Val

2001-01-01

Accurate road location and condition information are of primary importance in road infrastructure management. Additionally, spatially accurate and up-to-date road networks are essential in ambulance and rescue dispatch in emergency situations. However, accurate road infrastructure databases do not exist for vast areas, particularly in areas with rapid expansion. Currently, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) extends great effort in field Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping and condition assessment to meet these informational needs. This methodology, though effective, is both time-consuming and costly, because every road within a DOT's jurisdiction must be field-visited to obtain accurate information. Therefore, the USDOT is interested in identifying new technologies that could help meet road infrastructure informational needs more effectively. Remote sensing provides one means by which large areas may be mapped with a high standard of accuracy and is a technology with great potential in infrastructure mapping. The goal of our research is to develop accurate road extraction techniques using high spatial resolution, fine spectral resolution imagery. Additionally, our research will explore the use of hyperspectral data in assessing road quality. Finally, this research aims to define the spatial and spectral requirements for remote sensing data to be used successfully for road feature extraction and road quality mapping. Our findings will facilitate the USDOT in assessing remote sensing as a new resource in infrastructure studies.

An experimental evaluation of potential scavenger effects on snake road mortality detections

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hubbard, Kaylan A.; Chalfoun, Anna D.

2012-01-01

As road networks expand and collisions between vehicles and wildlife become more common, accurately quantifying mortality rates for the taxa that are most impacted will be critical. Snakes are especially vulnerable to collisions with vehicles because of their physiology and behavior. Reptile road mortality is typically quantified using driving or walking surveys; however, scavengers can rapidly remove carcasses from the road and cause underestimation of mortality. Our objective was to determine the effect that scavengers might have had on our ability to accurately detect reptile road mortality during over 150 h and 4,000 km of driving surveys through arid shrublands in southwest Wyoming, which resulted in only two observations of mortality. We developed unique simulated snake carcasses out of Burbot (Lota lota), a locally invasive fish species, and examined removal rates across three different road types at three study sites. Carcass size was not a significant predictor of time of removal, and carcass removal was comparable during the daytime and nighttime hours. However, removal of simulated carcasses was higher on paved roads than unpaved or two-track roads at all study sites, with an average of 75% of the carcasses missing within 60 h compared to 34% and 31%, respectively. Scavengers may therefore negatively impact the ability of researchers to accurately detect herpetofaunal road mortality, especially for paved roads where road mortality is likely the most prevalent.

The influence of landscape features on road development in a loess region, China.

PubMed

Bi, Xiaoli; Wang, Hui; Zhou, Rui

2011-10-01

Many ecologists focus on the effects of roads on landscapes, yet few consider how landscapes affect road systems. In this study, therefore, we quantitatively evaluated how land cover, topography, and building density affected the length density, node density, spatial pattern, and location of roads in Dongzhi Yuan, a typical loess region in China. Landscape factors and roads were mapped using images from SPOT satellite (Système Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre), initiated by the French space agency and a digital elevation model (DEM). Detrended canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA), a useful ordination technique to explain species-environment relations in community ecology, was applied to evaluate the ways in which landscapes may influence roads. The results showed that both farmland area and building density were positively correlated with road variables, whereas gully density and the coefficient of variation (CV of DEM) showed negative correlations. The CV of DEM, farmland area, grassland area, and building density explained variation in node density, length density, and the spatial pattern of roads, whereas gully density and building density explained variation in variables representing road location. In addition, node density, rather than length density, was the primary road variable affected by landscape variables. The results showed that the DCCA was effective in explaining road-landscape relations. Understanding these relations can provide information for landscape managers and transportation planners.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brenda R. Pace; Cameron Brizzee; Hollie Gilbert

The U. S. Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office is considering options for construction of a multipurpose haul road to transport materials and wastes between the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) and other Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site facilities. The proposed road will be closed to the public and designed for limited year-round use. Two primary options are under consideration: a new route south of the existing T-25 power line road and an upgrade to road T-24. In the Spring of 2010, archaeological field surveys and initial coordination and field reconnaissance with representatives from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes were completed tomore » identify any resources that may be adversely affected by the proposed road construction and to develop recommendations to protect any listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The investigations showed that 24 archaeological resources and one historic marker are located in the area of potential effects for road construction and operation south of the T-25 powerline road and 27archaeological resources are located in the area of potential effects for road construction and operation along road T-24. Generalized tribal concerns regarding protection of natural resources were also documented in both road corridors. This report outlines recommendations for additional investigations and protective measures that can be implemented to minimize adverse impacts to the identified resources.« less

Encapsulating urban traffic rhythms into road networks.

PubMed

Wang, Junjie; Wei, Dong; He, Kun; Gong, Hang; Wang, Pu

2014-02-20

Using road GIS (geographical information systems) data and travel demand data for two U.S. urban areas, the dynamical driver sources of each road segment were located. A method to target road clusters closely related to urban traffic congestion was then developed to improve road network efficiency. The targeted road clusters show different spatial distributions at different times of a day, indicating that our method can encapsulate dynamical travel demand information into the road networks. As a proof of concept, when we lowered the speed limit or increased the capacity of road segments in the targeted road clusters, we found that both the number of congested roads and extra travel time were effectively reduced. In addition, the proposed modeling framework provided new insights on the optimization of transport efficiency in any infrastructure network with a specific supply and demand distribution.

Encapsulating Urban Traffic Rhythms into Road Networks

PubMed Central

Wang, Junjie; Wei, Dong; He, Kun; Gong, Hang; Wang, Pu

2014-01-01

Using road GIS (geographical information systems) data and travel demand data for two U.S. urban areas, the dynamical driver sources of each road segment were located. A method to target road clusters closely related to urban traffic congestion was then developed to improve road network efficiency. The targeted road clusters show different spatial distributions at different times of a day, indicating that our method can encapsulate dynamical travel demand information into the road networks. As a proof of concept, when we lowered the speed limit or increased the capacity of road segments in the targeted road clusters, we found that both the number of congested roads and extra travel time were effectively reduced. In addition, the proposed modeling framework provided new insights on the optimization of transport efficiency in any infrastructure network with a specific supply and demand distribution. PMID:24553203

Road dust and its effect on human health: a literature review

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of road dust on human health. A PubMed search was used to extract references that included the words “road dust” and “health” or “fugitive dust” and “health” in the title or abstract. A total of 46 references were extracted and selected for review after the primary screening of 949 articles. The respiratory system was found to be the most affected system in the human body. Lead, platinum-group elements (platinum, rhodium, and bohrium), aluminum, zinc, vanadium, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were the components of road dust that were most frequently referenced in the articles reviewed. Road dust was found to have harmful effects on the human body, especially on the respiratory system. To determine the complex mechanism of action of various components of road dust on the human body and the results thereof, the authors recommend a further meta-analysis and extensive risk-assessment research into the health impacts of dust exposure. PMID:29642653

Patterns and Composition of Road-Killed Wildlife in Northwest Argentina.

PubMed

Cuyckens, Griet An Erica; Mochi, Lucía Sol; Vallejos, María; Perovic, Pablo Gastón; Biganzoli, Fernando

2016-11-01

Roads have important effects on wildlife, such as natural habitat fragmentation and degradation and direct killing of fauna, which leads to reductions in wildlife population size. We focused on a principal road in Northwest Argentina to test for the effect of seasonality and landscape features on the composition of road-killed wildlife. We conducted regularly scheduled road trips during the dry and wet seasons. We recorded the presence or absence of a vegetation curtain or hedge along the road. We measured land use by remote sensing in a 500 m buffer along the road. We compared the abundance of animals killed between seasons (dry and wet) for different taxonomic groups (mammals, birds and reptiles) and for different origins (domestic and native). We built linear mixed models to test the effect of landscape features on the abundance of killed animals. Two hundred and ninety-three individuals were killed, belonging to 35 species; 75.8 % were native and 24.2 % domestic species. The majority of animals killed were mid-sized mammals. More animals were killed during the dry season. The most important factors to explain the wildlife road-killing were the season and the proportion of agricultural landscape. The composition of the killed animals changed with the season. The proportion of agricultural landscape incremented the number of killed birds and mammals during both seasons, without affecting reptiles. The ratio of wild to domestic animals killed was dependent on the season. This study sets a precedent as the first in road ecology in Northwest Argentina and should be taken into account for road planning and regulation.

Patterns and Composition of Road-Killed Wildlife in Northwest Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cuyckens, Griet An Erica; Mochi, Lucía Sol; Vallejos, María; Perovic, Pablo Gastón; Biganzoli, Fernando

2016-11-01

Roads have important effects on wildlife, such as natural habitat fragmentation and degradation and direct killing of fauna, which leads to reductions in wildlife population size. We focused on a principal road in Northwest Argentina to test for the effect of seasonality and landscape features on the composition of road-killed wildlife. We conducted regularly scheduled road trips during the dry and wet seasons. We recorded the presence or absence of a vegetation curtain or hedge along the road. We measured land use by remote sensing in a 500 m buffer along the road. We compared the abundance of animals killed between seasons (dry and wet) for different taxonomic groups (mammals, birds and reptiles) and for different origins (domestic and native). We built linear mixed models to test the effect of landscape features on the abundance of killed animals. Two hundred and ninety-three individuals were killed, belonging to 35 species; 75.8 % were native and 24.2 % domestic species. The majority of animals killed were mid-sized mammals. More animals were killed during the dry season. The most important factors to explain the wildlife road-killing were the season and the proportion of agricultural landscape. The composition of the killed animals changed with the season. The proportion of agricultural landscape incremented the number of killed birds and mammals during both seasons, without affecting reptiles. The ratio of wild to domestic animals killed was dependent on the season. This study sets a precedent as the first in road ecology in Northwest Argentina and should be taken into account for road planning and regulation.

Planning and design of PGIS in Shanghai sub-civic center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Baoyu; Tao, Yan; Gao, Fei

2011-10-01

To alleviate the road congestion caused by parking in urban CBD, Parking Guidance and Information System (PGIS) is paid more attention to many cities in China. It can provide effective parking information (such as the location and utilization of parking lots, the routes, the traffic situation around the parking lots) to drivers through many ways, so as to guide them to park successfully. In the paper, PGIS constructing in Shanghai Xujiahui area is taken as the background, methods and models about urban PGIS planning and design are discussed from the angle of traffic function. Fuzzy AHP is used to select parking lots which can be brought into PGIS. The principle and method of zoning guidance service range are established, the principle of information classification and guidance method of three levels are introduced. Finally, the detailed content of PGI signs is given.

77 FR 73976 - Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests; Idaho; Crooked River Valley Rehabilitation Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-12

... maintenance of the road. Proposed Action The proposed action is to rehabilitate the lower two miles of the... from the road, improve forest visitor safety, and provide easier maintenance of the road. The proposed... the effects to cultural resources, public access, and future road maintenance costs. Permits or...

78 FR 55055 - Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana; Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-09

... determination will be made based upon the analysis of the effects of temporary road construction and use. The... Management Plan To Comply With a District of Montana Court Order (Temporary Roads) AGENCY: Forest Service... support, if possible, its decision to exclude temporary roads from the road density objectives...

77 FR 27013 - Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District; Tongass National Forest; Alaska; Saddle Lakes Timber Sale...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-08

... (non-system) road. All new road construction would be closed to motorized use after timber harvest..., road construction and reconstruction, and silvicultural practices used; (2) access management measures... integrity objectives for visual priority routes; (3) the effects of timber harvest and road construction on...

36 CFR 294.21 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) Has a geographic feature that aids in creating an effective fire break, such as a road or a ridge top..., Appendix Q. Forest road: As defined at 36 CFR 212.1, the term means a road wholly or partly within or... make decisions about protection and management of Idaho Roadless Areas pursuant to this subpart. Road...

Aquatic organism passage at road-stream crossings—synthesis and guidelines for effectiveness monitoring

Treesearch

Robert L. Hoffman; Jason B. Dunham; Bruce P. Hansen

2012-01-01

Restoration and maintenance of passage for aquatic organisms at road-stream crossings represents a major management priority, involving an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars. This report has been written, in part, for field biologists who will be undertaking and evaluating the effectiveness of aquatic organism passage restoration projects at road-stream...

Water Quality Effects of Forest Roads in Bottomland Hardwood Stands

Treesearch

Robert B. Rummer

1999-01-01

Management of bottomland hardwood sites requires adequate access to support forest operations. A study conducted in a bottomland forest in central Georgia has evaluated the effect of forest road design on sediment movement and water quality. Five years of measurement indicate that a conventional crowned road design is a net sink for sediment, primarily due to settling...

Effectiveness of Vegetation in Erosion Control From Forest Road Sideslopes

Treesearch

Johnny M. Grace

2002-01-01

Abstract.. Forest roads have been identified as the major contributor to sediment production from forested lands, accounting for perhaps as much as 90% of all sediment produced. In recent years, increased concern and societal pressure has focused on the impacts of forest roads and the effectiveness of erosion control measures. In addition, the re–...

Sedimentation associated with forest road surfacing in a bottomland hardwood ecosystem

Treesearch

Robert B. Rummer; Bryce Stokes; Graeme Lockaby

1997-01-01

Access systems are a necessary element of resource production in bottomland hardwood sites. However, road building may have a detrimental effect on hydrologic function of the site. This report describes initial results of a study designed to examine the effect of different road surfacing treatments on water quality.Four Surfacing treatments installed on two...

Effects of the 'Speak Out' campaign on the number of killed or injured road users in Sogn and Fjordane county, Norway : summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-04-01

This report contains an evaluation of the effects on the number of killed or injured : road users of the Speak out! road safety campaign in Sogn og Fjordane county in : Norway. The campaign was launched in 1993 and gradually became more intense...

Mitigating road impacts on animals through learning principles.

PubMed

Proppe, D S; McMillan, N; Congdon, J V; Sturdy, C B

2017-01-01

Roads are a nearly ubiquitous feature of the developed world, but their presence does not come without consequences. Many mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians suffer high rates of mortality through collision with motor vehicles, while other species treat roads as barriers that reduce gene flow between populations. Road effects extend beyond the pavement, where traffic noise is altering communities of songbirds, insects, and some mammals. Traditional methods of mitigation along roads include the creation of quieter pavement and tires and the construction of physical barriers to reduce sound transmission and movement. While effective, these forms of mitigation are costly and time-consuming. One alternative is the use of learning principles to create or extinguish aversive behaviors in animals living near roads. Classical and operant conditioning are well-documented techniques for altering behavior in response to novel cues and signals. Behavioral ecologists have used conditioning techniques to mitigate human-wildlife conflict challenges, alter predator-prey interactions, and facilitate reintroduction efforts. Yet, these principles have rarely been applied in the context of roads. We suggest that the field of road ecology is ripe with opportunity for experimentation with learning principles. We present tangible ways that learning techniques could be utilized to mitigate negative roadside behaviors, address the importance of evaluating fitness within these contexts, and evaluate the longevity of learned behaviors. This review serves as an invitation for empirical studies that test the effectiveness of learning paradigms as a mitigation tool in the context of roads.

Road and Rail Traffic Noise Induce Comparable Extra-aural Effects as Revealed During a Short-term Memory Test

PubMed Central

Gallasch, Eugen; Raggam, Reinhard B; Cik, Michael; Rabensteiner, Jasmin; Lackner, Andreas; Piber, Barbara; Marth, Egon

2016-01-01

To examine extraaural effects as induced by 20 min of road (ROAD) and 20 min of rail (RAIL) traffic noise with same loudness (75 dBA), a laboratory study was carried out. The study (N=54) consisted of 28 high and 26 low-annoyed healthy individuals as determined by a traffic annoyance test. To control attention, all individuals performed a nonauditory short-term memory test during the noise exposures. A within-subject design, with phases of ROAD, RAIL, and CALM (memory test only), alternated by phases of rest, was defined. Heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (sBP), total peripheral resistance (TPR), as well as three autonomic variables, preejection period (PEP), 0.15–0.4 Hz high-frequency component of HR variability (HF), and salivary stress biomarker alpha amylase (sAA) were measured. In relation to CALM, HR increased (RAIL +2.1%, ROAD +2.5%), sBP tended to increase against the end of noise exposure, PEP decreased (RAIL −0.7%, ROAD −0.8%), HF decreased (RAIL −3.4%, ROAD −2.9%), and sAA increased (RAIL +78%, ROAD +69%). No differences were found between RAIL and ROAD, indicating that both noise stressors induced comparable extraaural effects. Factor annoyance showed significant during CALM. Here a reduced sympathetic drive (higher PEP values) combined with an increased vascular tone (higher TPR values) was found at the high-annoyed subgroup. PMID:27569408

Multi scale modelling of landslide hazard and risk assessment in data scarce area - a case study on Dhalai District, Tripura, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Kapil; De, Sunil Kumar

2017-04-01

Successful landslide management plans and policy depends on in-depth knowledge about the hazard and associated risk. Thus, the present research is intended to present an integrated approach involving uses of geospatial technologies for landslide hazard and risk assessment at different scales (site specific to regional level). The landslide hazard map at regional scale (district level) is prepared by using weight-rating based method. To analyze landslide manifestation in the Dhalai district of Tripura different causative factor maps (lithology, road buffer, slope, relative relief, rainfall, fault buffer, landuse/landcover and drainage density) are derived. The analysis revealed that the geological structure and human interference have more influence than other considered factors on the landslide occurrences. The landslide susceptibility zonation map shows that about 1.64 and 16.68% of the total study area is falling under very high and high susceptibility zones respectively. The landslide risk assessment at district level is generated by integrating hazard scouring and resource damage potential scouring (fuzzy membership values) maps. The values of landslide risk matrix are varying within the range of 0.001 to 0.18 and the risk assessment map shows that only 0.45% (10.80 km2) of the district is under very high risk zone, whereas, about 50% pixels of existing road section are under very high to high level of landslide risk. The major part (94.06%) of the district is under very low to low risk zone. Landslide hazard and risk assessment at site specific level have been carried out through intensive field investigation in which it is found that the Ambassa landslide is located within 150 m buffer zone of fault line. Variation of geo-electrical resistivity (2.2Ωm to 31.4Ωm) indicates the complex geological character in this area. Based on the obtained geo-technical result which helps to identify the degree of risk to the existing resource, it is appropriate to implement the management plans such as construction of sub-surface drainage, extension of retaining walls, cutting/filling of slope in scientific manner. Keywords: landslide, hazard, risk, fuzzy set theory

Traveling the Silk Road: A Measurement of a Large Anonymous Online Marketplace

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-11-28

Silk Road, an anonymous, international online marketplace that operates as a Tor hidden service and uses Bitcoin as its exchange currency. We gather...analysis of Silk Road, an anonymous, international on- line marketplace that operates as a Tor hidden service and uses Bitcoin as its exchange currency. We...anonymity, Silk Road needs to also preserve payment anonymity. To that effect, Silk Road only supports Bitcoin (BTC, [30]) as a trading currency

A research of road centerline extraction algorithm from high resolution remote sensing images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yushan; Xu, Tingfa

2017-09-01

Satellite remote sensing technology has become one of the most effective methods for land surface monitoring in recent years, due to its advantages such as short period, large scale and rich information. Meanwhile, road extraction is an important field in the applications of high resolution remote sensing images. An intelligent and automatic road extraction algorithm with high precision has great significance for transportation, road network updating and urban planning. The fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering segmentation algorithms have been used in road extraction, but the traditional algorithms did not consider spatial information. An improved fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm combined with spatial information (SFCM) is proposed in this paper, which is proved to be effective for noisy image segmentation. Firstly, the image is segmented using the SFCM. Secondly, the segmentation result is processed by mathematical morphology to remover the joint region. Thirdly, the road centerlines are extracted by morphology thinning and burr trimming. The average integrity of the centerline extraction algorithm is 97.98%, the average accuracy is 95.36% and the average quality is 93.59%. Experimental results show that the proposed method in this paper is effective for road centerline extraction.

Geologic map of the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone in the vicinity of Lake Pillsbury and adjacent areas of Mendocino, Lake, and Glenn Counties, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ohlin, Henry N.; McLaughlin, Robert J.; Moring, Barry C.; Sawyer, Thomas L.

2010-01-01

The Lake Pillsbury area lies in the eastern part of the northern California Coast Ranges, along the east side of the transform boundary between the Pacific and North American plates (fig. 1). The Bartlett Springs Fault Zone is a northwest-trending zone of faulting associated with this eastern part of the transform boundary. It is presently active, based on surface creep (Svarc and others, 2008), geomorphic expression, offset of Holocene units (Lienkaemper and Brown, 2009), and microseismicity (Bolt and Oakeshott, 1982; Dehlinger and Bolt, 1984; DePolo and Ohlin, 1984). Faults associated with the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone at Lake Pillsbury are steeply dipping and offset older low to steeply dipping faults separating folded and imbricated Mesozoic terranes of the Franciscan Complex and interleaved rocks of the Coast Range Ophiolite and Great Valley Sequence. Parts of this area were mapped in the late 1970s and 1980s by several investigators who were focused on structural relations in the Franciscan Complex (Lehman, 1978; Jordan, 1975; Layman, 1977; Etter, 1979). In the 1980s the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) mapped a large part of the area as part of a mineral resource appraisal of two U.S. Forest Service Roadless areas. For evaluating mineral resource potential, the USGS mapping was published at a scale of 1:62,500 as a generalized geologic summary map without a topographic base (Ohlin and others, 1983; Ohlin and Spear, 1984). The previously unpublished mapping with topographic base is presented here at a scale of 1:30,000, compiled with other mapping in the vicinity of Lake Pillsbury. The mapping provides a geologic framework for ongoing investigations to evaluate potential earthquake hazards and structure of the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone. This geologic map includes part of Mendocino National Forest (the Elk Creek Roadless Area) in Mendocino, Glenn, and Lake Counties and is traversed by several U.S. Forest Service Routes, including M1 and M6 (fig. 2). The study area is characterized by northwest-trending ridges separated by steep-sided valleys. Elevations in this part of the Coast Ranges vary from 1,500 ft (457 m) to 6,600 ft (2,012 m), commonly with gradients of 1,000 ft per mile (90 m per km). The steep slopes are covered by brush, grass, oak, and conifer forests. Access to most of the area is by county roads and Forest Service Route M6 from Potter Valley to Lake Pillsbury and by county road and Forest Service Route M6 and M1 from Upper Lake and State Highway 20. From the north, State Highway 261 provides access from Covelo. Forest Service Route M1 trends roughly north from its intersection with Route M6 south of Hull Mountain and through the Elk Creek and Black Butte Roadless areas to State Highway 261. Side roads used for logging and jeep trails provide additional access in parts of the area.

Environmental Assessment: Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Command (CERDEC) Flight Activity Facility at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

portions of the original Lakehurst Proving Ground operations, specifically a goat pasture and associated farm buildings, were located within the project...would continue to receive fuel from the centrally managed fuel farm operation located south of Hangar 6. • The facility would connect to existing...Rounds Road. An undated map6 from the Lakehurst Proving Ground era depicts the project study area as a fenced goat pasture. 3.2.1 Zoning and

Progress toward a circulation atlas for application to coastal water siting problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munday, J. C., Jr.; Gordon, H. H.

1978-01-01

Circulation data needed to resolve coastal siting problems are assembled from historical hydrographic and remote sensing studies in the form of a Circulation Atlas. Empirical data are used instead of numerical model simulations to achieve fine resolution and include fronts and convergence zones. Eulerian and Langrangian data are collected, transformed, and combined into trajectory maps and current vector maps as a function of tidal phase and wind vector. Initial Atlas development is centered on the Elizabeth River, Hampton Roads, Virgina.

Can roads be used as transects for primate population surveys?.

PubMed

Hilário, Renato R; Rodrigues, Flávio H G; Chiarello, Adriano G; Mourthé, Italo

2012-01-01

Line transect distance sampling (LTDS) can be applied to either trails or roads. However, it is likely that sampling along roads might result in biased density estimates. In this paper, we compared the results obtained with LTDS applied on trails and roads for two primate species (Callithrix penicillata and Callicebus nigrifrons) to clarify whether roads are appropriate transects to estimate densities. We performed standard LTDS surveys in two nature reserves in south-eastern Brazil. Effective strip width and population density were different between trails and roads for C. penicillata, but not for C. nigrifrons. The results suggest that roads are not appropriate for use as transects in primate surveys, at least for some species. Further work is required to fully understand this issue, but in the meantime we recommend that researchers avoid using roads as transects or treat roads and trails as covariates when sampling on roads is unavoidable. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The use of GIS tools for road infrastructure safety management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budzyński, Marcin; Kustra, Wojciech; Okraszewska, Romanika; Jamroz, Kazimierz; Pyrchla, Jerzy

2018-01-01

There are many factors that influence accidents and their severity. They can be grouped within the system of man, vehicle and environment. The article focuses on how GIS tools can be used to manage road infrastructure safety. To ensure a better understanding and identification of road factors, GIS tools help with the acquisition of road parameter data. Their other role is helping with a clear and effective presentation of risk ranking. GIS is key to identifying high-risk sections and supports the effective communication of safety levels. This makes it a vital element of safety management. The article describes the use of GIS for the collection and visualisation of road parameter data which are not available in any of the existing databases, i.e. horizontal curve parameters. As we know from research and statistics, they are important factors that determine the safety of road infrastructure. Finally, new research is proposed as well as the possibilities for applying GIS tools for the purposes of road safety inspection.

Assessment of Population and Microenvironmental Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiao, Wan

A positive relationship exists between fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) exposure and adverse health effects. PM2.5 concentration-response functions used in the quantitative risk assessment were based on findings from human epidemiological studies that relied on areawide ambient concentrations as surrogate for actual ambient exposure, which cannot capture the spatial and temporal variability in human exposures. The goal of the study is to assess inter-individual, geographic and seasonal variability in population exposures to inform the interpretation of available epidemiological studies, and to improve the understanding of how exposure-related factors in important exposure microenvironments contribute to the variability in individual PM2.5 exposure. Typically, the largest percentage of time in which an individual is exposed to PM2.5 of ambient origin occurs in indoor residence, and the highest ambient PM2.5 concentrations occur in transportation microenvironments because of the proximity to on-road traffic emissions. Therefore, indoor residence and traffic-related transportation microenvironments were selected for further assessment in the study. Population distributions of individual daily PM2.5 exposures were estimated for the selected regions and seasons using the Stochastic Human Exposure and Dose Simulation Model for Particulate Matter (SHEDS-PM). For the indoor residence, the current practice by assuming the entire residence to be one large single zone for calculating the indoor residential PM 2.5 concentration was evaluated by applying an indoor air quality model, RISK, to compare indoor PM2.5 concentrations between single-zone and multi-zone scenarios. For the transportation microenvironments, one field data collection focused on in-vehicle microenvironment and was conducted to quantify the variability in the in-vehicle PM2.5 concentration with respect to the outside vehicle concentration for a wide range of conditions that affect intra-vehicle variability in exposure concentration, including ventilation air source, window status, fan setting, AC utilization, vehicle speed, road type, travel direction, and time of day. Another field data collection measured PM2.5 exposure concentrations on pre-selected routes across transportation modes of pedestrian, bus, and car to quantify the variability in the transportation mode concentration ratios, and identify factors affecting variability in traffic-related concentrations. In general, population daily average exposure to ambient PM2.5 is less than the ambient concentration by approximately half. The ratio of PM2.5 ambient exposure to ambient concentration (Ea/C) varies by individual, geographic area and season, as a result of regional differences in housing stock and seasonal differences in air exchange rates (ACH). For the indoor residence, the single-zone assumption is biased when any non-ambient source is presented. Bias correction factors are developed for cooking and smoking scenarios, separately, to improve the concentration estimates. Correction factors are most sensitive to changes in ACH but relatively insensitive to variations in source emission rate and duration. In a SHEDS-PM case study, the population daily average total exposure increased by 17% after applying correction factors. Transportation mode exposure concentrations are sensitive to mode, and are affected by factors such as vehicle ventilation and proximity to on-road emission sources. The in-vehicle to outside vehicle concentration (I/O) ratio is highly sensitive to whether windows are open or, for closed windows, to whether fresh air or recirculating air is used. Both model simulations and field studies are needed to inform better understanding of human exposure. Exposure, and not just concentration, should be considered in developing risk management strategies to reduce uncertainty in health effect estimates, and to identify highly exposed groups and possible exposure reduction strategies.

Effects of roads and well pads on erosion in the Largo Canyon watershed, New Mexico, 2001-02

USGS Publications Warehouse

Matherne, Anne Marie

2006-01-01

Largo Canyon, located in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico, is one of the longest dry washes in the world. Oil and gas production in the San Juan Basin, which began in the 1940's, required the development of an extensive network of dirt roads to service the oil and gas wells in the Navajo Reservoir area. Presently, there are about eight wells per square mile, and the density of oil and gas wells is expected to increase. Potential environmental effects on landscape stability that may result from the additional roads and well pads have not been documented. In 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management to evaluate the effects of roads and well pads associated with oil and gas operations on the erosion potential of Bureau of Land Management lands in the Largo Canyon watershed. The effects of roads and well pads on erosion were quantified by installing sediment dams (dams) and by surveying transects across roads and well pads. Data from 26 dams were used in the analysis. Dams were installed at 43 sites: 21 on hillsides upslope from roads or pads to measure erosion from hillslopes, 11 at the downslope edges of roads to measure erosion from roads, and 11 at the downslope edges of well pads to measure erosion from well pads. Pairs of survey transects were established at nine well pads and two road locations. Sediment-accumulation data for 26 dams, recorded at 17 measurement intervals, indicate that average erosion rates at the dams significantly correlate to size of the contributing area. The average erosion rate normalized by drainage area was 0.001 foot per year below roads, 0.003 foot per year on hillslopes, and 0.011 foot per year below well pads. Results of a two-sample t-test indicate that there was no significant difference in average erosion rates for dams located on hillslopes and below roads, whereas average erosion rates were significantly greater for dams below well pads than for dams on hillslopes and dams below roads. The average erosion rates estimated from the data collected during this study most likely represent minimum erosion rates. Sediment-accumulation data for measurement intervals and for dams that were breached during 2002, resulting from the large volume of runoff generated by high-intensity storms, were not used to compute erosion rates. For this reason, the higher range of erosion rates is underrepresented and the results of this study are biased toward the lower end of the range of erosion rates. Measurements along road transects generally indicate that sediment is eroded from the top of road berms and redeposited at the base of the berms and may be transported downslope along the road. Measurements along well-pad transects generally indicate that sediment eroded from hillslopes is transported over the surface of the well pad and down the well-pad edges. Based on field observations, roads aligned parallel to topographic contours facilitate erosional processes in two ways: (1) roads cut across and collect runoff from previously established drainages and (2) roads, where they are cut into hillsides or into the land surface, provide focal points for the initiation of erosion. Roads aligned across topographic contours can serve as conduits to channel runoff but do not constitute a large percentage of the road network.

Forest Roads; A Synthesis of Scientific Information

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-05-01

Effects of roads in forested ecosystems span direct physical and ecological ones (such as geomorphic and hydrological effects), indirect and landscape level ones (such as effects on aquatic habitat, terrestrial vertebrates, and biodiversity conservat...

A Procedure for Determining Tire-Road Friction Characteristics Using a Modification of the Magic Formula Based on Experimental Results

PubMed Central

Pérez, Javier; Velasco, Juan M.; Guerra, Antonio J.; Hernández, Pedro

2018-01-01

Knowledge of tire-road friction characteristics is essential for the proper performance of most relevant vehicle active safety systems. Therefore, its determination is necessary to improve the effectiveness of these systems and to avoid or reduce the consequences of traffic accidents. For this reason, there is a great deal of literature concerning methods and devices for measuring and modeling tire-road friction. Most of these methods have focused on determining the road friction resistance, taking only road composition and making measurements in wet conditions into account. However, friction forces are also dependent on the tire type, since the contact is established between the tire and the road in real driving conditions. Thus, the type and characteristics of the tire have to be considered in the study of the interaction between the vehicle and the road. The aim of this work is to unify the study of the friction coefficient, taking into consideration the two existing bodies involved in the contact, i.e., the tire and road and the main factors that influence the forces in the contact. To this end, a modification of the Pacejka Magic Formula is proposed to include the effects of the main parameters that influence the contact, such as road composition and its state, tire type, vehicle speed, and slip between the tire and the road. To do so, real tests have been conducted on several roads and with different operating conditions. As a result, a more accurate tire-road friction model has been obtained. PMID:29562623

A Procedure for Determining Tire-Road Friction Characteristics Using a Modification of the Magic Formula Based on Experimental Results.

PubMed

Cabrera, Juan A; Castillo, Juan J; Pérez, Javier; Velasco, Juan M; Guerra, Antonio J; Hernández, Pedro

2018-03-17

Knowledge of tire-road friction characteristics is essential for the proper performance of most relevant vehicle active safety systems. Therefore, its determination is necessary to improve the effectiveness of these systems and to avoid or reduce the consequences of traffic accidents. For this reason, there is a great deal of literature concerning methods and devices for measuring and modeling tire-road friction. Most of these methods have focused on determining the road friction resistance, taking only road composition and making measurements in wet conditions into account. However, friction forces are also dependent on the tire type, since the contact is established between the tire and the road in real driving conditions. Thus, the type and characteristics of the tire have to be considered in the study of the interaction between the vehicle and the road. The aim of this work is to unify the study of the friction coefficient, taking into consideration the two existing bodies involved in the contact, i.e., the tire and road and the main factors that influence the forces in the contact. To this end, a modification of the Pacejka Magic Formula is proposed to include the effects of the main parameters that influence the contact, such as road composition and its state, tire type, vehicle speed, and slip between the tire and the road. To do so, real tests have been conducted on several roads and with different operating conditions. As a result, a more accurate tire-road friction model has been obtained.

Modeling changes in rill erodibility and critical shear stress on native surface roads

Treesearch

Randy B. Foltz; Hakjun Rhee; William J. Elliot

2008-01-01

This study investigated the effect of cumulative overland flow on rill erodibility and critical shear stress on native surface roads in central Idaho. Rill erodibility decreased exponentially with increasing cumulative overland flow depth; however, critical shear stress did not change. The study demonstrated that road erodibility on the studied road changes over the...

The effectiveness of vertebrate passage and prevention structures : a study of Boeckman Road in Wilsonville, final report, OTREC-RR-10-14, September 2010.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-09-01

One of the most obvious impacts roads have on the natural world is direct mortality to individual animals that attempt to cross roads. : A less obvious but likely more important impact of roads on many species is habitat fragmentation. The ability fo...

Motorcycles entering from access points and merging with traffic on primary roads in Malaysia: behavioral and road environment influence on the occurrence of traffic conflicts.

PubMed

Abdul Manan, Muhammad Marizwan

2014-09-01

This paper uses data from an observational study, conducted at access points in straight sections of primary roads in Malaysia in 2012, to investigate the effects of motorcyclists' behavior and road environment attributes on the occurrence of serious traffic conflicts involving motorcyclists entering primary roads via access points. In order to handle the unobserved heterogeneity in the small sample data size, this study applies mixed effects logistic regression with multilevel bootstrapping. Two statistically significant models (Model 2 and Model 3) are produced, with 2 levels of random effect parameters, i.e. motorcyclists' attributes and behavior at Level 1, and road environment attributes at Level 2. Among all the road environment attributes tested, the traffic volume and the speed limit are found to be statistically significant, only contributing to 26-29% of the variations affecting the traffic conflict outcome. The implication is that 71-74% of the unmeasured or undescribed attributes and behavior of motorcyclists still have an importance in predicting the outcome: a serious traffic conflict. As for the fixed effect parameters, both models show that the risk of motorcyclists being involved in a serious traffic conflict is 2-4 times more likely if they accept a shorter gap to a single approaching vehicle (time lag <4s) and in between two vehicles (time gap <4s) when entering the primary road from the access point. A road environment factor, such as a narrow lane (seen in Model 2), and a behavioral factor, such as stopping at the stop line (seen in Model 3), also influence the occurrence of a serious traffic conflict compared to those entering into a wider lane road and without stopping at the stop line, respectively. A discussion of the possible reasons for this seemingly strange result, including a recommendation for further research, concludes the paper. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling an impact of road geometric design on vehicle energy consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luin, Blaž; Petelin, Stojan; Al-Mansour, Fouad

2017-11-01

Some roads connect traffic origins and destinations directly, some use winding, indirect routes. Indirect connections result in longer distances driven and increased fuel consumption. A similar effect is observed on congested roads and mountain roads with many changes in altitude. Therefore a framework to assess road networks based on energy consumption is proposed. It has been shown that road geometry has significant impact on overall traffic energy consumption and emissions. The methodology presented in the paper analyzes impact of traffic volume, shares of vehicle classes, road network configuration on the energy used by the vehicles. It can be used to optimize energy consumption with efficient traffic management and to choose optimum new road in the design phase. This is especially important as the energy consumed by the vehicles shortly after construction supersedes the energy spent for the road construction.

Responses of Roadside Soil Cation Pools to Vehicular Emission Deposition in Southern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossi, R.; Bain, D. J.; Jenerette, D.; Clarke, L. W.; Wilson, K.

2013-12-01

Roadside soils are heavily loaded with NO3- due to vehicular emissions. This deposition likely acidifies these soils, potentially mobilizing cationic species from soil exchange sites. Acidification driven mobilization is well documented in forest soils, but poorly understood in roadside soils. Metal concentrations in park and garden soils collected from Southern California were examined across gradients of soil chemistry, road network density, climate, and geology to examine cation mobilization effects. In our samples, soil pH is not clearly related to distance from the roadside or underlying geology. However, the depletion of several elements (Al, K) is clearly observed in near-road environments. These depletion trends occur despite contrary trends, including increased soil surface areas and soil organic matter in near-road environments. Additionally, inputs from the weathering of road building materials appear to affect soil chemistry. For example, soil Ca patterns remain relatively consistent relative to roads, suggesting Ca bearing weathering products replenish soil Ca pools in near-road areas. Simple mixing models constructed using elemental ratios are consistent with road material Ca source contributions. Observed near-road patterns in soil chemistry likely influence local ecological function, shifting plant communities and soil functions. Clear understanding of these shifts is essential to the effective use of green infrastructure and other strategies utilized to control road-sourced nutrients. This analytical framework can be applied globally as road networks continue to expand and affect larger ecosystems.

[Evaluation on the effects of education regarding road safety among middle school students].

PubMed

Jin, Hui-Qing; Li, Ying-Chun; Zhang, Shu-Lin; Yu, Wan-Sheng

2009-08-01

To evaluate the intervention effects for road traffic accident prevention among middle school students through understanding their knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) on road safety. Students in Grade 1 and Grade 2 from 7 junior and senior middle schools in Ji'nan city were selected as intervention group and students from a middle school in Hefei city served as control group. Education was provided to the intervention group and all the middle school students in Ji'nan city. Changes of KAP on road safety were measured for both groups during the follow-up period, and comparison on KAP for the two groups was carried statistically. The mean scores of road safety knowledge for intervention group improved significantly during the follow-up period (from 0.9 - 3.8), while these indices did not change much in the control group (from 0 - 0.2). Negative attitude on road safety was found in both groups, but less in the intervention group. More students started to admit that middle school students themselves should be responsible for most of the RTAs. Per week frequency of violating traffic rules did not improve, however during the follow-up period on both groups as still 75% to 80% of the students violating the traffic rules less than 2 times per week. Although three kinds and one kind of traffic rules violation seemed to have improved in the intervention group and in the control group, there were still two and three other kinds turned worse in the intervention and in the control group, respectively. Program on road safety education significantly improved the relative knowledge for middle school student and it exerted positive effects in road safety attitude to some extent. However, no significant effect was found in the improvement on their behavior. Education on road safety should be carried out in the early stage of childhood with newer and more effective intervention approaches.

Seed spillage from grain trailers on road verges during oilseed rape harvest: an experimental survey.

PubMed

Bailleul, Diane; Ollier, Sébastien; Huet, Sylvie; Gardarin, Antoine; Lecomte, Jane

2012-01-01

Anthropogenic vectors enhance the natural dispersal capacity of plant seeds significantly in terms of quantity and distance. Human-mediated seed dispersal (i.e. anthropochory) greatly increases the dispersal of crop species across agroecosystems. In the case of oilseed rape (OSR), spillage of seeds from grain trailers during harvest has never been quantified. Our experimental approach involved establishing 85 seed trap-sites on the road verges of an agricultural area around the grain silo of Selommes (Loir-et-Cher, France). We recorded OSR spillage during harvest and applied a linear model to the data. The amount of seed spilled was related positively to the area of the OSR fields served by the road, whereas the amount of seed spilled decreased with other variables, such as distance from the trap-site to the verge of the road and to the nearest field. The distance to the grain silo, through local and regional effects, affected seed loss. Local effects from fields adjacent to the road resulted in a cumulative spillage on one-lane roads. On two-lane roads, spillage was nearly constant whatever the distance to the silo due to a mixture of these local effects and of grain trailers that joined the road from more distant fields. From the data, we predicted the number of seeds lost from grain trailers on one road verge in the study area. We predicted a total spillage of 2.05 × 10(6) seeds (± 4.76 × 10(5)) along the road length, which represented a mean of 404 ± 94 seeds per m(2). Containment of OSR seeds will always be challenging. However, seed spillage could be reduced if grain trailers were covered and filled with less seed. Reducing distances travelled between fields and silos could also limit seed loss.

Suspended sediment and turbidity after road construction/improvement and forest harvest in streams of the Trask River Watershed Study, Oregon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arismendi, Ivan; Groom, Jeremiah D.; Reiter, Maryanne; Johnson, Sherri L.; Dent, Liz; Meleason, Mark; Argerich, Alba; Skaugset, Arne E.

2017-08-01

Transport of fine-grained sediment from unpaved forest roads into streams is a concern due to the potential negative effects of additional suspended sediment on aquatic ecosystems. Here we compared turbidity and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) dynamics in five nonfish bearing coastal Oregon streams above and below road crossings, during three consecutive time periods ("before", "after road construction/improvement", and "after forest harvest and hauling"). We hypothesized that the combined effects of road construction/improvement and the hauling following forest harvest would increase turbidity and SSC in these streams. We tested whether the differences between paired samples from above and below road crossing exceeded various biological thresholds, using literature values of biological responses to increases in SSC and turbidity. Overall, we found minimal increases of both turbidity and SSC after road improvement, forest harvest, and hauling. Because flow is often used as a surrogate for turbidity or SSC we examined these relationships using data from locations above road crossings that were unaffected by roads or forest harvest and hauling. In addition, we examined the association between turbidity and SSC for these background locations. We found a positive, but in some cases weak association between flow and turbidity, and between flow and SSC; the relationship between turbidity and SSC was more robust, but also inconsistent among sites over time. In these low order streams, the concentrations and transport of suspended sediment seems to be highly influenced by the variability of local conditions. Our study provides an expanded understanding of current forest road management practice effects on fine-grained sediment in streams and introduces alternative metrics using multiple thresholds to evaluate potential indicators of biological relevance.

Effectiveness of post-fire Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) road treatments: Results from three wildfires

Treesearch

Randy B. Foltz; Peter Robichaud

2013-01-01

Wildland fires often cause extreme changes in the landscape that drastically influence surface runoff and soil erosion, which can impact forest resources, aquatic habitats, water supplies, public safety, and forest access infrastructure such as forest roads. Little information is available on the effectiveness of various post-fire road treatments, thus this study was...

Landscape correlates of forest plant invasions: A high-resolution analysis across the eastern United States

Treesearch

Kurt Riitters; Kevin Potter; Basil V. Iannone; Christopher Oswalt; Songlin Fei; Qinfeng Guo

2017-01-01

Aim: Invasive species occurrence is often related to the anthropogenic context of a given area. Quantifying the effects of roads is of particular interest as roads are a major vector for invasion. Our objective was to further quantify the effects of roads on forest plant invasion through a macroscale, high-resolution investigation to assist...

Effects of roads on elk: implications for management in forested ecosystems.

Treesearch

Mary M. Rowland; Michael J. Wisdom; Bruce K. Johnson; Mark A. Penninger

2004-01-01

The effects of roads on both habitat and population responses of elk (Cervus elaphus) have been of keen interest to foresters and ungulate biologists for the last half century. Increased timber harvest in national forests, beginning in the 1960s, led to a proliferation of road networks in forested ecosystems inhabited by elk (Hieb 1976, Lyon and...

Influence of forest and rangeland management on anadromous fish habitat in Western North America: planning forest roads to protect salmonid habitat.

Treesearch

Carlton S. Yee; Terry D. Roelofs

1980-01-01

The construction and existence of forest roads, landings, and decking areas may have significant effects on anadromous fish habitat . Major effects discussed in this paper are increased sedimentation from transportation networks, the hindrance to fish migration of drainage structures, and possible changes in water quality from road stabilization additives. Guidelines...

Geocryological hazards and destructive exogenic geological processes on lines of linear constructions of tundra and forest-tundra zones of Western Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ospennikov, E. N.; Hilimonjuk, V. Z.

2009-04-01

Economic development of northern oil-and gas-bearing regions, even by application of shift method, is accompanied by a construction of the linear transport systems including automobile- and railways. Construction of such roads is connected with the risks caused by the whole complex of hazards, defined by the environmental features of the region, including flat surface with strong marshiness, development of a peat, fine-grained and easily eroded friable sedimentations, as well as by complicated geocryological conditions. Geocryological conditions of Western Siberia area are characterized by a rather high heterogeneity. This implies the strong variability of permafrost soils distribution, their thickness and continuity, depths of seasonal thawing and frost penetration, and also intact development of geocryological processes and phenomena. Thermokarst, thermo erosion and thermo-abrasion develop in the natural conditions. These processes are caused by partial degradation of permafrost. A frost heave also occurs during their seasonal or long-term freezing. Failure of an environment, which is always peculiar to construction of the roads, causes reorganization of geocryological systems that is accompanied by occurrence of dangerous geocryological processes, such as technogenic thermokarst (with formation of various negative forms of a relief: from fine subsidence up to small and average sized lakes), frost heave ground (with formation frost mound in height up to 0,5 - 1,5 meters and more), thermal erosion (gullies and ravines with volume of the born material up to several thousand cubic meters). Development of these destructive processes in a road stripes leads to emergencies owing to deformations and destructions of an earthen cloth, and to failure of natural tundra and forest-tundra ecosystems. The methodical approaches based on typification and zoning of the area by its environmental complex have been developed for an estimation of geocryological hazards at linear construction. The estimation was carried out on the basis of the analysis, including features of geocryological processes development in natural conditions and certain types of geocryological conditions; character of the failures caused by construction and operation of roads; hazard severity of destructive processes for certain geotechnical systems of roads. Three categories of territories have been specified as a result on base of hazard severity: very complex, complex and simple. Very complex ones are characterized by close to 0 0C by average annual temperatures of soils, presence massive pore and it is repeated- wedge ices, a wide circulation it is high ice bearing ground and active modern development of processes thermokarst, thermo erosion and frost heave. Simple territories differ in low average annual temperatures of soils (below -4 0С), absence massive underground ices and weak development of geocryological processes. All other territories representing potential hazard at adverse change of an environment are classified as complex territories.

Roads and bats: a meta-analysis and review of the evidence on vehicle collisions and barrier effects.

PubMed

Fensome, Amy Grace; Mathews, Fiona

2016-10-01

Roads are a potential threat to bat conservation. In addition to the direct risk of collision of bats with vehicles, roads could pose a threat to bat populations as a result of habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, and could act as barriers to movements of bats between habitats.We performed a systematic review of the literature and conducted meta-analyses to assess the threat posed by roads to bats as a result of 1) collisions between bats and vehicles and 2) roads acting as barriers to movements of bats.Based on collated records of 1207 bat road casualties in Europe, we found that low-flying species are more prone to collisions than high-flying species, and that juveniles are more vulnerable to collisions than adults. In addition, meta-analysis identified a significant bias towards male casualties. Casualties included rare species such as Barbastella barbastellus and geographically restricted species such as Rhinolophus species.The bias towards male casualties could be indicative of greater natal philopatry or lower dispersal among females, or of sexual segregation in habitats of varying quality, i.e. females may occupy better quality habitats than males, and road density may be lower in better quality habitats.Whether or not roads act as barriers to the movement of bats depends on a complex interplay of habitat and species-specific behaviour. For example, the presence of favourable habitat for bats - notably woodland - was found in this review to be linked with significantly reduced barrier effects but a heightened risk of collision.Our data suggest that roads do pose a threat to bats. Future research should assess the contribution of traffic noise and street lighting to the barrier effect of roads. Where new road schemes are monitored by ecological practitioners, it is vital that consistent protocols are employed to ensure that bat activity can be compared before and after the road is built. Evidence from such research should be used to minimize the risks for bats of any roads built in the future, and to design safe crossing points for bats.

Driver steering dynamics measured in car simulator under a range of visibility and roadmaking conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, R. W.; Mcruer, D. T.

1977-01-01

A simulation experiment was conducted to determine the effect of reduced visibility on driver lateral (steering) control. The simulator included a real car cab and a single lane road image projected on a screen six feet in front of the driver. Simulated equations of motion controlled apparent car lane position in response to driver steering actions, wind gusts, and road curvature. Six drivers experienced a range of visibility conditions at various speeds with assorted roadmaking configurations (mark and gap lengths). Driver describing functions were measured and detailed parametric model fits were determined. A pursuit model employing a road curvature feedforward was very effective in explaining driver behavior in following randomly curving roads. Sampled-data concepts were also effective in explaining the combined effects of reduced visibility and intermittent road markings on the driver's dynamic time delay. The results indicate the relative importance of various perceptual variables as the visual input to the driver's steering control process is changed.

The effect of resurfacing on friction, speeds and safety on main roads in Finland.

PubMed

Leden, L; Hämäläinen, O; Manninen, E

1998-01-01

This study aimed at examining how resurfacing and the first winter period after resurfacing affect the safety of main roads in Finland. The study consisted of three substudies. In the first substudy the changes of side friction and lock braking friction were measured on newly paved roads after resurfacing and after the first winter period. The effect of different resurfacing methods was also compared in the course of the study. All the 50 road sections in the study were resurfaced in summer 1991 and measured with the friction truck of the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). Friction was found to be highly dependent on the type of resurfacing treatment. In general, the friction of surfaces with high coefficients after resurfacing decrease and the lowest frictions increase with time, locked braking friction values immediately after resurfacing can be undesirably low. The second substudy dealt with the effect of resurfacing on the vehicle speeds. The analysis was based on automatic speed and weather measurement in 1991 and 1992 on resurfaced roads, which were resurfaced in the summer 1991 and on a sample of comparison roads which had not been resurfaced. There is little change in speeds on the non-resurfaced roads during the study period, but there is some indication that resurfacing increases the average speeds, at least when the road is dry. Complete data were available for only one site, where the result was that average speeds on dry roads increased after resurfacing by 0.6 km/h and increased still more (by 0.5 km/h) after the first winter period. The third substudy analysed fatal and injury accidents reported to the police on the resurfaced and comparison roads one and two years before, the same year resurfacing was performed and one and two years after the resurfacing. The accident results were similar to the speed findings. The most likely effect is a risk increase immediately after resurfacing by somewhat less than 7% and of 3 to 7% of the first winter period. These results are, however, subject to large uncertainty because of the small number of accidents on the treatment roads.

Investigating the consequences of urban volcanism using a scenario approach II: Insights into transportation network damage and functionality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blake, Daniel M.; Deligne, Natalia I.; Wilson, Thomas M.; Lindsay, Jan M.; Woods, Richard

2017-06-01

Transportation networks are critical infrastructure in urban environments. Before, during and following volcanic activity, these networks can incur direct and indirect impacts, which subsequently reduces the Level-of-Service available to transportation end-users. Additionally, reductions in service can arise from management strategies including evacuation zoning, causing additional complications for transportation end-users and operators. Here, we develop metrics that incorporate Level-of-Service for transportation end-users as the key measure of vulnerability for multi-hazard volcanic impact and risk assessments. A hypothetical eruption scenario recently developed for the Auckland Volcanic Field, New Zealand, is applied to describe potential impacts of a small basaltic eruption on different transportation modes, namely road, rail, and activities at airports and ports. We demonstrate how the new metrics can be applied at specific locations worldwide by considering the geophysical hazard sequence and evacuation zones in this scenario, a process that was strongly informed by consultation with transportation infrastructure providers and emergency management officials. We also discuss the potential implications of modified hazard sequences (e.g. different wind profiles during the scenario, and unrest with no resulting eruption) on transportation vulnerability and population displacement. The vent area of the eruption scenario used in our study is located north of the Māngere Bridge suburb of Auckland. The volcanic activity in the scenario progresses from seismic unrest, through phreatomagmatic explosions generating pyroclastic surges to a magmatic phase generating a scoria cone and lava flows. We find that most physical damage to transportation networks occurs from pyroclastic surges during the initial stages of the eruption. However, the most extensive service reduction across all networks occurs 6 days prior to the eruption onset, largely attributed to the implementation of evacuation zones; these disrupt crucial north-south links through the south eastern Auckland isthmus, and at times cause up to 435,000 residents and many businesses to be displaced. Ash deposition on road and rail following tephra-producing eruptive phases causes widespread Level-of-Service reduction, and some disruption continues for > 1 month following the end of the eruption until clean-up and re-entry to most evacuated zones is completed. Different tephra dispersal and deposition patterns can result in substantial variations to Level-of-Service and consequences for transportation management. Additional complexities may also arise during times of unrest with no eruption, particularly as residents are potentially displaced for longer periods of time due to extended uncertainties on potential vent location. The Level-of-Service metrics developed here effectively highlight the importance of considering transportation end-users when developing volcanic impact and risk assessments. We suggest that the metrics are universally applicable in other urban environments.

An Automated Road Roughness Detection from Mobile Laser Scanning Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, P.; Angelats, E.

2017-05-01

Rough roads influence the safety of the road users as accident rate increases with increasing unevenness of the road surface. Road roughness regions are required to be efficiently detected and located in order to ensure their maintenance. Mobile Laser Scanning (MLS) systems provide a rapid and cost-effective alternative by providing accurate and dense point cloud data along route corridor. In this paper, an automated algorithm is presented for detecting road roughness from MLS data. The presented algorithm is based on interpolating smooth intensity raster surface from LiDAR point cloud data using point thinning process. The interpolated surface is further processed using morphological and multi-level Otsu thresholding operations to identify candidate road roughness regions. The candidate regions are finally filtered based on spatial density and standard deviation of elevation criteria to detect the roughness along the road surface. The test results of road roughness detection algorithm on two road sections are presented. The developed approach can be used to provide comprehensive information to road authorities in order to schedule maintenance and ensure maximum safety conditions for road users.

The importance of Radio Quiet Zone (RQZ) for radio astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umar, Roslan; Abidin, Zamri Zainal; Ibrahim, Zainol Abidin

2013-05-01

Most of radio observatories are located in isolated areas. Since radio sources from the universe is very weak, astronomer need to avoid radio frequency interference (RFI) from active spectrum users and radio noise produced by human made (telecommunication, mobile phone, microwave user and many more. There are many observatories around the world are surrounded by a Radio Quiet Zone (RQZ), which is it was set up using public or state laws. A Radio Quiet Zone normally consists of two areas: an exclusive area in which totally radio emissions are forbidden, with restrictions for residents and business developments, and a larger (radius up to 100 km above) coordination area where the power of radio transmission limits to threshold levels. Geographical Information System (GIS) can be used as a powerful tool in mapping large areas with varying RQZ profiles. In this paper, we report the initial testing of the usage of this system in order to identify the areas were suitable for Radio Quiet Zone. Among the important parameters used to develop the database for our GIS are population density, information on TV and telecommunication (mobile phones) transmitters, road networks (highway), and contour shielding. We will also use other information gathered from on-site RFI level measurements on selected 'best' areas generated by the GIS. The intention is to find the best site for the purpose of establishing first radio quiet zones for radio telescope in Malaysia.

Zinc and copper mineralization of the Vazante area, Minas Gerais, Brazil

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, Samuel L.

1956-01-01

A large body of zinc and copper mineralization is exposed in a line of low hills about 5 kilometers east of the small village of Vazante in the northwestern part of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The Vazante area can be reached by roads leading north from the State of Sao Paulo, via Araxa; west from Balo Horizonte, Minas Gerais; and south from Paracatu, Minas Gerais. The deposit is in branching, sub-parallel fault breccia zones. Calamine (H2Zn2SiO5), and willomite (ZnSiO4), along with small quantities of smithsonite (ZnCO3), form the matrix of the fault breccia. The zinc mineralization is cut by narrow veins of chalcocite in platy crystal aggregate thought to be pseudomorphous after covellite. The chalcocite veins contain small quantities of sphalterite, galena, covellite and calamine. Faults that contain breccia zones displace shale and dolomite. The sedimentary rocks are thought to be Silurian in age. The fault breccia zones have a regional trend of N 40 degrees E and crop out over a strike length of more than four kilometers. The mineralization of the fault zones was observed to continue to the north for an additional four kilometers. The mineralized fault breccia zones range from a few meters to 60 meters in width. A large ore body is indicated that from available samples may average 35 percent zinc.

Evaluation of road expansion and connectivity mitigation for wildlife in southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alonso, Robert S.; Lyren, Lisa M.; Boydston, Erin E.; Haas, Christopher D.; Crooks, Kevin R.

2014-01-01

We designed a remote-camera survey to study how the expansion of California State Route 71 (CA-71) and implementation of connectivity mitigation affected the use of underpasses by large mammals in southern California. Based on detections by cameras, the use of underpasses by bobcats (Lynx rufus) was higher within the area of expansion and mitigation after construction than before, but there was no difference in use of underpasses in the impact zone compared to the control zone before or after construction. Use of underpasses by coyotes (Canis latrans) was higher in the control zone than in the impact zone, but there was no difference in use before and after construction. Small numbers of detections of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) at only a few underpasses precluded comparison between control and impact zones. However, a comparison of use before and after construction revealed that use of underpasses by mule deer was slightly higher post-construction. We cannot fully attribute increased detections post-construction to mitigative efforts, because other factors, such as availability of habitat, urbanization, or demography, also may have influenced use of underpasses along CA-71. Nonetheless, even with the expansion of the freeway and subsequent increase in volume of traffic, mitigative structures along CA-71 did allow for continued movement and, hence, connectivity across the roadway for large mammals.

Safety effects of reducing the speed limit from 90km/h to 70km/h.

PubMed

De Pauw, Ellen; Daniels, Stijn; Thierie, Melissa; Brijs, Tom

2014-01-01

Speed is one of the main risk factors in traffic safety, as it increases both the chances and the severity of a crash. In order to achieve improved traffic safety by influencing the speed of travel, road authorities may decide to lower the legally imposed speed limits. In 2001 the Flemish government decided to lower speed limits from 90km/h to 70km/h on a considerable number of highways. The present study examines the effectiveness of this measure using a comparison group before- and after study to account for general trend effects in road safety. Sixty-one road sections with a total length of 116km were included. The speed limits for those locations were restricted in 2001 and 2002. The comparison group consisted of 19 road sections with a total length of 53km and an unchanged speed limit of 90km/h throughout the research period. Taking trend into account, the analyses showed a 5% decrease [0.88; 1.03] in the crash rates after the speed limit restriction. A greater effect was identified in the case of crashes involving serious injuries and fatalities, which showed a decrease of 33% [0.57; 0.79]. Separate analyses between crashes at intersections and at road sections showed a higher effectiveness at road sections. It can be concluded from this study that speed limit restrictions do have a favorable effect on traffic safety, especially on severe crashes. Future research should examine the cause for the difference in the effect between road sections and intersections that was identified, taking vehicle speeds into account. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A road map to the new frontier: finding ETI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertaux, J. L.

2014-04-01

An obvious New Frontier for humanity is to locate our nearest neighbors technically advanced (ETI, extra-terrestrial intelligence). This quest can be achieved with three steps. 1. find the nearest exoplanets in the habitable zone (HZ) 2. find biosignatures in their spectra 3. find signs of advance technology. We argue that steps 2 and 3 will require space telescopes that need to be oriented to targets already identified in step 1 as hosting exoplanets of Earth or super Earth size in the habitable zone. We show that non-transiting planets in HZ are 3 to 9 times nearer the sun than transiting planets, the gain factor being a function of star temperature. The requirement for step 1 is within the reach of a network of 2.5 m diameter ground-based automated telescopes associated with HARPS-type spectrometers.

Road Map to Statewide Implementation of the Pyramid Model. Roadmap to Effective Intervention Practices #6

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunlap, Glen; Smith, Barbara J.; Fox, Lise; Blase, Karen

2014-01-01

This document is a guide--a "Road Map"--for implementing widespread use of the Pyramid Model for Promoting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children (http://www.challengingbehavior.org/do/pyramid_model. htm). It is a road map of systems change. The Road Map is written for statewide systems change, although it could be…

Effects of traffic and ditch maintenance on forest road sediment production

Treesearch

Charles H. Luce; Thomas A. Black

2001-01-01

Observations of sediment yield from road segments in the Oregon Coast Range show that either heavy traffic during rainfall or blading the road ditch will increase erosion from forest roads. For the fine soils and high quality aggregate surfacing on the study plots, ditch blading increased sediment yield more than traffic equivalent to 12 log trucks per day. The...

The Geomorphic Road Analysis and Inventory Package (GRAIP) Volume 2: Office Procedures

Treesearch

Richard M. Cissel; Thomas A. Black; Kimberly A. T. Schreuders; Ajay Prasad; Charles H. Luce; David G. Tarboton; Nathan A. Nelson

2012-01-01

An important first step in managing forest roads for improved water quality and aquatic habitat is the performance of an inventory. The Geomorphic Roads Analysis and Inventory Package (GRAIP) was developed as a tool for making a comprehensive inventory and analysis of the effects of forest roads on watersheds. This manual describes the data analysis and process of a...

Effects of off-road recreation on mule deer and elk.

Treesearch

Michael J. Wisdom; Alan A. Ager; Haiganoush K. Preisler; Norman J. Cimon; Bruce K. Johnson

2004-01-01

Off-road recreation is increasing rapidly in the United States, especially on public land (Havlick 2002, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service 2004). An expansive network of roads provides easy access to much public land, which facilitates off-road uses in the form of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), horses, mountain bikes and foot traffic. No research, however,...