Student Thesis and Dissertations

Seattle Bicycle Share Feasibility Study

URL: https://nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2011_McCormack-et-al_Seattle-Bicycle-Share-Feasibility-Study.pdf

Publication: University of Washington, College of Built Environment, Department of Urban Planning and Design

Publication Date: 2011

Summary:

This report assesses the feasibility of a public use bike-share system for Seattle, Washington. Colloquially referred to as “bike-share” or “bike-sharing,” such systems are considered a form of public transportation. Bike-share bicycles are intended for short-term use and are accessible via automated check-out systems. An important benefit of bike-share systems is the flexibility to return rented bicycles to any station within the system, thereby encouraging use for one-way travel and the “final mile” of a trip.

The four major chapters of this report represent the organization of our research and analysis. The topic areas are:

Introduction: Bike-share history and the structure of our study
Demand Analysis: Our analytic and forecast methodologies along with results of their application
Policy Framework: Consideration of governance institutions and their effects on system implementation
Bike-Share Program Recommendations: Summation of our findings and recommendations for how Seattle should proceed

During our analysis, we looked at demand for bike-share in Seattle. We have concluded that demand is sufficient to support a program. Our final recommendation includes three implementation phases, beginning with the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.

However, despite anticipation of program demand, there are institutional policy challenges that must be addressed before successful implementation. Prominent among these are:

The King County helmet law
City of Seattle sign codes
Policies that affect station design and use of curbspace

In the case of the latter two, individual neighborhoods and districts may each have their own, unique impacts. Fortunately, Seattle has the flexibility to address these issues, and there are systems in place to overcome these challenges. Once addressed, we recommend the City move forward with implementing a bikeshare program.

Authors: Dr. Ed McCormack, Jennifer Gregerson, Max Hepp-Buchanan, Daniel Rowe, John Vander Sluis, Erica Wygonik, Michael Xenakis

Recommended Citation:
Gregerson, J., Hepp-Buchanan, M., Rowe, D., Vander Sluis, J., Wygonik, E., Xenakis, M., & McCormack, E. (2011). Seattle bicycle share feasibility study. University of Washington, College of Built Environment, Department of Urban Planning and Design.

Student Thesis and Dissertations

Truck GPS Data in Freight Planning: Methodologies and Applications for Measurement and Forecasting

URL: https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/26109

Publication Date: 2014

Summary:

Efficient and reliable goods movement via our nation’s highway system is critical to the nation’s economy and quality of life. Truck mobility is one of the key performance measures for evaluating the conditions of goods movement and supporting freight planning. Truck GPS data can be useful in developing truck mobility measures and providing insights into freight planning. This dissertation employs truck GPS data and proposes a set of methodologies for measuring and forecasting truck mobility performance, with particular emphases on truck travel time and travel time reliability. It also examines how GPS data can be used to support freight planning, using the analysis of impacts of a tolling project on truck mobility and routing as a case study. The first part of this dissertation investigates how to measure truck travel time reliability given the characteristics of GPS data. An improved spot-speed distribution based travel time reliability measure is proposed. The proposed approach is compared with a number of commonly applied reliability measures. The correlations among these measures reveal that the reliability measures are not highly correlated, demonstrating that different measures provide different conclusions for the same underlying data and traffic conditions. The author presents recommendations of the appropriate measures for different applications. Quantitative freight project prioritization processes require both pre- and post-investment truck mobility performance. Therefore, the second part of this dissertation develops quantitative methods for forecasting truck specific travel time and travel time reliability. For travel time prediction, a speed-density based approach is proposed to predict truck travel time associated with segment density changes. Traffic regimes are segmented using a cluster analysis approach. The travel time estimates are compared with two widely applied traditional methodologies. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is able to estimate more accurate travel times. For reliability prediction, we analyze the changes of GPS spot speed distribution in response to different traffic conditions. A relationship between truck spot speed distribution coefficient of variation and segment density is proposed to forecast reliability. The approach is transferrable and sheds a light on forecasting travel time reliability. The third part of this dissertation focuses on examining how GPS data can be used to assist freight planning. The SR-520 toll bridge in the City of Seattle, Washington is selected as the case study. We quantify the toll project impacts on truck mobility and route choice. Truck GPS data is used to evaluate route choice and travel speed along SR-520 and the alternate toll-free route I-90. A logit model is developed to determine the influential factors in truck routing. The results indicate that travel time, travel time reliability and toll rate are all influential factors during both peak and off-peak periods. The values of truck travel time during different time periods are estimated, and the values vary with the definition of peak and off-peak periods. This dissertation provides decision makers with useful guidance and information on using GPS data for truck mobility measurement and forecasting. It also demonstrates the capability of GPS data in supporting freight planning.

Authors: Zun Wang

Recommended Citation:
Wang, Zun (2014). Truck GPS Data in Freight Planning: Methodologies and Applications for Measurement and Forecasting. University of Washington Doctoral Dissertation.

Thesis: Array

Student Thesis and Dissertations

Improving Statewide Freight Routing Capabilities for Sub-National Commodity Flows

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URL: https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Research/Reports/700/792.1.htm

Publication: Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC)

Publication Date: 2012

Summary:

The ability to fully understand and accurately characterize freight vehicle route choices is important in helping to inform regional and state decisions. This project recommends improvements to WSDOT’s Statewide Freight GIS Network Model to more accurately characterize freight vehicle route choice. This capability, when combined with regional and sub-national commodity flow data, will be a key attribute of an effective statewide freight modeling system. To come to these recommendations, the report describes project activities undertaken, and their outcomes, including 1) a review of commercially available routing software, 2) an evaluation of the use of statewide GPS data as an input for routing analysis, and 3) the design, implementation, and evaluation of a survey of shippers, carriers, and freight forwarders within the state. The software review found that routing software assumes least cost paths while meeting user specified constraints, and it identified criteria for evaluation in the subsequent survey. The GPS data evaluation showed that significant temporal shifting occurs rather than spatial route shifting, and it revealed significant limitations in the use of GPS data for evaluating routing choices, largely because of the read rate. Among the survey results was that the first priority of shippers, carriers, and freight forwarders is to not only meet customer requirements, but to do so in the most cost-efficient way. From a latent class analysis of routing priorities, we discovered that distance-based classification best clusters similar routing behavior. The report includes recommendations for implementing this within the Statewide Freight GIS Network Model.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Maura Rowell, Andrea Gagliano, Zun Wang, Jeremy Sage, Eric Jessup

Recommended Citation:
Rowell, Maura K., Andrea Gagliano, Zun Wang, Anne V. Goodchild, Jeremy L. Sage and Eric L. Jessup. “Improving Statewide Freight Routing Capabilities for Sub-National Commodity Flows.” (2012). University of Washington Doctoral Dissertation.

Student Thesis and Dissertations

Finding a (Food) Way: A GIS Modeling Approach to Quantifying Local Food Transportation Systems

URL: https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/40525

Publication Date: 2017

Summary:

In recent years the focus on and prioritization of the notion of local food, food access and sustainability has been increasing throughout the U.S., especially in urban areas. The rising demand and growing preference for local produce in turn leads to changes in how we transport food. The supply chains found in urban areas are already complicated and costly, and as demand changes this poses a challenge if the local food movement is to be accommodated in our cities. A new initiative seeks to mitigate these challenges through the introduction of a mobile application that allows users to order local produce online. Logistics modeling was conducted as a case study to support this effort. The goal of the research was to be able to inform and support decision-making on the logistics to support agricultural development and equal food access. The research found that there is opportunity for improvement to how local food is accessed, and that these mobile applications have the possibility to address food accessibility, economic vitality and sustainability, with a lower negative impact on the transportation environment.

Authors: Anna Bovbjerg Alligood

Recommended Citation:
Bovbjerg Alligood, Anna (2017). Finding a (Food) Way: A GIS Modeling Approach to Quantifying Local Food Transportation Systems, University of Washington Master's Degree Thesis.

Thesis: Array

Student Thesis and Dissertations

Enhancing Performance Measurement: Implementing Computable General Equilibrium Models in Truck-Freight Network Investment Prioritization

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URL: http://ses.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/FPTI-16.pdf

Publication: Freight Policy Transportation Institute

Publication Date: 2013

Summary:

The adoption of defensible performance measures and establishment of proven results has become a necessity of many state Transportation Departments. A major factor in demonstrating results is the impact a transportation infrastructure improvement project has on the region’s economic climate. Though often previously underrepresented in policy and planning of transportation systems, freight movement plays a critical role in the transference of infrastructure improvement benefits into regional economic impacts. The degree of impact influenced by freight movement improvements is dependent upon location and geographic scale of evaluation. This paper assesses the geographic scale considerations in selecting the modeling framework to evaluate economic impacts. Specifically, we consider the results of regional input-output (I-O) models as compared to those of computable general equilibrium (CGE) models in response to reduced travel time and operating costs in the freight highway network. Though widely used for policy and planning purposes, I-O models have come under criticism for their inability to realistically model the behaviors of a regional economy. Despite their increased flexibility in real-world modeling, CGE models have been resisted due to their complexity of use. We consider the implications of selecting between ease of use and model flexibility at scales ranging from a single county to statewide.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Jeremy Sage, John Maxwell, Zun Wang, Ken Casavant

Recommended Citation:
Sage, Jeremy. John Maxwell, Zun Wang, Ken Casavant, and Anne Goodchild. "Enhancing Performance Measurement: Implementing Computable General Equilibrium Models in Truck-Freight Network Investment Prioritization." University of Washington Master's degree thesis.

Student Thesis and Dissertations

Preparing Cities for Package Demand Growth: Predicting Neighborhood Demand and Implementing Truck VMT Reduction Strategies

URL: https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/41755

Publication Date: 2018

Summary:

E-commerce has empowered consumers to order goods online from anywhere in the world with just a couple of clicks. This new trend has led to significant growth in the number of package deliveries related to online shopping. Seattle’s freight infrastructure is challenged to accommodate this freight growth. Commercial vehicles can already be seen double parked or parked illegally on the city’s streets impacting traffic flow and inconveniencing other road users. It is vital to understand how the package demand is growing in the neighborhoods and what freight trips reduction strategies can cities implement to mitigate the freight growth. The purpose of the research is to analyze Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) reduction strategies in the neighborhoods with different built environment characteristics. First, the impact of individual factors on person’s decision to order goods online for home delivery is analyzed. A predictive model was built that estimates online order probability based on these factors. This model is then applied to synthetic Seattle population to produce estimated demand levels in each neighborhood. Second, two VMT reduction strategies were modeled and analyzed: 1) decreasing number of trucks needed to deliver neighborhoods’ package demand and 2) package locker implementation. Based on packages demand and built environment characteristics, two neighborhoods were chosen for a case study. ArcGIS toolbox was developed to generate delivery stops on the route, ArcGIS Network Analyst was used to make a delivery route and calculate VMT. It was found that VMT reduction strategies have different effects on the delivery system in two neighborhoods. Delivering neighborhoods’ demand in a smaller number of trucks would save slightly more VMT in a dense urban area compared to suburban one. Moreover, since the traffic perception by different road users varies by neighborhood, VMT reduction strategies will be more critical to implement in dense urban areas. Locker implementation strategy will also be more effective in VMT reduction in a dense urban area due to high residential density.

Authors: Polina Butrina

Recommended Citation:
Butrina, Polina (2018). Preparing Cities for Package Demand Growth: Predicting Neighborhood Demand and Implementing Truck VMT Reduction Strategies. University of Washington Master's Degree Thesis.

Thesis: Array

Student Thesis and Dissertations

Developing a Robust Survey Methodology for Collecting Information on the Port Truck Drayage Industry

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URL: https://urbanfreightlab.com/Pacific%20Northwest%20Transportation%20Consortium

Publication: Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans)

Publication Date: 2014

Summary:

This paper describes the population characteristics in the drayage trucking population of the Port of Seattle as determined by the 2013 Truck Driver Survey. The 2013 Truck Driver Survey was created to give the Port of Seattle more information on the trip destinations, working conditions, equipment, and economics of truck drivers serving the Port of Seattle, so that policymakers creating regulations affecting trucking at the port could be better informed about the trucking population.

The survey was a 44 question mail-back survey that was distributed at the Port of Seattle. The survey was distributed for eight days at all container terminals at the Port of Seattle, and got a 29% response rate.

The majority of the trips to and from the Port of Seattle are for the local Seattle area (33%) and the Kent Valley (20%). Other trips are distributed to service areas throughout the State of Washington. Owner-operators were found to make more of the short trips, with employee drivers making more of the long trips.

62% of trucks at the Port of Seattle are more than 12 years old. These trucks will have to be replaced before 2015 to comply with the Port of Seattle Clean Trucks Program.

The Port of Seattle has a diverse population, with 53% of drivers indicating that they did not speak English as a first language. Among drivers who indicated that they didn’t speak English, about 50% were from Africa, with South/Central America and Asia/Pacific Islands also having significant populations.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Jerome Drescher

Recommended Citation:
Goodchild, Anne, and Jerome Drescher. Developing a Robust Survey Methodology for Collecting Information on the Port Truck Drayage Industry. No. 2012-S-US-0017. Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium, 2014. University of Washington Master's degree thesis.

Student Thesis and Dissertations

A Different Kind of Gentrification: Seattle and its Relationship with Industrial Land

URL: https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/44471

Publication Date: 2019

Summary:

Industry in Seattle often talks about how they are facing their own kind of gentrification. Rising property values, encroaching pressure for different land uses, and choking transportation all loom as reasons for industrial businesses to relocate out of the city. This research explores this phenomenon of industrial gentrification through a case study of Seattle’s most prominent industrial area: the SODO (“South Of Downtown”) neighborhood. My primary research question asks what the perception and reality of the state of industrial land designation and industrial land use gentrification in Seattle is. Secondary research questions involve asking how industrial land designation and industrial land use can be defined in Seattle, what percentage of land is zoned industrial in the SODO neighborhood, and what percentage of the land use is considered industrial in the SODO neighborhood. Finally, subsequent effects on freight transportation and goods movement will be considered. By surveying actual industrial land use compared to industrially-zoned land, one can conclude whether industry’s complaints are accurate and whether attempts to protect industrial land uses are working. Literature details cases that encapsulate the industrial gentrification debate and Seattle has undertaken many studies of its industrial land. Methods involve a case study approach coupled with a field survey. The survey area chosen is the SODO neighborhood, which is part of the locally and regionally-designated Duwamish Manufacturing/Industrial Center. Industrial designation is defined as any of the four types of industrial zoning in the City of Seattle. Industrial land use is defined with the help of the Land Based Classification Standards’ Function dimension, with the following subcategories considered industrial: manufacturing, warehouse, storage yard, marine terminal, railroad, and utility. Results show that over 99% of the study area is designated industrial. After classification of each parcel in the study area, 62% of the study area’s parcels, or 85% of the land area, contain actual industrial land use. When land intensive uses such as marine terminals and railroads are removed from consideration, the percent of industrial land area is only 42%. The conclusion of this study shows that 1) the narrative of industrial gentrification in Seattle is not as universal as initially perceived, 2) being designated as industrial land by zoning is not a surefire way to achieve what some would consider actual industrial land use, 3) actions undertaken by the City in the 2000s—namely increasing the size limits on non-industrial land uses in industrial zoning—have been effective at keeping SODO industrial, and 4) the question of whether Seattle is losing industry and industrial land rests on how one defines and perceives those terms. While much of SODO’s land area is still industrial, market forces and trends are drawing more non-traditional land uses to SODO, such as boutique manufacturing, breweries and distilleries, event venues, and commercial offices and retail stores. Examples are prominent and give the perception of industrial loss even if, technically, much of SODO is still designated industrial.

Authors: David Tomporowski

Recommended Citation:
Tomporowski, David (2019). A Different Kind of Gentrification: Seattle and its Relationship with Industrial Land. University of Washington Master's Degree Thesis.

Thesis: Array

Student Thesis and Dissertations

Observing Goods Delivery Activities and Identifying Opportunities to Improve the Design of Commercial Vehicle Load Zones in Seattle

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URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1773/42557

Publication Date: 2018

Summary:

The growth of freight activity is one of the results of urban population growth. The growth of freight means that more commercial vehicles must share finite infrastructure like alleys, loading docks, and yellow curb space. In this research project, curb space is studied in order to better understand the needs of commercial vehicles at the curb. Cities in the United States like Seattle have recognized that there are opportunities to better manage curb space, and have implemented programs such as the Flex Zone Program 2016 in order to do so. In this research paper, I have focused on just one aspect of the curb, which is the yellow curb space reserved for Commercial Vehicle Load Zones (CVLZ). The purpose of this thesis is to observe the needs and activities of courier drivers during deliveries/pickups in Seattle, and incorporate observations into a new design of freight curb space that may better respond to their needs. The new design suggests a system in which curb space is designed for different vehicle dimensions and activities. This is done by including paint, texture/pattern, and signage on the pavement and sidewalk that comfortably accommodate the vehicle and activities around the vehicle. By providing a better designed freight curb space that accounts for the needs and activities observed, the hope is that courier drivers will be less likely to partake in high-risk behavior such as double parking, and spilling over into adjacent transit lanes/pedestrian areas/bikes lanes, by providing better infrastructure for them.

Authors: Manali Sheth

Recommended Citation:
Sheth, Manali (2018). Observing Goods Delivery Activities and Identifying Opportunities to Improve the Design of Commercial Vehicle Load Zones in Seattle. University of Washington Master's Degree Thesis.