As cities invest in bicycle lanes to encourage active transportation, it may also be important to ensure safe bicycle parking and other measures of theft prevention. The magnitude of the problem is largely unknown, but it may be substantial given the ease of breaking bike locks, the potential for resale, and the challenges for law enforcement. Also, studies have shown that bike theft can deter a person from bicycling more in the future due to the difficulty replacing the bike or because they are concerned about another theft.
To better understand the impact of theft on cycling behavior and assist cities to determine where and how to invest in bike infrastructure and other strategies to ensure that all Californians have access to bicycling, we conducted a survey of bicycle thefts and recoveries. The study producedsuggestions for the State’s Active Transportation Program, and other funding programs for bicycling.
This project reviews and summarizes empirical evidence for a selection of transportation and land usepolicies, infrastructure investments, demand management programs, and pricing policies for reducingvehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The project explicitly considers socialequity (fairness that accounts for differences in opportunity) and justice (equity of social systems) forthe strategies and their outcomes. Each brief identifies the best available evidence in the peer-reviewedacademic literature and has detailed discussions of study selection and methodological issues.
VMT and GHG emissions reduction is shown by effect size, defined as the amount of change in VMT (orother measures of travel behavior) per unit of the strategy, e.g., a unit increase in density. Effect sizescan be used to predict the outcome of a proposed policy or strategy. They can be in absolute terms (e.g.,VMT reduced), but are more commonly in relative terms (e.g., percent VMT reduced). Relative effectsizes are often reported as the percent change in the outcome divided by the percent change in thestrategy, also called an elasticity.
This project reviews and summarizes empirical evidence for a selection of transportation and land use policies, infrastructure investments, demand management programs, and pricing policies for reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The project explicitly considers social equity (fairness that accounts for differences in opportunity) and justice (equity of social systems) for the strategies and their outcomes. Each brief identifies the best available evidence in the peer-reviewed academic literature and has detailed discussions of study selection and methodological issues.VMT and GHG emissions reduction is shown by effect size, defined as the amount of change in VMT (or other measures of travel behavior) per unit of the strategy, e.g., a unit increase in density. Effect sizes can be used to predict the outcome of a proposed policy or strategy. They can be in absolute terms (e.g., VMT reduced), but are more commonly in relative terms (e.g., percent VMT reduced). Relative effect sizes are often reported as the percent change in the outcome divided by the percent change in the strategy, also called an elasticity.
This project reviews and summarizes empirical evidence for a selection of transportation and land use policies, infrastructure investments, demand management programs, and pricing policies for reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The project explicitly considers social equity (fairness that accounts for differences in opportunity) and justice (equity of social systems) for the strategies and their outcomes. Each brief identifies the best available evidence in the peer-reviewed academic literature and has detailed discussions of study selection and methodological issues.
VMT and GHG emissions reduction is shown by effect size, defined as the amount of change in VMT (or other measures of travel behavior) per unit of the strategy, e.g., a unit increase in density. Effect sizes can be used to predict the outcome of a proposed policy or strategy. They can be in absolute terms (e.g., VMT reduced), but are more commonly in relative terms (e.g., percent VMT reduced). Relative effect sizes are often reported as the percent change in the outcome divided by the percent change in the strategy, also called an elasticity.
In California, local option sales taxes (LOSTs) are adopted by voters to increase the retail sales tax. Revenues are used to fund specific transportation projects. Meanwhile, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are required by Senate Bill 375 to develop long-range plans to achieve reductions in vehicle miles traveled and emissions. But MPOs do not directly control the sponsorship or funding of most transportation projects in these plans. LOSTs are not bound by requirements of SB 375, even though MPOs must still account for impacts of LOST spending. In this context, an important question is whether and how LOST measures influence transportation planning priorities. To explore this question, researchers from the University of California, Davis, examined county LOST measures and regional transportation plans in California’s “big four” MPO regions—the San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento metropolitan areas. This policy brief summarizes the findings from that research and provides policy implications.
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In this project, researchers from the University of California, Davis reviewed key, rapidly implementable strategies to mitigate emissions from cement and concrete used in state funded infrastructure projects. The research included performing a series of analyses to determine emissions reduction pathways throughout the cement life cycle, highlighting the potential to reduce emissions by designing new infrastructure for increased material efficiency. This policy brief summarizes the findings from that research and provides policy implications.
Many US cities aim to increase environmentally sustainable modes of transportation, such as cycling or public transit. However, the current built environment in many of these cities does not adequately support cyclists or public transit riders. Bicycle infrastructure can minimize cyclists’ exposure to high-speed automobile traffic and increase the actual and perceived safety of cycling. Bicycle infrastructure can also potentially improve connections to public transit stops and stations. However, planners lack the tools to effectively measure where bicycle infrastructure improvements will yield the best outcomes. New research from Georgia Tech addresses this problem by developing two new modeling tools, BikewaySim and TransitSim, to assess how bicycle infrastructure can affect cycling and public transit access. Using BikewaySim, the researchers modeled over 28,000 potential cycling trips, calculating the impacts of two proposed cycling infrastructure projects in Atlanta, Georgia. Using TransitSim, the researchers modeled combined cycling and transit trips from four distinct locations in Atlanta, Georgia. This brief summarizes the findings from that research.
E-commerce has become a fundamental part of the shopping experience. It has transformed how consumers shop and, in many cases, it has improved accessibility to goods and services. Another benefit is the substitution of personal shopping trips with consolidated deliveries, which can significantly reduce transportation-related negative externalities from urban goods movements. However, the recent trend towards consumer-focused services in last-mile distribution has adversely impacted the economic viability of urban goods movement. Frequent less-than-truckload last-mile deliveries can lead to increased freight distribution costs and associated environmental externalities. Opportunities and challenges associated with alternate last-mile distribution strategies were studied by researchers at the University of California, Davis. The study examined ways that companies might adapt to increasingly consumer-focused trends in e-commerce towards rush delivery within strict time windows (expedited logistics). The team developed an explicit dynamic and stochastic location-routing model to assess the performance of several distribution initiatives. This policy brief summarizes the findings from that research and provides policy implications.
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