University of Washington

This project will investigate the cause or causes of the nut loosening and recommend procedures to eliminate the phenomenon. In addition to a comprehensive final report, one of the final results of this project will be the development of specific guidelines for remediating the problem in current poles, and recommendations for alternative designs for future installations. The guidelines will be shared with other states, many of which have also experienced nut loosening in their high-mast light poles. -• Project: Error Assessment of Traffic Data Devices • PI: Edward McCormack (UW) • Co-Investigator: Yinhai Wang (UW) The ability to produce reliable and accurate travel time or space mean speed information is becoming increasingly important in the Pacific Northwest region. New capabilities to relay traveler information to motorists through smart devices and in-vehicle systems is making such information more useful. Such travel time information is also important in determining construction delays, as well as for the purposes of signal timing and supporting congestion relief efforts. A number of technologies are available to address travel time monitoring, each with its benefits and drawbacks. Unfortunately, very few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of travel time sensors side by side; therefore, it is often unclear which approach should be used for a particular application. This project will provide such an evaluation of those technologies by using instrumented corridors managed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). For the project we will perform a systematic comparison of the available technologies; this will be a matter of selecting the appropriate metrics, pulling the data from the various sources, and then performing an error analysis. -• Project: Bicycle Route Choice: GPS Data Collection and Travel Model Development • PI: Qing Shen (UW) Bicycle use is being promoted for a variety of social benefits. Because of the benefits associated with bicycling, jurisdictions across the central Puget Sound region and the nation have been investing in improvements to bicycle infrastructure. Academic and professional literature provides a basis for generally understanding bicycling behavior. However, less is known about the benefits of one facility type over another, or the potential inducement of new bicycle users when a policy intervention improves bicycling conditions. This study will rely on GPS bicycle trace data collected by the Puget Sound Regional Council through the CycleTrack mobile application. The objectives of the study include improving the Puget Sound Regional Council's travel demand model to include bicycle route choice and assignment, which will allow for policy analysis and an improved understanding of the tradeoffs between facilities, the relationship between utilitarian and recreational bicycling, and an analysis of the utility of a number of bicycle facilities that will become operational over the course of the study. -• Project: Developing a Robust Survey Methodology for Collecting Information on the Port Truck Drayage Industry • PI: Anne Goodchild (UW) Efficient freight transportation is critical to our region's economic competitiveness and environmental health. Increasing pressure on the roadway infrastructure, and concern about air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, heighten the state's interest in supporting solutions that might move cargo off roads. Unfortunately, existing tools used to compare investments— especially across modes (e.g.in rail and road infrastructure)—are not sufficient to truly measure their economic and environmental impact or accurately evaluate tradeoffs between modes. This leaves transportation agencies with little foundation to support decision making and limits the state's ability to identify innovative solutions that benefit the state, such as public-private partnerships that might increase the attractiveness of rail or barge transport. 2012-2013 Annual Report 15

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