2015-2019 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program

This document describes planned investments in Iowa's multimodal transportation system including aviation, transit, railroads, trails, and highways. A large part of funding available for highway programming comes from the federal government. Accurately estimating future federal funding levels is dependent on having a multiyear federal transportation authorization bill in place and having a sustainable and solvent federal Highway Trust Fund. The most recent federal authorization, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), will expire September 30, 2014. At the same time that MAP-21 expires and absent Congressional action, the federal Highway Trust Fund will no longer be able to provide funding at current levels resulting in the full elimination of federal highway funding for new projects in federal fiscal year 2015. These two issues provide funding uncertainty with this program in fiscal years 2015 and beyond.

An Assessment of Traffic Safety in Urban Deer Herd Management Zones in Iowa, 2010

Many states are striving to keep their deer population to a sustainable and controllable level while maximizing public safety. In Iowa, measures to control the deer population include annual deer hunts and special deer herd management plans in urban areas. While these plans may reduce the deer population, traffic safety in these areas has not been fully assessed. Using deer population data from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and data on deer-vehicle crashes and deer carcass removals from the Iowa Department of Transportation, the authors examined the relationship between deer-vehicle collisions, deer density, and land use in three urban areas in Iowa that have deer management plans in place (Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Iowa City) over the period 2002 to 2007. First, a comparison of deer-vehicle crash counts and deer carcass removal counts was conducted at the county level. Further, the authors estimated econometric models to investigate the factors that influence the frequency and severity of deer-vehicle crashes in these zones. Overall, the number of deer carcasses removed on the primary roads in these counties was greater than the number of reported deervehicle crashes on those roads. These differences can be attributed to a number of reasons, including variability in data reporting and data collection practices. In addition, high rates of underreporting of crashes were found on major routes that carry high volumes of traffic. This study also showed that multiple factors affect deer-vehicle crashes and corresponding injury outcomes in urban management zones. The identified roadway and non-roadway factors could be useful for identifying locations on the transportation system that significantly impact deer species and safety and for determining appropriate countermeasures for mitigation. Efforts to reduce deer density adjacent to roads and developed land and to provide wider shoulders on undivided roads are recommended. Improving the consistency and accuracy of deer carcass and deer-vehicle collision data collection methods and practices is also desirable.

2016-2020 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program

This document describes planned investments in Iowa’s multimodal transportation system including aviation, transit, railroads, trails, and highways. This five-year program documents $3.2 billion of highway and bridge construction projects on the primary road system using federal and state funding. Of that funding, a little over $500 million is available due to the passage of Senate File 257 in February 2015. As required by Senate File 257, this program includes a list of the critical highway and bridge projects funded with the additional revenue. As with other recent programs, there continues to be uncertainty in federal funding for roads and bridges. The most recent federal authorization, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), will expire July 31, 2015. At the same time that MAP-21 expires and absent Congressional action, the federal Highway Trust Fund will no longer be able to provide funding at current levels. This could result in reduced federal funding reimbursement for projects already underway and/or full elimination of federal highway funding for new projects in federal fiscal year 2016. These two issues provide funding uncertainty with this program in fiscal year 2016 and beyond.

Improving Safety for Slow Moving Vehicles on Iowa's High-Speed Rural Roadways, TR-572, 2009

Among the variety of road users and vehicle types that travel on U.S. public roadways, slow moving vehicles (SMVs) present unique safety and operations issues. SMVs include vehicles that do not maintain a constant speed of 25 mph, such as large farm equipment, construction vehicles, or horse-drawn buggies. Though the number of crashes involving SMVs is relatively small, SMV crashes tend to be severe. Additionally, SMVs can be encountered regularly on non-Interstate/non-expressway public roadways, but motorists may not be accustomed to these vehicles. This project was designed to improve transportation safety for SMVs on Iowa’s public roadway system. This report includes a literature review that shows various SMV statistics and laws across the United States, a crash study based on three years of Iowa SMV crash data, and recommendations from the SMV community.

Design, Construction, and Field Testing of an Ultra High Performance Concrete Pi-Girder Bridge, TR-574, 2011

Among the variety of road users and vehicle types that travel on U.S. public roadways, slow moving vehicles (SMVs) present unique safety and operations issues. SMVs include vehicles that do not maintain a constant speed of 25 mph, such as large farm equipment, construction vehicles, or horse-drawn buggies. Though the number of crashes involving SMVs is relatively small, SMV crashes tend to be severe. Additionally, SMVs can be encountered regularly on non-Interstate/non-expressway public roadways, but motorists may not be accustomed to these vehicles. This project was designed to improve transportation safety for SMVs on Iowa’s public roadway system. This report includes a literature review that shows various SMV statistics and laws across the United States, a crash study based on three years of Iowa SMV crash data, and recommendations from the SMV community.

Iowa In Motion: State Transportation Plan, 1997

What is Iowa in Motion? The Iowa Department of Transportation is continuing the journey to develop Iowa’s future transportation system. This ongoing planning process, known as Iowa in Motion, was developed in response to the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and Iowa’s changing transportation needs. The completion of Parts I, II and III of Iowa in Motion has led to development of this State Transportation Plan. Part IV includes activities, both current and future, to support the plan. This State Transportation Plan represents the thoughts and concerns of thousands of Iowans. Individuals, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), regional planning affiliations (RPAs), associations and organizations have become involved and have made recommendations concerning which direction should be followed regarding transportation investments. This plan represents their extensive input into the Iowa in Motion process and consensus building as we moved towards adoption of this State Transportation Plan. The adopted plan serves as a guide for development of transportation policies, goals, objectives, initiatives and investment decisions through the year 2020.

Intercity Passenger Carrier Improvement Study, Final Report, 1977

The goal of this research was to recommend specific changes relating to service by intercity buses and third level air carriers to propose an appropriate state role in the implementation of changes. Changes contemplated in this research were to be directed to the increased use of intercity buses and third level air carriers in such manner as to exert a benefit to user as well as the general public. Specific objectives of the project included: (1) to analyze the potential for a system of express intercity bus routes in Iowa; (2) to estimate the demand for third level air carrier services in cities having populations under 50,000; (3) to forecast the relationship between economic costs and benefits from an intercity bus system emphasizing express routes between major population centers and supporting a subsystem of local and intraregional public transportation; (4) to estimate the economic feasibility of expanded third level air carrier service with emphasis upon those routes proposed as worth of further evaluation; and (5) to provide guidance for establishing the need for state and local subsidies to institute a system of express intercity buses and to expand third level air carrier services. In addition to passenger movements, enhancing package freight shipments was also to be considered in the evaluation of proposed improvements.

Relative Technical Efficiency of European Transportation Systems

Talouden kasvaessa myös tavarankuljetusmäärät kasvavat. Kuljetusjärjestelmät ja niiden sujuva toiminta on erittäin tärkeää taloudellisen kasvun kannalta tällä hetkellä, ja se tulee olemaan yhä tärkeämpää tulevaisuudessa. Tulevaisuudessa tarvitaan kokonaisvaltainen ja selkeästi tehokkaampi kuljetusjärjestelmä, mikäli tulevaisuuden kuljetusvirrat halutaan hoitaa kestävästi. Tässä opinnäytetyössäni tutkin kolmen eurooppalaisen kuljetusjärjestelmän (rautatiet, lentoliikenne ja konttiliikenne meritse) suhteellista teknistä tehokkuutta ja menetelmänä on data envelopment analysis (DEA). Vertailtaessa kuljetusjärjestelmiä löytyi suuria eroja kuljetusmuotojen välille. lentoyhtiöt suoriutuivat huomattavan tasaisesti eli tehokkaiden ja ei-tehokkaiden toimijoiden välillä ei ollut suuria eroja. Rautatiepuolella erot venyivät huomattavan suuriksi niin eri yritysten välillä kuin jopa saman yrityksen sisällä eri vuosina. Pikaisemmassa laivayhtiöiden tarkastelussa erot niiden välillä olivat lähes yhtä pieniä kuin lentoyhtiöiden välillä. Tarkasteltaessa omistajuuden vaikutusta lentoyhtiöiden toiminnassa huomattiin, että yksityisessä omistuksessa olevat yritykset olivat huomattavasti tehokkaampia matkustajien kuljettamisessa. Rahtipuolella merkittäviä eroja ei havaittu. Merkittävät korrelaatiot eri mallien välillä antoivat joitain viitteitä myös kuljetuspoliittiseen päätöksentekoon; investoinnit matkustajienkuljetuksiin raiteilla parantaisivat koko rautatiepuolen teokkuutta, mutta myös samalla lentopuolen matkustajakuljetuksen tehokkuutta.

Maritime transportation in the Gulf of Finland in 2007 and in 2015

The Gulf of Finland is said to be one of the densest operated sea areas in the world. It is a shallow and economically vulnerable sea area with dense passenger and cargo traffic of which petroleum transports have a share of over 50 %. The winter conditions add to the risks of maritime traffic in the Gulf of Finland. It is widely believed that the growth of maritime transportation will continue also in the future. The Gulf of Finland is surrounded by three very different national economies with, different maritime transportation structures. Finland is a country of high GDP/per capita with a diversified economic structure. The number of ports is large and the maritime transportation consists of many types of cargoes: raw materials, industrial products, consumer goods, coal and petroleum products, and the Russian transit traffic of e.g. new cars and consumer goods. Russia is a large country with huge growth potential; in recent years, the expansion of petroleum exports has lead to a strong economic growth, which is also apparent in the growth of maritime transports. Russia has been expanding its port activities in the Gulf of Finland and it is officially aiming to transport its own imports and exports through the Russian ports in the future; now they are being transported to great extend through the Finnish, Estonian and other Baltic ports. Russia has five ports in the Gulf of Finland. Estonia has also experienced fast economic growth, but the growth has been slowing down already during the past couples of years. The size of its economy is small compared to Russia, which means the transported tonnes cannot be very massive. However, relatively large amounts of the Russian petroleum exports have been transported through the Estonian ports. The future of the Russian transit traffic in Estonia looks nevertheless uncertain and it remains to be seen how it will develop and if Estonia is able to find replacing cargoes if the Russian transit traffic will come to an end in the Estonian ports. Estonia’s own import and export consists of forestry products, metals or other raw materials and consumer goods. Estonia has many ports on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, but the port of Tallinn dominates the cargo volumes. In 2007, 263 M tonnes of cargoes were transported in the maritime traffic in the Gulf of Finland, of which the share of petroleum products was 56 %. 23 % of the cargoes were loaded or unloaded in the Finnish ports, 60 % in the Russian ports and 17 % in the Estonian ports. The largest ports were Primorsk (74.2 M tonnes) St. Petersburg (59.5 M tonnes), Tallinn (35.9 M tonnes), Sköldvik (19.8 M tonnes), Vysotsk (16.5 M tonnes) and Helsinki (13.4 M) tonnes. Approximately 53 600 ship calls were made in the ports of the Gulf of Finland. The densest traffic was found in the ports of St. Petersburg (14 651 ship calls), Helsinki (11 727 ship calls) and Tallinn (10 614 ship calls) in 2007. The transportation scenarios are usually based on the assumption that the amount of transports follows the development of the economy, although also other factors influence the development of transportation, e.g. government policy, environmental aspects, and social and behavioural trends. The relationship between the development of transportation and the economy is usually analyzed in terms of the development of GDP and trade. When the GDP grows to a certain level, especially the international transports increase because countries of high GDP produce, consume and thus transport more. An effective transportation system is also a precondition for the economic development. In this study, the following factors were taken into consideration when formulating the future scenarios: maritime transportation in the Gulf of Finland 2007, economic development, development of key industries, development of infrastructure and environmental aspects in relation to maritime transportation. The basic starting points for the three alternative scenarios were: • the slow growth scenario: economic recession • the average growth scenario: economy will recover quickly from current instability • the strong growth scenario: the most optimistic views on development will realize According to the slow growth scenario, the total tonnes for the maritime transportation in the Gulf of Finland would be 322.4 M tonnes in 2015, which would mean a growth of 23 % compared to 2007. In the average growth scenario, the total tonnes were estimated to be 431.6 M tonnes – a growth of 64 %, and in the strong growth scenario 507.2 M tonnes – a growth of 93%. These tonnes were further divided into petroleum products and other cargoes by country, into export, import and domestic traffic by country, and between the ports. For petroleum products, the share of crude oil and oil products was estimated and the number of tanker calls in 2015 was calculated for each scenario. However, the future development of maritime transportation in the GoF is dependent on so many societal and economic variables that it is not realistic to predict one exact point estimate value for the cargo tonnes for a certain scenario. Plenty of uncertainty is related both to the degree in which the scenario will come true as well as to the cause-effect relations between the different variables. For these reasons, probability distributions for each scenario were formulated by an expert group. As a result, a range for the total tonnes of each scenario was formulated and they are as follows: the slow growth scenario: 280.8 – 363 M tonnes (expectation value 322.4 M tonnes)

Incorporació d'estratègies innovadores de la FEMA en la protecció civil de Catalunya

FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS): El sistema integrat públic d’alertes i avisos de FEMA és una eina basada en internet que les autoritats Federals, Estatals, territorials, tribals i locals poden fer servir per enviar avisos i alertes públiques crítiques. IPAWS és accessible a través d’un software i uns requeriments de sistemes sense cost en l’enviament de missatge (tot i que sí pot tenir cost l’adaptació dels sistemes per la compatibilitat amb el software). No és obligatori i no substitueix els mecanismes existents d’alerta sinó que complementa els sistemes existents i ofereix noves capacitats.

The Child Protection System from the Perspective of Young People: Messages from 3 Studies

This article reports findings and reflections based on the results of three different research projects conducted between 2008 and 2013 and focusing on the perspective of young care leavers in Spain. The overall aim was to examine these young people’s perceptions and evaluations of how they were treated while in the public care system, mainly residential care. Reviewing these qualitative studies, the most common and relevant issues highlighted by young people were related to the following themes: (a) entering care; (b) stability and emotional bonds in care; (c) education; (d) friends; (e) labelling, stigmatization, rights and opportunities; (f) autonomy and responsibility versus overprotection; (g) contact with parents, siblings and extended family; (h) maltreatment in care; and (i) leaving care. One of the main elements used in their assessments was comparison (i) between their previous situation within their birth family and the quality of care experienced in the residential home; and (ii) between what these young people commonly refer to as “normal children” and children in care. Recommendations deriving from their advice and opinions are also debated

Tietoliikennekustannusten optimointi reaaliaikaisessa paikkatietojärjestelmässä

Tässä diplomityössä kehitettiin paikkatietojärjestelmä, joka mahdollistaa ajoneuvojen seurannan ja aikatauluennusteiden tuottamisen reaaliaikaisesti joukkoliikenteen informaatiojärjestelmien tarpeisiin. Tavoitteena oli toteuttaa vastaavan jo käytössä olleen järjestelmän toiminnallisuudet sillä tavoin tehokkaammin, että saataisiin merkittävästi pienennettyä tiedonsiirrossa käytettyä datamäärää ja järjestelmän käytöstä aiheutuvia kustannuksia. Työssä tutkittiin tiedonsiirtoprotokollakerrosten ja protokollasuunnitteluun liittyvien ratkaisujen, kuten viestien yhdistelyn, tietotyyppien valinnan sekä yhteyksien uudelleenkäytön, vaikutusta tarvittavaan tiedonsiirtomäärään. Lopputuloksena vanhoja vastaavien toimintojen vaatima datamäärä saatiin huonoimmassakin tilanteessa puoleen entisestä. Lisäksi niiden logiikan uudistamisen todettiin saavan aikaan tätäkin suuremmat säästöt. Esiin nousikin erityisesti juuri sovelluslogiikan merkitys. Suurimmalta osin sen perusteella määräytyy, kuinka paljon viestintää järjestelmässä tarvitaan. Näin ollen sillä on myös hyvin suuri vaikutus siihen, mikä tietoliikenteen kokonaismäärä lopulta on.

Turun seudun turvallisen ja kestävän liikkumisen suunnitelma

Turun seudun turvallisen ja kestävän liikkumisen suunnitelma on laadittu seudun kuntien ja Varsinais-Suomen ELY-keskuksen yhteistyönä. Suunnitelmassa on selvitetty liikenneturvallisuuden, liikkumisen, toimintaympäristön ja liikennejärjestelmän nykytilaa sekä kartoitettu liikenneturvallisuusongelmia erilaisten analyysien ja kyselyiden avulla. Nykytila-analyysin pohjalta on asetettu liikenneturvallisuustyön visio ja tavoitteet sekä määritetty toimenpide-ehdotukset. Tavoitteisiin pääsemistä tukevat liikenneympäristön parantamistoimenpiteiden ohjelma, liikkumisen ohjauksen toimintaohjelma sekä hallintokuntien liikenneturvallisuustyön toimenpiteistä kootut toimintasuunnitelmat. Onnettomuusanalyysin perusteella liikenneturvallisuuden tila oli Turun seudulla hieman koko Suomen keskiarvoa heikompi. Seudulla tapahtui vuosina 2001-2010 henkilövahinkoon johtaneita onnettomuuksia keskimäärin 132 / 100 000 asukasta, kun vastaava luku oli 126 koko maan osalta. Kuolemaan johtaneita onnettomuuksia tapahtui seudulla vähemmän, mutta loukkaantumiseen johtaneita onnettomuuksia koko maan keskiarvoa enemmän. Onnettomuuksissa kuoli tai loukkaantui koko maan keskiarvoa enemmän jalankulkijoita ja polkupyöräilijöitä. Lukumäärällisesti eniten onnettomuuksia tapahtui 18–19-vuotiaille, mutta henkilövahinkoon johtaneita onnettomuuksia tapahtui selvästi eniten 15–16-vuotiaille. Seudulla tapahtuneista liikenneonnettomuuksista aiheutui vuosittain keskimäärin 127,2 miljoonan euron kustannukset, josta kuntien osuus oli vuosittain noin 22,3 miljoonaa euroa. Asukkaille suunnatun kyselyn mukaan sekä työmatkat että lyhyet vapaa-ajan matkat tehtiin useimmiten henkilöautolla. Koululaisia pidettiin turvattomimpana tienkäyttäjäryhmänä, ja kävelyä sekä pyöräilyä turvattomimpina kulkutapoina. Välinpitämättömyyttä pidettiin merkittävimpänä syynä erilaisiin liikennerikkomuksiin ja tärkeimmäksi kehittämistarpeeksi nousi liikennekäyttäytyminen. Yhdyskuntarakenteen ja toimintaympäristön analyysin perusteella seudulla on hyvät edellytykset kestävien kulkumuotojen kuten joukkoliikenteen houkuttelevuuden lisäämiselle sekä kävelyn ja pyöräilyn verkoston kehittämiselle. Onnettomuusanalyysin ja valtakunnallisten tavoitteiden pohjalta Turun seudulle asetettiin liikenneturvallisuustyön tavoitteet. Tavoitelaskelman mukaan liikennekuolemien ja loukkaantuneiden määrä tulee puolittaa vuosien 2006-2010 keskiarvosta vuoteen 2020 mennessä. Tavoitteen mukaan liikenteessä kuolee enintään 6 (lähtötaso 12) ja loukkaantuu 236 (lähtötaso 471) vuonna 2020. Vaikutusarvion perusteella voidaan arvioida päästävän tavoitteeseen suunnitelmakauden aikana. Tavoitteiden saavuttaminen on kuitenkin haasteellista ja edellyttää tehokasta yhteistyötä eri tahojen välillä. Tavoitteeseen tulee pyrkiä laajaa keinovalikoimaa käyttäen. Suunnitelmatyön aikana aktivoitiin kuntien turvallisen ja kestävän liikkumisen ryhmät, joiden toiminnan tueksi laadittiin toimintasuunnitelmat sekä vuosikello työn eri vaiheista. Ryhmät vastaavat suunnitelman toteuttamisesta, toteutumisen seurannasta ja tarvittaessa päivittämisestä.

Weed control under integrated nutrient management systems in faba bean (Vicia faba) production in Egypt

Two field experiments were conducted in two successive seasons, 2005/2006 and 2006/2007, to determine whether management can improve faba bean competitiveness with weeds, thus helping to achieve its yield potential. The experiment included five treatments, composed of organic and mineral fertilizers, alone and mixed at different rates, along with a control and six weed control treatments, including oxadiargyl, prometryn, hand hoeing treatments alone or mixed with the herbicides, and a nonweeded treatment (control).The herbicide treatments were not superior to the two hand-hoeing treatments. Using compost favored growth and yield of faba bean more than of weeds. Adding fertilizer also improved most yield parameters. Application of compost alone or combined with 50 or 100% of the recommended NPK rate improved faba bean growth in terms of net assimilation rate, specific leaf area, and leaf weight ratio as components of relative growth rate. This improvement in growth resulted in increase of seed yield, yield components and protein of faba bean. Faba bean yield performance improved under interactive fertilizer effects and weed control treatments as growth improved, as a result of nutrient release from fertilizers and weed control.

Replikoitavan palvelinjärjestelmän toteuttaminen julkisen liikenteen avoimen datan jakeluun

Tässä diplomityössä tutkittiin, miten toteuttaa replikoitava palvelinjärjestelmä julkisen liikenteen avoimen datan jakeluun. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin, onko vastaavanlaisia järjestelmiä suunniteltu aiemmin, vai pitääkö järjestelmä suunnitella itse. Projektissa käytettiin avoimen lähdekoodin OneBusAway-ohjelmistokokonaisuutta. Projektin avulla osoitettiin, että kyseinen ohjelmisto toimi yliopiston testikäytössä hyvin. Ohjelmiston avulla pystytään jakelemaan staattista ja reaaliaikaista dataa, ja se on replikoitavissa kunnasta toiseen maailmanlaajuisesti. Tulevaisuudessa olisi kuitenkin hyvä selvittää, miten ohjelmistosta puuttuva reittihakuominaisuus kannattaisi toteuttaa, sekä olisiko REST- rajapinta mahdollista muuttaa sellaiseksi, että se noudattaisi julkisen liikenteen standardeja.