Michelle Oswald Beiler

Integrating GIS and AHP to Prioritize Transportation Infrastructure Using Sustainability Metrics

AbstractAs the risk of climate change continues, the need for transportation adaptation planning increases. Decisions regarding development (or redevelopment) of transportation systems, specifically transit facilities, have an essential role in the future of public mobility. Therefore, formalizing the project prioritization process using geographic information systems (GIS), sustainability metrics, and decision analysis techniques is needed. This research aims to identify sustainability metrics that address environmental, economic, and societal factors of transportation projects (rail or bus networks) using an integrative GIS and AHP (analytic hierarchy process) approach. Sustainability metrics are identified as factors based on their relevance to transit systems and their opportunity for spatial application, including climate-related factors such as sea level rise. Then, AHP is applied through a pairwise comparison survey in order to determine the importance of each factor to project prioritization. The ...

Teaching Sustainability Topics to Attract and Inspire the Next Generation of Civil Engineers

AbstractRecent natural events such as earthquakes in Japan and storm surge effects in New York have led to the growing interest in sustainable civil engineering. While sustainability topics, such as soil liquefaction and green building design, are typically included within civil engineering programs at the baccalaureate or graduate levels, topics in sustainability can be adapted for secondary school students as well. In addition, efforts to attract quality and diverse students into civil engineering have given rise to engineering camps aimed at secondary school students. This research focuses on the exploration of civil engineering sustainable module topics for secondary school students through the development of content as well as implementation of two case studies. Sustainability module topics are identified and instructional content (lesson objectives, key concepts, activities, experiments, and other pedagogical techniques) are proposed. Two modules are applied at the Bucknell Engineering Summer Camp p...

Evaluating the Impact of Rail-Trails: A Methodology for Assessing Travel Demand and Economic Impacts

As interest in sustainable transportation options rises, rail-trails—multiuse paths created from former railroad corridors—are in demand. Rail-trail development projects promote sustainability through environmental, economic, and social benefits such as enhancing public health, reducing vehicular travel, and promoting local economic development. This study explores methods to measure the travel demand and economic impact of developing a rail-trail. A methodology, the Rail-Trail Impact Assessment Method (RTIAM), is proposed and is applied to the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail (BVRT), in Pennsylvania. An agency or committee could follow the method with the goals of (1) identifying trail demand through survey methods, manual counts, and automatic counts, (2) exploring the economic impacts as well as benefits to trail users, and (3) evaluating the need for possible trail expansion. The BVRT case study suggests the applicability of the method to a real-world trail project and exemplifies how local communities can begin to measure and promote the benefits of rail-trail development.

Prioritizing Pedestrian Corridors Using Walkability Performance Metrics and Decision Analysis

Recent sustainability initiatives have shown that targeting pedestrian infrastructure improvement programs can enhance walkability and reduce traffic volume. Smart growth planning supports the need not only to build additional nonmotorized facilities, but also to improve the planning, prioritization, and funding process. Identifying pedestrian infrastructure needs through the development of an index can resolve inconsistencies and inequities regarding funding sustainable transportation infrastructure. This research investigates how transportation planning agencies can improve the process of prioritizing pedestrian improvement projects through two objectives: (1) the development of the pedestrian corridor improvement index (PCII); and (2) the application of PCII to pathways in Union County, Pennsylvania, as a case study. The PCII integrates pedestrian performance metrics with the analytic hierarchy process to assist in the prioritization of pedestrian pathway improvements. In order to test the applicability and relevance of the index to a real world network, four pathways in Union County, Pennsylvania, are evaluated and recommendations on the implementation process are provided. The PCII serves as a tool for agencies to enhance the decision-making process for planning pedestrian improvement projects.

Investigating transit and pedestrian accessibility for age-restricted communities using spatial analysis

ABSTRACT In the United States, the proportion of older adults continues to grow with respect to the total population. Decisions regarding the location and accessibility of age-restricted communities (55 and older) can influence mobility and ultimately affect the health and quality of life of community members. Therefore, identifying age-restricted community accessibility to transit and pedestrian facilities using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is useful for both existing and proposed developments. This research aims to examine transit and pedestrian accessibility/connectivity for age-restricted communities through the development of the Age-Restricted Community Connectivity Assessment (ARCCA) method based on connectivity thresholds and spatial analysis. The development of this method provides agencies with a step-by-step process that can be followed to determine existing and proposed improvements to enhance pedestrian and transit accessibility. ARCCA is applied to a case study in Pennsylvania that compares an urban region (Philadelphia County) and a rural region (Union County) to determine transit and pedestrian accessibility. The case study results suggest that ARCCA is applicable to real-world networks as it supports planning principles of urbanized areas providing more walkable and transit-oriented connections. The method can be used by transportation planning agencies to evaluate community connectivity to sustainable mobility throughout the country. Recommendations focused on method implementation, infrastructure development, and policy implications (such as educating residents on mobility options) are provided to improve connectivity and ensure high mobility for age-restricted community members. Ultimately, the implementation of ARCCA can lead to improved development decisions that can enhance mobility independence for older adults.

Measuring the Sustainability of Shared-Use Paths: Development of the GreenPaths Rating System

AbstractThe application of sustainable performance measures continues to increase with the development of sustainable rating systems such as leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED), as well as transportation-focused programs, such as Greenroads. Established transportation rating systems focus primarily on the design and construction of motorized facilities such as local roadways and highways. As a result, there is the opportunity to develop a rating system focused on shared-use paths that are for nonmotorized (pedestrian and cycling) mobility. The primary objective of this research is to develop a sustainable rating system for the design and construction of shared-use paths, called GreenPaths, in order to promote environmental, social, and economic benefits through the development process. Sustainable indicators (credits) for shared-use paths are developed and then weighted using the analytic hierarchy process. GreenPaths is then applied to a real-world shared-use path facility, the Buffalo V...

Integrating Innovation and Entrepreneurship Principles into the Civil Engineering Curriculum

AbstractAs the field of civil engineering evolves to address twenty-first century challenges, the demand for creative and innovative thinking rises. Engineering institutions around the nation have begun to integrate sustainability into the curriculum. Topics such as innovation and entrepreneurship are highly correlated with sustainability goals; however, many times they are viewed as market or management-driven principles. The Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN) Program was established to transform the U.S. workforce through equipping graduate engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset. This program is based on KEEN student outcomes (KSOs), which can be incorporated into department level, as well as course level, curricula. This paper focuses on the integration of KSOs into a senior civil engineering capstone course through two course activities over two years. KEEN rubrics are used to assess student achievement of the KSOs focused on innovative thinking and productive collaboration. The assessm...

Sustainable Mobility for the Future: Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Transportation Planning Course

AbstractThe field of transportation engineering has become more sustainable as challenges of the twenty-first century continue. Sustainable mobility topics such as pedestrian and cycling travel, smart growth development, and transit-oriented design are being adopted and implemented. As a result, there is the need for higher-education curriculum on transportation engineering to adapt as well. Efforts to integrate sustainable and multimodal design into introductory transportation courses have emerged, as well as new courses in the transportation field. This paper describes the development and implementation of an upper-level course, Sustainable Transportation Planning, at Bucknell University. Course objectives, pedagogical tools, activities, and assessment methods are discussed in depth to provide insight into how other institutions can adopt a similar course. An emphasis is placed on active learning techniques and the need to balance the three components of sustainability (environment, economy, and society...

Identifying Resiliency Performance Measures for Megaregional Planning: Case Study of the Transportation Corridor Between Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.

Transportation corridors in megaregions present a unique challenge for planners because of the high concentration of development, complex interjurisdictional issues, and history of independent development of core urban centers. The concept of resilience, as applied to megaregions, can be used to understand better the performance of these corridors. Resiliency is the ability to recover from or adjust easily to change. Resiliency performance measures can be expanded on for application to megaregions throughout the United States. When applied to transportation corridors in megaregions and represented by performance measures such as redundancy, continuity, connectivity, and travel time reliability, the concept of resiliency captures the spatial and temporal relationships between the attributes of a corridor, a network, and neighboring facilities over time at the regional and local levels. This paper focuses on the development of performance measurements for evaluating corridor resiliency as well as a plan for implementing analysis methods at the jurisdictional level. The transportation corridor between Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., is used as a case study to represent the applicability of these measures to megaregions throughout the country.

Sustainable Transportation Planning in the BosWash Corridor

Mobility in the twenty-first century has transformed into a multimodal experience. With goals of reducing impacts on the environment, society, and economy, sustainable transportation systems including trails, bikeways, transit, and even high-speed rail plans are being integrated and adopted within the Boston to Washington, D.C. (BosWash) corridor. Although rail and highway facilities originally formed the spine, the development and expansion of this megaregion requires reliance on non-vehicular mobility. This chapter highlights sustainable transportation systems, specifically non-motorized mobility and transit, using examples within the BosWash corridor. The facilities are explored in terms of their strengths in promoting sustainable mobility as well as future challenges and barriers to shifting away from automobile reliance and toward a more balanced multimodal system.