Workforce Development Resources

The American way of life relies on the U.S. transportation system to move goods and services effectively and efficiently. Much of this movement occurs in urban areas, so it is natural that we wonder about what form our urban freight systems will take in the next millennium. This article is divided into five sections. It begins with a historical snapshot of urban transportation planning and national transportation policy in relation to the movement of urban freight. It then presents the influences on freight demand. Next, it examines the potential effects of research and technology on urban freight movement, particularly how the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act is changing urban freight transportation planning and policy development. It then addresses the topic of educating future decision makers, planners, and engineers. Finally, it considers the direction that urban freight movement might take in the next millennium.

Urban areas are vital centers of economic activity and innovation generating large economies of density and proximity. Yet, procuring and distributing goods in an urban context is fraught with difficulties because of infrastructure congestion, external costs, conflicting objectives among stakeholders, and asymmetric information. In order to improve the performance of the urban goods transport system many policies have been proposed, including goods vehicle time windows, vehicle-type restrictions, loadingunloading policies, fiscal policies, the promotion urban transshipment and consolidation centers. Unfortunately, not much is known concerning how these policies affect the existing distribution practices. It is quite likely that the impact is differentiated by type of product and distribution channel. The aim of this paper is to explore this issue. Drawing on the existing literature and on the empirical evidence from some Italian cities, the paper identifies and discusses the relationship between each of the above-mentioned policies and the distribution channels of some goods (fresh food sold in retail stores, food distributed by Hotels, Restaurants and Catering (Ho.Re.Ca.), pharmaceutical products and clothing & footwear) which are commonly distributed in Italian urban centers. It is found that the distribution of pharmaceutical products is unaffected by these policies, whereas the distribution of fresh food is negatively affected especially by access time regulation and loadingunloading policies. The Ho.Re.Ca. and the clothing & footwear channels are likely to be impacted the most by fiscal policies and by the promotion of urban transshipment and consolidation centers.

In this funny and thought-provoking talk, Janette Sadik-Khan, transportation commissioner of New York City, shares projects that have reshaped street life in the 5 boroughs, including pedestrian zones in Times Square, high-performance buses and a 6,000-cycle-strong bike share. Her mantra: Do bold experiments that are cheap to try out.

Research shows that urban education is falling being that of suburban and as a result the US is slipping in overall education compared to other nations. Federal Government proposes that Educational Entrepreneurship be increased and funding for such agencies and programs also be increased.

Stated choice experiments have proven to be a powerful tool in eliciting preferences across a broad range of choice settings. This paper outlines the elements of a group-based experiment designed for interdependent urban freight stakeholders, along with the procedure to administer the questionnaire sequentially. The focus is on the design of a computer-assisted personal survey instrument and the value in disseminating the details of a new approach to design and collect stated choice data for interacting agents. The paper also discusses how to specify a reference alternative, and then how to recruit appropriate real-market or representative decision-making group members to participate in a subsequent phase of the survey, which incorporates the reference alternative and contextual information from an initial phase. The empirical strategy, set out in some detail, provides a new framework within which to understand more fully the role that specific attributes, such as variable user charges, influencing freight distribution chains might play, and who in the supply chain is affected by specific attributes in terms of willingness to pay for the gains in distribution efficiency.

Career Expo at the University of Minnesota aimed at encouraging students to pursue rewarding careers in the Transportation field. Also, helps companies to network and reach out to students.

The most popular dispatching rule for double-track segments is to dedicate one track for trains traveling in one direction. However, today passenger trains are able to travel at a much faster speed compared to freight trains, but the limitation of the rail infrastructure makes it more cost effective to allow the passenger trains to share some portions of the railway tracks with the slower freight trains. The drawback of this dedicated rule is that a fast train can be caught behind a slow train and experience significant knock-on delay. The new dispatching rules enable the fast train to pass the slow train by using the track travelled by trains in the opposite direction if the track is empty. Simulation experiments show that a switchable policy can reduce the average train delay by 21% over a dedicated track policy and with the existence of crossovers the reduction in the average train delay can be as high as 41.9%.

The most natural and popular dispatching rule for double-track segments is to dedicate one track for trains traveling in one direction. However, sometimes passenger trains have to share some portions of the railway with freight trains and passenger trains are traveling faster and faster nowadays. The major drawback of this dedicated rule is that a fast train can be caught behind a slow train and experience significant knock-on delay. In this paper, we propose a switchable dispatching policy for a double-track segment. The new dispatching rule enables the fast train to pass the slow train by using the track traveled by trains in the opposite direction if the track is empty. We use queueing theory techniques to derive the delay functions of this policy. The numerical experiments show that a switchable policy can reduce the fast train knock-on delay by as high as 30% compared to a dedicated policy. When there are crossovers at the middle of the double-track segment, our proposed switchable policy can reduce the delay of the fast trains by as high as 65%.

Event focuses on spring and summer roadway maintenance issues. The expo showcases the latest experiences and technology occurring in maintenance operations in Minnesota

Metro Vancouver has been noted for its ability to accommodate growth while maintaining good quality of life for residents. Still, the region faces challenges in pursuing the goals of the recently-approved Regional Growth Strategy, which helps ensure that regional land use patterns help create vibrant, accessible communities and support transit, walking, and cycling throughout the region.

Melbourne is considered one of the most livable cities in the world. It has garnered considerable recognition for its success over the last 25 years in transforming the centre of Melbourne from a car-oriented office core to a dynamic, mixed-use community with a vibrant public realm.

In this public lecture, which took place on October 4, 2011, at Simon Fraser University's Vancouver campus, Rob Adams, the director of city design for Melbourne, shared some of his experiences in leading this transformation. He also discussed how Melbourne's success could be applied to development in Metro Vancouver's key centers.

Intermodal road-rail transport (IRRT) has a significant urban dimension that affects the environmental benefits and the modal shift potential of rail freight. A sustainable modal shift, i.e., growth in rail freight without negative consequences for the sustainability of urban areas, can only be achieved by appropriate actions that demonstrate an understanding of the urban context within which IRRT takes place. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the interactions between urban freight transport and IRRT and their implications for urban sustainability and modal shift strategies.

This research combines empirical case studies to develop a framework for sustainable urban freight transport, and conceptual and analytical research to assess the potential of different measures to enhance the sustainability of IRRT, including: (I) the regulatory framework for pre- and post haulage vehicles to improve cost efficiency; (ii) fast and efficient transshipments to increase the accessibility of rail freight; and (iii) the urban spatial structure to reduce the local impacts of IRRT.

The application of the framework on IRRT identifies the potential of integrating urban freight and modal shift strategies. Local authorities therefore have an important role to play if a sustainable modal shift is to be achieved. However, they often do not have sufficient logistics competence to integrate freight transport and urban sustainability strategies. The framework can guide urban planners on how to overcome the existing shortcomings in urban transport planning. It also illustrates the benefits of a rail-adapted urban planning for local sustainability, which can encourage cities to include rail freight in their sustainable development strategies. From a theoretical perspective, the identified interactions and potentials of an integrated approach provide the context for studies going beyond the usual scope of either urban freight or IRRT focusing on the interaction between these two areas. This thesis therefore contributes to the integration of these streams of research.