Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Practical Framework For Component-Level Structural Health Monitoring Of The Gerald Desmond Bridge, Mehran Rahmani, Vesna Terzic, Andrea Calabrese, Brittany Cambell

Mineta Transportation Institute

Bridges serve as critical transportation infrastructure, but traditional maintenance inspection to ensure their safety is time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive, especially for larger and more complex structures. This study presents a practical framework for the instrumentation, data acquisition, and remote condition assessment of the Gerald Desmond Bridge, California’s largest cable-stayed bridge. The framework aims to establish a foundation for real-time or near real-time remote health monitoring of the bridge’s critical elements. The study highlights the advantages of remote monitoring in terms of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and early detection of damage.

California Carbon Sequestration And Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Regulation In An Era Of Climate Change: Technology And Policy, Robert A. Mason

Master's Projects

This report serves primary purpose of finding prospective policies that could be useful in CARB’s new carbon sequestration program as mandated by S. B. 905. The bill states program goals and provides several objectives that direct the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), the California Air Resource Board (CARB), and the California Geological Survey (CGS, or just Survey) with various responsibilities. Curiously, S.B. 905 does not mention the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM or CalFire), although it has primary responsibility for issuing permits for hazardous pipelines as an agent of the federal Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

Pipelines …

Suburban Bay Area City Approaches To Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion (Dei), Arianna Bush

Master's Projects

The ultimate goal of government is to serve the community for the greater good. Creating an inclusive and representative environment for those working in government and for the population they serve will improve many aspects of public service. In recent decades, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) have been increasingly prioritized as America has become increasingly diverse. However, this effort intensified in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. “Three years after Floyd's death and the movement hit the streets, 74% of Black executives said they saw positive change in hiring, retention, and …

Spartan Daily, December 5, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 43

Learning About Street Harassment On Transit: A Survey Instrument For Transit Agencies, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Jon Canapary, Carol Anne Caroll, Tam J. Guy, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris

Mineta Transportation Institute

This study was conducted in accordance with California Senate Bill 1161 (2022), legislation that directed the Mineta Transportation Institute to develop a reliable, easy-to-use survey instrument for collecting information from public transit passengers about the extent, location, and characteristics of any street harassment they experience. Although the legislation is focused on large California transit agencies, the study findings are equally relevant to smaller agencies and agencies outside the state. To develop the recommended questionnaire, we reviewed literature about street harassment, analyzed transit passenger surveys to explore the questions asked about safety and harassment, received feedback on iterative drafts of the …

Evaluating Benefits From Transportation Investments Aligned With The Climate Action Plan For Transportation Infrastructure (Capti), Serena Alexander, Shams Tanvir, T. William Lester

Mineta Transportation Institute

Building upon two executive orders targeting the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in California, the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) offers a comprehensive plan to work toward a more unified vision for transportation that prioritizes climate, health, and social equity. The purpose of this project was to help evaluate the benefits from transportation investments across the State of California. With support from Caltrans, the research team provided a holistic evaluation framework that involved an analysis of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and emissions impacts, an economic impact analysis, and an equity analysis of transportation investments in California. Findings …

Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Or Statistical Models For Weather-Related Crash Severity Prediction, Abimbola Ogungbire, Panick Kalambay, Hardik Gajera, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute

Nearly 5,000 people are killed and more than 418,000 are injured in weather-related traffic incidents each year. Assessments of the effectiveness of statistical models applied to crash severity prediction compared to machine learning (ML) and deep learning techniques (DL) help researchers and practitioners know what models are most effective under specific conditions. Given the class imbalance in crash data, the synthetic minority over-sampling technique for nominal (SMOTE-N) data was employed to generate synthetic samples for the minority class. The ordered logit model (OLM) and the ordered probit model (OPM) were evaluated as statistical models, while random forest (RF) and XGBoost …

Should State Land In Southern California Be Allocated To Warehousing Goods Or Housing People? Analyzing Transportation, Climate, And Unintended Consequences Of Supply Chain Solutions, Tianjun Lu, Jian-Yu Ke, Azure Fisher, Mahmoud Salari, Patricia Valladolid, Fynnwin Prager

Mineta Transportation Institute

In response to COVID-19 pandemic supply chain issues, the State of California issued Executive Order (EO) N-19-21 to use state land to increase warehousing capacity. This highlights a land-use paradox between economic and environmental goals: adding warehouse capacity increases climate pollution and traffic congestion around the ports and warehouses, while there is a deficit of affordable housing and high homeless rates in port-adjacent underserved communities. This study aims to inform regional policymakers and community stakeholders about these trade-offs by identifying current and future supply of and demand for warehousing and housing in Southern California through 2040. The study uses statistical …

Influence Of Pavement Conditions On Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes, Stephen Arhin, Babin Manandhar, Adam Gatiba

Mineta Transportation Institute

Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety is a major concern in the United States, including the District of Columbia (DC), where CMVs make up 15% of traffic. This research uses a comprehensive approach, combining statistical analysis and machine learning techniques, to investigate the impact of road pavement conditions on CMV accidents. The study integrates traffic crash data from the Traffic Accident Reporting and Analysis Systems Version 2.0 (TARAS2) database with pavement condition data provided by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). Data spanning from 2016 to 2020 was collected and analyzed, focusing on CMV routes in DC. The analysis employs binary …

Exploring Traffic Speed Patterns For The Implementation Of Variable Speed Limit (Vsl) Signs, Panick Kalambay, Srinivas Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute

Traffic congestion is a prevalent issue during peak travel hours on roads in the United States. This study focuses on identifying suitable road links in Charlotte, North Carolina, for implementing variable speed limit (VSL) signs. Real-world traffic speed data collected over one year was analyzed to identify specific road links with favorable characteristics for VSL sign installations. The analysis considered weekdays, weekends, and specific times of the day to capture variations in speed patterns. The results revealed that roads with lower speed limits consistently experienced speeds exceeding the posted speed limits, suggesting additional enforcement or safety measures. For roads with …

Understanding The Effect Of Pervasive Events On Vehicle Travel Time Patterns, Chirag Akbari, Ninad Gore, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted daily activities and travel patterns, affecting personal and commercial trips. This study investigates the effect of different stages of the pandemic on travel time patterns. Eighty-six geographically distributed links (sections of road) in Mecklenburg County and Buncombe County, North Carolina, were selected for analysis. The selected links accounted for the variation in road geometry, land use, and speed limit. Travel time data for three years (i.e., 2019, 2020, and 2021) were extracted from a private data source at 5-min intervals. Travel time reliability (TTR) and travel time variability (TTV) are estimated for different phases of …

Autonomous Shuttle Implementation And Best Practices, Dil Samina Diba, Ninad Gore, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute

When, where, and how autonomous shuttles are deployed can have significant safety, economic, and policy impacts on their operation and performance. This research analyzes data related to 120 existing deployments of autonomous shuttles, looking at safety, operational, economic, and policy-related issues. Analysis shows that autonomous shuttles would be an excellent supplement to public transportation. However, improvements to the vehicle and the infrastructure are needed before any permanent deployment. The study also analyzes the perceptions of practitioners, industry experts, and transportation system users toward autonomous shuttles. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Multiple Input Multiple Cause Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approaches were …

Cycling Past 50: A Closer Look Into The World Of Older Cyclists, Year 4 Survey, Carol Kachadoorian

Mineta Transportation Institute

This document reports on approximately 5,000 responses to a North American survey of older adults who cycle. The survey, open from August 2021 through March 2022, included questions that captured a person’s cycling over their life course, as well as their current cycling styles, habits, and preferences. Responses reflect the impact of various factors on an older adult’s cycling habits with respect to their ability and agility and their expectation to continue cycling. The survey asked about falls and near misses in the past-year coding fall descriptions into six categories and sorting them by the respondent’s gender and age. The …

Spartan Daily, November 30, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 42

Spartan Daily, November 29, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 41

Spartan Daily, November 28, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 40

Spartan Daily, November 21, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 39

Spartan Daily, November 16, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 37

Spartan Daily, November 15, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 37

Spartan Daily, November 14, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 36

Spartan Daily, November 9, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 35

Spartan Daily, November 8, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 34

Spartan Daily, November 7, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 33

Spartan Daily, November 2, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 32

Spartan Daily, November 1, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 31

What Do Americans Think About Federal Tax Options To Support Transportation? Results From Year Fourteen Of A National Survey, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Hilary Nixon, Adam Azevedo

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report summarizes the results from the fourteenth year of a national public opinion survey asking U.S. adults questions related to their views on federal transportation taxes. A nationally representative sample of 2,531 respondents completed the online survey from February 13 to March 23, 2023. The questions test public opinions about raising the federal gas tax rate, replacing the federal gas tax with a new mileage fee, and imposing a mileage fee just on commercial travel. In addition to asking directly about support for these tax options, the survey collected data on respondents’ views on the quality of their local …

Misconduct On Public Transit: An Exploratory Analysis Using The Comments Formerly Known As Tweets, Egbe Etu Etu, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Imokhai Tenebe, Jordan Larot, Dang Minh Nhu Nguyen

Mineta Transportation Institute

This project developed a simple methodology for using Twitter data to explore public perceptions about misconduct on public transit in California. The methodology allows future researchers to analyze tweets to answer questions such as: How frequent are tweets related to assault, abuse, or other misconduct on public transit? What concerns arise most frequently? What are the types of behaviors discussed? We collected and analyzed data from Twitter posts in California about various types of public transit misconduct from January 2020 to March 2023 to identify the nature and frequency of reported misconduct. Our findings reveal that harassment, uncivil behavior, and …

Examining The Externalities Of Highway Capacity Expansions In California: An Analysis Of Land Use And Land Cover (Lulc) Using Remote Sensing Technology, Serena E. Alexander, Bo Yang, Owen Hussey, Derek Hicks

Mineta Transportation Institute

There are over 590,000 bridges dispersed across the roadway network that stretches across the United States alone. Each bridge with a length of 20 feet or greater must be inspected at least once every 24 months, according to the Federal Highway Act (FHWA) of 1968. This research developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based framework for bridge and road inspection using drones with multiple sensors collecting capabilities. It is not sufficient to conduct inspections of bridges and roads using cameras alone, so the research team utilized an infrared (IR) camera along with a high-resolution optical camera. In many instances, the IR camera …

Spartan Daily, October 31, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 30

Spartan Daily, October 26, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 29