Mobile source emission impacts of high occupancy vehicle facilities /
The Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990 mandate that
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1994.
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| Summary: | The Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990 mandate that areas with air pollutant concentrations above national standards must follow the regulatory guidelines laid out in the Amendments to bring the area up to attainment of the standards. The CAAA were enacted to reduce the extent of mobile source emissions in urbanized areas. Transportation control measures are required in areas designated as severe or extreme ozone nonattainrnent areas. High occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are among the 16 control measures listed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is important for nonattainment areas to have access to methodologies which can assess the potential emission reduction from high occupancy vehicle facilities. The objective of this research was to verify and validate two methods which estimate the potential mobile source emission reduction of HOV facilities. These methods were the San Diego Association of Governments'(SANDAG) TCM Tools and the U.S. EPA sponsored System Applications International (SAI) procedure. The research focused on the Houston, Texas HOV network and adjacent mixed-use freeway lanes. Results obtained from the SANDAG and SAI methods are not consistent with the implementation of HOV facilities. Congestion and air quality benefits gained from HOV facilities are due to a shift from single occupant vehicle (SOV) work trips to HOV work trips which reduce the total number of vehicle work trips. The mode shift was not represented by the methods. Traffic characteristic data were used in lieu of the emission data because it was readily available and is fairly accurate whereas emission data is not. Both models failed validation because they were not able to accurately estimate the observed changes in travel characteristics due to the implementation of HOV facilities. Three primary recommendations were developed from the study. First, the SAI method showed the greatest potential for future use. Second, traffic characteristic data is the best data source for model validation due to the current state of technology. Finally, more research is needed to determine the validity of methods which assess the potential emission reduction of HOV facilities. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major subject: Civil Engineering". |
| Physical Description: | x, 72 leaves : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |