蛋疼的苦逼写一写交通工程 CEE310

HW 1. Introduction to Transportation Engineering
Due: Wednesday August 31 @ 11:00 am in class
You may use lecture notes, class discussion, assigned readings, or outside sources (e.g. agency websites, industry publications etc.). Outside sources must be cited. Unlike most homework assignments in the class, this assignment is entirely short answer (no calculations needed).
Short Answer (a few words or sentences)
1.What were the 2 important events which shaped Dwight David Eisenhower’s vision for the National Interstate System?
• In 1919,Lt. Col. Eisenhower helps staff a transcontinental convoy from Washington DC to S.F.
• During World War II, President Eisenhower was impressed by the German highway system“autobahn” which functioned as the major artillery to transport goods during war times.
2.Define the following agencies national transportation agencies and briefly describe their mission. You may need to visit the agency websites.
a.DOT: Department of Transportation
b.FHWA : Federal Highway Administration
c.FTA: Federal Transit Administration
d.FAA: Federal Aviation Administration
e.FRA: Federal Railroad Administration
3.What is the most congested city in the US?
Chicago
4.The Highway Trust Fund is used to finance road construction in the US through a federal tax on gasoline. Explain how financing transportation infrastructure
through the gas tax conflicts with environmental objectives. (Consider the taxes paid by a hybrid car like a Toyota Prius vs. a conventional vehicle).
The Highway Trust Fund encourages drivers to purchase more gas which includes federal tax for financing transportation infrastructure, and it completely goes against environmental objectives of reducing gas consumption.
5.What is the “Senior Tsunami”, and how will it impact the need for public transit?
“Senior Tsunami” refers to the drastic increase in the population over age 65 due to the aging of baby boomers generation. Many of them will be disabled drivers which would increase the need for public transit.
6.The top 30 metropolitan areas worldwide generated approximately what fraction of the world’s GDP in 2005? 1/6
7.Since 2005, more of America’s poor now live in metropolitan suburbs instead of city cores.
8.Name 3 countries which have passed the US in terms of road safety.
Sweden,Austrailia, Great Britain, Germany
9.Meeting the 21st century transportation challenges will require what type of changes in transportation agency missions? Explain why the current structure of the agencies listed in question 2 creates a problem in meeting 21st century goals.
•Adopting a systems perspective instead of a modal perspective;
•Integrating priorities across levels of government more effectively;
•Emphasizing operations instead of expansion;
•Improving the balance between national and local interests; and
•Expediting a decision-making process that has become slow and cumbersome.
Current agency system is decentralized in its own specialties and fails to bring a broader perspective in solving multi-disciplinary transportation issues.
To meet those goals, there needs to be a centralized system that coordinates decisions and power.
10.In class we mentioned two reasons why autonomous vehicles like the Google Street View cars might be important to help meet transportation challenges in the 21st century. Name one of the two potential benefits of autonomous vehicles we discussed (in addition to being “cool”).
•Creates Safer Driving: removes human errors which would prevent most of accidents.
•Reduces Traffic Congestion: shorter reaction times and efficient routing would help the network to perform to its maximum efficiency