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Abstract: Motorcycle riders would be more vulnerable in the event of a crash because of their lack of protection which would often result in them suffering more severe injuries than car drivers. This paper estimated three crash severity models to identify factors that contributed to increasing the severity of motorcycle involved crashes in the Canadian City of Calgary. We found that results from the ordered logit model, heterogeneous choice model and partially constrained generalized ordered logit model produced estimates that were very similar which attested to their robustness. Injury severity tended to increase in neighborhoods with loops and lollipops types of streets or involved right-angle and left-turn-across-path crashes, a truck, unsafe speed or alcohol use but tended to decrease if the crash occurred in parking lots or during winter, involved a van or male rider, or a rider following-too-closely to the vehicle in front. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Since speeding is one of the major causes of frequent and severe traffic accidents around school and playground areas, many jurisdictions have reduced the speed limits in these areas to protect children who may be at risk. This paper investigated the speed compliance, mean speed and 85th percentile speed at selected school and playground zones in the City of Calgary in Alberta. Our results showed that the mean speed was lower and the rate of compliance was higher in the school zone compared to the playground zone, 2 lane roads relative to 4 lane roads, roads with fencing, traffic control devices and the presence of speed display device or children, and zones that were longer (>200m). Accordingly, this study provided recommendations to improve the effectiveness of school and playground zone speed limits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Using administrative data for high-priority calls in Calgary, Alberta, we estimate how ambulance travel times depend on distance. We find that a logarithmic transformation produces symmetric travel-time distributions with heavier tails than those of a normal distribution. Guided by nonparametric estimates of the median and coefficient of variation, we demonstrate that a previously proposed model for mean fire engine travel times is a valid and useful description of median ambulance travel times. We propose a new specification for the coefficient of variation, which decreases with distance. We illustrate how the resulting travel-time distribution model can be used to create probability-of-coverage maps for diagnosis and improvement of system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in construction work zones to disseminate traffic information has increased significantly in recent years, mainly with the use of Variable Message Signs (VMS). VMS are used based on the assumption that informed drivers will make better travel decisions, thereby reducing congestion. However, the extent of change in driver behavior is difficult to predict prior to ITS deployment. This difficulty leads to the larger problem of justifying investment in ITS. This article proposes an ITS deployment decision support tool using micro-simulation. The approach determines the required diversion effectiveness of a work zone ITS deployment using VMS. The methodology was tested using the Glenmore Trail/Elbow Drive/5th Street interchange project (GE5) in Calgary, Canada. The results indicate that the proposed approach will assist agencies in justifying ITS investment by exhibiting the potential resultant societal benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]