Project Summary
In year 4 of CSET we propose to study the following two subjects, both of which have been initiated as student research projects of significance to rural areas in Hawaii (and elsewhere):
- Effects of tourism on rural roads: Case study on traffic congestion and parking problems on Oahu’s rural North Shore
- Rural delivery with CAV: Development of methodology for analysis and case studies in Hawaii and Washington to assess household budget savings and crash reduction
Both projects directly fulfill CSET’s main objective to improve safety in rural America. The first project involves significant contact with the North Shore community, its political representatives and the Hawaii DOT. The second project addresses rural highway crashes and it involves a specific case study in Hawaii assessing a short-to-medium distance, and another one in Washington State for a medium-to-long distance delivery. Due to their development around specific locations, both projects are directly context-sensitive, but the methodology of analysis is generic and applicable to a variety of locations. The first of the two projects listed above also involves a dimension of climate adaptation because Hawaii DOT has declared that it will only accept mitigations that account for coastal erosion and threats to coastal highways due to climate change/sea level rise.
