MPC
Project Details

Title:	Impacts of Wildfire Smoke and Other Area-Wide Air Pollution on Multimodal Traffic Volumes
Principal Investigators:	Patrick Singleton and Keunhyun Park
University:	Utah State University
Status:	Active
Year:	2021
Grant #:	69A3551747108 (FAST Act)
Project #:	MPC-662
RiP #:	01781411
RH Display ID:	159502
Keywords:	air pollution, smoke, traffic volume, travel behavior, travel patterns, wildfires

Abstract

Increasing episodes of area-wide air pollution – from wildfire smoke and other sources – in urban and rural communities in the western/central US suggest a need for transportation infrastructure managers to understand how traffic patterns across multiple transportation modes are affected by these air pollution events. This project studies the effects of wildfire smoke and other area-wide air pollution on multimodal traffic volumes in Utah by analyzing multiple fused traffic, air quality, weather, and geospatial data sources. First, we quantify how much and for how long air pollution impacts multimodal traffic volumes (motor vehicle volumes, transit ridership, and bicycle/pedestrian counts) after controlling for other factors, such as weather. Second, we identify how air pollution results in aggregate-level travel behavior changes, such as mode share adjustments, shifts of trips to later days, or changes in vehicle miles traveled. Third, we characterize spatial variations in how air pollution impacts multimodal traffic volumes and aggregate travel behavior changes. This information could be used by transportation agencies to manage infrastructure operations and to prepare for and mitigate any traffic impacts and mode shifts due to smoke from wildfires, wintertime inversions, and other area-wide pollution events.

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