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Faculty Mentor

Dr. Scott Parr

Abstract

Mass evacuations have changed greatly in the past two decades. Evacuations such as Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina, Florida during Hurricane Irma, and New York during the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, Hurricane Sandy, and Hurricane Irene have had significant impacts on future mass evacuations in terms of transportation. This paper takes these methods and analyzes the best approach in given situations based on volume capacity, impact, and cost to make recommendations that can be used by the three previously mention municipalities. With so many different techniques available, it is important to choose the one that moves the most people out of harm’s way as quickly and effectively as possible while still being economical. Data from various transportation engineering professionals is used to examine different techniques. Many of these papers have been published by Transportation Research Board. Additionally, a subject matter expert interview was conducted with Dr. Scott Parr, Ph.D. from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Based on the research conducted, Emergency Shoulder Usage (ESU) is a superior option to contraflow. Fee suspension also has a significant impact on areas with a low-income area. In areas where there was a switch from pretimed signal timing to semi-actuated or fully actuated signal timing a better LOS during mass evacuations was seen. For the implementation of these techniques to be beneficial, resiliency is important and why the last recommendation calls for professionals to petition for better infrastructure and resiliency.

Based on the research conducted, Emergency Shoulder Usage (ESU) is a superior option to contraflow. Fee suspension also has a significant impact on areas with a low-income area. In areas where there was a switch from pretimed signal timing to semi-actuated or fully actuated signal timing a better LOS during mass evacuations was seen. For the implementation of these techniques to be beneficial, resiliency is important and why the last recommendation calls for professionals to petition for better infrastructure and resiliency.

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