10.11.12
FHWA Releases 2012 Version of Interactive Highway Safety Design Model
http://www.ihsdm.org/wiki/Welcome
Analysis Tool: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
FHWA has released version 8.0.0 of the Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM), a suite of software analysis tools for evaluating safety and operational effects of geometric design decisions. The 2012 release includes a Crash Prediction Module (CPM) that implements the AASHTO Highway Safety Manual (HSM), Part C: Predictive Method. The 2012 version also includes a Beta version of crash prediction capabilities for mainline freeway segments, based on draft HSM materials developed under National Cooperative Highway Research Project 17-45.
Driving Down the Numbers - Toward Zero Deaths
http://youtu.be/E9sImnOIS3M
Video: Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT)
The compelling RIDOT video promotes the concept of zero deaths on roads and highways. The video features interviews with Rhode Island residents who respond to a series of questions about highway safety. When asked to think about themselves, family members, and friends, the majority of people positively respond to the zero deaths message
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21)
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/map21/
Guidance Documents: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
FHWA has posted new guidance documents and an expanded set of questions and answers on the MAP-21 website. The guidance covers Infrastructure; Environment, Planning, and Realty; Safety; Operations; Innovative Program Delivery; and Federal Lands.
Introducing the Redesigned www.dot.gov
http://www.dot.gov/briefing-room/introducing-redesigned-
wwwdotgov
Website: U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)
The USDOT website has been redesigned to help the reader find what is needed as easily as possible, to make the most popular resources more accessible, and to improve the arrangement of the website resources.
40 years of Swindon's Magic Roundabout
http://www.itv.com/news/west/2012-10-09/40-years-of-swindons-magic-roundabout/
News Report: ITV News
The article describes an atypical roundabout design in Great Britain that consists of five mini-roundabouts arranged around a sixth central, anti-clockwise roundabout. An aerial photograph is included.
Investigation of Pedestrian/Bicyclist Risk in Minnesota Roundabout Crossings
http://www.its.umn.edu/Publications/ResearchReports/
reportdetail.html?id=2186
Research Report: University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies
The report investigates pedestrian accessibility at two urban roundabouts in Minnesota, addressing complaints from pedestrians regarding difficulties in crossing and safety. The methodology includes a sufficiently large number of observations on the interactions between pedestrians or bicyclists and vehicles. The results highlight and categorize the existence of friction between pedestrians and motorists at roundabout crossings.
Sharing the Road: Optimizing Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety and Vehicle Mobility
http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9622_11045_24249-279311--,00.html
Research Report: Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)
The report reviews roadway improvements designed to enhance bicyclist, pedestrian, and motorist safety and mobility. The report includes a review of national design guidelines on methods to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, a case study analysis of recently completed improvements in Michigan, and a set of recommended best design practices for walking and bicycling.
Ride-Sharing Services Grow Popular in Europe
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/technology/ride-sharing-
services-grow-popular-in-europe.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
News Report: New York Times
Private rideshare matching services are flourishing throughout Europe. Two companies based in France and Germany together have more than 6 million registered users. Expansion to the rest of Europe is underway.
Traveler Response to Transportation System Changes Handbook, Third Edition; Chapter 16, Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities
http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/167122.aspx
Research Report: Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) of the Transportation Research Board (TRB)
TCRP has published the non-motorized transportation chapter of the Traveler Response Handbook series. The chapter synthesizes available findings on observed effects of pedestrian and bicycle improvements and programs, covering both travel demand and public health outcomes and implications. The chapter is available as a free download or a print copy can be purchased. Accompanying PowerPoint slides may be downloaded.
Utah Officials Celebrate 100th Anniversary of Traffic Signal that Debuted in Salt Lake City
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/
3795d8a4d70a4b13800dee0425c7db34/UT--Celebrating-Stoplights
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/55027680-90/1912-green-
invention-lake.html.csp
News Articles: The Republic and The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah is celebrating the 100th anniversary of a traffic signal developed by Lester Farnsworth Wire, arguably the inventor of the world's first electric traffic light in 1912. The second article includes a photograph of the birdhouse-like box with red and green bulbs on each side to signal stop and go to travelers.
Data from Only State that Tracks Dooring Show Its Big Problem
http://transportationnation.org/2012/09/28/data-from-only-
state-that-tracks-dooring-show-its-big-problem/
News Article: Transportation Nation
Data from Chicago shows that dooring - a crash that involves a bicyclist hitting an open car door - represented nearly 20 percent of all reported bike crashes in 2011.
Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities 2012 Request for Letters of Interest
http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/pdf/buildingblocks/
building-blocks-2012-rfli-9-25-12-final.pdf
Request for Letters of Interest: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
EPA is offering help to communities through its Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. The quick and targeted technical assistance areas include conducting parking audits, creating Green Streets strategies, and planning bikeshare programs. Applications for the assistance are due October 26.
2012 National Rural ITS Conference
http://www.nritsconference.org/Proceedings2012.html
Conference Proceeding: 2012 National Rural ITS Conference
The conference brought together traditional and non-traditional ITS users to address rural safety, multi-agency coordination, transit and other topics. The website provides links to 34 presentations given covering topics such as adaptive traffic signal control, work zone traffic management plans, and motorist information systems.
In Bike-Friendly Copenhagen, Highways for Cyclists
http://www.npr.org/2012/09/01/160386904/in-bike-friendly-
copenhagen-highways-for-cyclists
News Report: National Public Radio (NPR)
NPR reports on the development of a "cycling superhighway" in Copenhagen where currently one-third of commute trips are by bicycle. Existing features such as traffic signals timed to accommodate bicyclists and the placement of footrests with bars to lean on at signalized intersections are also featured.
Highway Robbery - The Real Cost of Traffic Jams
http://www.nationwide.com/cps/road-congestion-infographic.htm
Infographic: Nationwide Insurance
The infographic highlights several facts covering the causes of traffic congestion, the average duration of traffic congestion per day by month of the year, and the amount of excess fuel consumption that is a result of traffic congestion.
'Terminus' Teaches Transportation Planning to High Schoolers
http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?nid=158521
Press Release: Georgia Institute of Technology
Three Georgia Tech graduate students have developed a game that teaches high school students how transportation planning works.
Transportation/Land Use Greenhouse Gas Reduction Toolkit
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP/Pages/GHGToolkit.aspx
Toolkit: Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)
ODOT has assembled a toolkit to help local jurisdictions identify and explore the kinds of actions and programs which can be implemented to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. The toolkit measures include pricing, land use, bicycle and pedestrian, public transportation, transportation demand management, operations, capacity expansion and bottleneck relief, fleet, and freight. The toolkit has several components which can be used together or independently: Database; Modeling and Analysis Tools Report; Case Studies; and a Communications Guide.
Road Safety in the United States: Are the (Relatively) Good Times Over?
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/
93637/1/102887.pdf
Research Report: University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)
The UMTRI research reports that over the 7-year period ending in 2011, road fatalities in the U.S. decreased 26 percent. Data have indicated that a reversal of this trend might be now taking place.
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