The Transportation Research Board (TRB) will sponsor the 6th International Visualization in Transportation Symposium from August 20 to 23, 2011, in Chicago. State-of-the-art methods of visualizing transportation information will be the focus of the symposium. The symposium will feature case studies and successful practices of visualization in transportation planning, operation, design, data management, maintenance, and more.

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) will sponsor the Managing and Operating Regional Arterial and Freeway Systems Conference from July 18 to 21, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference is the midyear meeting for the TRB Transportation Operations Committees and will cover a wide variety of topics on transportation operations, including strategies for managing and optimizing transportation systems, performance measures, integrated corridor management, advancing regional transportation operations, and more.

A new report, released by the National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP), developed a set of measures to assess the performance of the U.S. freight transportation system in an easy-to-read freight system report card. The report examined performance measures that capture the efficiency, capacity, safety, security, infrastructure condition, congestion, energy, and environmental effects of the freight transportation system. The performance measures support investment, operations, and policy decisions involving freight transportation at the local, regional, national, and global levels.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is conducting a National Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Architecture user survey to get feedback on possible new or enhanced features for the update of the National ITS Architecture. The survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete and will influence the future direction of the National ITS Architecture. This update will also impact regional ITS architectures and the Turbo Architecture Software. The survey deadline is Friday, June 3, 2011.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) will sponsor a free webinar examining lessons learned from public transit Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) implementation. The webinar will cover a real-world example of implementing and operating Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), computer-aided dispatch, fleet management, and real-time traveler information systems. The webinar will also explore the coordination of implementing Transit ITS in rural communities.

The free webinar will take place Thursday, June 2, 2011, from noon to 1:30 p.m. CST.
 

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) released a report that examines new methods developed to estimate freeway performance measures using data collected through intelligent transportation systems (ITS). The performance measures are being developed as part of a decision support tool to support traffic management operations. The performance measures include travel time estimation, traffic diversion caused by incidents, secondary crashes, mobility impacts caused by incidents, and incident classification.

A report released by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) explores the development of a new method for quantifying incident-induced travel delays using only volume data collected by traffic sensors in the Puget Sound region. Nearly 50 percent of freeway congestion in metropolitan areas in the U.S. can be attributed to traffic incidents. The ability to accurately quantify the incident-induced delay will allow policy makers and transportation professionals to better understand the real cost associated with traffic incidents, help develop more efficient incident management operation strategies, and develop effective active traffic management systems.

CMAP, as part of the Regional Indicators Project and the Congestion Management Process, has collected and summarized transit on-time performance data for transit operators in the Chicago region. 

The Chicago Transit Authority’s on-time performance consistently improved during 2009, and stayed relatively steady for 2010. Metra’s and Amtrak’s on-time performance is greatly affected by freight interference. Metra lines that do not interact with freight travel have the highest on-time service. Amtrak’s recent improvement in on-time performance could be accounted for by lower than normal freight volumes due to the recent recession.

More information and graphics relating to regional transit performance can be found on-line. Other regional transportation performance measures, including transit performance measures can be found on MetroPulse, part of the Regional Indicators Project partnership between CMAP and the Chicago Community Trust.
 

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Operations and Innovative Program Delivery will host a series of webinars that cover the challenges of implementing congestion pricing. These webinars are designed to assist transportation professionals, decision-makers, and political leaders to better understand the process of planning, implementing, and managing congestion pricing strategies. The webinars will last 90 minutes and are free to anyone interested in participating.

The schedule for upcoming webinars:
Webinar Schedule – April 2011
April 19, 2011 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET - Institutional Issues in Congestion Pricing

Webinar Schedule – May through December 2011 (dates are tentative and subject to change)
May 26 - Congestion Pricing Equity Impacts
June 23 - Technology to Enable and Complement Congestion Pricing
July 28 - Integrating Transit with Congestion Pricing and Increasing Congestion Pricing Acceptance
August 25 - Economics of Congestion Pricing and Impacts on Business
September 22 - Best Practices in Parking Pricing
October 27 - Dynamic Ridesharing and Congestion Pricing
November 17 - Pay-as-You-Drive Insurance
December 15 - Results of the Urban Partnership and Congestion Reduction Demonstration Programs
 

This guide, recently released by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Operations, is designed to assist state and local transportation professionals in developing a local congestion mitigation program that employs localized and low-cost bottleneck improvements. A local congestion mitigation program helps identify and alleviate congestion at specific locations that experience recurring congestion or locations that are congested on a regular basis. The guide reviews several templates, many already in use by other transportation agencies, for developing a successful local congestion mitigation program.

The 2009 National Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), along with the Illinois Supplement to the MUTCD, has been adopted by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The 2009 MUTCD and the Illinois Supplement is the official manual for traffic control devices for use on all roads open to public travel in the state. A summary of the significant additions and revisions to the 2009 Illinois supplement is also available.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Operations released a guidebook on successful work zone operations strategies currently practiced by transportation agencies around the country. The guidebook provides examples of best practices and the contact information for the agencies that have implemented these practices. The guidebook is not intended to provide operators with a single solution, but will allow them to see what has worked in other regions and tailor the best solution to their needs.

This report, released by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies, explores using a ramp metering algorithm based on density measurements, rather than flows, on Minnesota’s freeways. This algorithm is based on recent research that indicates “the critical value of density at which capacity observed is less sensitive and more stable than the value of capacity.” This next generation ramp metering algorithm is currently being tested on a microscopic simulation of a real 12-mile freeway section with 17 ramps.

The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Operations recently released the report Synthesis of Congestion Pricing-Related Environmental Impact, which summarizes the state of the practice and provides a framework for evaluating the environmental impacts of congestion pricing projects. Examples of congestion pricing include high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes and cordon or area pricing schemes. The environmental impact focuses include air quality, noise, and environmental justice. The report also discusses the evaluation of travel impacts caused by congestion pricing, which include traffic, transit, and travel behavior.

A new rule proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) would require all railroads to establish a toll-free number that would allow the public to report unsafe crossing conditions at highway-rail grade crossings. Currently, only the larger passenger and Class I freight railroads have some type of system in place to be notified of unsafe crossings. The proposed rule would also require all railroads to immediately inform train operators of the unsafe conditions in an effort to avoid an incident. The toll-free number and crossing identification number would be required to be posted at all crossings.

This webinar will provide an introduction to the soon-to-be-released updated Congestion Management Process (CMP) guidebook produced by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The CMP is a method for urban regions to manage congestion that provide information on the performance of the transportation system and alternative strategies for alleviating congestion. The updated guidebook was designed to assist practitioners in understanding the elements of a CMP and lessons learned from Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) successfully implementing a CMP.
 

This webinar will take place on Wednesday, March 23, 2011, from noon to 1:30 p.m. CST.
 

A new red-light camera system that predicts and prevents vehicle accidents resulting from drivers running red lights is being tested in Marysville, California. The system predicts when a driver will run a red light and then holds solid red at all directions of the intersection until the potential red light runner has cleared the intersection. This collision avoidance system has the potential to save lives and money.

The Virginia Transportation Research Council released a report that studied the effectiveness of zig-zag pavement markings painted on streets to increase motorist awareness of upcoming bicycle and pedestrian trails. The study found that the markings installed in advance of bike/ped crossings made motorists more aware of their surroundings through a reduction in mean vehicle speed in the marked areas and survey responses that indicated an increase in awareness. The study recommends that the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) recommend to the Federal Highway Administration that this traffic calming technique be included in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is sponsoring the 3rd International Roundabouts Conference from May 18 to 20, 2011 in Carmel, Indiana. The conference will provide a forum for professionals to exchange research, design, operation, safety, evaluation, and practical experiences related to roundabout intersections.

The National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC) has launched the Traffic Signal Library and Forum Groupsite. This site provides a centralized location for all traffic signal-related information. It will also provide transportation professionals and the public a place to research and learn about traffic signal management and operations, safety, and maintenance.