http://www.ntoctalks.com/ The NTOC Talks site is intended to provide information and resources to transportation practitioners, coalition members, and the general public on current news, upcoming meetings, and available products and documents. en-usThu, 19 Jun 2008 10:59:13 EDTimages/NTOC_logo.gif The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is hosting a 3-Part Webinar series that provides a new perspective on demand management. Based on a series of recent FHWA guidance reports and, in particular, the findings from an FHWA International Scan to Europe, the Webinars aim at imparting a new way of thinking about urban travel that focuses on both the need for travel itself and means to accommodate travel via new and innovative choices. The Webinars are designed for transportation managers that plan and operate the transportation system, including state and federal highway officials, metropolitan planning organization staff, TDM professionals and others who assist regions in seeking ways to reduce demand in order to address issues such as congestion and air quality. Part 1 of the series is Pricing and Institutional Strategies on June 19, 2008, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET. The Webinar examines not only road pricing, but a variety of financial incentives and disincentives to affect travel choices. Three European examples of cordon pricing, examples from U.S of financial incentives and some key issues regarding the implementation and acceptance of pricing will be discussed. The institutional section of the Webinar examines the means to implement and coordinate strategies among a diverse set of stakeholders. The Webinar will discuss new public/private partnerships to manage demand; the field of travel planning, or trip reduction programs; mechanisms for coordinating demand management strategies; and finally will look to some national policies to facilitate the more efficient management of the transport system. Part II of the series will be held on June 26 and Part III will be held on July 10. For more information and to register, click on the link above. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=256 2008-06-19 10:59:13 FHWA is sponsoring a webinar on May 22, 2008 at 1:00 pm EDT to discuss strategies to improve safety at toll collection facilities. These strategies were identified as a result of the Toll Facility Safety Study. The intended audience of this webinar is those involved with toll operations who are interested in hearing about the safety practices of other agencies. To register please visit the link below. Registration is free and open to anyone who is interested. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=261 2008-05-22 12:29:20 This Talking Operations Seminar will take place on May 15, 2008 12:45 pm - 2:30 pm ET. This is a web conference, please use the link below to register. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) defines the standards used Nationwide for the design and placement of traffic control devices on all streets and highways. The Federal Highway Administration is currently preparing for the next edition of the MUTCD, which is scheduled for publication in 2009. A Notice of Proposed Amendments (NPA) to the MUTCD was published in the Federal Register on January 2, 2008 and is open for public comment through July 31. This webinar is intended to provide an overview of many of the significant changes proposed so that interested parties may review the NPA in further detail and submit comments to the public docket, if desired. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=247 2008-05-15 09:20:18 The application of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) offers benefits that reach across all aspects of transportation systems performance, from crash prevention and safety to roadway operations and maintenance. While some of these benefits are very prominent in supporting the widespread applications of ITS, others are often difficult to measure, such as environmental benefits. Leslie Bellas, who has been appointed to ITS America's newly created role of director of environmental affairs, recently spoke with NTOC Talks about her efforts to develop and implement a climate change program that will quantify and capture the environmental benefits of ITS. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=260 2008-05-07 11:23:07 Have you visited the NTOC Web site lately? This month, NTOC is focusing on the relationship between ITS/M&O and the environment. The Resources page contains follow up resources to this month's interview with ITS America's Leslie Bellas on her new role as director of environmental affairs. The Resources page has also been updated to include YouTube videos and blogs that are relevant to our readers. If you would like to submit a suggestion for a future NTOC focus area, or if you have a transportation-related blog or video to share, please contact NTOC Talks editor Michelle Birdsall at mbirdsall@ite.org. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=259 2008-05-07 11:22:27 U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters had launched Fast Lane, the Department's new blog. Accessible at http://fastlane.dot.gov, Fast Lane will be an on-line community for all those interested in the nation's transportation system and its future. Fast Lane contributors will include Secretary Peters, Deputy Secretary Thomas Barrett, Administrators from the Department's operating agencies, and other senior officials. In addition, the site will welcome guest bloggers from government, industry, and the transportation community. The Department will also use the blog to break news and make announcements. 'Fast Lane will allow me and others here at the Department to speak directly with interested citizens, members of the transportation community and the blogosphere to engage in an earnest conversation about our nation's transportation future,' Secretary Peters said. 'I have made 21st century solutions a priority for our transportation system, and now I'm thrilled to be using a 21st century communications tool to reach Americans in a whole new way.' Fast Lane is an open forum, and visitors are encouraged to submit comments, contribute ideas, and bring to the Department's attention innovative and exciting transportation activities in their communities. All comments will be reviewed before inclusion, and a representative sample will be posted to the site. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=258 2008-05-07 11:21:27 On May 16, 2006, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced its new National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America's Transportation Network – a bold and comprehensive initiative to reduce congestion on the nation's roads, rails, runways, and waterways. One major component of the National Strategy is the Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA). Under a UPA, USDOT's partner metropolitan areas will commit to pursue aggressive strategies under the umbrella of the 'Four Ts' – tolling, transit, telecommuting and technology – a combined approach to reducing traffic congestion. The goal is to demonstrate success of this approach in reducing congestion in the short term. The two Urban Partners, Minneapolis and Seattle, will experiment with selected Active Traffic Management (ATM) applications, such as dynamic use of shoulder, variable tolling, and speed harmonization. These applications have already shown success in reducing congestion in Europe, such as in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. This webinar will provide an overview of the ATM and the highlights of the ATM components in the Minneapolis and Seattle UPA projects. ATM is the ability to dynamically manage recurrent and non-recurrent congestion based on prevailing traffic conditions with the focus on trip reliability. It increases throughput and safety through the use of integrated systems with new technology, including the automation of dynamic deployment to optimize performance quickly. This congestion management approach consists of a combination of operational strategies that, when implemented in concert, fully optimize the existing infrastructure and provide measurable benefits to the transportation network and the traveling public. Speakers Jessie Yung, Overview of Active Traffic Management TBD, Minnesota Department of Transportation Ted Trepanier, Washington Department of Transportation, http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=254 2008-04-30 00:00:00 This course aims to increase awareness of the benefits to be gained through the deployment of ITS for highway safety applications. Following a brief introduction, Lesson 2 provides an overview of safety challenges currently facing transportation engineers with particular focus on ten areas in which these challenges can be mitigated using a variety of ITS applications. Discussion of these applications includes a presentation of the nine U.S. DOT ITS initiatives and their impact on safety. In Lesson 3 deployment of ITS for safety is further illustrated through a case-study (The Big-I Work Zone) in which we see how ITS can be used to produce sound safety benefits in a common hazard. Lesson 4 is focused on fusing the traditional and ITS approaches to develop countermeasures to address safety challenges. Finally Lesson 5 describes the Safety strategic planning process and identifies the basic requirements of the FHWA Rule/FTA Policy for ITS project implementation and a system engineering approach for deploying ITS. Throughout the course a series of 'hands on' activities leads participants from identification and prioritization of highway safety priority areas to formulation of organization- and individual-level actions to mitigate the challenges at hand. For more information and to register, click on the link above. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=257 2008-04-23 11:02:48 The Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) would like input from its stakeholders and the general public regarding the future strategic direction of the ITS Joint Program Office. Over the past 8 months, the ITS Joint Program Office has been engaged in a detailed examination and evaluation of the ITS JPO's research program. We have solicited extensive input from our staff, modal partners within the Department, and the ITS Program Advisory Committee regarding the Program's mission, goals, focus areas and role. We are now reaching out for additional input. We have posted below current drafts of what we have developed, and are seeking comments on our mission statement, four proposed goal areas (Mobility, Safety, the Environment, and 21st Century Institutions and Partnerships), and five focus areas within those goals. We would like you to address one or more areas of interest to your organization, and review the materials with these questions in mind: •Should the mission statement remain as is or be strengthened/changed? •Are these the right goal and focus areas for the ITS JPO? •Do the mission and goals rise to the challenges of the next ten years? •Are the goals and focus areas feasible (financially, politically, literally)? •Do the goals and focus areas represent what the ITS JPO does best? •Is there a clear federal and ITS JPO role in each of the goal and focus areas? What might the role be? •Would you add or remove any of the goals and/or focus areas? If so, why? We would very much appreciate your comments and opinions. We would ask that, if at all possible, your organization submit one single comprehensive set of comments from one source for ease of analysis. We also ask that you provide your name, title and affiliation with your comment submission. Finally, we would also ask that any comments be received by us no later than April 23, 2008. Please send comments to JPO.Director@dot.gov. Thank you in advance for your time and effort. The ITS Joint Program Office looks forward to hearing from you. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=255 2008-04-21 13:57:32 The U.S. Department of Transportation's (U.S. DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) to private industry, state and local governments and others seeking input on potential business models for the financing and operation of a nationwide communications network between vehicles and the roadway infrastructure. The input and ideas will be used to identify candidate models for the deployment of Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII), which will enable the advancement of crash avoidance technologies in vehicles; real-time traffic information to reduce congestion and improve navigational systems; and other technologies that will improve the safety and efficiency of travel. As part of the VII initiative, RITA will conduct an operational field test of deployment-ready technologies at the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems, November 16-20, 2008 in New York, NY, USA. The RFI is available through the link below. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=253 2008-04-09 10:46:33 During the opening session of the Institute of Transportation Engineer's (ITE) Technical Conference and Exhibit, keynote speaker Peter Rahn's message was clear: the number of fatalities on U.S. roadways can and must be reduced. Each year, over 40,000 people are killed on the nation's roads, and reducing that number will be part of Rahn's focus during his term as president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). AASHTO's Strategic Highway Safety Plan has been designed to substantially reduce vehicle-related fatalities and injuries on the nation's highways. To read the complete article, click on the link above. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=252 2008-04-09 10:46:00 The topic of this seminar is ACS Lite. The ACS-Lite NTOC Webcast will take place on March 27, 2008 from 12:45-2:30PM EST. Presenters will describe the motivation behind the development of ACS-Lite and discuss how adaptive systems can improve and prolong the effectiveness of signal timing to produce a wide range of benefits. Developers will describe the functionality of the system and the operational strategies that make it successful at improving signal timing to reducing travel time and delays; keeping cost down by retrofitting existing closed loop systems. The deployment experience from a local agency perspective will also be discussed including challenges and successes. Information about ACS-Lite can be obtained by visiting http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/acs_lite/index.htm. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=244 2008-03-27 13:22:59 The second edition of the Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Newsletter is now available. This regularly published newsletter is meant to keep transportation practitioners interested in congestion management informed about what's going on in the USDOT ICM Initiative, as well as the latest knowledge and technology transfer materials that are available. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=250 2008-03-26 17:15:30 ITS America has announced the registration package rates for attendees, speakers, moderators, students and accompanying persons who will be attending the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, November 16-20, 2008 in New York City. ITS America's 2008 Annual Meeting & Exposition will be combined with the 15th World Congress on ITS making it the largest ITS event in the world. Delegates will be able to experience all of the highlights of ITS America's Annual Meeting—nearly 50 educational sessions, Forum Showcases, Best of ITS Awards ceremony, technical tours—with the added bonus of a World Congress on ITS. The 250,000 square foot exhibit hall is nearly sold out and will host 177 organizations from around the world. The World Congress program will feature over 200 educational sessions and is expected to attract 10,000 delegates from more than 40 countries. You don't want to miss out on this event. Online registration will open April 1. For the latest information on the program and activities, visit the link below. http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=249 2008-03-26 08:33:06 Register now for the following upcoming Talking Technology and Transportation (T3) Webinars. All T3 Webinars are free of charge. April 8, 2008: 'A Technical Discussion on Wireless Data Transport Systems: Wireless Trends, Tools and Tips Session II - Wireless Link Engineering.' http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/t3/s080408_wireless.asp April 16, 2008: 'Assessing the Potential for BRT in Your Region: Lessons Learned from a Los Angeles/New York ITS Peer-to-Peer Exchange.' http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/t3/s080416_brt.asp http://ntoctalks.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=248 2008-03-26 08:32:06