Volpe Center Contributes to Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting
Hard copies of TRB papers are also available from the Volpe Center's library. Contact volpetrc@volpe.dot.gov.
The Transportation Research Board's 2007 Annual Meeting took place in Washington, D.C., January 21-25, 2007. The Volpe Center was well represented in this diverse group of researchers, academics, administrators, and others from government and industry. The meeting's theme was "Transportation Institutions, Finance, and Workforce—Meeting the Needs of the 21st Century." Volpe Center staff presided over conference sessions, committee meetings, and workshops, and gave a number of presentations. Papers from this conference are on the 2007 TRB 86th Annual Meeting: Compendium of Papers CD-ROM, available for purchase at http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=7286.
Presentations
Mr. Michael G. Dyer of the Marine Systems Division presented "Planning for Public-Private Ferry System Partnerships."
Mr. Gregg G. Fleming of the Environmental Measurement and Modeling Division presented two papers: "Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum" and "Systems Approach to Aviation Environmental Resource Management."
Ms. Melissa M. Laube of the Service and Operations Planning Division presented "System Planning for Quality Transit Projects." Coauthoring the paper with Ms. Laube were Mr. William M. Lyons of the Planning and Policy Analysis Division and Mr. Darin Allan of the Federal Transit Administration.
Ms. Mary Lee and Dr. Joyce Ranney of the Human Factors Division presented "Investigation Best Practices: Interim Findings from Evaluation of Canadian Pacific Railway's Investigation of Safety-Related Occurrences Protocol."
Mr. Charles McCarthy of the Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division presented "Asia and Pacific Perspectives on Container and Vessel Tracking."
Dr. Don H. Pickrell of the Economic and Industry Analysis Division and Dr. Darren Timothy of the Federal Highway Administration presented "National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission."
THE OUTER CAPE COD "FLEX" TRANSIT SYSTEM. The Volpe Center has provided planning support for the Cape Cod Transit Task Force and the Cape Cod National Seashore that has identified the need for alternative transportation services for better public transportation access for Seashore visitors and between the Outer Cape Cod communities. Based on this information, Cape Cod Commission and Volpe Center staff developed route recommendations for local and express service between Provincetown and Harwichport. Called "The Flex," it is a hybrid service that incorporates a traditional transit bus service (with a defined route, schedule, and bus stops) and a "route deviation" concept that allows the bus to serve areas up to three-quarters of a mile from the defined route. This "route deviation" allows the service to reach more people and more places they want to go. For more details on The Flex, see http://www.theflex.org/. (Photo courtesy of Terry Sheehan)
Dr. Don H. Pickrell of the Economic and Industry Analysis Division and Dr. Jack Wells of the Office of the Secretary of Transportation presented "DOT's Congestion Initiative: Economics of Urban Partnerships."
Mr. Terrence M. Sheehan of the Service and Operations Planning Division and Mr. Clay Schofield of the Cape Cod Commission presented "Transit in Paradise: The Outer Cape Cod 'Flex' Transit System, Development to Implementation."
Mr. David Tyrell of the Structures and Dynamics Division coauthored "Development of Crash Energy Management Specification for Passenger Rail Equipment."
Dr. Michelle Yeh and Dr. Jordan Multer of the Human Factors Division presented "Traffic Control Devices and Barrier Systems at Grade Crossings: A Literature Review."
Workshops
At the workshop on Innovation in Air Traffic Flow Management, Volpe Center staff presented the following papers:
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Dr. Eugene P. Gilbo of the Traffic Flow Management Division presented "Airport Congestion Management."
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Mr. Rick Oiesen of the Traffic Flow Management Division presented "Airspace Congestion Management."
Dr. Joyce Ranney of the Human Factors Division and Dr. Michael Coplen and Dr. Thomas Raslear of the Federal Railroad Administration presided over the workshop on Proactive Risk Management Safety Approaches for Managing Human-Factors-Caused Accidents in the Railroad Industry: Alternatives to Compliance.
Poster Sessions
Mr. Gregg G. Fleming of the Environmental Measurement and Modeling Division, Dr. Brian Y. Kim of Wyle Laboratories Inc., and Dr. Roger L. Wayson of the University of Central Florida copresented a poster session on Component Verification and Sensitivity Analyses of Traffic Air Quality Simulation Model.
Dr. Douglass B. Lee of the Economic and Industry Analysis Division presided over a poster session on Transportation Economics, sponsored by the Transportation Economics Committee.
Mr. William M. Lyons of the Planning and Policy Analysis Division presided over a poster session on Transit Management and Allocation of Resources, sponsored by the Transit Management and Performance Committee.
Dr. Alan Rao of the Rail and Transit Systems Division presented a poster session on Safety Standards for High-Speed Rail Transportation. Details of the session are at http://www.trb.org/am/ip/assembly_detail.asp?id=9052&e=186. The paper presented (coauthored by Dr. Thomas Tsai, formerly of the Federal Railroad Administration) has also been published in the TRB's Transportation Research Record series.
Sessions Chaired
TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES AND BARRIER SYSTEMS AT GRADE CROSSINGS. For the Federal Railroad Administration, the Volpe Center conducted a literature review of research examining driver behavior at grade crossings. The review will provide input for developing countermeasures to discourage dangerous driving behavior. (iStockphoto.com)
Ms. Anya A. Carroll of the Rail and Transit Systems Division presided over the Highway Rail Grade Crossing Committee Annual Meeting and moderated the session, "Safety at Private Highway-Rail Grade Crossings," sponsored by the committee.
Dr. Douglass B. Lee of the Economic and Industry Analysis Division presided over the Transportation Economics Committee meeting.
Dr. Don H. Pickrell of the Economic and Industry Analysis Division presided over the following sessions:
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Reducing Congestion with Integrated Programs of Pricing and Investment, sponsored by the Transportation Economics Committee and the Congestion Pricing Committee.
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Technical Issues in Transportation Economics, sponsored by the Transportation Economics Committee.
Dr. Stephen Popkin of the Human Factors Division presided over Railroad Human Factors Issues, Part 2, sponsored by the Railroad Operational Safety Task Force.
Mr. Gary T. Ritter of the Service and Operations Planning Division presided over the Federal Land Agencies and the Statewide and Metropolitan Transportation Planning Processes session, sponsored by the Transportation Needs for National Parks and Public Lands Committee, the Statewide Multimodal Transportation Planning Committee, the Transportation Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities Committee, and the Transportation Programming, Planning, and Systems Evaluation Committee.
Dr. Judith L. Rochat of the Environmental Measurement and Modeling Division presided over the Highway Noise and Vibration Subcommittee, sponsored by the Transportation-Related Noise and Vibration Committee.
Dr. Theodore R. Sussmann of the Structures and Dynamics Division and Mr. Donald Plotkin of the Federal Railroad Administration presided over Railway Heavy-Axle-Load Substructure Design and Maintenance, sponsored by the Railroad Track Structure System Design Committee and Railway Maintenance Committee.