NCHRP Report 708: A Guidebook for Sustainability Performance Measurement for Transportation Agencies (2011)
This guidebook provides state departments of transportation (DOTs) and other transportation agencies with a practical and easy-to-use approach to identify and apply sustainability-related performance measures, some number of which may already be integrated into agency business practices, to produce a new lens through which decision makers can view their agency’s performance. It describes the underlying principles of sustainability as it relates to transportation, possible goals that can be used to address those principles, and performance measures that can be used to address those goals. Aspects of sustainability-related performance measures, including data sources and examples of use, are discussed. A reference compendium of performance measures has also been provided. Read More >
SSTI Review of PennDOT’s Smart Transportation (SSTI, 2011)
Smart Transportation is Pennsylvania DOT’s integrated response to the crisis of crumbling infrastructure, limited revenues to address it, and the need to better align transportation with community revitalization and sound land use policy. PennDOT was the first state program reviewed in detail by SSTI, and remains one of our prime examples of a thoughtful DOT wrestling with the challenges of fiscal austerity, sustainability, and system preservation. The review was done at the request of PennDOT to assess the effectiveness of its Smart Transportation program in integrating land use and transportation in its decision-making and to identify areas of opportunity to advance the Smart Transportation agenda. Read More >
SSTI Review of Washington State DOT’s Sustainability Efforts (SSTI, 2011)
This review was performed at the request of Washington State DOT (WSDOT) to assess its sustainability efforts. SSTI convened a panel of experts that included people who have led transformative initiatives as heads of state DOTs. The panel combined practical and academic thinking. The expert panel reviewed background materials on WSDOT’s efforts and then interviewed stakeholders with varying perspectives on WSDOT’s work, including WSDOT staff; personnel from other state, federal, and local entities; and representatives from the not-for-profit sector. Intended as a peer review rather than an audit, the expert panel members brought their knowledge of transportation policy and trends to bear in assessing where WSDOT has succeeded and how its sustainability efforts could be strengthened. Read More >
FEATURED RESOURCE
NEWS
Motor vehicle travel demand continues long-term downward trend in 2011
Despite an improving economy, motor vehicle travel declined markedly in 2011, continuing a downward trend with major implications both for infrastructure revenue and infrastructure needs. Read More >
Public transportation’s hidden gender bias
Are we under reporting trips made by women? And do we need to redesign transit facilities to better accommodate women? Researchers at Stanford University think so and have coined the term “mobility of care.” Read More >
Oregon leads the way on use of solar installations for transportation facilities
Although begun in 2008, the largest component yet of the Oregon Solar Highway recently opened on I-5 in Clackamas County. The Baldock project, a public-private partnership between ODOT and Portland General Electric (PGE), is an array in a safety rest area near Wilsonville. Solar installations in transportation corridors are common in Europe, but are almost unknown in the U.S. However, Oregon plans more, and has also produced a manual, which can be downloaded. Read More >
Michigan-Chicago route gains 110 mph passenger rail, and other Midwest states seem eager to follow
Last week, Amtrak service in western Michigan and northern Indiana reached speeds of 110 miles per hour, marking the first expansion of regional high-speed rail in the U.S. outside of the northeast corridor. Other states seem eager to follow, and more upgrades within Illinois are already planned. Read More >
Congress is still wrestling with Positive Train Control requirements
The increased Amtrak speeds in Michigan and Indiana followed the Federal Railroad Administration’s approval after successful implementation of a Positive Train Control (PTC) system. PTC, first mandated by Congress in 2008, is a technology used in trains that is meant to avoid human error and prevent crashes. But now it is under attack from House Republicans. Read More >