HEP Research Quarterly Newsletter

Winter 2016

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A Message from Felicia Alexander, Program Policy Development Team Leader

This quarter's edition of the research newsletter highlights the proceedings from the Transportation Research Board's (TRB) 96th Annual Meeting. Many Office of Planning, Environment and Realty (HEP) staff members participated during the conference, including the Office of Program Development and Environmental Review's (HEPE) eNEPA Team, who conducted live demonstrations of the eNEPA tool in the exhibit hall.

I am excited to join the Office of Project Development and Environmental Review to continue advancing the various research efforts within the office. The office strives to identify methods that help its partners and customers to better plan projects, effectively evaluate and assess their overall impacts, and improve the identification and implementation of appropriate mitigation options. Methodologies and tools like Eco-Logical, Total Maximum Daily Load, mitigation banking, pollinator habitat support, Title VI tools, and regional programmatic efforts are examples of current focus areas that will be the subject of further study in the future.

Featured in this issue is a new tool to help implement environmental performance measures for State Departments of Transportation (SDOTs). TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) released the tool report in December. Safe non-motorized transportation also continues to be a key focus of HEP research efforts. A recent webinar offered by the Office of Human Environment (HEPH) Livability Team, highlighted two new tools to help practitioners achieve connected pedestrian and bike networks. You can read more about the session in the "Webinar of Interest" article.

Additional features in this newsletter include:

Research Highlights
Upcoming Events

Felicia Alexander

Program Policy Development Team Leader

Office of Project Development and Environmental Review

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

2016 TRB Annual Meeting Recap

Nearly 12,000 transportation professionals from all over the world attended the 2016 TRB Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. This renowned industry event featured nearly 5,000 presentations, 800 sessions and workshops, and 15 percent more exhibits this year. A number of HEP staff members were among the meeting participants, contributing to the program through various presentations, meetings and poster sessions.

FHWA Administrator Greg Nadeau visits the HEP Research booth in the TRB exhibition hall.

HEPH staff in conjunction with Louis Berger and Planning Communities participated in a poster board session highlighting the Newtown Pike Extension Project, which addressed transportation needs near downtown Lexington, KY. The project leveraged the quality, location, and type of transportation facilities and services to achieve community goals and enhance quality of life. The outcome of the project was not only a new road, but also affordable homes developed through a Community Land Trust.
HEPH staff also participated in the "Urban Freight Roundtable: The Twinning Approach." The half-day roundtable was designed to give participants an opportunity to share information about current projects and initiatives focused on urban freight. Input from the discussion will be used to refine the focus areas for the initiative. This initiative is a joint project with FHWA's Office of Freight Management and Operations and the European Commission.
Resilience was a hot topic at this year's meeting. FHWA's Sustainable Transportation and Climate Change team member Heather Holsinger presided over a session on efforts to increase the resilience of the transportation system in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut following Hurricane Sandy. Heather also spoke at a session on lessons learned and next steps following the recent International Conference on Surface Transportation Resilience to Climate Change, which was organized by TRB, FHWA and the Federal Transit Authority (FTA). Team Leader Michael Culp discussed FHWA's ongoing climate resilience work during the workshop entitled, "Meet the Regulators, Emerging Issues in Hazardous Materials Management and Climate Change."
Transportation and public health was another hot topic at this year's meeting. Office of Planning (HEPP) member Valentin Vulov moderated a poster session, "State of the Art and Practice in Performance Management around the World," focused on developing and obtaining multimodal and environmental measures for transportation and land use systems.
HEPP and HEPH team members discussed the benefits of the EconWorks economic analysis tools at various committee meetings and poster sessions.
The second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) Freight Demand Modeling and Data Improvement team facilitated a full-day workshop on the Innovations in Local Freight Data and Implementation Projects.
Under SHRP2's Education Connection, $10,000 awards were provided to ten different universities to incorporate SHRP2 solutions into their curricula, and share those materials with other institutions. Four schools reported on their successful efforts: Bradley University, Methodist University, Rowan University and the University of Idaho.
The Technology Transfer Committee hosted a presentation on OPTICITIES, a European initiative to develop and test interoperable ITS solutions in six different cities in order to provide urban citizens with the best possible intermodal journey conditions and to optimize urban logistics operations.
The Ahead of the Curve: Mastering the Management of Transportation Research Task Force conducted a workshop to support the development of four core courses in a coordinated and continuing training program that will enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of individuals involved in managing transportation research and innovation programs. Future courses include:
- Making Research Relevant
- Running the Research Program
- Delivering the Research Program
- Research Program Quality Improvement
HEPP and the Office of Highway Policy Information shared technical information at the Bicycle and Pedestrian Data Subcommittee meeting about the new Traffic Monitoring Analysis System's bicycle and pedestrian database. Currently under development, the system begins receiving non-motorized count data from across the country later in 2016.

The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 809:
Environmental Performance Measures for State Departments of Transportation

NCHRP Report 809: Environmental Performance Measures for State DOTs. The report identifies potential measures in the areas of air quality, energy and climate, materials recycling, stormwater and ecosystems, which may be integrated into the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)'s performance management program. The report explores relationships between agency activities and environmental outcomes.

Read the NCHRP report here: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_809.pdf.

Building on previous NCHRP research, these suggested measures are ones that ranked highly in proof-of-concept testing in 27 State DOTs. The report is intended to be a starting point for state efforts to measure environmental performance.

Webinar: FHWA Webinar on Achieving Connected Pedestrian and Bicycle Networks

The HEPH Livability Team conducted a webinar on Achieving Connected Pedestrian and Bicycle Networks. The presentation highlighted select resurfacing case studies that helped to create safe pedestrian and bicycle networks. A few relevant topics from the fourth Every Day Counts (EDC) initiative were also discussed, including:

Safety improvements at uncontrolled crossing locations
Creating safe bicycle networks
Mainstreaming bicycle and pedestrian data collection

An online recording of the webinar can be accessed at: https://connectdot.connectsolutions.com/p37y9objang. Staff Contact: Dan Goodman at 202-366-9064.

Research Highlights

Planning

Transportation and Health Tool (THT) - The tool developed by the DOT and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides easy access to data that practitioners can use to examine the health impacts of transportation systems. The tool, completed in October 2015, provides data on a set of transportation and public health indicators for each U.S. state and metropolitan area that describe how the transportation environment affects safety, active transportation, air quality, and connectivity to destinations. You can use the tool to quickly see how your State or metropolitan area compares with others in addressing key transportation and health issues. It also provides information and resources to help agencies better understand the links between transportation and health and to identify strategies to improve public health through transportation planning and policy. Staff Contact: Fred Bowers, 202- 366-2374.

Environment

Remotely Monitoring Water Quality near Highways: A Sustainable Solution - Collecting water quality data on streams located near highways can be challenging, time-consuming, expensive, dangerous and inaccurate. Collecting water quality data is crucial, however, to State DOTs in their effort to meet U.S. EPA permit requirements. Placing sensors directly in the water to collect data is one solution, but these rely on batteries that have to be replaced frequently. Designing a renewable and self-sustaining onsite system is the goal of this Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program project conducted by Montana State University and funded by FHWA. For more information, please visit:http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/pubs/16018/index.cfm Staff Contact: Marcel Tchaou, 202-366-4196.

Incorporating On-Road Bicycle Networks into Resurfacing Projects will help communities create on-road bike networks by capturing opportunities as part of the resurfacing process. The new workbook is expected to be released this spring. Staff Contact: Dan Goodman, 202-366-9064.

The Guidebook for Evaluating Pedestrian and Bicycle Performance Measures will present a broad range of potential measures and will highlight their effectiveness at different scales. The new guidebook is expected to be released this spring. Staff Contact: Dan Goodman, 202-366-9064.

Real Estate

Implementation of Electronic Data/Recordkeeping Systems versus Paper Records -This recently completed research provides the Office of Real Estate Services (HEPR) with tangible and easily understandable documentation for transportation professionals in public agencies, at the state and local levels, to use in support of implementing electronic information management systems for ROW and related activities. Staff Contact: Rosemary Jones, 202-366-2042.

Upcoming Events

March

1
Innovations in Travel Modeling 2016 Conference
Early registration ends for 6th Transportation Research Board Conference on Innovations in Travel Modeling (ITM), Denver, CO (See May 1 event.)
14-16
2016 Annual Conference of the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities (TFN), Philadelphia, PA
Each spring, the Funders' Network hosts an annual conference for its members and other funders interested in leveraging land use policy and practice to achieve positive results for the environment, community, and people. Long-term and new funders and practitioners come together and reveal new tools and tactics for gaining the most from public decisions about how communities grow, develop, evolve, and change.

April

3-5
Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities, Long Beach, CA
The conference brings together a combination of public health and safety professionals, researchers, volunteers, and practitioners who are committed to sharing practices, research, and policy initiatives to address today's critical highway safety problems.
5-7
5th Safe Routes to School National Conference, Columbus, OH
National bicycle and pedestrian safety experts and health professionals will connect the dots between active transportation and health.

May

1-4
Innovations in Travel Modeling Conference, Denver, Colorado
The event will facilitate sharing information and experiences on current models and modeling research. The conference will also explore the integration of social factors, land-use, transportation supply, and technology into the modeling process.

June

26-29
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2016 International Conference on Transportation and Development, Houston, TX
FHWA is co-sponsoring the ASCE 2016 International Conference on Transportation and Development. The conference will enable attendees from around the world to discuss transportation and development projects ranging from airports to rail to highways and multi-modal facilities. The conference will consider all aspects of development from planning through design and construction to operations.

Boilerplate

The Office of Human Environment's Research and Financial Services Team administers research programs and financial support to HEP for research initiatives under MAP-21. The Team provides leadership, coordination, support and implementation of research activities. It also works toward improving outreach, communication and partnerships between Federal, State, and local stakeholders in managing the research programs. For more information, please contact HEP's Primary Research Coordinator:Patricia Cazenas, 202-366-4085.