Below are recent federal publications posted to the Transportation Research Board website. Our intention of this blog is provide a hub of information that will aid the delivery of your federal project.
Interregional Travel: A New Perspective for Policy Making
TRB Special Report 320
Interregional Travel: A New Perspective for Policy Making examines the demand for and supply of interregional transportation in the United States. Major additions to transportation infrastructure, including high-speed rail, are being considered for some of the country’s most heavily traveled 100- to 500-mile corridors. The availability and use of the automobile, airplane, and train for interregional travel are reviewed along with the rejuvenated intercity bus. U.S. interregional corridors and transportation options are contrasted with those in Japan and Europe, where substantial investments have been made in passenger rail.
Public investments in new, long-lived transportation infrastructure can be risky because of uncertainty about future demand and the development of new technologies and competing transportation services. Decision makers in interregional corridors face the added challenge of having to coordinate investments across multiple jurisdictions. The report recommends actions to reduce this uncertainty and create stronger institutional means for developing the country’s interregional corridors.
State Practices for Local Road Safety
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has released a pre-publication, non-edited version of Synthesis 486: State Practices for Local Road Safety. The report explores state programs and practices that address local agency road safety. The report focuses on changes in local road safety programs since the legislation of Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), and the use of 4E (Engineering, Enforcement, Education and Emergency Services) approaches to local road safety.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation has released the latest edition of its newsletter that highlights recent accomplishments and products from university transportation centers. This month’s edition features Harvard University.
Review of Actions to Improve Safety of Pedestrians and Cyclists
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released a report that examines trends and characteristics of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities and injuries, related state safety initiatives, and actions taken by the U.S. Department of Transportation to help improve safety.
CTPP Status Report: December 2015
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released the latest version of its Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP) online newsletter. CTPP is a set of special tabulations from the decennial census and is designed for transportation planners.