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The Only Hope for Reducing Traffic Eric Jaffe Oct 19, 2011 34 Comments Reuters Share Print Email In 1962, transportation researcher Anthony Downs suggested that U.S. cities suffered from a fundamental law of highway congestion: "This Law states that on urban commuter expressways, peak-hour traffic congestion rises to meet maximum capacity." What was the case half a century ago remains true today. Except worse. In a research paper published in this month's American Economic Review, a pair of economists from the University of Toronto confirm the fundamental law of highway congestion, but argue it doesn't go far enough. By analyzing traffic data and road capacity in U.S. cities from 1983 to 2003, they also provide evidence for a fundamental law of road congestion - one that extends beyond interstate highways to include a "broad class of major urban roads." In other words, no matter how many lanes of road you build in and around American cities, you can't stop cars from jamming them up. Despite the claims of highway advocates like the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, urban congestion can't be addressed by increasing road capacity. That's always been a tough fact for people to accept; as Lewis Mumford wrote back in the New Yorker back 1955: "People, it seems, find it hard to believe that the cure for congestion is not more facilities for congestion." The next logical solution is to increase public transportation capacity, but the Toronto researchers found "no evidence" that this impacts road congestion either. There is such an enormous latent demand for road space, they believe, that whenever a driver shifts onto public transportation, another one quickly grabs the open lane. That leaves just one solution to the traffic problem plaguing American cities: congestion pricing. "We cannot think of any other solution," says Gilles Duranton, the paper's co-author. "As soon as you manage to create space on the roa

Maryland & Virginia Telework How can municipal and regional governments best promote telework? This case study highlights the telework program that originated in the Washington DC area in 1996, and the state-wide program that was subsequently established in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The later offers cost reimbursement (up to $35,000 per business), free personal assistance, and promotional "Telework Days." Both programs help overcome key policy and adoption barriers, and both have impressive impact data. Background This case study focuses on telework initiatives in the region of Washington, DC, which covers the District of Columbia and surrounding jurisdictions (counties and cities within Maryland and Virginia). In 2010, the region had about 2.8 million workers and the regional forecast is to add 1.2 million new jobs to the region by 2030. Such growth forecasts will impact the region's transportation infrastructure. Commuter Connections, a regional network of transportation organizations coordinated by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), started in 1974 to provide mobility solutions in the region. The network is administered through the Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization, part of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB)   Setting Objectives The Commonwealth set a goal of having 20% of its eligible workforce [approximately 105,000 employees) teleworking by 2010. Getting Informed "Dating back to the late 1980s, the TPB conducted a series of reviews of telecommuting pilot programs, which were in operation in Los Angeles and in Arlington County, Virginia," explained Nicholas Ramfos, Commuter Connection's Alternative Commute Programs Director. "These programs were primarily started at the local government level with the idea that lessons learned could be shared with the rest of the businesses in those jurisdictions and beyond." The TPB also reviewed the federal government's Flexiplace progr

Introduction   Pages 237-239 Jonas Eliasson, Lars Hultkrantz, Lena Smidfelt Rosqvist  Show preview  |   Related articles  |  Related reference work articles     Purchase $ 31.50 3 The Stockholm congestion - charging trial 2006: Overview of effects  Original Research Article Pages 240-250 Jonas Eliasson, Lars Hultkrantz, Lena Nerhagen, Lena Smidfelt Rosqvist  Show preview  |   Related articles  |  Related reference work articles     Purchase $ 31.50 4 Building legitimacy for risky policies: The cost of avoiding conflict in Stockholm  Original Research Article Pages 251-257 Karolina Isaksson, Tim Richardson  Show preview  |   Related articles  |  Related reference work articles     Purchase $ 31.50 5 Framing the role of Decision Support in the case of Stockholm Congestion Charging Trial  Original Research Article Pages 258-268 Henrik Gudmundsson, Eva Ericsson, Muriel Beser Hugosson, Lena Smidfelt Rosqvist  Show preview  |   Related articles  |  Related reference work articles     Purchase $ 31.50 6 The development of public attitudes towards the Stockholm congestion trial  Original Research Article Pages 269-282 Lena Winslott-Hiselius, Karin Brundell-Freij, Åsa Vagland, Camilla Byström  Show preview  |   Related articles  |  Related reference work articles     Purchase $ 31.50 7 Behavioral adjustments and equity effects of congestion pricing: Analysis of morning commutes during the Stockholm Trial  Original Research Article Pages 283-296 Anders Karlström, Joel P. Franklin  Show preview  |   Related articles  |  Related reference work articles     Purchase $ 31.50 8 The role of public transport for feasibility and acceptability of congestion charging - The case of Stockholm  Original Research Article Pages 297-305 Karl Kottenhoff, Karin Brundell Freij  Show preview  |   Related articles  |  Related reference work articles     Purchase $ 31

Impacts of Employer-Based Transportation Demand Management Programs on Traffic Delays National Center for Transit Research (NCTR), University of South Florida University of South Florida Employer-based TDM can help alleviate congestion by reducing or redistributing automobile travel demand. This website provides transportation professionals with a tool to evaluate the effect of TDMs on their traffic networks. Transportation demand management (TDM) is the application of strategies and policies to reduce automobile travel demand or to redistribute this demand in space or in time. In transport as in any network, managing demand can be a cost-effective alternative to increasing capacity. Employer-based programs include opportunities for employees to escape congested commutes through options such as alternative work schedules or telecommuting. Employers can also provide incentives such as subsidized bus passes or removing/ reducing subsidies that encourage drive-alone commutes. The goal of this project was to find a methodology for estimating the impact of employer-based TDM programs on the performance of a traffic network, using measures universal to traffic operations staff, transportation planners, and decision-makers. Researchers analyzed a case study of the Washington State Commute Trip Reduction program, implemented by 189 employers in an 8.6-mile segment of Interstate-5 in downtown Seattle. Performance measures that were analyzed included the spatial and temporal extent of congestion, recurring delay, speed, and travel time. Results showed a significant reduction in morning and evening peak delays and in vehicle-miles traveled (VMT), as well as significant fuel saved. Overall, TDM reduced congestion, but not in all areas or at all times of day. This indicates that TDM, like every other solution, is not a panacea for every congested segment or period. Transportation and traffic professionals can estimate the impacts of employer-based TDM programs on their tra

"Donald Shoup Takes San Francisco Solving the vexing parking problem. Posted March 20, 2012 Print This Post * 3 comments Every so often during his tenure as mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg has tried to push through congestion pricing, in which drivers would have to pay to use city streets in Midtown and Lower Manhattan. That's a popular solution to chronic overcrowding but, like drinking coffee to try to cure a hang over, it doesn't really get to the heart of the matter. More intervention usually doesn't solve the problems that were themselves the result of a prior intervention. Let me explain. Last year I had the opportunity to participate in an online discussion over at Cato Unbound. It focused on Donald Shoup's book The High Cost of Free Parking, which looks at the consequences of not charging for curbside parking. If you've ever tried to find a parking spot on the street in a big city, especially on weekdays, you know how irritating and time-consuming it can be. It may not top your list of major social problems, except perhaps when you're actually trying to do it. In fact, according to Shoup about 30 percent of all cars in congested traffic are just looking for a place to park. The problem though is not so much that there are too many cars, but that street parking is "free." Except, of course, it isn't free. What people mean when they say that some scarce commodity is free is that it's priced at zero. Some cities, such as London, Mayor Bloomberg's inspiration, charge for entering certain zones during business hours - with some success. (As well as unintended consequences: People living in priced zones pay much less for parking and higher demand has driven central London's real-estate prices, already sky high, even higher). But this doesn't really address what may be the main source of the problem: the price doesn't reflect supply and demand. The same kind of chronic congestion will occur with any fixed resource in high d

Transport Policy Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2011, Pages 456-467 doi:10.1016/j.tranpol.2010.09.006 | How to Cite or Link Using DOI Cited By in Scopus (0)   Permissions & Reprints Evaluating alternative concepts of bus-based park and ride Stuart Meek, , Stephen Ison , , Marcus Enoch,  Purchase Transport Studies Group, Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom Available online 8 October 2010. Abstract Whilst it has been used since the 1960s, the UK government have promoted bus-based Park and Ride (P&R) particularly heavily over the last 20 years as a tool to deal with traffic congestion and air pollution. There has long since been a view however that P&R in its current guise may actually be exacerbating the problems of traffic congestion, fuel use and emissions instead of mitigating them. This paper aims to reconsider this proposition whilst also testing a range of alternative forms of car-bus interchange in the context of traffic reduction, drawing on evidence from a large survey of P&R users in Cambridge, UK. Overall the results suggest that while current P&R significantly increases the vehicle miles travelled by its users, some of the alternative models presented potentially offer considerable improvements. Research Highlights ► The UK government have promoted bus-based Park and Ride over the last 20 years as a tool to deal with traffic congestion and air pollution. There has been a view however that P&R in its current guise may actually be exacerbating the problems of traffic congestion, fuel use and emissions instead of mitigating them. ► This paper reconsiders this proposition whilst testing a range of alternative forms of car-bus interchange in the context of traffic reduction, drawing on evidence from a large survey of P&R users in Cambridge, UK. ► Overall the results suggest that while current P&R significantly increases the vehicle miles travelled by i

MIT Smart Cities: City Car Published February 12, 2008 Energy Policy , Transportation 2 Comments Tags: Automotive X Prize, Electric Car When I think of car sharing in the U.S., I think of Flexcar and Zipcar [they have merged -- new name is Zipcar]. Together I think they had around 5,000 vehicles at merger time in 2007. But so far carsharing has no measurable impact on urban traffic or CO2 load. Some of the consumer resistance may be price. That's where the MIT City Car looks promising - this is exactly what I want for the urban short-trips that involved carrying stuff back to the transport station. I could imagine the Buenos Aires CBD traffic density being cut in half or more by a hundred thousand of these way-cool cars, with a "luggage cart" stand every couple of blocks. And a little car that can move in any direction on its four independent wheel-robots would be very appealing - though possibly deadly amidst speeding BA taxis… UPDATE 080212: Some clarifications are required, prompted by comments to this post from carsharing pioneer Dave Brook - whose blog is a recommended source on the industry. I'll just briefly enumerate these points: 1. Carsharing cannot make a major impact on urban traffic/CO2 load unless the concept wins large scale adoption by consumers who elect to substitute public transport + carsharing for their current single-passenger-per-vehicle preferences. 2. Not being privy to any objective studies of consumer preferences, I'm speculating that at least two factors will gate acceptance: convenience and price. On convenience the City Car concept might contribute if deployed with sufficient spatial frequency to e.g. make Ms. shopper happy running her errands within a convenient carsharing radius around a transport station. My speculation is that density is probably not coarser than a 2 block grid. 3. Price - The City Car could make high frequency deployment more economic by introducing several operating cost efficiencies

Efficient Movement of Goods in Large Metropolitan Areas National Center for Metropolitan Transportation Research (METRANS), University of Southern California and California State University-Long Beach METRANS conducts research that addresses transportation issues within large metropolitan areas. One of its major thematic research areas is goods movement and international trade, which concerns how crowded cities can efficiently move goods and provide transportation infrastructure to support economic growth. Examples of research that METRANS is conducting in this area are as follows: A major source of inefficiency in truck drayage is the handling of empty containers. One proposed solution is to establish depots closer to receiver destinations rather than to transport empty containers back to the shipper before reuse. Researchers found that container reuse would result in large reductions in truck travel time and cost.Another source of inefficiency in urban truck transport is the unpredictability of congestion. Because truck routing is based on optimization and does not take uncertainty into account, building in slack time for unforeseen events reduces the effects of even a big delay, increasing efficiency overall. This does not add time when everything goes as planned, but it minimizes costs when the unexpected arises.Efficiency can also be shaped by public policy. Researchers estimated the optimal toll for reducing the congestion generated by drayage trucks and found that tolls would be sufficient to cover the additional costs of off-peak dock operations. They also analyzed the impacts of the PierPASS program, which charges $100 per eligible container moved into or out of ports during daytime hours, and concluded that congestion reductions were approximately equivalent to two years of port growth.Collaboration with trucking companies, railroads, ports, and local public agencies ensured that this research has real-world application, and some findings have already been

eekly Seminar SeriesThe Tragic Tale ofCongestion Pricing in Manhattan   Rohit T. AggarwalaSpecial Advisor to Chairman Michael R. Bloombergof the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group     Friday, December 2, 20111:30 to 3:00 p.m.1065 Kemper HallUniversity of California, Davis Abstract:  In 2007, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposed to bring congestion pricing to Manhattan as part of an overarching long-term sustainability strategy for New York City. Over the next 15 months, congestion pricing became the leading issue in local politics, involving the governor, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the City Council, and the State Legislature. Rohit T. Aggarwala, one of the chief architects of the mayor's plan, will describe the proposal, its expected impact, and its political career.View this seminar live online More information about this seminar and speaker Campus Map or Directions to Campus The UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies hosts weekly seminars during the academic year. We hope you will join us this Friday on campus or online.Recordings of past seminars are also available on our website.    

"Recession Reduces Gridlock" Congestion Data for U.S. Urban Areas To Get Started: Click Play Button on bottom of chart and observe trend over time. Data Source: Texas Transportation Institute + Bureau of Labor Statistics --- Download raw data (xls) As unemployment goes up in 2007 through 2009, vehicle miles traveled go down. In LA-Long Beach CA, for instance, the 4,030 freeway miles per person are 3,683 by 2009, less than a 10% decrease. However, during the same period, the annual hours of delay per auto commuter go from 82 to 63, nearly a 25% decrease. The removal of relatively few vehicles from the road leads to free flowing traffic and less congestion. SILVER LINING (admittedly small): decrease in congestion as fewer people drive

Special Issue: Traffic Congestion Mitigation: Combining Engineering and Economic Perspectives Introduction Traffic congestion mitigation: combining engineering and economic perspectives K. Triantis, S. Sarangi, D. Teodorović & L. Razzolini pages 637-645 Buy now DOI:10.1080/03081060.2011.602845 Available online:22 Aug 2011 Citations: 0 Further Information AbstractReferencesRelated Articles Modelling parking choice behaviour using Possibility Theory Michele Ottomanelli, Mauro Dell'Orco & Domenico Sassanelli pages 647-667 Buy now DOI:10.1080/03081060.2011.602846 Available online:22 Aug 2011 Citations: 0 Further Information AbstractReferencesRelated Evaluating the effects of urban congestion pricing: geographical accessibility versus social surplus Taede Tillema, Erik Verhoef, Bert van Wee & Dirk van Amelsfort pages 669-689 Buy now DOI:10.1080/03081060.2011.602848 Available online:22 Aug 2011 Citations: 0 Further Information AbstractReferencesRelated Evaluating the effects of the I-35W bridge collapse on road-users in the twin cities metropolitan region Feng Xie & David Levinson pages 691-703 Buy now DOI:10.1080/03081060.2011.602850 Available online:22 Aug 2011 Citations: 0 Further Information AbstractReferencesRelated A simulation-based methodology to compare the performance of highway space inventory control and ramp metering control Praveen Edara, Dušan Teodorović, Konstantinos Triantis & Shankar Natarajan pages 705-715 Buy now DOI:10.1080/03081060.2011.602851 Available online:22 Aug 2011 Citations: 0 Further Information AbstractReferencesRelated Auto Restricted Zone versus price changes: a case study Lauren Stuart & Sudipta Sarangi pages 717-726 Buy now DOI:10.1080/03081060.2011.602852 Available online:22 Aug 2011 Citations: 0 Further Information AbstractReferencesRelated

TRANSPORTATION Zen and the art of urban transportation 7 BY JOHN GREENFIELD 16 DEC 2011 6:18 AM Commissioner Gabe Klein. Photo: Steven Vance This is excerpted from a longer story in GRID Chicago. To read the original, which includes a (somewhat hair-raising) ride to work with the commissioner, click here. When forward-thinking Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) Commissioner Gabe Klein reported for work on May 16 as part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's new administration, it marked a sea change in the city's priorities. Chicago spent most of the 20th century trying to make it easier to drive. In recent years, as other cities pioneered green transportation initiatives like car-protected bike lanes, large-scale public bike sharing systems, and "ciclovia" events which shut down streets to make room for car-free recreation, Chicago futilely tried to fight auto congestion by removing pedestrian crosswalks, shortening walk signal times, and installing slip lanes and right-on-red signals to help drivers make faster turns. After Emanuel won the election, his choice of Klein made it clear the mayor-elect was serious about sustainable transportation. The new commissioner was fresh from a stint as transportation director for Washington, D.C., where in a mere 23 months, he made numerous pedestrian safety improvements, launched a new streetcar system, expanded the downtown circulator bus system, piloted protected bike lanes, and created the nation's first and largest bike share system. He arrived a month before starting work, so within six months on the job, the commissioner racked up an impressive list of accomplishments and firsts, installing the city's first protected bicycle lane, starting work on new protected lanes on two other streets, and laying plans to install a total of 100 miles of protected lanes within Emanuel's first term. Under Klein, CDOT has begun striping conventional bike lanes continuously through intersections, it has broken the R

Cargo Cycle Crazy: 30+ Companies Form Freight Bike Federation  For Immediate Release. Cycle delivery companies from across Europe have gathered in Cambridge (UK) to form a European "Cycle Logistics" Lobby July 16, 2012 - Cambridge, United Kingdom - Over 30 companies from across Europe have joined forces to form the "European Cycle Logistics Federation". During a weekend event, the newly formed federation discussed ways to improve urban delivery and will act as a lobby group to promote cycle based delivery solutions.   "As a group we will be able to influence and convince stakeholders that freight bikes are a feasible option for delivering cargo in congested inner city areas. More cargo bikes delivering goods means less trucks in city centres and safer, liveable streets for people," says Rob King, founder of the Cambridge based cycle delivery company Outspoken Delivery which hosted the event. The event received praise from British politicians with Member of Parliament for Cambridge Julian Huppert stating: "Our city, which has the highest number of cyclists riding to and from work and school in the UK and a highly successful bike courier company, is a fitting place for such an event. Any changes that we can put in place to allow freight to be carried by bike have to be worthwhile. This idea has the potential to take vehicles off our roads, easing congestion and cutting carbon emissions. As a keen cyclist, it was very exciting to hear more about such great work."   It also won the interest of academics: "It's fascinating to be here in the early days of a new logistics paradigm. I see a knowledge community taking shape, defining and addressing shared challenges," said Proffesor Rachel Aldred, who directs the University of East London's Sustainable Mobilities Research Group and attended the event.    Participants at the event shared knowledge and experience on how cargo bicycles can reshape urban logistics. Speakers were adamant that cargo

When I explain public goods to students I explain 2 basic traits:  Public goods are non-rival and non-excludable.  Non-rival just means that if I consume the good it doesn't prevent you from consuming it.  Think clean air.  Non-excludable just means that the supplier of whatever it is we're talking about can't prevent you from consuming it once it is supplied.  Think national defense.  At this point I usually ask the class to think about the types of goods that local governments pay for that would fit the definition of public goods.  Invariably, someone says roads. But are roads really public goods?  Sure they are usually publicly provided, but should they be?  Usually, public funds are used to supply public goods because private firms can't profit from providing the good.  If I can't prevent you from consuming national defense once it is supplied, what incentive do I have to provide it?  But roads are neither non-rival nor non-excludable--take a minute to figure out all those negatives.  Let me say it this way.  Roads are excludable and in some cases rival.  Toll booths act to exclude drivers from certain sections of roads and as roads become more congested, my driving on a particular road may prohibit--or at least slow--your driving on the same road.  So, if roads don't have any of the characteristics of a public good, why do we use public funds to supply them? It looks like politicians are starting to ask the same questions.  From the AP via the Columbus Dispatch: Indiana officials hope to sign a lease this spring with a Spanish-Australian partnership that would operate [I-90] for a profit for the next 75 years. The company would keep all toll revenue. In return, it would be responsible for maintenance, improvements and other operating costs, and would pay the state $3.85 billion up front - money that would go toward other road and bridge projects. [...] Privately operated toll roads are slowly catching on in the United

The Future for Interurban Passenger Transport Bringing Citizens Closer Together OECD Publishing Version: Print (Paperback) + Free PDF Price:   €140 | $196 | £126 | ¥18200 | MXN2520 Standard shipping included!     Imprint:  International Transport Forum Availability: Available  Publication date:  21 May 2010  Language: English  Pages: 556  ISBN: 9789282102657  OECD Code: 742010021P1    Other Versions & Languages | Table of contents Economic growth, trade and the concentration of population in large cities will intensify demand for interurban transport services. Concurrently, the need to manage environmental impacts effectively will increase. How successful we are in coping with demand will depend on our ability to innovate, to manage congestion, and to improve the quality of transport services. Technological and regulatory innovation will shape the future of transport. These conference proceedings bring together ideas from leading transport researchers from around the world related to the future for interurban passenger transport..  A first set of papers investigates what drives demand for interurban passenger transport and infers how it may evolve in the future.  The remaining papers investigate transport policy issues that emerge as key challenges: when to invest in high-speed rail, how to regulate to ensure efficient operation, how to assign infrastructure to different types of users, and how to control transport's environmental footprint by managing modal split and improving modal performance. Other languages:  French (Available) Other Versions:  E-book - PDF Format Further reading: 17th International ITF/OECD Symposium on Transport Economics and Policy: Benefiting from Globalisation - Transport Sector Contribution and Policy Challenges (Available) Port Competition and Hinterland Connections - (Available) Improving Reliability on Surface Transport Networks - (Available) Competitive Interaction between Airports,

Volume 45, Issue 4 (2011), pages 239-374 Special Issue: Transportation and Social Interactions edited by Elenna R. Dugundji, Antonio Paez, Theo A. Arentze, Joan L. Walker Volume 44, Issue 8 (2010), pages 563-660 Special Section on Climate Change and Transportation Policy: Gaps and Facts edited by Debbie A. Niemeier Volume 43, Issue 3 (2009), pages 237-310 Stockholm Congestion Charging edited by Jonas Eliasson, Lars Hultkrantz and Lena Smidfelt Rosqvist Volume 42, Issue 9 (2008), pages 1141-1250 Institutional Reform in Land Passenger Transport edited by David Hensher Volume 41, Issue 2 (2007), pages 121-204 The Interaction Between ICT and Human Activity-Travel Behavior edited by M.-P. Kwan, M. Dijst and T. Schwanen Volume 41, Number 9 (2007) Selected Papers on Applications of Discrete Choice Models Presented at the European Regional Science Conference, Amsterdam August 2005 edited by S. Hess, J.W. Polak Volume 41, Number 7 (2007), 103 Success and Failure of Travel Demand Management: Is Congestion Charging the Way Forward? edited by W. Saleh Volume 41, Number 5 (2007), 123 Bridging Research and Practice: A Synthesis of Best Practices in Travel Demand Modeling edited by D. Niemeier, F. Mannering Volume 34A, Number 5 (2000) Policy Applications of Travel Behavior Models edited by H.S. Mahmassani Volume 33A, Number 7/8 (1999) Policy in an International Perspective edited by J. Pucher Volume 33A, Numbers 3/4 (1999) Capacity Analysis of Unsignalized Intersections edited by M. Kyte Volume 28A, Number 6 (1994) Transportation Policy and Practice in Germany edited by F.A. Haight, W. Leutzbach Volume 28A, Number 4 (1994) Transport Externalities edited by Kenneth J. Button, Peter Nijkamp

Overview Conference Summary Presentations Sponsors Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities Conference Agenda Format for Paper Submission Track Chairs and Conference Program Committee Freight Week Hotels/Room Accommodations Things to do The National Urban Freight Conference 2006 examined the impacts of goods movement and international trade in metropolitan areas. (Scroll down for Conference Agenda.) The purpose of this event was to provide a forum for sharing research on all aspects of urban freight transport, including planning and modeling, impact analysis, and roles of politics and institutions. This conference was among the first to focus on the urban aspects of goods movement and offers opportunities for understanding how growing freight volumes affect metropolitan areas and how freight flows can be better managed. On the conference agenda, you will also find presentations on best practices and lessons learned. These sessions offered tools to industry stakeholders and researchers interested in the problems caused by the intersection of goods movements, urban congestion, environmental awareness, and changing land use and travel patterns. There were over 70 presentations--by respected authors from all over the United States as well as international representatives--organized in tracks of concurrent and plenary sessions on the following topic areas: Models for transportation, port, air, intermodal operations, impact analysis Port operations, productivity Trucking, air, rail economics, productivity, labor issues Local and regional environmental externalities: congestion, air quality, etc. Policy and institutional issues in urban goods movement Security/vulnerability of goods movement infrastructure Best practices and lessons learned

Roundabouts emerging as the ideal intersection February 6, 2012    University of Wisconsin-Madison  e-Mail Print     MADISON, WIS. - They've become the subject of myriad YouTube "how-to" videos. Entire department of transportation websites explain how to navigate them. And, they elicit more than a little anxiety and confusion in the minds of drivers entering, circling and exiting them. Yet, roundabouts are rapidly cropping up in locales ranging from city streets to rural intersections and Interstate off-ramps. In essence, they are the "next big thing" in roadway intersections. Roundabouts provide drivers an efficient, safer alternative to traditional four-way intersections governed by stop signs or traffic signals, says David Noyce, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of civil and environmental engineering. An expert in transportation safety, Noyce directs the Wisconsin Traffic Operations and Safety (TOPS) Laboratory at UW-Madison. "In typical traffic engineering, there's a tradeoff between safety and operations. Generally, 'safe' equals 'inefficient,'" he says. "Our research has shown roundabouts offer benefits in both of these." TOPS researchers have studied not only roundabout safety and "operations," but also the inner workings of seven software packages transportation engineers use to design roundabouts. They already have presented their findings as testimony at a legislative hearing in Wisconsin and at international transportation research conferences. From Jan. 22 through 26, they discussed their roundabouts research in Washington, D.C., at the Transportation Research Board annual meeting, which draws more than 11,000 transportation professionals from around the world. At the national and international levels, their research not only can improve roundabout design software, but also inform traffic engineers' decisions related to how to design roundabouts and where to construct them. In Wisconsin, drivers can encounter a

EMBARQ Network Launches New Association to Advance Public Transport in Latin American Cities Published on Apr 5 2010 Curitiba's public transport system has become a model for other Latin American cities. Photo by Mariana Gil/CTS-Brasil. CURITIBA, Brazil, March 29, 2010 - Top executives from Latin America's most influential transit agencies will gather next month to launch the Latin American Association for Bus Rapid Transit and Integrated Transport Systems--a member-driven organization that seeks to advance urban public transport and improve quality of life in the region's biggest cities. EMBARQ - The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport, which launched the initiative, will serve as the association's Technical Secretariat, under the leadership of EMBARQ's Director for Latin America Luis Gutierrez. Guitierrez said, "Despite the progress of urban mass transit in Latin America, the managers of transit agencies and other transport projects do not currently have the tools to deal with some of the problems that exist in the industry. This new association will help transport officials identify common challenges, share their experiences and knowledge, and ultimately, improve their services." Association members will pay an annual fee to participate in meetings and workshops that will take place throughout the year. EMBARQ Network experts will work with members to measure the performance, impact and management of their city's existing transit systems, as well as to plan and implement future transport projects. Specific technical and managerial support will come from the EMBARQ Network's three Latin American centers: the Center for Sustainable Transport in Brazil (CTS-Brasil), the Center for Sustainable Transport in Mexico (CTS-México), and the Center for Sustainable Transport and Health in the Andean Region (CTSS-Andino.). "Latin America has some of the highest rates of urbanization and motorization in the world, leading to

ITF Round Tables Port Competition and Hinterland Connections OECD, International Transport Forum. Published by : OECD Publishing Version: Print (Paperback) + Free PDF Price:   €65 | $87 | £55 | ¥8100 | MXN1170 Standard shipping included!     Imprint:  International Transport Forum Availability: Available  Publication date:  06 Jul 2009  Language: English  Pages: 176  ISBN: 9789282102244  OECD Code: 742009021P1    Other Versions & Languages | Table of contents This Round Table publication discusses the policy and regulatory challenges posed by the rapidly changing port environment. The sector has changed tremendously in recent decades with technological and organisational innovation and a powerful expansion of trade. Although ports serve hinterlands that now run deep into continents, competition among ports is increasingly intense and their bargaining power in the supply chain has consequently weakened. Greater port throughput is meeting with increasing resistance from local communities because of pollution and congestion. In addition, local regulation is warranted but made difficult by the distribution of bargaining power among stakeholders. Higher-level authorities could develop more effective policies. Other languages:  French (Available) Other Versions:  E-book - PDF Format Further reading: Competitive Interaction between Airports, Airlines and High-Speed Rail - (Available) Table of contents: -Summary of Discussions -The Relationship between Seaports and the Intermodal Hinterland in Light of Global Supply Chain: European Challenges by T. Notteboom (Belgium) -Responding to Increasing Port-Related Freight Volumes: Lessons from Los Angeles/Long Beach and Other US Ports and Hinterlands by Genevieve Giuliano and Thomas O'Brien (USA) -Assuring Hinterland Access: The Role of Port Authorities by P. de Langen (The Netherlands) -The Impact of Hinterland Access: Conditions on Rivalry between Ports by A. Zhang (Canada)