I enjoy mountain biking for the escapism it provides: Disappear into woods, race down single-track paths, lean through turns, crank uphill, all to the audio of an adjacent rushing stream. In one session, I can commune with nature, jack up my adrenaline and check off my daily exercise obligation.

THIS STORY

So I never expected to find myself straddling a mountain bike beneath a roaring interstate overpass in Seattle, a city with enviable proximity to miles of legitimate bike trails.

But here – beneath 12 lanes of Interstate 5, at Exit 168A – a Seattle area cycling club has turned a former hangout for vagrants and junkies into an urban mountain bike park, complete with short trails, jumps, drops, teeter-totters and other so-called “features” designed to satisfy a range of biking abilities.

The I-5 Colonnade is what mountain bikers call a “skills park,” which means that you’re never more than a few feet away from a balance-beam-like log formation or a foot-wide ladder bridge or a “staircase” with 18-inch steps – all features that mountain bikers use to hone balance, jumping and control maneuvers.

via Test your mountain-biking skills in this downtown Seattle park.

This year’s ITS Committee mid-year workshop will focus on IntelliDrive(SM) and is planned for September 21-22 at the Beckman Center in Irvine, California. Visit the link above to register and reserve your hotel room. The deadline for reduced hotel rates is August 13.

The goal of the mid-year workshop is to consider the potential impact of IntelliDrive, and the data it will generate, on the various components of the transportation enterprise, including agency organization, finances, and staffing, in addition to planning, operations, safety, and maintenance.  The workshop will bring together public and private sector transportation thought leaders and practitioners to develop research statements that explore how IntelliDrive will affect the work of infrastructure owners and operators.

In addition to the ITS Committee workshop, the ITS Joint Program Office will convene a one-day workshop on Monday September 20, (preceding the TRB meeting) to explore the impact of emerging trends and innovations, shifting priorities and changing requirements on the evaluation of ITS.  The release in early 2010 of the U.S. DOT ITS Strategic Research Plan lays out new goals and initiatives in the ITS Program that impact national and local ITS projects.

The ITS Evaluation Program managers are keenly interested in the input from the transportation community on advancing the practice and increasing the value of ITS evaluation, and identifying the evaluation needs of the transportation community.  The workshop will give participants the opportunity to provide feedback on the Evaluation Program, share innovative evaluation practices, and identify evaluation needs.This intense and engaging two-part event promises workshop participants a great opportunity to learn and to contribute to the continuing evolution of the ITS program.

Click here to access the TRB ITS Committee website.

Related articles by Zemanta

• US Department of Transportation Soliciting Research on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Applications to Improve Environmental Performance (greencarcongress.com)
• US DOT Issues Request for Information on Uses of ITS Systems and IntelliDrive to Improve Transportation Environmental Performance (greencarcongress.com)

Thursday, July 29, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057

AVIATION

1) Radar System Crashes at Delhi‘s Indira Gandhi Airport

Link to Oneindia News article:

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/07/29/radar-system-crashes-in-delhi-igi-airport.html

2) To Tackle Congestion, Indian Government Wants High-Tech System Sooner

Link to article in The Times of India:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/To-tackle-congestion-govt-wants-hi-tech-system-sooner/articleshow/6230668.cms

3) Watchdog: FAA Lacks Metrics for Rollout of Air Traffic Upgrade

Link to article on Nextgov:

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100729_3348.php

4) Top Airports on Twitter: List Grows to 143 Airports

Link to blog in Forbes:

http://blogs.forbes.com/wheelsup/2010/07/21/top-airports-on-twitter-list-grows-to-143-airports/

5) West Virginia‘s Yeager Airport Gains Attention for Its Social Media Efforts

Link to article in the Charleston Daily Mail:

http://www.dailymail.com/Business/201007280787

CAMERAS

6) Motorists May be Winning Against Big Brother’s Speed Cameras

Link to Fox News story:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/07/29/motorists-winning-fight-big-brothers-speed-cameras/

CARTOGRAPHY

7) Microsoft’s ‘Street Slide’ Takes Aim at StreetView

Link to CNET News blog:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20011994-248.html

OTHER

8) IBM Invests in Infrastructure Sensing and Analysis Tech

Link to article in Bloomberg Businessweek:

http://www.businessweek.com/idg/2010-07-29/ibm-invests-in-infrastructure-sensing-and-analysis-tech.html

PARKING

9) Smart Parking Meters Spark Debate

Link to audio report on KQED Radio’s The California Report:

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201007280850/a

SAFETY / SECURITY

10) Radio Over IP Gives Washington State Responders a Common Platform

Link to article in Government Computer News:

http://gcn.com/articles/2010/08/02/washington-state-radio-over-ip.aspx

11) Smartphones Bring Safety Systems to Cars

Link to blog from Strategy Analytics:

http://blogs.strategyanalytics.com/auto/?cat=25

TOURISM

12) Navigating Europe in the Digital Age

GPS, ebooks and other technologies changing the way we travel.

Link to Tribune News Services article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38436089/ns/travel-destination_travel/

TRANSIT

13) Myki is Watching You: Smartcard Operator Gives Police Access to Customer Info

Link to article and video in The Age:

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/myki-is-watching-you-smartcard-operator-gives-police-access-to-customer-info-20100729-10x7l.html

14) New York MTA Axes Station Agents; Promises New Intercoms

Link to article in amNew York:

http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/mta-axes-station-agents-promises-new-intercoms-1.2148780

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

15) New Road Technology Hopes to Ease Minnesota Congestion

Link to story on WCCO-TV:

http://wcco.com/local/smart.lanes.minnesota.2.1832560.html

16) Broadcaster Traffic Consortium Senses Renewed Interest in Radio

Link to article in Radio World:

http://www.radioworld.com/article/104172

News Releases

1) Operation Lifesaver Films New Safety PSA with New Orleans Saints Kicker

2) Minnesota’s Smart Lanes Go Live

3) 2010 National Rural Intelligent Transportation Systems Conference Coming Soon in Huntington, West Virginia

4) AASHTO Honors State DOT Photographers for Their ‘Faces of Transportation’

5) Strategy Analytics: Connected Cars Emerge as Business Models Diverge

6) SuperGeo Develops Taipei Bus Information and Transit System by SuperWebGIS

Upcoming Events

2^nd Middle East Parking Symposium – October 10-12 – Abu Dhabi

http://www.parking-me.com/

Today in Transportation History

1910 **100^th anniversary** Jan Hilgers became the first Dutch pilot to fly over Holland.

http://earlyaviators.com/ehilgers.htm

======================================================================

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe (for free) or unsubscribe, please contact me at bernie@bwcommunications.net.

TCN archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast atbernie@bwcommunications.net.

© 2010 Bernie Wagenblast  www.bwcommunications.net

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057

---

AVIATION

1) iPhone Flight Tracker Maps – Photos

Link to photos on ZDNet:

http://www.zdnet.com/photos/iphone-flight-tracker-maps-photos/449194?tag=mantle_skin;content

2) NextGen Air Transportation System: FAA’s Metrics Can Be Used to Report on Status of Individual Programs, but Not of Overall NextGen Implementation or Outcomes

Link to GAO report:

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10790.pdf

3) Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) Deployment for Airport Obstruction Surveys

Link to report from the Transportation Research Board:

http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/Light_Detection_and_Ranging_LIDAR_Deployment_for_A_163789.aspx

BICYCLES

4) Seattle DOT Tries Bike Boxes to Protect Cyclists

Link to article on seattlepi.com:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/transportation/archives/215937.asp

5) Cyclists Up Against Shock-Jock Ravings

Sydney radio host’s ‘war on cyclists’ inspires listeners to harass riders.

Link to column in The Sydney Morning Herald:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/cyclists-up-against-shockjock-ravings-20100728-10vy4.html

CARTOGRAPHY

6) Tiburon, California’s Security Cameras Set to Go Live Soon

License plates of every vehicle entering town will be photographed.

Link to article in the Marin Independent Journal:

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_15616255

OTHER

7) South Carolina State University Blocks Access to Transport Center Records

Link to article in The Post and Courier:

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jul/28/sc-state-blocks-access-to-transport-center-records/

8) NASA Could Get Funds to Warn About Solar Storms

Link to article in Government Computer News:

http://gcn.com/articles/2010/07/27/nasa-vs-the-sun-also-asteroids.aspx

9) IEEE ITS Society Newsletter – July 2010

Link to newsletter:

http://herget.biz/ieeeitss/v12n3.pdf

PARKING

10) Seattle’s High-Tech Crackdown on Parking Violators Hits Snag

Link to story and video report on KING-TV:

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Investigators-Seattles-high-tech-crackdown-on-parking-violators-hits-snag-99338879.html

RAILROADS

11) Israelis Develop Warning System to Prevent Train Wrecks

Link to article on Arutz Sheva:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138803

12) Picture This, and Risk Arrest

Amtrak photo contest leads to an image problem.

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/nyregion/28about.html

ROADWAYS

13) US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Asked About Stimulus Road Signs: Pork or Pride?

Link to column and C-SPAN video in The Washington Post:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/07/road_signs_pork_or_pride.html

Link to full interview on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal:

http://www.cspan.org/Watch/Media/2010/07/27/HP/A/36105/Transportation+Secretary+Ray+LaHood.aspx

SAFETY / SECURITY

14) FCC Plan to Support Emergency Communications Relies on Unproven Technology

Link to article on Nextgov:

http://gove-media.com/portal/wts/cemcfOa7g92ba8DvqdFdEha9nhyzjd

15) Global Airline Pilots Not Happy About Israeli Security Program

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/world/middleeast/28pilots.html

16) Pennsylvania DOT to Beef Up Reporting on Bus Drivers

Link to article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/state/s_692249.html

17) His Constants Complaints Make Dubai Roads Safer

Link to article in The National:

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100729/NATIONAL/707289859/1010

TELEMATICS

18) eCall Finally Has Arrived … Or Has It?

Link to article on GPS Business News:

http://www.gpsbusinessnews.com/eCall-Finally-Has-Arrived-Or-Has-It_a2387.html

TRANSIT

19) Suspended TriMet Driver Plans to End Popular Blog After ‘Kill this Bicyclist’ Post

Link to article in The Oregonian:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2010/07/suspended_trimet_driver_meets.html

20) ‘Anti-Islamic’ Bus Ads Appear in Major Cities

Link to article in The Christian Science Monitor:

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0728/Anti-Islamic-bus-ads-appear-in-major-cities

21) MBTA Bus Routes Real-Time Data Major Expansion

Link to article on Commonwealth Conversations:

http://transportation.blog.state.ma.us/blog/2010/07/mbta-bus-routes-realtime-data-major-expansion.html

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

22) Web Site of the Week: Traffic England

Link to review in The Daily Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1298405/Website-Of-The-Week-www-trafficengland-com.html

22) Smart Nav for Irish Phone Users

First smartphone-enabled navigation product with real-time traffic data in Ireland.

Link to article on IrishDev.com:

http://irishdev.com/Home/News/1226-Smart-Nav-for-Irish-Phone-Users.html

News Releases

1) ERTICO – ITS Europe Welcomes New EU Road Safety Plan for 2011-2020

2) Inrix Expands the Largest Traffic Network in Europe

3) Inrix TPEG Connec Optimizes Delivery and Reduces Costs of Providing Dynamic Traffic Info to Connected Vehicles and Devices

4) Virgin America Upgrade In-Flight Entertainment Platform: Flyers Can Ad Mapping, Shopping and Open Tab Bar Hopping to Their Flight Plan

Upcoming Events

Conference on International Port Security Communication, Cooperation & Coordination –September 29-30 – Barcelona

http://www.intlportsecurity.com

Today in Transportation History

1720 **290^th anniversary** The Swedish and Russian navies began the Battle of Grengam.

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/z/zubov/battle.html

=====================================================================

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe (for free) or unsubscribe, please contact me at bernie@bwcommunications.net.

TCN archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at bernie@bwcommunications.net.

© 2010 Bernie Wagenblast  www.bwcommunications.net

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 – ISSN 1529-1057

IBTTA 78th Annual Meeting & Exhibition — Register Today! Early Bird Discount Ends August 22, 2010

Come to San Diego, September 12-15, 2010, for IBTTA’s 78th Annual Meeting & Exhibition, the year’s most highly-anticipated learning and networking event — attracting more than 700 toll industry experts and decision makers from across the globe. Under the theme, Sustainable Transportation, the technical program offers tracks focused on innovation, policy, the economy, and the California tolling experience. Hosted by the California Toll Operators Committee (CTOC), this event features interactive seminars, influential speakers, technical tours and special events, informative exhibits and more! Customized sponsorship and exhibitor packages are available. Visit IBTTA’s website for details.

AVIATION

1) Close Calls on the Rise

Link to story on WFOR-TV:

http://cbs4.com/consumer/airplane.close.calls.2.1819105.html

Link to video report:

http://cbs4.com/video/?id=99028@wfor.dayport.com

2) Continental Tests ‘Self-Boarding’ at Houston Airport

Link to article in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2010-07-26-continental-self-boarding-houston-intercontinental_N.htm

CAMERAS

3) Who’s Watching You Behind the Wheel?

If cameras come to Pennsylvania’s roads to catch insurance scofflaws, state would have to keep tabs on your data, experts warn.

Link to article in The Morning Call:

http://articles.mcall.com/2010-07-26/news/mc-pennsylvania-surveillance-20100726_1_cameras-photograph-license-plates-ed-rendell

4) Do Speed Cameras Really Cut Accidents?

Link to BBC News story:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10762590

CARTOGRAPHY

5) GeoWeb Conference to Address Social Media, Including Twitter

Link to article in The Vancouver Sun:

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/GeoWeb+conference+address+social+media+including+Twitter/3323102/story.html

ELECTRONIC TOLLING

6) Pakistan Communications Secretary to Take Action Against National Highway Authority Secretary

Meeting information and working papers not available; may annul selection of ETTM companies.

Link to article in the Daily Times:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010%5C07%5C27%5Cstory_27-7-2010_pg7_22

OTHER

7) July Edition of IBEC Newsletter Online

Link to newsletter:

http://www.ibec-its.co.uk/files/IBEC%20Newsletter%20July%202010.pdf

TELEMATICS

8) Delphi Moves Forward on Telematics

With pilots underway, Delphi hopes to develop aftermarket business model for telematics.

Link to article in Aftermarket Business:

http://aftermarketbusiness.search-autoparts.com/aftermarketbusiness/Distribution/Delphi-moves-forward-on-telematics/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/677791

TRANSIT

9) NTSB: DC Transit System had Wide Problems Before Crash

Link to AP article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jTOyZJ3f2dNELpOOcmFFvwrw38fgD9H7GJSG0

10) Now Everyone Can Tell Where SEPTA Trains are Going

Link to article in The Philadelphia Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20100726_Now_everyone_can_tell_where_SEPTA_trains_are_going.html

11) 95% of Trains are on Time? Riders Beg to Differ

New York area commuter railroads’ official figures often contrast with the experience of rush hour riders.

Link to article in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/nyregion/27ontime.html

TRAVELER INFORMATION / TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

12) Revolutionary New Traffic System in Washington State to ‘Cut Injury Accidents 30%’

Link to story and audio report on KIRO Radio:

http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=347262

13) A Look at Traffic Management in Bangalore

Link to interview with Traffic Police Commissioner Praveen Sood in Citizen Matters:

http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/2205-commissioner-praveen-sood-traffic-scene

VEHICLES

14) Program Launches in Nevada to Increase Vehicle Registration

Hotline set up to report drivers who haven’t registered.

Link to article in the Las Vegas Sun:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jul/26/officials-cracking-down-vehicle-registration

15) Deal May Hit at Denso Move to Open Systems

Link to CNET blog:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20011654-48.html

16) Smart Phone + Car = Stupid?

Link to blog in EE Times:

http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/davek-s-embedded-security-blog/4204921/Smart-phone-security-in-cars

News Releases

1) American Airlines Launches New iPhone Application

2) US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Announces Second National Distracted Driving Summit

3) Frost & Sullivan: Internet Radio is the Most Popular Brought-in App Being Developed by Automotive OEMs

4) TravelCenters of America LLC Announces Web Mapping Enhancements

5) DeviceGuru Launches New Web Site to Advance the Awareness of ITS Technologies and Applications

Upcoming Events

Digital Video Expo – September 28-30 – Pasadena, California

http://www.dvexpo.com/

Today in Transportation History

1720 **290^th anniversary** The Swedish and Russian navies began the Battle of Grengam.

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/z/zubov/battle.html

======================================================================

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe (for free) or unsubscribe, please contact me at bernie@bwcommunications.net.

TCN archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast atbernie@bwcommunications.net.

© 2010 Bernie Wagenblast  www.bwcommunications.net