Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Mean & Green Fighting Machine! The U.S. Military Makes Moves to Rid Itself of Oil-Dependency

October 6, 2010 at 6:57 pm

We all know the American military is now engaged in two wars (one in over-drive – Afghanistan; and the other in a subdued mode in Iraq) for nearly a decade. The costs of these wars are taking a toll on the country’s morale and also on the budget.  Did I say it is freaking expensive to fight a war in the punishing terrains of Afghanistan?  If you haven’t already known this by now, here is something to perk you up.   According to an article published in Slate, the Army and Marines pay only $1 a gallon for the fuel itself but up to $400 a gallon for the truck convoys that move it through Pakistan and up the Khyber Pass.  Whoa! That’s some ungodly amount of greens for fueling our fight against the enemy!

Sometimes it is not even the money you pay but it is the amount of pain you have to endure to get this fuel safely across that makes this totally ridiculous!  The insurgent on the border areas often burn the NATO -commissioned tankers to the ground as they travel from Pakistan to Afghanistan.   here are some stunning stats, courtesy of NY Times (via HuffingtonPost)

  • Fossil fuel is the number one thing the military imports into Afghanistan (30 to 80 percent of convoy loads)
  • The military spends $1 per gallon of gas, but can then spend up to $400 more per gallon to get it to forward operating bases
  • For every 24 fuel convoys, one soldier or civilian working on transport was killed

Apparently, there is another dimension to the toll it is taking – this one is on the environment. In light of all these impacts,  the Pentagon is now making a serious push to rid itself of oil, at least in meaningful levels.  If done right, this is could not only result in a significant agency wide monetary saving but also will create an environmentally-friendly fighting force that can reach.

Here is the link to the article on Slate and the one on HuffPost.

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NTOC Talks Newsletter: October 6, 2010

October 6, 2010 at 3:48 pm

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National Transportation Operations Coalition

NTOC Talks Newsletter: October 6, 2010

 

National NUG Summit Presentations Now Online

http://www.i95coalition.org/i95/Portals/0/Public_Files/pm/presentations/NUG%20Summit%20All%20PresentationsFINAL.pdf

Category >Now Available: October 6, 2010 (NTIMC)

 

A national summit on the National Unified Goal (NUG) for Traffic Incident Management took place September 21-22, 2010. The NUG Summit presentations are now available online on the I-95 Corridor Coalition’s Web site through the link above.

FHWA/Volpe will be providing a link to the NUG Summit September 21 Webinar Audio File, which will also be posted in the NTOC newsletter when available.

 

The NUG is a unified national policy developed by major national organizations representing traffic incident responders, under the leadership of the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition. The summit brought together fire, police, first responders, transportation engineers, and the towing industry to discuss best practices for responding to traffic incidents while keeping in mind the objectives of responder safety; safe, quick clearance; and prompt, reliable, interoperable communications. To learn more about NTIMC and the NUG, visit http://timcoalition.org/?siteid=41&pageid=1973.

 

Quantifying the Benefits of Coordinated Actuated Traffic Signal Systems: A Case Study

http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/11-cr2.pdf

Category >Now Available: October 6, 2010 (TRB)

 

The Virginia Transportation Research Council, a partnership of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the University of Virginia, has released a report that explores ways to quantify the benefits of coordinated actuated traffic signal systems. To read the report, click on the link above.

 

NCHRP 03-103 Request for Proposal: Update of the Signal Timing Manual

http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2953

Category >Opportunity: October 6, 2010 (TRB)

 

The 2008 Signal Timing Manual provides a basic synthesis of signal timing practices in the United States. The manual covers fundamental signal timing related to intersection design, vehicle detection, and coordination of signalized intersections; but there are many concepts that could be addressed in greater detail. The current manual acknowledges some of these in its last chapter, “Advanced Signal Timing Concepts.”

 

The objective of the NCHRP research is to prepare an updated version of the Signal Timing Manual that expands its scope and depth. The guide should be suitable for adoption by AASHTO and be packaged in a manner appropriate for the various users of the manual. To read the complete request for proposal, click on the link above. The deadline is November 11, 2010.

 

Researchers Argue for Smarter Traffic Lights

Link to IDG News article:

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/206742/researchers_argue_for_smarter_traffic_lights.html

Category >Breaking News: October 6, 2010 (NTOC)

 

Those routinely stuck in urban traffic jams can take heart in the fact that scientists may have found a way to reduce congestion, by rethinking the way traffic lights should operate. Two European researchers, Dirk Helbing of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Stefan Lämmer of Dresden University of Technology in Germany, propose changing the way intersection traffic lights are timed, using a combination of sensing technology, analytics and networking.

 

Rather than the usual approach of coordinating the timing the lights along the road in a way that anticipates the usual flow of traffic, the researchers suggest letting traffic lights themselves judge when to turn green or red.

 

“Instead of waiting for a certain point in time before switching to green, we now wait for a critical number of vehicles ready for service at maximum rate which given by the saturation flow,” they argue in a Santa Fe Institute study. Such an approach could reduce congestion by as much as 10 to 30 percent, the researchers claim. Their study can be found at http://www.santafe.edu/media/workingpapers/10-09-019.pdf.

 

Tools to Evaluate Carbon Emissions from Transportation Agencies/Multipollutant Effects of Emission Control Strategies

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/878091352

Category >Opportunity: October 6, 2010 (TRB)

 

TRB is offering this Webinar on November 10, 2010 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EST.

A comprehensive set of reports issued by the National Research Council finds compelling evidence that climate change is occurring, and encourages the United States to act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This Webinar will explore two projects administered by TRB that provide tools and information for transportation agencies seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.   One project has developed a tool that could assist transportation agencies in evaluating the carbon emissions of day-to-day activities, and may provide agencies with information on relevant carbon mitigation techniques.   The second project provides transportation officials with information on the effects of different transportation air quality control strategies on a full range of pollutants, and identifies methods for evaluating tradeoffs among different pollutants when selecting control strategies. Panelists will discuss the assessment of various pollutants, including greenhouse gas emissions, ozone precursors, particulate matter, and air toxics.

 

Registration: Participants must register 24 hours in advance through the link above. There is no fee for current Chairs of TRB Standing Committees, Sections, or Groups. There is also no fee for employees of TRB Sponsors: http://bit.ly/9tduwj. TRB Sponsors: Please use your work email to register for the session.

 

Other sites must pay $99 per site. Questions? Contact Reggie Gillum at rgillum@nas.edu.

 

Synthesis of Active Traffic Management Experiences in Europe and the United States

http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10031/index.htm

Category >New Resource: October 6, 2010 (FHWA)

 

This synthesis report describes both US and European techniques in Active Traffic Management (ATM). The primary focus of this synthesis is on European experience, which in some cases dates back a number of years. This report provides a compilation of lessons learned, experiences, operational results, and benefits associated with active traffic management applications. To access the report, click on the link above. (Publication Number: FHWA-HOP-10-031)

 

Motorists on New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway to Get High-Tech Traffic Forecasts

Link to article in The Star-Ledger:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/motorists_on_nj_turnpike_garde.html

Category >Breaking News: October 6, 2010 (NTOC)

 

The traffic version of Willard Scott and Al Roker will be coming soon to the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. Motorists on the state’s two biggest highways will be provided high-tech traffic “forecasts” to alert them about potential bottlenecks before they happen. Using complex computer models that have been said to predict traffic flows with up to 93 percent accuracy, the Turnpike Authority plans to put its new “Traffic Prediction Tool” into use early next year.

 

Drivers would see the forecasts on existing highway message signs or via e-mail or text. Motorists get real-time alerts now, but the traffic forecast has the ability to predict congestion before it happens, based on traffic patterns detected by transponders and road sensors, as well as historical traffic patterns. To read the complete article, click on the link above.

 

ITS-JPO Selects Eight Firms to Develop and Produce V2V and V2I Communications Devices

http://www.intellidriveusa.org/news/pr.php

Category >Breaking News: October 6, 2010 (ITS JPO)

 

The Intelligent Transportation System Joint Program Office (ITS-JPO) announces grants to eight contractors to develop prototype devices capable of generating “Here I Am” basic safety messages to other vehicles and devices using DSRC 5.9 GHz communication technology.

Each of the eight device manufacturers will produce five “Here I Am” units for qualification testing. Those vendors/products that pass DOT’s device certification testing will be placed on a Qualified Product List (QPL) and be eligible for supporting the upcoming IntelliDrive Safety Pilot model deployment which will involve approximately 2500-3000 vehicles. The devices will be used for identifying vehicle location, trajectory, and speed using the SAE J2735 basic safety message; messages will not include any personally identifiable information. The period of performance for device development and qualification testing is seven months, starting October 1, 2010.

 

The Safety Pilot research program is part of the USDOT’s IntelliDrive(SM)* initiative. For more information on IntelliDrive and Safety Pilot, see www.IntelliDrive.org.

 

Value Pricing Pilot Program April – June 2010 Quarterly Report Now Available

http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/tolling_pricing/value_pricing/projects/index.htm

Category >Now Available: October 6, 2010 (FHWA)

 

Each quarter, projects authorized under the Value Pricing Pilot (VPP) Program are updated to provide the most current VPP program information on active projects being studied as well as projects that have been implemented. To read the report, click on the link above.

 

T3 Webinar: Open Source Alternative to Deploying Transportation Management Systems

http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/t3/s101020_opensource.asp

Category >Opportunity: October 6, 2010 (ITS JPO)

 

The purpose of this T3 Webinar, taking place October 20, is to gain insight into an open-source alternative for deploying transportation management systems for state departments of transportation, municipalities, or other agencies. Open-source solutions tend to be less expensive to deploy, maintain, and enhance. In addition, agencies may benefit through collaboration by investing their resources in a common product that is mutually beneficial in function and form.

 

To illustrate this approach, two state agencies—the California DOT (Caltrans) and the Minnesota DOT (Mn/DOT)—will discuss and demonstrate how each agency derived individual and mutual benefits using the open-source Intelligent Roadway Information System (IRIS) Advanced Transportation Management System (ATMS).

 

The Webinar will explore the IRIS features and enhancements developed by the Advanced Highway Maintenance & Construction Technology Research Center at the University of California, Davis, in order to adapt and expand the IRIS for use within the Caltrans Stockton District 10 Transportation Management Center (TMC). For complete information and to register, click on the link above.

 

T3 Webinars are brought to you by the ITS Professional Capacity Building Program (ITS PCB) at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) ITS Joint Program Office, Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). Reference in this webinar to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by U.S. Department of Transportation.

 

 

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Change I Like! Census Bureau Says A Lot More People Are Biking to Work

October 6, 2010 at 3:44 pm

I knew it! I felt It! I sensed it! The number of people getting around by bicycle is growing steadily. According to American Community Survey, conducted annually by the Census Bureau, the number of bike commuters grew 0.3 percent between 2005 and 2009. Rise in gas prices or the hard-hitting recession, etc, etc are among the many reasons.

A couple of undeniable factors that influenced this trend are: (1) the rising awareness among the public about the health benefits of biking and (2) the forward thinking city administrators and staff (such as NYC Transp. Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and DC DOT’s Gabe Klein ) who have provided the necessary infrastructure that encourages safe biking.

Hope this trend continues and more cities take the cue.

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You’re right. That’s almost nothing. But bear in mind that’s the median for the entire country, which includes a whole lot of rural and exurban areas where bike commuting isn’t viable. Bike commuting is still an infinitesimally small percentage of all commutes, accounting for just 0.55 percent of commutes last year, according to the League of American Bicyclists.

But if you look only at urban areas — where bike commuting makes far more sense — the gains are huge. Given the Obama Administration’s emphasis on bike-friendlier transportation policies, the growth almost certainly will continue.

The League of American Bicyclists dove into the numbers and found bike commuting in the 70 largest cities (.pdf) in the United States climbed 35 percent between 2005 and 2009. Kansas City, Missouri, saw the biggest increase, climbing an astonishing 1,095 percent. Indianapolis followed with a jump of 392 percent. New Orleans rounded out the top three with an increase of 155 percent.

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Change I Like! Census Bureau Says A Lot More People Are Biking to Work

October 6, 2010 at 3:42 pm

I knew it! I felt It! I sensed it! The number of people getting around by bicycle is growing steadily. According to American Community Survey, conducted annually by the Census Bureau, the number of bike commuters grew 0.3 percent between 2005 and 2009. Rise in gas prices or the hard-hitting recession, etc, etc are among the many reasons.

A couple of undeniable factors that influenced this trend are: (1) the rising awareness among the public about the health benefits of biking and (2) the forward thinking city administrators and staff (such as NYC Transp. Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and DC DOT’s Gabe Klein ) who have provided the necessary infrastructure that encourages safe biking.

Hope this trend continues and more cities take the cue.

Amplify’d from www.wired.com

You’re right. That’s almost nothing. But bear in mind that’s the median for the entire country, which includes a whole lot of rural and exurban areas where bike commuting isn’t viable. Bike commuting is still an infinitesimally small percentage of all commutes, accounting for just 0.55 percent of commutes last year, according to the League of American Bicyclists.

But if you look only at urban areas — where bike commuting makes far more sense — the gains are huge. Given the Obama Administration’s emphasis on bike-friendlier transportation policies, the growth almost certainly will continue.

The League of American Bicyclists dove into the numbers and found bike commuting in the 70 largest cities (.pdf) in the United States climbed 35 percent between 2005 and 2009. Kansas City, Missouri, saw the biggest increase, climbing an astonishing 1,095 percent. Indianapolis followed with a jump of 392 percent. New Orleans rounded out the top three with an increase of 155 percent.

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No worries, mate! New study says Airplane Air Is No Riskier Than Other Enclosed Spaces

October 4, 2010 at 6:34 pm

Hmmm.. So, is this going to change the way we set our rules and regulations that now prohibit those who are suspected of carrying air-borne pathogens? Let’s see how the regulators and airline companies react to the findings..

Amplify’d from www.nytimes.com

“There is always an increased risk of infection whenever you enter a confined space, but an aircraft cabin is no worse an environment than the office you sit in every day,” said Dr. Mark Gendreau, an emergency and aviation medicine expert at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass.

Cabin air, he said, is refreshed about 15 times an hour, compared with less than 12 an hour in an office building. On most full-size jets, the air is also circulated through hospital-grade HEPA filters, which are supposed to remove 99.97 percent of bacteria and the minuscule particles that carry viruses. The cabin air is also divided into separate ventilation systems covering every seven rows or so, limiting the ability of germs to travel from one end of the plane to the other.

Still, that does not rule out the prospect of diseases spreading from passenger to passenger on a long flight. Travelers tend to ignore doctors’ advice to avoid flying if they are sick, exposing unsuspecting seatmates to a threat of infection, the research panel noted.

Read more at www.nytimes.com
 
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A study of how local petty politics undermines national progress: A High-Speed Rail Perspective

October 4, 2010 at 6:20 pm

Image Courtesy: NY Times - John Badman/The Telegraph, via Associated Pres

Hmmm.. Individual agendas and petty partisan politics are often the biggest road blocks for progressive nation building in most democracies around the world and the U.S. not so immune to this trend. An article from today’s New York Times documents such a situation and dissects the issues facing the High-Speed Rail program in light of the upcoming elections.

Republican candidates for governor in some of the states that won the biggest stimulus rail awards are reaching for the emergency brake.

In Wisconsin, which got more than $810 million in federal stimulus money to build a train linebetween Milwaukee and Madison, Scott Walker, the Milwaukee County executive and Republican candidate for governor, has made his opposition to the project central to his campaign.

Mr. Walker, who worries that the state could be required to spend $7 million to $10 million a year to operate the trains once the line is built, started a Web site, www.NoTrain.com, and has run a television advertisement in which he calls the rail project a boondoggle.

….Similar concerns are threatening to stall many of the nation’s biggest train projects. In Ohio, the Republican candidate for governor, John Kasich, is vowing to kill a $400 million federal stimulus project to link Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati by rail. In Florida, Rick Scott, the Republican candidate for governor, has questioned whether the state should invest in the planned rail line from Orlando to Tampa. The state got $1.25 billion in federal stimulus money for the project, but it will cost at least twice that much to complete.

And the nation’s most ambitious high-speed rail project, California’s $45 billion plan to link Los Angeles and San Francisco with trains that would go up to 220 miles per hour, could be delayed if Meg Whitman, a Republican, is elected governor. “In the face of the state’s current fiscal crisis, Meg doesn’t believe we can afford the costs associated with new high-speed rail at this time,” said Tucker Bounds, a campaign spokesman.

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On the move? California cracks down on people living in vehicles

October 4, 2010 at 6:07 pm

One has to wonder what will happen to these people when they are forced to move? In the picture below: Diane Butler and her husband, Abraham, are among many who may be forced to leave the Venice section of Los Angeles by regulations limiting street parking and banning R.V.’s from beach lots.

Amplify’d from www.nytimes.com

Their nomadic existence might be ending, though. The Venice section of Los Angeles has become the latest California community to enact strict new regulations limiting street parking and banning R.V.’s from beach lots — regulations that could soon force Ms. Butler, 58, to leave the community where she has lived for four decades.

“They’re making it hard for people in vehicles to remain in Venice,” she said.

Southern California, with its forgiving weather, has long been a popular destination for those living in vehicles and other homeless people. And for decades, people living in R.V.’s, vans and cars have settled in Venice, the beachfront Los Angeles community once known as the “Slum by the Sea” and famous for its offbeat, artistic culture.

Yet even as the economic downturn has forced more people out of their homes and into their cars, vehicle-dwellers are facing fewer options, with more communities trying to push them out.

As nearby neighborhoods and municipalities passed laws restricting overnight parking in recent years, Venice became the center of vehicle dwelling in the region. More than 250 vehicles now serve as shelter on Venice streets, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

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What does it take to go from 63mph to 220mph? $117 Billion and 30 yrs according to Amtrak

September 28, 2010 at 6:39 pm

Lofty plans.. But no money in place.. It will be interesting to see how Amtrak is going to execute this grand vision while living on tax payer dollars..

Amplify’d from voices.washingtonpost.com

Amtrak is unveiling a $117 billion, 30-year vision for high-speed rail on the East Coast that would drastically reduce travel times along the congested corridor.

At a news conference at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station on Tuesday, Amtrak President Joseph Boardman said the proposal is at the visionary stage, and there’s no funding plan in place. It aims for high-speed rail by 2040.

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Flying Saucers Ready for Heavy-Lifting in Disaster Zones

September 28, 2010 at 5:34 pm

Quite an innovative approach. I can already envision a lot of use for this technology in disaster zones, especially those places that are disconnected from the rest of the world during natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods.

Amplify’d from www.economist.com

TRANSPORTING large, clunky bits of equipment has always posed a challenge. Roads and railways do not reach everywhere, and even if they did, many cumbersome and heavy constructions need to be hauled in pieces, only to be put together at the final destination. Aeroplane cargo faces even tighter restrictions on shape and size, not to mention the need for runways. Heavy-transport helicopters, such as the Mil Mi-26 or Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane, address some of these difficulties, but their payloads are limited to 20 and nine tonnes, respectively, and the huge rotors create a powerful downdraft that makes handling that payload rather tricky. So people have long been looking for other ways round the problem. Now, Skylifter, an Australian aeronautical firm, thinks it has found the perfect solution.

The company is developing a piloted dirigible capable of carrying loads of up to 150 tonnes over distances as great as 2,000km (1,240 miles) at a speed of 45 knots (83kph). This would permit the craft to transport not just hefty components, but entire buildings, to remote areas. The company envisages modules ranging from rural hospitals and disaster-relief centres to luxury airborne cruise ships.

Read more at www.economist.com
 
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What does it mean to be a biker and Black? High risk of death among Black bikers than White bikers

September 27, 2010 at 7:10 pm

The study published in the American Journal of Surgery suggests that safety interventions, like helmet laws, don’t help everyone equally. “Helmet for helmet, African Americans have more lethal injuries.”

Amplify’d from healthland.time.com
Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images

Motorcycle accident–related fatalities account for 1 in every 8 deaths on the road. And a new study suggests that blacks are at higher risk than whites: for every two white motorcyclists who die in accidents, three of their African-American counterparts do not survive.

Johns Hopkins researchers analyzed 68,840 motorcycle accidents recorded by the National Trauma Data Bank between 2002 and 2006. The data show that black riders were 50% more likely to die than white riders, despite the fact that African Americans were more likely to be wearing helmets at the time of the crash. The disparity held up even after controlling for the severity of the accident, the biker’s gender and insurance status. White bikers not wearing helmets were still less likely to die in a crash than black bikers wearing helmets; the highest risk group were blacks riding without protective head gear. (More on Time.com: How Kids Get Clobbered by Racial Discrimination)

Read more at healthland.time.com
 
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