This position is a Transportation Specialist assigned to the Freight Analysis and Research Team within Office of Freight Management and Operations (HOFM) of the Office of Operations of the Federal Highway Administration(FHWA).  The Office is responsible for analyzing trends and developing policies concerning multimodal freight transportation,

APM Terminals, Portsmouth, VA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Within a team environment, the Transportation Specialist is responsible for providing expertise in data, modeling and analytical techniques for  analyzing  and forecasting freight activity and its economic and environmental consequences, to support FHWA headquarters, FHWA field components, state DOT personnel, and professional staff of Metropolitan Planning Organizations and other stakeholders in establishing a comprehensive program for improving freight operations within the country’s transportation network.supporting freight transportation planning and project development at all levels of government through information and professional development programs, enforcing vehicle size and weight laws, and promoting improvements in freight operations and technology.  Its mission is to provide programs, policies, research, and technology transfer that promote efficient and effective freight flow on the highway system and its intermodal connectors within the United States and across its international borders.

See on Scoop.it – Transportation Today

Vision 2012 Video Daily News Day 3…ITS International’s DailyNews Live Video team find out about the future prospects and trends for machine vision applications in the ITS industry. They look at how different cameras work together to support the driverless car of the future; explore how the market is split on cost v flexibility and also give us a peek at cameras on Mars

See on www.youtube.com

See on Scoop.it – Transportation Today

So, the adults have a beer bike but what do the kids have? They got the bike bus to school!

The Dutch are bicycle fanatics. Almost half of daily travel in the Netherlands is by bicycle, while the country’s bike fleet comfortably outnumbers its 16 million people.

Built by Tolkamp Metaalspecials, and sold by the De Cafe Racer company, the bicycle school bus (BCO in Dutch) is powered entirely by children and the one adult driver (although there is an electric motor for tough hills). Its simple design has eight sets of pedals for the kids (ages 4 to 12), a driver seat for the adult, and three bench seats for freeloaders. The top speed is about 10 miles per hour, and features a sound system and canvas awning to ward off rainy days.

See on www.fastcoexist.com

via NPR 

Heard this nice review of the “fastest train in whole of Africa” on NPR.

via YPT Boston

[clip id=”LQVtaDSXh1bUQt6cJcy4HJwS_MjI2Ikf-p5e” width=”792″ height=”1899″ scale=”disabled”]

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English: The state seal of Virginia. Српски / Srpski: Застава америчке савезне државе Вирџиније. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a guest post by Michael Rodriguez, a friend and business colleague, on one of the most pressing questions facing Virginia’s voters tomorrow in the 2012 elections.  A quick bio of  the author: Mike is a Transportation planning/economics consultant. Identifies himself as a Tech junkie.  Apple enthusiast. Marlins fan. Badger fan. Nintendo fanboy. Overall transportation geek. Mike is also actively engaged in Twitter (@TranspoPlanner) and you can learn more about him here. 

On Election Day, Virginians will encounter a statewide ballot measure,Question 1, that would amend the Virginia Constitution by limiting the government’s ability to exercise eminent domain – limitations that would hinder critical projects such as Metro Rail expansion, the new 495 Express Lanes, and many worthy economic development projects. The true implications of this amendment are an unnecessary restriction on public projects, a narrow definition of eminent domain powers leading to greater costs, and other negative unintended consequences.Virginia Question 1: Bad for Infrastructure and Bad for Communities

Eminent domain, the government’s power to acquire private property for public use, is central to state and local government’s ability to build infrastructure and facilities – things like roads, water lines, parks, schools, and police precincts. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court in Kelo v. City of New London also upheld a practice that local governments had been engaged in for quite some time, namely, acquiring land and transferring it to a private developer when undergoing economic redevelopment. However, the Court also left states with the power to restrict this practice.

Since Kelo, a concerted, partisan response in many states has sought to severely limit the government’s power to conduct its business through eminent domain and undermine urban and regional planning in general. Question 1 is Virginia’s version of this partisan effort. While framed as a “property rights” issue, make no mistake that this amendment goes too far and tries to slip in significant roadblocks to all public projects that use eminent domain.

Question 1 is unnecessary to prevent the type of eminent domain use in Kelo because Virginia has already enacted laws to address this. Despite these statutes, the proponents behind Question 1 seek to go beyond what is already on the books. In the process, they are willing to open up Pandora’s Box of problems that they have failed to address. These problems are why the Virginia Municipal League, Virginia Association of Counties, and mayors across Virginia strongly believe Question 1 is a setback for building needed infrastructure and the ability to create strong and vibrant communities.

One problem is that Question 1 would hinder innovative projects in transportation, among other areas, by limiting eminent domain in any setting that would be “for profit.” Immediately, this language would obstruct and likely stop any toll road, port redevelopment, or other project that uses “public-private partnerships” – where the government and private sector collaborate. These types of projects have traditionally had bi-partisan support in Virginia and nationwide, including support from Governor McDonnell. Nonetheless, Question 1 would prevent such projects.

What this means for Virginians is that projects like the 495 Express Lanes would be challenged, since these projects involve the government and private sector collaborating over toll revenues. Projects like Metro Rail’s Silver Line expansion to Dulles Airport would be thwarted, since they are partly financed through those tolls. In short, Question 1 unnecessarily interferes in government’s ability to collaborate with the private sector to innovate and improve our transportation and public facilities.

Another concern is that Question 1 also requires the government to compensate property owners not only for their property’s value, but also for “lost profits.” For example, farmers would not only be compensated for their land at market value, but also for profits they may (or may not) experience in the future from sales of their produce. While a noble goal,there is a fundamental math problem with this logic. The future profits of a piece of real estate, like a farm or factory, are already incorporated into its market value – economists call it “capitalized value.” This is why a high yielding farm sells for more than a low yielding farm, all other things being equal.

The existing norm of compensating at market value already addresses these potential profits; so requiring additional compensation is economic double counting. Furthermore, profits are speculative, and the overall effect is to limit public projects by increasing costs, encouraging frivolous litigation, enriching trial attorneys, and enabling an unelected board to guess at compensation levels. In the end, we all pay for this when the cost of building public infrastructure increases drastically.

There are a host of other unintended consequences, but the bottom line is that Question 1 goes beyond simply protecting private property rights. It would nearly kill, or at least severely inhibit, public-private partnerships to build infrastructure, thus requiring more government bonds and debt to build. It would also increase the cost that we Virginians pay for our roads and other infrastructure. Do not be fooled. A vote in favor of Question 1 might be a great deal for trial lawyers, but it’s a bad deal for Virginia’s infrastructure and the future of our communities.

Note:  All opinion expressed are the author’s.  This blog serves as a platform to echo the voices of the community.  Feel free to share and register your thoughts below.  Also, you are welcome to submit articles on transportation issues for publishing on this site.

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Saw this picture below tweeted out by joanna coles @JoannaColes Editor-in-Chief Cosmopolitan Magazine. She shot this gridlocked thoroughfare from her office (located on the 38th floor of the building where Cosmopolitan mag. is located).  With its subway system crippled by Sandy, this pic. shows how badly NYC needs to reconsider its transportation strategies and prioritize implementing any/all strategies that moves people away from cars.  It is going to be once heck of a recovery until the subway limps back to normal!   

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