Smart Signals Webinar Recap

Abstract

In the October 20, 2021 WDCITE meeting Laura provided an overview of challenges and strategies employed in the development of a Countywide Prioritized List of Missing Sidewalk and Trail Segments. This presentation will review subsequent initiatives that are a part of the County’s Sidewalk and Trail program including implementation considerations, ongoing development of conceptual diagrams, prioritization of rural missing links and equity analysis activities.

Bio

Richard Easley is the founder and President of E-Squared Engineering, a small business firm specializing in Intelligent Transportation Systems. Mr. Easley leads his firm on contracts and research work in 34 US states and 22 countries worldwide in the areas of Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO), Advanced Transit, Intermodal Freight, Parking, Electronic Payment and Traveler Information. Mr. Easley was the first ITS CVO Coordinator at ITS America and has subsequently served as the Chairman of the ITS America CVO Architecture and Standards Subcommittee, the Chair of the ITSA Intermodal Task Force, the Chair of the Institute of Transportation Engineers Goods Movement Council and recently served as the Chair of the TRB Intermodal Freight Transport Committee and currently as the Chair of the TRB Freight Subcommittee of the Regional Transportation Systems Management and Operations Committee. Mr. Easley is the past Co-Chair of the International Parking & Mobility Institute’s “ITS Parking Task Force”, the past Chair of the IPMI Parking Technology Committee and serves on the National Society of Professional Engineers’ Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Advisory Committee, the ITS Canada DEI Committee, the ITS Maryland DEI program committee, as well as the ITS United Kingdom’s Diversity & Inclusion Task Force. Richard is also a guest lecturer on ‘DEI and Transportation’ at UT at Austin, Univ of Southern Cal, and Univ of Washington. Richard serves on the international planning committee for ITS World Congresses (for 15 years) and has presented his research throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Easley has his BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bio

Ms. Phillip, President and CEO of Assedo Consulting, is an engineer and transportation professional with 24 years of experience serving clients in the public and private sectors. Her work educates stakeholders, appointed and elected government officials, and communities on the impacts of engineering, transportation, and construction projects.

Ms. Phillip serves on the WTS International Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and is a sitting Director on the WTS Foundation Board, which is responsible for scholarships, research, and training for college students and young professionals.

Odessa is President of the Maryland Chapter of the Council of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO). COMTO’s mission is to ensure opportunities and maximum participation in the transportation industry for minority individuals, veterans, people with disabilities and certified small, minority owned businesses.

Ms. Phillip has worked as an adjunct professor in the Civil Engineering Department at Howard University and sits on the Advisory Board for the Department.

EDUCATION:

Master of Engineering, Construction Project Management University of Maryland, College Park – 2005,

Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Howard University – 1997

Bio

Stewart Schwartz is the Executive Director and a founder of the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG), the leading organization in the D.C. region advocating for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way to grow and provide opportunities for all. The Coalition has been recognized by the Catalogue for Philanthropy as one of the best small charities in the Washington, D.C. region. In 2017, CSG earned the Regional Partnership Award from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

Mr. Schwartz serves on the boards of Smart Growth America, the Virginia Conservation Network, and the Richmond Partnership for Smarter Growth. A retired Navy Captain, he earned a B.A. in Foreign Affairs and a J.D. from the University of Virginia, and a M.A. in National Security Studies from Georgetown University. He is a 2012 graduate of the UVA Sorensen Institute’s Political Leadership Program. The Washington Business Journal recognized him as Business Person of the Year in 2002 and has included him three times in their Power 100 most influential private sector and non-profit leaders in the DC region.

Bio

Renée Moore has worked in the bike advocacy industry for over 5 years, gaining experience in outreach, Vision Zero, community organizing with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, and Program Manager at BikeArlington. She is passionate about introducing underserved communities to Alexandria’s resources to get them biking, walking, scooting, and using the water taxi and transit more for recreation and transportation. In addition to being the Transit Specialist at the City of Alexandria, she was recently selected by Amsterdam based organization BYCS (pronounced bikes) to be the Bike Mayor for DC region. She is also involved in working with blind bicyclists, deaf bicyclists, bicyclists over 50, and African Americans who want to bike. Outside of the office, Renée enjoys cooking, swimming, and learning American Sign Language. Say hi on Twitter @girlonbluebike

Abstract

The Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure (DTCI) historically acted in a responsive mode with regards to reported safety deficiencies and/or operational problems at roadway intersections. To enhance responsiveness in addressing safety and operational problems at intersections, DTCI developed the Roadway Intersection Improvement Program. This program provides a data-driven process to systematically identify problematic intersections to preempt incidents or complaints. This program involved conducting an inventory of non-signalized, signalized, and roundabout intersections along roadways listed in the Countywide Transportation Plan (CTP) and non-CTP roadways of significance. Currently, this program evaluated intersections based on traffic volumes and crash history. From this data, the intersections are ranked on a scale from one (1) through five (5) where a ranking of 5 represents the most critical intersections requiring improvements and a ranking of 1 indicates the lowest priority intersections. This presentation will provide an overview of the Loudoun County Roadway Intersection Improvement Program.

Bio

Enrique Gonzalez has a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of South Florida with an emphasis on traffic operation and safety research, a Master’s and a Bachelor’s in Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPRM). Dr. Gonzalez is currently a Senior Traffic Engineer for the Loudoun County Transportation Department and Capital Infrastructure (DTCI) and has over fifteen years of work experience.

Before joining DTCI, Dr. Gonzalez taught as an Assistant Professor of the Civil Engineering and Surveying Department at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, where he had the opportunity of serving as a Co-Advisor of the UPRM ITE Student Chapter and Co-Manager of the UPRM Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program. In addition, Dr. Gonzalez is a member of the TRB Standing Committee on Workforce Development and Organizational Excellence (AJE15) and a friend of the Standing Committee on Safety Performance Analysis (ACS20) among others.

Bio

With a passion for improving the safety, accessibility and mobility of multi-modal transportation in her corner of the world, Laura excels in her role as the Bicycle-Pedestrian coordinator in the Traffic Engineering team at Loudoun County’s Department of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure. Whether directing countywide prioritization studies, managing traffic signal warrant and innovative intersection improvement analyses, developing a pilot program for Shared Use Mobility Devices, or reviewing corridor studies and conceptual designs, Laura is an advocate of livable communities and safe streets. Laura’s 9 years of transportation engineering experience range from traffic engineering with CastleGlenn Consultants and Kimley-Horn, to risk management and congestion modelling research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), to transportation engineering project management with Loudoun County. Her diverse work experience has honed efficient analytical skills and an aptitude for exercising sound judgement in the development of practical engineering solutions. Her education includes a B.Eng from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada and an MS in Civil Engineering from UIUC.

Bio

Michael Pack is the founder and director of the CATT Laboratory where he works to make transportation data easily accessible and usable by diverse user communities. Mr. Pack has previously worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Center for Transportation Analysis and the University of Virginia’s Smart Travel Laboratory. Michael has been honored at the Obama White House as a Champion of Change for his leadership in integrating vast amounts of data from around the country into the Regional Integrated Transportation Information System, for his performance management applications, and for his efforts in breaking down the barriers within agencies that prevent data from being leveraged to its fullest potential.

Bio

Hua Xiang is the Active Traffic Management Program (ATM) Manager at MDOT SHA’s Office of Transportation Mobility and Operations (formerly Office of CHART and ITS Development) where the new Traffic Signal Systems Operations team is being formed to provide incident and special event related real-time signal timing management, develop/manage signal incident timing plans, and manage ATM strategies, with the goal of the eventual deployment of a TMC Signal Operations concept.

Abstract

After participating in this workshop, attendees will understand the value of persuasion in the transportation industry, its historical roots, and the different types (or “modes”) of persuasion. Following a short presentation outlining this topic, attendees will be asked to participate in an activity. This activity will consider what arguments professionals hear or make on transportation projects and what “modes” those arguments employ.

Bio

Amelia unites technical analyses with rhetorical discipline to deliver successful transportation projects for clients and communities. Her work experience has included access management policy and manual-writing, small area planning, corridor studies, conceptual intersection design, alternative intersection evaluations, quick-build design, traffic calming planning and design, and traffic impact studies. Amelia also has over a decade of experience competing and coaching debate teams, which has provided her with invaluable oratorical experience.

Bio

Khalid Afzal is the project manager for Thrive Montgomery 2050. Khalid has more than 30 years of experience working in the fields of architecture and urban planning. He has been with the Montgomery County Planning Department for more than 20 years working as a land use planner and an urban designer in both the regulatory and long-term planning sections.

Bio

David Anspacher is the lead transportation planner for Thrive Montgomery 2050 and has over 15 years of experience in the field. He has been with the Montgomery County Planning Department for more than 10 years and leads the department’s multimodal transportation planning group.

Abstract

Montgomery County has grown over the past 50 years from a bedroom community to the second most populous county in the Washington region and an economic engine for the state of Maryland. Despite a history of progressive land use and transportation planning, the county is facing serious technological, social, economic, demographic and environmental changes. Montgomery County Planning Department is taking a comprehensive look at its long-term planning framework to determine how it should grow and be equitable, affordable and environmentally sustainable for the next 30-40 years and maintain its economic edge and the quality of life it is known for. The Planning Department is updating the county’s 1964 General Plan of Wedges and Corridors, now called Thrive Montgomery 2050. Khalid Afzal and David Anspacher will discuss the transportation-land use connection and how the draft Plan’s transportation recommendations will help transform Montgomery County from a collection of car-oriented suburbs into a series of walkable and transit-oriented places and help achieve the county’s goals of economic health, community equity and environmental resilience.

Abstract

Several broad developments in technology and software may have significant impacts on TMCs and TSMO in the near future. This presentation will explore advances in Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Drone surveillance, Next Generation 511, and Digital Assistants that could be used by IOOs to improve services to the public and reduce cost and time of some current operations.

Abstract

The past 12 months have been anything but ordinary for transportation. From the unprecedented decline in travel (and mode shifts) due to COVID-19, to unexpected natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires, transportation experts are scrambling to make sense of it all and keep their communities safe. Luckily, thanks to advances in big data resources derived from mobile devices, innovative use of Census data, and extensive research, experts can both continue their normal work and conduct studies they’ve never had the capabilities to before, all from the safety of their home or office.

In this presentation, Juliet Hirni of StreetLight Data will show attendees how to leverage big data to gain insights into unexpected changes in travel patterns. The presentation will begin with an explanation of how location data derived from mobile devices is obtained and processed into transportation metrics, followed by examples of how to use these metrics to perform routine projects during transportation upheavals: deriving reliable volumes, turning movements, O-D, AADT, VMT, and other core metrics.

Juliet will also show how big data can be used to study the impact of events like COVID-19 on traffic, travel patterns, toll revenues, and more. For each example, the focus will be on the type of data that engineers use to accomplish their goals, and the specific insights planners glean from the data.

By the end of the session, attendees will walk away understanding how analytics derived from mobile devices can help transportation experts continue their work amidst unusual circumstances, and analyze the effects of the circumstance itself. We’ll wrap up the discussion by opening the floor for questions about using big data for transportation planning, with the goal of enabling attendees to conduct critical, comprehensive evaluations of big data resources for their own projects.

Abstract

Wejo supports DoTs, transportation planner and smart city planners as they look to improve road safety, this presentation will touch upon how connected car data can offer key insights into road safety; identifying troublesome hotspot areas, analysing road corridor performance and comparing road safety versus levels in 2019. With the largest stream of authentic connected car data anywhere in the world, join us as we support Vision Zero.

Bio

Matt forms part of the Solutions Engineering team and is well tenured at Wejo. He spans multiple business functions and acts as the liaison between clients and the OEM’s, bridging data requirements from both sides. As a Solutions Engineer Matt works closely with the Sales team at Wejo and has a good eye for detail around data capabilities and requirements.

Bio

Jon forms part of the business development team at Wejo. He has a keen focus on building new relationships with partners and educating the masses about all things Wejo and Connected Vehicle Data. A particular area that Jon has a keen interest in is around how Wejo data can support safety as a use case with the ultimate aim of improving road safety across the US!

Bio

Juliet has 20+ years of successful sales and strategy leadership in SaaS analytics and emerging technology organizations. Over the last four years, she has served as the Director of the Southeast for StreetLight Data and works with state and local transportation agencies throughout the MidAtlantic and Southeast. Juliet holds a B.A. in Public Relations from the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.

Abstract

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT), supported by the Mead & Hunt consultant team, completed the traffic signal optimization of the Downtown section of DC, improving multimodal traffic flow at over 640 intersections, in November 2019. The project was a necessity in order to enhance the District’s multimodal transportation system; increase pedestrian safety throughout the region; to accommodate changes in travel patterns and volumes that have emerged from regional growth and development activities; and to coordinate newly installed traffic signals into the overall system. The goals of the project were to make DC traffic signals safer and friendlier for pedestrians and bicyclists; maintain bus running times and delays; and to accomplish these goals while minimizing negative impacts on traffic operations throughout the District.

In order to advance the District’s Vision Zero goal, the project team incorporated multimodal safety and mobility goals into the traditional signal optimization framework. As such, the team reimagined what the goals of a signal optimization project could be and used this opportunity to implement multimodal improvements on a large network-wide scale. The use of a signal program in such a manner ensures improvements are proactive, equitable, and efficient to implement as the enhancements are directly incorporated as part of the overall re-timing effort. Through automatic network-wide evaluations of treatments like LPIs, pretiming, and more, every signal that has been retimed has been evaluated for enhancement without waiting for citizen requests or a safety issue to materialize. This proactive approach has the potential to significantly improve safety by mitigating crashes before they occur. It is also more equitable than the traditional engineering approach used by many cities where “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Engineers can implement these treatments where truly needed before people even ask, and in all eight wards of the District.

While many of these changes would typically come at the expense of vehicular progression and delay, the project team leveraged their experience to minimize these impacts, essentially regaining all of the vehicular capacity lost to LPIs, pretiming, and other multimodal improvements. As a result, the team helped to create a more welcoming multimodal environment where community members and visitors can safely walk, ride, and thrive.

Bio

Rahul Jain is a Senior Transportation Engineer with the District Department of Transportation. His main tasks include overseeing major transportation projects and engineering contracts to ensure engineering standards and contractual requirements are met at all levels of planning and design, and performing detailed review of traffic operations, engineering design plans PS&E packages and MOT plans. Rahul serves as a technical liaison with internal staff and external stakeholders on planning, analysis and design aspects of various operational and safety improvement projects. He also regularly prepares and delivers technical briefing memos and presentations to Managers on selecting optimal engineering alternatives and designs.

Bio

Joshua Wolfgram is a traffic engineer with Mead & Hunt with three years of signal timing and multimodal design experience. He obtained his BSCE from Valparaiso University in 2016 and his MSCE from University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2017. During his graduate program, he studied the Safety and Emissions Impacts of Alternative Intersection Designs through an Eisenhower Fellowship. Some of his significant projects include crafting DDOT’s LPI Implementation policy, developing and implementing optimized signal timings at over 1100 locations in the District, and preparing 230+ engineering designs for DDOT’s Vision Zero engineering initiatives. Joshua is passionate about incorporating multimodal safety and mobility enhancements into traffic signal projects.

Abstract

This study introduces a novel integrated school bus problem that considers sequential operation of fleet for all three levels in a unit framework. An algorithm based on the simulated annealing (SA) method was developed to find the optimal routes based on minimization of school buses’ operating cost and total student traveling time. An example on a hypothetical network was developed and tested to demonstrate the developed algorithm. The algorithm successfully handled the integration of school buses’ optimal route generation while it met all constraints. The results showed that the routings by the integrated single framework algorithm can save the total costs by 4.5% to 12.4% compared to the routings with the separated level algorithm. Also, it showed that the total costs of the integrated routing framework for different morning and afternoon time windows are 8.28% less than the same routings (identically reversed) for morning and afternoon time window.

Bio

Amirreza Nickkar is graduated from the Department of Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Systems at Morgan State University. He is currently working as an adjunct faculty lecturer and researcher at the university’s National Transportation Center (NTC) at Morgan State University. His research interests are in shared mobility, intelligent transportation systems, and transportation optimization

Bio

Young-Jae Lee is a Professor of the Department of Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. He received his B.S. and M.S. from the Seoul National University in Seoul, Korea and another M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania for optimizing a transit network design problem.

His main research focuses are the improvement of transit systems, intelligent transportation systems, optimizing transportation systems and traffic safety. He has conducted different types of research projects and published papers on improving public transportation systems, including network design, operational efficiency, and ITS application for public transportation as well as ITS and transportation safety.

Currently he is a committee member of the Transportation Research Board Innovative Public Transportation Services and Technologies (AP020), an associate editor of the Korea Society of Civil Engineering (KSCE) Journal of Civil Engineering, and an associate editor of the Urban Rail Transit.

Abstract

The 4th Street SW separated bike lane project is a one-mile, on-street bicycle facility that connects the Pennsylvania Ave NW cycle track to the Southwest/ Southeast quadrants of Washington, D.C. This project brings the first protected bicycle connection across the National Mall. The project offers a new way to access numerous DC landmarks and connects the downtown central business district in Northwest to neighborhoods such as the Southwest Waterfront and Navy Yard, with popular destinations such as Nationals Park, Audi Field and the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. This presentation will highlight critical design criteria, multimodal impacts, stakeholder coordination and implementation lessons learned.

Bio

Bethany is a transportation engineer based out of the VHB Washington, D.C. office. Currently, she is an embedded on-site engineer in the DDOT Planning and Sustainability Division, working on many of the separated bike lane designs scheduled for construction by 2022. She has a background in traffic operations and safety with 7 years of design experience in the DC area. Bethany is also a member of the National Committee of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD) Bicycle Technical Committee. Bethany is a devoted UVA basketball fan, overall DC sports fan and loves long bike rides on the W&OD Trail or Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.

Abstract

This talk will wind its way from Plato’s Allegory of the Cave to navigating a path to an equitable and accessible autonomous vehicle (AV) transportation network. Safety is a priority, but it should not be the only one. In our enthusiasm to move our transportation system forward, we sometimes neglect the needs of particular populations and even the perspectives of the clear majority of road users. The presentation will discuss the transportation system we have now, the status of our AV-related legal rules and preparations, examples of equitable transportation service models, and the work ahead to ensure accessibility and equity in our future AV transportation network.

Bio

Sheryl Gross-Glaser is a writer at Driverless Revolution and a consultant specializing in the accessible and equitable mobility issues. She was the founding director of the National Center for Applied Transit Technology, a federally-funded technical assistance center that supports states and small urban and rural transit agencies to plan for and adopt emerging technologies and transportation services. Ms. Gross-Glaser is a specialist in the development of automated vehicles, shared-use services, and aspects of transportation access for people with disabilities and older adults. She has written and presented around the country about automated vehicles, with in-depth discussion of legislation, regulation, business models, and accessibility and equity.

Ms. Gross-Glaser previously performed technical assistance, outreach, website development, and newsletter editing for the National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM), the Transit Planning 4 All project, and the National Resource Center for Human Service Transportation Coordination. Ms. Gross-Glaser has served on national research, standards, and legal committees, including many that address automated vehicles. Her previous career was in criminal justice, first as a criminal public defender at the appellate level and then as a managing editor of criminal defense publications that examined issues ranging from the death penalty to drug courts to DNA evidence.

Abstract

New transportation technologies and shared mobility systems have not only disrupted the market but also revolutionized the way mobility is perceived. In order to build more accessible and sustainable future, it is important to investigate how shared mobility is being used, and how socio-demographic and health factors affect users’ behaviors and usage likelihoods. Specifically, a few different modes that include bike-sharing, ride-sourcing, shared automated vehicles (SAVs), and peer-to-peer (P2P) carsharing were evaluated to gain more insights into the heterogeneity of their users. This work applied data-driven analysis to understand perception, adoption, usage, and concerns of emerging technologies and shared mobility. Additionally, the relationship between health and transportation was examined and it was determined how health-related variables impact transportation decisions on an individual level

Bio

Natalia Barbour (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of transport and energy at Delft University of Technology and Research Affiliate at MIT. Her research focuses on developing statistical and econometric models to study adoption and usage patterns of new transportation systems and study travel related behaviors and preferences. In the final years of her doctorate she received the outstanding student of the year award and best dissertation award from CTECH at Cornell University. In 2019 she was honored to join NYU’s cohort of Emerging Leaders in Transportation. She holds a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of South Florida and completed her postdoctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Abstract

The reauthorization of the FAST Act expires in 2021. The FAST Act built upon the previous surface transportation legislation, MAP-21, which was passed in 2012, with minimal changes to the novel MAP-21 requirements for State DOTs and MPOs to begin to utilize quantitative performance measures in the Transportation Planning process. Existing legislation states that consistent performance measurement should help monitor system and agency performance and relate performance to the decision-making process over time. Thus, the next surface transportation authorization should build upon the MAP-21/FAST Act performance measure requirements while maintaining standards to collect and report uniform data. Updating performance measures can support the incoming administration’s focus on climate and energy and further leverage the progress made at the state and regional levels.

This presentation will show results of a 2018 study on how MPOs responded, if at all, to the changes in transportation planning requirements set forth in MAP-21 regarding performance measure development; the effect of Federal mandates; available and desired resources; and data utilization in the planning process. It will then review recent plans and bills from congress and executive branch leaders and present priorities and recommendations for the next federal surface transportation authorization. Lessons learned from this research can inform future efforts to develop and refine performance measures in the transportation planning process.

Bio

Alice is currently a Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science working with Social Scientists at NOAA to further the use of Social Data for portfolio analysis and program planning, management, and evaluation.

Prior to her AAAS Fellowship, Alice was a Senior Policy Analyst at the Eno Center for Transportation, an independent non-profit think tank in Washington DC. In that capacity, she managed projects and conducted research in various areas of multimodal transportation with a focus on research relating to vehicle automation, transportation technology platforms, and performance measurement. During her graduate studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology she led and supported projects on performance measure development, electronic travel diaries, active transportation safety, and pedestrian infrastructure asset management and accessibility for people with disabilities.

Alice has also worked with the Pritzker award winning Catalan Architecture firm RCR Arquitectes, as well as with the South Pole Telescope Group at the University of Chicago. She believes strongly in interdisciplinary learning and exchange, and in the importance of diversity in thought, experience, and background.

Alice completed her B.A. at Vassar College in Physics and Astronomy, and her Ph.D. at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Civil Engineering. She is an active member of both the Pedestrian Committee and the Transit Management and Performance Committee of the Transportation Research Board and was named one of Mass Transit’s 40 Under 40 for 2020.

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