Luana Ozelim Broshears

#DOT Stories | State Departments of #Transportation have the enormous job of ensuring safe, efficient, and resilient transportation infrastructure statewide. Today, we're highlighting some of our favorite stories of DOTs using big data to get ahead of their state's biggest #mobility challenges. Read below to see how Georgia Department of Transportation is using real-time traffic data to minimize disruptions from #construction on one of its busiest #highway interchanges. Next, see how Caltrans used O-D and volume data to understand why trucks were cutting through residential neighborhoods, and coordinate with local agencies to keep them on safer, more efficient #freight routes. Last but not least, Nevada Department of Transportation won #NEVI funding with a data-driven grant application that will help them install equitable #EVcharging infrastructure on regional connectors throughout the state.

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The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation has released its "Modernizing Transit Fleet: A Guide to Low- and Zero-Emissions Transit Buses” comprehensive guidebook. The guide aims to provide Virginia DRPT and its partners with the necessary information and tools to decide on how and if to transition to low- and zero-emission vehicles. #ZeroEmissions

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The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center have released the "Strategic Transit Automation Research Plan 2.0: 2023-2028," outlining the future of transit bus automation. This report highlights the significant advancements and ongoing efforts in driving automation systems for public transportation. Read the full report here: FTA Report No. 0264 - https://lnkd.in/gvPF5-VF We are proud to see Perrone Robotics referenced in the report, reflecting our active role in various innovative projects aimed at enhancing transit services with automated vehicle technologies. #TransitAutomation #AutonomousVehicles #PublicTransportation #Innovation

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Some of the transportation problems of today are the products of decades of policy decisions and reversals and require intersectional research. #TRBvolunteer Hermanus Steyn of Kittelson & Associates, Inc. puts his skills at breaking down silos to work on these problems as Chair of the Design Section of TRB's standing technical committees. Learn more to see if you want to get involved too! https://ow.ly/Ui8250Uof5R

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U.S. Department of Transportation is hosting a two-part webinar series to help communities use data to effectively tell their story in applying for DOT grants. Part 1 of the webinar series (July 22) focused on how to identify and describe a project and its goals, identify users of the infrastructure or system, and determine the project’s impact area. Participants will receive step-by-step guidance and presenters will use examples to illustrate each of the concepts in the planning, project development, and/or grant application process. The webinar will conclude with a Q&A session. The webinar will be recorded and posted on the DOT Navigator. Part 2 of the webinar series (August 15) will introduce participants to DOT’s Equitable Transportation Community (ETC) Explorer tool and provide detailed information on how to use the tool to map a project area, identify how a community is experiencing disadvantage, and evaluate project benefits to a community. This information will build on the content presented during Part 1 of the webinar series. Participants are encouraged to register for both or review the Part 1 materials before attending Part 2.  Register for the webinar series here: https://lnkd.in/eYYfmdtt #federalgrants #technicalassistance #grantwriting

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Helping identify who benefits from transportation investments is one area where models can help communities and states advance transportation justice. Alta’s Civic Analytics team worked alongside Replica and HEAVY.AI to enrich the National Bridge Database, managed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), with a national catchment vulnerability analysis looking to understand which major bridges in the US are used by low-income travelers. This data was used to create a national critical index for thousands of bridges across the US, where the importance of a bridge to the surrounding community is reflected by more than just the total number of vehicles that use it. https://lnkd.in/grcEEcJc

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The debate over transportation funding goes beyond roads and railways—it’s about economic growth, equitable access, and sustainable infrastructure. ACE’s latest analysis by our fellow researcher Akansha Bojjam breaks down this critical issue, exploring the trade-offs and decisions shaping transportation policy in the U.S. How do you think transportation funding should be prioritized? Share your perspective below! Read ACE’s full analysis here: https://lnkd.in/gZ4Myfpg

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🍃AVAILABLE NOW🚄 Bulletin on Climate and Sustainability Issue 1-Rail Resiliency: Resiliency Planning. This is a helpful resource for rail industry, rail project sponsors, and rail researchers. Read the Bulletin here: tinyurl.com/3w92tp3d

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The U.S. Department of Transportation is distributing $1.8 billion in grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as part of the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Program for road, rail, transit, and port projects. The RAISE grants will accelerate construction projects and contribute necessary investments in US infrastructure. The grants include $25 million for rail upgrades in Santa Ana, California and $12 million in transportation infrastructure improvements in Durham, North Carolina. Mobilizing upgrades for rail infrastructure will prove critical for upgrading dated infrastructure, making it easier for people to access efficient public transport options, and ensure US rail systems are more resilient to extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eFbatmyr

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Some transit agencies provide or subsidize #micromobility to bridge the gap between transit stops and destinations beyond a comfortable walking distance. A new TCRP report, funded by the Federal Transit Administration and led by principal investigator Matthew W. Daus, presents practices for transit agencies to consider when implementing shared-use micromobility systems to provide and support public transit: https://lnkd.in/gnGxssWx

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"Governance" is a wonky word, but what it really raises are values like "responsiveness," "customer service," "accountability, "and "efficiency," as well as issues like "who decides" and "who gets served." Those are the real stakes Chicagoland and the SF Bay Area need to address as they work to finally remedy the governance fragmentation that has inhibited improvement of public transit for their residents. Outright "consolidation" may or may not be the right answer - the right answer needs to be identified not in terms of form, but in terms of optimized outcomes for the public. https://lnkd.in/esmZ34e4

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The Montgomery County Planning Department’s 2013 Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan aimed to improve transit opportunities to support economic development and mobility goals sustainably. The Plan suggested updates to the transportation network, focusing on densely developed areas, and included the MD 355 Flash BRT service to enhance bus service along MD 355. During design of the BRT routes, GPI Geospatial Inc. used its mobile mapping system to collect ground-based lidar and street level imagery. GPI Geospatial covered 21.7 miles of existing urban roadway along a busy, commercialized highway in the county’s main business districts, positioning over 300 mobile and aerial targets using RTK GNSS positioning. Aerial imagery and lidar is used to supplement the street level data to provide a 3D survey in traditional CADD along with georeferenced orthophotography and bare earth lidar surface data. Learn more about this project on GPINet.com.

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#TechyThursday: FRA sponsored a study by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to identify and study three problematic bridge approaches in research to minimize differential movement at railway transitions for joint high-speed passenger and freight routes in the United States.    This technical report describes how researchers installed and included multi-depth deflectometers for measuring track substructure layer deformations and rail strain gauges for measuring vertical wheel loads and quantifying tie support conditions.    Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/djCsCjch 

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Are cars slowing, stopped, planning on turning? Is someone tapping the brake or is an electric vehicle using regeneration? We need some clarification from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA Check out TSEI Policy/Position Paper at https://tsei.org/620-2/ #safety

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