Projects from the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) are exploring innovations and possible trends that can shape the future of travel time reliability. This brief provides an overview of two of those projects.
Demand Management
Proceedings from SSTI Community of Practice Meeting – Making the most of the Transportation Alternatives Program (SSTI, 2013)
The findings and key points of the discussions from the May 7-9, 2013 “SSTI Community of Practice Meeting – Making the most of the Transportation Alternatives Program” are being made available for the public.
A New Direction: Our Changing Relationship with Driving and the Implications for America’s Future (U.S. PIRG and Frontier Group, 2013)
A new report from U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group examines demographic, economic, and social trends that they argue will make the drop in VMT in the U.S. permanent.
Time Pollution (John Whitelegg, 1993)
In his 1993 essay, originally published in Resurgence & Ecologist, the author tries to explain why the more people try to save time, the less time they seem to have. This is true of transportation as well, and he uses travel time as an example of this phenomenon. Regardless of what mode people chose, they tend to average the same amount of time traveling. He also points out that there is a fundamental difference between speed and access. This is an interesting read when considering performance metrics for transportation systems.
Contemporary Approaches to Parking Pricing: A Primer (FHWA, 2012)
Today, technological advances offer the opportunity to effectively manage and price parking. This primer discusses advances covering a broad array of parking pricing applications, available technology, preferred user accommodations, and strategies for gaining public acceptance for policy changes.
Measuring Urban Transportation Performance: A Critique of Mobility Measures and a Synthesis (CEOs for Cities, 2010)
This report offers a new view of urban transportation performance. It explores the key role that land use and variations in travel distances play in determining how long Americans spend in peak hour travel.
Are We There Yet? Creating Complete Communities for 21st Century America (Reconnecting America, 2012)
This report that tracks progress in America’s regions toward a vision of complete communities. The report highlights the benefits that complete communities offer all Americans, tells stories about the work being done across the country to create complete communities, and measures progress in every region with a population above 55,000. Transportation plays a key role in this report, including gauging access for low-income and disadvantages communities, whether cities have invested in fixed guideways, and the development implications of in transit, bicycling and walking infrastructure.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities: Traveler Response to Transportation System Changes (TRB, 2012)
This report is an update to a series from TRB examining how travelers respond to different types of transportation infrastructure, facilities, and policies. This chapter examines pedestrian and bicyclist behavior and travel demand outcomes in a relatively broad sense. It focuses on the travel behavior and public health implications of facilities such as sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and on-transit accommodation of bicycles, street-crossing treatments, bicycle parking, and showers. Discussion of the implications of pedestrian and bicycle “friendly” neighborhoods, policies, programs, and promotion is also incorporated.
Value Pricing and Traffic Reduction Incentives (New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2012)
Combining congestion pricing on major highways or lanes with incentives for off-peak commuting on non-tolled facilities can lead to improved performance on all facilities.
Getting Results: SRTS Programs That Reduce Traffic (National Center for Safe Routes to School, 2011)
Heavy vehicle traffic in places with pedestrians and bicyclists increases the chance of a crash, and this increased risk can affect parent decisions on school travel. This brief looks at the problem of traffic congestion, provides an overview of local programs that successfully measured traffic reductions and outlines steps that programs can take to measure impacts of their activities.