A new tool, called Impacts 2050, provides important insight into the uncertainty associated with conventional travel demand forecasts by allowing users to model different future scenarios while taking socio-demographic trends into account. In a report for the National Highway Research Program, the tool’s developers describe the outcomes for a wide range of possible scenarios and suggest that demand for automobile travel will likely stay at its current level or drop markedly in the coming decades.
tools
SSTI releases economic analysis guide and tool for transportation agencies
Demand for more accountability in the use of scarce transportation funds is pushing DOTs toward new performance measures, both to evaluate systems as whole as well as proposed projects. One key area for such analysis is economic impact, but until now agencies had no accepted toolbox – nor often the needed data or expertise – for such work. A new guide developed for SSTI by the Center for Neighborhood Technology is designed to assist DOTs as they improve their capacity for economic analysis.
Tools for accelerating project delivery
In testimony to a Congressional committee on Accelerating Project Delivery, FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez gave examples of tools that save time and money on highway projects. These range from pre-fabricated bridge elements to design-build contracts to …
Public-private partnerships for transportation: A toolkit for legislators
The National Conference of State Legislatures has released a report designed to help promote a sound public policy approach when considering Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) related to transportation projects. The website notes: “With the growing interest in PPPs, …
Every Day Counts
One of the themes for the SSTI Community of Practice meeting in Seattle will be streamlining transportation projects. FHWA has a website called “Every Day Counts,” which is “designed to identify and deploy innovation aimed …