FY 2006 STEP
Below is information about FHWA research initiatives funded under the FY2006 STEP. Some projects will continue into FY2007, and are described in the FY2007 STEP Plan.
Table 1: FY 2006 STEP Initiatives
| Emphasis Area |
Number of Research Initiatives |
2006 STEP Budget |
| ENVIRONMENT EMPHASIS AREAS |
| NATURAL ENIVRONMENT |
| Air Quality and Global Climate Change |
7 |
$2,373,400 |
| Water Wetlands, Vegetation, Wildlife Habitat, Brownfields |
17 |
$1,217,500 |
| HUMAN ENVIRONMENT |
| Historic Preservation |
2 |
$200,000 |
| Bicycle/Pedestrian and Health |
4 |
$295,000 |
| Noise |
1 |
$100,000 |
| Outdoor Advertising Control/Realty Program Management |
1 |
$100,000 |
| ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS IMPROVEMENT |
| Environmental Streamlining/Stewardship |
11 |
$2,830,000 |
| Context Sensitive Solutions |
5 |
$700,000 |
| PLANNING EMPHASIS AREAS |
| PLANNING FOCUS AREAS |
| US/Canada and US/Mexico Border Planning |
1 |
$300,000 |
| Congestion |
3 |
$950,000 |
| Safety Planning |
1 |
$70,000 |
| Freight Planning |
1 |
$100,000 |
| STATE/LOCAL/TRIBAL PLANNING CAPACITY BUILDING |
| Public involvement, Environmental Justice, and Visualization |
1 |
$50,000 |
| Other Activities to Strengthen/Advance State/Local/Tribal Capabilities |
4 |
$485,000 |
| TOOLS TO SUPPORT PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT EMPHASIS AREAS |
| GIS/Spatial Information for Improved Decision Making |
1 |
$100,000 |
| Travel Modeling |
1 |
$290,000 |
| PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND OUTREACH |
| Program Management and Outreach |
2 |
$644,449.96 |
| HEP ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR |
| HEP Associate Administrator |
2 |
$1,108,775.04 |
| TOTAL |
65 |
$11,914,125 |
Environment Emphasis Areas
Natural Environment
| Air Quality and Global Climate Change |
| Contact persons: Cecilia.Ho@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Evaluation and Dissemination of Conformity Best Practices |
$150,000 |
| Diesel Emissions Reduction Research |
$150,000 |
| Mobile Sources Air Toxics (Court Settlement) |
$840,000 |
| Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality |
$490,400 |
| Global Climate Change Center |
$250,000 |
| Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse |
$178,000 |
| It All Adds Up to Clean Air |
$315,000 |
| TOTAL |
$2,373,400 |
| Water/Wetlands/Vegetation/Wildlife/Habitat/Brownfields |
| Contact person: Carol.Adkins@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Advancing Methods, Maps, and Tools Used for Decision Support and Impact Analyses for Transportation, Wildlife, & Ecological Systems |
$160,000 |
| Synthesis on the Fate and Effects of Chloride from Road Salt Applied to Highways for Deicing |
$100,000 |
| Research and Innovation Agreements with US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Army Corps of Engineers and US Forest Service |
$100,000 |
| Deer-Vehicle Crash Information and Research Center Support |
$25,000 |
| PDA-GPS Road Kill Data Collection System |
$30,000 |
| Cooperative Weed Management Areas: Information Dissemination and Feedback |
$50,000 |
| Finalize the Protocol and Tool for Corridor Vegetation Inventories |
$50,000 |
| Weed Control Alternatives, Costs, and Efficacies |
$25,000 |
| Percentage Invasive Species in Reference Sites as a Performance Standard for Wetland Mitigation |
$125,000 |
| Effects of Pile Driving on Aquatic Animals |
$25,000 |
| Develop New National Highway Institute Training Courses for Wetlands Regulatory Compliance and Mitigation |
$150,000 |
| Supporting Peer Exchange and Research Dissemination at Environmental Conferences and Workshops |
$120,000 |
| Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction Study |
$100,000 |
| Coastal America |
$12,500 |
| FY2006 National Mitigation Banking Conference |
$10,000 |
| International BMP Stormwater Database |
$50,000 |
| International Conference on Ecology and Transportation |
$85,000 |
| TOTAL |
$1,217,500 |
Human Environment
| Historic Preservation |
| Contact person: MaryAnn.Naber@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Historic Preservation Initiatives |
$30,000 |
| Research and Innovation Agreement with Advisory Council on Historic Preservation |
$170,000 |
| TOTAL |
$200,000 |
| Bicycle/Pedestrian and Health |
| Contact person: Gabe.Rousseau@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Collection of Data on Pedestrian and Bicycle Use and the Extent of Facilities |
$30,000 |
| Determining the Effectiveness of Providing Facilities and Programs to Encourage Bicycle and Pedestrian Use |
$45,000 |
| Non-Motorized Pilot Study |
$120,000 |
| Bicycle/Pedestrian Use and Facility Data |
$100,000 |
| TOTAL |
$295,000 |
| Noise |
| Contact person: Mark.Ferroni@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| FHWA Traffic Noise Model Version 3.0 Development |
$100,000 |
| TOTAL |
$100,000 |
| Outdoor Advertising Control/Realty Program Management |
| Contact person: Arnold.Feldman@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| The Safety Effects of Electronic Advertising Signs on Driver Attention |
$100,000 |
| TOTAL |
$100,000 |
Environmental Process Improvement
| Environmental Streamlining / Stewardship |
| Contact person: Shari.Schaftlein@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Evaluation of Transportation Liaison Agreements |
$75,000 |
| Research on Project Cost Estimation in Environmental Documents |
$100,000 |
| Environmental Stewardship and Streamlining Outreach and Technology Transfer |
$30,000 |
| Conservation and Transportation Planning Workshops |
$80,000 |
| Linking Eco-logical to Planning and Project Development |
$400,000 |
| Leveraging FHWA and State DOT Environmental Research Projects |
$100,000 |
| Research and Innovation Agreements with US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Army Corps of Engineers and US Forest Service |
$250,000 |
| Environmental Competency Building |
$90,000 |
| Advancing Innovations in FHWA’s Environmental Review Process |
$505,000 |
| Assessment of the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Pilot Program: Evaluating FHWA’s Role in the National Environmental Policy Act Process |
$200,000 |
| Environmental Vital Few Goal Implementation Activities |
$1,000,000 |
| TOTAL |
$2,830,000 |
| Context Sensitive Solutions |
| Contact person: Shari.Schaftlein@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Advancing Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) Implementation: Stakeholder Exchange |
$50,000 |
| Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) Clearinghouse |
$50,000 |
| CSS University Curriculum - Phase 3 |
$100,000 |
| CSS Targeted Technical Assistance |
$300,000 |
| CSS National Dialogue |
$100,000 |
| CSS Website Development |
$100,000 |
| TOTAL |
$700,000 |
Planning Emphasis Areas
Planning Focus Areas
| US/Canada and US/Mexico Border Planning |
| Contact person: Roger.Petzold@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| US/Canada and US/Mexico Border Planning |
$300,000 |
| TOTAL |
$300,000 |
| Congestion |
| Contact person: Harlan.Miller@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Congestion (including Operations) |
$375,000 |
| Environmental Benefits and Barriers for Congestion Relief Strategies |
$500,000 |
| Exploring Attitudes about Tolling and Congestion Pricing |
$75,000 |
| TOTAL |
$950,000 |
| Safety Planning |
| Contact person: Laurie.Lau@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Safety Planning |
$70,000 |
| TOTAL |
$70,000 |
| Freight Planning |
| Contact person: Spencer.Stevens@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Freight Planning |
$100,000 |
| TOTAL |
$100,000 |
State, Local, Tribal Planning Capacity Building
| Public Involvement, Environmental Justice, and Visualization in Planning |
| Contact Person: Brenda.Kragh@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Building on a Foundation of Public Participation and Community Impact Assessment and Incorporating Emerging Issues of Environmental Justice and Visualization for Transportation Planning |
$50,000 |
| TOTAL |
$50,000 |
| Other Activities that Support State/Local/Tribal Planning Capacity Building |
| Contact Person: Robert.Ritter@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Other Activities that Support State/Local/Tribal Planning Capacity Building |
$360,000 |
| Statewide Transportation Planning Issues |
$50,000 |
| Metropolitan Transportation Planning Issues |
$50,000 |
| Rural Transportation Planning Issues |
$25,000 |
| TOTAL |
$485,000 |
Tools to Support Planning and Environment
| Geographic Information System (GIS) and Spatial Information for Improved Decision-Making |
| Contact person: Roger.Petzold@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| GIS and Spatial Information for Improved Decision-Making |
$100,000 |
| TOTAL |
$100,000 |
| Travel Modeling |
| Contact person: Fred.Ducca@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Travel Model Improvement Program Outreach, Knowledge Base and Peer Reviews |
$290,000 |
| TOTAL |
$290,000 |
Program Management and Outreach
| Contact person: Felicia.Young@dot.gov |
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Information Technology Support |
$256,180 |
| Program Management/Outreach |
$388,269.96 |
| TOTAL |
$644,449.96 |
HEP Associate Administrator
| Research Initiatives |
FY06 STEP Budget |
| Other Planning, Environment and Realty Research |
$1,108,775.04 |
| TOTAL |
$1,108,775.04 |
