U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Federal Transit Administration
Resource Center
Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program
The end of the comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Statewide and Nonmetropolitan Transportation Planning; Metropolitan Transportation Planning Rule ended November 10, 2014. It is the intent of FHWA to combine the planning rule with the Planning Environmental Linkages (PEL) rule in the final regulation.
The NPRM is posted at: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/06/02/2014-12155/statewide-and-nonmetropolitan-transportation-planning-metropolitan-transportation-planning.
FHWA published a NPRM with additional authority for PEL in the Sept. 10, 2014 Federal Register. You can find it at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-09-10/pdf/2014-21439.pdf.
Publication Date - Sept. 10, 2014
End of Comment Period - Nov. 10, 2014
162 comment letters containing around 1000 individual comments were submitted on the planning NPRM. 35 comment letters and about 100 comments were submitted on the PEL NPRM. After reviewing the public comments, FHWA and FTA are now drafting the final planning and PEL rules. The current plan is for publication of the final planning and PEL rule during the second half of CY 2015.
The latest dates for all of the MAP-21 Rulemakings can be found at: https://www.transportation.gov/regulations/report-on-significant-rulemakings.
As necessitated by the MAP-21 legislation, the HPMS Field Manual (a guide detailing data and procedural reporting requirements) will be updated so as to be consistent with the forthcoming proposed pavement performance management rules upon their release in the Federal Register. A detailed process was recently completed to ensure that any changes to the HPMS would adequately support agency objectives while being sensitive to any possible additional data collection and reporting burdens. Please note that until the proposed rules become finalized, the proposed HPMS Field Manual changes for the reporting of various pavement-related data items to support the management indicators will not be in effect.
The Transportation Performance Management Exchange series is focused on performance management implementation topics of interest to FHWA units and partner agencies. The exchange includes speakers from throughout the transportation community who share their experiences in implementing various aspects of performance management. During these sessions, you will have the opportunity to ask questions, share your own experiences, and learn how you can most effectively support implementation. All sessions are scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern. The scheduled webinars are tentatively:
Dec. 9, 2014 Theory vs. Practice: Linking Performance Measures to Improved Performance Outcomes
Mar. 10, 2015 Fundamentals of Transportation Data Part 1
Jun. 9, 2015 Fundamentals of Transportation Data Part 2
Sept. 8, 2015 Telling the Performance Story
The dates will change, depending on Federal Register publication. For more information, contact Michael Kay, michael.kay@dot.gov, or 617-494-2404.
FHWA held a one-day peer exchange in Scottsdale, Arizona on target setting and monitoring progress toward achievement. The peer exchange was part of a joint meeting of two AASHTO Standing Committees: the Standing Committee on Planning and the Standing Committee on Performance Management. The Exchange focussed on three areas, coordination in setting targets, collaboration with partners and stakeholders, and integration of targets into planning documents. The Summary report has been posted on the U.S. DOT Planning Capacity Building website at: https://www.planning.dot.gov/Peer/Arizona/scottsdale_6-17-14_FHWA_target_setting.pdf.
Regional Coordination “Day of Dialogue” Workshop
On September 29-30, 2014, the FHWA Florida Division partnered with FHWA Headquarters, the Florida Department of Transportation and local planning organizations within the Tampa-St. Petersburg Urbanized Area and neighboring regions to organize a regional coordination workshop. This effort was the result of Tampa’s selection as one of three pilot sites for a multi-jurisdictional planning workshop. The purpose was to identify best transportation planning practices to share with other MPO jurisdictions and to look for opportunities where multiple MPOs serving the same urbanized area can combine efforts.
The workshop consisted of several panel discussions focused on regional coordination in the Tampa Bay TMA region, transit coordination efforts within the region, and a statewide perspective on regional coordination. On the second day of the workshop, attendees divided into smaller groups to discuss more focused topics for regional coordination such as multi-jurisdictional regional transit planning, freight, performance-based planning, project prioritization coordination, public involvement, and climate change. For more information about this event please contact Shakira Crandol, at shakira.crandol@dot.gov, or 850-553-2220.
In September, the U.S. DOT announced it would provide $600 million for 72 transportation projects in 46 states and the District of Columbia from its TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) 2014 program. You can find the full list of the 2014 awards at https://www.transportation.gov/tiger.
Efforts are underway to prepare for “Round 5” of the SHRP2 Implementation Assistance Program (IAP), which will include offerings for the Planning Process Bundle. The Planning Process Bundle is a related group of SHRP2 products within the Capacity focus area that addresses elements of transportation planning, programming, and project development requiring collaboration with entities outside the primary transportation agency in order to achieve success. The five products within the Planning Process Bundle are:
Performance Measures for Highway Capacity Decision-Making (C02);
Transportation Visioning for Communities (C08);
Incorporating Greenhouse Gas Emissions into the Collaborative Decision-Making Framework (C09);
Guide to Public-Private Partnerships and Non-Standard Procurements (C12); and
Integrating Freight Considerations into the Highway Capacity Planning Process (C15).
The “Round 5” application period will open on January 16, 2015 and close on February 13, 2015. In advance of opening the “Round 5” application process, two identical internal webinars will be held for FHWA employees on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 (2:00 PM - 3:30 PM (EST)) (Register here!) and Thursday, December 4, 2014 (2:00 PM - 3:30 PM (EST)) (Register here!) covering the products from the SHRP2 Capacity and Renewal focus areas to be offered during “Round 5” of the IAP, including the Planning Process Bundle products. In addition, a public informational product webinar dedicated to the Planning Process Bundle will held for all interested parties on Thursday, December 11, 2014 (11:00 AM - 12:30 PM (EST)) (Register here!).
Additional information on the Planning Process Bundle and each of these five products is available from FHWA’s GoSHRP2 website at: www.fhwa.dot.gov/GoSHRP2. For more information on the Planning Process Bundle, contact Spencer Stevens (FHWA Office of Planning) at (202) 366-0149, Larry Anderson (FHWA Resource Center’s Planning and Freight Technical Services Team) at (720) 963-3268, or Diane Turchetta (FHWA Office of Natural Environment) at (202) 493-0158.
TRB’s SHRP 2 Program has published Report S2-C16-RR-1 on the Effect of Smart Growth Policies on Travel Demand. It explores the underlying relationships among households, firms, and travel demand. The Report is posted at http://www.trb.org/main/blurbs/168761.aspx.
The report also describes a regional scenario planning tool ( SmartGAP ) that can be used to evaluate the impacts of various smart growth policies. SHRP’s Capacity Project C16 project has released a prepublication, non-edited version of the SmartGAP User’s Guide. SmartGAP is a scenario planning software tool that synthesizes households and firms in a region and determines their travel demand characteristics based on their built environment and transportation policies. SMARTGAP can be found at: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/shrp2/SmartGAP.zip.
On September 26, 2014, the Transportation Research Board posted two Final Reports for SHRP2 product C15 (Integrating Freight Considerations into the Highway Capacity Planning Process). Integrating Freight Considerations into Collaborative Decision Making for Additions to Highway Capacity (Report S2-C15-RW-1) summarizes the research that explored ways for transportation agencies to collaborate with private-sector freight stakeholders in planning and developing future highway capacity. Integrating Freight Considerations into the Highway Capacity Planning Process: Practitioner’s Guide, synthesizes best practices of collaborative, market-based highway-freight planning and provides examples of how State DOTs and MPOs might improve the quality of their interactions with the freight community in four key phases (long-range transportation planning, program development, corridor planning, and project development/environment/NEPA).
For more information on SHRP2 product C15, contact Spencer Stevens (FHWA Office of Planning) at (202) 366-0149, Crystal Jones (FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations) at (202) 366-2976, or Larry Anderson (FHWA Resource Center’s Planning and Freight Technical Services Team) at (720) 963-3268.
The Federal Register notice on the content review of the American Community Survey (ACS) questionnaire was published October 31, 2014, with a comment period ending in 60 days (December 30, 2014).
The 2013 ACS data is starting to rollout. The one-year summaries came out in September 2014, the 3-year in October 2014, and the 5-year summary is expected in December 2014. The 5-year summary, for the first time, will contain block Group level data and will add it to the Census FactFinder website:
2013 ACS 1-year estimates on Sept. 18, 2014
2011-2013 ACS 3-year estimates on Oct. 23, 2014
2009-2013 ACS 5-year estimates on Dec. 4, 2014
Full release schedule can be found at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/data_documentation/2013_release_schedule.
The ACS Users Group and Online Community, http://www.acsdatausers.org/, is a great place to stay abreast of the latest developments and connect with other users.
The FHWA National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) is the nation’s inventory of personal travel with a comprehensive scope that encompasses all modes of transportation, all trip purposes, and all trip lengths. Since 1969, the survey has been conducted periodically to assess mobility and measure the use of transportation systems of the American public. The survey has continued to collect trip-related data such as mode, duration, distance and purpose, and links this travel-related information to U.S. household demographic, geographic, economic, health, and environmental data. On September 26, 2014, the FHWA NHTS awarded the next series of travel survey research work to Westat of Rockville, Maryland. Westat had been the data collection firm which conducted the NHTS in 2001 and 2009.
The FHWA NHTS program continues to include the Add-on program. The Add-On program provides State DOTs, MPOs, and Regional Planning organizations the ability to purchase additional samples for their particular region to boost their sample size representation and to serve as their area’s household travel survey. In the 2015, survey the national sample will remain at 26,000 while the Add-on program is estimated at about 54,000 providing a total sample size of about 80,000 households surveyed. FHWA continues to recruit Add-on jurisdictions for the next few months and potential Add-ons should contact Adella Santos at Adella.santos@dot.gov, or (202) 366-5021.
Westat will incorporate a new survey design that includes an Address Based Sample frame using mixed data collection modes. The use of mixed data collection modes such as mail, internet, GPS, and telephone along with incentives is designed to increase respondent participation. Data collection is tentatively planned to start in the autumn of 2015 and will continue for a full year. Please visit the NHTS website for updates: http://nhts.ornl.gov.
Census released National Summary Tables from the 2013 American Housing Survey. The American Housing Survey is conducted biennially and, provides current national-level information on a wide range of housing subjects. For more information see: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/cb14-tps78.html. You can find the tables at: http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/data/2013/national-summary-report-and-tables---ahs-2013.html.
FHWA has posted a solicitation for a Pooled Fund Study involving Statewide Geospatial Transportation Development of the All Road Network of Linear Referenced Data (ARNOLD) . The purpose of this pooled fund project is to assist States in developing a State-wide geospatial representation of their public road system. It will include collection of the safety defined MIRE Fundamental Data as well as assisting States in meeting the FMIS 5.0 requirement of mapping of all federally aided project locations.
FHWA will match funds 100%. A Waiver on the 20% State SP&R Fund Match allows participants to double Federal dollars with no commitment of State dollars. The Funding Commitment is $100,000 at a minimum. The Solicitation expires Jan. 9, 2015. Projects will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis until base funding is reserved. For more details, see: http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Solicitation/1366 or contact Joseph Hausman at Joseph.Hausman@dot.gov, or 202-366-5047.
EPA officially released their newest mobile source emission model, MOVES2014 on October 7, 2014. The release also starts the 2-year conformity grace period for the use of MOVES2014 for conformity analyses outside of California. MOVES2014 represents a major update over its predecessor MOVES2010b and includes significant changes including benefits of the Tier 3 Rule, new emissions data, and inclusion of the NONROAD2008 model. Users who downloaded the previous version of MOVES2014 which became available in July should use the most current version of MOVES2014 which includes some bug fixes and became available on the official release date. Additional information on MOVES2014 and related guidance documents are available on EPA’s MOVES website at: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/models/moves/.
The FHWA Office of Planning (HEPP) will be providing Transportation Safety Planning “boot camps” to three states this year. Working closely with the Office of Safety, HEPP will conduct a series of transportation safety boot camps using material developed under NCHRP Project 08-76. The Boot Camp is an 8-hour session that provides participants with a background on transportation safety planning research, highlights the TSP Framework, and assists workshop participants in developing an action plan for implementing the framework within their own institutional settings. Boot camps delivered in previous years were very well received with requests from other states to be offered the same opportunity. Three states identified as candidates for the FY 2015 boot camps are Utah, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. These boot camps will be conducted in late winter 2015.
For more information, contact Michelle Noch at michelle.noch@dot.gov, or 202-366-9206.
FHWA has posted a white paper on Economic Development on the Planning Capacity Building web site. It is intended to serve as a technical resource for transportation planners, clarifying essential economic development concepts and how peer practitioners can address these concepts in the metropolitan area transportation planning process. The report summarizes a review of several best practice examples chosen to demonstrate how MPOs are successfully incorporating economic development goals in planning and decision-making. You can find the report at: https://www.planning.dot.gov/documents/EconDevelopmentFinal_8-11-14.pdf. For more information contact Fred Bowers at frederick.bowers@dot.gov, or 202-366-2374.
TRB has posted several resources from the SHRP L05 research efforts.
TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Reliability Project S2-L05-RW-2: Guide to Incorporating Reliability Performance Measures into the Transportation Planning and Programming Processes is designed to help planning, programming, and operations managers apply the concept of travel-time reliability to balance investment in programs and projects The Guidebook can be found at: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/168855.aspx.
Supporting the Guidebook is a Technical Reference which provides a “how-to” guide for technical staff to select and calculate the appropriate performance measures to support the development of key planning products, including long-range transportation plans; transportation programs; congestion management process; corridor planning; and operations planning. The Technical reference can be found at: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/168856.aspx.
FHWA has created a new spreadsheet tool that estimates the energy and GHG emissions from construction and maintenance of transportation facilities. It can be used to analyze the impacts of long-range plans, TIPS, and project alternatives. It also calculates the benefits of green practices. If you have any questions, please contact John Davies at: JohnG.Davies@dot.gov or (202) 366-6039.
The interagency Health in Transportation Working Group is overseeing the development of a Framework for Better Integrating Health into Transportation Corridor Planning. The goal for the Framework is to provide information to transportation practitioners who need to incorporate health into their corridor planning process. The framework will be action-oriented and will highlight specific activities that can inform transportation decisions at each step making it possible to support healthy outcomes while improving the transportation system. Healthy outcomes are an important part of creating livable communities, and transportation decisions provide opportunities to have a positive impact on community health.
FHWA is recruiting up to five agencies across the country that have an interest in testing the Framework by using it during an upcoming or active corridor study. For more information about the Framework contact Victoria Martinez at victoria.martinez@dot.gov, or 787-771-2524.
Livability is about tying the quality and location of transportation facilities to broader opportunities such as access to good jobs, affordable housing, quality schools, and safe streets. FHWA’s Office of Human Environment developed a tool to emphasize the connection between transportation, livability, and communities. The tool assembles readily available web information in a central location and will help practitioners and the public identify and compare factors to make good transportation investments and achieve more livable communities. Please visit: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/livability/tools/placefit/ to view the tool. For more information please contact Brenda Kragh at brenda.kragh@dot.gov, or 202-366-2064.
FHWA sponsors webinars that promote livability in transportation planning. These webinars highlight practices and techniques to assist decision makers and stakeholders interested in integrating livability principles into their communities’ transportation systems.
The scheduled dates for the upcoming 2015 webinar are:
January - Livability at an Interchange
March - TBD
For more information contact Shana Baker at shana.baker@dot.gov, or 202-366-4649.
The Talking Freight seminars are sponsored by the FHWA and are held via web conference. The seminars are held on the third Wednesday of each month, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EST. The first hour of each seminar is dedicated to the presentations and the remaining 30 minutes are for audience question and answer. Future webinars are:
Dec. 17, 2014 - TBD
For more information contact Chip Millard at chip.millard@dot.gov, or 202-366-4415.
FHWA is conducting a State of the Practice Review to better understand how FHWA Division Offices and their statewide and metropolitan planning partners are consulting with tribes in the transportation planning process. This is an internal review of FHWA practices to identify best practices and areas for improvement in tribal consultation. The focus of this review is the tribal consultation in the transportation planning process, which includes state, metropolitan, and tribal long-range plans; transportation improvement programs; public involvement, and planning work programs. The Review Team consists of representatives from the FHWA Office of Planning, Federal Lands Highway, and the Volpe Center. Three FHWA Division Offices have been identified to review: Maine, Oklahoma, and Washington.
Field visits to State DOTs in Maine, Oklahoma, and Washington as well as their planning partners at the regional and Tribal levels are expected begin this winter. The Review Team will work with the association of tribes in those States to identify tribes that are interested in discussing tribal consultation with the Review Team. There will be meetings with both tribal transportation staff and the Tribal Council in-person to get a better understanding of how the FHWA Division Office, State DOT, and MPO consult with the Tribes throughout the transportation planning process. The Review Team will compile its observations in an internal report. It will highlight effective practices and will make recommendations to improve FHWA’s processes for conducting Tribal consultation in the transportation planning process.
For more information, contact Michelle Noch, michelle.noch@dot.gov, 202-366-9206 or Theresa Hutchins, theresa.hutchins@dot.gov, 360-753-9402.
The TxDOT plans to develop an INVEST Working Group to pre-score the Harbor Bridge Replacement Bridge using the INVEST1.0 Tool. The goal of the procurement phase will be to achieve a “Silver” rating (or better) as part of the Design-Build Harbor Bridge Replacement project development phase. It was found to be absolutely critical to include an Ohio DOT representative on this Texas Working Group since he had already learned many hands-on lessons related to the Cleveland Innerbelt’s Voinovich Bridge Replacement project, and how INVEST1.0 could be utilized to achieve the triple bottom line of sustainability (by successfully meeting Social, Environmental, and Economic goals) throughout its project development and design phases. As a result of this workshop, TxDOT is considering using the INVEST1.0 Tool for additional sustainable infrastructure improvements in the future as part of major multi-million dollar planning and construction efforts throughout the State of Texas. For more information on the INVEST1.0 Tool, please see the following website: https://www.sustainablehighways.org/.
The following webinars are planned for the next six months. Please look for our webinar announcements with specific dates and times delivered via GovDelivery. You can subscribe to the GovDelivery distribution lists on the TMIP website at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/tmip/.
December 4, 2014 Performance Based Planning: Real World Data and Model Data,
Participants do not need to preregister to attend the webinar. All webinars start at 2:00 PM Eastern. Attendance is limited to 100 connections and is first-come, first-served. You can log on to the webinar at: http://fhwa.adobeconnect.com/tmipvirtualseminars/.
The Transportation Planning Discipline Recognition Awards Program was established to recognize the tremendous contributions our planners make to the planning discipline both internally and externally with our partner agencies. Nominations for the Planning Discipline Awards are submitted either by agency leaders or by peers for efforts from the previous year that demonstrate the best of the best for each of the award categories. This year, the PLC also selected one Honorable Mention because the individual’s efforts rose above the average, and deserves recognition. Recipients of the 2014 awards are:
Lifetime Achievement: Elaine Murakami, Community Planner, Office of Planning
Planner of the Year: Susan Law, Lead Community Planner, Western Federal Lands Division Office
Transportation Planning Collaboration: Mark Hoines, Community Planner, South Dakota Division Office
Transportation Planning Collaboration – Honorable Mention: Frank Burkett, Ohio Division
Transportation Planning Innovation: The Border Team:
More information about the Planning discipline Awards program and this year’s recipients can be found on the Planning Discipline SharePoint site along with information on past Planning Discipline Award recipients. If you have any questions about the Planning Discipline Awards Program, please contact Theresa Hutchins at theresa.hutchins@dot.gov, or 360-753-9402.
The FHWA Planning Leadership Council is pleased to announce the availability of five new Planning Boot Camp modules currently available on the Planning Boot Camp SharePoint Site. This site offers introductory training materials to help orient Planning Discipline members to their role and responsibilities for oversight and stewardship of the Federal planning program. The Planning Boot Camp is appropriate for planners new to FHWA and those who are new to the planning discipline. Experienced planners will also find the Planning Boot Camp useful to test and hone their skills and knowledge. It is only open to internal users. Users of the boot camp site will be better prepared to focus learning opportunities on intermediate or advanced level courses, which will support their overall planning competencies and their effectiveness as a FHWA planner.
The five new Planning Boot Camp modules include:
Each module includes the opportunity to build credit toward completing the Planning Boot Camp through the Training Management System (TMS). Planners who complete at least five Planning Boot Camp modules will get credit in TMS. To track the completion of Planning Boot Camp modules fill out the training certificates following the quiz. Boot camp module training certificates are automatically tracked via SharePoint for each participant who completes the module. Additionally, participants are offered the opportunity to print or save the training certificate to their own file for future reference. For more information about the Planning Boot Camp SharePoint Site, please contact Theresa Hutchins at theresa.hutchins@dot.gov, or 360-753-9402.
A new Poll on the Planning Discipline SharePoint site will be initiated in January asking for input on the next set of Planning Boot Camp Modules. Anticipated Launch Date: January, 2015.
The Planning Leadership is also pleased to announce the availability of the updated Planning Competency Model found under the Job Role and Expectations Section of the Planning Discipline SharePoint site. The Planning Competency Model has been updated to reflect MAP-21 and current agency initiatives.
Competencies are a critical tool in staffing, learning and development, performance management, and workforce and succession planning. All members of the Planning Discipline can use the competency model to strengthen individual, team, and organizational effectiveness. Whether you are a new or experienced planner, the discipline competencies can provide a valuable baseline of expectations for current and future performance.
The Planning Discipline Competency model provides the following:
Information on the skill set expected for planners and the key behaviors planning discipline members should be able to demonstrate,
A tool planners can use in discussions with supervisors about strengths and areas for growth,
Information on learning options to increase proficiency levels and excel in the job, and
An understanding of the competencies needed for a career change or in understanding the level of skill needed for movement to another grade level.
For more information about how the Planning Discipline Competency model applies to you, please work with your supervisor.
CORE Functions: This is a new page on the Planning SharePoint site that provides more direct access to
Information related to responsibilities that are CORE for FHWA Planners. Anticipated Launch Date: December, 2014.
Does your organization have a developmental opportunity?
Could your organization benefit from an extra helping hand?
FHWA is seeking temporary transportation planning assignments for people in the Professional Development Program (PDP). The PDP provides participants with two years of formal training, hands on experience, and leadership development to prepare them for assignments as journey-level professionals in various technical disciplines. FHWA covers the salary and expenses of the participants during the term of the assignment. Assignments typically last 8 to12 weeks.
Internal assignments can be posted on the clearinghouse at: http://our.dot.gov/office/fhwa.had/tac/SitePages/pdpavailable.aspx. External assignments are often at MPOs or DOTs. External organizations can contact a planner in their Division office to discuss the idea and get things started. Contact Yolonda Jordan, PDP Coordinator, at yolonda.jordan@dot.gov, or 202-366-6731 for additional information.
The Planning Discipline Team (PDT) will be accepting applications through the Developmental Assignment Clearing house beginning in January for 1-year assignments on the PDT. Applicants will also have the opportunity to offer their services for future Ad-Hoc Discipline teams. Anticipated Application Period: January, 2015.
The FHWA and FTA strive to provide the planning staff with current policy information, guidance, and an opportunity for dialogue on key programmatic issues. The “Let’s Talk Planning” (LTP) series of web meetings are information-sharing sessions for the FHWA and FTA planners. These internal meetings are generally held the second Wednesday, every three months, via webinar at 1 p.m. EST. Material from previous LTP sessions can be found on the FHWA Planning Discipline SharePoint site.
Mark your calendars! The next scheduled dates for the webinars are:
Mar. 11, 2015 - TBD
June 10, 2015 - TBD
Sept. 9, 2015 - TBD
Dec. 9, 2015 - TBD
If you have suggestions for LTP sessions, contact: Rae Keasler, rae.keasler@dot.gov, or 202-366-0329, Ed Christopher, ed.christopher@dot.gov, or 708-283-3534.
To help support the FHWA and FTA staff and promote continuous professional development of agency planners, the FHWA Resource Center is offering a series of internal web-based training seminars through an initiative known as “Planning on the Web”(POW). The POW training sessions are for the FHWA/FTA staff and will generally last 90 minutes to two hours.
Mark your calendars. The dates of the 2014 POW sessions are:
Jan, 20th - Climate Change
If you cannot attend the POW session for a particular month, the presentations and other information resources are available on the FHWA Planning Discipline SharePoint Reference Library. An Outlook appointment for each session will be sent to the FHWA Field Planners’ e-mail group approximately three weeks before each session. We hope to “see” you at the next session and hear your feedback on the session, as well as future POW topics. If you have a topic that you think would be valuable to offer as a POW web-based training seminar, contact Lisa Randall, Ken Petty, or any member of the RC Planning Technical Service Team.
The FHWA Office of Policy recently launched a strategic initiative to offer data visualization support to FHWA staff and projects. The initiative’s Data Visualization Center (DVC) provides resources and expertise to assist in the development of communication materials and tools that convey technical information in an appealing and compelling manner. This initiative is currently funded for two and a half years.
The variety of data visualization services offered by the DVC includes:
Assistance in applying best practices to existing charts, graphs, and reports
Development of infographics that support an existing project or that stand alone
Creation of custom interactive web applications and dashboards that allow users to explore and analyze data in visual ways
Development of motion graphics and videos that make complex or technical information easier to understand
General support or consulting services on the data visualization component of existing or new projects
The first DVC project provides a good example of the power of data visualization by examining an existing data set in a new and different way. The Top U.S. Interstates By Length and Travel is an infographic that looks at the Interstate System not as they are traditionally thought of, as a large series of connected routes within States, but as individual routes that traverse the entire country.
FHWA Staff are encouraged to take advantage of the expertise and skills that the DVC offers. If you think your team or Division would benefit from the services of the DVC, send a request for more information to fhwadvc@dot.gov. For descriptions of services provided check out the DVC on StaffNet. Requests can be made via a form available on SharePoint.
Staff Updates
There have been changes in staff recently.
| From Office | To Office | |
|---|---|---|
| FHWA Offices | ||
| Nick Fortey | OR Div. Safety | OR Div. Planning |
| Andrew Emanuele | MN | MN Div. Planning |
| Lindsay Donnelon | MD Div. | MD |
| Richard Duran | NC Div. | DE |
| Shomari West | GA DOT | CA Div. Planning |
| Cheng Yan | AL Realty | CA Div. Planning |
| Jonathan Will Clifton | AL Env. | TX Div. Planning |
| Enos Han | MN Div. | CFL |
| Danielle Cole | MI Div. | MI Div. Planning |
| Lian Li | AL | |
| Justin Morgan | UT Div. Planning | |
| Laura Toole | KY | |
| Chris Hanson | KY | |
| Andrew Brunner | PA Div. Planning/Env. | |
| Tremaine Wilson | AZ | |
| Patricia Sergeson | CO | |
| Eric Rothermel | EFL | |
For information, see contacts at: www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/teams/planning/index.cfm. You can find the Planning Menu of Resource Center technical assistance and training at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/teams/planning/courses.cfm.
Start Date - End Date - Location
January 2015 - District of Columbia
Performance Based Planning & Advancing Planning for Operations
January 2015 - District of Columbia
Integrating Planning for Operations into Metropolitan Transportation Plans & Programs
1/11/2015 - Washington, DC
TRB Tools to Support Health and Transportation Planning and Analysis Workshop
2/24/2015 - 2/25/2015 - Madison, WI
Title VI and Environmental Justice
For registration instructions see: www.ntionline.com/CourseDates.asp. For session dates, see below.
Start Date - End Date - Location
12/15/2014 - 12/17/2014 - Seattle, WA
Introduction to Transit Service Planning
1/14/20150 - 1/15/2015 - Dallas, TX
National Transit Database (Urban Reporting)
1/27/2015 - 1/28/2015 - Houston, TX
Using the Transit Economic Requirements Model (TERM Lite)
1/28/2015 - 1/30/2015 - Denver, CO
State and Metropolitan Transportation Programming
2/04/2015 - 2/05/2015 - Orlando, FL
Introduction to Transit Asset Management
02/18/2015 - 02/19/2015 - Salt Lake City, UT
National Transit Database (Urban Reporting)
3/04/2015 - 3/05/2015 - Salt Lake City, UT
Transit ITS Seminar
03/10/2015 - 03/11/2015 - Saint Paul, MN
National Transit Database (Urban Reporting)
3/17/2015 - 3/18/2015 - Thousand Palms, CA
Introduction to Transit Asset Management
3/24/2015 - 3/25/2015 - Seattle, WA
National Transit Database (Urban Reporting)
3/24/2015 - 3/26/2015 - Arlington, VA
Introduction to Transportation Conformity
Visit the NHI Web site at: www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/home.aspx. Also, you can now view the schedule of web conferences at: www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/webconference/eventcalendar.aspx.
The FHWA has invested in web-based courses to make it easier for people to get the training they need.
Interested in taking an NHI Web-Based Training (WBT) Course? View this help guide on enrolling in an NHI WBT course. Please click here for a complete list of NHI web-based courses.
Beginning January 1, 2015, the NHI will charge a small fee for select Web-based trainings. Participants who register for WBT courses before January 1, 2015, can complete the training free of charge until mid-July 2015. After this period, you will need to register for the course again and pay the course fee to complete the training. Prerequisite courses and those supported by other organizations such as the Transportation Curriculum Coordination Council (TC3) and other program offices are not affected. The fees will not apply to FHWA staff.
Web based training participants are able to access courses 24/7, and complete training at their own pace. A countdown timer on the My Training Web page will identify the number of days remaining to complete the course.
NHI has a list of new and updated courses
Air Quality Planning: Clean Air Act Overview
Air Quality Planning: SIP and TCM Requirements and Policies
Air Quality Planning: SIP Development Process
Air Quality Planning: Transportation Conformity
Introduction to Transportation Asset Management Plan
Applying Section 4(f): Putting Policy into Practice
Start Date - End Date - Location
12/17/2014 - 12/18/2014 - Washington D.C.
Water Quality Management of Highway Runoff
1/06/2015 to 1/08/2015 - Baton Rouge, LA
Access Management, Location and Design
1/27/2015 - 1/28/2015 - Washington, DC
Highway Program Funding
1/27/2015 - 1/29/2015 - Frankfort, KY
NEPA and Transportation Decisionmaking
2/24/2014 - 2/25/2014 - Madison, WI
Fundamentals of Environmental Justice
2/24/2015 - 2/26/2015 - Anchorage, AK
Beyond Compliance: Historic Preservation in Transportation Project Development
3/3/2015 - 3/4/2015 - Carson City, NV
Applying Section 4(f): Putting Policy into Practice
3/3/2015 - 3/4/2015 - Baton Rouge, LA
Applying Section 4(f): Putting Policy into Practice
4/14/2015 - 4/16/2015 - Frankfort, KY
NEPA and Transportation Decisionmaking
5/20/2015 - 5/21/2015 - Helena, MT
Highway Program Funding
11/4/2015 - 11/5/2015 - Portland, OR
Applying Section 4(f): Putting Policy into Practice
1/29/2015 - 1/31/2015 - Baltimore, MD
14th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference
2/8/2015 - 2/10/2015 - Washington, DC
National Conference of Regions
2/22/2015 - 2/25/2015 - San Diego. CA
Active Living Research Annual Conference
3/10/2015 - 3/12/2015 - Washington, DC
2015 National Bike Summit
4/19/2015 - 4/23/2015 - Des Moines, IA
AASHTO GIS-T Symposium
5/7/2015 - 5/8/2015 - Washington, D.C.
Transportation Research Board (TRB), Transportation for Sustainability - An International Conference
5/17/2015 - 5/20/2015 - Portland, OR
American Trails International Trails Symposium
5/17/2015 - 5/21/2015 - Atlantic City, NJ
15th Transportation Research Board (TRB) National Transportation Planning Applications Conference
5/26/2015 - 5/29/2015 - Austin, Texas
Second International Conference on Public-Private Partnerships
5/31/2015 - 6/02/2015 - Denver, CO
TRB’s 5th International Conference on Transportation Systems Performance Measurement and Data
6/16/2015 - 6/18/2015 - Washington, DC
National Health Impact Assessment
May 2016 - Miami, FL
North American Travel Monitoring Exposition and Conference (NATMEC): Improving Traffic Data Collection, Analysis, and Use 2016
Summer 2016 - Minneapolis, MN
11th National Conference on Transportation Asset Management
10/20/2015 - 10/23/2015 - Las Vegas
AMPO Annual Conference
This Newsletter has always been published three times per year, during the seasons of Winter/Spring, Summer and Fall. FHWA now has a number of other specialty Newsletters that are being delivered during the year. As such, we will be modifying the delivery schedule of this Newsletter in the future to just a Winter/ Spring Edition and a Fall Edition. Although the frequency may be changing, we will still focus on timely information of policy changes, report publications, technical assistance webinars and training.
Page 1 left - Envision Utah from Public Roads Sept./Oct. 2005
Page 1 left center - Forest highway, Photo courtesy of istockphotos
Page 1 right center - Portland light rail, Photo courtesy of istockphotos
Page 1 right - Church St. Marketplace, Burlington, VT. Retrieved from Wiki Travel http://wikitravel.org/en/Burlington_%28Vermont%29
Page 4 - SHRP 2 Logo courtesy of FHWA
Clip Art courtesy of Microsoft
NOTICE: The information and articles in this newsletter are for your information and do not necessarily constitute policy positions of the Federal Highway Administration or Federal Transit Administration. The mention of commercial products, their source or their use in connection with material reported herein is not to be construed as either an actual or implied endorsement of such products.
EDITORIAL STAFF:
Ben Williams, Co-Editor
Metropolitan Planning Specialist,
FHWA Resource Center
(404) 562-3671
ben.williams@dot.gov
Rae Keasler, Co-Editor
Transportation Specialist
FHWA Office of Planning
(202) 366-0329
rae.keasler@dot.gov
John Sprowls, Contributing Editor
Community Planner
FTA Office of Systems Planning
(202) 366-5332
john.sprowls@dot.gov
