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This article focuses on the problem of changing job descriptions of Polish transportation engineers (including general inspectors and voivodeship engineers, as well as newly introduced county engineers) after the fall of the November Uprising. The text also explains possible obstacles that uncoupled these transportation staff officials from their basis duties.

The article discusses the role of the transportation professionals in the emergence of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and how automotive, telecommunications, software, and transportation industries are taking actions for the entry of the technology.

The article presents career moves of transportation professionals and members of the Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE) including Marsha Anderson Bomar, Brian Chandler, and Glenn Cook.

Many cities are making significant financial investments in cycling infrastructure with the aim of making cycling safer for riders of all ages and abilities. Methods for evaluating cycling safety tend to summarize average change for a city or emphasize change on a single road segment. Few spatially explicit approaches are available to evaluate how patterns of safety change throughout a city due to cycling infrastructure investments or other changes. Our goal is to demonstrate a method for monitoring changes in the spatial-temporal distribution of cycling incidents across a city. Using cycling incident data provided by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, we first compare planar versus network constrained kernel density estimation for visualizing incident intensity across the street network of Vancouver, Canada. Second, we apply a change detection algorithm explicitly designed for detecting statistically significant change in kernel density estimates. The utility of network kernel density change detection is demonstrated through the comparison of cycling incident densities following the construction of two cycle tracks in the downtown core of Vancouver. The methods developed and demonstrated for this study provide city planners, transportation engineers and researchers a means of monitoring city-wide change in the intensity of cycling incidents following enhancements to cycling infrastructure or other significant changes to the transportation network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prediction of traffic accident severity is a motor vehicle traffic challenge due to its impact on saving human lives. There are several researches in the literature to predict traffic accident severity based on artificial neural networks (ANNs), support vector machines (SVMs), decision trees (DTs) and other classification methods. In fact, the main disadvantage of ANNs and SVMs is lack of interpretation for human and the main disadvantage of classical DTs such as C4.5, ID3 and CART is their low accuracy. To address these drawbacks, in this paper we propose a novel rule-based method to predict traffic accident severity according to user's preferences instead of conventional DTs. In the proposed method, we customised a multi-objective genetic algorithm, i.e. Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II), to optimise and identify rules according toSupport,ConfidenceandComprehensibilitymetrics. The goal of the proposed method is providing facilities to make use of the knowledge of users, including traffic police, roads and transportation engineers and trade-off among all the conflicting objectives. The proposed method is evaluated by a traffic accident data set including 14211 accidents in rural and urban roads in Tehran Province of Iran for a period of 5 years (2008–2013). The evaluation results revealed that the proposed method outperforms the classification methods such as ANN, SVM, and conventional DTs according to classification metrics like accuracy (88.2%), and performance metrics of rules like support and confidence (0.79 and 0.74, respectively). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is considerable evidence that roundabouts are the safest and most efficient form of traffic control for most intersections. The potential use of roundabouts with all their inherent benefits may be greatly diminished if they are not able to accommodate oversize/overweight (OSOW) vehicles, sometimes called “Superloads.” The problem, therefore, is how to accommodate OSOW vehicles without sacrificing the integrity, safety and other benefits of roundabouts. This study uses TORUS software to design six standard roundabouts using guidance from the latest Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) roundabout guide. Six OSOW check vehicles from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s library were used to modify the designs to accommodate these selected check vehicles at the roundabouts. These six OSOW check vehicles were used to conduct swept path analysis using AutoTURN software at the selected six standard roundabouts for right turn, through, and left turn simulations. The space requirements for these maneuvers were analyzed in detail. Various strategies for better accommodating these OSOW check vehicles were suggested and experimented with in this study using AutoTURN software simulations. The effectiveness of using a straight passage through the center island for OSOW vehicles was also addressed in this study and was found to be effective. All the strategies investigated in this study proved to be effective in accommodating OSOW vehicles when compared to conventional ways of using a roundabout. The needed total truck apron was calculated and used as a reference to determine an effective strategy for accommodating OSOW vehicles. This research can be used as guidance for transportation engineers, planners and decision makers to determine possible ways of designing a roundabout at an intersection where certain OSOW vehicles are expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the things to be considered by transportation professionals in designing streets in the U.S. to meet the level of service (LOS) for cars and the level of mobility (LOM)for people. Topics include the need to engage the public to better create streets and communities, the use of LOM as an evaluation system for street designs, and the addition of amenities for people such as park benches, bike tracks, and kiosks.

The article discusses the workshop held by the Transportation Systems Management and Operation Council of the transportation professionals' association, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) that was held during the ITE annual meeting in August 2015. Topics of the workshop was focused on connected vehicles (CV) and automated vehicles (AV) technologies and its implications to ITE. Topics discussed include the implication CV/AV on planning, regional congestion, and traffic control.

The article announces the winners in the 2015 ITE Excellence in Transportation Awards of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), including John A. Davis for the Burton W. Marsh Award for Distinguished Service to ITE and California Polytechnic State University for Student Chapter Award.

The article discusses the highlights of the 2015 ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibit of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) on August 2-5, 2015 in Hollywood, Florida. Topics discussed include the meeting as an exploration of ITE's current and future identity as well as author and former Miami, Florida Mayor Manny A. Diaz addressing attendees at the opening plenary session. Also mentioned are session speakers John A. Davis, Edward Fok, Bob Arnold, Dennis Motiani and Drew Van Duren.

The article announces that Kirk T. Steudle is the recipient of the 2015 Theodore M. Matson Memorial Award.

The article offers information on the importance of certification in one's advancement in the transportation engineering profession. Topics include the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE), the processes of licensure, accreditation, and certification, and the requirements to become a licensed professional engineer. It also discusses the Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE) and the Professional Transportation Planner (PTP) certifications.

The article discusses three case studies for transportation engineers to help in focusing on the development of partnerships and collaborations through a new approach to civic engagement. Topics discusses include community consensus as top barrier to progress on complete streets and public space design, the first Better Block experiment in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, and the Interim Design Strategies implemented by the National Association of City and Traffic Officials (NACTO).

The article offers information on the officers of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) International Board of Direction. These include international president John J. Kennedy, international vice president Paula Flores Benway and immediate past international president W. Hibbett Neel Jr. Also mentioned are the international directors of ITE such as Kenneth J. Petraglia, Dean J. Kaiser and Hardik R. Shah.

The article discusses the promotion of physical activity among people in the U.S. by supporting walking. Topics covered include the status of walking as a physical activity among men and women in the U.S., the need to improve the physical environment that supports walking like ensuring the safety of streets by having sidewalks and crosswalks, role of community planners and transportation engineers in making walking more accessible and safe, and efforts to promote physical activity in the U.S.

The article discusses concerns of transportation engineers with density and mix of land uses and how they dictate different modes while planners are more aware of tying neighborhoods together with multimodal transportation facilities. Topics discussed include the shifts that required the cross pollination of planners and engineers, factors that contribute to this cross pollination such as demographic shifts and how policymakers are looking for new ways to build and adapt communities.

The article offers information on the special interest councils of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). The Public Agency Council identifies, develops and delivers relevant products on management, leadership, organizational and institutional issues affecting ITE members. The Transportation Consultants Council provides information and materials to the consultant members of ITE to improve effectiveness and communication within the profession.

The causes of pedestrian accidents are a major concern to transportation engineers and other road safety professionals. Although studies have aimed at modelling and analysing the causes, they are either too stochastically oriented or excessively macroscopic, and so fail to analyse the interactions between pedestrians and their immediate environment. This study applies a Bayesian network modelling approach to investigate factors influencing pedestrian crossing behaviour in spring and summer using variables known from the literature. The model analyses the problem on three levels: graphical level, information level and quantitative level. The results show that pedestrians often exhibit rational crossing behaviour influenced predominantly by personal motives rather than external factors, even though the roadway environment is not always favourable. A sensitivity analysis revealed that signal timing phase length is the most influential parameter that affects pedestrian crossing behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses his acceptance of the 2013 Theodore M. Matson Award from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). He offers information on his subscription to the ITE Journal during his undergraduate years at Northwestern University, his ITE scholarship at the University of California and opportunity for leadership in the profession. He recounts his experiences with past recipients of the award and his gratitude that his wife learned of his nomination before she died.

The article discusses the development of self-driving vehicles as of July 2013 and its effects on the transportation engineering. It notes that transportation engineers are encouraged to participate in dialogues and partnership with a variety of stakeholders including software and system developers, car manufacturers and regulatory bodies. The safety benefits of autonomous driving are discussed.

Abstract: A two-pronged effort to quantify the impact of lighting on traffic safety is presented. In the statistical approach, the effects of lighting on crash frequency for different intersection types in Minnesota were assessed using count regression models. The models included many geometric and traffic control variables to estimate the association between lighting and nighttime and daytime crashes and the resulting night-to-day crash ratios. Overall, the presence of roadway intersection lighting was found to be associated with an approximately 12% lower night-to-day crash ratio than unlighted intersections. In the parallel analytical approach, visual performance analyses based on roadway intersection lighting practices in Minnesota were made for the same intersection types investigated in the statistical approach. The results of both approaches were convergent, suggesting that visual performance improvements from roadway lighting could serve as input for predicting improvements in crash frequency. A provisional transfer function allows transportation engineers to evaluate alternative lighting systems in the design phase so selections based on expected benefits and costs can be made. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Substantial research in a diversity of fields suggests that being successful in a skilled profession requires ways of thinking that are unique to the context of that profession and present in practitioners of that field. The purpose of this study is to characterize embedded knowledge of sight distance and stopping sight distance in instructors and engineers and similarly examine course materials. Individual interviews were conducted with 29 transportation engineers and 19 transportation instructors. Course notes from a selection of instructors and three commonly used textbooks were also analyzed. Although instructors and practitioners expressed similar content knowledge, there were significant differences in the context in which it was embedded. Engineering practitioners used and referred to software, manuals, and specific experiences, while instructors primarily spoke in a more abstract context or referred to textbooks. Also, engineers discussed methods of mitigating for the inability to meet minimum design criteria; this was not found in course notes or textbooks. This research strongly suggests that context-dependent embedded knowledge exists in transportation engineering and efforts are necessary to integrate this knowledge in the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract: As transportation engineers and practitioners continue to advance the scope and breadth of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications, privacy is a primary concern of transportation agencies in the United States (US) when tracking people, vehicles and goods within the nation’s transportation grid. As a number of technologies have rapidly advanced, including photo enforcement, electronic tolling, vehicle-mile taxing, weigh-in-motion, and Connected Vehicle technologies, research examining the privacy implications of system applications has lagged. In a recent national survey to determine how state departments of transportation (DOTs) are meeting the privacy needs of the traveling public, it was determined that DOTs favor aggregating and masking data for protecting privacy of motorists while collecting travel times and speeds. For capturing video surveillance, abiding by legislation or agency policies was the preferred method of protecting privacy. Unfortunately, there are no national standards in the US for the privacy protection of travelers as most privacy information merely takes the form of poorly defined precepts. With the increasing use of ITS applications, which are becoming more interwoven into the US transportation grid, there is a need to develop a national policy and related standards to ensure the privacy protection of the traveling public to ensure broader acceptance of ITS applications. The findings presented in this paper aim to provide direction on how to address the current and future privacy challenges that face the transportation industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

IntelliDrive, the integration of vehicles and the infrastructure through wireless communication, has generated great interest in the transportation community. It is widely expected that IntelliDrive will support significantly improved transportation operations. However, there have been few studies investigating (1) how IntelliDrive will be used to improve operations, and (2) how to estimate expected benefits of IntelliDrive operations applications. In this study, the research team investigated the application of IntelliDrive to address merging conflicts created by freeway on-ramps. Although merging conflicts contribute significantly to freeway congestion, transportation engineers have limited options with existing traffic surveillance and management tools. IntelliDrive offers the potential for more active management of the surface transportation system, providing capabilities that may be of significant benefit in ramp management. In this research, a lane changing advisory algorithm was developed to explore the potential of IntelliDrive in improving freeway ramp management. Utilizing new IntelliDrive capabilities (highly detailed individual vehicular data and personalized advisory information provision), the proposed algorithm attempts to reduce merging conflicts by encouraging early mainline freeway lane changes to create more space in ramp merging areas. An evaluation of the algorithm was conducted by using a PARAMICS microscopic simulation model of a heavily traveled freeway network in Orange County, California for morning peak hours. The results have revealed that IntelliDrive has the potential to increase vehicle miles traveled by up to 4.3% and reduce vehicle hours traveled by up to 4.6%, which resulted in up to 9.3% higher average speeds, in the best case. However, the results also indicated that, to achieve the greatest possible benefits, the proposed algorithm requires very high compliance of drivers and near full deployment of IntelliDrive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has been identified by many scientists, engineers, and public officials as one of the significant challenges facing society over the next several decades. And of civil engineered facilities, the transportation network is likely to be one of the systems most affected by changing climate, weather, and local environmental conditions. This paper examines the current practice of looking at transportation system adaptation to climate changes and develops a conceptual framework of the different components of transportation infrastructure that will be affected differently by a range of climate changes. An adaptive systems management approach is suggested as one approach for transportation engineers to anticipate likely climate changes, identify vulnerabilities in the transportation system, and assess different strategies for mitigating potential impacts. The result of this approach is a strategic perspective on what transportation agencies should do today and in the future to respond to changing environmental conditions. Developing an organizational strategy for dealing with the different elements of these changes is a critical component of this strategic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article developed a generalized model incorporating three stochastic input variables in the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) delay equation and analyzed the delay variability explicitly considering variations in key input variables including traffic volume, effective green time, and saturation flow rate. An integration method was used for calculations of mean and variance of the HCM delay. Unlike the previous Expectation Function Method, the proposed integration method can be applied for both undersaturated and oversaturated situations. The applicability of the proposed methodology was demonstrated through a hypothetical case study for a lane group at an isolated signalized intersection. The effects of stochastic variables (e.g., traffic volume, saturation flow rate, and effective green time) and correlations among these variables in the HCM delay were examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: How to optimally allocate limited freeway sensor resources is of great interest to transportation engineers. In this paper, we focus on the optimal allocation of point sensors, such as loop detectors, to minimize performance measurement errors. Although it has been shown that the minimization problem can be intuitively formulated as a nonlinear program, the formulation is so complex that only heuristic approaches can be used to solve the problem. In this paper, we transform the nonlinear program into an equivalent mixed-integer linear model. The linearized model is shown to have a graphical interpretation and can be solved using resource constrained shortest path algorithms. A customized Branch-and-Bound technique is then proposed to solve the resource constrained shortest path problem. Numerical experiments along an urban freeway corridor demonstrate that this sensor location model is successful in allocating loop detectors to improve the accuracy of travel time estimation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

AS THE STREETCAR REGAINS POPULARITY AS A MODE OF TRANSIT, TRANSPORTATION PROFESSIONALS WILL HAVE TO REACQUAINT THEMSELVES WITH SOUND PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING TO REWORK THIS OLD STANDBY INTO THE CONTEMPORARY DESIGNS OF TODAY'S ROADWAYS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the members of the 2011 Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) International Board of Direction. Robert C. Wunderlich serves as international president and is a senior managing director for Garland in Texas. Rock E. Miller serves as international vice president and has been appointed as senior principal of transportation and traffic for Stantec Consulting Inc. Paul Eng-Wong serves as the immediate past international president and is co-founder and president of Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates.

The article presents updates on the councils of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). Among the membership benefits offered by each council include Internet discussion groups, council newsletters and leadership opportunities. Activities of the councils are coordinated via the Coordinating Council. An overview of council descriptions and activities during 2010 is provided.

The article discusses the efforts of the curriculum subcommittee to the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Education Council to map the learning domain of transport engineers. It describes their development of learning outcomes and knowledge tables which are grouped into traffic operations and highway capacity, geometric design and traffic safety, to name some. All of these efforts are for the purpose of developing the Introductory Course in Transportation Engineering.

Climate change, sustainability and energy loom large as perhaps the most salient issues facing humanity in the 21st century. But what do they mean for the transportation profession? and more important, what can an ITE member do to ensure that he or she is plugged into these important challenges? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation Professionals are always looking to make things safer, cleaner and more sustainable. While there is no one single guide to best practices in this area, a look at some of the efforts already undertaken-as well as a look toward the future-may provide the profession with the tools it needs to create a system of best practices that will guide transportation's increasing role in building a sustainable world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the goods movement on surface transportation and how complex it has become in the present-day world. The article provides a big picture, an example of complexity of goods movement, the role of transportation planner and engineer and actions needed to move towards sustainable goods movement on surface transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Korea's Urban Maglev Program is a final stage of a series of R&D projects on maglev system development. The goals of the program are to develop a competitive transit maglev system and to operate the developed system on the 6.1-km demonstration line on revenue service basis. More than 300 researchers and engineers from 26 industrial, academic, and research institutions are currently participating the program. Once the Urban Maglev Program is completed by 2012, Korea will have the world's third maglev trains and second urban version for revenue service in operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) 2009 Annual Meeting and Exhibit held in San Antonio, Texas from August 9-12, 2009 is presented. Topics discussed include transformation of transportation and businesses and Make Roads Safe Campaign for Global Safety. Awards given to transportation engineers during the event include Theodore M. Matson Memorial Award to Timothy J. Lomax, Coordinating Council Award to Robert E. Stammer Jr., and Student Chapter Award to David Hurwitz.

The article presents the author's insights on being the recipient of the 2009 Theodore M. Matson Memorial Award. He states that his career has been benefited from others' reluctance to push the message on how important transportation is to the economy and to people's lives. He discusses traffic congestion which is an issue that affects research engineers. He also tackles the value of transportation and suggests to reduce the congestion through projects and policies of agencies and individuals.

Information about the safety factors in the transportation operations discussed during the Institute of Transportation Engineers' (ITE) 2009 Technical Conference and Exhibit in Phoenix, Arizona is presented. It highlights the seven sessions in the safety tracks including the safety and operations in the work zone, weather and traffic data products, and safety in intersections. The sessions featured several transportation professionals including Valerie A. Briggs, Greg Krueger, and Essam Radwan.

Information about the approaches to improve transportation operations discussed during the Institute of Transportation Engineers' (ITE) 2009 Technical Conference and Exhibit in Phoenix, Arizona is presented. Sessions include the traffic flow during major construction projects, modern maintenance to improve operations, and modern technology applications. The event featured several transportation professionals including Rolando "Nick" Nicholson, Richard Hawthorne, and Joseph Palsa.

Information about the issues on transportation operations discussed during the Institute of Transportation Engineers' (ITE) 2009 Technical Conference and Exhibit in Phoenix, Arizona is presented. Topics of discussions include the primary details and findings for data gathering and analysis, performance standards, and financial aid for operations. The event featured several transportation professionals including Robert Winick, Jeffrey Lindley, and Stephen Lockwood.

Today, automobile dependency constantly causes traffic congestion, delays, reduced access, increased fuel and energy consumption, and environmental emissions. Automobile dependency has caused many direct and indirect transportation problems that may influence our life. Urban planners and transportation engineers seek to improve transport networks considering social issues. One of the most successful solutions for advocating sustainable transport is transit-oriented development (TOD). Another solution that planners encourage to use is designing the roadways based on a complete street approach, which is a system that provides safe, convenient, and comfortable travel and increases accessibility for users of all ages regardless of their transport modes. The present study employed the saturated roads that have heavy traffic most of the time and public transport e-ticket data to investigate the potential complete streets in Qazvin. An online questionnaire was developed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method based on the TOD and the complete street framework to investigate the essential criteria for redesigning the network based on the active transport approach. Thus, after analyzing the six criteria (density, diversity, distance, accessibility, demand management, and design) and eight sub-criteria (pedestrian flow, pedestrian density, connectivity, safety, bike route, bus route, road width, and urban tree canopy index), the proposed active transport network emerged and results show that five high priority streets were identified to be considered as a solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because transportation is so heavily dependent on petroleum fuels, it is at the center of the U.S. energy security issue and is a significant factor in greenhouse gas concerns. This feature reviews the directions that might be taken by ITE in utilizing its expertise and unique position to help achieve a triple-win. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article profiles the 2009 International Transportation Engineers (ITE) Board of Directors in the U.S. It includes Kenneth H. Voigt, who has been involved with all levels of the organization as its Section and District officer. Another is Alfred A. Guebert, who already has 30 years of professional experience in both the public and private sector of the transportation industry. It also includes Susan L. Best, who has been an active member of the institution since 1981.

The article discusses the fall conference of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) that was held in Tucson, Arizona in October 2016 is presented. Topics discussed at the conference include trends in commuting, land use, recreation, and technology and its possible implications to the transportation sector. The event featured several transportation executives including Jeff Lindley, Regina Hopper, and King Gee.