Print

Sustainability

Recent Developments

This section describes recent developments related to transportation-related sustainability. If you would like to suggest a recent development on this topic, please submit a short description to AASHTO (including any pertinent links) on the  Share Info with AASHTO form.

• Guide Highlights Sustainability in Pavement Procurement

  Guide Highlights Sustainability in Pavement Procurement

  The National Asphalt Pavement Association has issued a new document in its Sustainable Asphalt Pavements series. Procuring and Evaluating Sustainability addresses how sustainability is included in public project procurement and how such efforts are evaluated within the industry. The guide discusses ways of specifying sustainable practices and materials in contracts; using change orders or alternative bids; the use of alternative technical concepts; requiring sustainability qualifications from contractors; and requiring tracking, reporting, and certification. The guide also discusses the use of sustainability rating systems such as LEED, Greenroads, Envision, Green Globes, or INVEST. For more information, link to the guide. (8-9-19)

  [close]

• FHWA Highlights Five ‘Right-Sizing’ Projects

  FHWA Highlights Five ‘Right-Sizing’ Projects

  The Federal Highway Administration has issued five case studies on cities that have taken steps to revise their approach to transportation infrastructure in ways that connect neighborhoods, promote public well-being, and create more livable communities. The case studies look at the context and development of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, an eight-mile urban bicycle and pedestrian path in downtown Indianapolis created from excess right-of-way; the demolition of the elevated Park East Freeway in Milwaukee that has led to the redevelopment of 64 acres downtown; and the filling of a half mile of the Rochester, N.Y., Inner Loop expressway, a below-grade highway that cut through downtown, in phase one of the removal of the loop. The case studies also look at the demolition of the Central Freeway in San Francisco and the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, two structures damaged by earthquakes and suitable for a more context sensitive solution. For more information, link to the Right-Sizing Case Studies. (8-6-19)

  [close]

• NCHRP Review of Motor Vehicle Laws to Address Automated Vehicles

  NCHRP Review of Motor Vehicle Laws to Address Automated Vehicles

  A report on the implications of connected and automated vehicles on state motor vehicle laws has been issued under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP 20-102, Task 07). The report provides a review of state laws and regulations that may need to be reconsidered in light of the fact that, with connected and automated vehicles, drivers may not always be maintaining continuous involvement in the driving task or be fully responsible for managing traffic safety hazards. The report also identifies possible barriers to implementation and addresses processes and stages for modifying relevant vehicle codes. For more information, link to the report. (7-8-19)

  [close]

• Report Describes TRB ‘Mobility on Demand’ Workshop

  Report Describes TRB ‘Mobility on Demand’ Workshop

  The latest information and trends related to mobility on demand (MOD) services and technologies are described in a summary of a workshop held as part of the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in January 2019. MOD allows consumers to access travel and goods delivery services on demand by dispatching or using public transportation, shared mobility, courier services, urban air mobility, and other innovative and emerging technologies. The report provides an overview of the workshop, including recent trends, results from demonstration projects and development of a research agenda on the topic. For more information, link to the TRB circular. (5-25-19)

  [close]

• FHWA Announces Environmental Excellence Award Recipients

  FHWA Announces Environmental Excellence Award Recipients

  The Federal Highway Administration has announced the 2019 recipients of its biennial Environmental Excellence Awards. The awards recognize partners, projects, and processes that use Federal Highway Administration funding sources to go beyond environmental compliance and achieve environmental excellence. For more information, including the 12 recipients, link to the 2019 Environmental Excellence Awards web page. (7-1-19)

  [close]

• Webinar Highlights Effective Complete Streets Policies

  Webinar Highlights Effective Complete Streets Policies

  An overview of the 10 best complete streets policies of 2018 was provided in a May 21, 2019, webinar sponsored by Smart Growth America. The top policies, announced in a report issued by the National Complete Streets Coalition, included communities in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Wisconsin. A complete streets approach integrates people and place in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of transportation networks. This helps to ensure streets are safe for people of all ages and abilities, balance the needs of different modes, and support local land uses, economies, cultures, and natural environments. For more information on the selected policies, link to the report and the webinar. (5-29-19)

  [close]

• Best Practices to Manage Mobility Data Issued by NACTO

  Best Practices to Manage Mobility Data Issued by NACTO

  Methods to help cities better access and manage mobility data are described in policy guidance issued by the National Association of City Transportation Officials. The report, Managing Mobility Data, provides a common framework for sharing, protecting, and managing data based on four principles: data is a public good; data should be protected; data should be collected purposefully; and data should be portable. It provides guidance on how to ensure individual privacy as data collection becomes easier and more widespread. For more information, link to the report. (5-30-19)

  [close]

• District of Columbia Issues Sustainability Plan

  District of Columbia Issues Sustainability Plan

  Washington D.C. has announced a new sustainability plan that, among other things, aims at increasing the use of transit and active transportation to reduce vehicle emissions and increase the city’s resilience to climate change. The plan, Sustainable DC 2.0 Plan, contains 36 goals and 167 actions across 13 separate sustainability topics including governance, equity, built environment, climate, economy, education, energy, food, health, nature, transportation, waste, and water. It follows the recent issuance of the city’s Resilient DC plan. For more information, link to the sustainability plan. (5-7-19)

  [close]

• Florida Agency Uses INVEST Tool for Regional Transportation Planning

  Florida Agency Uses INVEST Tool for Regional Transportation Planning

  MetroPlan Orlando, the metropolitan planning organization for Central Florida, used the Federal Highway Administration’s Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool (INVEST) to help the agency consider health and sustainability when evaluating its regional transportation plan. Using funds awarded by the FHWA, MetroPlan evaluated what it was already doing through its planning and organizational efforts. It also hosted the Transportation Think-In: Making 2045 Healthy, Sustainable, and Resilient, bringing together community leaders to discuss how transportation impacts their work. Additionally, it followed up the evaluation and summit by publishing three white papers. For more information, link to the FHWA case study. (2-11-19)

  [close]

• Report Highlights Transportation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

  Report Highlights Transportation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

  A report from the U.S. DOT’s Volpe Center highlights findings from a thought leadership series, Transportation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics, held from June to October 2018. The series convened experts in government innovation, vehicle automation, and logistics to consider the promise and potential of recent breakthroughs in machine learning and data analysis. These experts shared their visions for how new technologies can be applied throughout the transportation enterprise—such as data from mapping applications that can improve traffic modeling and save lives on U.S. roads. For more information, link to the report. (1-29-19)

  [close]

• Army Corps of Engineers Issues Engineering with Nature Atlas

  Army Corps of Engineers Issues Engineering with Nature Atlas

  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center has issued the Engineering With Nature Atlas, a collection of 56 projects illustrating the Corps’ initiative to develop more sustainable delivery of economic, social, and environmental benefits associated with water resources infrastructure. The Atlas includes information on a diverse portfolio of contexts and successful projects using nature-based approaches, including beaches and dunes, wetlands, islands, reefs, river systems, floodplains, natural materials, and habitat. The Engineering With Nature initiative is an alignment of natural and engineering processes that involves collaborations among multiple civil works research, development and technology programs and non-USACE partners. For more information, link to the Atlas. (1-15-19)

  [close]

• Report Evaluates Issues Regarding Dedicated Lanes for Automated Cars

  Report Evaluates Issues Regarding Dedicated Lanes for Automated Cars

  A report evaluating opportunities, constraints, and guiding principles for implementing dedicated lanes for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) has been issued under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. NCHRP Report 891: Dedicating Lanes for Priority or Exclusive Use by Connected and Automated Vehicles, describes the intended benefits when dedicating lanes for the exclusive use of CAVs in terms of safety, mobility, social concerns, and the environment. It also describes the conditions that would support dedicating lanes for priority and exclusive use of vehicles equipped with cooperative adaptive cruise control and dynamic speed harmonization, and provides a review of laws and regulations regarding dedicating lanes. The analysis, based on computer-based models, helps identify potential impacts associated with various conditions affecting lane dedication, market penetration, evolving technology, and changing demand. For more information, link to the report. (1-11-19)

  [close]

«View Recent Developments Archive