Emily--all good question but I am going to ramble about one which I do
not think TRB has ever been able to address, Travel Time, Speed and
Reliability.
Travel Time, Speed and Reliability (TTSR)crosses into many areas of
expertise as we know from the papers we get to review every year. We
also know that it extends far beyond the scope of what we would loosely
call "Urban". I have always believed that given the importance of the
issue, especially as we move towards performance based planning and
programming that TRB should take steps to address the TTSR issue by
forming a task force that would likely lead to a separate committee.
However, if you look at the larger picture you will see that the task
force that got formed is called "Data for Decisions and Performance
Measures". A description of it can be found in the TRB Data Section
newsletter which is attached. While it does not directly fit, I think
that the Urban Data Committee's 6+ years experience with dealing with
TTSR papers and research should certainly be of interest to and possibly
a point of consideration for the task force. As a topic are it has
certainly matured even though it doesn't have a "real" TRB home.
I am not sure how the TTSR issue area will play out but my personal
belief is that it should take on the nature of a full committee with
membership coming from from a wide range of disciplines.
Emily Parkany wrote:
Hi!
Kate Lawson and I were emailing about the agenda for the Mid-Year Meeting at
NATMEC in June in Seattle and I was thinking that it may make sense to have
discussions among the participants (in-person and on the phone). I came up
with the following discussion topics. Please feel free to edit these
(responding to the listserve or me: emily.parkany(a)gmail.com ) and add your
own suggestions.
1) Do we need new sources of data? Have people been following the status
quo or is the practice moving towards using archived ITS data for planning,
GPS surveys, location-based data, etc.
2) Do we have the right skills? What skills do we need new hires to have?
Can a TRB workshop or other training address this?
3) Do we have the right subcommittees? What is the impact of census data
and archived data among the participants? Should the commitee be
considering other subcommittees (for example: travel time, speed, and
reliability---and the SHRP 2 Reliability efforts)?
4) Is the urban data committee the right "home" for Travel Time, Speed, and
Reliability? [I lean towards yes.] Is there much coordination between
these researchers (for example, folks on SHRP 2 Reliability projects) and
the committee?
Do these topics interest you? Kate suggests that they fit under a
"Preparing for the Annual Meeting/State of the Committee" Discussion theme.
The mid-year meeting is not very long but this may be our chance to raise
some of these issues.
When we put an agenda together, I will ask you to think about these topics
and I'll solicit opinions that we can put into a Powerpoint presentation to
start the discussion. This way, I hope that people can participate before
the meeting, in the room, and on the phone.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Emily
Emily Parkany
Secretary, ABJ30 Urban Transportation Data and Information Systems
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