ABJ30 Committee Members and Friends,

We now have the final Data & Information Systems Section Retreat Report (attached) and it is time to move forward with our combined support for the Section Initiatives - and to get our own Committee priorities (also attached) transformed into real Research Statements with funding possibilities.  The Annual Meeting is taking shape (see attached "Plans in the Works" )- so far - we are supporting an ADUS Applications Workshop, co-sponsoring the NHTS Workshop and a workshop on practical ways to improve transportation-related data.  We still need to get the Census Sub Committee and the Joint ADUS Committee scheduled.  National Data is heading up the Travel Data Users Forum - more details soon.  Hopefully, some of the ideas below from Members and Friends will be addressed in the "Practical Ways" Workshop - but I would encourage everyone to provide feedback on moving these areas of interest so they can reach the Research Statement stage - and we can start looking for sponsors and funding!

Hope to see everyone at NATMEC!!!!!

Kate

Ideas from Committee Members -- 

Vladimir Livshits, Ph. D, M. Sc
System Analysis Program Manager
vlivshits@mag.maricopa.gov
 

I. Information systems

- GIS as an integration base: development of GIS-T and transportation multi-year master networks. We are trying to integrate supply data with TIP/RTP/LCP information; LRS-based systems - might be good for 1/2 day workshop. The system integrates data flow across MPO business processes from collection to modeling to Regional Plan.

- Data integration: One direction: supply data counts - travel time - safety data (we are doing a project on this right now) Another direction - integration along business processes in metropolitan planning (data collection / acquisition - data management - data control and analysis - forecasting/modeling - planning)

- Data accessibility/analysis - we still have a long way to go here. Looks like private sector is leading now. Might be a good topic for a workshop or a session. I mean web-based technologies and analytical tools that will facilitate data utilization. Its related to the previous two.

II. Possible items for cooperation with ABJ40 - where emerging problems/issues with travel surveys can be addressed with new technology:

- household surveys: changes  in people's behavior and communication technology resulted in ever dropping response rates and necessity to look for different methods of data collection (cell phones surveys, GPS, progress, issues) - They have some calls for papers on this, but it seems like some important issues are still not getting enough attention, how survey methodology affects applicability of the results, etc.

- household surveys: move to bigger samples - should we go back to this direction? (that is still the approach in Canada, for example)

- Intercept surveys are under fire in some places (there is an excellent TTI report on this) and we encourage advancements in automated data collection (cameras, etc.) again, issues: cooperation with DOT on license plate information, road closure permits for installations, quality of the data, etc.

- Travel time and speed data: move from floating car technology to an ongoing data collection by third parties  - implications

- Transit surveys - struggle with low completion rates

- Truck travel surveys - low response rates, how new technology can help us, how we can establish channels of cooperation with private sector, place for the new collection techniques

- Luck of independent data sets for travel forecasting model validation (survey data normally used 100% for estimation/calibration), supply data can be used only for certain final validations

- Data requirements of the Activity-Based Models, how the movement towards disaggregation and microsimulation in modeling affects data collection

Ideas from Committee Friends

Ken Dueker (duekerk@aol.com)

One data area that Dick Lycan and I have been concerned with is working (mandates or incentive) with Assessor's to gather accurate counts of number of units housing units on parcels of land.  An accurate count of HUs is important to many demographic based transportation demand models.  Yet it is not counted with care by assessors and they have not incentive or mandate to do so.

---

_____________________________

Catherine T. Lawson, Ph. D.

Director, MRP Program

Associate Professor

University at Albany

Geography & Planning

AS 218 1400 Washington

Albany, New York 12222

(518) 442-4775

(518) 442-4742 FAX

lawsonc@albany.edu

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