Hello Subcommittee friends,

The subcommittee's annual report on activities has been provided below. Please note that health and transportation-related events at the 2016 TRB Annual Meeting are included in the report below. 

If you would like to get more involved in our activities, please email me (eloisaraynault@gmail.com) or Ed Christopher (edc@berwyned.com); we're looking for volunteers.

Thank you,
Eloisa



Major Activities in 2015


The Health and Transportation Subcommittee continued to prosper throughout its fifth year. The 2015 TRB Annual Meeting culminated with a Workshop on Tools to Support Health and Transportation Planning and Analysis. The Workshop featured several tools, foremost of which is the Transportation Health Tool (THT) developed by the USDOT and the CDC (https://www.transportation.gov/transportation-health-tool).


In the fall, a special edition of TR News developed by the Subcommittee hit the streets. The TR News edition contains a plethora of articles addressing the connections between public health and transportation. The journal articles could not have been accomplished without the many authors and their informative and insightful contributions—a special thanks to them. The TR News edition is available at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/trnews/trnews299toc.pdf.


From the 2015 TRB Annual Meeting, the TRB Technical Advisory Council approved a new Task Force proposed by the Subcommittee. In January 2016, the Task Force on Arterials and Public Health (ADD55T) will hold its inaugural meeting. The mission of the Task Force is to inform the planning, design and operations of arterials while considering public health. Interested individuals can join the Task Force as a friend by going through the https://www.mytrb.org/ system and finding ADD55T.


In May 2015, the Subcommittee co-sponsored a specialty conference: Moving Active Transportation to Higher Ground: Opportunities for Accelerating the Assessment of Health Impacts. TRB co-sponsored the conference with the American College of Sports Medicine. Proceedings from the conference are at http://www.cvent.com/events/moving-active-transportation-to-higher-ground-opportunities-for-accelerating-the-assessment-of-healt/custom-18-93088f3956b14c00a4032867ccbc3965.aspx.


For the 2015 TRB Annual Meeting, the Subcommittee received 25 papers for review. Of those, seven were submitted for presentation only, one for publication only and the remaining 17 for both presentation and publication. Eighty-five reviewers provided their support completing 118 reviews (1.39 reviews per reviewer). Each paper had an average of 4.32 reviews. After the review process, seven papers were accepted and presented, and three were sent for publication.


In preparation for the 2016 TRB Annual Meeting, the Subcommittee issued a paper call on using transportation and travel analysis/models in coordination with public analysis/models to understand how transportation and land use systems affect public health.


The Subcommittee also planned and secured a spot for a Sunday workshop at TRB 2016: Institutionalizing Health in Transportation Agency Practice. The workshop will feature transportation agencies that have successfully institutionalized health into their processes and - where possible - their public health counterparts. The workshop will also spotlight national organizations that are providing key resources for these initiatives.


Join our events at TRB 2016


Anyone registered for TRB and with an interest in public health and transportation topics is invited to attend our events.


A three-hour workshop (#118) on “Institutionalizing Health in Transportation Agency Practice”, Sunday, January 10, 2016 from 9:00 AM to Noon in room 156 of the Washington DC Convention Center.


Poster Session 309, “Innovations in Health and Transportation Research” featuring seven posters, Monday, January 11, 2016 from 10:45 AM to 12:30 PM in the Convention Center Exhibit Hall E.


Special Task Force on Arterials and Public Health inaugural meeting, Monday, January 11, 2016 from 3:45 PM to 5:30 PM in the Marriott Marquis Ballroom, Salon 17 (M2).


Health and Transportation Subcommittee meeting, Tuesday, January 12, 2016 from 3:45 PM to 5:30 PM in the Marriott Marquis Hotel, Independence B (M4).


Future Initiatives


For 2016 and beyond, the Subcommittee will continue to serve as a focal point for public health and transportation connections. It hopes to provide a coordination and support role to the public health-related activities of the TRB Executive Committee. In addition, the Subcommittee hopes to integrate its network of supporters for an upcoming health and accessibility conference in development which will focus on the FTA Rides to Wellness program. The Subcommittee will also work closely with the Arterials and Public Health Task Force.


External to TRB, the Subcommittee will continue to coordinate with USDOT on activities providing support, where possible. Specifically, the Subcommittee will look for case studies where the THT has been actively used.


A concerted effort to develop and submit research problem statements to the various research programs will be made. The dissemination of the public health-themed issue of TR News also will continue. A special subgroup will be assembled to work on 2017 conference activities.


Work on the Subcommittee website will continue, as will growing the listserve, which now numbers 385 individuals. We will expand our social media presence, and seek volunteers to help with this effort. Support of topical conferences will be offered as opportunities arise; this includes presenting a workshop at the TRB Tools of the Trade Conference in September of 2016 (which has already been accepted).


About the Subcommittee


The Health and Transportation Subcommittee was formed in March 2011. It has four parent committees; Environmental Justice in Transportation (ADD50), Urban Data and Information Systems (ABJ30), Travel Behavior and Values (ADB10), and Transportation and Sustainability (ADD40). The Subcommittee bridges two TRB Sections; Planning & Environment, and Policy & Organization. Eloisa Raynault (Consultant, member of ADD50) and Ed Christopher (MKC Associates, Emeritus of ABJ30) are co-chairs. Carey McAndrews (University of Colorado) serves as secretary. There is also a leadership group that meets every six weeks.