Minutes
2012 TRB ANNUAL MEETING
JOINT MEETING OF
AHB65 — OPERATIONAL EFFECTS OF GEOMETRICS COMMITTEE
https://sites.google.com/site/trbcomahb65/
AFB10 — GEOMETRIC DESIGN COMMITTEE
http://sites.kittelson.com/TRB-AFB10
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 1:30 to 3:15 p.m.
Marriott Hotel, Washington B3/B4 1. Call to Order (Fitzpatrick/Ray)
Chairs Kay Fitzpatrick and Brian Ray called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m.
2. Welcome and Introductions (Ray/Fitzpatrick) 3. TRB Staff Report (Cunard)
Rich Cunard gave the TRB Staff Report, including the following:
A new attendance record will be set by the 2012 Annual Meeting, with more than 11,000 attendees. A highlighted session is the “Dialog with the USDOT Secretary” on
Wednesday 10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
The 2013 Annual Meeting will be earlier (January 13-17) than this Meeting.
TRB has implemented some changes on the electronic side, e.g., a PDF file of the Program is available on the TRB website; a daily guide is provided at amonline.trb.org, which requires a confirmation number to access; all papers, PowerPoint presentations, video sessions, 40 e-sessions, etc. are available electronically. A free DVD download is available (2 GB); last year’s DVD is on sale for $10. An attendee asked why TRB took the author index out of the Program. Rich said that it was to lower printing costs, since there are now fewer pages. He noted that the author index can be accessed electronically.
Paper submissions: 4,400 papers were submitted (up 10% from last year); TRB will publish 25% (about 1100)
Future TRB Meetings: In the future, the Marriott Wardman Tower will become condos, resulting in a loss of 300+ guest rooms. The Marriott Marquis is being developed near the D.C. Convention Center, which will include approximately 1400 rooms. TRB will look at moving to the Convention Center in the future, with a move likely within 5-6 years.
The TRR impact factor was .482 this past year (a 50% increase from 2009); TRR is #1 in citations and in total articles. Some have suggested splitting the TRR into 17 or so
4. Subcommittee Reports
Workshop Series on the Lost Art of Geometric Design (Ray)
Accomplishments from 2012 Workshop on Streets and Intersections (Brian Ray)
The turnout was excellent this year. Beyond our two committees, we had co-sponsorship with the Task Force on Context Sensitive Design and Solutions and the Tort Liability and Risk Management Committee. Several people said that they found this interaction
valuable. Workshop attendees represented a good cross section of users and service areas including the US Access Board, a representative for the visually impaired, and the motor carrier industry. Tying geometric design and safety is timely, in light of the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) and other activities.
Attendance was at 65 or more at its peak, with around 45 or more staying through the end. In general, there was good participation and feedback. A major portion of the Workshop was a breakout session; there were 5 breakout groups with nine or so in each group. A number of “floaters” worked between the groups.
Brian welcomed feedback from those who attended, and gave special thanks to the many volunteers who planned, organized, and executed the workshop.
Jeff Shaw asked if it was worth repeating something similar at the Urban Street Symposium (USS) in June. Kay Fitzpatrick said that the USS agenda is about full, but this could be a candidate for a workshop. She asked for any comments, but received none. Kay will add this to the list of potential workshops. Chad Hammerl (ITE
representative from Chicago) said that the USS is limited to 6 workshops. Kay noted that it is pretty close to full. Joel Leisch said that the Workshop went very well, and it could be streamlined for the USS. Would need to simplify and reduce the many issues
associated with it; focus on a few pre-selected issues. Joel suggested having an overview of the corridor; select one intersection and focus on design solutions for that intersection.
Brian Ray said that someone commented that they wanted more design; another suggested having a designated “microphone person.”
Plans for the 2013 Annual Meeting
Kay noted that Keith Knapp wants to partner on rural highway issues. Brian Ray
suggested including transitions from high speed to low speed, with perhaps a case study on transition areas. Include bikes / non – motorized vehicles.
Brian encouraged volunteers to help plan and conduct the Workshop. He would like to continue the liaison outreach and include the Tort Liability and Risk Committee, the CSS/CSD Task Force, and other groups such as those from the environmental, pedestrian/bicycle, visualization, and highway safety performance areas.
Hermanus Steyn offered to be the initial point person and a number of others have volunteered. There will be even more volunteer opportunities as we pull the workshop framework together.
Research Subcommittee (Donnell)
Eric Donnell gave a presentation on the current status of the Geometric Design Strategic Research Program. He reviewed the research topic development timeline, and gave a brief history of the Strategic Geometric Design Research Program from 2002 to the present, noting Research Needs Statements and Synthesis Topics that have been submitted, and which have been funded. Eric noted the purpose of the 2011 Mid-year Meeting, i.e.:
Presentation of NCHRP projects from the Strategic Research Plan to generate research ideas
Review White Papers
Review Unfunded Research Needs
Identify Emerging Research Needs
Document an Updated Strategic Research Plan
Eric then showed a list of Research Needs Statements that have either been updated or need to be updated. The statements are organized by the four technical subgroups (Methodology, Highways, Freeways and Interchanges, and Streets and Intersections). Each RNS has volunteers identified, including a lead. Some RNS have a draft available in an “Unfunded Research Needs” document (i.e., those previous drafted but not selected for funding), while others have yet to be drafted.
R.J. Porter asked about any new Research Needs. Eric Donnell said that they could add a few more; they are on the cusp of some new ideas, but it takes a lot of work. He would like to have something done by April/May.
John Mason expressed concern that – due to the competition for NCHRP projects/syntheses – we need to address how to get advocacy from other committees early in process. This
Eric Donnell noted that there is a new research coordinators group that shared ideas through webinars. We (AHB65/AFB10) seem to be more organized than many others. We do well in working with the AASHTO Technical Committee on Geometric Design. If we identify cross-cutting needs, get input and support from other committees (e.g., Eric talked with Christine Carrigan about roadside-related issues and will get input from the Roadside Safety Design Committee). We are doing OK at that, but will strive to improve.
Brian Ray suggested scanning the liaison list that Geometric Design committee member Scott Wolf has to identify what committees would be interested.
Jim Bonneson said that if something is a high priority for AASHTO, then that elevates the issue. John Mason is looking for stakeholders to weigh in early. Jim said that we are all looking for research that has a positive impact.
Ray Derr commented that the ballot for 2013 NCHRP projects is out now, and includes 5 Research Needs Statements (RNS) from the Irvine workshop (2011 Midyear Meeting). The RNS show all who participated in the process, i.e. the 2 TRB committees and AASHTO.
Presentation to Marcus Brewer
Kay presented Marcus Brewer a certificate for his outstanding work as author of NCHRP Synthesis 432 (Recent Geometric Design Research for Improved Safety and Operations) in recognition for the following (provided by a panel member):
“Outstanding report, a treasure trove of information, well organized and clearly presented for maximum accessibility and usefulness (Chapter 7 Conclusions in particular). This report merits extra effort in publicizing it and disseminating it to target users, as I can easily envision its value to roadway designers and to the traveling public, especially with respect to safety.”
Intersections Joint Subcommittee (Shaw)
Jeff Shaw reported on the Intersections Joint Subcommittee (IJS) activities. Last year, Jeff and Brandon Nevers took over as co-chairs (succeeding Pat Hasson), and a new
organizational structure was instituted. Working Groups and their leaders are as follows:
Planning (Hermanus Steyn)
Alternative Intersections (Gil Chlewicki)
Communications and Outreach (Jon Soika and Ed Stollof)
Research Needs and Monitoring (Brian Toombs)
Jeff also noted the following:
Gil started a listserve group; contact Jeff Shaw, Brandon Nevers or Gil to get on the listserve. About 36 are signed up so far.
Hermanus got an IJS newsletter out recently and was very active in supporting the “Lost Art of Geometric Design” workshop.
Gil had a poster on a new intersection that he invented.
As a group, the IJS reviewed a few dozen papers.
The IJS meeting is tonight. Representatives from Maryland, Kentucky and the FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center will present their work on various alternative intersection selection tools. The tools are useful at the early design phase (e.g., for screening); they will demonstrate their tools at the meeting.
The IJS will help with the Urban Street Symposium, since intersections are a big component.
They have talked with Rick Pain (TRB) about a potential Alternative Intersections conference in 2014. They are receptive, but not sure if it is better to have a separate conference or to partner up with another group (e.g., ITE). Want a national forum on alternative intersections. Brandon said that the main objective is to bring together related intersection issues. Working together can provide a stronger front.
Hillary Isebrands asked if they considered tacking onto the 2014 Roundabout Conference. Jeff replied that they have talked about it; however, Rick Pain doesn’t want to tamper with a good thing. The Roundabouts Conference will be in Seattle; will discuss this further with Rick.
4th Urban Street Symposium – June 24-27, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois (Gattis/Fitzpatrick)
Jim Gattis gave a report on the 4th Urban Street Symposium (USS4), noting that all of the
information will go out in an e-mail:
The Symposium will be held June 24-27, 2012 (Sunday-Wednesday), at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.
The theme is “My Street, Your Street, Our Street – Developing Livable Transportation Solutions.”
To reach a larger audience, the Symposium is being held in conjunction with the Midwestern ITE District meeting.
Co-sponsors: ITE Midwestern District; TRB Operational Effects (AHB65), Geometric Design (AFB10), Highway Safety Performance (ANB25); AASHTO Technical Committee on Geometric Design
Symposium information may be found at: http://www.mwite-uss4-2012.org
Additional details:
Registration (currently in Beta mode) will begin in February 2012. Full Registration (three day) is $400.
Proceedings: The plan is to have proceedings distributed at the meeting, and on the website.
Current status: Completing the abstract selection; expect to finalize program, notify authors by February 1.
Volunteers: If you wish to be a moderator, please contact Jim Gattis at
[email protected]; state if you need to be a moderator to obtain company approval to attend. If you wish to volunteer for the panel to select the best paper/presentation and can be present and attend sessions from Monday morning through Wednesday morning, contact Jim Gattis at [email protected].
Jim requested that workshop presenters send him their descriptions, for advertising the program.
USS4 will include 68 podium sessions, workshops, and training. Session moderators are needed and 6 or so volunteers to do presentation reviews (in preparation for a “greatest hits” session).
Kay asked about the possibility of another training session focused on the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM). Brian Ray noted the Multimodal Level of Service model, new to the 2010 HCM would be of particular interest from an urban streets perspective.A problem is that there is already a lot of training; can we fill a training session focused on HCM? (There was no response) David McDonald asked if there would be a conflict with other workshops. Kay said yes, it would be at the same time as Mark Doctor’s workshop on Alternative Intersection Design. Chad Hammer thinks we would need 35-40 people to be financially feasible. Would we have that many? Chad said that there was training done by Mc Trans in 2011 (focused on Highway Capacity Software (HCS)?) in the region so the demand for another course may be low. [Post meeting: rather than a Sunday training course, the Urban Street Symposium will have a ½ day workshop on Tuesday afternoon on Urban Street and Signal Intersections.]
5th International Symposium on Highway Geometric Design (Harwood)
Doug Harwood gave a presentation on plans for the 5th International Symposium on Highway
Geometric Design, including:
• 12 members from the steering committee for the previous Symposium have agreed to serve for the 5th Symposium. Additional steering committee members are needed --
Contact Doug Harwood ([email protected])
• Past Symposia have alternated between North America (Boston – 1995; Chicago - 2005) and Europe (Mainz, Germany – 2000; Valencia, Spain – 2010)
suggested North American locations will be considered, with a preference for West Coast locations to enhance future ties to the Pacific Rim.
• Selection Criteria for the Symposium Venue:
• Attractiveness for maximum domestic and international attendance
• Air transportation accessibility
• Technical tour possibilities
• Committee involvement – potential local hosts with a tie to the sponsoring TRB committees
• Additional criteria for a venue that would take financial responsibility for the Symposium
• Nominations for Symposium venues: 1 to 2 pages are sufficient to nominate a U.S. city where the Symposium would be organized by TRB; Nominations should address the selection criteria; A more detailed invitation will be sent to Vancouver, B.C., or other venues where the local host would take financial responsibility for the Symposium; Due 4/15/12 to Doug Harwood ([email protected])
5 Liaison Reports
Highway Safety Performance Committee (Dimaiuta)
Mike Dimaiuta gave a presentation on Highway Safety Performance Committee (ANB25) activities, including:
• Highway Safety Performance Committee Sessions at 2012 TRB:
• Session 648: Highway Safety Performance
• Session 679: New Developments in Highway Safety Research
• Session 721: Implementation of AASHTO Highway Safety Manual: What is Under Way?
• Highway Safety Performance Committee Meetings at 2012 TRB:
• Wednesday 2:30 – 6:00 pm
• Reports on Ongoing Safety Performance Activities (FHWA update, AASHTO update, NCHRP 20-7(314) Recommended Protocol for
Developing CMFs; NCHRP 17-45 Update – Crash Prediction Methods for Freeways and Interchanges; NCHRP 17-48 Update – Highway
Infrastructure and Operations Safety Research Needs; Updates on other activities – e.g., LTAP
• Thursday 8:00 – 12:00
• NCHRP 17-51 Towards Zero Deaths: A National Strategy on Highway Safety (Update)
• Highway Safety Research Proposals
• Highway Safety Manual (HSM) Update
• AASHTO’s HSM website: www.highwaysafetymanual.org; includes an HSM User Discussion Forum
• HSM Implementation activities
• Many on-going and planned – by States, AASHTO, FHWA, TRB
• Case Studies
• HSM Managers Guide
• NCHRP 17-50: Lead States Initiative for Implementing the HSM; Peer Exchange held in conjunction with HSPC MYM, Aug. 10-11, 2011
• Work towards HSM 2nd Edition, e.g.,
• NCHRP 17-45: Crash Prediction Methods for Freeways and Interchanges
• NCHRP project on prediction methods for 6- or more lane non-freeways and one-way pairs
• Safety Analysis Tools
• IHSDM – 2011 Release contains a Calibration Utility to implement HSM Part C calibration procedures (www.ihsdm.org)
• NCHRP 17-38 Spreadsheets (HSM Part C) updated/extended by ALDOT and VDOT - available from www.safetyperformance.org
• CMF Clearinghouse – Summer 2011 Newsletter (cmfclearinghouse.org)
• Liaison Activities
• Mike Dimaiuta is liaison for AHB65
• Brian Ray and Mark Taylor are liaisons for AFB10
• There was a webinar for TRB Committees on May 11, 2011; a recording is posted on www.safetyperformance.org.
• Identify potential joint initiatives between committees
• ANB25 plans a post-TRB webinar Spring 2012; all are encouraged to attend.
6 Planning for Future Midyear Meetings
2012 midyear meeting at 4th Urban Street Symposium (Fitzpatrick)
Committee meetings will be on Wednesday, June 27 in the afternoon. AHB65 and AFB10 will meet jointly with the Highway Safety Performance Committee.
Subcommittee meetings will take place on Monday evening or Tuesday/Wednesday early morning. Subcommittee chairs should send Brian or Kay an e-mail if they want a meeting.
Brian noted that he met with Jeff Jones/AASHTO who would like to plan at least one hour for a joint session with the Geometric Design and Operational Effects Committees -- likely on Wednesday morning for 60-90 minutes. The main focus would be a brief re-cap of the 2011 mid-year meeting, the status of priority research needs statements, discussion of the balance of RNS, and the status of revised E-Circular 110. Jeff is in the process of developing his committee agenda for the mid-year meeting and will be reaching out to us to coordinate the details.
2013 Midyear Meeting – to be determined (Ray)
Brian said that he spoke with Jeff Jones, who agrees a midyear meeting would be good with some sort of workshop. It could be a repeat of the 2011 session, some focused and
and keep us informed. It is most convenient for TRB to lead the midyear meeting
coordination as we did for the 2011 Irvine meeting. Brian let him know our TRB committees look forward to taking care of those logistics.
7 Announcements
The Operational Effects of Geometrics 2011 Best Paper award was presented to Marcus Brewer, Kay Fitzpatrick and Jesse Stanley for their paper on “Driver Behavior on Speed-Change Lanes at Freeway Ramp Terminals.”
8 Release to separate meetings
