Volume 1 Issue 7 | May 14, 2020
Transportation Planning Newsletter
Chair: <vacant> Vice Chair: Lynn Weiskopf, New York State DOT

The Committee on Planning addresses all aspects of the transportation planning process including federal regulations, current industry practices, and emerging approaches and concepts. The committee is dedicated to providing State DOTs the expertise, resources and tools they need to implement a robust planning process within their agencies that is multimodal, multidisciplinary, innovative and consensus-oriented.
Committee News
Weekly Spotlight: CMAQ Task Force

•  Chair: Andrew Swords, New Jersey
 
• Vice Chair: <vacant>
 
• AASHTO Liaison: Will Lusk
 
• Meetings: Second Tuesday of each month at 2:00pm (Eastern)
The CMAQ Task Force provides a forum for communications, guidance, and resources focused on the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program that state transportation agencies need to address.

The CMAQ program provides a flexible funding source for State and local governments to fund transportation projects and programs to help meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act and its amendments. Since its beginning in 1992, the CMAQ program has provided more than $30 billion for over 29,000 transportation-related emission reduction projects for state transportation departments, metropolitan planning organizations, and other sponsors across the country.
The CMAQ task force is a great venue to engage fellow AASHTO members and FHWA, who provides regular updates at each monthly meeting. Participation in the task force's monthly teleconferences is open to all AASHTO members. For further information, please contact  committeeonplanning@aashto.org or visit  https://planning.transportation.org/cmaq/
ECONWORKS WEBINAR REMINDER - REGISTER NOW
Monday, May 18, 2020 @ noon (EDT)

Host: Matt Hardy, AASHTO


Join us on May 18 for EconWorks: Improved Economic Insight for Transportation Planning, a free webinar which will showcase the EconWorks suite and its value for state DOT planners.

Now, it is more important than ever for state DOTs to have efficient and affordable tools in their arsenal for project development.

The EconWorks pooled fund will work to operate, maintain and improve the EconWorks tool over a five-year period. Recognizing this, the pooled fund solicitation will be closing in a few weeks and a project number assigned. We added contributions from FHWA and three more states in recent weeks, and hope to squeeze in a few more to get us over the finish line by the end of May. For additional information on how your agency can join the many states already taking part, contact Will Lusk, AASHTO staff.
EconWorks is a collection of web-based tools designed to help planners incorporate economic analysis into early project decision making. EconWorks includes:

*Case Study Search: a library of case studies, searchable by project attributes, to demonstrate the economic impacts of transportation investments in other communities.

*Assess My Project: A web-based tool that estimates the economic impact of potential projects based on parameters defined by users.

*Analysis Tools: Downloadable spreadsheets useful for assessing other economic benefits from transportation projects.

EconWorks is designed to be used step-wise beginning with case studies.
COVID-19

State departments of transportation are actively supporting their residents, businesses and local communities in response to the current COVID-19 outbreak. And in turn, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials is working to support state DOTs in those efforts.

AASHTO remains committed to responsibly following federal and state recommended workplace actions related to COVID-19. We hope you’ll find the resources available at https://www.transportation.org/home/covid19/ useful.

If AASHTO staff can assist you with comments or questions regarding COVID-19, please email us at committeeonplanning@aashto.org.
2020 JOINT POLICY CONFERENCE
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Official’s (AASHTO) 2020 Joint Policy Conference: Connecting the DOTs will bring together six AASHTO committees and councils to meet and discuss critical issues surrounding multimodal freight and passenger transportation. Focus areas will include planning, freight, maritime, security and resilience, environment and sustainability, and active transportation. With an estimated 300 participants from all 52 AASHTO member departments, this is a unique opportunity to reach out and connect with key decision-makers at state DOTs.

Please know that AASHTO’s first priority is the health, safety and well-being of our attendees, volunteers and staff attending any AASHTO meetings. We continue to monitor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization’s statements and guidance closely. Currently, consideration for cancellation or postponement of upcoming AASHTO meetings as a result of COVID-19 is being made on a case by case basis.

At this time, no decision has been made regarding cancellation or postponement of the 2020 Joint Policy Conference. It is also possible that this conference will be held virtually. Additional details will be available in future editions of this newsletter.
Industry News
ALTERNATE TRANSPORTATION

Seattle to permanently close 20 miles of streets to traffic so residents can exercise and bike on them
CNN

Houston’s transportation planner: COVID shows streets cannot be just for commuting
Houston Chronicle

Need More Outdoor Public Space? Maybe Cities Already Have It.
CityLab
 
Bike sales booming during pandemic
WPIX-TV

Webinar: Essential Movement: Building Temporary Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities During COVID-19
NATCO

ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY

Coronavirus inspires cities to push climate-friendly mobility
Deutsche Welle

FREIGHT
 
Port of LA chief: ‘We will need to reinvent ourselves’
American Shipper

Survey about rest areas in four Northeast states needs truckers’ input
Land Line

Ports Laying Groundwork For Post-Coronavirus Business
FreightWaves

Imports to see double-digit annual declines even as stores begin to reopen
National Retail Federation

FUNDING
 
Road Agencies Hope For Funding
WSJM Radio

Transit agencies call for additional $33B in federal aid
Politico

House spending bill would boost transit, Amtrak, highways
Roll Call

With gas tax revenue plunging during coronavirus pandemic, Pa. looks to Congress to bail out transportation projects
Morning Call

Lawmakers Still Eyeing Highway Bill Despite Coronavirus Relief Efforts
Transport Topics

As Gas Tax Revenue Drops, WSDOT Could Face 40 Percent Funding Decline, Delay Projects
Spokesman-Review

INFRASTRUCTURE

Illinois governor announces $25 million in grants to accelerate infrastructure projects
WGEM-TV

How the coronavirus is affecting plans to fix Michigan roads
WXYZ-TV

Report: Rural roads, bridges expect to see decreased funding despite $211B backlog
Transportation Today

INTERNATIONAL
 
Project Uses ‘Digital Twins’ To Design More Sustainable Cities
Intelligent Transport

MOBILITY  

Mayor Lightfoot Considering More Transportation Options Downtown For When City Reopens
WBBM Radio

Collaborative project studies place of micromobility in future transit systems
Intelligent Transport

MPOs
 
Charlottesville/Albemarle MPO To Hold Webinars On Several Transportation Projects  
WCAV-TV

MARC wants your input on $14.2B in future transportation projects
Kansas City Business Journal

OTHER
 
Mass. transportation chief sees work-from-home as key to coronavirus recovery
Boston Globe

Janette Sadik-Khan On What Cities Will Look Like After COVID-19
CNN’s GPS

In A Pandemic, Transportation Ushers In A New Age Of Agile Experimentation
Forbes

An Updated Look at the Effects of COVID-19 on Regional Transportation and Infrastructure
Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation report
 
PLANNING
 
Iowa DOT lays out $3.6 billion five-year transportation plan
The Courier

RAIL
 
Bullet train company Texas Central hails appeals court ruling declaring it a railroad
Houston Chronicle

USDOT preempts Washington state’s crude-by-rail law
West Dakota Fox
 
Lack of rail limits U.S. ability to lower airline emissions
E&E News

ROADWAYS
 
Data: Virus-weary Americans slowly return to the road
AP

Utah freeway traffic returns to near-normal as coronavirus restrictions ease
Salt Lake Tribune

Mass. Transportation Chief Reports Vehicle Travel Is Up, Says 'Quarantine Fatigue' May Be Why
State House News Service

Deal To Buy Abandoned Rail Yard Key To I-25 Expansion Jeopardized By Coronavirus
Colorado Public Radio

PennDOT, turnpike to cut road projects because of revenue shortfalls related to COVID-19
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

TECHNOLOGY

Blockchain Could Improve Highway Administration
AASHTO Journal

East Bay city to work with proposed autonomous car transit system developer
East Bay Times

TRANSIT
 
Full Metro service not expected in DC until next spring
The Hill

More People Turning to Cars Because of Fears of Coronavirus Infection on Public Transit
Weather Channel

NYC subway chief calls on employers to stagger hours, continue remote work to limit crowded trains
CNBC

Economic analysis puts pandemic impact on U.S. transit industry at $48.8 billion
Mass Transit

Advocates in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia pushing to keep Turnpike payments for transit
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
 
Paths to biking, walking improvements supported by wealth of research
TRB