Could “happiness” become a Key Performance Indicator or KPI tracked by state departments of transportation very soon? [Above photo by the Minnesota DOT] Dr. Yingling Fan, professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, believes it is inevitable that state DOTs across the country will eventually benchmark […]

The Federal Transit Administration is proposing updates to the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans or PTASP rule that would “codify communication” between frontline transit workers and management; an important measure to address worker assaults. [Above photo via the FTA] The agency – which has been working on ways to beef up transit worker protections since 2021 – […]

Former Rep. Elmer Greinert “Bud” Shuster (above) of Pennsylvania died on April 19 due to complications from a hip fracture he suffered in a fall in late March. He was 91 years old. [Above photo via Wikipedia] First elected to the House of Representatives in 1972, Shuster went on to become chairman of the House […]

The Federal Highway Administration is seeking applications for $848 million worth of Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation or PROTECT grants. [Above image by the FHWA] This is the first round of funding from this particular discretionary grant program; funding aimed at making the country’s surface transportation system – including highways, public […]

The American Traffic Safety Services Association and the Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Traffic Control Devices recently invited students nationwide to compete in the 2024 Traffic Control Device or TCD Student Challenge. [Above photo by ATSSA] The contest is open to high school, junior college, college and university students or teams of students with […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently issued a notice of funding opportunity for cities, towns, counties, tribal governments, and Metropolitan Planning Organizations or MPOs to apply directly for more than $1.17 billion in grants to help fund local roadway safety improvement projects. [Above photo by the USDOT] Those funds are from the “Safe Streets and […]

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently sent an eight-page letter to the Federal Highway Administration offering detailed comments on some of the potential fallout from new “Build America, Buy America” regulations on the continued timely and successful delivery of critical infrastructure projects around the country. [Above image by AASHTO] “AASHTO and […]

Roger Millar (above) – secretary of the Washington Department of Transportation and 2022-2023 president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials – has been selected by The Resilient Roads Roundtable as one of its “Innovators and Influencers” luminaries. [Above photo by AASHTO] The Roundtable is an organization of transportation infrastructure leaders from across the […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed a stringent set of federal vehicle emissions standards to, in its words, “accelerate the ongoing transition to a clean vehicles future and tackle the climate crisis.” [Above image of EPA headquarters via the EPA] “By proposing the most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks, we are delivering […]

A new “Space Act” agreement between NASA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will allow the two agencies to collaborate on a study of Urban Air Mobility or UAM airspace needs in and around the “complex airspace” surrounding the airports, docks, and other facilities managed by the port agency. [Above photo […]