7 Results of Texas Variable Speed Pilot Study. 3+ Procurement Opportunities Abound.

What group studied variable speeds on Texas roads? Texas A&M Transportation Institute

Why? HB 2204 from 2013 legislation required it.

What roadways did TTI study? 

  •   Urban Congestion Site: Westbound (WB) State Loop (SL) 1604 between US 281 and IH-10, San Antonio

  •   Construction Work Zone Site: IH-35 northbound (NB), MM 297 – MM 301, Temple

  •   Weather-Related Site: Eastbound (EB) and WB IH-20 at Ranger Hill, Eastland County

What was the result? Yes, variable speed would be beneficial to address congestion, weather and construction, but they have 7 suggestions:

  1. Use permanent equipment  (procurement opportunity)

  2. A wider separation of the sensors and signs 

  3. Utilize a more comprehensive and rigorous site selection process  

  4. Account for more failure conditions in both equipment and communications

  5. Improve the overall algorithm (procurement opportunity)

  6. Real-time data exchange to other agencies, such as the Department of Public Safety. (procurement opportunity)

  7. Significant and on-going public outreach is necessary 

Variable Speed Pilot Project Study from TTI at TXDOT request

Texas A&M Transportation Institute Summary

Lege Trend: NO HOV Lanes to ease congestion

No HOV lanes to help ease congestion? How is this possible?

California Legislature passed AB 210 that would prohibit HOV times at non-rush hour times. For those who don’t like double negatives, that means HOV lanes are only permissible during rush hour.

What statutory language did California use?

a high-occupancy vehicle lane shall not
be established....
 unless
the lane is established as a high-occupancy vehicle lane only during
the hours of heavy commuter traffic, as determined by the department.

When will this go into effect? Never. Gov. Brown vetoed the bill.

Sacramento Bee | Jerry Brown: Don’t tinker with L.A. carpool lanes

 

AB210

Regulatory Trend: New Rules for Self Driving Cars in the West

Consumer Watch Dog is calling for California DMV to implement new rules regarding accidents with self driving cars. The new rules would:

  • Require the company to release the video of the traffic accident
  • Report all data the car has concerning the car crash

What do California DMV rules currently require of self driving car accident reporting?

  • 10 days to report
  • must report circumstances around the accident.

Who is testing self-driving cars in California?

  • 10 different companies including:  Google, Honda, Nissan and Volkswagen.

Governing | California’s New Problem: Driverless Car Crashes

The Home of the Ducks has a new State Transportation Panel for Long Term Funding with 4 Focus Areas

Oregon Governor Kate Brown reinstituted a transporation advisory panel to focus on long term transportation planning.

Advisory Committee Focus Will:

  1. Determine how much OR would have to spend to prepare its transportation to be “resilient” during a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake
  2. Recommend ways to promote alternative transportation to address traffic congestion
  3. Recommend spending levels and options to raise money for current and future transportation needs
  4. Recommend how OR can “encourage and adequately prepare for key technological innovations that can fundamentally improve the state transportation system in the next 30 years.”

Blue Mountain Eagle: Brown resurrects transportation panel

TXDOT Sunset Commission Self Evaluation. Transportation Reinvestment Zones.

TXDOT submitted its Self Evaluation for its Sunset Review for the current cycle.  

Let’s see what they said about Transportation Reinvestment Zones.

Refresher about TRZs:  Collin County told the House Select Committee on Transportation Funding that they like this option.

What did TXDOT mention to Sunset? 

  • Recitation of the legislation that created TRZs:
  • Texas Transportation Institute Texas A&M University System has a $181,600 contract to study TRZs
  • You can find TRZs in Transportation Code, Section 222.105 

Lege Trend: Transportation Funding Options in Graceland

Tennessee needs transportation funding. It’s also 1 of 5 states that holds no debt for roads. 

Transportation options on the table in Tennessee:

  • increase the gas tax (TN gas tax is the 13th lowest)
  • tolls
  • developing a mileage-based tax system
  • debt financing through general obligation bonds and public-private partnerships.

The Daily Herald: Senator pushes for transport tax reform

Trend: 2 Texas Senators Continue Opposition to Toll Roads

Which road project? LBJ Freeway expansion

Which Senators? Both Senator Van Taylor and Senator Bob Hall reiterated their opposition to the use of toll roads. 

What do local transportation officials say? The transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments also wants pay-as-you go and not tolls to expand LBJ. But, the Council needs $1.4 Billion for the project.

Senator Bob Hall’s comment: if two-thirds of the project can be built without tolls, why not the other third?

Dallas Morning News | Officials agree on LBJ East design features but not funding

New High Speed Rail Project Pops Up with an ingenious American-made funding plan

How do you get more people to the gambling oasis in the desert? High speed rail between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Which entities are involved in the high speed rail project? XpressWest partnership with China Railway International

Foreign investment? Yes

What’s their high speed rail plan look like?

  •  $100 million in seed money, to “accelerate launch” of the line.
  • The September 2016 target date to start construction
  •  the project’s environmental documents are already in order
  • it goes through a lot of desert and most of Nevada is  federal government land, so mimimal private property rights hurdles.
  • XpressWest is talking about plans to open a manufacturing plant in Nevada, which opens up the possibility of federal loan funding based on American manufacturing

City Lab | The Atlanic | The Unbreakable U.S. High-Speed Rail System