By: Sam Belfield
Senior Transportation Engineer

The HRTPO continues to receive input from military commuters since releasing a public transportation survey on November 8, 2011.  As of January 26, 2012, approximately 9,180 survey responses have been received.

The HRTPO is collecting information about the commuting experience of military personnel (active-duty, civilians, contractors, reservists and others) traveling to/from the region’s military bases.  The survey was developed by the HRTPO, in concert with the Commands from the region’s military installations and various transportation stakeholders. It is designed to identify and determine the challenges local military personnel and military-related commuters routinely face during their daily commutes.

The survey will remain open to local military commuters until February 20, 2012.  The survey results will be summarized and reported to the HRTPO board, local transit agencies, local governments, VDOT, and military officials in an effort to improve military travel in our region.

By Benito O. Pérez,
HRTPO Transportation Engineer

Starting in the fall of 2013 or sooner, it will be all aboard for Amtrak’s new passenger rail service to Norfolk, Virginia. Dubbed Next Stop Norfolk, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation is partnering with Amtrak, Norfolk Southern, and CSX Incorporated to realize passenger rail service from Norfolk to the Northeast Regional Corridor.

To realize this project, DRPT and its partners have been hard at work at planning, designing, and constructing improvements along the Petersburg to Norfolk rail corridor. Those efforts include:

 
• Construction underway of the Harbor Park passenger rail platform
• Construction underway of the Norfolk train turning and servicing facility
• Discussions and design work of the Norfolk multimodal station facility improvements to connect the following services:

o Tide Light Rail (noted in red on map)
o HRT Ferry
o HRT Bus Service (noted in blue on map)
o Amtrak connector bus service
o Amtrak Passenger Rail service (noted in orange on map)

• Survey and design underway for Portlock Rail Yard improvements (circled in red) 
 

• Design work on Petersburg Collier Connection (circled in red) completed by CSX and under review by DRPT
• Grading work on Norfolk Southern’s component of Collier Connection is complete; track work near completion – adjustments to be made upon CSX connection work
• Facility coordination meetings being held between DRPT, CSX, and Norfolk Southern
• Coordination between Norfolk Southern, DRPT, and Petersburg on minimizing impacts to the Johnson Road highway construction project (circled in blue)
• Design work complete for Norfolk Southern running track between Poe and Walnut Hill (marked by white box); Construction to start in early 2012

• Bi-weekly update meetings between partners to efficiently advance and deliver the project
• Field surveys continue on the design of the US 460 corridor signal and crossover improvements
• Amtrak technical service agreement has been executed; work underway on service design

For additional information and project updates on Next Stop Norfolk, consult DRPT’s project website at: http://www.drpt.virginia.gov/activities/norfolk.aspx

Sources: Maps- Google Maps; Amtrak Train -Flickr @ Rob Shenk

Keith Nichols, Senior Transportation Engineer

The number of passengers using intercity passenger rail service in Hampton Roads has increased in recent years.  Over 175,000 passengers used Amtrak service at the stations in Newport News and Williamsburg in 2011.  This is an increase of 7% from the passenger levels seen in 2010 and a 35% increase from the levels seen in the middle of the 2000s.  Statewide, over 1.3 million passengers used Amtrak service in 2011, an increase of 16% over 2010 levels.

These passenger levels in Hampton Roads are expected to increase further with the addition of new passenger rail service between Norfolk and Richmond.  This service is expected to begin in 2013, and construction has already started on the platform to the east of Harbor Park.

By: Sam Belfield, Senior Transportation Engineer

In addition to mandated products (LRTP, TIP, CMP), the HRTPO staff conducts studies and prepares reports for various transportation issues in order to improve safety and mobility, and relieve congestion in the region. Several corridor and local planning studies are completed each year as part of the HRTPO Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). These studies are typically requested by local municipal governments, the HRTPO Board, or the general public and are often considered critical transportation topics. Most studies contain data, analysis, and a set of recommendations that support the goals and objectives established within the Congestion Management Process (CMP) and the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). Many of these studies support one or more of the eight federal planning factors, which are required by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) as part of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). All studies are coordinated with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), local municipalities, and other stakeholders and are made available for public review and input.

The list below shows the HRTPO special studies completed since 2007:

ITS Virginia (ITSVA) “serves as a forum and network for its public and private sector members to share information, ideas and experiences” concerning Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), i.e. “technologies that improve the safety, security and efficiency of the surface transportation system” in Virginia.

On May 4 and 5, ITSVA held its Annual Conference in Richmond.  Conference sessions included:

Active Traffic Management Around the World: Lessons for Virginia

Port Improvement Projects

Active Transportation and Demand Management

Two reports from eastern Virginia were presented to the group:

HRTPO Efforts & Initiatives, by Robert B. Case, HRTPO staff

Eastern Region Activities, by Dwayne Cook, VDOT

At the Options for Considering Operational Improvements in the Planning Process session, HRTPO staff learned how to calculate a “buffer index” (95th percentile travel time divided by average travel time) which staff can use to measure travel time reliability on Hampton Roads’ interstates and major arterials.

By Jessica M. Banks
Senior Transportation Analyst

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has released a report, entitled Infrastructure 2011: A Strategic Priority.  This is the fifth in a series of annual reports co-produced by ULI and Ernst & Young that assesses the state of infrastructure in the United States and around the world.  Based on extensive interviews with industry experts and research, this report surveys global infrastructure trends and activities in 2011 and then examines in depth current U.S. infrastructure policy and the outlook for meeting the nation’s significant repair and rebuilding challenges. The report reviews national infrastructure strategies in a variety of countries, noting that most have put in place serious efforts to identify and address infrastructure deficiencies and chart a course toward lower energy and oil consumption. It contrasts these approaches with those in the United States, which at a national level still lacks a coherent infrastructure strategy and struggles to give infrastructure the priority it deserves.

For more information, please click here.

Kendall Miller
Public Involvement and Community Outreach Administrator

The Philadelphia-based public space advocacy group Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight (SCRUB) has published a report that examines the environmental and energy-consumption issues raised by digital signage. Such issues include higher electrical consumption, increased light pollution, and potential recyclability issues. The report includes an overview of the basics of digital signage technology and energy consumption, information on current regulation of digital signs by Philadelphia and other municipalities, and zoning policy recommendations. For more information, link to Illuminating the Issues: Digital Signage and Philadelphia’s Green Future.

Kendall Miller
Public Involvement and Community Outreach Administrator

A listing of recent activities related to the Federal Highway Administration’s Recreational Trails Program and Transportation Enhancements has been posted by FHWA. The update includes links to resources, recent award programs, research, training resources, conferences, and other information. For more information, link to Recreational Trails Program and Transportation Enhancement Activities, Feb. 2011 Program Update.