Center for Transportation Research News

Editor Note: As an update to the passage of the Master Bike Plan, Annick Beaudet, the Bicycle Program Manager with the City of Austin in Department of Public Works, has provided this update on the implementation of the plan.

Colored bike lane on Dean Keaton East of IH 35.

It is my pleasure to write about my [...]

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<img src=”http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/dotfhwa.gif”>
The Federal Highway Administration posted its October Transportation and Climate Change Newsletter. It contains the latest news in this area of policy and study.

U.S. DOE and U.S. EPA announce the 2010 Fuel Economy Guide for model year 2010 vehicles.
World Resources Institute issues provisional GHG emissions reporting standard for public sector
EESI publishes State Actions on Climate Change: A Focus [...]

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View Video: http://www.kvue.com/v/?i=70265707
Austin’s new car sharing program, Car2Go, starts today. It is the first of its kind in the nation. During a six-month pilot program, city employees will have access to 200 Smart cars, which will be pre-positioned at parking spots around town. Austin city officials say it will offer a convenient, environmentally-friendly alternative to [...]

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September 30, 2009 - Michael Ramage, former executive vice president of ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, and James Sweeney, professor of economics at Stanford University, discuss the conclusions of the National Academy of Sciences report entitled America’s Energy Future with a focus on the sections dealing with liquid transportation fuels.
Stanford University
http://www.stanford.edu
ExxonMobil Energy Resources [...]

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Following the successful launch of the new mobility concept car2go in Europe (in the City of Ulm, Germany), car2go and the City of Austin, Texas will launch the first North American pilot program for car2go on November 17th. car2go is a new, sustainable mobility concept from Daimler which redefines individual transportation in congested areas. [...]

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Safety experts have convinced some hybrid car manufacturers that silence may not be golden, when it comes to pedestrian traffic.
lug-in hybrid and electric cars, it turns out, not only reduce air pollution, they cut noise pollution as well with their whisper-quiet motors. But that has created a different problem. They aren’t noisy enough.
So safety [...]

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BCBS Parking Garage, Detroit, MI
Photo: Fabrizio Costantini for USA TODAY
With the upswing in transit-oriented development, parking garages are the latest buildings to get an eco-makeover.
“Green” is the new black in planning, design and construction philosophy, and it’s no different for the parking industry. Parking designers are embracing practices such as using recycled materials, solar [...]

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A new research study conducted at Queensland University of Technology’s International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health found that ultrafine particles can become concentrated inside of roadway tunnels at levels sufficiently high enough to potentially to drivers and passengers.
Study co-author and director of Queensland University of Technology’s International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Professor [...]

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Image (from Oregon.gov): aerial  view of Solar Highway project

Oregon DOT’s Solar Highway is capable of producing 128,000 kWh of electricity a year.  The energy generated helps run the state’s transportation system by providing electricity for “signals, illumination, buildings, ramp metering and more.”
Solar energy produced by the array feeds into the grid during the day. At night, the [...]

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Continuing to aid the American auto industry, the House passed a bill on Wednesday to approve an expansion of U.S. government-led research in the creation of more fuel-efficient and green vehicles.
Chevy Volt. Picture from www.autospectator.com
The bill would authorize $2.9 billion to the Energy Department to boost the research over five years. It would push the government [...]

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