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Presidents MessageBy Bill Mc Me na min, PE

With the hustle and bustle o f the holida y sea son upon us, it s ve ry likely

you find your mind w andering even more so tha n usua l. In sp ite of

trying to block our the pressures that coincide with the holidays

thoughts of finding the perfect gift, where to go to get the mostsavings, and how many relatives are coming over for dinne

perme ate our lives for the next few wee ks. These little stresses just a dd

to those typical distractions we encounter on a daily basis, which is

why its during these tumultuous times we as both transportation

professionals and motorists need to be even more cognizant of

being at tentive behind the whee l. It s ea sier sa id than do ne in the

tec hnolog ic a l age w e live in. While d istrac ted d riving com es in va rious forms, the p reva lenc e of cel

pho nes, sma rt pho nes, and other hand held elec tronics have ad de d a new dimension to the d riving

experienc e w hic h is having w idespread c onseq uenc es.

Now Im not going to lie a nd c laim Ive neve r answe red a c all or text while in my c ar. I believe Id be

hard p ressed to find som eone who ha snt. While c ell pho ne usag e a nd te xting a re the m ost

recognizable, the overall documented statistics regarding distracted driving are staggering

Ac c ording to the Ce nters for Disea se C ont rol, during the yea r 2009 almo st 5,500 pe op le we re killed

with another 448,000 injured, in crashes where distracted driving was reported as a contributing

fac to r. This ac c ounts for 16% of the tota l motor vehic le fata lities within the United Sta tes. Of these

nearly 1,000 deaths and 24,000 injuries were identifed as being the result of cell phone usage prior to

the c rash. Wherea s this c onstitutes a lesser percenta ge of the tota l than one wo uld expec t

resea rc hers have found c ell phone usage quadrup les c rash risk. Simp ly dialing a c ell phone

increases c rash risk by three times. A University of Utah stud y has even c onc lude d c ell phone use

while driving delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the

leg a l limit of .08 pe rc ent.

Tha nkfully, these sob ering sta tistics have no t be en igno red . Ma ny sta tes a re ena c ting law s or using

grad ua ted d river licensing system s to raise a warene ss about the dangers of d istrac ted d riving . In

fact, as of July 2011, ten states and the District of Columbia have banned driving while talking on a

ha nd -held c ell phone fo r a ll d rive rs, w ith five o f these sta tes making it a p rima ry offense. Text

messag ing is now proh ibited for all drive rs in 34 sta tes. Novice teen d rive rs, the most visible c ulprits of

cell phone usage while driving, are now banned from using them including hands free devices in

TransTalk December 2011

Volume 14

Issue 4


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30 sta tes. ITE is a lso on the forefront of this issue . Robert Wund erlich, the c urrent Inte rnat iona

President o f ITE, ma de a p itch for ITE mem bers to set the example by driving c ell free in one o f his

messages ea rlier this yea r. However, while rec ent resea rc h from the Insuranc eInstitute for Highway

Safety (IIHS) indica tes these law s were gene ra lly effec tive a t reduc ing use o f hand -held c ell phone s

there wa s not a c oinc id ing red uc tion in c rashes. There s still muc h wo rk to be done !

I wish you a nd your families a joyo us and b lessed holiday. When you re o ut and about this sea son

do your best to remain vigilant behind the w hee l. Keep in mind 25% of d rivers in the United Sta tes

reported they regularly talk on their cell phones while driving, so even if youre alert, statistics show

the m a jority of other motorists ma y not b e.

Were Sorry. The fo llowing ads for The LiRo Group and Parsons Brinckerhoff were

mistakenly om itted from the Oc tober issue o f Transtalk.


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Luig i Casinelli Elec ted 2012 Met Sec tion Treasurer

Luigi Casinelli, P.E., PTOE is a Profe ssiona l Assoc iate

and Northeast Leader of HDRs Traffic & ITS business

prac tic e in the New York Metropolitan Area . He is alicensed Professiona l Eng ineer in the sta tes of NY, NJ,

and CT and he is a lso a boa rd c ertified Professiona l

Transporta tion Opera tions Eng ineer spec ia lizing in

ma naging a ll type s of tra ffic and transportation

eng ineering stud ies for various pub lic agenc ies

inc lud ing NYCDOT, PANY & NJ, NJDOT, NYSDOT and

throughout the United Sta tes.

Professiona l Transportation Planner (PTP) program

rec eives NCCA Acc red ita tion

The Professiona l Transporta tion Planner p rogram ha s rec eived

accreditation by the National Commission for CertifyingAg enc ies. This is truly the gold sta nd ard for c ertific a tion

programs; PTOE was ac c red ited a severa l yea rs ago. The PTP

effort took a number of mo nths and a great d ea l of wo rk by

ITE sta ff to p repare the NCC A sub mission. This means tha t PTP

is the only accredited certification for planners (AICP does

not mee t the NCCA ac c red ita tion g uidelines) The NCCA

letter is available on the web at www.northeasternite.org

Upcoming Met Sec tion Meeting

Thursday, January 19, 2012 Past President s Night a t The Cap ta in sKetc h, Ma nhattan, NY

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 Luncheon Meeting a t Antonee s,White Plains, NY - Topic : NY Empire Corridor p resented by David Chan

(NYSDOT) and Peter Melewski (HNTB)


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From the EditorBy Maye r Horn, P.E., PTOE, PTP

State Legislation

There has been substantial coverag e b y the me d ia, espec ia lly the

transpo rtation a nd eng ineering me dia, of the failure a t the fed eral leve

to address infrastructure needs, including highways, transit, and

passenger rail, especially to put in place any long-term, sustainable

transporta tion fund ing me c ha nisms. There is likew ise a ne ed for sta te

go vernment to de velop long -term sustainab le fund ing mec hanisms fo

transportation and other infrastructure investment as well as for on-

going op erations and ma intenance .

Beyond the nee d for susta inab le funding , there a re a number of o ther issues wh ich sta te leg isla tures

c ould add ress to imp rove transportation. Here are a few :

Yield to Buses: As an o bserver whe ther as a mo torist, a ped estrian, a b icyc list, or a bus passeng e

(from very urban Manha tta n to suburban Suffolk Co unty) - I witness the delays buses expe rienc e in

returning to a thru tra ffic lane from a c urb b us stop without b us bulbs. A number of jurisd ictions have

leg islation tha t requires motorists to yield to b uses pulling into a thru tra ffic lane . In some o f these

transit systems, a yield-to-bus sign/signal on the left rear of the bus flashes whenever the drive

ac tivates the left d irec tiona l signa l.

Red light c am eras: These rea lly should b e no -bra iners, no t requiring a ny spec ific leg islative a c tion to

authorize this numb er or tha t. How eve r, the a c c usa tion that som e jurisd ic tions have shortened the

yellow clearance interval to increase the number of motorists caught, in order to raise revenuesshould b e a ddressed . A simp le solution w ould b e to req uire the c ertific a tion by a PTOE tha t the

dura tion of the yellow c om p lies with the MUTCD. Of c ourse, the foc us should b e on reduc ing the

freq uenc y and seve rity of c rashes. Inc identa lly, summ onses issued by auto ma ted enfo rc em ent c a rry

moneta ry fines, but no points on d rive rs lic enses.

Automa ted speed enforc ement: This might see m to be a s simp le a s red light c ameras, and it is in

terms of allowing jurisdictions to implement this at as many locations as they

wish. However, automa ted spee d en forcem ent ra ises issues of rea listic spee d

limits, spee d to leranc e, and street design. For examp le, if motorists a re

comfortable driving at 50 mph on a local street, installing 30 mph speed limits

signs, without any of the traffic calming devices to ensure 30 mph speeds,

should not be c onside red ac c ep tab le stree t design.

Emp loye r pa rking alternatives: Employer-provided free parking is quite

common in the suburbs; in CBDs, some employers subsidize parking partially,

som e com plete ly. Although sta te law doe sn t req uire emp loyers to offer free o r

even subsidized parking, state law could require employers, if they choose to

offer free or subsidized parking, to also offer at least the same benefit for using

transit, c a rpools, biking , or wa lking. (Continued on Pag e 6)


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ABSTRACT REQUEST

The ITE Northeaste rn Distric t w ill hold its annua l co nfe renc e in Lake Plac id, NY on May 23-25, 2012.

The Confe renc e Tec hnica l Prog ram C om mittee is c urrently ac c ep ting abstrac ts for p resenta tions a t

the tec hnica l sessions. Should you ha ve an interesting p rojec t or top ic tha t addresses the variety of

transportation c ha lleng es we reg ularly fac e today, we would like to invite you to sha re your work with

others in the profession.

If you are interested in presenting at the conference, please send an email to ppfleuger@watts

ae.com including:

Your nam e a nd c ontac t informa tion Brief b io Proposed presentation title Brief (500 words limit) abstract/summary explaining your presentation concept or idea (we

do nt e xpec t to have the final presenta tion p ac kages a t this time )

Abstract submission deadline is DECEMBER 31, 2011. The Co mm ittee w ill c onsider prop osa ls and

respond p rom p tly to all app lic ants. Should you have a ny questions, p lea se c onta c t Paul G. Pfleug e

a t (716) 206-5117 or a t pp fleug er@watts-ae .co m


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(Continued from Pag e 4)

This is often refe rred to a s c ash-out . Loc a l zon ing reg ulations, which often do req uire parking

enc ourage auto use and d eg rad e building exterior environments. Trea ting a lternative mo de s

equally with autos could be legislated to apply not just for employees; for shopping centers, free

transit might b ec om e the norm; the issue o f transit service leve ls must also be add ressed . Perhaps

transit benefit districts should be considered; indeed, in downstate New York, the widely unpopularMTA ta x wa s origina lly p rom ote d as a mob ility ta x to increa se transit servic e. Unfortunate ly, no soo ner

wa s it adop ted tha n MTA rec a lc ula ted its deficit and slashed transit servic e.

Residency restrictions: Suburban c om mun ities wh ich restrict a c c ess to p ub lic parks a re (typ ica lly

unconsciously) pulling in the welcome mat from tourists and visitors (e.g., shoppers) from adjacent

c om munities. Restricting parking a t co mm uter ra il sta tions enc ourag es auto travel at the expense of

transit and c ould b e outlaw ed a t the state level. Indeed , pa rking fa c ilities op erated by the transit

age nc ies and those o perated by p riva te b usinesses never imp ose residenc y restrictions. Reg ard less

of ones political philosophy, if local government cannot avoid residency restrictions, the state could

condemn the parking facilities and make other arrangements: the transit operator or a private

pa rking o pe rato r.

Project delivery: P3 - public private partnerships and DBOM design, build, operate, maintain

should no t just be a llowed , but enc ourag ed , espec ially in these d iffic ult ec ono mic time s. New Jersey

ha s suc c essfully used DBOM o n both the Hud son-Bergen Light Rail Line a nd the RIVER d iesel light rai

line be tween Trenton and Ca md en. New York need s to c atc h up.

Unsolicited proposals: Sta tes should ha ve the a b ility to ac c ep t and dea l with unsolic ited p rop osa ls

whethe r to b uild and / or operate t ransportation fac ilities. Som e sta tes have this ab ility and they, thei

c itizens, the ir businesses, and the ir visitors a ll bene fit. Beyond ab ility, sta tes and loc a lities should

we lc om e suc h prop osa ls w ith enthusiasm a nd o pen minds.

Managed lanes: A numbe r of state s a re ma nag ing express lane s and even whole freew ays to a void

c ong estion, eve n guarantee ing that there wo n t be any. Pric ing is an important too l. In this me tro

area , rea l-time p ric ing has yet to a rrive. The opportunity should no t be c onfined to b ridge s, tunnels

and existing toll roa ds. The net reve nues of wide sprea d real-time traffic managem ent inco rporating

pric ing c harging the low est toll to g uarantee no c ong estion wo uld ha ve to b e d ete rmined b efore

the need for additional revenue - whether from the transportation system or otherwise can be

addressed.

Operating efficienc y: Inefficienc y o f op erations, inc luding w ork rules whic h increa se c osts, plac es a

ma jor burden on our transporta tion system, most hea vily on the c om muter ra il systems. In som e

c ases, a ttemp ts to imp rove effic ienc y have enc ountered o ppo sition from elec ted offic ia ls. Instea d

broad-based legislation could provide the backing needed to ensure that efforts to improve

efficienc y a re not thwarted . In som e cases, seeking com petitive proposa ls, e.g., to operate

c om muter ra il system s, c ould b e leg islatively ma ndated .

Provide incentives: Som e c om bination of financ ial

incentives - carrots and sticks could be employed

to achieve transportation objectives, such as transit

agencies reducing costs by using part-time labor,


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buses having bike racks, state highway departments seeking competitive bids to operate freeways

and commuter rail lines to have appropriate ticket availability and expiration policies (or simply

ad op t POP proof of p ayment). Som etimes, financ ia l inc entives c an b e m ore rea d ily ac hieva b le

tha n leg islate d restric tions.

Transpo rtation as a System: At the seve ra l MPOs in the reg ion, transportation p lans inc lude h ighwa ys

and transit; this inc lusiveness c a rries over to the TIPs. Beyo nd tha t, there is rarely any c onside ra tion o ftransportation as a system , eve n thoug h transit and highw ay depa rtment heads might sit tog ethe r a tthe MPO ta b le a nd eve n though , in New Jersey, the c om missione r of transportation isde jurethe

c ha irman of NJ Transit. When there a re p rop osa ls to ra ise t ransit fares or red uc e t ransit service, theimpac ts on the highw ay system are rarely c onsidered . How often is imp rove d transit servic e a nd

low er transit fares c onsidered as a to ol to red uc e rec urrent highw ay cong estion?

These suggestions represen t op portunities to signific antly improve t ransporta tion: highway and t ransit,

op erations effic ienc y and servic e, ma intenanc e and expa nsion. So wha t? What need s to be d one?

The Transportation Plan: The transportation p lans p rod uc ed by the MPOs should inc lude operations,

effic ienc y, and servic e. Starting w ith whe re w e a re no w, the p lans should p aint the p ic ture o fwhe re we w ant to b e, a nd identify at least initial mea sures to rea c h the goal. Whic h of the ab oveprop osa ls wo uld not b e a pprop riate fo r inc lusion in a robust, comprehe nsive transportation p lan?

The MPO/ Leg islative Proc ess: Curren tly, the re is no MPO/ leg islative proc ess. Lac king innova tive andpote ntially c ontrove rsia l proposa ls, why should leg isla tive leaders rea c h out to the MPOs for input on

possible leg isla tion and leg isla tive changes? How often do MPO d irec tors and senior sta ff mee t w ithkey leg islato rs, espec ially those on transportation c om mittee s? How often would the ir sta te DOT

c om missioners a llow or eve n enc ourag e this?

Co mm ents on this a rticle a nd othe r transportation issues a re w elcom e.


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Dear Colleagues,

In an effort to educate young adult drivers about the dangers of reckless driving and curb the behavior of texting

while driving, the State Attorneys General and Consumer Protection agencies, the National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council are launching a new public service advertising (PSA)

campaign nationwide.

According to a national survey conducted by the Ad Council, eighty-two percent of young adult drivers (16-24)have read a standard text message while driving. Young adults live in a connected world where multitasking is

the norm. They feel pressure to remain in constant contact, even when behind the wheel. This manifests in the

car where young adults recognize that texting and driving is dangerous, but do it anyway. This new PSA

campaign conveys to young adult drivers that texting while driving isnt multitasking, its essentially driving

blind. By taking your eyes off the road, even for a few seconds, you are making the road less safe for you, your

passengers and other drivers.

The new television, radio, outdoor and digital PSAs were created pro bono by New York advertising agency

The Concept Farm. All of the PSAs direct audiences to StopTextsStopWrecks.org, a new campaign website

where teens and young adults can find facts about the impact of texting while driving and tips for how to curb

the behavior. The website also has an area where individuals can post and share on Facebook their solutions tostop texting and driving. >> PSA Preview

We encourage you to share this with your colleagues and I sincerely thank you for your continued efforts to

help make the roads a safer place.

Sincerely,

Ray LaHood, Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation

Congratulations to Umass Amherst for winning the 2011Northeastern Distric t Student Traffic Bowl held a tRicc ardo s in Quee ns, NY on Nove mb er 17th. This sc ho olwill be rep resenting the Northea stern District a t theInterna tiona l Stud ent Tra ffic Bow l to be held a t theInterna tiona l Meeting in Atlanta in 2012. UCo nn came insec ond p lac e w ith Northeastern finishing third . Stud entsfrom NJIT and TCNJ also p artic ipa ted .


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Photos

On Thursday, Oc tober 20, 2011 Ian Sacs, Director of theTransportation a nd Pa rking Department for the C ity of Hob okengave a presentation at the afternoon technical session at

Arthurs Tavern in Hoboke n, NJ. Top ics d isc ussed inc ludedbicyc le lanes and the C orner Ca rs c ar-sharing p rog ram . Co rneCars are a pool of vehicles made available to Hobokenresidents who sign up that are shared so that they are used asofte n as possible. This me ans tha t instea d o f owning a c ar, yousha re a poo l of c ars w ith other residents. Surveys have show nthat for each of these vehicles in Hoboken, over 17 householdshave given up their c a rs. To find out more visithttp:// ww w.hobokennj.org/c orner-cars/

The te am from The C ollege of New Jersey werethe winners of the 2011 ITE Me tSec tion Stud entTra ffic Bow l and a chec k for $900. The teamconsisted of Amanda Feeley, Dan Guadron,Dan Levine , Jon Ruff, and Sea n Cove ly (shownat right). TCNJ went on to rep resent theMe tSec tion a t the Northea ste rn Distric t Stud entTra ffic Bow l at Rica rdo s in Novem ber.

On November 17, 2011 Jack Bucksbaum , Assistant ChieEngineer/Design for the Port Authority of NY & NJ (shown atleft) gave a keynote spe ec h on the ec onom ys effect o n thePort Authority and upcom ing p rojec ts.

John Paradiso and Steven Dem etropo ulos of the PortAuthority (shown at right) gave the evenings technicalp resenta tion. They d isc ussed the Port New ark/ElizabethPort Autho rity Marine Termina l Red eve lopme nt &Roa dwa y Imp rovem ent Plan. The session foc used o nsome of the most elaborate roadway projects within theredevelopment program and also the specific trafficengineering a spe c ts and c hallenge s of ea ch.


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Sponsorships

The

ITE

Met

section

PublishesTransTalk

four

times

each

year.

Support

by

sponsors

is

encouraged.

Businesscardadshavebeenavailableat$200peryearforallfourissues. Thispriceisremainingthe

samefor2012. Inaddition,largersizeadsareavailableatthefollowingratesapprovedbythe

ExecutiveBoard:

BusinessCardad $200

QuarterPagead$400

HalfPagead $700

FullPagead $1200

Ifyourcompanyoragencywantstorenewitsad,placealargerad,reviseitsad,orplaceanewad,

pleaseemailtheeditorandhaveachecksenttothe2012MetSectionTreasurer:

Mr.LuigiCasinelli,P.E.,PTOE

HDR

711WestchesterAvenue

WhitePlains,NY 10604

[email protected]

Ifthisisarevisedornewad,pleaseemailtheadtotheeditor.

Noteto

Sponsors:

Please

check

the

business

card

(or

larger)

ad

in

this

issue.

If

your

office

has

moved,

ifthecompanynamehaschanged,ifthebusinesscardisforapersonnolongerassociatedwithyour

firm,youmightwanttoemailanupdatedadtotheeditor.

Deadline

The ne xt issue of TransTalk will be available inFeb rua ry. Ma teria ls submitted afte r February 1,2012 c annot be a ssured of inc lusion.

Email: mho rn@gp inet.com

We a re Plea sed toAc know led ge the Sponsorsof TransTalk, our ITE MetSec tion Newsletter.


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Presentations from the 2011 Northeastern District Annua

Meeting, which our Met Section hosted in May in Port

Jefferson, are now available on the web

http:/ / www.northea sternite.org/ Annua l%20Meeting.htm

SeasonsGreetingsfromYour2011ITEVolunteers

ExecutiveBoard LocalArrangementsPresident BillMcMenamin N.NewJersey JeffSmithline

VicePresident GraceVanKirk S.NewJersey KevinConover

Secretary

AdamAllen

New

York

City

John

Miller

Treasurer JohnBiront LongIsland JonSullivan

PastPresident RayDiBiase Westchester BrianDempsey

Sr.SectionDirector EdBolden Westchester MikeORourke

Jr.SectionDirector GordonMeth

SectionAdministrator MikeSalatti

StandingCommittees

Industry RichardMarsanico

Legislative LeonGoodman

NonStandingCommittees

Membership OsmanBarrie

Newsletter&PublicInfo MayerHorn

Newsletter&PublicInfo JenniferBates

ProfessionalDevelopment ThomasArlo

ProfessionalDevelopment AmirRizavi

SpecialEvents WarrenMichelsen

SpecialEvents MikeLaFazia

SpecialEvents TimStroth

StudentOutreach

Tom

Pagano

StudentOutreach TommyKwong

TechnicalProjects LuigiCasinelli

TechnicalProjects HaseebAhson

WebSite ChrisMcBride

YoungMembers MichelleBriehof

YoungMembers HenryChiang

ActionCalender AndySaracena

Send comments and/or articles to:

Mayer Horn, P.E., PTOE, PTP EditorGreenman-Pedersen, Inc

325 West Main Street

Babylon, NY 11702Tel: 631-761-7257

Mobile: 631-356-5089

Fax: 631-422-3479

Email: [email protected]

Visitusonthewebat:

www.ite

metsection.org

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