pacific nw transportation consortium region 10 Pactrans

PacTrans had the pleasure of partnering with the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) to co-host the 2022 National Travel Monitoring Exposition and Conference (NaTMEC) this past summer. The conference provides a wonderful opportunity to meet with federal, state, local transportation professionals as well as industry leaders who have common interest in travel monitoring.

NaTMEC 2022 had a stellar line‐up of workshop presenters who shared their experiences on Travel Monitoring best practices and innovations including the recent updates on the new FHWA Traffic Monitoring Guide. PacTrans students had 19 lighting talks presentations that helped disseminate the outcome of different PacTrans research projects to the NaTMEC 2022 audience. Professor Ahmed Abdel-Rahim, PacTrans Associate Director at the University of Idaho and Margaret Pridmore from Idaho Transportation department served as the co-chairs for the conference.  Due to pandemic impact, the 2022 NaTMEC was virtual. It was a hard decision to make. However, it became quickly apparent it was the necessary decision when so many were reluctant to speak at this event in person. PacTrans and ITD are eternally grateful to Federal Highways Administration that we will indeed be given a second chance, so look for NaTMEC 2024, in person, in the heart of Boise, Idaho.

The 2022 NaTMEC Conference theme, “We Travel Together,” represents the spirit of adventure and investigation within the travel monitoring group. As a team of professionals, we strive to provide information to decision makers to ensure safer roads, less congestion, and economic vitality. After all, whether we are delivering goods to the other side of the country, driving our child to school, commuting by bicycle, or just out for a walk in our neighborhood … we are impacting our transportation system. In short, we travel together. The NaTMEC Planning Committee has worked hard to produce this very successful conference. Professor Yinhai Wang, Director of PACTRANS and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington gave the conference keynote speech at the opening session.  The conference had a total of 27 sessions with 87 presentations, 3 workshops, a poster session, and a very vibrant vendor exhibition.

The original concept for NaTMEC spawned from a workshop held in 1974 in Orlando, FL. Following that in 1983, the first National Conference on Weigh-in-Motion was held in Denver, CO.  It morphed into the National Traffic Data Acquisition Conference in 1990, and became NATMEC (with a capital A, for “North American”) in 1998, when it was held in Charlotte, NC. In 2020, the conference name was changed to the National Travel Monitoring Exposition and Conference (NaTMEC).