PacTrans News
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April 14, 2015
Region 10 Transportation Safety Workshop
Time: 8:00am – 4:00pm on May 5, 2015
Location: Talaris Conference Center
4000 NE 41st Street
Seattle, WA 98105Register for the webinar, 8:30 am – 12:15 pm
Purpose:
This Region 10 Transportation Safety Workshop is jointly organized by PacTrans, ITE Washington, ITE Oregon, ITE Idaho, and ITE Alaska. PacTrans is the Region 10 University Transportation Center funded by the US Department of Transportation with approximately $2.6 million per year. The main purposes of this workshop include:
- Bring agency, industry, and university people together to identify the most critical regional transportation safety issues that should be on the PacTrans’ research agenda
- Exchange success stories and ongoing efforts in addressing critical safety problems
- Set up collaborative partnerships in transportation safety research and education.
The final product of this workshop will be a list of prioritized research topics under each research category (safe user, safe infrastructure, and safe operation). This list will be an important document for setting up PacTrans’ future research directions.
Agenda:
The current PacTrans center theme is Developing Data Driven Solutions and Decision-Making for Safe Transport. PacTrans will spend funds to address the safety and security needs of our road users (vehicle occupants, pedestrians, bicyclists), road infrastructure (pavement, bridges, tunnels), and multi-modal operations (intersection, freight, rural, and urban mobility). All workshop participants will be assigned into one of the three working groups: safe user, safe infrastructure, and safe operations for the afternoon breakout sessions. We encourage workshop participants to discuss with your colleagues the critical safety problems your agency or company wants to address and bring them to our group discussions.
8:00 – 8:30AM Networking Continental Breakfast 8:30 – 9:00AM Welcome and Overview of PacTrans Safety Projects 9:00 – 9:30AM Transportation Safety Priorities – Federal Perspective 9:30 – 10:00AM Transportation Safety Priorities – State Perspective 10:00 – 10:15AM Break 10:15 – 11:15AM Transportation Agency Panel 11:15 – 12:15PM ITE Panel 12:15 – 1:15PM Lunch – Transportation Technology/Safety Updates 1:15 – 3:10PM Breakout Sessions Addressing Specific Research and Education Needs 3:10 – 3:25PM Break 3:25 – 3:55PM Summarize Discussions from Breakout Sessions 3:55 – 4:00PM Closing Remarks 4:00PM Adjourn 
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April 13, 2015
PacTrans and WSTIP Form Research Partnership
The Washington State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP) consists of 25 Washington public transit agencies that pool their resources in order to provide and purchase insurance coverage, manage claims and litigation, and receive risk management and training. Nearly $7 million a year is paid for third party property damage and bodily injury claims against WSTIP members. In order to mitigate transit related collisions and enhance traffic safety, WSTIP and PacTrans are establishing a collaborative research partnership to test transit vehicle collision avoidance systems. As part of this effort, Mr. Jerry Spears, Deputy Director of WSTIP, invited PacTrans Director, Professor Yinhai Wang, to attend the WSTIP Board’s Executive Meeting on March 26. Dr. Wang delivered a speech at the Work Session to introduce PacTrans and its past and active research on transportation safety. There is a clear need for WSTIP and PacTrans to partner for transit related safety research. Dr. Wang’s introductory presentation helped the WSTIP board understand PacTrans and its research strengths, and laid a foundation for future collaborative activities.
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April 2, 2015
PacTrans Regional Safety Workshop
SAVE THE DATE!
Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans) Regional Safety Workshop
University Transportation Center for Federal Region 10
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
9:00AM to 3:30PMTalaris Conference Center
Cedar and Maple Room
4000 NE 41st Street Seattle, WA 98105
Tel: 206.268.7091More information to come.
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March 31, 2015
PacTrans Student Leadership Training: Marsha Bomar
Organized by
The Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans) USDOT University Transportation Center for Federal Region 10
Presentation Title
Language of Leadership
Abstract
This class will teach you the right language skills to put you on the verbal track to be recognized by leadership in a positive way. Know the words to be heard in meetings and getting your name remembered. You work hard – add these skills to your executive toolkit.
Speaker
Marsha Anderson Bomar is a Senior Transportation Principal for Stantec Consulting Inc. in Duluth, Georgia. She is the former President and Founder of Street Smarts, Inc., a planning, engineering and design firm, and Data Smarts, a data collection and management firm, established in 1990 which she sold to Stantec Consulting Services Inc., in 2010. Marsha has received many awards throughout her career. She had the honor of being the first woman to serve as International President of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and was the first woman to receive the ITE Burton Marsh Distinguished Service Award. Last year she was awarded the WTS Atlanta chapter Leadership in Diversity award. She served as the President of the Transportation and Development Institute of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for the 2009-2010 term. She was also recognized by the University of Massachusetts Amherst ITE chapter as the Jane F. Garvey Transportation Leadership Award recipient for 2009 for her outstanding leadership affecting women in transportation and remarkable contributions to the field. In 2010, Marsha received the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Community Service Award for outstanding contributions to her community and her profession. Also in 2010, she received the Karl Bevins Distinguished Service Award from the Georgia Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) which is given to recognized, highly competent, and professional engineers who practice in the field of traffic and/or transportation over a number of years. Marsha served on the local Women Transportation Seminar (WTS) Board for many years and is a panelist at the National WTS Leadership conference every year. She received the Atlanta chapter WTS Woman of the Year and WTS Employer of the Year in 2003. Marsha is the Treasurer of the International Board and will continue as a Director until 2016. Over the span of her career, Marsha has participated in and led many technical committees of the Transportation Research Board including Urban Goods Movement and various Data committees. Currently she is the Chair of the Women’s Issues in Transportation committee, and this year the group held its fifth research conference in Paris, France. Marsha earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Masters in Transportation Planning and Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. She also holds a Masters of Civil Engineering with a concentration in Transportation from Princeton University. Marsha is the author of hundreds of publications, articles, and studies.For questions, please contact Ms. Maria Bayya, Asst. Director for PacTrans, at pactrans@uw.edu or 206.685.6648
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March 31, 2015
PacTrans Sponsored Transportation Seminar: Emily Feenstra
Organized by
The Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans)
USDOT University Transportation Center for Federal Region 10Presentation Title
The Case for Engaging in Public Policy – Your Projects Depend on It!
Abstract
This year, we will see several important decision points about infrastructure at the federal level, including how to fund transportation projects with a dwindling Highway Trust Fund. In addition, state and local governments are grappling with how to fund major infrastructure programs, with proposals at the ballot box ranging from raising local sales taxes to state infrastructure banks. Nearly every infrastructure project is affected by decisions made by government and often non-engineers. How do we engage with decision-makers, and why should we care? Learn about the current status of infrastructure funding for 2015, how the American Society of Civil Engineers has engaged in the policy debate, and best practices for becoming a trusted resource on infrastructure issues in your community.
Speaker
Emily Feenstra is the Director for Infrastructure Initiatives of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and leads infrastructure policy research and advocacy initiatives for the Society. Her recent projects include ASCE’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, the Failure to Act economic study series, and a study on the use of life cycle cost analysis in transportation planning. Prior to joining ASCE, she worked with the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, the Washington State Transportation Center at the University of Washington, and as a consultant for the Washington State Department of Transportation. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Washington.
