Transportation Engineering and Safety Conference 2024

Topic 1: Interim Report on Project Delivery from the Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee (TTAC)
Speaker: Kim Lucas .

Topic 2: PennDOT District Level Project Delivery Challenges.
Speaker: Rich Reisinger

Topic 3: Municipal Challenges - Delivering a Large Influx in BIL Funded Projects.  
Speaker: Chris Puchalsky

PennDOT District 6-0 is utilizing GIS to capture and analyze disparate data sets. The City of Philadelphia is piloting a Fleet Electrification project to fund and deploy Smart DC Fast EV Chargers to support the City’s effort to electrify its fleet; they are also piloting the “SmartBlockPHL” project to collect an array of information using smart streetlights. SEPTA is finalizing their Zero Emission Bus Pilot project and is using the data extracted to understand and foster change. In this session, these agencies will discuss how they are using data to drive progress and offer solutions to everyday challenges they face in Southeast Pennsylvania.

Topic 1: Using GIS in PennDOT District 6-0
Speakers: Matthew Anderson & Sharang Malaviya

Topic 2: City of Philadelphia’s Data Drive Solution Projects
Speaker: Akshay Malik

Topic 3: Finalizing Zero Emission Bus Pilot to Support Data Driven Solutions
Speaker: Donzell Dunston

Transportation System Resilience is the practice of preparing and adapting to changing conditions due to failures caused by environmental or system factors.  When system interruptions occur, the transportation system is impacted, increasing delays on our roads or devastating roads and neighborhoods when dams and bridges fail.  In addition to the disruption in mobility, these failures can cause death, environmental hazards including increased emissions on the roadway and toxic fumes from fires or structure failures.   Incorporating regular inspection, maintenance and implementing sound asset management and risk prevention techniques, can go a long way to decrease cost of events or devastation from manmade or extreme weather disasters. 
In this session you will hear from DelDOT’s Director of Resilience and Sustainability, an associate professor from Penn State’s Department of Civil Engineering and a Transportation Resilience subject matter expert. This session will delve into nationwide case studies, pavement management techniques and statewide management and implementation of DelDOT’s Transportation Resilience and Sustainability program which includes infrastructure resilience, oversight of the Carbon Reduction program and the implementation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Topic 1:  Case Studies on Infrastructure Resilience
Speaker: Aimee Flannery

Topic 2:  Large-scale pavement management considering reliability and traffic dynamics
 Speaker: Ilgin Guler

Topic 3: How Resilience is implemented at the State Level   
Speaker: Stephanie Johnson        

Topic 4: PennDOT's Resiliency and Sustainability Program 
Speaker: Nicholas Vivian

This session will feature presentations that highlight innovative tools and data-driven strategies in traffic management. We will explore vehicle speed data in Allegheny County, unveil “LINKS”, a new tool for bike and pedestrian planning in the Philadelphia region, and discuss PennDOT’s Congestion Calendar along with other tools. These resources will be explained through case-studies and expert opinions and showcase how they can enhance transportation planning, decision-making, and improve safety for all users.

Topic 1:  Vehicle Speed Data as a Tool for Road Owners
Speakers: Jason Molinero  & Micah Dickman   

Topic 2: Leveraging Links: A new tool for bike and pedestrian planning in the Philadelphia region
Speaker: Mark Morley

Topic 3: Congestion Calendar and Other PennDOT Tools for Data-Driver Decisions 
Speaker: Scott Benedict

This session will present three projects from across the state highlighting the alternatives considered. Projects include the SR 28-Highland Park Interchange in Pittsburgh; a tale of two dated bridges crossing the Susquehanna River connecting Pittston and West Pittson in Luzerne County; and operations and design alternatives for Complete Streets project along Washington Avenue in Philadelphia.

Topic 1: SR 0028-A65 Highland Park Interchange Improvement Project
Speakers: David Jackson & Jessica Belowich   Tim Benner
State Route 28 is a limited-access facility that has two lanes in each direction throughout most of its length; however, at the Highland Park Interchange, Route 28 was only one lane in each direction. This configuration resulted in a physical bottleneck for traffic and frequent vehicle crashes. The Highland Park Interchange Improvement Project (SR 0028, Section A56) sought to address these issues. As part of this project, two lanes were established through the interchange to ensure lane continuity and increase mobility. In addition to reducing traffic congestion, the project addressed other deficiencies, including substandard roadway geometrics and vertical clearances. Sound barriers were installed to reduce noise for adjacent residents. The project enhanced pedestrian safety by installing three new traffic signals and upgrading pedestrian facilities along Freeport Road, which serves as the sole pedestrian link between the communities of Sharpsburg, Aspinwall, and O’Hara. Join us for a presentation that will share project details, project safety improvements, unique conditions, and challenges that were overcome in construction.
 
Topic 2: A Story of Transportation History, Big Data, and Two Bridges across the Susquehanna River
Speakers: Tim Benner & Rob Watts
In Luzerne County, between Pittston and West Pittston, two 1,000-foot bridges span the Susquehanna River within a quarter mile of each other. The Fort Jenkins Bridge--an 11-span concrete arch built in 1924--carries US Route 11 and is part of National Highway System and is in poor condition. The Water Street Bridge--a 5-span metal truss built in 1914--is a county-owned bridge that was closed in August 2021 due to structural deterioration.
The current and ongoing Fort Jenkins Bridge Project is studying both bridges, and the Alternatives Analysis looked at options for rehabilitating or replacing the bridges, with potential removal of one of the bridges. The presentation will tell the story of how the history of the bridges, the dynamics of the communities they connect, and network transportation demand were considered in the alternatives analysis process. Elements of the presentation will include the challenges of revising the project's purpose and need; the application and award of a $19 million RAISE Grant to fund the Water Street Bridge improvements; and origin-destination pattern analysis using "big data" tools.

Topic 3: Operations and Design Alternatives in Philadelphia Complete Streets Projects
Description
Speakers: Will Cowan, Andrew Simpson, & Adam Smith
This presentation will focus on the operational and design alternatives for two complete streets projects in Philadelphia. The first is Washington Ave in South Philadelphia, where construction was completed in Spring 2023 and WSP just completed the post-installation analysis. The presenters will briefly introduce the initial alternatives analysis that was included as part of the conceptual design and public outreach process. They will then discuss the post-analysis travel time runs and volume collection and how that data compared with the assumptions and findings as part of the analysis of the selected alternative. The second project is Market Street from 20th to 23rd Street in Center City. WSP coordinated with OTIS, Streets, and PennDOT to compare several design alternatives. The presenters will delve into how the bike facility was located, the analysis that needed to account for the Market Street bridge reconstruction, and how consideration of bicycle and pedestrian safety was accounted for in the model and design.

PennDOT is exploring revolutionary changes to transportation from self-driving cars to self-flying air transport. Come hear an update on these exciting planning projects.

Topic 1: Future of Advanced Air Mobility in PA
Speakers: Anthony McCloskey & Jonathan Riehl

Topic 2:  Automated Driving Systems Demonstration Grant Updates
Speakers: Gunnar Rhone & Vijay Varadarajan

Topic 3: Emergency Life Saving through Multi-modal Mobility (ELSa-M3) - Johnstown Airport Smart Grant
Speakers: Larry Nulton & John Eberhardt 

The City of Philadelphia will discuss its “kitchen sink” approach to improve public transit operations in congested, multimodal rights-of-way. Building off the data-driven corridor prioritization of the Philadelphia Transit Plan (2021), the City has embarked on an ambitious program of over 30 transit-priority projects. Delivering transformative change on these corridors has required the City and its partners to embrace a “kitchen sink” approach to corridor design that requires both infrastructure and policy solutions, working across scales, and approaching problem-solving iteratively. The City will discuss the highs – and lows – of translating a strategic planning effort into projects and policies that affect the urban right-of-way.

AECOM will discuss the Downtown Convergence Study and APTA’s “BRT Roadway/Infrastructure Design and Best Practices” white paper. The Downtown Convergence Study. This session features two case studies to help planners and engineers utilize innovated approaches, identifying strategies for navigating data analysis, and improve decision-making processes in their communities. The LinkUS Initiative addresses the anticipated growth in Central Ohio, particularly in Downtown Columbus, which is expected to increase by 40,000 residents by 2040. This initiative focuses on guiding mobility investments, enhancing housing and job access, and promoting sustainable development. The Downtown Convergence Study examined transit connections, future rapid transit corridors, and bike plans, while highlighting the importance and challenge of decision-making and balancing competing priorities. The objective of this white paper is to share best practices from transit agencies who have implemented or are about to implement BRT, hear about lessons learned, and considerations when planning and designing BRT in order to achieve its maximum benefits and effectiveness. The study took a two-pronged approach to collect information via both a survey and case studies. Topics include roadway design elements, enforcement of bus lanes, and ITS elements.

The Luzerne County Transportation Authority (LCTA) and Kimley-Horn will explore trends in post-pandemic transit, highlighting examples in planning, community engagement, and data-driven decision-making. Featuring a case study from Luzerne County, attendees will learn how data and community engagement shaped a recent transit development plan, addressing changing travel needs and reducing barriers to transit use. Emerging trends, including flexible transit options like microtransit, will also be discussed, offering insights into the future of public transportation in a post-pandemic world.

Topic 1:  Bringing the “Kitchen Sink” to a Transit Priority Program
Speakers: Chris Puchalsky & Andrew Simpson

Topic 2: What’s the Answer? Navigating when data analysis is not yielding clear solutions
Speaker: Lauren Lynch & Steve Scheerer

Topic 3: Transit in Transformation: Trends in Planning, Community Engagement, and Data-Driven Decisions
Speaker: Bob Fiume & Tyler Beduhn

The use of technology to support safety, mobility, and meet the expectations of the traveling public is also a requirement of transportation organizations’ ability to operate their day-to-day business. In addition, traffic operations and business operations systems often need to be integrated to meet the needs of the customer and the business. All of this use of technology is driving challenges for agencies: (1) organizational change management (how do you get all levels of the organization on-board with change as it relates to technology); (2) rising O&M and upgrade costs; and (3) human resources to support it. This session explores how agencies are or might address this challenge and how private industry partners play a role.  

Panelists:
Bob Taylor
Mark Kopko
Frank Cavalaio
Mike Maloch