After just a few months as the Road Runner, it has become obvious that “transportation” covers much more than road repair and traffic signals.
Recent columns discussed building wildlife bridges, getting around town in a wheelchair, saving native plants from road projects and planning new roundabouts.
And those are just the tip of the iceberg.
How should urban planners deal with the popularity of ride sharing? What about “connected” vehicles that can talk to each other?
What would happen if more women worked in transportation departments? How can first responders avoid wrecks en route to emergencies? How would train stations affect the real estate market?
Luckily for the Tucson area, the University of Arizona announced on May 17 the creation of the Arizona Transportation Research Institute, which takes a multi-disciplinary approach to the “transportation ecosystem.”
The new institute builds on the work of the Advanced Traffic and Logistics Algorithms and Systems center (ATLAS) at the UA, said Larry Head, a professor of systems and industrial engineering.
But the institute now includes a variety of other academic disciplines and “brings together the collective efforts we have on campus,” he said.
“We began noticing that there’s transportation research going on in public health, in architecture, planning and landscaping, Head said. “And, people in environmental sciences and people in social sciences are now beginning to get involved.”
While Head studies connected vehicles, which can talk to each other to avoid collisions, another professor is studying how real estate values change near transportation corridors.
Meanwhile, optical-science researchers are working on low-energy lighting and figuring out how to stream information to autonomous vehicles.
Another professor at the institute, Sally Stevens, executive director of the UA’s Southwest Institute for Research on Women, asks why women make up less than 25 percent of the transportation workforce in Arizona and nationwide. Could it be a lack of advancement opportunities? Is child care too difficult to come by for certain shifts?
The relative lack of women in transportation departments presents a problem because women “may ask different questions and envision different solutions” than men, she said, adding the perspectives of racial and ethnic minorities also need to be included more.
For instance, safety may be viewed differently from a woman’s perspective, such as the risk of a bus stop at night or a lack of child seats on public buses.
Another issue is women with children traveling farther in congested areas to avoid crossing busy streets that have short traffic lights, she said.
The university pays for the institute’s administration, Head said, but the intent is for the institute to be mostly self-funding through sponsored projects, such as a recent partnership involving driverless cars, and with federal research grants.
When asked what the institute would provide in terms of serving the public, Head said he expects the institute will be “a significant player in transportation research” and serve as a “source of expertise” for local transportation departments.
David Atler, director of innovation for the Pima Association of Governments, agreed, saying the city of Tucson is working with UA researchers on a traffic analysis.
Local transportation departments also began a series of seminars last fall at which UA scholars and transportation departments presented their research. So far, Atler said, the seminars have covered topics such as remote sensing for bridges, a high-speed bus between Tucson and Phoenix, and recycled concrete.
Down the road
Pima County has updated its traffic alert for the installation of new sewer lines at the intersection of East 22nd Street and South Swan Road.
For a detailed description of the many and varied restrictions included in the four-page alert, visit the county website at www.sewerimprovements.com, or go to this link: http://www.sewerimprovements.com/pdf/Traffic_Alert_5_26_16.pdf
