3 INTRODUCTION Transportation, National Parks, and Public Lands: Defining the Challenge, Fostering Research and Partnerships Carol A
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
TR NEWS NUMBER 233 JULY–AUGUST 2004 Transportation Innovations in the Parks 8 3 INTRODUCTION Transportation, National Parks, and Public Lands: Defining the Challenge, Fostering Research and Partnerships Carol A. Zimmerman and Katherine F. Turnbull Transportation, national parks, and public lands are intrinsically linked. A TRB task force is working to encourage collaborative efforts to examine and address transportation needs in national parks and public lands, to preserve the sites and serve visitors. 4 Transportation Technologies Take to the Parks: 22 Context-Sensitive Innovations Improve Aesthetics, Communications, and Safety Gary L. Brown, Monica Gourdine, Bradley J. Roberts, Roger W. Surdahl, and J. Heather Woll The Federal Highway Administration is responsible for engineering safe and environmentally sensitive roadways and bridges in national parks and federal lands. The agency tests and deploys new transportation-related technologies to protect the environment, reduce congestion, improve aesthetics, enhance communications, and bolster safety. 8 Guiding Tourists To and Through the Parks: Study Assesses Traveler Information Needs Matt Burt and Carol A. Zimmerman 30 11 Designing a New Vehicle for National Parks: Low-Floor, Alternative-Fuel Bus in Testing John Sacklin 14 Transportation Partnerships in the Parks: Cooperative Initiatives Serve Visitors, Preserve the Environment Katherine F. Turnbull Recent projects provide models for addressing transportation issues and opportunities in the national parks—including urban parks, monuments, and historic sites. Successful projects have involved partnerships; incremental approaches; local expertise and funding; blends of old and new modes; and documentation of the benefits. 19 Riding with the Jammers Cover: Refurbished red buses take riders from park lodges to a scenic tour of Glacier National Park in 21 Scholars Grow in the National Parks Montana. Special fleet development is among the transportation 22 Making Tracks in Wildlife Refuges innovations now offered on public lands and presented in this issue. Sean Furniss (Photograph courtesy of Jean Tabbert.) TR NEWS features articles on innovative and timely research POINT OF VIEW and development activities in all modes of trans- 24 portation. Brief news items of interest to the Up Close and Personal: transportation community are also included, The Personal Transportation Alternative in along with profiles of transportation profes- sionals, meeting announcements, summaries of National Parks new publications, and news of Transportation Franz K. Gimmler Research Board activities. Park transportation systems must not degrade the place or the visitor’s experience of the place, this author observes, defining a new paradigm that TR News is produced by the Transportation Research Board calls for a personal transportation system—small, cost- and energy- Publications Office efficient, nonpolluting, and nonintrusive vehicles available within the Javy Awan, Editor and Publications Director park, that employ a variety of ready-to-use technologies. David Altstadt, Assistant Editor Juanita Green, Production Manager Michelle Wandres, Graphic Designer 30 TRB SPECIAL REPORT TR News Editorial Board A Concept for a National Freight Data Program Neil F. Hawks, Chairman Jill Wilson Joseph A. Breen Walter J. Diewald A TRB study committee has outlined a conceptual framework for the Frederick D. Hejl development of a national freight database, a comprehensive source of Timothy Hess timely and reliable data on freight flows. The recommendations cover the Stephan A. Parker organizational and technical steps to implement the program, which would Barbara L. Post assist decision making about freight at all levels of government and in the A. Robert Raab private sector. Transportation Research Board Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Executive Director Suzanne B. Schneider, Associate Executive Director Mark R. Norman, Director, ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Technical Activities Stephen R. Godwin, Director, Studies and Information Services 29 Calendar 38 News Briefs Michael P.LaPlante, Director, Oregon mileage counter, Administration and Finance 34 Research Pays Off Alameda Corridor payoff, Robert J. Reilly, Director, pavement profiler roundup, Cooperative Research Programs Stone Interlayer Neil F. Hawks, Director, Special Programs vessel-bridge crashes, and Pavement System: border backups. TR News (ISSN 0738-6826) is issued bimonthly Extending the Service by the Transportation Research Board, National Life of Low-Volume Roads Research Council, 500 Fifth Street, NW,Washington, 41 TRB Highlights Masood Rasoulian DC 20001. Internet address: www.TRB.org. CRP News, 41 Editorial Correspondence: By mail to the Profiles Publications Office, Transportation Research Board, 36 45 Bookshelf 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, by Rural transit administrator telephone 202-334-2972, by fax 202-334-3495, or by e-mail [email protected]. Pam Ward and bridge structure expert and professor Andrzej S. Subscriptions: North America: 1 year $55; sin- Nowak. gle issue $9.50. Overseas: 1 year $75; single issue $13.50. Inquiries or communications concerning new subscriptions, subscription problems, or sin- gle-copy sales should be addressed to the Business Office at the address below, or telephone 202- 334-3216, fax 202-334-2519. Periodicals postage COMING NEXT ISSUE paid at Washington, D.C. Postmaster: Send changes of address to TR News, The September–October 2004 TR News Transportation Research Board, 500 Fifth Street, offers a comprehensive look at the need NW,Washington, DC 20001. for stakeholder involvement in highway Notice: The opinions expressed in articles appearing research: what is being done and what in TR News are those of the authors and do not could be done to involve local and necessarily reflect the views of the Transportation regional transportation agencies in the Research Board. The Transportation Research Board and TR News do not endorse products of manufac- research enterprise to identify, under- turers. Trade and manufacturers’ names appear in an take, test, and implement innovative article only because they are considered essential to transportation technologies. its object. Printed in the United States of America. The Circuit Training and Assistance Program Copyright © 2004 Transportation Research Board. van distributes transportation research and All rights reserved. innovations to local agency practitioners throughout Minnesota. INTRODUCTION TRANSPORTATION, National Parks, & Public Lands Defining the Challenge, Fostering Research and Partnerships CAROL A. ZIMMERMAN and KATHERINE F. TURNBULL ost people may be resigned to congested freeways issues, research, and outreach activities associated with Mand streets during the daily commute,but no one national parks, wildlife refuges, recreation areas, and other wants to experience traffic congestion on visits to public lands.Task force-sponsored sessions at TRB Annual national parks,wildlife refuges,recreation areas,and other Meetings have addressed a range of topics,with paper pre- public lands. This issue of TR News highlights approaches sentations and invited speakers. The number of annual to address transportation problems in these scenic and meeting papers in the subject area has increased, produc- historic protected areas. ing a more robust body of knowledge. The task force is Park roads, railroads, touring coaches, boats, horses, sponsoring its first workshop, on transportation and the and hiking trails have played important roles in the devel- visitor experience, at the 2005 Annual Meeting. opment of national parks and public lands. These means The task force also is developing problem statements and modes continue to serve visitors to and within parks for the National Cooperative Highway Research Pro- and support the visitor experience. Transportation, gram (NCHRP), the Transit Cooperative Research Pro- national parks, and public lands are intrinsically linked. gram, and other research sponsors. NCHRP Synthesis The National Park System includes 388 sites covering 329, Integrating Tourism and Recreational Travel with Trans- more than 84 million acres and receives 300 million visi- portation Planning and Project Development,stemmed from tors annually. The National Wildlife Refuge System a task force-developed topic. The task force is drafting attracts 39 million annual visitors to 570 refuges and wet- problem statements on the influence of changing demo- lands totaling 96 million acres. Even without adding the graphics on park transportation needs, multimodal and statistics for the Bureau of Land Management,the Forest intermodal approaches to park transportation,transpor- Service,and other public lands to these totals,the magni- tation in low-volume parks, and quality of service mea- tude of the transportation challenge is evident. sures for parks and public lands. The federal land management agencies,the U.S. Depart- The task force will continue to encourage collabora- ment of Transportation, state governments, communities, tive efforts—such as those presented in the following TR NEWS 233 JULY–AUGUST 2004 foundations, businesses, regional organizations, and other pages—to examine and address transportation needs in groups are exploring and implementing innovative national parks and public lands. approaches to transportation issues in national parks and public lands.The accompanying articles,assembled by TRB’s Zimmerman is Chair, TRB Task Force on Transportation Transportation Needs of National Parks and Public Lands