ANNUAL REPORT 2013 University Transportation Research Center - Region 2 Annual Report – 2013 UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH CENTER - REGION 2 | THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK This report represents the activity of the UTRC from January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013. 160 Convent Avenue T 212.650.8050 Marshak Hall, Suite 910 F 212.650.8374 New York, NY 10031 www.utrc2.org The preparation for this report was funded by a grant from the Research and Innovative Technology Administration of the United States Department of Transportation. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the United States Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. DESIGN CREDITS: Camille Kamga, Nadia Aslam EDITORS Andriy Blagay GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY BY UTRC STAFF OR AS NOTED FRONT AND BACK COVER PHOTOS PROVIDED COURTESY OF TOM OLESNEVICH TABLE OF CONTENTS Director’s Message 2 Chairman’s Message 3 Director Emeritus’s Message 4 Center’s Theme 5 2013 Highlights 6 Management Structure 12 Board of Directors 12 Staff 14 Members Universities 16 Education and Training 18 Research Projects 28 Technology Transfer 36 Newsletter and Website 44 DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Once again it is the time of year to present our was to not only educate voters on important Annual Report highlighting the Center’s activi- transportation issues, but to educate the can- ties conducted during the year, while refl ecting didates on the transportation issues that mat- on what the future holds for our organization. ter to New Yorkers. We organized the second symposium on Connected and Self-Driven Ve- We began the year 2013 by assembling the hicles. This symposium, built on the success Center’s application to continue receiving fed- of the fi rst symposium held on June 17, 2013 eral funding as part of the competition held by at the University of Buffalo, took place on the the Research and Innovative Technology Admin- campus of Rutgers University and was attend- istration (RITA) of the U.S. Department of Trans- ed by approximately 100 people. The purpose portation. This competition was designed to se- of this symposium was to continue building an lect up to 35 University Transportation Centers active community of researchers, industry, and (UTCs) under the Moving Ahead for Progress government partners to work towards the goal in the 21st Century Act. On September 26, of supporting exciting developments in the area 2013, we were delighted to learn that our ap- of connected and self-driving vehicles that may plication was successful and that we will con- well revolutionize our transportation systems in tinue to be the federally- designated center for many ways. The successful event helped build Region 2. Again, I want to thank each and every an interactive virtual community for all of the one of you for your support of our consortium. stakeholders to stay in touch beyond this one- day symposium with the goal of expediting the During the year, we were successful with the development of a unique test-bed in our region. renewal of our agreements with NYSDOT and NYMTC. Continuing with their strong commit- In light of the successful awards under the ments to Transportation Research and Educa- MAP-21 Act and the renewed commitments tion, the two agencies are making available to from our partners, we are looking forward again the Center up to $20 million for the next fi ve with a lot of optimism to continue to develop in- years. The renewal of these agreements is a novative solutions to meet 21st century trans- testimony of the accomplishments achieved by portation needs. our Center. Looking through the pages of this report, you will agree with me that 2013 has been a very CAMILLE KAMGA productive year for us, owing to a number of sig- Director nifi cant events that took place. We organized Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering the New York City Mayoral Transportation Fo- rum, which was the fi rst of its kind. This event The City College of New York, CUNY brought together the major candidates and was moderated by UTRC Distinguished Lecturer, Matthew Daus. The goal of this unique forum 2 CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE With federal and local funding sources in place, The Center’s value to this region is that of an the current phase of our Center’s life is on sol- impartial stakeholder focused on improving id footing. The challenges facing our region’s our understanding of the functions of trans- transportation providers and users will provide portation in economic development and qual- opportunities for our Center’s partners to con- ity of life. This requires focusing our research tribute solutions that will increase transporta- on technical/policy analysis that educates/ tion effi ciency and effectiveness, equitably and informs policy makers. In this regard I would economically. remind all of us to avoid engaging the Center in political advocacy actions that may mask/ reduce the Center’s most critical value – that of an objective regional stakeholder. JOHN C. FALCOCCHIO Chairman Professor, Transportation Planning and Engineering Polytechnic Institute of NYU 3 DIRECTOR EMERITUS’S MESSAGE We are all pleased that UTRC was again fund- The new types of surveys, passive surveys, rely ed under the USDOT UTC program for the next on GPS, your cell phone and other devices that several years. It is the hard work of all of the broadcast location (and coincidentally – your members and the great staff that must share location choice). The preponderance of trans- credit for this continuing vote of confidence – portation related Apps (more for GPS associ- one that has taken place for a quarter of a Cen- ated info than any other category of Apps) make tury. Over this period the needs of the transpor- real time travel and location choice information tation community have changed substantially a reality; system operators and planners must and the UTRC response to these changes has adopt to this new reality. And this group of mil- been equal to those change dynamics. UTRC lenials, with these types of choices are moving has shifted from being concerned mainly with away from cars. HHCO is down, VMT is down the supply of transit and roads to a very multi and the desire to live in TODS and use public – modal center. Projects such as rail freight transit is up. Over the next several years, UTRC on Long Island, freight movement in Manhat- will be studying and documenting this phenom- tan and Bus rapid transit and a variety of path enon – adding to the long term planning capa- breaking economic studies have made UTRC a bility of Region 2. These studies will be done in major part of the mainstream of transportation the context of sustainability (carbon reduction) discussions in Region 2. and the necessity to address the short and long term impacts of global climate change. But the most profound changes are taking place now. While I have written about sustain- ability and the impacts of the new digital world, the impacts are being felt even faster than we imagined two or three years ago. Hurricane Sandy added the word Resilience to our plan- ning vocabulary; and we know that resilience is a response to the impacts of adapting sus- tainable design. But we also know that there are large scale cultural changes, especially among the millenials and younger generations. Now getting information in real time for smart devices, and making daily choices based on in- Robert E. Paaswell formation from social networks and information Director Emeritus sites, these travelers and doers make tradition- al travel data collection difficult- if not unusable. Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering The City College of New York, CUNY 4 CENTER’S THEME PLANNING AND Managing “ REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION System in a Changing in Region 2, requires knowledge of multi-modal and intermodal systems serving WORLD PLANNING TODAY both freight and passenger movements. Planning in the region involves not only MPOs, but all of the many agencies taxed with the need to move people and goods 24/7. Planning is constrained by institutional man- UTRC’s primary focus is the stewardship, manage- date and history, the need to catch up with a backlog of capital needs, and a chronic shortage of adequate ment, and future evolution of its already mature funds for both maintaining and building the infrastructure. UTRC’s role is to provide through academic transportation systems, in the face” of emerging programs, a solid base on which planning decisions can be made; yet UTRC has the capability to provide policy challenges. The region’s transportation “instantaneous programs” in response to critical needs (such as the conference organized for New York agencies must continually adjust to the nature State on public-private partnerships). of the economy and its evolving transportation requirements; their emerging understanding of MANAGING TODAY in Region 2, means knowledge of interaction among complex multi-modal systems, what is required to protect public safety and se- budgeting, system operations and performance targets, customer needs, the need to address security, and curity; and new challenges, such as global climate – when fighting fires stops – a sense of vision of system performance and regional change. Management takes place at every level: from Board Chairpersons to line operators. UTRC has initiated and will develop change. As advances in technology continually re- programs ranging from Authority Board Member Training, to training in high technology for Transit workers. draw the boundaries of what is possible, transpor- UTRC will develop a major training program for the New York City MPO addressing technical issues and tation agencies also face the daunting challenge management.