Assessing Impacts of Sea-Level Rise on Coastal Road Infrastructure and Development of an Adaptation Framework for Climate Resilient Roads

A key factor in a coastal community’s ability to be resilient in the face of sea-level rise (SLR) is the integrity of the transportation network. Road infrastructure close to the shoreline is vulnerable because sea level in coastal New England is projected to rise by 3.9 to 6.6 feet by the year 2100. Climate change vulnerability and adaptation studies have primarily focused on surface-water from sea-level rise; however, groundwater is projected to rise with sea-level rise and to intersect the unbound layers of coastal-road infrastructure reducing the pavement service life. Groundwater modeling in New Hampshire's Seacoast region shows that SLR-induced groundwater rise will occur three to four times farther inland than surface-water flooding, potentially impacting about a quarter of the region's roads. Typical pavement profiles in several roadway functional classifications are analyzed using multi-layer elastic theory to determine the magnitude of fatigue and rutting-life reduction expected from sea-level rise. Various adaptation alternatives in terms of pavement layer materials and thicknesses are evaluated to determine adaptation feasibility and costs to maintain the designed service life using a top-down scenario-based approach. A hybrid bottom-up/top-down framework for designing a climate-ready coastal road will also be presented.

Walking the Talk

Walking is the oldest form of transportation, but history can be read as a millennia-long struggle to free ourselves from the need to walk. While all forms of mechanical transport have allowed increasing numbers of people to ride rather than walk – a choice most people have exercised when presented the option – it’s the car that has most effectively relegated walking to the back seat. But things are changing as we rediscover the many potential benefits of walking: it stimulates our thinking, is a form of political expression, contributes to conservation and sustainability, deepens our understanding and appreciation of the world, is a means to explore spirituality, and makes us healthier and happier in the process. However, in an appropriate turn of contemporary phrase, you have to walk the talk. Join the Mannings as they explore the history and philosophy of walking and take us with them on walks around the world.

Real-Time Transit Information: Enablers, Impacts, and Implications

Dr. Watkins will discuss the results of research on impacts of real-time transit information, as well as the enablers and implications of real-time information, including the ubiquity of mobile devices in passengers’ pockets, the third-party developer and open data culture, and the importance of transit data standardization efforts.

Overcoming Obstacles to Biodiesel Adoption in Vermont

Biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement that is reducing U.S. dependence on imported diesel, creating green jobs and improving our environment. It is made from an increasingly diverse mix of resources and can work in diesel engines without the need for modifications. These blends will operate in diesel engines just like petroleum diesel. Properly treated biodiesel can work year round, even in cold climates. So why hasn’t biodiesel taken off in Vermont? Hear from our local expert, Jim Malloy, who has recently opened Black Bear Biodiesel in Plainfield. Jim has been working in the field of biodiesel for a decade and received many accolades for his involvement in reducing petroleum consumption in New England. Jim will share his goals for biodiesel in Vermont and what it will take to make them a reality.

Understanding Long-Distance Travel Behavior

The Longitudinal Study of Overnight Travel (LSOT) was conducted monthly between February 2013 and February 2014 by Resource Systems Group, Inc. (RSG) using an online survey instrument developed by Aultman-Hall and LaMondia at the University of Vermont and Auburn University. A total of 628 of the initial 1,220 participants, including many from the University of Vermont (and surrounding communities), completed the panel that collected data on overnight trip planning, trip tour attributes and geocoded overnight stops. This seminar summarizes the who, what, where, and when of long distance travel observed in the unique LSOT sample in order to move towards a long distance tour-based approach to data collection and modeling that more fully incorporates the complexity of spatial patterns and purpose, including mixed purposes. The seminar will also critically assesses what it will take to collect long distance travel data needed for the policy questions facing the national and global transportation sector. The LSOT provides many insights related to survey design that stimulate a wider discussion about how to collect overnight travel data in a way that is understandable by respondents and useful for planning. The complexity of factors influencing overnight travel behavior and the one-year plus study time frame suggest that, while passive data collection from cell phones and other devices may be used to observe spatial patterns of travel, surveys will still be needed to capture complementary details about the planning processes, motivations, trip details, and demographics.

Teleworking: Vermont's Greenest Commute

Providing telecommuting options to employees has become a popular practice across the US. Join us as we hear from a panel of three Vermont businesses who are implementing progressive telecommuting policies that expand employee flexibility, reduce environmental impacts of driving, and lower consumption of petroleum. Tim Shea from National Life and Jennifer Chiodo from Cx Associates will highlight:

• Policies and programs that support telecommuting or working remotely How to measures and track value behind this practice
• Strategies for improving their program and recommendations to other employers seeking to incorporate telecommuting into their tool box of practices
• Cx Associates provides commissioning, measurement and verification, and consulting services to clients committed to the sustainable design and construction of their new and renovated facilities.

Time Shea, National Life

Jennifer Chiodo, Cx Associates

Cow Power!

For our latest Transportation Talk episode, we talked to a number of Vermont's renewable natural gas leaders at the "Cow Power: Turning Organic Waste into Vehicle Fuel for Vermont" conference.

Work Zones and Travel Speeds: The Effects of Uniform Traffic Officers & Other Speed Management Measures

Dr. Brian Lee presents the results of his project "Work Zones & Travel Speeds: The effects of uniform traffic officers & other speed management measures" to the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

Volpe Center Straight from the Source Series: Transportation and Livability: What's that really mean for rural transportation systems?

"It is important for transportation planners to remember that when they talk about livability, they are really talking about a highly personal and idealized perception of how everyday life and transport intertwine. It's not just about moving people faster," said Dr. Lisa Aultman-Hall, founding director of the Transportation Research Center at the University of Vermont. Dr. Aultman-Hall discusses livability for rural transportation systems.

The Slow Transportation Movement and the Emergence of the Cargobike

Approaching transportation issues with insights drawn from the field of neuropsychology, this presentation explores the sensory-deficit phenomenon experienced within the confines of the automobile and the impact this has on us as individuals as well as its larger sociological implications. We'll also investigate the coded language and internal logic of the car culture and how it has radically transformed our sense of space, time, and place and immensely alters our worldview. In contrast to this, we'll consider the Slow Transportation Movement (STM), a model that not only underscores travelling at a slower pace, but also emphasizes engaging our bodies and keeping us attuned to the social and ecological worlds we move through, as well as our impacts on them. Finally, we will look at an array of exciting vehicles that fit within the criteria of the STM, with a focus on the new cargobike designs and electric-assist options that are profoundly extending the range, comfort, carrying capacity (kids & cargo), hill climbing ease and relevance of bicycle transportation.

The Marine Engine Testing and Emissions Laboratory (METEL)

This talk will discuss the Marine Engine Testing and Emissions Laboratory (METEL) at MMA and the various projects the center is now engaged.

The mission of METEL is to advance practical emissions reductions and efficiency improvements to marine diesel engines. The talk will summarize the current emissions regulatory environment that the the marine industry is facing. A summary of current emissions reductions technologies and their limitations will be discussed. Then the research efforts of METEL on new emissions technologies the lab is evaluating. These new technologies are practical solutions which have the potential to lower cost and maintenance of emissions control systems.

Getting Around Bogotá by Bicycle: Some Ethnographic Reflections

Dr. Luis Vivanco, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Vermont, loves bicycles so much he made them into a topic of research. Between February and June 2014 he and his family lived in Bogotá, Colombia doing ethnographic research on the city’s bike culture and politics and teaching at the National University on a Fulbright Scholarship.

Visual Critical Infrastructure: The Challenges of Achieving a Broad Spectrum Domain Awareness in Time of Crisis

The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) exists to provide leadership decision support and to enable operational coordination in time of crisis. It is the State nexus of information, interaction, and initiative during large scale emergency incidents. One primary responsibility of SEOC staff is to create and maintain a Common Operational Picture (COP) of the incident area in order to facilitate situational awareness and concomitant operational decisions. A key consideration of COP construction is to represent the myriad facilities and networks contained within the 16 Critical Infrastructure (CI) Sectors. The domain is broad and contains many dynamic pieces. Getting a solid grasp on the holistic CI picture, and then operationalizing it is rife with many challenges. The purpose of this talk is to review Vermont’s approach to CI in emergency management, discuss the need for a coherent CI picture in the SEOC, and to outline the main hurdles to achieving this requisite high fidelity.

Burak Lecture Series: Who Knows About Kids These Days? Understanding the Travel Behavior of Teens and Young Adults

Brian Taylor studies travel behavior, transportation finance, and the history and politics of planning, mostly conducted in collaboration with his terrific students. Much of his scholarship examines equity – who pays for transportation systems and how these systems in turn serve the needs of people who – because of low income, disability, location, or age – have lower levels of mobility. His most recent research examines time use and travel among young people and those living in non-traditional households. A native of California, Professor Taylor joined the UCLA faculty in 1994, and before that he was a faculty member in City & Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and before that he was an Analyst with the San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Cycling in Plato’s Cave: Poetry by David Cavannaugh

Poetry and pedals.  We are co-sponsoring a reading and discussion with the UVM Humanities Center and will host poet David Cavannaugh whose recent book “Cycling in Plato’s Cave” based on his experience as an avid bicyclist.  Grab your lunch and join us.  To learn more about the book and author, check out this recent article from 7days here. 

Livable Communities and Transportation

Discussion Leader: Jennifer Wallace-Brodeur, AARP, Senior Adviser States, Education and Outreach. AARP has been advancing the concept of Livable Communities on many fronts, and in Vermont this has included the Vermont Complete Streets initiative that lead to state legislation, and the Burlington Livable Communities Project . Jennifer lead these initiatives at the state level and recently was promoted to advance this agenda nationally for AARP from her Burlington office. She will talk about some of the initiatives and the challenges ahead, as well as opportunities for connecting with this work.

Liquified Natural Gas (LNG): Current Applications and Future Possibilities in Vermont 

Mike Laurent and Craig Rautiola from Omya Inc. join us for our 2013 Brown Bag Seminar Series.

A Primer on Software Intellectual Property and Licensing Strategy

Daniel Dardani from MIT's Technology Licensing Office provided a introduction into IP and licensing strategies at the Transportation Research Center at UVM.

Talking Transportation at the TRC

Our first episode of Transportation Talks at the TRC. This episode features Karen Glitman, Director of Transportation Efficiency at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. Karen stopped by to talk to Dr. Brian Lee's class at the TRC.