Year: 2016

RSG’s Peter Plumeau authored a chapter in the American Planning Association’s new publication, “On the Horizon: State of Transportation Planning in 2016.” Peter’s chapter is titled, “The Evolving World of Freight and Goods Movement: Implications for Transportation Planning and Community Design.”

RSG’s Dr. Erica Wygonik co-authored the article “Deliver It All” in the March/April 2016 issue of Supply Chain Management Review. The article explores whether home delivery is greener than sending full truckloads of goods to stores and then customers driving to them. Erica co-authored the article with two former University of Washington colleagues.

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Kay Axhausen to the RSG team as a senior advisor. Dr. Axhausen is a professor specializing in transport planning at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) in Zurich. He brings 30 years of experience in travel behavior modeling and management.

Dr. Axhausen will serve as an advisor and collaborator on a range of projects and innovation efforts at RSG including our ongoing development of rMove™, our travel survey research and our long distance travel demand modeling.

BART Perks, the Bay Area’s pilot program to address the transit system’s overcrowding, was recently featured in the San Francisco Chronicle. The program is described as “a loyalty program melded with elements of gaming and social networking,” and is an alternative to congestion pricing. RSG is working with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) to evaluate the impact of the BART Perks pilot program.

RSG Analyst, Susie Irizarry, recently participated in the Clemson National Scholars finalist selection weekend as an alumni interviewer and alumni keynote speaker. The Clemson National Scholars Program (NSP) is Clemson’s premier merit-based scholarship program. Susie served on a panel comprised of three faculty members and two National Scholars alumni, and was also invited to speak at the closing dinner.

The National Cooperative Highway Research Program recently published the report “Field Evaluation of Reflected Noise from a Single Noise Barrier— Phase 1.” RSG’s Ken Kaliski and Karl Washburn are co-authors of this report which examines the change in sound levels and characteristics caused by sound reflections off a reflective (non-absorptive) noise barrier on the opposite side of a highway.

RSG’s Nathan Reigner was recently appointed to the International Scientific Committee for the 10th Annual UNESCO Creative Cities Network Meeting to take place in September at Mid Sweden University.

UNESCO or United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization “exists to bring creative intelligence to life; for it is in the minds of men and women that the defenses of peace and the conditions for sustainable development must be built.” UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN) connects cities that want to share experiences, ideas, and best practices for cultural, social, and economic development. The Network is currently formed by 116 Members from 54 countries covering seven creative fields: Crafts & Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Music, and Media Arts.

This year’s UCCN Meeting will be held in association with a scientific conference for the first time. This scientific conference, titled Valuing and Evaluating Creativity for Sustainable Regional Development (VEC), will initiate dialogue and catalyze action towards establishing a long-term research and knowledge platform as recently called for by the UCCN.

As a scientific committee member, Nathan will be responsible for reviewing abstracts, framing selected sessions, and acting as an ambassador for the meeting.

It is important to us at RSG to give back to the communities in which we live and work. We do this in many ways, including providing paid time to volunteer, organizing volunteer opportunities, and empowering colleagues with a voice in how our charitable funds are distributed.

We are proud to share that in 2015, 63% of RSG employees took advantage of their RSG-provided paid volunteer time. Through our 2015 end-of-year charitable giving process, RSG also donated funds to 17 organizations that share our stewardship mission of encouraging and supporting environmentally and socially responsible initiatives.

RSG Senior Consultant, Chad Worthen, was recognized yesterday with the ‘Transportation Professional of the Year’ award at the 2016 Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Utah Conference. The purpose of the award, which is peer-nominated, is to highlight the critical contributions of transportation professionals other than licensed engineers.

Chad was recognized, in particular, for his impact on travel modeling throughout the state of Utah. He was applauded for both his high standard of excellence in his work along with his generosity in teaching and knowledge sharing.

RSG Senior Consultant, Chad Worthen, was recognized yesterday with the ‘Transportation Professional of the Year’ award at the 2016 Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Utah Conference. The purpose of the award, which is peer-nominated, is to highlight the critical contributions of transportation professionals other than licensed engineers.

Chad was recognized, in particular, for his impact on travel modeling throughout the state of Utah. He was applauded for both his high standard of excellence in his work along with his generosity in teaching and knowledge sharing.

We are excited to announce that we are expanding our national presence with the addition of an office in Portland, Oregon. This new space will enable us to better serve the needs of our growing national client base and strengthen our relationships with local agencies and organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

Our new office is conveniently located in downtown Portland, just a few blocks from the Willamette River and around the corner from Portland State University.

We are honored to receive the 2016 ‘Young Professionals Excellence in Innovation' Award for our work on the VTrans project, Vermont State Highways On-Road Bicycle Facilities Plan. The project was led by RSG Senior Consultant Erica Wygonik along with RSG’s David Grover and teammates from Alta Planning and Design, VTrans, and Local Motion.

This project categorized state-owned highways across Vermont based on potential bicycle use. It leveraged readily available and easily collected data using GIS analysis, crowdsourced mapping, and extensive public outreach, and it will help VTrans to prioritize on-road bicycle facilities and to integrate bicycle planning with other roadway projects.