TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) recently published Research Report 882: How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways, which documents the meteorological effects on roadway noise propagation under different atmospheric conditions. Highway noise changes from day to day and hour to hour—not just because of variations in traffic volumes, vehicle mix, and speed, but also because of the weather. The report, authored by RSG in cooperation with Bowlby & Associates, TNO, Wyle, Northeast Wind, and Volpe Center, develops guidance to identify when atmospheric conditions should or should not be considered in noise analyses.

Tools were developed to help explain these effects to the public, including a self-paced narrated slide presentation as well as a customizable four-panel brochure. In addition, a tool was developed to help predict the frequency of favorable and unfavorable atmospheric conditions given specific airport weather data. Check out the report and download these at http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/177926.aspx.

RSG is proud to sponsor the 7th International Conference on Innovations in Travel Modeling in Atlanta next week. The conference explores current models and modeling research, addressing how the industry can respond to the rapidly changing transportation environment given socio-demographic shifts in travel preferences and the integration of new modes and infrastructure, including shared mobility and automated and connected vehicles.

RSG will have nineteen presentations at the event, discussing everything from research on TNC usage to the national behavioral freight model we've been working on. Learn more at https://rsginc.com/RSG-at-ITM-2018.

We are honored to be a sponsor of the 2018 Transport Chicago Conference today. RSG’s Alex Levin moderated a session on exploring transit ridership loss and RSG’s Steven Tuttle is sharing a poster on “Experiences Adapting and Applying Travel Models to Explore CAV Use.”

The conference, which attracts seasoned experts and professionals of all ages, acts as a forum for the exchange of knowledge in transportation research, policy, and practice.

RSG Director Steve Gayle was busy this week presenting and moderating at the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Northeastern District Annual Meeting in Lake George, NY.

He taught the technical workshop on performance-based planning and managing risk, presented RSG’s work to date on the New York State Freight Transportation Plan, and moderated the session “Future Mobility: Connected Vehicles and Drones.”

We were proud to be a silver sponsor of the event.

With the hustle and bustle of today’s busy world, we now have more sound and light pollution than ever before. Have you ever wondered what impact that has on the world around us, especially the great outdoors?

In their new book, “Natural Quiet and Natural Darkness,” RSG’s Steve Lawson and co-authors explore that concern and suggest best practices for studying, managing, and protecting natural quiet and natural darkness in the national parks and related reserves.

RSG’s Joann Lynch to present tomorrow at the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) 73rd Annual Conference in Denver, CO.

Her presentation is part of the session “You got that from my mobile device?” and will highlight RSG’s proprietary mobile app, rMove, and the benefits of using an all-in-one smartphone GPS application for household travel survey data collection.

We are honored to be attending and contributing to the 2nd Annual Uber Elevate Summit this week in Los Angeles. The invite-only summit is designed to bring vehicle manufacturers, regulators, investors, technology suppliers, and federal & local policymakers together to explore the exciting future of urban aviation. RSG President Tom Adler will be presenting in the “Demand Modeling and Network Optimization” session, detailing the research methodology RSG used to estimate future demand for Uber Elevate.

Our White River Junction, Vermont office is hosting the “Safe & Healthy Communities” track of the Vermont Walk/Bike Summit today.

The summit, organized by the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee and Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commissions in partnership with the Vermont Agency of Transportation, connects community members, employers, planners, and researchers for in-depth sharing on current efforts, new ideas, and networking to advance more livable communities throughout Vermont.

RSG’s Ben Swanson was on the organizing committee and RSG’s Erica Wygonik will be giving two presentations—“Bike Crash Analysis on State Roads” and “A Sidewalk Success Story: 3 Years of Teamwork.”

With the prevalence of online shopping, it isn’t all that surprising that many consumers are now using the internet to purchase their groceries as well. Buyers that once couldn’t imagine not personally picking out their produce are now turning to grocery delivery services for the ease and convenience. But, with that ease and convenience come environmental and societal implications. Recognizing this, food-centered site Epicurious explored the issue in their article “Everything You Should and Should Not Feel Guilty About When Ordering Groceries.”

The article quotes RSG Director Erica Wygonik’s research on the topic, which found that “ordering groceries online could reduce carbon emissions anywhere from 20 to 75 percent.” But, before you fill up your virtual shopping cart, the article also points out that “though there is potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions, there are other toxic side effects of delivery trucks that are felt more immediately.”

Learn more and check out the full article at: https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/environmental-impact-online-grocery-shopping-article

RSG’s household travel diary study in the Twin City region was recently featured in the Metropolitan Council’s newsletter. The article highlights this spring’s data collection, which is using a smartphone-based travel survey (rMove™) for the first time. We’re excited to get rMove in the hands of Twin City residents and to help the region keep pace with all the factors changing the way we travel.