RSG’s Ellen Rovelstad co-authored the article “Indicators and Standards of Quality for Viewing the Night Sky in the National Parks,” which was published in the latest issue of Park Science. With night skies recognized as an important park resource, this research identified the indicators and standards for stargazing and identified a range of standards of quality for light pollution.

Since the research was conducted in Acadia National Park in 2011 and 2012, the park has replaced all the lighting in Acadia’s Blackwoods Campground with respect to good lighting practices.

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.

RSG Senior Engineer Erica Wygonik and Project Engineer Corey Mack are attending the 2016 Vermont Walk/Bike Summit in Rutland, VT today. Erica will also be giving a presentation on engaging users to increase public involvement in bicycle and pedestrian planning in their communities.

The 2016 Vermont Walk/Bike Summit will be the second annual statewide event of its kind, attracting community members, employers, planners, and researchers throughout Vermont for in-depth sharing on current efforts, new ideas, and networking to advance more livable communities. RSG is proud to be a sponsor of this event.

RSG Director John Hinckley will be attending the 2016 Northeast Biomass Heating Expo in Burlington, VT today. He will be moderating a session dedicated to addressing air quality, titled “PM and Public Health, Fact from Fiction/Biomass Air Quality.”

The Northeast Biomass Heating Expo is one of the fastest growing biomass thermal energy conferences in the US, attracting nearly 2000 attendees to build a comprehensive knowledge base of biomass thermal heating.

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.

RSG Director John Hinckley and Consultant Isaac Old are attending the Northern New England Facility Masters Conference this week in Exeter, NH. John is to speak at the event with a presentation titled, “Armed and Dangerous: The Questions You Should Ask to Help Successfully Plan, Design, and Permit a Source of Air Pollution.”

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.