What tools are required to answer today’s policy and planning questions?
State departments of transportation and regional planning agencies increasingly need to justify and quantify the impacts of their planning decisions. This requires tools that can transparently demonstrate how plans and policies contribute to reductions in vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions while supporting other objectives and aligning with equity goals. Traditional scenario planning is useful but often resource-intensive and lacking in quantifiable measures. Moreover, compatibility with existing tools is often a prerequisite.
VisionEval measures outcomes that traditional tools cannot.
VisionEval is an open-source strategic travel modeling tool designed to measure outcomes beyond the reach of traditional tools. A key difference and enabler of VisionEval is its ability to help planners “goal seek” by illuminating key drivers of change. This allows practitioners and policymakers to focus on what inputs they think may change (and by how much). VisionEval also complements and enhances existing tools like statewide and regional network-based travel models. Its capabilities make it an ideal solution for planners seeking precise and timely insights into the effects of real-world policy decisions. It analyzes hundreds of future scenarios across multiple variables with speed and accuracy. As a transparent, open-source tool created by the Federal Highway Administration and state-level partners, VisionEval benefits from industry-wide expertise and knowledge.
Join us for an insightful webinar where you’ll:
Our panel includes experts in the use and application of VisionEval to answer important planning questions.
Jim Brogan (Moderator)
Executive Vice President - RSG
Jim Brogan is an Executive Vice President at RSG with more than 25 years of experience in multimodal planning, operations, strategic planning, and investment support. Jim has helped state DOTs, MPOs, ports, railroads, transit agencies, and regional coalitions across the country more effectively identify and address multimodal issues within their planning and investment activities. He has led or supported long-range transportation and strategic plans in more than a dozen states and developed transportation plans, programs, and policies for some of the largest metropolitan areas in the country. He also has led groundbreaking research for the National Cooperative Highway and Freight Research Programs. Connect with Jim »
Jonathan Slason, PE
Managing Consultant - RSG
Jonathan Slason, PE, is a Managing Consultant at RSG. He is a skilled planner who has devoted himself to helping RSG’s clients identify and understand the practical planning applications of tools to help quantify change and measure outcomes. Jonathan is a nationally recognized expert in helping clients apply VisionEval, an open-source strategic travel modeling tool designed to measure outcomes beyond the reach of traditional tools. Jonathan is especially interested in working closely with his fellow planners to better understand and illuminate the key drivers of change and quantify these in a transparent, repeatable manner to maximize the positive effects of their real-world policy decisions. Connect with Jonathan »
Tara Weidner, PE
Climate Impact Analysis Program Lead - Oregon DOT
Tara Weidner, PE, is a Climate Impact Analysis Program Lead at the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Tara supports ODOT’s Climate Office in a variety of data and analysis efforts related to greenhouse gas (GHG) scenario planning and targets, adding a climate lens to state funding decisions and other climate actions in coordination with a broad mix of state and local partners. Tara’s role includes employing the VisionEval strategic planning model—originally developed at ODOT over 10 years ago—for Oregon’s transportation GHG reduction roadmap, metropolitan GHG targets, and associated monitoring. In over 25 years of public and private experience in modeling and analysis of multimodal transportation systems, Tara’s career has focused on quantifying the complex interactions of transportation, land use, and the environment.
John Miller, PE
Assoc. Dir. for Environ., Planning, & Econ. - Virginia DOT
John Miller, PE, is the Associate Director for Environment, Planning, and Economics at the Virginia Transportation Research Council of the DOT. EPE scientists address ways to protect the environment, preserve cultural resources, support Virginia’s multimodal transportation system, and maximize the benefits of Virginia’s transportation investments. John remains involved with transportation planning, most recently working in the areas of regional truck freight planning techniques and scenario planning with the VisionEval strategic modeling package. He is an adjunct professor at the UVA, where he teaches courses on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and transportation planning and serves on the Transportation Research Boards (TRB) committee for Transportation Planning Analysis and Application (AEP15). Connect with John »