Environmental News Highlights – December 7, 2022

FEDERAL ACTION

AASHTO Helps Develop New ‘Mini Guide’ for EVs – AASHTO Journal

Addressing Transportation Insecurity through Equity – AASHTO Journal

Electric Vehicles Poised To Transform Economy, Says USDOT – Engineering News-Record
TSA Considers Using Third-Party Assessors in Coming Pipeline Regulations – Nextgov

What They Are Saying: Environmental Justice and Congressional Leaders, Advocates Applaud the New Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool – White House (media release)

COVID-19

Still recovering from COVID-19, US public transit tries to get back on track – SciLine

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

Making Truck Stops into EV Charging Hubs Will Take Small-Town Levels of Power – Car & Driver

Will EV Charging Infrastructure Be Ready for Cyber Attacks? – Government Technology

Resiliency, EV evolution expected to be focus of Florida’s next gen transportation infrastructure
– Florida Politics

Interstate Solar Arrays Will Generate Clean Energy And Reduce Costs – Central Maine News (commentary)

VDOT Announces Resilience Plan To Provide Sustainable Future For Transportation Projects And Infrastructure – Virginia DOT (media release)

Simulations show how bridges are damaged during earthquakes, and how we can prevent it – American Association for the Advancement of Science (media release)

AIR QUALITY

New rules put Vermont on the road to phasing out sales of gas-powered cars – WCAX-TV

FHWA Expands Every Day Counts Program Expands To Curb Crashes And Emissions – Bloomberg CityLab

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Denver International to Build Center of Equity and Excellence in Aviation – Flying

NATURAL RESOURCES

Utah DOT Preps Howitzers For Avalanche Control – AASHTO Journal

Invasive Watch: Osage Orange – T&D World (sponsored content)

CULTURAL RESOURCES

South Chicago Set To Get Raised Bike Lanes, Markers Honoring History To Make Streets ‘Vibrant And Accessible,’ Leaders Say – Block Club Chicago

Three Ways to Explore Environmental Justice Through Art this Week – Washington Informer

Pennsylvania trail towns poised to capitalize on increasing access, popularity of rails to trails – Tribune-Review

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

New Jersey’s first adaptive mountain bike trail opens for riders with mobility issues – Lehigh Valley Live

Another US state adds electric bike subsidy, this time with up to $1,700 rebate – Electrek

Homeless camps being moved out of Little Rock and North Little Rock – KTHV-TV

The Case for Guerrilla Crosswalks – CityLab

How Green Paint Can Save Cyclist’s Lives – Bicycling

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Developing Employer-Based Behavioral Traffic Safety Programs for Drivers in the Workplace – TRB

It Takes a (Big) Village: How a community of transportation pros is making mobility better. – Thinking Transportation (podcast)

Why ‘activity centers’ are key to greener commutes – Brookings

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Delegations of the Prevention of Significant Deterioration Air Permitting Program to the Maricopa County Air Quality Department and the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality – EPA (Notice)
Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC) – Notice of Meeting – EPA (Notice)

Availability of Federally-Enforceable State Implementation Plans for All States – EPA (Notification)

Advisory Council for Climate Adaptation Science Establishment; Request for Nominations – U.S. Geological Survey (Notice)

Reopening of Comment Period for Proposed Voluntary Agreement at Statue of Liberty National Monument and Governors Island National Monument – FAA (Notice)

ETAP Podcast: AASHTO President Roger Millar

At its 2022 Annual Meeting, held in October in Orlando, the Board of Directors of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials elected Roger Millar (seen above) as its 2022-2023 president.

[Above photo by WSDOT]

Appointed secretary of the Washington State Department of Transportation in August 2016, Millar – a 1982 graduate of the University of Virginia – is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

He also serves as president of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Transportation and Development Institute, is chair of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s board of directors, and is a member of the National Complete Streets Coalition Steering Committee.

An experienced land-use and transportation engineer, planner, and program manager – with an international reputation for innovative approaches to conservation and development – Millar’s key emphasis area during his one-year term as AASHTO president is transportation system resilience.

That includes preparing for and adapting transportation infrastructure to changing conditions and climate-related disruptions like wildfires, flooding, excessive heat, sea-level rise, and extreme storm events.

In this ETAP podcast episode, Millar will discuss how his decades-long transportation industry experience led him to make resilience his key focus area as AASHTO 2022-2023 president. Click here to listen.

TxDOT Issues $250M in Transportation Alternatives Funding

In an effort to curb rising pedestrian and bicyclist fatality numbers, as well as foster less carbon-intensive forms of mobility, the Texas Department of Transportation is making roughly $250 million available via its 2023 Transportation Alternatives Call for Projects.

[Above photo by TxDOT]

That program channels federal funds towards sidewalks, bike lanes, shared-use paths, and other projects designed to enhance walking and biking transportation options statewide. TxDOT added that it plans to hold a series of virtual workshops to help municipalities and organizations apply for this funding.

“Making it safer and easier to walk and bike is an important part of our mission of ‘Connecting You with Texas,’” explained TxDOT Transportation Commissioner Robert ‘Robie’ Vaughn in a statement.

“I’m thrilled to see this increase in funding that’ll help communities build impactful improvements for its citizens,” he added. “As a jogger and cyclist myself, I know the value these enhancements can bring to help Texans get to work, run errands, and enjoy the beautiful Texas outdoors.”

The number of pedestrians and cyclists killed on Texas roads has been rising over the past several years with pedestrian fatalities increasing by 15 percent and cyclist fatalities by 14 percent in 2021. TxDOT hopes this program’s funding will help communities plan and build walking and biking infrastructure that could help reduce those incidents.

This funding commitment follows a similar effort by TxDOT focused on the transit sector. In July, the Texas Transportation Commission awarded more than $68 million in federal and state funds to transit providers across the state. Combined with an award received in June, TxDOT is distributing more than $146 million in funding – a 65 percent increase compared to funds approved in the summer of 2021.