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A new study from the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) aims to review pedestrian and cyclist solutions on major roads, with or without a central barrier, where the permitted speed limit is between 70 and 90km/h. Reconstructing an existing road with a central barrier is primarily considered as a road safety measure which reduces the risk of head on collisions. A negative effect of this type of design is that conditions for cyclists and pedestrians become difficult, especially when

The New York State Thruway is converting two mainline and one side toll plaza to all electronic (AET) or cashless toll collection, in a drive to contain spiralling employee costs and debts caused by a reduction in traffic. Although the original plan called for open road tolling (ORT) plus a cash toll plaza, the Request for Proposals for the new bridge allowed bidders to propose AET during the construction if that reduced disruption of traffic. Work is now starting on the new bridge which under the contract

A $US30 million plan to improve transport links in the UK town of Worcester has been given the go-ahead by local transport minister Norman Baker. The government is backing it with US22 million of funding. The project will improve access to rail travel, upgrade traffic signals and make it easier to walk and cycle in the area. Intelligent transport systems which provide better information to bus passengers and road users will also be installed and a smarter choice scheme will encourage transport users to look

The US Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s first hearing of the 113th Congress focused on the importance of infrastructure to the US economy and examined the role played by the Federal Government in ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable infrastructure. Chairman Bill Shuster highlighted how the quality of the nation’s infrastructure affects the lives of Americans in many ways on a daily basis, and how the Federal role in ensuring a strong transportation network is firmly rooted in the first day

Sweden’s supplier of RFID solutions for rail applications, TagMaster, has been awarded a major new contract by Alstom Transport in France to develop and supply RFID systems to Alstom’s signalling division. Both companies have signed an agreement that will see TagMaster develop a customised version of its heavy duty (HD) RFID reader which, together with HD ID tags, will be used to provide positive train detection functionality as a sub-system in the Alstom Urbalis communications based train control (CBTC) si

Officials in Texas and Oklahoma say their electronic toll systems could be interoperable in 2014. Chairman of the Team Texas Interoperability Committee Clayton Howe says the exact timing will be up to Oklahoma to decide but indications are it could be up and running by the end of the year. Interoperability will mean Texans will be able to travel Oklahoma's turnpikes and receive their tolls on their Texas accounts. Similarly, Oklahoma drivers will be able to drive on Texas tollroads and be billed to their Ok

Oxford University scientists have developed a self-driving car system that can be installed in existing cars and can cope with snow, rain and other weather conditions. Developed by a team led by Professor Paul Newman at Oxford University, the new system has been installed in a Nissan Leaf electric car and tested on private roads around the university. The car will halt for pedestrians, and could take over the tedious parts of driving such as negotiating traffic jams or regular commutes. The car alerts the

Said to be the biggest congestion charge scheme to launch in any city, the London scheme got off to a smooth start ten years ago on 17 February 2003, much to the surprise of London's then mayor Ken Livingstone, who ten years later says “it turned out better than I expected.” None of the anticipated pre-7am congestion as drivers attempted to avoid the charge happened, and by the end of the first day 57,000 drivers had paid it. The main problem seemed to be that buses were all running ahead of time and had t

In Minnesota, US, the most common measure for snow management performance is the time it takes to completely clear a roadway after a snow event ends. Currently, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) relies on visual inspections by its field crews to estimate this bare pavement recovery time. To help MnDOT more accurately and reliably estimate the performance of its snow management activities, researchers from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) have developed a prototype process that uses

Traffic trials aimed at streamlining the rush-hour commute in the UK’s north-east have been given the green light. The project in Newcastle involves new satellite navigation technology which helps drivers adjust their speed so they can pass through a series of lights on green. The European project is being led by Newcastle University and Newcastle City Council, and aims to reduce city centre congestion and pollution associated with stop-start driving. Phil Blythe, Professor of Intelligent Transport Systems

A new app developed by transportation specialists Cross County Connection Transportation Management Association (CCCTMA), allows users to quickly check the real-time traffic conditions and view live traffic cameras, at intersections known for congestion in southern New Jersey. CCCTMA says the NJ Intersections app works on iPhone and Android-enabled devices with an easy-to-use interface that quickly shows you exactly what the traffic situation looks like at any selected intersection. Simply touching the scr

UDRIVE is the first large-scale integrated driving study in Europe and aims to provide in-depth knowledge in a number of areas. Cars, trucks and motorcycles will be equipped with sensors and cameras for around one year and provide continuous and detailed information about the driver and the vehicle in interaction with other road users. This will result in a wealth of information about everyday trips on European roads. The UDRIVE project started in October 2012, and the forthcoming UDRIVE workshop offers the