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Report Card for Alabama’s Infrastructure

Tuesday, December 29th, 2015

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS (ASCE)
ALABAMA SECTION
The bad news is that Alabama’s infrastructure has some challenges that you should know about before it’s too late to keep these systems from breaking down. Infrastructure deteriorates every single day as it ages, just as our bodies do, and many of these critical systems are reaching the end of their useful life…The good news is there are solutions to all these challenges , and we can raise Alabama’s infrastructure grades. By learning more today about the conditions of the infrastructure you use every day, you too can help raise the grade.

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Tags: AL, Alabama, American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, Report Card
Posted in Aging Infrastructure, Aviation, Bridges, Congestion, Dams, Drinking Water, Energy, Funding, Infra Views, Inland Waterways, Local, Rail, Roads, Seaports, Transit, Wastewater

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Public Perception of Mileage-Based User Fees

Monday, December 28th, 2015

Figure 1: Support for MBUF by Polling Year. Note: Sample size = 28. Five questions on general support for MBUFs are excluded from this figure because the poll extended over multiple years or the information on the year the poll occurred was unavailable.

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
In recent years, the real value of fuel tax revenues has declined significantly as a result of increasing vehicle fuel efficiency, failure to adjust tax rates to keep up with inflation, and fewer miles driven. This decline in the purchasing power of the revenues collected has led to ongoing funding challenges for transportation infrastructure and increased uncertainty about future funding options. The long term sustainability of motor fuel taxes has come into question, in view of increasing fuel efficiency and possible shifts to alternative fuel vehicles. Interest has grown in the potential of replacing the current fuel tax — assessed at the federal level and in many states as a flat fee per gallon — with new road usage charge assessed on all miles traveled. This method is often referred to as a mileage-based user fee (MBUF), road usage charge (RUC), vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee, or per-mile tax.

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Tags: Gas tax, MBUF, National Academies, Transportation Research Board, TRB, TRB of NA
Posted in Funding, Infra Views, National, Policy, Tax

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The 2015 Holiday Travel Forecast

Friday, December 25th, 2015

AAA
IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT
Travel during the year-end holiday period will top 100 million for the first time, as the 1.4 percent growth will be driven by rising incomes and low prices, boosting consumer spending three percent above year-ago levels.

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Tags: 2015, AAA, Christmas, Holiday, IHS Global, New Year, Travel
Posted in Aviation, Congestion, Infra Views, National, Roads

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Vision Zero: Safe Streets for Washington, DC

Thursday, December 24th, 2015

Washington DC Vision Zero: INJURY CRASHES 2010-2014

DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
The goal of Vision Zero is straight-forward: zero fatalities and serious injuries in our transportation system, because no loss of life is acceptable. Vision Zero was first adopted in Sweden in 1997. Since then, fatal and serious injuries in Sweden have consistently declined, despite a regular increase in people driving, walking, biking, and using transit.

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Tags: D.C., DDOT, District Department of Transportation, District of Columbia, safety, Vision Zero, Washington
Posted in Infra Views, Local, Policy, Roads, Urban Planning

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Thirsting for Progress: A Report Card on California’s Response to the Drought

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2015

NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL
As California bids farewell to a fourth, searing year of drought, we don’t know what Mother Nature has in store for us next year. We may face torrential downpours associated with the strong El Niño in the Pacific Ocean. We may face another crippling year of drought. Or we could experience something in between. But we do know that California has experienced multi-year droughts in the past and will again. As a state, we must prepare for these inevitable droughts if we are to continue to support our growing population, thriving economy, and healthy environment.

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Tags: CA, California, drought, Natural Resources Defense Council, NRDC, Water
Posted in Drinking Water, Environment, Infra Views, Local, Sustainability

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2045: State of Hawaii Energy Resources

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2015

HAWAII STATE ENERGY OFFICE
The past year marks a turning point in the history of energy in Hawaii. Since the establishment of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative in 2008, the state has been moving from fossil fuels to clean energy sources. Building on tremendous progress in recent years, in 2015 the state accelerated its commitment to an unprecedented level: 100 percent renewable energy in the electricity sector by 2045. This report details Hawaii’s efforts to increase energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the regulatory, technical and practical efforts required to make this world’s-first ambition possible.

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Tags: Energy Resources Coordinator, ERC, Hawaii, Hawaii State Energy Office, HI, HSEO
Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Infra Views, Local, Sustainability

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ACEC’s ENGINEERING INC. — Smart Roads Ahead: A New Era in Transportation Connectivity

Monday, December 21st, 2015

Engineering Inc. - November/ December 2015

AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES
The automobile is undergoing a radical transformation. Advancements in technology, along with growing pressure to reduce congestion, trim carbon emissions and improve safety, are fueling the concept of connected cars and smart transportation systems.
How these technological advances will impact America’s roadways is a new challenge facing engineering firms. There’s growing demand to develop smart infrastructure systems that do things such as alter traffic flow dynamically. Motorists are using apps, such as Google Maps and Apple Maps, to bypass congestion and incidents, but far more advanced vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) systems lie ahead.

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Tags: ACEC, American Council of Engineering Companies, driverless cars, Engineering Inc., Smart Infrastructure, Smart Roads
Posted in Congestion, Engineering Inc., Infra Views, Policy, Roads, Smart Growth, Technology

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Capital Ideas II: State Transportation Funding Lessons from 2015 & Challenges for 2016

Friday, December 18th, 2015

2015 State legislation to raise additional transportation revenue

TRANSPORTATION FOR AMERICA
After years of inactivity on the issue, transportation funding has increasingly become a critical issue in states both red and blue and elected state representatives have responded by moving to raise new funding at the state and even local level. With 12 states successfully taking action this year, 2015 had the largest number of successful increases in state transportation funding since Transportation for America began tracking this phenomenon several years ago.

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Tags: Legislation, T4America, Transportation for America
Posted in Funding, Infra Views, Policy

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A Tale of Three Markets: Comparing the Solar and Wind Deployment Experiences of California, Texas, and Germany

Thursday, December 17th, 2015

Figure 1: Map of Solar PV Resource Quality – U.S. and Germany20

STANFORD UNIVERSITY
STEYER-TAYLOR CENTER FOR ENERGY POLICY AND FINANCE
The Obama administration has repeatedly identified the large-scale build-out of clean, renewable energy infrastructure as a key priority of the United States. The President’s calls for a cleaner energy economy are often accompanied by references to other industrialized countries such as Germany, the world’s 4th largest economy, hailed by many as a leader in renewable energy deployment and proof of concept. Indeed, the share of renewables in Germany’s electricity generation mix (28% ) is twice that of the United States (14% ), and the ambitious „Energiewende“ commits the country to meeting 80% of its electricity needs with renewables by 2050. The German renewables experience, however, is not without its critics.

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Tags: California, Germany, PV, Solar Energy, Stanford University, Steyer-Tayler Center for Energy Policy & Finance, Texas, Wind Energy
Posted in Energy, Environment, Global, Infra Views

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Connecticut’s Top Transportation Issues

Wednesday, December 16th, 2015

Costs to drivers in the Bridgeport/Stamford, Hartford and New Haven urban areas of driving on roads that are deteriorated, congested and lack some desirable safety features.

TRIP
An efficient, safe and well-maintained transportation system provides economic and social benefits by affording individuals access to employment, housing, healthcare, education, goods and services, recreation, entertainment, family, and social activities. It also provides businesses with access to suppliers, markets and employees, all critical to a business’ level of productivity and ability to expand. Conversely, reduced accessibility and mobility – as a result of traffic congestion, a lack of adequate capacity, or deteriorated roads, highways, bridges and transit facilities – diminishes a region’s quality of life by reducing economic productivity and limiting opportunities for economic, health or social transactions and activities.

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Tags: Connecticut, CT, TRIP, Tripnet
Posted in Aging Infrastructure, Funding, Highway, Infra Views, Local, Roads

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Infra Views

Report Card for Alabama’s Infrastructure

Public Perception of Mileage-Based User Fees

The 2015 Holiday Travel Forecast

Vision Zero: Safe Streets for Washington, DC

Thirsting for Progress: A Report Card on California’s Response to the Drought

2045: State of Hawaii Energy Resources

ACEC’s ENGINEERING INC. — Smart Roads Ahead: A New Era in Transportation Connectivity

Capital Ideas II: State Transportation Funding Lessons from 2015 & Challenges for 2016

A Tale of Three Markets: Comparing the Solar and Wind Deployment Experiences of California, Texas, and Germany

Connecticut’s Top Transportation Issues

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