Rural matters: Roads that work for people should work for the environment, too.
Professional Development
Program Overview
WTI takes pride in the state-of-the practice research we conduct in our laboratories and in the field. Our greatest satisfaction comes when one of our projects solves a specific problem on a roadway or makes a maintenance engineer’s job a little easier on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, our outreach efforts – putting our research findings into the hands of people who can use them – are just as important as the research itself. Since its earliest beginnings, WTI has supported and encouraged researchers--from both WTI and other organizations--to share their findings through presentations, training workshops, and other forums. Building on 14 years of experience with a broad range of technology transfer activities, WTI continually explores new and refined methods of communication and collaboration, to ensure that we reach as many people as possible with the information they need the most
With our unique understanding of rural transportation challenges and solutions, WTI engages in outreach activities that make important contributions to national transportation policy and practice. Within this context, WTI focuses on efforts that are:
- Topical – identifying emerging issues of concern and raising awareness
- Timely – continually integrating our latest research into forums and workshops so that practitioners have the most up-to-date information
- Targeted – providing the research to busy professionals with time and resource constraints through regional events, webinars, onsite trainings, and other alternative forums.
Events
Upcoming events being hosted or sponsored by WTI include the following
2009 National Winter Maintenance Peer Exchange, Madison, Wisconsin August 25-26, 2009
Traffic safety culture is an important determinant of driver risk taking and acceptance of traffic safety interventions. Attempts to make our transportation system safer cannot succeed without considering the cultural factors that define our values and govern our behavior. In recognition of this, the Western Transportation Institute and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety are hosting a summit to discuss traffic safety culture and its role in the safety of our rural transportation system.
What can participants expect? The Summit will strive to increase understanding and unify concenr amongst traffic safety researchers, practitioners, and policy makers about the role of traffic safety culture on (1) behavioral factors; and (2) attitudinal barriers to public and political acceptance of traffic safety interventions. Presentations by national and international experts followed by focused discussion will ensure that this event is a must attend for individuals in the traffic safety arena.
The Summit will also lead into the Driving Assessment Conference to be held June 22-26, 2009 in Big Sky, Montana. As such, consider maximizing your time and travel by planning to attend both!
The Western States Rural Transportation Technology Implementers Forum is a one-day meeting where professionals involved with implementing transportation technology solutions exchange detailed technical information about how solutions are engineered and implemented. It is a day for dynamic discussion of practical and technical issues associated with rural ITS, to promote transferability of solutions and knowledge across the ITS community. Presenters delve into how solutions were developed, focusing on applications that have been deployed in the field and are being used in live traffic situations. Technical presentations are planned for 60 to 90 minutes each, ensuring that this level of detail may be presented and understood.
Past Events
The 2008 Road Dust Management Practices and Future Needs Conference was held November 13-14, 2008 in San Antonio, Texas. Conference presentations, agenda and much more are posted here as they become available.
The 2007 National Winter Maintenance Peer Exchange was held in Columbus, Ohio on August 29-30, 2007 in conjunction with the 12th Annual Eastern Snow Expo. Conference presentations, agenda and much more information is available by clicking the link above.
Set against the majestic backdrop of the Rocky Mountains and Lone Mountain, the 2006 National Rural ITS (NRITS) Conference, held in Big Sky, MT, August 13-16, provided more than 250 rural transportation and emergency services professionals with three days of workshops, technical sessions, and unique networking opportunities. Conference presentations, agenda and much more information is available by clicking the link above.
Professional Committee Web Pages
Technology transfer is key to our mission of moving research in to practitioners hands. One technology transfer role that WTI research staff members perform is to serve on many professional committees. As part of that service WTI hosts professional committee web pages to accelerate the dissemination of research findings and to assist our local, state and federal partners.
Transportation Needs for National Parks and Public Lands
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