Marianne Saglam
Communications and Media Senior Director
202-785-0060 ext. 123
New National Center Will Support Better Transportation Safety and Mobility
WASHINGTON, DC—The National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE)—a new, comprehensive technical services center and website—was unveiled yesterday in Washington during the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). The NOCoE will help transportation professionals utilize state-of-the-art, real-time proactive management techniques to improve safety and combat congestion, leading to greater system reliability to better serve the traveling public. A recording of the event is available on Transportation Radio at http://transportationradio.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/national-operations-center-of-excellence-introduced.
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) provided specific assistance in developing the website. Thomas W. Brahms, ITE executive director and chief executive officer, said, “Our expectation is that the Center will provide resources to improve the transportation experience of the traveling public to enable them to get where they want to go in a timely, safe, and reliable manner. This new partnership brings together the transportation community’s different perspectives by sharing best practices, good and bad experiences to form lessons learned as well as engaging a network of peers to improve the operation of the transportation system for all users.”
“The TRB Annual Meeting is a fitting backdrop for the launch of this innovative new center,” said Bud Wright, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). “Transportation professionals in general and our State departments of transportation members in particular will benefit from the professional assistance, technical resources, and support to be provided by the Center.”
The NOCoE is a collaboration of AASHTO, ITE, and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) with support from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Officials from all four agencies joined others from the transportation community at the ribbon-cutting event.
“We know that by doing an optimal job of managing and operating our highways we can dramatically improve safety and travel-time reliability,” said NOCoE Executive Director Dennis Motiani, the former assistant commissioner for transportation systems management for the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
“I’m honored to be asked to lead the NOCoE effort,” said Motiani. “It’s our goal to provide support and information about effective operations and management practices, so transportation agencies can better use taxpayer dollars.”
The NOCoE will offer an array of peer exchanges, webinars, assessments, on-call assistance, and training on topics such as integrated corridor management, active traffic management, traffic management centers, and incident response. The website includes case studies, a knowledge center, links to key sites, discussion forums, and a comprehensive calendar. The website was developed through the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2).
“I am very proud that AASHTO and our partners conceived, planned, funded, and launched the Center in just two years,” said Don Hunt, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation and chair of the NOCoE Board of Directors. “The Center will be invaluable to a range of public and private entities working to improve the operational performance of the transportation system. The knowledge sharing benefits of the Center are critically important as we enter a period of rapid technological shifts in transportation.”
Wright and Hunt were joined by representatives of ITE, ITS America, and FHWA at the event.
ITS America also provided significant guidance in the development of the Center. “ITS America is proud to have been a partner from the beginning in the planning, design, and implementation of the National Operations Center of Excellence,” said Thomas E. Kern, ITS America’s interim president and chief executive officer. “It is incumbent on all of us who have a stake in the transportation systems management and operations community to support all efforts to mainstream our work and ensure that we make an effectively managed road network integral to our work. The Center of Excellence provides a focal point for this in which we should all participate, contribute to, and learn from.”
For more information, visit the National Operations Center of Excellence website at www.transportationops.org or email info@transportationops.org.
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The Institute of Transportation Engineers is an international educational and scientific association of transportation professionals who are responsible for meeting mobility and safety needs. ITE facilitates the application of technology and scientific principles to research, planning, functional design, implementation, operation, policy development, and management for any mode of ground transportation. Through its products and services, ITE promotes professional development of its members, supports and encourages education, stimulates research, develops public awareness programs, and serves as a conduit for the exchange of professional information.
Founded in 1930, ITE is a community of transportation professionals including, but not limited to transportation engineers, transportation planners, consultants, educators, and researchers. Through meetings, seminars, publications, and a network of nearly 15,000 members, working in more than 90 countries, ITE is the source for expertise, knowledge, and ideas.