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    <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <item>
      <title>Vermont: Highway Safety Improvement Program 2018 Annual Report</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2705973</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a core Federal-aid program with the purpose of achieving a significant reduction in fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. As per 23 U.S.C. 148(h) and 23 CFR 924.15, States are required to report annually on the progress being made to advance HSIP implementation and evaluation efforts. The format of this report is consistent with the HSIP Reporting Guidance dated December 29, 2016 and consists of five sections: program structure, progress in implementing highway safety improvement projects, progress in achieving safety outcomes and performance targets, effectiveness of the improvements and compliance assessment.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2026 11:55:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2705973</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Vermont: Highway Safety Improvement Program 2017 Annual Report</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2701064</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a core Federal-aid program with the purpose of achieving a significant reduction in fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. As per 23 U.S.C. 148(h) and 23 CFR 924.15, States are required to report annually on the progress being made to advance HSIP implementation and evaluation efforts. The format of this report is consistent with the HSIP Reporting Guidance dated December 29, 2016 and consists of five sections: program structure, progress in implementing highway safety improvement projects, progress in achieving safety outcomes and performance targets, effectiveness of the improvements and compliance assessment.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 25 May 2026 15:32:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2701064</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions Due to Vermont’s Clean Transportation Incentive Programs</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2690986</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This study evaluates four of Vermont’s recent clean transportation incentive programs in terms of emissions reductions, cost effectiveness, and equity. We evaluate the New PEV, Replace Your Ride, MileageSmart, and eBike programs overall and for variations in the types of vehicles incentivized. The four programs evaluated achieved GHG emission reductions between 27,400 and 81,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in total when accounting for the likelihood of free riders, reflecting average emissions reductions of 4.1 to 12.4 metric tons CO₂ per incentive. In terms of cost effectiveness, all programs combined had per incentive costs that were slightly higher than the value of estimated emissions reductions. Two subgroups of incentives exhibited estimated benefits that exceeded program costs when evaluating using more optimistic assumptions: incentives from the more recent version of the New PEV program and New PEV incentives used to acquire a battery-electric vehicle. The estimated value of the emissions reduction benefits of the other programs and program subgroups were either inconclusive or did not exceed program costs. The shares of incentive funds distributed to recipients living in multi-family housing and rural areas were similar to the distribution of registered vehicles in Vermont, indicating a relatively even distribution of incentives along these dimensions. Low-income households received most of the incentives from each program, particularly for Replace Your Ride and MileageSmart, reflecting the equity objective of the programs’ design.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:28:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2690986</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Implementing an Advanced Open-Source Activity Based Travel Demand Model to Support Rural Transportation Planning and Policy Decisions</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2692312</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Travel demand models (TDMs) are used to support state and regional transportation planning and policy decisions. TDMs were originally developed to forecast passenger traffic volumes with the primary objective of identifying investments to reduce traffic congestion. Today, TDMs are used to support a much broader range of purposes, including multimodal and freight transportation planning, demand management strategies, forecasting accessibility outcomes, evaluating network resiliency to disasters, and modeling air quality and public health impacts. However, the aggregate, trip based TDMs used by most regional and state transportation agencies lack the fidelity and sensitivity to evaluate contemporary planning and policy decisions. Activity based travel demand models (ABMs) offer substantial improvements and their agent-based simulation platforms allow for integration with a wide range of other agent-based modeling including land use simulation, vehicle adoption, population growth simulation models among others. Despite their advantages, the complexity of ABMs has constrained their adoption to all but the largest metropolitan areas, often with support from academic researchers. Smaller urban areas and rural states like Vermont could benefit substantially from adopting ABMs. The goal of this project is to implement an open source and/or free for public use ABM in Vermont. Several ABMs meeting these criteria have been developed by US Department of Energy labs. This project will implement a modeling platform that University of Vermont can use in partnership with regional and state stakeholders to advance rural transportation planning and policy research; perform a case study to demonstrate the unique capabilities of ABMs to inform current transportation policy debates in Vermont; identify implementation barriers; and identify future research directions to address implementation barriers to enable wider ABM adoption outside of large urban areas.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:09:54 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2692312</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Implementing an Advanced Open-Source Activity Based Travel Demand Model to Support Rural Transportation Planning and Policy Decisions: Phase 2 – Calibration</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2691726</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Travel demand models (TDMs) are used to support state and regional transportation planning and policy decisions. TDMs were originally developed to forecast passenger traffic volumes with the primary objective of identifying investments to reduce traffic congestion. Today, TDMs are used to support a much broader range of purposes, including multimodal and freight transportation planning, demand management strategies, forecasting transportation access outcomes, evaluating network resiliency to disasters, and modeling air quality and public health impacts. However, the aggregate, trip based TDMs used by most regional and state transportation agencies lack the fidelity and sensitivity to evaluate contemporary planning and policy decisions. Activity based travel demand models (ABMs) offer substantial improvements and their agent-based simulation platforms allow for integration with agent-based population growth and land use simulation tools, among others. Despite their advantages, the complexity of ABMs has constrained their adoption to all but the largest metropolitan areas, often with support from academic researchers. Smaller urban areas and rural states like Vermont could benefit substantially from adopting ABMs. The goal of this project is to continue current National Center for Sustainable Transportation (NCST)-funded work on implementing a statewide ABM in Vermont using the POLARIS modeling system developed by Argonne National Lab. The current project is focused on initial model setup and testing. This Phase 2 project will focus on calibration and validation. The expected outcome is a calibrated implementation of the POLARIS modeling system for the state of Vermont that can be used for the evaluation of statewide and regional transportation planning and policy decisions and to advance research on rural transportation challenges.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:58:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2691726</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Rural Vehicle Markets and Consumer Affordability</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2691725</link>
      <description><![CDATA[There is a need to better understand rural vehicle consumer choice and transportation affordability to inform efforts to support economic vitality in rural communities. Access to adequate vehicle choices at affordable price points may be limited in rural contexts due to the spatial location of vehicle purchase options. At the same time, access to affordable vehicle options has important implications for transportation affordability, mobility, and economic opportunity in rural areas. Prior research suggests that people living in rural areas are more vehicle dependent, and that vehicle affordability and access is related to mobility and economic opportunity. Recent research indicates that rural vehicle consumers face more limited options and higher prices for a small subset of vehicle options, however, little is known about the implications for consumer choice and vehicle affordability for the overall vehicle market. This project uses detailed vehicle data and vehicle dealership listings in Colorado, Maine, and Vermont to evaluate the relationship between vehicle options, distances people travel to purchase a vehicle, and the price paid for the vehicle in both urban and rural contexts. Findings from this research can inform policies that seek to expand access to affordable transportation options in rural communities.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:55:16 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2691725</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Quantifying the Flood Resilience Value of Water Quality Best Management Practices on Vermont Roads</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2689762</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Transportation networks have been recognized as contributors to water quality impairment by discharging stormwater, sediment, and nutrients to receiving waters. These contributions can occur through chronic inputs of water and pollutants washed from the road surface during storm events or through episodic and often catastrophic road failure by mass wasting or fluvial erosion at structure crossings during extreme storms. Research studies in forested areas of the eastern United States, and elsewhere, including those conducted by members of this project team, have documented rates of erosion and mass wasting from low volume roads and impacts on water quality. Our previous research has also documented the importance of unpaved roads on water quality impairment and quantified the effectiveness of best management practices (BMPs) in reducing sediment and phosphorus contributions.
The Phosphorus Total Maximum Daily Load for Vermont Segments of Lake Champlain (a.k.a. TMDL) called for reductions in phosphorus contributions from developed lands, motivating a need to address stormwater runoff from the state’s transportation network. Statewide efforts to achieve the reductions required by the TMDL led to the development of the Municipal Roads General Permit (MRGP) in 2018 and subsequent revisions. Recent extreme flooding events across the state, in particular the July 10-11, 2023 North Country Storm event and associated Great Vermont Flood which will be the focus of this project, in addition to subsequent flood events in December 2023 and July 2024, have resulted in the need for emergency repairs of damaged transportation infrastructure, and revealed the need to clearly communicate the cost benefit of improved stormwater management on the transportation network. In past research projects funded by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the Vermont Agency of Transportation, we conducted retrospective analyses (i.e. a review of project planning documents and site visits to assess existing conditions) of transportation stormwater upgrades funded by the state’s Better Roads and Grants in Aid programs and found that the BMPs installed through these grants were highly robust to extreme flood events. This project therefore aims to expand on the research teams’ prior work to assess the life cycle cost-benefit of BMP adoption with a focus on the BMPs required by the Municipal General Roads Permit (MRGP), Sections 1 and 2 of the VT Road and Bridge Standards for municipal roads, and VTrans Drainage Management Standards for State roads. The data and results of this project may be used to update VT AOT’s Transportation Resilience Planning Tool or other mitigation practices.
To facilitate this work, we will form a technical advisory committee (TAC) composed of VTrans project champions (Todd Eaton), Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC) staff engaged in the implementation of the Municipal Roads General Permit, members of at least one Regional Planning Commission, and others identified by VTtrans. The role of the TAC will be to help guide study design, facilitate the use of existing data, leverage on-going implementation of erosion control projects, and provide context for agency needs.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 09:46:01 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2689762</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of Cement-Based Pavement Markings</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2689760</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Pavement markings provide continuous safety information to roadway users related to the roadway alignment, vehicle positioning, and other important driving-related tasks. During nighttime hours on many roadways, pavement markings are the only roadway asset to guide and regulate traffic, and their visibility becomes even more critical during nighttime wet conditions. Additionally, today pavement markings must be visible not only to human drivers but also to the machine vision technology of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) common in many vehicles.
For these reasons, it is important that pavement markings are performing well and are both durable and retroreflective (provide nighttime visibility) to aid with safe roadway navigation. However, there are many factors that can affect pavement marking performance, such as the environment, traffic, and winter maintenance practices. The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) experiences significant challenges with all of these factors. Vermont’s climate, which has low winter temperatures and harsh freeze-thaw cycles, places considerable strain on a pavement marking material’s capacity to remain bonded to the pavement surface. The repeated freeze-thaw cycles have caused marking materials to crack or peel. The tire abrasion from high traffic volumes, especially heavy truck traffic, accelerates wear on pavement markings, and winter maintenance practices, particularly in northern states like Vermont, significantly impact the longevity and effectiveness of pavement markings. The frequent mechanical abrasion from snowplows accelerates marking degradation, and deicing agents cause chemical degradation such as fading, stripping, and surface damage.
Besides the potential safety risks to roadway travelers, there are other consequences for rapidly deteriorating pavement markings. The financial costs to VTrans for frequently replacing markings can be significant. Costs include not only the material, equipment, and labor for installation, but also the administrative costs for programming and managing striping contracts, as well as indirect economic costs for disruption to traffic. The traffic disruption can also have a negative impact on the traveling public, such as traffic congestion, delays, and driver frustration.
However, a relatively new pavement marking material, a polymer modified cement pavement marking called Enduramark, has a high potential for being more durable than most other marking materials. The cement-based marking has performed well for over three years in heavy snowplow environments. With a longer service life, it also has the potential for having a highly competitive annualized cost. The purpose of this study is to conduct a measured evaluation of the Enduramark’s performance on VTrans roadways, determine an estimated service life, and from the service life calculate the material’s annualized cost. The study will support the Agency’s Strategic Plan Goal 2: Grow Vermont’s economy by providing a safe, reliable, and efficient transportation system in a state of good repair.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 09:40:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2689760</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Damage Modeling, Monitoring, and Assessment of Bridge Scour and Water Borne Debris Effects for Enhanced Structural Life</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2669648</link>
      <description><![CDATA[During severe storm events, bridge safety is threatened by flooding hazards, including increased hydraulic pressures and water-borne debris, such as large woody debris buildups, which could exacerbate the scour of bridge foundations. To evaluate and identify possible bridge damages and vulnerabilities during flooding events, it is necessary to assess bridge resilience on a regional level. However, existing bridge vulnerability models are typically focused on a single bridge type and cannot effectively scale to larger areas that could include various bridge types. To balance high-fidelity models with the need for simplified, scalable models, bridges need to be classified based on key characteristics. This project aims to access the flood fragility of various types of bridges in a region, and it was completed in two phases. In the first phase, a clustering-based approach is used to determine the optimal classification of bridges for vulnerability analysis to flood-related hazards. The K-prototype algorithm is utilized to consider both categorical data and numerical data. Our dataset contains all the multi-span bridges overactive waterways in Vermont. The results unveil the bridges can be optimally classified into six major clusters: short, medium, and long-span steel, concrete tee-beams and culverts, and covered wooden truss bridges. In the second phase, the most representative bridges are selected for further analysis of their vulnerability to flood. Modelling of bridges in the Python library- OpenSeesPy was done for fragility analysis. The final outputs as probability of failure of each bridge types are presented in few easily applicable tables that is believed to serve bridge asset managers, local and state governments, and other related decision-makers to take immediate actions and strategies on the operations and maintenance of bridges during severe flood in order to mitigate the possibility of economic and human life losses.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:15:50 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2669648</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Leveraging High-Resolution LiDAR and Stream Geomorphic Assessment Datasets to Expand Regional Hydraulic Geometry Curves for Vermont</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2669640</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In the two decades since Regional Hydraulic Geometry Curves (RHGCs) were first developed for Vermont streams, new remote-sensing data have been generated including digital elevation models derived from Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) data, and stream geomorphic assessments have been completed for more than 2,300 miles of river. Availability of these new data sets represented a cost-effective opportunity to revisit the analysis to update RHGCs for Vermont rivers without the need to engage in resource-intensive field work. We sought to improve upon the RHGCs, by (1) expanding the number of observations, and (2) reducing the variability in the relationships between drainage area and each of the response variables, bankfull width, mean depth, and cross-sectional area. To do so, we leveraged stream geomorphic data collected from 2005 through present; as well as high-resolution lidar data for estimation of basin characteristics. With the addition of 10 new sites, RHGCs have been expanded to cover drainage areas up to 396 (from 194) square miles. Additionally, stratification of the curves by channel slope at a threshold of 0.1% has improved prediction of bankfull width as a function of drainage area. Use of updated curves to design more geomorphically-compatible bridges and culverts will lead to greater resilience and durability of these transportation structures during extreme flood events. Greater longevity of structures translates to improved benefit-cost ratios when the full life cycle of these structures is analyzed and compared to that of undersized structures. Geomorphically-compatible structures also have co-benefits of supporting aquatic and terrestrial organism passage objectives.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2026 13:24:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2669640</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>A New Method of Determining Payment for In-Place Concrete with Double-Bounded Compressive Strength Pay Factors</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2669643</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Vermont Agency of Transportation currently uses a lower acceptance limit on 28-day concrete compressive strength (CCS) of 4,000 psi for acceptance of in-place concrete in its construction projects, particularly for placement of bridge decks. Over time, to reduce risk, the concrete industry’s response has led to increasingly higher average 28-day CCS, which is believed to be associated with increased brittleness and excessive early cracking. These findings have led to a recommendation to establish a target mean CCS of around 5,000 psi with pay factors and they support the argument for including an upper acceptance limit when CCS is used as a performance characteristic. Under this type of performance specification, pay factors are typically enforced for payment using the percent-within-limits (PWL) quality measure. A drawback of the PWL is its implicit assumption that the distribution of 28-day CCS is Gaussian so that z-scores can be used for assessment of payment. Our research team’s review of the literature and historical data suggests that the distribution of resulting industry-wide CCS is not likely to be Gaussian, especially once the double-bounded acceptance range is implemented. The goal of this project was to develop a new quality measure for payment of in-place CCS that does not rely on the Gaussian distribution and allows a variety of pay factors around the target mean. A new approach was developed, called the percent-within-distribution (PWD), which calculates a quality measure from a 28-day CCS sample by comparing the sample to any type of design distribution using a Bayes process. Random variables were used to guide the new approach and the simulated responses that the industry might take. We showed how the new quality measure can be used for acceptance and payment under a double-bounded pay factor schedule, but also how it could be used to design a pay factor schedule in the absence of complete lifecycle cost data. The research team also created a decision-support tool to manage the implementation of the new approach. The tool allows the user to specify and visualize their design distribution, then calculate the PWD from a sample. The tool is based in MS Excel so that it will be useful to a variety of DOT quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) personnel.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2026 13:24:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2669643</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Flood Analysis of Bridge-Stream Interactions Using Two-Dimensional Models</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2669633</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The northeastern United States is experiencing more frequent precipitation events of longer duration (i.e., extreme events). Infrastructure therefore must be able to withstand more frequent flood events of greater magnitude. It is not feasible to analyze and retrofit each structure for the rigorous hydraulic demands of extreme flood events; so prioritizing limited resources to locations at greatest risk in order to minimize flood damage is critical. Current state of practice is often limited in scope to steady-state analysis in the immediate vicinity of a specific structure or feature, and the far-reaching impacts up- and downstream the river are often not understood and considered in decision making. To better understand the interactions among rivers, hydraulic structures and surrounding hydrogeological features, a two-dimensional (2D) transient HEC-RAS (Hydraulic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System) model of a section of Mad River, Vermont was constructed and calibrated. Available 2D HEC-RAS models of two additional Vermont rivers (sections of Black Creek and Otter Creek) supplemented the study allowing comparisons across a range of river gradients. All three river study sections have nearby USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) gauges and a number of bridges (3 to 16), and therefore make suitable study sites. The analyses considered the 2011 Tropical Storm Irene, as well as flood events that have annual exceedance probabilities of 50%, 4%, 2% and 1%, to analyze hydraulic impacts and interactions surrounding transportation infrastructure. A screening framework, that uses the 2D hydraulic modeling results, was developed to identify bridges and sites best suited for hydraulic intervention such as floodplain lowering and reconnection and addition of culverts for mitigating the impacts of extreme flood events along the bridge-river network. These interventions were then simulated in the developed 2D HEC-RAS models of the three study sites. The results of the baseline and intervention models indicate that the developed screening framework that combines geomorphic and hydraulic characteristics can identify suitable bridges and other locations along a river for flood mitigation intervention. The screening framework is comparatively more applicable to moderate to high gradient rivers, but may still be applied to lower gradient rivers with supplementary data from prior flood damage reports and inspection records. The results demonstrate that the interventions have cascading effects up and downstream of the intervention locations. Interventions simulated on a moderate or high gradient river have farther-reaching effects that are often less intuitive up and downstream compared to a low gradient river highlighting the importance of a transient, 2D hydraulic analysis. Overall, the results suggest that bridge flood mitigation projects in similar geographic and climate settings should consider the up and downstream geomorphic and hydraulic characteristics to better understand the potential impact the intervention will have on the bridge-river network.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:15:16 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2669633</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Traffic Safety Toolbox - Addressing Speeds</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2659361</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Reducing speeding and aggressive driving is one of seven critical emphasis areas identified in the Vermont Highway Safety Plan, which targets reductions in major crashes on Vermont highways. Vermont towns recognize the need to discourage speeding and implement countermeasures that will bring speeds down to posted speed limits, especially in transition zones from high-speed rural highways to low-speed village streets. Vermont’s villages and towns often lack the resources and capacity needed to select and implement speeding countermeasures that will be effective and appropriate for a particular context. There is a need for targeted, digestible guidance to assist these municipalities. This goal of this project was to create a clear and concise “Traffic Safety Toolbox” to distill key information about speeding countermeasures appropriate for small and rural communities in Vermont. This Toolbox will help the towns where the responsibility of addressing speeds and improving safety often falls to local engineers or DPW superintendents, many of whom have limited experience in traffic safety. The objectives of this project were to: (1) evaluate applicability of speed countermeasures in the Vermont context; (2) profile proven speed countermeasures including describing their use and effectiveness in Vermont communities; and (3) create a clear and concise “Traffic Safety Toolbox” to support local decision-makers in villages and towns across Vermont.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 08:39:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2659361</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Traffic Safety Toolbox: Speeding Countermeasures Toolbox for Vermont</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2659360</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Reducing vehicle speeds is an important strategy for reducing the risk and severity of collisions and ensuring the safety of drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists, especially in transition zones, where rural highways with higher posted speeds (typically 50 mph) enter a village or town center. This Traffic Safety Toolbox (“Toolbox”) of speeding countermeasures is intended for use by Vermont towns with posted speeds that are not widely adhered to by drivers, whether in a transition zone entering a village or town center (roads with speed limits of 35 mph and above and functional classifications of 3 or 4), or within the community itself (roads and streets with speed limits below 35 mph and functional classifications of 5 or higher). This Toolbox provides an overview of the countermeasures that are appropriate for the Vermont context in a set of profile sheets, acting as a “launch point” to more detailed resources describing the full process of implementing these countermeasures. That process includes background data collection, community involvement, design, and construction/installation. In the profile sheets that comprise the Toolbox, users will find lists of more comprehensive resources that will guide this process. Following the profile sheets, users will find information attesting to the use of speeding countermeasures in Vermont in a series of case studies and field tests. For each case study and field test, a fact sheet is provided that demonstrates a real-world example of the use of speeding countermeasures in Vermont.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 08:39:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2659360</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Vermont Smart Growth, Vehicle Miles Traveled, and Greenhouse Gas Research</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2659355</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) set targets for Vermont to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. Recognizing that transportation accounts for the largest share of the State’s total GHG emissions, the Climate Action Plan identified reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as a key pathway to meet targets and acknowledged the need to quantify the effect of smart growth strategies on VMT and GHG reduction in the Vermont context. This project explored the hypothesis that compact, mixed use development patterns generate fewer VMT and GHG emissions per person than more dispersed or rural settlement patterns. A model was developed relating built environment measures in Vermont communities to weekly per capita VMT estimates by leveraging passively collected, location-based services data. Several future scenarios were quantified to demonstrate the degree to which smart growth strategies can reduce VMT to meet transportation related GHG emission reduction targets and quantify the co-benefits of smart growth strategies beyond GHG emission reductions. Focusing future growth in areas with low VMT and emulating prototype smart growth communities were most effective in reducing weekly per capita VMT overall, reducing VMT by an estimated 10 miles per person per week compared to more dispersed growth scenarios. Smart growth strategies were demonstrated to contribute to over 15% of the annual GHG reduction needed to achieve the 2050 GWSA targets. Conversely, dispersed settlement patterns produced an increase in emissions of up to 20% of the annual target, working against other mechanisms to drive down annual GHG emissions. Future scenarios demonstrated the co-benefits of smart growth strategies on safety with 1 avoided traffic death and over 30 avoided traffic injuries per year; health with reduced physical inactivity mortality saving nearly 4 lives annually; and maintenance with reduced annual maintenance costs by over $1.5 million. Case study communities offered further insights on VMT and GHG reductions possible through implementation of smart growth strategies. Specifically, the scenario results for case study communities highlighted the need for jobs in proximity to denser, mixed land uses to achieve targeted VMT and GHG reductions; the opportunity to enhance the existing patterns in Vermont of denser centers surrounded by more rural areas through context sensitive modifications to density, land use mix, infrastructure, and proximity to jobs; and, the influence of regional neighbors on VMT where condensed movement patterns within town centers are often complemented by more expansive travel patterns to adjacent communities.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 08:39:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2659355</guid>
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