2011 TAC conference & Exhibition

CALL FOR PAPERS

September 11-14, 2011 ~ Edmonton, Alberta

Edmonton

Transportation Successes: Let's Build on Them

technical paper sessions

N.B.: Prospective authors are invited to submit abstracts for technical paper sessions.

ENVIRONMENT

Session: 2011 TAC Environmental Achievement Award Nominations

This session will feature a paper by the winner of TAC’s 2011 Environmental Achievement Award, as well as presentations by all of the other award nominees.

(The Call for Nominations for the 2011 award is posted on the Association’s website. Abstracts are required by January 31, 2011 and, if accepted, submissions are due by March 11, 2011.)

GEOMETRIC DESIGN

Session: Geometric Design – Conflicting Demands of Accommodating Active Transportation

Designers are constantly challenged to develop transportation facilities that accommodate several modes including motor vehicles, walking and cycling. This session will focus on geometric design considerations to achieve context-sensitive designs that meet the needs of multiple and competing transportation modes. Examples of this are design exceptions and processes.

Session: Geometric Design Considerations to Accommodate Other Transportation Modes
  • Geometric design considerations to accommodate multiple transportation modes including bus rapid transit and rail transit
  • Geometric design considerations to accommodate active transportation (pedestrians and cyclists)

MAINTENANCE AND CONSTRUCTION

Session: Successes and Innovations in Maintenance Methods and Practices

Road authorities, engineering firms, contractors and product suppliers are continually finding new means, methods, techniques and products to maintain highways across North America and around the world. Maintenance contract tendering, quality control / quality assurance, performance specifications,  maintenance staging, pre-fabricated products, emerging equipment for maintenance, global positioning system (GPS) applications, salt management and maintenance work site safety are a few of the many areas where successful advancements are being made.

The success stories and lessons learned are building blocks for continuous improvement in the transportation and highway sector. This session will therefore offer an opportunity to share these experiences through the presentation of case studies providing transportation practitioners with information to help shape their business processes for the future.

  • Papers should present a case study that demonstrates lessons learned to reduce the administrative burden, reduce project cost, accelerate responsiveness to maintenance requirements, manage scheduled maintenance or improve quality.
  • Papers should also explain the objective of the approach, benefits, lessons learned and future applications.
  • Where cooperation with a contractor or supplier was essential to the development or effectiveness of the innovation, a company representative should be encouraged to take part in the actual presentation of the paper.
Session: Successes and Innovations in Construction Methods and Practices

Road authorities, engineering firms, contractors and product suppliers are continually finding new means, methods, techniques and products to build highways across North America and around the world. Contract tendering, quality control / quality assurance, performance specifications, construction staging, pre-fabricated products, emerging equipment for construction, global positioning system (GPS)-controlled equipment and construction site safety enhancements are a few of the many areas where successful advancements are being made.

The success stories and lessons learned are building blocks for continuous improvement in the transportation and highway sector. This session will therefore offer an opportunity to share these experiences through the presentation of case studies providing transportation practitioners with information to help shape their business processes for the future.

  • Papers should present a case study that demonstrates lessons learned to lighten the administrative burden, reduce the cost of a project, accelerate or manage its schedules or improve project quality.
  • Papers should also explain the objective of the approach, benefits, lessons learned and future applications.
  • Where a contractor has been involved in developing or has developed the innovation, a company representative should be encouraged to take part in the actual presentation of the paper.

PAVEMENTS

Session: Effects of Increased Loading on Pavements
  • New generation transportation vehicles and their effects on pavements
  • Design of flexible and rigid pavements to accommodate increased loading
Session: Challenges Facing Low-volume Roads
  • Changes impacting on low-volume roads, e.g. wind farms and gravel roads
  • Environmental impacts of low-volume roads
  • Geometric design (safety vs. cost)
  • Addressing pavement failures on low-volume roads
Session: Innovative Developments in Sustainable Pavements
  • How materials engineers are addressing sustainability issues in the field of pavement design
  • Improvements in technologies that extend pavement life

ROAD SAFETY

Session: Canadian Applications of the AASHTO Highway Safety Manual
  • Case studies / projects in which the methods proposed in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Highway Safety Manual were used in Canada
  • Modifying policies to integrate explicit consideration of safety quantitatively in engineering processes
  • Data collection strategies for the application of Highway Safety Manual methods
Session: Commercial Vehicles – Safety and Integration with Other Travel Modes and Road Design
  • Strategies to meet long-haul commercial driver needs such as overcoming fatigue / impairment and road user safety
  • Interactions between various modal types and commercial vehicles in urban areas – conflicts and safety concerns related to vulnerable users, roadway design (e.g. lane widths, turning radii at intersections and access points) and larger trucks
Session: Effective Methods for Identification of Potential Sites for Roadway Improvements
  • Network screening practices employed by various jurisdictions, e.g. success stories using various methodologies, implementation issues, constraints (data, systems, bias, expertise, resources, etc.)
  • Interactions between network screening methods and mitigation measure selection / implementation and post-implementation, e.g. success stories related to the introduction of countermeasures at locations selected through various network screening protocols
  • Establishment of a program to gather data and develop systems for the implementation of effective methods to identify potential sites for roadway improvements
Session: Giving the Edge to Pedestrians
  • Pedestrian-friendly treatments at traffic signals
  • Walkable communities – engineering and re-engineering streets for pedestrians
  • Devices and designs that increase the conspicuity and safety of pedestrian crosswalks
  • Research on pedestrian behaviour and safety
  • New technologies that improve conditions for pedestrians
Session: 2011 TAC Road Safety Engineering Award Nominations

This session will feature a paper by the winner of TAC’s 2011 Road Safety Engineering Award, as well as presentations by all of the other award nominees.

(The Call for Nominations for the 2011 award is posted on the Association’s website. Submissions are due by March 11, 2011.)

SOILS AND MATERIALS

Session: Successful Mitigation of Frost Heave
  • Success in the use of insulating materials for the mitigation of frost heave           
  • Rehabilitation alternatives for frost heave
  • Addressing frost heave in historically non-frost susceptible areas
  • Detailed investigations to identify the extent of frost heave
Session: Success through the Use of Geosynthetics
  • Use of geosynthetics to strengthen soft soils
  • Stabilizing embankment slopes with geosynthetics
  • Increasing embankment slopes and stability with geosynthetics
  • Geosynthetics for environmental applications

STRUCTURES

Sessions (2): Bridges – Successes: Let’s Build on Them
  • New structures – excellence, innovation and creativity
  • Rehabilitated structures – excellence, innovation and creativity

SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORTATION

Session: Successes in Integrating Sustainable Transportation and Land Use
  • Transportation and land use initiatives
  • Focus will be on integrating transportation and land use opportunities, challenges, as well as case studies
Session: Influencing Travel Behaviour
  • Successful social marketing initiatives applied to transportation behaviour change and experiences from other fields that can be applied to transportation behaviour change, including active living, smoking cessation and recycling
Session: 2011 TAC Sustainable Urban Transportation Award Nominations

This session will feature a paper by the winner of TAC’s 2011 Sustainable Urban Transportation Award, as well as presentations by all of the other award nominees.

(The Call for Nominations for the 2011 award is posted on the Association’s website. Submissions are due by March 11, 2011.)

TRAFFIC OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT

Session: Innovative Methods to Improve Traffic Flow

Although road systems are becoming more and more congested, it is rarely possible to widen existing roads, especially in urban areas. This is the case both for freeways and arterial roads. This session will present concrete examples of success stories in improved traffic flow through the application of innovative methods.

Session: How To Encourage the Safe Coexistence of Different Modes of Transportation

Road agencies are encouraging active transportation with a resulting increase in the number of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. It is therefore important to take appropriate measures or design facilities to ensure their safety. The session will present concrete examples of related success stories in both urban and rural areas.

URBAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND RESEARCH

Session: Goods Movement Successes – Meeting Freight Challenges through Effective Planning, Partnerships and Innovations

Congestion and the unpredictability of traffic delays are major issues that hinder economic competitiveness and impact the safe and efficient movement of goods. The session will consider various means of addressing these issues including:

  • Optimizing the use of existing transportation infrastructure and making targeted investments
  • Developing innovative solutions by improving current data collection practices, policies and regulations
  • Achieving successes through public / private partnerships and innovation
  • Effectively integrating transportation with land use planning and community building initiatives
  • Improving supply chain and logistics practices to better understand the needs of the private sector in the context of the global economy
Sessions (2): Success Stories in Urban Transportation Planning Practices
  • Integrating transportation planning and growth management
  • Impact of environmental assessments on transportation master plans
  • State-of-the-art tools for data collection, analysis and demand forecasting
  • Integrating transportation planning and sustainable development
  • Integrating transportation planning and goods movement
  • Impact of access management on transportation planning