WTI’s work in the Crowsnest Pass in Alberta Canada takes another step forward as Alberta Transportation begins wildlife fencing construction at Emerald Lake. WTI, along with partners Miistakis Institute, Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y), Road Watch in the Pass, and other local scientists and citizens have been recording data and advocating for mitigation measures to reduce wildlife collisions for over a decade. To learn more, visit:
http://www.passherald.ca/archives/160817/index3.htm
WTI’s David Kack, Skyline Bus Coordinator, went before the Gallatin County Commision to request $75,000 in support of the bus service connecting Bozeman and Big Sky. Skyline has made budget requests for the last seven years, but never had any funding approved by the Gallatin County Commission. In a split vote, the commission approved a one-time $50,000 expenditure for new buses.
For more details on the meeting, visit http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/county/in-split-vote-gallatin-county-approves-money-for-skyline-bus/article_5bd54909-b034-51c6-957a-d575f63eb8c6.html
And to see David’s interview with KTVM, visit: http://www.nbcmontana.com/news/ktvm/gallatin-co-denies-funding-for-skyline-buses/42999575
The National Center for Rural Road Safety, sponsored by FHWA and headquartered at WTI, is excited to announce a national summit in 2016 on rural transportation. “Moving Rural America: Advancing Safe Transportation Systems to Enhance Economic Development and Quality of Life” will be held September 7-9, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. This summit will be all-inclusive, bringing together key leaders and grassroots stakeholders to articulate important safety and transportation issues that impact quality of life and economic prosperity in rural areas. It will also identify collaborative opportunities to advocate for and implement initiatives that advance the deployment of a safe, efficient, seamless, and financially sustainable rural transportation network. Registration is now open! For more information, go to http://ruralsafetycenter.org/news-events/moving-rural-america-summit/
Ewan, L., Al-Kaisy, A., Hossain, F. (2016). “Safety Effects of Road Geometry and Roadside Features on Low-Volume Roads in Oregon.” Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2016 Paper #16-2115. https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=1392778
The Calgary Herald discusses the successes of the 44 wildlife crossing structures along the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park. WTI’s Tony Clevenger provides his expertise. http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/how-do-the-animals-cross-the-road-in-banff-national-park
Please welcome Craig Shankwitz to WTI! Craig will be leading the MSU campuswide initiative to develop Connected and Autonomous Vehicles in a rural setting. Most recently, Shankwitz served as a principal R&D engineer at MTS Systems Corporation, and is also the former director of the University of Minnesota Intelligent Vehicles Laboratory. He presently serves as the vice-chairman of the Society of Automotive Engineers Truck and Bus Active Safety Systems committee.
Craig was an opening speaker and session leader at our workshop in April that focused on research opportunities in the field of autonomous and connected vehicles. Nearly 50 MSU faculty, state and local transportation officials, and private sector representatives met to share ideas on how to match the technical strengths of MSU to current and emerging research opportunities.
If you haven’t said hello yet, stop by his office (#339). His email address is: Craig.shankwitz@montana.edu
The Sandhills Prairie Refuge Association featured WTI road ecology research in its June 2016 newsletter. On behalf of the Nebraska Department of Roads, Marcel Huijser is leading a project to see if turtles are using the culverts along Highway 83 (near the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge) to safely go from one side of the road to the other. To track turtle movements, Marcel is using a combination of turtle traps and trail cams. You can read the article in the attached newsletter or check out trail cam photos on Marcel’s blog.
The Center for Health and Safety Culture has been approved as an official university center by the Montana State University Board of Regents. Professor Nicholas Ward from the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering has been appointed as the Director of the Center.
With this official designation, the Center is pleased to announce the launch of its new website (www.CHSCulture.org). This website includes information about their latest research model for growing positive culture to sustain safe and healthy behaviors in communities.
The new research model to measure, understand, and transform culture is called the Positive Culture Framework (PCF). This framework is grounded in validated models of human social behaviors related to health and safety and considers a broader set of cultural influences in addition to norms. Specifically, the new model has expanded beyond Positive Community Norms to include the most current evidence of cultural factors that influence health and safety behavior.