NCHRP 20-112: A Research Roadmap for

Transportation and Public Health

Lauren Blackburn, VHB

Alyson West, UNC Highway Safety Research Center

Presentation to AASHTO Subcommittee on Air Quality, Climate Change and Energy

March 6, 2020

Project scope

• Objectives:– Develop a holistic and strategic research roadmap

– Identify evidence to support practical and useful information, and implementable tools, for state DOTs and partners

• Research products:– 10-year strategic roadmap

• Six specific Research Problem Statements

• Communications/implementation plan

– PowerPoint slides

– Technical report

– Excel file of studies reviewed (bonus)

Project team

Research Roadmap Materials available at:

http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/179959.aspx

Laura Sandt (PI)Alyson WestKristen BrookshireMeg BrysonSarah Johnson Kelly EvensonJackie MacDonald Gibson

Lauren Blackburn Kara PeachMargaret Tartala Curtis Ostrodka

Anna RicklinSagar Shah

Independent Consultants

Daniel A. Rodriguez Jason Corburn

Transportation impacts our health in so many ways

Image Source: pedbikeinfo.org/ Toole Design Group Image Source: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Image Source: pedbikeinfo.org

Image Source: Frederic J. Brown/Getty Images

Key goal: illuminate the pathways to health in which

transportation agencies play a role, current practices and

research needs

Improving access

to opportunities

and services

Providing

opportunities for

physical activity

Promoting

community

connectedness

and vitality

Mitigating human

exposure to

environmental

risks (air and

noise pollution)

Preventing

injuries and

improving safety

Supporting

resiliency to

disaster and

extreme weather

events

Iterative literature review + stakeholder engagement

• 300+ research articles referenced in Final Report

• 42+ Institutional and agency reports and strategic plans

• Including commitee/task force reports

• State of practice/case studies and other gray literature

• 42+ TRB Research Needs Statements and Research in Progress records

• 22 interviews with federal, state, and local stakeholders

• Rural and urban states and cities

• Planning, engineering, transit, maintenance/ops, public health

• TRB, FHWA, and CDC

Literature reviewed in relation to health issues/outcomes

Physical activity/active travelNoise Chronic disease

Crime/security

Stress/comfort/mental health

Access/accessibility Safety

EquityResiliency

Literature reviewed in relation to DOT agency process

Planning/policiesPrioritization

Maintenance/operations

Interagency coordinationPublic engagement

Health impact analyses

Project design

Data/monitoring

Performance measures

Research gaps and needs

• General knowledge and data gaps, such as:– Lack of data fundamental for understanding health costs and benefits

• Topic specific gaps, such as:

– Lack on research on mental health, homelessness, and transportation policies

– Lack of research to support performance measures related to equity and accessibility

• Research implementation gaps, such as:

– Lack of knowledge on how states are institutionalizing practices for collection and integration

of active travel data

– Lack of documentation of current practices and examples from diverse contexts (e.g., rural

area

Research roadmap

Framed around key transportation agency processes and practices

Policy-making

• Vision and/or Mission• Statewide multimodal

transportation plan• Agency guidance

Planning• Long-range plans• Mode-specific plans• Corridor studies• Scenario plans• Small area plans

Capital programs, projects and implementation• Project evaluation• Project selection• Environmental

assessment

Monitoring and Evaluation• Design review and

comparison• Construction• Operation• Maintenance

Community Engagement / Data Integration

Public involvement Coordination with local, regional, and tribal governments

Data Collection Performance metrics

Identified many innovative approaches to institutionalize

health considerations in DOT agency processes/practices

• Executive or legislative mandates and policy approaches

• Intra-department or agency collaboration and staffing agreements

• Data integration and sharing

• Applying health decision-making tools in various processes

• Setting health performance targets and measuring outcomes

• Pilot-testing new technologies in transit projects

• Health and physical activity data collection, including ped/bike counts and

travel surveys as well as qualitative methods

Identified many research needs regarding environmental

change and resiliency for health considerations, including:

• Many crosscutting research needs, such as:

– Research and/or case studies specifically around challenges, opportunities, and noteworthy practices in leveraging recovery funds after a crisis event to integrate health considerations into new investments.

– Research systems impacts, including mode shift/substitution, safety, and environmental outcomes related to emerging technologies.

– Exploration of interactions of emerging technologies and disaster planning/hazard mitigation.

– Development of a methodology or simulation model to forecast long-term health impacts of heat island effects and impervious surface-induced local flooding related to land use decisions, parking policies, and roadway expansion efforts.

Identified many research needs regarding environmental

change and resiliency for health considerations, including:

• Two Research Problem Statements in the final roadmap which overlap with Environment and Resiliency :

– Synthesis of Best Practices for Including Health Outcomes in Transportation Project Prioritization

– Data Sources for Establishing Health Outcome Performance Measures for Transportation Projects

Identified many research needs regarding environmental

change and resiliency for health considerations, including:

• Three problem statements submitted to NCHRP for balloting

– 2021 B – 42 Establishing Health Outcome Measures for Transportation Projects

and Decision Making

– 2021 B-43 Practices and Recommendations for Meeting the Transportation and

Health Needs of an Aging Population

– 2021 B-44 Practices and Recommendations in Reporting and Integrating Non-

Fatal Injury Data for Active Travel Modes

RPS: Innovative Approaches to Congestion Management for Improved Health and Resiliency

• Research Objective: Perform a scan of state level DOT practice to identify meaningful methods of

measuring and managing VMT for integrated health and environmental benefits.

– Efforts to reduce VMT—through land development changes, ITS, congestion management, TDM programs, and

provision of alternative travel modes—have been shown to not only improve environmental outcomes but also

advance numerous health co-benefits such as improved safety, increased active travel, and better environmental

outcomes such as reductions in air, noise, and water pollution.

– Factors such as land use and development patterns, provision of affordable housing, access to reliable transit and

multimodal networks, and pricing of elements in the transportation system such as parking lots, gas, vehicles, roads,

and ridesharing all influence VMT.

Many avenues for research sponsorship

Since the project ended, we have…

• Coordinated with NCHRP/panel to submit 3 RNS to AASHTO

• Presented at the Conference on Health and Active Transportation

(CHAT), TRB, and Active Living Research

• Engaged with the TRB Health Subcommittee leadership to submit an

NCHRP synthesis statement

• Submitted a comment through the National Register to CDC on priority

research topics

• Presented to the UNC Vice Chancellor for Research

• Shared directly with TRB Executive Committee Board members and

NCDOT leadership