We’re back from the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., where dozens of our team members joined more than 13,000 fellow transportation professionals to discuss the latest trends and innovations across the world of transportation. Stacie Phillips of our Raleigh, NC, office shares her top takeaways below.
- Fundamentals are crucial. While autonomous and/or connected vehicles were mentioned in nearly every presentation, the core challenges we face when designing and operating our transportation systems remain. Regardless of how much “sexy” technology we layer on top, we can’t forget the basics.
- Improvements for bicyclists. With more than 500 bicycle signals already in existence in the U.S., interest is still on the upswing and there are plenty of questions still to be answered in terms of design, operations, and education.
- TRB is adaptable. While there was certainly a lot of conversation and concern regarding the reorganization of the TRB volunteer structure, I was encouraged to see how many people were embracing the changes as a chance to collaborate with more people and do even more to push our industry forward.
- The future is bright! TRB continues to foster lively conversations among a diverse group of people on an almost overwhelming array of topics—I’m already looking forward to next year!