Conference to address freeway and tolling operations
Tolling is an important issue not only in Texas, but throughout America and abroad. For this reason, it is important to disseminate the most current research and information available to transportation professionals. The “Freeway and Tolling Operations in the Americas” conference seeks to accomplish this goal by bringing together professionals throughout the world during a two-day conference in Houston, Texas, on May 20-23.
“This conference will bring together professionals from across the Americas representing a number of transportation specialty areas including freeway operations, tollway operations, emergency management and highway finance to share experiences, identify research requirements and develop solutions where possible,” says Phil Masters, chair of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Freeway Operations Committee. “The focus of the conference is on the impacts of pricing and public-private partnerships on the operations of freeways and tollways.”
The event is sponsored by the following TRB Committees: Freeway Operations, Congestion Pricing, High-Occupancy Vehicle Systems and Emergency Evacuation. Hosted by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), other supporting agencies include the United States Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Transportation.
Conference planners hope to build upon the success of the 1st International Symposium on Freeway and Tollway Operations, which was held June 4-7, 2006, in Athens, Greece. The symposium was attended by 500 participants and included nearly 120 speakers over a 3-day period.
“That symposium, which was also spearheaded by the TRB Freeway Operations Committee, identified that the differences between freeway and tollway operations were rapidly disappearing, and these two groups had much they could share and learn from each other,” says Masters.
On Monday afternoon, conference attendees are invited to travel around Houston on a technical bus tour to view the IH-10 Katy Freeway & Tollway (Managed Lanes), Westpark Tollway and Houston TranStar Transportation Management Center.
“The Center on Tolling Research at TTI is pleased to have the opportunity to help host this event. The conference represents our goal of sharing research and best practices on toll road operation,” says Christopher Poe, center director and TTI assistant agency director.
For more information on the program, please contact Christopher Poe.
For registration information, please contact TTI Event Management and Planning.
