Shawn M. Turner, P.E.

Turner, Shawn

Division Head, TTI

Mobility - Valley Park
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
The Texas A&M University System
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX 77845
ph. (979) 845-8829 Ext. 58829 · fax (979) 845-6008
shawn-turner@tamu.edu

Short Biography

Mr. Shawn Turner has managed and performed a wide variety of transportation planning and traffic operations research since joining the Texas A&M Transportation Institute in 1992. His major areas of emphasis have been in traffic data collection, ITS data archiving, management, and analysis. Other emphasis areas include transportation system performance measures and bicycle/pedestrian transportation. Shawn currently leads several research efforts at TTI focusing on traffic data collection and performance reporting. His primary research sponsors in these activities have been the Federal Highway Administration, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP).

In the past few years, Shawn has managed or played a key role in the following projects related to traffic data:

- Managed the FHWA's Mobility Monitoring Program, a national traffic congestion and reliability monitoring program that uses archived traffic operations data;

- Written a chapter on ITS data archiving in the update to the AASHTO Guidelines for Traffic Data Programs;

- Written a chapter on data management and analysis for the NCHRP 3-68 project report entitled "Guide to Effective Freeway Performance Measurement";

- Assisted the Maricopa Association of Governments in Phoenix with evaluating, analyzing, and improving data from the Arizona DOT traffic management system;

- Provided technical assistance to the Austin District of the Texas DOT with managing, analyzing, and distributing their archived traffic operations data; and,

- Developed guidelines that define and demonstrate the use of standard traffic data quality measures.

Over the past ten years, Shawn has managed or played a key role in these pedestrian and bicycle research projects:

- Played a key role in a TCRP/NCHRP project to improve pedestrian safety at unsignalized roadway crossings by: 1) recommending engineering treatments to improve the safety of unsignalized pedestrian crossings; and 2) developing better pedestrian traffic signal warrants that account for transit users.

- Updated the FHWA University Course on Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation, which provides resource material that can be used in civil engineering and urban planning departments nationwide.

- Developed the pedestrian and bicycle component of an intersection training course for ITE and FHWA.

- Assessed funding allocation and project prioritization strategies for Texas DOT's Safe Routes to School program;

- Proposed recommendations for a revised pedestrian traffic signal warrant and developed planning and design guidelines for improved pedestrian crossings;

- Developed and demonstrated travel demand forecasting procedures for bicycle and pedestrian facilities;

- Developed and demonstrated bicycle suitability criteria that will be used to assess the bicycle-friendliness of approximately 77,000 miles of state-operated roadways in Texas.

Shawn is a member of the TRB Urban Data and Information Systems Committee as well as the TRB Subcommittee on the Archived Data User Service. Shawn has also participated in the development of metadata and archived data standards in an American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) technical committee. Shawn is also active on the TRB Pedestrian Committee (currently serving as the Secretary) and the TRB Bicycling Committee, the ITE's Pedestrian and Bicycle Council, and the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.

Education

  • M.S., Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1993.
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 1991, with Honors.

Experience

  • Division Head, Mobility Analysis, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, April 2011 - Present.
  • Senior Research Engineer, Mobility Analysis, Texas Transportation Institute, September 2009 - April 2011.
  • Program Manager, Mobility Analysis, Texas Transportation Institute, September 2009 - April 2011.
  • Research Engineer, Mobility Analysis, Texas Transportation Institute, May 2007 - August 2009.
  • Associate Research Engineer, Mobility Analysis, Texas Transportation Institute, September 2002 - April 2007.
  • Assistant Research Engineer, Mobility Analysis, Texas Transportation Institute, September 1997 - August 2002.
  • Research Associate, Mobility Analysis, Texas Transportation Institute, September 1994 - August 1997.
  • Assistant Research Scientist, Mobility Analysis, Texas Transportation Institute, August 1993 - August 1994.
  • Graduate Research Assistant, Mobility Analysis, Texas Transportation Institute, January 1992 - July 1993.
  • Non-affiliated Student Technician, Mobility Analysis, Texas Transportation Institute, June 1991 - December 1992.
  • Engineering Student Trainee, Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division, Federal Highway Administration, 1989 - January 1990.

Professional Registration

Registered Professional Engineer in Texas, Registration No. 82781, 1997.

League Cycling Instructor (LCI), League of American Bicyclists, Registration No. 1264, 2004.

Affiliations

  • Executive Committee, Pedestrian and Bicycle Council.
  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), International and Texas Section.
  • Secretary and Member, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Committee on Pedestrians.
  • Member, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Committee on Urban Data and Information Systems.
  • Chair, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Subcommittee on Archived Data User Service.
  • Member, ASTM International Committee E17.54, Archived Data User Service.
  • Member, Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP).
  • Member, League of American Bicyclists.

Honors & Awards

Pedestrian Committee Outstanding Paper (Motorist Yielding to Pedestrians at Unsignalized Intersections), Transportation Research Board (TRB), 2006.

ITE Coordinating Council Award for Best Project (Automated Enforcement in Transportation), Institute of Transportation Engineers, Texas Section (TexITE), 2000.

Traffic Engineering Council Award for Outstanding Project (Automated Enforcement in Transportation), ITE, 2000.

TTI/Trinity New Researcher Award, Texas Transportation Institute, 1995.

Selected Publications

D.R. Middleton, R. Rajbhandari, R.E. Brydia, P. Songchitruksa, E. Kraus, S. Hernandez, K. Cheu, V. Iragavarapu, S.M. Turner. TxDOT Uses of Real-Time Commercial Traffic Data: Opportunity Matrix. 0-6659-P1. Texas Transportation Institute, Houston, TX. January 2012.

D.R. Middleton, R. Rajbhandari, R.E. Brydia, P. Songchitruksa, E. Kraus, S. Hernandez, K. Cheu, V. Iragavarapu, S.M. Turner. Synthesis of TxDOT Uses of Real-Time Commercial Traffic Data. 0-6659-1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. January 2012.

D.R. Middleton, R. Rajbhandari, R.E. Brydia, P. Songchitruksa, V. Iragavarapu, E. Kraus, S.M. Turner, S. Hernandez, K. Cheu. Synthesis of TxDOT Uses of Real-Time Commercial Traffic Routing Data. 0-6659-S. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. 2011.

K. Fitzpatrick, S.T. Chrysler, R. Van Houten, W.W. Hunter, S.M. Turner. Evaluation of Pedestrian and Bicycle Engineering Countermeasures: Rectangular Rapdi-Flashing Beacons, HAWKs, Sharrows, Crosswalk Markings, and the Development of an Evaluation Methods Report. FHWA-HRT-11-039. March 2011.

K. Fitzpatrick, S.T. Chrysler, R. Van Houten, W.W. Hunter, S.M. Turner. Final Report for Evaluation of Pedestrian and Bicycle Engineering Countermeasures: Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon, HAWK, Sharrow, Crosswalk Markings and Development of Evaluation Methods Report. 475860-4. 2010.

R.M. Aldrete, J.A. Shelton, A. Bujanda, E. Li, M. Farzaneh, S.M. Turner, K. Fitzpatrick, L.K. Cherrington, K. Cheu, C. Chang, I. Ibarra. Integrating the Transportation System with a University Campus Transportation Master Plan. 0-6608-S. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. 2010.