Todd Carlson

TTI Assistant Research Scientist

Education

• M.U.P., Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, 1996
• B.A., Political Science And History, University of California at Los Angeles, 1986

Short Biography

Mr. Todd Carlson, Associate Transportation Researcher with the Urban Analysis Program at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, is currently working as part of a team to assist the Systems Planning section of the Transportation Planning and Programming Division (TPP) of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in meeting federal requirements. As part of that effort, he has helped to create a transportation control measure handbook for use by MPOs in new non-attainment areas to achieve federal air quality standards. The handbook is due to be published in late 2002.

Mr. Carlson is facilitating workshops that will restructure the funding allocation process for several categories of the Unified Transportation Plan (UTP) in the State of Texas. He is also workshop facilitator for the UTP category that prioritizes corridor projects in urban areas of the state for the Texas Transportation Commission.

As part of TxDOT Project 1801-1, he has completed a Traffic Data Request Guide for use by TxDOT districts. He has also helped to conduct a customer needs assessment on the performance of TxDOT?s Traffic Analysis Section in meeting the information requirements for areas within the department.

Mr. Carlson has assisted in the evaluation and implementation of the TrafX automated traffic recorder software program for the Traffic Analysis section of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). He has also assisted in the creation of an online division manual for the Multimodal section of TxDOT.

He has contributed in creating and managing a critical path database for the Traffic Analysis Section of TxDOT. He has conducted a research monitoring project for the federally funded Travel Model Improvement Program. Mr. Carlson has also been involved in TCRP Project B-13, which created a handbook of low-cost marketing strategies for public transit systems. He has also contributed to research projects regarding state infrastructure bank pilot programs and environmental site assessment procedures for highway construction. He has edited various TTI documents, including a federally sponsored HOV Manual.

In 2001, Mr. Carlson spent five months in Kharkiv, Ukraine as a lecturer and researcher as part of a US Department of State NIS College and University Partnership Program between the University of Texas at Arlington and the Kharkiv State Academy of Municipal Economy. He helped to establish the Center for Economic Research and Management Capacity Building (CERMCaB) at the academy in Kharkiv. The center was completed in March 2001 and became operational for classes and research. Mr. Carlson taught two courses with 15 students at CERMCaB, one course on urban transportation planning and another on economic development. He also helped in writing two research proposals. The first one was approved by the Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration (Central and Eastern Europe) and will analyze local and regional institutional structures and policies in Kharkiv related to economic development and propose improvements. The second is a Kharkiv regional transportation study and is currently being developed.

As a planning consultant for the City of Santa Fe, Texas, Mr. Carlson helped conduct an existing land use survey of the city and assisted in the creation of a digital land use map. He co-authored the final report, which included a supplemental analysis of city conditions such as transportation, housing, and community appearance. In addition, he created a COHORT population projection for the city.

As a graduate assistant at Texas A&M University, Mr. Carlson was the student lab facilitator for the Texas Target City Program?s production of a comprehensive plan for the City of Giddings, Texas. He supervised and coordinated the research activities of twenty graduate students, edited the main document, and performed as liaison between the City of Giddings, the planning lab, and an architecture studio tasked to redesign the city?s central plaza and streetscapes. Mr. Carlson was leader of a team that completed a housing survey of the city, including a housing stress index and a market analysis. He also edited and completed the comprehensive plan for the City of Hidalgo, Texas produced by the planning lab from the previous year.

In addition to experience working with several libraries and booksellers, Mr. Carlson also served four years as an infantryman in the U.S. Army.