U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center

To help Indiana Dunes National Park (INDU) improve traveler information communications, we’re piloting a Smart Parking Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to better manage access to its 15,000 National Park Service acres. The goal of the pilot is to improve transportation convenience, efficiency, and safety for visitors who plan to use NPS parking lots to access beaches, trailheads, educational centers, and other park resources. The Smart Parking ITS communicates real-time parking space availability data at select parking areas with a centralized database. The information is available to park management and staff as well as the public via a website and through a display screen located at the INDU Visitor Center. The goal for this season is to improve upon the system technology that was in place the past two seasons to create a more permanent, stable system that visitors can rely on for consistent traveler information communications.   Learn more about our Public Lands team’s work here: tinyurl.com/48224sm6

On July 1, 1970, U.S. DOT established the Transportation Systems Center (TSC) to support the nation’s strategic transportation goals and the priorities of the Secretary of Transportation. The Center originally served as NASA’s Electronics Research Center, but the nation needed us to refocus on the complex transportation challenges at hand. In 1990, the Center was renamed for John A. Volpe, former U.S. Transportation Secretary and Massachusetts Governor. View our Five Decades Retrospective video, our Celebration of Our Staff video, a timeline of key U.S. DOT Volpe Center dates and milestones by the decade, and the other materials available on our 50th anniversary webpage: tinyurl.com/3nvbcnuf Happy 54th birthday to the U.S. DOT Volpe Center! 

Inclement weather, natural disasters, vehicle crashes, and road work can all lead to unpassable and unsafe roads. Closing these roads to users and communicating these closures to visitors on third-party navigation applications is essential to improving the NPS visitor experience and safety. Working with National Park Service (NPS), we created a pilot Work Zone Data Exchange (WZDX) feed to support Mojave National Preserve during recovery from monsoon roadway damage in 2022. Building on this pilot, we supported the NPS in developing and sharing information about an application that automatically generates a road closure or incident alert to NPS.gov and updates a Transportation Data Exchange (TDx) feed of all road closures and incidents in the NPS Application Programming Interface (API), which can be consumed by anyone, including third-party navigation applications. Learn more about our Public Lands team’s work here: tinyurl.com/48224sm6

To help National Park visitors more easily take transit during their visit, we recently supported National Park Service in creating static General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) feeds, a widely accepted transit data standard, for more than ten park transit systems. GTFS feeds communicate transit information to third-party navigation applications, like Google Maps. Over the next year, we will be supporting NPS in expanding the GTFS pilot to create static GTFS feeds for additional park transit systems, as well as piloting real-time GTFS at several parks. Learn more about our Public Lands team’s work here: tinyurl.com/48224sm6

Operations research analysts from our Systems Safety and Engineering Division recently visited highway-rail grade crossings in the greater Chicago area with FRA, Metra the Chicago Metropolitan Rail, and the Illinois Commerce Commission, scoping potential locations for enhanced Emergency Notification System signage. This work supports an FRA research study we’re supporting that demonstrates and evaluates technologies and strategies to increase pedestrian and vehicle safety at crossings. For more on our highway-rail grade crossing safety and trespass prevention research: tinyurl.com/4b5ykpyt

Now Hiring Engineers: We’re looking for engineers to help manage complex transportation projects—from civil to mechanical, from electrical to environmental. Seeking a diverse group of well-qualified candidates. Apply now: tinyurl.com/2s4j2ntv  

Our team of research analysts, engineers, and scientists recently participated in the Configuration, Logistics, and Maintenance Resource Solutions (CLMRS) Program Increment Planning Twenty-Seven Meeting. This meeting was in support of FAA’s development within the SAFe Agile framework and methodology. The CLMRS portfolio includes Automated Maintenance Management System (AMMS), the Configuration Management Automation (CMA), the Logistics Center Support System (LCSS), National Remote Maintenance Monitoring (RMM) Network (NRN), and Maintenance Management Information Exchange Model (MMIXM) programs that our team leads with engineering, requirements, and data modeling development. Our role directly supports the DOT Infrastructure Strategic Objective 3, System Operations and Performance by reducing barriers for sharing data and improving the quality and consistency of the data. Learn more about our Air Traffic Management Systems team’s work here: tinyurl.com/25ywy4ud

We were proud to work with Federal Transit Administration on the recent publication of the Transit Resilience Guidebook to assist transit agencies, local government officials, metropolitan planning organizations, and other entities responsible for planning, funding, operating, or coordinating with transit agencies to anticipate, adapt to, and recover from service disruptions caused by extreme weather events, natural disasters, and climate change impacts. The guidebook presents recommendations and examples of how to identify and address climate vulnerabilities and risks and build resilience into transit assets throughout the lifecycle process, while ensuring priority is given to protecting vulnerable populations. Thank you to our team who led the development of the guidebook, including conducting research, writing, and stakeholder engagement. Find the guidebook here: tinyurl.com/kwvhs2xv

This summer, we welcomed 36 Pathways interns from schools such as Harvard, MIT, Duke, Tufts, George Washington, UMASS, UCLA, and BU—and we welcomed three Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups (STIPDG) interns who are part of groups that are typically underrepresented in federal leadership.   Our intern program creates a pipeline of talent for federal employment with diverse skillsets including computer engineering, environmental science, psychology, public policy, mechanical engineering, cybersecurity, economics, and more. Learn more about our programs for student and recent graduates here: tinyurl.com/3fxeksk6  

We are proud of our colleagues’ longstanding commitment to giving back to our community. Our 26 years of volunteering as lunchtime reading buddies at our neighborhood Kennedy-Longfellow (K-Lo) School in Cambridge, MA is a great example of our team living out our Volpe Value of public service. We are wrapping up this year’s program with 51 volunteers made up of federal and contractor staff, and our volunteers were recently celebrated at Cambridge School Volunteers’ annual recognition awards. Way to go U.S. DOT Volpe Center Reading Buddies! Learn about our commitment to giving back to our community here: tinyurl.com/bde5w494