[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               DR. BRAGDON AND INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION

                                 ______


                      HON. GEORGE J. HOCHBRUECKNER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 1994

  Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER. Mr. Speaker, the dean of Dowling College's School 
of Aviation and Transportation, Dr. Clifford R. Bragdon, is one of the 
world's preeminent scholars in the area of transportation planning. I 
highly recommend that my colleagues read Dr. Bragdon's paper entitled 
``Intermodal Transportation Planning for the 21st Century: A New 
Paradigm''. Dr. Bragdon offers an important perspective on how our 
Nation can improve intermodal transportation capabilities. I ask 
unanimous consent that Dr. Bragdon's paper be printed in the Record at 
the end of my remarks.

    Intermodal Transportation Planning for the 21st Century: A New 
                              Paradigm\1\

       The paper provides an overview of where our society is now 
     in terms of intermodalism, and equally important where we are 
     going for the twenty-first century. Intermodalism in the next 
     century is going to be very different from what it is 
     currently occurring. I will present this subject from a 
     multi-dimensional and multi-sensory perspective.
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     \1\Paper presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the 
     Transportation Research Board.
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       We are all part of an environmental stewardship system 
     since the earth's biosphere supports all human, plant, and 
     animal life. This biotic life support system is essential for 
     survival. Whatever we do intermodally will impact the 
     biosphere since it consists of three intermodal components: 
     air (atmosphere), land (lithosphere), and water 
     (hydrosphere).
       We are rapidly developing surface gridlock, with the 
     automobile and our present dependence at the epicenter. The 
     automobile has become an inseparable part of human life, from 
     birth to death. However, such spatial gridlock is not limited 
     to the ground, since gridlock is also occurring in the air. 
     There is congestion in our skies, particularly in navigable 
     airspace, where aircraft flight operations in the vicinity of 
     airports are concentrated. We need to establish a more 
     efficient aerial management system for this space since it is 
     critical for maintaining essential interstate commerce and 
     economic development for the United States. A global 
     positioning system (GPS) for aerial management appears to be 
     a more effective technology from both a safety and spatial 
     efficiency perspective due to its precision and accuracy. 
     There are however not only limitations to the amount 
     transportation systems that can operate on land, and in air 
     but also on water. Aquatic gridlock in preferred shipping 
     channels, ports, as well as recreational and tourist 
     locations are becoming more common. The management of space, 
     as part of an asset management system, is essential for the 
     preservation of our biosphere, particularly as the worlds 
     urban population density and number of continues growing. 
     World population is expected to double in approximately 60 
     years, with 40% of the present total living in cities. 
     Densities throughout the world are rising, with Hong Kong the 
     highest, numbering 256,000 people per square mile.
       A new paradigm is needed to place time and space, as a 
     function of mobility, in the proper perspective. 
     Transportation needs to be fully integrated vertically and 
     horizontally in our three-dimensional spatial universe. 
     Intermodalism appears to be an effective host for 
     understanding transportation problems and the needed 
     solutions. The word intermodalism involves the efficient 
     movement of people, goods, resources and information that are 
     integrated using multiple modes of transportation in a 
     compatible manner. Currently in most instances each mode of 
     transportation is looked upon as an independent entity, often 
     competing rather than complimenting one another. this has 
     been a counter productive approach to the overall goal of 
     maximizing transportation. to be effective, transportation 
     needs to operate as an integrated system for the 21st 
     century. The National Aviation and Transportation 
     CenterSM located in Long Island, New York at Dowling 
     College can be an effective agent for creating and 
     demonstrating that harmonious intermodal transportation 
     environment, since this Center has been designed for this 
     specific purpose.


                            spatial planning

       Historically our approach to planning has involved two 
     dimensional, flat thinking. If you examine master plans and 
     zoning ordinances for cities they are written two 
     dimensionally. Flat thinking leads to flat ideas and to a 
     general lack or appreciation of innovation. In actuality the 
     description of property ownership has a subsurface, surface 
     and an air space component. A more accurate term to be used 
     to describe master planning is space not land use planning. 
     Land is a two dimensional term, rather than property. 
     Sometimes we have to go back in history to look into the 
     future. One of the earliest examples of multiple use of space 
     was the Ponte Vechio, a very famous bridge over the Po River 
     in the fourteenth century in Florence, Italy. This spatial 
     system of mixed use development was constructed nearly 600 
     years ago, providing recreational transportation, residential 
     and commercial activity all on one bridge system. The first 
     application of this bridge planning in the United States took 
     place in Savannah, Georgia, nearly 300 years ago. This was 
     the first use of a bridge over a public right-of-way 
     connected to a private use and the Cotton Exchange Building. 
     Another 200 years passed before this concept was applied to a 
     highway. The Massachusetts Turnpike permitted the Star Market 
     to be constructed within the air rights of the turnpike, 
     outside the city of Boston, in 1953.
       Even today, there are less than 20 departments of 
     transportation in the United States that allow private air 
     rights development over expressways. The most extensive 
     project of this type today has been constructed in 
     metropolitan Seattle, Washington. This air rights development 
     involves Seattle Freeway Park, built over Interstate 5. In 
     addition to a linear six acre park with five different 
     waterfalls, office buildings and a commercial center has been 
     built on top of the Interstate right-of-way. Also completed 
     in this air rights master plan is a 190,000 square foot 
     convention center. Seattle Freeway Park acts like a skin or 
     platform that reunites two neighborhoods previously severed 
     physically by the expressway. Air rights development is being 
     extended over other parts of Interstate 5, including Mercer 
     Island.
       This new spatial paradigm for transportation applies to all 
     modes including airports where both taxiways and active 
     runways now crossover highways at airports throughout the 
     world. We are starting to use space three dimensionally but 
     we do not always use this concept as planners as we need to. 
     In Oklahoma City, they have used a bridge as an arboretum. 
     The Crystal Bridge includes a bridge garden over a water 
     course that has a natural museum built into it. A three 
     dimensional transportation development has also been proposed 
     for Atlanta and the 1996 Olympics. Referred to as, The 
     Atlanta International Vertipark, it has been described as the 
     twenty-first century Eiffel Tower. The idea is to bring new 
     technologies including vertical flight aircraft, into a 
     system that involves light rail, heavy rail, as well as 
     automobiles, trucks and buses. It can become a new central 
     business district for transportation as an economic 
     development tool. Currently, there are over 40 intermodal 3-
     dimensional projects under development in this country with 
     others developing in Europe (e.g. Nice, France) and Asia.
       How about the tops of buildings? What is being done with 
     the rooftops in the United States? We have a vast array of 
     rooftops that basically are sitting as latent rain 
     collectors, primarily supporting advertising systems and 
     television cable dishes. What I would propose is rooftop 
     master plan for New York City. It is a spatial element that 
     is divorced from reality at the present time, and under 
     planned. Why? We don't have spatial planners to advocate this 
     use since we presently have ``land use planners and 
     thinkers.'' Rooftop demand is one of the fastest growing 
     areas of real estate. It is endangered because there are 
     limited rooftops available. In reality there are numerous 
     rooftop potential uses including vertiports, 
     telecommunication systems, agricultural, residential, 
     commercial, recreation, and utilities that need to be 
     carefully planned and integrated as part of a strategic 
     master planning process.
       Space below rooftops and elevated highway structures also 
     offer potential for development, rather than letting this 
     space atrophy as non-productive three dimensional property. 
     For example, underneath the elevated ramps to the Coronado 
     Bay Bridge in San Diego, California, Chicano Park relating to 
     the nearby community has been designed and constructed. This 
     has included elaborate, historically based paintings 
     describing the ethnic contribution of the Hispanic population 
     to the nation, graphically applied to the highway support 
     columns. After 12 years the park has been very successful in 
     terms of active use by the neighborhood, and without any 
     graffiti or vandalism. This demonstrates a meaningful 
     partnership integrating the interest of the community working 
     with the transportation system, all of this under the air 
     rights of a public right-of-way.
       Three dimensional opportunities do not only involve air and 
     surface potential but also subsurface space. To date much of 
     the subterranean activity has involved negative use, 
     landfills including toxic waste and hazardous waste sites. 
     Large amounts of funds are now being used for environmental 
     remediation purposes. We need to develop spatial plans for 
     cities that take advantage of these three dimensions, 
     including transportation opportunities. Intermodal 
     transportation centers and vertiports offer such positive 
     visionary potential.
       In summary, the spatial element for transportation planning 
     must incorporate three planes, the multiple use of space, 
     adaptive use of space, joint use of space and lastly, value 
     capture to maximize spatial and economic potential while 
     enhancing the physical and social environment.


                            sensory planning

       The second key ingredient to do effective strategic 
     planning for cities and transportation systems is the 
     incorporation of all five senses in the planning and design 
     process.
       Human beings are born with five senses and in fact, at 
     least two become operative before birth. The sense of hearing 
     develops after three months in the fetus, while the tactile 
     sense develops shortly thereafter. We are sensory alive well 
     before actual birth. Studies have shown that the fetal 
     movement may well be related to the sound exposure the 
     pregnant woman experiences. In some instances during this 
     time, the fetus can be exposed to sound levels from 60 to 90 
     decibels. Despite this sensory activity, we still mistakenly 
     believe that the learning process is primarily visual. What 
     we need to develop is a fully integrated sensory map of 
     our cities; a sensory map that is three dimensional and 
     that deals with all five senses. This paradigm means that 
     we need to use a new sensory chip that appreciates the 
     total experience. Take out the old chip and put a new one 
     in and say, I'm going to smell our city, I'm going to hear 
     the city, I'm going to feel the city, I'm going to see the 
     city and I'm going to taste the city. We therefore need to 
     create a sensory map of the city that is responsive to all 
     five senses.
       Our present day culture is sensory biased. We are a society 
     so biased that vision is our predominant sense. As a result, 
     our other four senses are really becoming subdominant in our 
     culture. So basically we plan our cities, design our cities 
     and engineer our cities with vision as our driver. Our 
     approach to the senses has nearly a singular emphasis. We 
     need to move into what the Japanese call ``kansai,'' which 
     represents the harmonic balance of all senses, where all five 
     senses are utilized on an equal basis. Presently we do not do 
     this, consequently we have a sensory deficit that impairs our 
     future city planning and transportation goals. Technologists 
     claim we are creating a virtual environment. However, virtual 
     reality is a Victorian technology at the present time because 
     it primarily uses the sense of vision. It is creating a 3-D 
     ``view'' but it is only using the sense of vision. By the 
     turn of the century, people are going to say, you know, that 
     was a pretty archaic approach.
       The point is, we use vision as our perceptual probe while 
     we navigate through the environment. Virtual reality now is 
     one sense, the sense of vision or S\1\. Currently we are 
     operating at S to the first power, or virtual visual reality. 
     We need to rapidly advance at least to S\3\ (vision, hearing, 
     and smell). We are ultimately headed to S\5\ in terms of our 
     total sensory system potential. Our language even supports 
     this sensory bias. When you say this person is a visionary, 
     that's based on vision; they have a great vision. Well, what 
     do they have? Do they have a great smell? A great hearing? A 
     great taste and touch? Consider these words: insight, focus, 
     foresight, vision, insightful, or I'm from Missouri, show me. 
     We are using words that are so biased that they are visually 
     driven. Our goal, in part, is to have the National Aviation 
     and Transportation Centersm develop an Institute for 
     Spatial, Sensory, Simulation, Systems which can examine and 
     plan our environment from an S\5\ perspective, which would be 
     the first in the United States, and possibly the world.
       What we need to do is eliminate noise and create sound, or 
     go from the negative to the positive. So we call it sound 
     cancellation technology which takes the sinusoidal wave and 
     creates an anti-wave. Although we now have sound cancellation 
     earphones, we may have this technology applied to airplanes 
     and expressways by the 21st century. The principal applies to 
     odor in terms of aroma or smell. It is equally important to 
     eliminate odor and create fragrance. To this end, the NAT 
     Centersm is developing an aromacology system application 
     for transportation cockpit resource management to enhance 
     human performance in the built environment. The same process 
     needs to be applied to all five senses. The issue of sound is 
     something very important because it is the first human sense 
     to develop and it is the only sense that uses a 360 degree 
     field. Instead of eyesight we need to have earsight. The 
     merging of sound with vision, a term I refer to as 
     ``geosonics'', creates an exciting new approach to solving 
     transportation problems. It represents the integration of 
     sound with a three dimensional perspective.
       There are other senses that can be replicated beside sound 
     including aroma. Aromacology is one of the fastest growing 
     areas of interest since it addresses the science, effects, 
     and applications to enhance the environment from an olfactory 
     perspective. The Japanese are advancing this technology 
     significantly in both vehicles and buildings. They have 
     designed a system for hotel use to be awakened in the 
     morning, instead of having the telephone ring, you get a 
     fragrance coming into your room, it's lemon. We are beginning 
     to test this same concept in various transport cockpits to 
     assess the role of aroma to enhance performance and reduce 
     stress for drivers, pilots, passengers, among others.
       In New York, with the development of the largest waste 
     treatment plant considered the three dimensional potential by 
     designing a park above the plant itself. Unfortunately, the 
     River Bank State Park failed to take into consideration odor 
     of this plant as it impacted the residences along Riverside 
     Drive. Clearly a multi-sensory approach is needed, since the 
     park has not achieved its intended goal, due to aerial 
     contamination.
       We can use new visual stimuli. Technology is now there to 
     create electronic architecture, which is essentially 
     constructing images onto buildings in the evening or at 
     night. A twenty-four hour city would thus be created with 
     limitless electronic architectural images to develop 
     appropriate themes. Some of these concepts I have proposed 
     for the 1996 Summer Olympics. There is some new evidence that 
     suggests we can enhance our environment and thereby increase 
     our IQ and behavior by virtue of using enhancement tools such 
     as acoustics, fragrance along with other sensory stimuli.


                               simulation

       How we simulate the future? In part this can be done by 
     electronic computer based simulation. Some of the aviation 
     simulation which have been really the backbone of 
     visualization to date is not only being applied to fixed wing 
     aircraft but also to rotor wing or helicopter based aircraft. 
     But we can go further into what is called cockpit resource 
     management and apply the concept to automobiles, ships, rail, 
     truck as well as aircraft. Electronic multi-media simulation 
     can be applied to large scale transportation planning 
     projects and issues as well. United Parcel Service, Federal 
     Express, as well as other carriers are now starting to look 
     at the integration of transportation systems. They deal with 
     air, ground and water, tying them together, because they have 
     to move products promptly and efficiently. Walmart is 
     adjusting their inventory demands to ensure that no product 
     is in their warehouse for more than eight hours. A disconnect 
     means that we don't have a true intermodal system, which is 
     the case at many airports. In a heavy rain storm, carrying 
     two suitcases out of the Washington National Airport 
     terminal, how do you get downtown if you don't want to ride a 
     cab? You have to walk outdoors for about a quarter of a mile 
     to get on the transit line to go downtown on the Metro. 
     That's a disconnect. In contrast there are others that 
     connect intermodally including Atlanta Hartsfield Airport 
     with the downtown. In St. Louis they are completing the Metro 
     Link which is a light rail system, to the downtown from the 
     airport. We need to re-examine the airport relative to the 
     demographics and population. This is going to become the 
     second central business district for the twenty-first 
     century. Look at Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Dallas. They are 
     starting to design air malls into their airports spaces, to 
     use them as shopping and multi-use centers. Intermodal 
     economic development is vitally important to every major 
     city, and transportation centers will grow in economic 
     importance.
       Let's talk about the communication of ideas using the 
     electronic highway. Telecommuting will increase among the 
     total workforce nationwide. This electronic transportation 
     system is something that Dowling College and the National 
     Aviation and Transportation Centersm is analyzing. 
     Electronic highways for the twenty-first century for 
     education, among other uses will be common. Transportation 
     will become a more balanced system of physical and electronic 
     movement through three dimensional space. Telecommuting will 
     be in partnership with vehicular commuting.
       The next century will require the use of a new urban 
     vocabulary as well. For example, three dimensional will 
     replace the term one or two dimensional, while the word space 
     will be used more commonly than land. Parallel thinking 
     rather than serial thinking, will take place and conflict/
     resolution will be more operative than litigation. This new 
     vocabulary needs to stimulate the form, shape, and use of the 
     city.
       We feel the National Aviation and Transportation 
     Centersm can provide services on an intermodal basis 
     anywhere in the world and it can be a platform for 
     cooperation and partnerships. This facility is designed for 
     intermodal transportation education and its application to 
     the world. Based on several surveys and studies, including 
     the MARCAR report done in conjunction with Dowling College, 
     intermodal transportation education and careers will 
     stimulate nearly 700,000 new jobs by 2005. This growth area 
     of transportation will involve new academic programs that are 
     multi-disciplined. New job descriptions and careers will 
     emerge. Using an intermodal approach to transportation, 
     education blends all modes into a three-dimensional, multi-
     sensory environment where time and space become increasingly 
     important in shaping and influencing our lives. The National 
     Aviation and Transportation Centersm will play a major 
     role in evaluating, planning and implementing this 21st 
     century intermodal society.

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