[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11309-11310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4590]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Docket No. FHWA-2011-0014
Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for
Approval of a New Information Collection
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Request for Approval of a New Information Collection.
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SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to
request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of a new
information collection that is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal
Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Please submit comments by May 2, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number
2011-0014 by any of the following methods:
Web Site: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation,
[[Page 11310]]
West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC 20590.
Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of Transportation, West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Kuehn, 202-493-3414, Office of
Corporate Research, Technology, and Innovation Management, Federal
Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program sponsored
project titled ``Effects of Automated Transit and Pedestrian/Bicycling
Facilities on Urban Travel Patterns.''
Type of request: New information collection requirement.
Background: The Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program was
established to conduct longer term, higher risk research that will
result in a potentially dramatic breakthrough for improving the
durability, efficiency, environmental impact, productivity, and safety
of highway and intermodal transportation systems. FHWA awarded a
research project titled ``Effects of Automated Transit and Pedestrian/
Bicycling Facilities on Urban Travel Patterns'' that was submitted in
response to a solicitation in 2009 and supports the EAR Program focus
area of new technology and advanced policies for energy and resource
conservation. The project conducted by the University of Michigan with
support from the University of Illinois at Chicago has the potential to
lead to applications for evidence-based policies and approaches that
could substantially reduce the percentage and total number of short
trips using private vehicles and increase the percentage and number of
trips using current and future transit technology and non-motorized
trips, which would reduce use and dependence on fossil fuels and
associated pollution impacts.
The research project is attempting to gauge potential travel-
behavior response to far-reaching improvements in the pedestrian,
cycling, and transit environments of neighborhoods. The transit
improvements are inspired by the frequency and quality of service that
might be made possibility of future technologies. The project is
studying the capacity of these improvements to generate the following
kinds of shifts: (1) Modal shift of neighborhood trips from auto to
other modes; (2) Increased use of regional public transit based on
improved station access; and (3) Shift of more remote non-work
destinations to destinations within the neighborhood.
To explore these issues, the research team is building a model that
integrates activity-based and agent-based components. The models in
turn will be based on a survey of residents in four neighborhoods of
metropolitan Chicago. As part of the survey, respondents will be
presented with images representing potential improvements to the
pedestrian, cycling, and transit environments of their neighborhoods
and will respond to scenarios regarding their travel under these
altered conditions.
We will mail 7,700 invitations with an expectation of 1,400
residents responding. From that pool, 800 will be selected for the
study, which includes a survey packet, travel diary and phone
interview.
Respondents: We estimate that 1,400 residents will respond to the
initial invitation and 800 residents will participate in the study.
Frequency: This is a one-time collection.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: The invitation portion takes
approximately 15 minutes to complete.
1400 residents x 15 minutes = 350 hours.
The research study takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes (30
minutes for the survey packet and travel diary and 1 hour for the phone
interview).
800 residents x 90 minutes = 1,200 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The total burden for this one-
time information collection would be approximately 1,550 hours.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the U.S. DOT's performance,
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the
accuracy of the U.S. DOT's estimate of the burden of the proposed
information collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness,
and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that the burden
could be minimized, including the use of electronic technology, without
reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency will
summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's
clearance of this information collection.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued on: February 24, 2011.
Juli Huynh,
Chief, Management Programs and Analysis Division.
[FR Doc. 2011-4590 Filed 2-28-11; 8:45 am]
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