UPDATE: Thursday, October 31st, 2019
Western States Forum
One of the research outcomes for COATS Phase 7 is to facilitate technology transfer. This is accomplished primarily through the Western States Forum – the 14th annual event was June 18th-20th, in Yreka, California. A record 53 participants came from eight states (California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin). Seven state DOTs, three universities, the City of Portland (OR), and Civil Science were represented. The agenda included eight presentations and 14 speakers from six different states, including all five of the WSRTC member states. The feedback from the event was extremely positive with several comments indicating this was one of the best they have attended.
Here's a look at the Forum participants during Oregon DOT’s technical presentation by Julie Kentosh and Doug Spencer. Several hands are raised to ask questions and discuss the content during the presentation.
Photo by Leann Koon
During this quarter, the steering committee conducted a review of the planning and operation of this year’s Forum and discussed the evaluations, comments, and feedback from the event. Presentations from the 2019 Forum were posted on the Forum’s website. The project team also updated the Western States Forum fact sheet (2019).
During the next quarter, the final report will be drafted, reviewed, and finalized. A report of the 2019 Forum will also be posted to the Consortium’s website. This version of the Forum Handbook will be finalized.
Planning will commence for the 15th Annual Forum to be held June 16th – 18th, 2020, in Yreka. The project team will send out a Save the Date postcard and release the Call for Abstracts. Watch your mailbox and inbox for these materials!
Project Technical Advisory Panel (PTAP)
The PTAP met for its annual meeting just prior to the Western States Forum. The project team recorded the minutes from the meeting and sent them for review. You can read more about the meeting in the update (WSRTC, 10/24/2019). The meeting documents are also posted – review the meeting minutes to see what business was discussed as well as an overview of the different ITS projects the member states are working on.
Incubator Projects
The following incubator projects will be pursued to address Caltrans’ needs and team member experience:
- Traveler Information Data Quality: a work plan will be developed in the future.
- How-To Handbook/Manual for the Western States Forum: this version draft will be finalized during the next quarter.
- Rural Cellular Communications Deployment: temporarily set aside until impact of the recent implementation of the FirstNet Public Safety Communications Network is observed and evaluated.
Check back next quarter for updates on the progress and status of the COATS tasks.