Skip to main content

Local DOTs hold court

The heads of the Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia departments of transportation met with a group of technology and transportation professionals at the ITS America annual meeting in National Harbor to discuss local challenges and up-coming projects in the area.
May 21, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Putting heads together: Terry Bellamy, Director of DDOT, Beverley Swain-Staley, Secretary Maryland DOT and Sean Connaughton, Virginia DOT Secretary of Transportation who partcipated at the transportation leaders breakfast.
The heads of the Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia departments of transportation met with a group of technology and transportation professionals at the 560 ITS America annual meeting in National Harbor to discuss local challenges and up-coming projects in the area.

Citing a need to coordinate their state’s transportation priorities to meet the needs of D.C. motorists, the officials called on the industry to continue the integration push and create solutions that will help them manage traffic across state borders.

“We need to be ready for the next century, and we cannot build our way out. We have to look at technology to pave the way,” said Director of the 2134 District Department of Transportation Terry Bellamy.

Sean Connaughton, the Secretary of the 1747 Virginia Department of Transportation, went on to say that the industry is good at collecting traffic data and disseminating that information to drivers, but more work needs to be done to turn traffic information into suggested courses of action.

The discussion was moderated by Mort Downey, a senior advisor with 4983 Parsons Brinckerhoff, and sponsored by 81 Kapsch.

Related Content

  • Connected vehicle technology the solution to safety?
    January 25, 2012
    A series of 'driver clinics' is under way across five states, as vehicle manufacturers and the US Government pin their hopes on connected vehicles becoming the next big advance in road safety. Pete Goldin reports. What would a car say if it could talk? Its first words might be: "Here I am". Many vehicles are communicating that very message to each other right now. Admittedly, this is in controlled environments of US Department of Transportation (USDoT) tests, but within the next few years 'connected vehicle
  • Tolling systems - interoperability is key
    January 25, 2012
    Is US tolling as fragmented and divided as some would have you believe? And are the technology suppliers so very entrenched? ITS International spoke to the market's leading suppliers. A few years back, the prevalent view was that the North American tolling market was characterised by fragmented, proprietary solutions, each existing in splendid isolation. The reality is that a combination of pragmatism and good old market forces have seen some concerted moves made towards interoperability in many areas.
  • ITS America appoints new technical editor
    April 24, 2013
    ITS America has chosen Dr John Miles as technical editor for a new web-based resource on ITS. With funding from the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), the society plans to publish in mid-2014 in partnership with the World Road Association (PIARC) on the latter’s website.
  • AV/ridesharing mix wins major auto investment
    May 5, 2016
    The US has a new trend in personal mobility and David Crawford takes a closer look. US automaker General Motors and ridesharer Lyft’s announcement of a strategic partnership aimed at delivering, over time, an integrated network of on-demand autonomous as well as conventional vehicles has taken the nation’s car industry from traditional manufacturing to new arenas.