[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 30, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17766-17767]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07139]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
Transportation Research and Development Strategic Plan
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
(OST-R), Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Request for Information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: Section 6019 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation
Act (FAST Act; Pub. L. 114-94; December 4, 2015; codified at 49 U.S.C.
6503) requires that the Secretary develop a 5-year transportation
research and development strategic plan to guide future Federal
transportation research and development activities. The FAST Act states
that the strategic plan shall ``describe how the plan furthers the
primary purpose of the transportation research and development program.
DATES: Comments must be received by April 29, 2016.
ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions,
please submit them by only one of the following means:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets
Management Facility, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE.,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., between 9 a.m. 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (202) 366-9329.
All comments must include the docket number DOT-OST-2016-0044 at
the beginning of the submission. All comments received will be posted
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aaron Jette, Community Planner, U.S.
DOT Volpe Center, Attn: Aaron Jette; Office 460; 55 Broadway,
Cambridge, MA 02142. Telephone (617) 494-2335 or Email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAST Act states that the strategic plan
shall ``describe how the plan furthers the primary purpose of the
transportation research and development program, which shall include--
(A) Improving mobility of people and goods;
(B) Reducing congestion;
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(C) Promoting safety;
(D) Improving the durability and extending the life of
transportation infrastructure;
(E) Preserving the environment;
(F) Preserving the existing transportation system.''
The FAST Act also requires that the strategic plan take into
account research and development by other Federal, State, local,
private sector and non-profit institutions.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
invites the public to provide comments to inform the development of the
5-year strategic plan for transportation Research, Development and
Technology (RD&T). Comments should regard appropriate RD&T activities
to meet the purposes and considerations listed in the FAST Act and/or
emerging RD&T challenges, opportunities, and priorities that U.S. DOT
RD&T should address over the next five years. In particular, comments
may respond to any or all of the following questions:
1. What research strategies and priorities should the U.S. DOT
adopt to achieve the primary purposes cited in the FAST Act?
2. How can the issues raised in the U.S. DOT document ``Beyond
Traffic 2045: Trends and Choices'' be strategically addressed by RD&T
activities over the next five years?
3. What emerging challenges or opportunities in transportation
warrant additional Federal RD&T activities or investments?
4. What current and planned RD&T activities sponsored by the
federal government should be continued or revised in the future?
5. What strategies could improve the cost-effectiveness of U.S. DOT
research investments?
6. How can U.S. DOT best coordinate its RD&T activities with
Federal, State, local, private sector, non-profit institutions, and
international partners?
7. What knowledge gaps merit additional exploration by the USDOT?
For information about current U.S. DOT RD&T activities please visit
the Department's Web site at: https://www.transportation.gov/research-and-statistics.
The U.S. DOT RD&T Strategic Plan will present the Department's
strategy for responding to the trends and opportunities identified in
Beyond Traffic 2045: Trends and Choices (www.transportation.gov/BeyondTraffic). Beyond Traffic examines the long-term and emerging
trends affecting our Nation's transportation system and the
implications of those trends. It describes how demographic and economic
trends, as well as changes in technology, governance, and our climate
are affecting how people and goods travel today, and how they could
affect travel in the future. Beyond Traffic provides a framework for
identifying U.S. DOT RD&T priorities that will advance technologies and
inform decisions regarding how we move, how we move things, how we move
better, how we adapt, and how we align decisions and dollars.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 23, 2016.
Gregory D. Winfree,
Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2016-07139 Filed 3-29-16; 8:45 am]
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