"Simple Solutions" for Rural Transportation
A recent study documented more than 50 proven, cost-effective, "low-tech" solutions to rural transportation needs, most developed or implemented by local transportation professionals.
What are the "simple solutions"?
In 1997, a series of interviews took place with local transportation professionals from across the United States. The goal was to identify and document any locally developed "simple solutions" to transportation problems or needs. The findings are all low-cost, low-tech applications of transportation technology that have been proven in real-world environments. Many of the solutions can be considered forerunners of more advanced "intelligent transportation systems."
What information is available?
Details documented for each solution include:
- why the solution was developed
- where it was implemented
- who developed and implemented it
- what the solution cost
What types of technologies are documented?
Examples include:
- a "lane-drop smoothing" system using a series of changeable message signs, activated automatically by changes in traffic flow
- a coordinate addressing system which helps the emergency services locate rural homes quickly and easily
- the automated distribution of weather and road condition information to multiple users using fax machines
Where can I obtain this information?
Details of each solution are provided on the Internet at http://inform.enterprise.prog.org
The solution descriptions are also downloadable from this site as .pdf files (portable document format). A full report is available from Hau To at 651-686-6321, or from Minnesota T2.
How can I use the information?
The solutions demonstrate how city, county, and state DOT engineers, and others, have created or adapted technologies to solve problems in innovative ways. It is hoped that their success stories will inspire others to consider applying technology in everyday situations.
The simple solutions are being promoted through a partnership of the U.S. DOT FHWA and ENTERPRISE, a pooled-fund research consortium that supports the advancement of intelligent transportation systems.