Transportation Research Board 2020 Annual Report (2021)

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18 TRB • 2020 Annual Report Guiding the Conversation TRB started the year off in the news with the 2020 Annual Meeting. Sessions were featured on C-SPAN, and Streetsblog USA’s The Overhead Wire did a three-part podcast series on material presented at the meeting. Articles appeared in Forbes, Politico, and Inverse, as well as in trade and academic publications including Transport Topics, AASHTO Journal, Freight Waves, Mass Transit Magazine, and more. As the year continued, TRB’s resources continued to be cited in legislation, as well as in trade and popular press. Transportation and Communicable Disease The COVID-19 pandemic had an immense impact on transportation in 2020. Early on, TRB research was highlighted in an article by The Washington Post, citing the importance of planning, as detailed in ACRP’s Airport Roles in Reducing Transmission of Communicable Diseases.30 As the pandemic progressed, articles in The Washington Post, Politico, Transport Topics, WAMU, and Government Technology noted TRB research in topics ranging from public transit subsidies to airplane safety to changing travel behavior. Public transit ridership had begun declining even before COVID-19. The New York Times examined the topic and noted an active TRB project analyzing the causes and responses.31 The publication will address the applicability of the results to the post-pandemic world while remaining relevant in the long term. Advising the Nation A flurry of newspapers and other media throughout South Carolina showed the continued use of TRB’s 2019 future interstates report, localizing the issue of the condition of Interstates and using the report to explore next steps.32 An outlet in Rhode Island also referenced the same TRB report to point to issues specific to the state.33 TRB’s Committee for a Study on the Feasibility of Wheelchair Restraint Systems in Passenger Aircraft continued to hold public panel sessions while conducting its research.34 An in-depth review of travel accessibility for people with disabilities by USA Today reported on the panel’s work.35 The final research is expected in 2021. Extended Research TRR publishes outstanding peer-reviewed papers presenting research findings. An article published in TRR on roads and GHG emissions was covered in more than a dozen media outlets, including Scientific American, TechCrunch, and MIT News.36 Since COVID-19, the inequities around transportation access are more glaring than ever. I plan to continue to work with the Communications and Engagement Committee to highlight issues of concern and how we as practitioners can work to create a more just transportation system. Stephanie Brooks, Project Manager, Community Engagement, Fitzgerald & Holliday, Inc.