A New Voice for Addressing Transportation Operations in Small Urban and Rural AreasSmall urban and rural areas account for approximately 44 percent of the U.S. population. These areas lack the resources to adequately support transportation system operations. They often lack the benefits of traffic engineers, sophisticated models, or the latest technologies.
Recognizing these unique needs and building upon years of working with small urban and rural areas, ATAC launched an initiative to focus on these areas' transportation operations needs. ATAC originally promoted the initiative to the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in early spring 2005. In June 2005, the initiative was presented at the National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC), where it was embraced as one of several key activities NTOC would focus on in the following 18 months. A steering committee consisting of key transportation agencies and organizations was formed which later made up the Small Urban and Rural Transportation Operations Coalition (SURTOC). The primary goals of SURTOC include:
One of the first activities being undertaken by SURTOC is to conduct a broad assessment of transportation operations in small urban and rural areas. The assessment will identify needs and issues that will drive initiative activities. It will also identify high-priority information and training topics and the best ways to deliver them to the small urban and rural areas. ATAC developed a dedicated website ( www.surtoc.org ) that will facilitate the assessment effort and potentially provide a forum for future activities. There are currently nine transportation organizations and several private consulting firms that make up SURTOC's steering committee. They include:
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Many small urban and rural areas continue to experience significant growth which strains their limited transportation resources and increases traffic congestion and delays. At the same time, these areas play an important role in supporting the connectivity of the national transportation system to promote trade and effectively manage emergencies. Recent natural disasters in the southern United States have revealed significant problems in evacuating a large population from major metropolitan areas. These problems were clearly evident in the non-urban segments of evacuation routes.