[Federal Register: January 8, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 5)]
[Notices]
[Page 1115-1116]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08ja10-102]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Research and Innovative Technology Administration
Invitation for Public Comment on Strategic Research Direction,
Research Priority Areas and Performance Metrics To Guide Departmental
Strategic Plan for Research, Development and Technology Activities
(2010--2015)
AGENCY: Research and Innovative Technology Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice, request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) is providing
notice that it is engaging in a strategic planning effort that will
guide the Department's research, development, and technology activities
as required by SAFETEA-LU. The Research and Innovative Technology
Administration (RITA)'s Office of Research, Development, and Technology
(RD&T) is coordinating this effort in collaboration with partner modal
administrations and offices across the U.S. DOT. As recommended by the
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the National Research
Council (NRC), RITA and its partners are seeking public stakeholder
input on research strategies and metrics necessary to achieve U.S. DOT
strategic transportation goals and to drive transportation policy in
both the short and long terms.
The U.S. DOT's research, development, and technology (RD&T) efforts
and outcomes play critical roles in attaining the vision of a safe,
truly multimodal transportation system that provides the traveling
public and U.S. businesses with safe, convenient, affordable and
environmentally sustainable transportation choices. A previous DOT
Research, Development, and Technology Strategic Plan was published in
2006 and served as a compendium of modal research pursuits at that
time. The Department is now pursuing a more cross-modal, collaborative
and strategic planning process to cover the years 2010-2015 and to
address the proposed Departmental key priorities as outlined in the
Background section.
DATES: Comment Period: Written comments should be submitted by February
8, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by RITA Docket ID Number
RITA 2009-0005 by any of the following methods:
[cir] Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
[cir] Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
[cir] Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
[cir] Fax: 202-493-2251.
Instructions: Identify docket number, RITA 2009-0005, at the
beginning of your comments. To receive confirmation that DOT received
your comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard containing the
Docket number.
All comments received by DOT will be posted at http://
www.regulations.gov.
[[Page 1116]]
All comments/questions will be posted electronically without change or
edits, including any personal information provided.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments/questions filed in our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment or question (or signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association, corporation, business entity,
labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement
in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or
you may visit http://DocketInfo.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: M.J. Fiocco, Office of Research,
Development and Technology, Research and Innovative Technology
Administration, Telephone Number (202) 366-8018, or E-mail_
mj.fiocco@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) enacted in 2005 called for the U.S. DOT
to develop a strategic plan to guide its RD&T activities. The strategic
plan being pursued as outlined in this notice addresses this
requirement and also responds to feedback from the National Research
Council's review (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/reports/
letterreport_usdotrd&tplan.pdf) of an earlier plan, published in 2006,
``Transportation Research, Development and Technology Strategic Plan
2006-2010'' (http://www.rita.dot.gov/publications/transportation_rd_
t_strategic_plan/pdf/entire.pdf), and the recommendations of the GAO
report published in 2006, ``Transportation Research: Opportunities for
Improving the Oversight of DOT's Research Programs and User
Satisfaction with Transportation'' (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/
d06917.pdf).
The U.S. DOT, with leadership and coordination from its Research
and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), is engaged in an
ongoing collaborative process involving all of the U.S. DOT operating
administrations. Two cross-modal bodies participate in this process:
the RD&T Planning Council (composed of the heads of the operating
administrations, the Under Secretary for Policy, and other senior U.S.
DOT leaders) and the RD&T Planning Team, which includes the Associate
Administrators for RD&T in each operating administration. Through this
Federal Register notice, the U.S. DOT is seeking input from
stakeholders including individual citizens, members of the private
sector, the academic community, non-governmental organizations, and
other interested parties.
Stakeholder suggestions for strategic research direction, research
priority areas and performance metrics for research outcomes should be
aligned, if possible, with the new key priorities for the Department,
that will be set forth in the U.S. DOT's 2010-2015 Strategic Plan
(which is still in development) for all federal transportation programs
and activities. Other high priority research areas also are invited.
Stakeholder suggestions also should provide overall guidance for DOT
RD&T activities over the next five years and provide a high level view
of appropriate research areas. Suggestions for longer term research
needs also are welcome. These DOT key priorities include:
Safety--Fostering a safety culture in our daily work and
encouraging our partners, stakeholders and the public to redouble their
efforts to reduce transportation-related fatalities and injuries.
Livable Communities--Creating livable communities that
provide residents with affordable transportation options to promote
increased access to jobs, school, health services, and other activities
for our citizens while improving the quality of life in their
communities.
State of Good Repair--Adequately maintaining and
modernizing our vast, existing infrastructure to maximize its
reliability, capacity and performance, to reduce operational and
replacement costs and to extend the system's useful life.
Economic Competitiveness--Achieving the maximum economic
impact from our transportation investments and lay the groundwork for
long-term economic growth and prosperity.
Environmental Sustainability--Advancing transportation
policies and investments that reduce carbon emissions and consumption
of fossil fuels as well as protecting and enhancing natural resources.
The RD&T strategic planning process is collaborative, cross-modal,
and forward looking, focusing on articulating the U.S. DOT's key
research priorities with measurable outcomes over the next five years.
The process is taking a department-wide, systems-level view of the
multimodal transportation system, and is setting strategies to address
research areas that stress a multi-modal-oriented perspective as well
as a modal-specific and modal-funded perspective. The strategies
described in the plan will be designed to ensure that RD&T resources
are invested wisely to achieve measurable improvements in our Nation's
transportation system.
Issued in Washington, DC on December 23, 2009.
Robert L. Bertini,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. E9-30944 Filed 1-7-10; 8:45 am]
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