Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for Approval of a New Information Collection

Topics:  Federal Highway Administration

Michael Howell
Federal Register
June 16, 2011

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 116 (Thursday, June 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35263-35264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-14916]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2011-0059]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for 
Approval of a New Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Request for Approval of a New Information Collection.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to 
request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of a new 
information collection that is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal 
Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Please submit comments by August 15, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number 
2011-0059 by any of the following methods:
    Web Site: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation,

[[Page 35264]]

West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590.
    Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of Transportation, West 
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Kuehn, 202-493-3414, Office of 
Corporate Research, Technology, and Innovation Management, Federal 
Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program sponsored 
project titled ``Effects of Automated Transit and Pedestrian/Bicycling 
Facilities on Urban Travel Patterns.''
    Type of request: New information collection requirement.
    Background: The Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program was 
established to conduct longer term, higher risk research that will 
result in a potentially dramatic breakthrough for improving the 
durability, efficiency, environmental impact, productivity, and safety 
of highway and intermodal transportation systems. FHWA awarded a 
research project titled ``Effects of Automated Transit and Pedestrian/
Bicycling Facilities on Urban Travel Patterns'' that was submitted in 
response to a solicitation in 2009 and supports the EAR Program focus 
area of new technology and advanced policies for energy and resource 
conservation. The project conducted by the University of Michigan with 
support from the University of Illinois at Chicago has the potential to 
lead to applications for evidence-based policies and approaches that 
could substantially reduce the percentage and total number of short 
trip using private vehicles and increase the percentage and number of 
trips using current and future transit technology and non-motorized 
trips, which would reduce use and dependence on fossil fuels and 
associated pollution impacts.
    The research project is attempting to gauge potential travel-
behavior response to far-reaching improvements in the pedestrian, 
cycling, and transit environments of neighborhoods. The transit 
improvements are inspired by the frequency and quality of service that 
might be made possibility of future technologies. The project is 
studying the capacity of these improvements to generate the following 
kinds of shifts: (1) Modal shift of neighborhood trips from auto to 
other modes; (2) Increased use of regional public transit based on 
improved station access; and (3) Shift of more remote non-work 
destinations to destinations within the neighborhood.
    To explore these issues, the research team is building a model that 
integrates activity-based and agent-based components. The models in 
turn will be based on a survey of residents in four neighborhoods of 
metropolitan Chicago. As part of the survey, respondents will be 
presented with images representing potential improvements to the 
pedestrian, cycling, and transit environments of their neighborhoods 
and will respond to scenarios regarding their travel under these 
altered conditions.
    We will mail 7,700 invitations with an expectation of 1,400 
residents responding. From that pool, 800 will be selected for the 
study, which includes a survey packet, travel diary and phone 
interview.
    Respondents: We estimate that 1,400 residents will respond to the 
initial invitation and 800 residents will participate in the study.
    Frequency: This is a one-time collection.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response:
    The invitation portion takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
    1400 residents x 15 minutes = 350 hours.
    The research study takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes (30 
minutes for the survey packet and travel diary and 1 hour for the phone 
interview) 800 residents x 90 minutes = 1,200 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The total burden for this one-
time information collection would be approximately 1,550 hours.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the U.S. DOT's performance, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the 
accuracy of the U.S. DOT's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
information collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, 
and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that the burden 
could be minimized, including the use of electronic technology, without 
reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency will 
summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

     Issued On: June 10, 2011.
Michael Howell,
Acting Chief, Management Programs and Analysis Division.
[FR Doc. 2011-14916 Filed 6-15-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P