Mission
This interest group serves as a focal point for MPOs to engage with the U.S. Department of Transportation on connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). While the timing remains uncertain, widespread deployment of CAVs in the near future is likely. Therefore, it is essential that the agencies responsible for planning, constructing, maintaining, operating, and funding the transportation system – including MPOs, State Departments of Transportation (State DOTs), transit agencies, local governments, and toll facility owners and operators – are engaged in discussing the timing and implications of this new technology for the planning process, system performance, and investment decisions. To facilitate the deployment of this technology, which could have profound effects on our landscape and mobility, new roles and responsibilities are being defined and new and/or modified planning tools and analytic techniques are under development. New technical, institutional, and policy issues associated with deployment of CAVs will continue to emerge as deployment moves from testing to broader use.
Goals
- Provide a mechanism to build technical, institutional, and policy capacity of MPOs and their partner state and local agencies to leverage the benefits of deployment of vehicle connectivity and automation to the performance based planning and programming process.
- Address knowledge gaps and provide a forum for MPOs with their partner state and local agencies engaged in transportation planning to educate and expand awareness of the nature and status of vehicle connectivity and automation deployment, current and emerging technical planning issues, and institutional and policy challenges.
- Support the U.S. DOT outreach and engagement by providing a mechanism for support and provide feedback on planning-related guidance, research, and training and technical assistance needs associated with deployment of vehicle connectivity and automation
Emerging Technologies Discussion Forum
Join the Emerging Technologies Interest Group leadership team and its members on the My AMPO discussion forum. Click My AMPO on the top right side of this page and log in to join the discussion. If you have any questions, click the how-to instructions below.
Leadership Team
Connor Sadro
North Central Texas Council of Governments
Connor is a Transportation Planner with NCTCOG’s transportation department. He works under the Transportation Technology and Innovation program. NCTCOG Transportation serves as the MPO for the 12-county Dallas-Fort Worth region. He focuses on his core competencies in telecommuting as a transportation demand management tool, municipal connected and automated vehicle deployments, and other innovative technologies that support transportation practices.
Shuyao Hong
Maricopa Association of Governments
Shuyao is the Emerging Technology Program Manager at MAG. He leads MAG’s Emerging Technology Program with the goal of enabling the region to respond and adapt to future transportation innovations. He also manages MAG’s regional household travel survey effort. Prior to his current role, he worked in various technical capacities within the organization, focusing on data analysis and visualization on big mobility datasets. Before joining MAG, he graduated from the Arizona State University with a master’s degree in Geography.
Lara Bouck
MetroPlan Orlando
Lara is a Senior Transportation Engineer and Project Manager at MetroPlan Orlando where she has the honor of working with a strong team to foster effective partnership and provide leadership in transportation planning in the Central Florida region. Lara has more than 19 years of experience in transportation planning and engineering and collaborative public outreach and engagement. Lara enjoys being active within the transportation industry and is currently serving as the Vice President of Continuing Education for the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association and is active in the Central Florida chapter of WTS.
Julie Bjornstad
Wasatch Front Regional Council
Julie is the Senior Transportation Planner for the Wasatch Front Regional Council, the metropolitan planning organization for the Salt Lake City-West Valley City and Ogden-Layton urbanized areas. She specializes in long-range planning, policy, performance management, and transportation finance. Her current work centers on innovative mobility options and policies and how they might improve our Region’s livability. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Committee Liaisons
Jacob Riger
Denver Regional Council of Governments
Technical Committee
Jacob Riger is the multimodal transportation planning manager for the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG). Jacob develops and maintains DRCOG’s Metro Vision Regional Transportation Plan, which identifies the major multimodal transportation projects, programs, and services to be provided over the next 20+ years for the Denver region. Jacob’s team is also responsible for DRCOG’s transit, safety, freight, and transportation performance management planning activities. He has 25 years of public agency and private sector transportation planning expertise across the country.
Mark Reichert
Florida MPO
Policy Committee
Mark started his transportation journey with the Florida Department of Transportation in 1991, moving over to the Florida Transportation Commission in 1995. He worked at the FTC for 21 years, the last 10 as its Assistant Director. In 2016 he became the Administrator for Metropolitan Planning in FDOT’s Office of Policy Planning, retiring in April of 2021. After a short stint in retirement, he was appointed as the Executive Director of the Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council (MPOAC). He received his Bachelor’s degree in Government and Master’s degree in Public Administration from Florida State University.
FHWA Liaison
Jeremy Raw
Jeremy Raw, P.E., is a Community Planner in the FHWA Office of Planning where he coordinates research and deployment of data collection and analysis techniques and modeling for transportation planning, as well as planning applications for national data sets. His work areas include data collection, analysis and modeling for bicycle and pedestrian transportation; planning for connected and automated vehicles; scenario planning; and developing strategic planning models. Jeremy holds degrees in philosophy, literature, engineering, and city planning. jeremy.raw@dot.gov
AMPO Contact
Ellen Zavisca: ezavisca@ampo.org
