Special Reports - Transportation

Short Line Railroads: Saving an Endangered Species of Freight Transport

analyzes the role of two regional development organizations in New York and Pennsylvania in preserving rail infrastructure and service in rural regions. This report highlights the action of the Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board and the SEDA-Council of Governments to form rail authorities and save short rail lines that would have otherwise been abandoned. These lines continue to be critical for economic development, with rail infrastructure being central to creating and retaining jobs in each region.

(April 2008, 20 pages): View the report

Southeast Tennessee Transportation: Positioning the Chattanooga Region in the Global Economy

This report explores the Chattanooga region's multi-modal transportation system and its role in retaining the region's economic competitiveness in the global marketplace. It describes the economic significance that both current and proposed transportation corridors play in moving goods and people across and through the region in an efficient and safe manner. It also it demonstrates the importance of regionally-based strategies, intergovernmental and regional cooperation among state and local officials, and the need to link urban and rural portions of a region.

(September 2007, 12 pages): View the report

Regional Alliance Pulls Toyota to Tupelo: PUL Alliance Efforts Attract New Jobs

The NADO Research Foundation's Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development has released a new special report examining the multi-county alliance and transportation infrastructure that made the Northeast Mississippi region attractive to Toyota, which announced plans to build an automotive assembly plant there in early 2007.

(August 2007, 12 pages): View the report

Ethanol Production Impacts Transportation System

The NADO Research Foundation's Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development has released this new issue brief which examines the regional and local transportation impacts of the ethanol fuels industry.

(July 2007, 6 pages): View the report

Session Presentations: Southwestern and New England Rural Transportation Peer Learning Forums

The material catalogued in this special report was presented by transportation practitioners and experts at two multi-state transportation forums conducted by NADO's RPO America and the NADO Research Foundation's Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development. Both forums took place in May 2007. The report includes the agenda, speaker biographies, presentations and handouts.

(June 2007, 265 pages): Email info@nado.org to order free copies of the report.

Transit and Air Quality Make a Connection

This issue paper highlights how many regional development organizations are increasingly looking to public transportation as a way to resolve commuting challenges in their region, which has not only impacted rural and small metropolitan communities economically, but has also made an impact on the environment.

(April 2007, 4 pages): View the issue paper

Transportation Planning in Rural America:
Emerging Models for Local Consultation, Regional Coordination and Rural Planning Organizations

The new report builds on the Research Foundation’s nearly ten years of studies into the emerging and evolving partnerships between state transportation agencies and regional development organizations with respect to facilitating and enhancing the involvement of rural local government officials in statewide planning, a process best described as the “gateway” for accessing federal surface transportation funds.

(December 2005, 36 pages / $20 Members (Extra Copy) / $30 Non-members): View the report

Local Government Officials: Key Stakeholders in Rural Transportation Planning
The publication outlines the new federal requirements for state consultation with rural local officials on statewide transportation planning issues. The guide also features examples from various states, a glossary of transportation terms and a list of online transportation resources.

(January 2004, 6 pages / $20 Non-members): View the primer

2004 Rural Transportation Survey Findings
This report highlights the increasing role of regional development organizations in the rural transportation planning process.

(January 2004, 6 pages / $20 nonmembers): View the report

Connecting to Today's Rural America
This report, published in partnership with Greyhound, provides an overview of the transportation issues and opportunities facing rural America. The report highlights opportunities to enhance transportation choices in rural America, it features insights on ways to leverage highway investments for economic development, and it talks about new federal requirements for rural local consultation with state DOTs.

(September 2000, 30 pages / $20 Non-members): View the report

Public Transportation on the Move in Rural America
This report, authored by Dennis Brown, Regional Economist for the USDA Economic Research Service, addresses the importance and impact of public transit in rural communities. View the report

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