„Northern Lights”

Michigan State University

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United States.  Despite its name, the association represents not only highways but air, rail, water, and public transportation as well.   Its technical committees are responsible for route numbering recommendations.

Although AASHTO sets transportation standards and policy for the United States as a whole, AASHTO is not an agency of the federal government; rather it is an organization of the states themselves. Policies of AASHTO are not federal laws or policies, but rather are ways to coordinate state laws and policies in the field of transportation.

One of its consensus products — the so-called “Green Book” — is heavily referenced in campus design guidelines and construction contracts because most education communities exist within municipal infrastructure.   Power, water supply, sewers to schools and campuses large and small all tend to follow transportation pathways.  The Green Book is revised periodically, the 2018 Edition the most recent.

SUMMARY OF KEY REVISIONS AND UPDATES

We do not advocate in this product at the moment but follow the movement in concepts relevant to education communities; notably the recent reorganization that emphasizes transportation of people, rather than focusing primarily on moving vehicles.  A new chapter discusses multimodal level of service and puts greater emphasis on lower-speed, walkable, urban zones in which new mobility technologies are emerging (such as micro-scooters on campuses)

We maintain the AASHTO catalog on our Pathways, Zoning and Mobility colloquia.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting, open to everyone.

Land Measurement