Transport Chicago 2007 Conference: Good Timing

The Transport Chicago 2007 Conference is scheduled for June 1st at the Illinois Institute of Technology. This could be excellent timing. By June 1st the fate of the Moving Beyond Congestion initiative could well be known. At least the important issues raised by the MBC proponents--and hopefully the many important issues the MBC proponents prefer not to discuss publicly--will have been thoroughly debated, even if the General Assembly is heading into an extended summer session to finally resolve them. The Conference could be an excellent time to take stock of the MBC effort and the future of transportation in the region.

The Conference has issued a call for papers. Paper abstracts are due by March 12th.

From their email addresses it appears that the organizers of the conference, Doug Ferguson and Joe Iacobucci, are from CATS and the CTA, respectively. (Hope your employers have authorized such use of your work emails guys!) From last year's program and this year's call for papers it appears that the conference focuses primarily on public transit issues. However, the name change of the organization from Metropolitan Conference on Public Transportation Research" to "Transport Chicago" suggests a possible opening for participation by folks discussing highway and non-motorized transportation modes as well. That would be a good thing, especially in a region where highways account for the vast majority of trips.