The following collections in Special Collections
& Archives contain materials pertaining to transportation in the
Washington Metropolitan Area:
American
Public Transportation Association (APTA) Collection was created
in 1974 with the merging of two major American transit-related organizations,
the American Transit Association (ATA) and the Institute for Rapid
Transit (IRT). Both organizations trace their histories back decades
before this date. The ATA, which originated in 1932, specialized in
issues dealing with motor buses, trolley coaches and other motorized
transit vehicles. The IRT, organized in 1961, specialized in electric
railways and other rapid transit sources. In January 2000, the name
of the organization was changed to the American Public Transportation
Association. Today, APTA is a leading participant in research and
legislation regarding the American transportation industry and issues
relating to it. Total volume of the APTA collection is 80 cubic feet
or 120 linear feet.
Thomas B.
Deen (1928- ) is a well-known name in the field of transportation
research. Early in his career, Deen was a pioneer in the development
and application of methods for analyzing urban transportation problems
and designing urban transit systems. These computer-based analytical
methods were used to evaluate and select the lines that today make
up the Washington, D.C. Metrorail system. Deen served as Director
of Planning for the National Capital Transportation Agency from 1960
to1964, and Executive Director of the Transportation Research Board
(TRB) from 1980 to 1994. At the TRB Deen supervised policy studies
on critical national transportation issues, such as the 55 mph speed
limit, school bus safety, air passenger service and safety since deregulation,
and high-speed rail. Collection contains materials related to Deen's
work with the TRB from 1980 to 1993. Types of materials include speeches,
working papers, reports, memoranda, correspondence, conference materials,
and meetng notes. Total volume of the Deen Collection is 19 cubic
feet or 28.5 linear feet.
James J. McDonnell (1930-1995) was a 33-year employee
of the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) and its successor, the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA). During his career with U.S. government
transportation agencies, McDonnell was recognized as a national expert
in transportation data collection and use. In the late 1950s and early
1960s, he directed the Shirley Highway corridor study in Northern
Virginia. His study led to the widening of the four-lane, World War
II-era freeway into the first freeway with reversible high-occupancy-vehicle
(HOV) lanes in the median. In 1964, McDonnell was called back to Washington
to fill a key vacancy as Chief of BPR’s Planning Procedure Branch.
During his 20-year tenure in this position, he became nationally recognized
for his many accomplishments, one of which was the development of
a new Home Interview Survey Manual, that brought the practice of conducting
surveys, and analyzing results into the computer age. The McDonnell
Collection contains materials related to McDonnell's work on the Shirley
Highway project and other materials from his work at the BPR and FHWA.
Types of materials include correspondence, reports, government publication,
black-and-white photographs, and 35mm black-and-white negatives. Total
volume of the McDonnell Collection is 6.5 cubic feet or 9.75 linear
feet.
William
Lee Mertz (1920-1993), a former Federal Highway Administration
Administrator, played a leading role in developing and planning the
Interstate Highway System the United States. Mertz started his career
as a highway engineer with the Bureau of Public Roads in the Department
of Commerce. During the 1960s he worked with such groups as the National
Capital Transit Agency in Washington, D.C. and the Tri-State Transportation
Commission in New York. He also served as an administrator in the
planning of the Interstate Highway System, including the Beltway and
I-95 in Maryland and the Washington Metrorail System. The collection
contains transportation-related materials collected over a forty-five
year period by Mertz. Types of materials include scholarly journal
articles dealing with transportation topics, summaries of congressional
acts relating to transportation, official reports and studies of transportation
agencies, summaries of speeches given by transportation officials,
and personal correspondence between transportation offficials. Total
volume of the Mertz Collection is 10.3 cubic feet or 12 linear feet.
Other collections in SC&A which contain transportation
materials include:
Special Collections
& Archives (SC&A) preserves and makes available to all
students, faculty and researchers many kinds of original, scholarly
materials. Subject areas in SC&A include Northern Virginiana,
Planned Communities, Congressional Papers, Performing Arts, Maps,
the Civil War, and George Mason University. Formats in SC&A include
manuscripts, rare books, playbills, musical scores, audio and videotapes,
architectural drawings, photographs, and slides.
