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The countryside in the heart of Minnesota is a storybook scene of crystal lakes, wooded hills and a patchwork quilt of farmland leading to Saint Cloud. This bustling small city has long served as the transportation and commercial hub of central Minnesota. As early as the 1840’s, Saint Cloud was a way station on the Middle and Woods branches of the Red River Trails. Today, the city boasts multiple freeway and highway roadways as well as passenger and freight rail within its limits – perfect for showcasing the 2013 National Rural ITS Conference theme “Footpaths to Intelligent Highways”.
Held at the Saint Cloud Rivers Edge Convention Center overlooking the great Mississippi River, conference attendees can mix family-friendly fun with training and networking opportunities, dozens of technical sessions and exciting professional tours. So mark your calendars and plan on joining us in August 2013!
Why Attend? This conference will provide participants an opportunity to network and share experiences within and across a wide variety of ITS disciplines. In addition to traditional ITS topics, this event will bring together both traditional and non-traditional ITS users to address such issues as rural safety, multi-agency coordination, and workforce development, as well as EMS and transit issues.
The many different training and networking opportunities available through this event will provide participants with the tools necessary to effectively plan and deploy ITS technologies within their own jurisdictions.
Who Should Attend? Public and private transportation, transit, tourism, enforcement, trucking, public safety and medical service professionals engaged in the operations, maintenance, and use of our transportation system should attend this Conference. Elected and appointed officials, business and community leaders and emergency responders and public safety personnel will contribute to the rich dialogue while learning about the technical challenges facing the transportation community. |
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The ITS America Rural SIG is now seeking applications from those who would be interested in hosting future NRITS meetings for 2014 and beyond. Begun in 1992, the National Rural ITS Conference provides an opportunity for attendees to network and share experiences across a wide variety of ITS disciplines while focusing on the unique and varied challenges of deploying ITS in a rural environment. It invites both traditional and non-traditional ITS users to address such issues as rural safety, road weather information systems, wireless communications, creating and maintaining livable/sustainable communities, multi-agency coordination and many others. A questionnaire and guidelines have been developed to assist prospective host organizations in determining the logistic requirements for NRITS. Proposals must be submitted by October 30, 2012 (for the 2014 conference) or June 15, 2013 (for the 2015 conference). |
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Public Sector Scholarship Fund. The Public Sector Scholarship Fund is a tool for increasing public sector participation in the National Rural ITS (NRITS) Conference.
Funds are disbursed in increments of $500 to individuals who are attending the NRITS Conference for the first time. Preference is given to individuals whose employing
agency has not sent an attendee to the conference in the past year. Applicants must be public sector employees and must complete an application to be considered. The number of scholarships awarded will be based, in part, on available funds. While all applications
must be received by Friday, July 12, 2013, it is recommended that you apply early as funds will be distributed on a first-come, first-served
basis. An application can be downloaded by clicking here. |
