ABOUT ITS TEXAS
Purpose
The purpose of ITS Texas is to promote and enhance public safety and community welfare by fostering research, development, and implementation of plans and programs to reduce motor vehicle deaths and injuries, improve mobility and to promote, encourage, and advance a system of safer, more economical, energy efficient and environmentally sound highway and other surface transportation through research, development, and implementation of advanced technology.
Annual Meeting
ITS Texas holds a meeting annually which brings together the membership, presenters, and exhibitors for 2 days of exciting and informative sessions and presentations. The annual meeting is generally preceeded by 1 day of training and tours. Typically starting on a Wednesday and finishing at Friday lunchtime, the meeting locations are rotated around the state of Texas.
History
With the passage of ISTEA with its increased emphasis on intelligent highway vehicle systems (IVHS), it became apparent to transportation professionals in Texas that a multi-modal, multi-agency approach in cooperation with the private sector was essential for the successful implementation of the program. On November 18-19, 1992, the Texas Transportation Institute hosted a symposium of senior level private and public sector representatives to discuss the subject. During the symposium, the participants voted to explore the creation of a Texas chapter of the Intelligent Vehicle Highway Society of America (now ITS America).
On March 4, 1993, a meeting was convened in Austin to discuss the formation of IVHS Texas (now ITS Texas). From this meeting, a steering committee was selected to begin working on the formation of the chapter. Gary Trietsch was selected as the interim leader of IVHS Texas. The other committee members were Chuck Belisle, C.R. "Hap" Carr, Katie Turnbull, Cinde Weatherby, Jim Williams, and Roy Wilshire. Over the next months the steering committee worked to prepare a budget, bylaws, and affiliation agreement, and selected candidates for the election of the first (1994) board of officers and directors.
The first IVHS Texas meeting was convened in College Station, Texas on November 15, 1993. The membership present voted for officers and directors for 1994. The first board of directors were: Gary K. Trietsch, President; Roy Wilshire, Vice-President; Darryl Puckett, Secretary; Katie Turnbull, Treasurer; and Cinde Weatherby, Bill Stockton, Jim Williams, and Richard Peterson, Directors. The membership also approved the chapter affiliation agreement designating IVHS Texas as an official chapter of IVHS America, and allowed the officers to enter into agreement with IVHS America.
In late 1994 the name of IVHS America was changed to ITS America to reflect the increasing scope of intelligent transportation systems. For the same reason the name of IVHS Texas was changed to ITS Texas in 1995.