OTREC was pleased to brief members of the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation on August 3, 2009. Staff provided an members with an overview of the OTREC’s research, education, and technology transfer programs. Students Nikki Wheeler and Nathan McNeil summarized their involvement in two projecs: “Investigation of Intersection Safety for Cyclists by Age and Gender” a “Evaluation of Bike Boxes at Signalized Intersections”. Additional faculty participated by providing a summary of their research focus.
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood proclaims “Portland is the transportation capital of the United States…” as part of his speech unveiling the Portland-made streetcar, the first to be built in the US in nearly 60 years. OTREC staff were present to witness this historic moment for Portland, in addition to having the opportunity to meet and talk with other leaders in transportation from Oregon. Pictured left: Jon Makler, Lily Makler, Congressman Peter DeFazio, and Hau Hagedorn Pictured right: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
OTREC has completed the proposal review process for its 2009-2010 funding cycle. OTREC received a total of 48 proposals with a request of $3.9 million for consideration. We would like to thank Michael Wolfe for managing the peer review process and to recognize the 110 peer reviewers who contributed to this important selection procedure. Twenty proposals were selected for funding by the OTREC Executive Committee at our meeting Monday afternoon. The complete list can be viewed here: http://www.otrec.us/main/projects.php?year=2010
OTREC urges principal investigators to view the results of their peer reviews and OTREC comments for their proposal by logging into the OTREC proposal and project management system at: http://www.otrec.us/main/login.php.
Those with proposals that were not selected but fit well with the OTREC theme of Advanced Technology, Integration of Land Use and Transportation, and Healthy Communities are engrouraged to strengthen their approach, linkage with transportation and consider resubmitting it for the 2010-2011 funding year.
OTREC would like to congratulate Josh Crain and Lisa Diercksen, winners of the 2009 Oregon ITE undergraduate and graduate scholarships, respectively. Josh, a native of Oregon, is earning a BS in Civil Engineering at Portland State University and developed an interest in transportation while flying as a Load Master on C-17A cargo aircraft in the Air Force. Lisa, who has a BSCE from Iowa State University, will graduate this month with an MSCE from Portland State. Lisa will also be inducted into the Denice Dee Denton Women Engineers Hall of Fame. Both Josh and Lisa have worked as research assistants in PSUís ITS Lab. Pictured, left to right: Pam OíBrien (DKS Associates), Josh Crain, Lisa Diercksen, Chris Tiesler (Kittelson and Associates) and Bikram Raghubansh (Clackamas County).
The CSS National Dialog is currently seeking submissions of best practices in the application of Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) principles to transportation projects, programs and plans. Selected case studies will be presented at a series of one-day Workshops. Submissions are welcome from transportation agencies, planning agencies, communities and other organizations. To submit your transportation project, program or plan, visit the National Dialog Website. Submissions will be accepted until June 30, 2009. Submissions accepted in the following four categories: Implementation of CSS in Transportation Project Design and Construction, CSS in Transportation Planning, Context-Sensitive Programs for Project Delivery, and Organizational and Institutional Advancements for Systematic Implementation of CSS.
Prof Monsere represented Portland Stateís ITS Lab at the second conference on traffic management sponsored by FHWA, Office of Research and Development and USDOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). The workshop was designed to help coordinate and guide research at university transportation centers (UTCs). It featured presentations from Federal staff and university researchers in adaptive signal timing, microsimulation, traffic data, intelligent infrastructure and vehicles. Robust discussion identified potential collaboration and research areas. Prof. Monsere highlighted related research by OTREC faculty. The workshop concluded with a tour of the research laboratories at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, which hosted the conference.
OTREC, in partnership with the Womenís Transportation Seminar Portland Chapter and Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association, is pleased to announce the 1st Annual Oregon Transportation Summit. The event, which will include professional development opportunities for academic and practicing transportation professionals, will be held on Friday, September 11 at Portland State University. Your input is desired to shape the agenda. Please complete a short online survey to rank or suggest topics for the training and workshop sessions. If you have any other questions, please email Jon Makler.
Northeastern Universityís Peter Furth is known equally for his research in public transportation, bike planning and traffic signals. Furth brings his diverse interests to Portland for the holiday-shortened week of May 25th. On Tuesday, 5/26, there will be a seminar on his traffic signal priority work and on Wednesday, 5/27, there will be another seminar on his work regarding cycle tracks. In addition, Furth will have a variety of meetings with local transportation practitioners, including a bike tour by staff from the Portland Bureau of Transportation. The visit is co-sponsored by OTREC and IBPI. For more information about the seminars, visit PSU's Center for Transportation Studies.
Mondayís New York Times featured an article on the car-free city of Vauban, Germany. University of Oregonís Marc Schlossberg was invited to contribute to the online ìRoom for Debateî discussion that followed. In his initial entry, Dr. Schlossberg emphasizes street connectivity and the need to eliminate parking minimums. There were over 400 comments in the first 24 hours, responding to the perspectives shared by Schlossberg and six others: Witold Rybczynski, D.J. Waldie, Dolores Hayden, Christopher Leinberger, Alex Marshall and J.H. Crawford. (Photo: Martin Specht for the New York Times)
In mid-April, a group of Oregon State transportation students were led on a bike tour of Portland by alumnus Peter Koonce (Kittleson & Associates). Accompanied by one peer from Portland State, the group witnessed several design techniques that can be seen around the city: bike-only passages, left-turn lanes for bikes, traffic signals with a bike-only phase, special signage for bicyclist safety (bike boxes) and the innovative "beacon," which is a special signal designed to regulate interactions between bikes, motor vehicles and pedestrians. According to Raul Avelar, president of OSU's ITE Student Chapter, the tour had the right mix of fun and learning.