Road pavement is a known contributor to the urban heat island effect. Several vendors are providing engineered pavements coatings – known as “cool pavement” - to reflect light and therefore heat to reduce the thermal load of roads. The City of Tucson is planning a pilot application of a cool pavement in Fall 2021 as a part of its Parks and Connections Bond work; our team has been working with the city and vendor(s) to set up an evaluation framework of the cool pavement. Few of these cool… Read More

Many states are adopting the Safe System approach (USDOT, 2022) to improve traffic safety. As the role of speed in injury severity is becoming increasingly clear, one of the key elements of a Safe System approach is Safer Speeds. Specifically, higher motor vehicle speeds lead to higher injury severity during a collision, especially for nonmotorized users (Rosén and Sander 2009; Tefft 2013) who are the most vulnerable users in the transportation system. Most pedestrian crashes occur on higher… Read More