Adjustment Factors for Estimating Miles Traveled by Non-Motorized Traffic

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Abstract: Traffic counts are an important piece of information used by transportation planners; however, while count programs are common for motor vehicles most efforts at counting non-motorized traffic – cyclists and pedestrians – are minimal. Long-term, continuous counts of non-motorized traffic can be used to estimate month of year and day of week adjustment factors that can be used to scale short-duration counts to estimates of annual average daily traffic. Here we present results from continuous counts of non-motorized traffic at 6 locations on off-street trails in Minneapolis, MN using two types of automated counters (active infrared and inductive loop detectors). We found that traffic volumes varied significantly by location, but the month of year and day of week patterns were mostly consistent across locations and mode (i.e., cycling, walking, or mixed mode). We give examples of how this information could be used to extrapolate short-duration counts to estimates of annual average daily traffic as well as Bicycle Miles Traveled (BMT) and Pedestrian Miles Traveled (PMT) for defined lengths of off-street trails. More research is needed to determine if non-motorized traffic patterns (and subsequently our adjustment factors) for off-street...

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The End of Commuting

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The video begins at 3:11.

Data Science Course - Part 2: Intermediate/Advanced Scientific Computing for Planners, Engineers, and Scientists

This summer we're hosting a two-part data science course. You can register for one or the other– or attend both parts at a discount: Data Science Course 2018, Part 1: Introduction to Scientific Computing for Planners, Engineers, and Scientists

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CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Did you ever feel you are “drinking from a hose” with the amount of data you are attempting to analyze? Have you been frustrated with the tedious steps in your data processing and analysis process and thinking, “There’s gotta be a better way to do things”? Are you curious what the buzz of data science is about? If any of your answers are yes, then this course is for you.

Classes will all be hands-on sessions with lecture, discussions and labs. Participants can choose to sign up for one or both courses. For more information, download the...

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Analytical efficiencies through the integration of modeling and simulation tools

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Summary: Linking planning and operations is vital to improving transportation decision making and the overall effectiveness of transportation systems. In this seminar Steve will discuss data and modeling methods supported by the PTV Vision software suite to facilitate integrated planning for operations.

Bio: PSU Alum Steve Perone is the President of PTV America, Inc. the North American subsidiary of German software provider PTV Group. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon he is responsible for supporting a diverse customer base of traffic engineers and transportation planners from over 1,000 public agencies, universities and consulting firms combined. His experience draws on time spent in roles as both a public sector employee and as a private consultant supporting public agencies. In his role he actively supports many ITE and TRB events and programs.

Urban Arterials: Linking Traffic, Transit and Air Quality Data and Performance Measures

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Abstract: Urban arterials often represent complex venues of transportation operations, co-mingling non-motorized users with transit services and a wide variety of land uses and traffic patterns. This presentation presents results related to the evaluation of a new Adaptive Traffic Control System (SCATS) on Powell Boulevard in southeast Portland. The presentation will discuss challenges and opportunities associated with the evaluation of new technologies and the development of comprehensive urban arterial performance measures.

Speaker Bio: Miguel Figliozzi is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Portland State University. His diverse research interests include transit and traffic operations, bicycle and pedestrian modes, emissions and air quality modeling, and freight and logistics. He holds a MS from the University of Texas at Austin and a PhD from the University of Maryland College Park. Figliozzi is a member of the Transportation Research Board Network Modeling Committee, Freight and Logistics, and Intermodal Terminal Design Committees. Papers, reports, and more detailed information available at Figliozzi's webpage: http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~maf/

The Future of Advanced Travel Demand Modeling: Positive Theory, Behavioral Model, and Process Data

The video begins at 5:31.

Webinar: Crowdsourcing the Collection of Public Transportation Data

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This webinar presents a novel method that utilizes location-based services for collecting public transportation data.

A NITC-funded project at the University of Oregon will be presented that focuses on the development and evaluation of a mobile application based on Bluetooth low energy technology sensors and geofencing technology for crowdsourcing data collection.

The application was employed in a case study using Lane Transit District’s express bus system in the Eugene-Springfield area in western Oregon. The results show that using these types of location-based services offers an effective approach to collecting richer data than traditional means, while requiring only minimal...

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Webinar: Exploring Data Fusion Techniques to Derive Bicycle Volumes on a Network

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

OVERVIEW

Planners and decision makers have increasingly voiced a need for network-wide estimates of bicycling activity. Such volume estimates have for decades informed motorized planning and analysis but have only recently become feasible for non-motorized travel modes.

Recently, new sources of bicycling activity data have emerged such as Strava, Streetlight, and GPS-enabled bike share systems. These emerging data sources have potential advantages as a complement to traditional count data, and have even been proposed as replacements for such data, since they are collected continuously and for larger portions of local bicycle networks. However, the representativeness of these new data sources has been questioned, and their suitability for producing bicycle volume estimates has yet to...

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GIS Tools for Bicycle Network Analysis and Planning

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Summary: This presentation is a showcase of various GIS tools developed for bicycle network analysis and planning. The showcase includes a tool for assessing community-wide bikeability, a tool for forecasting bicycle volumes based on street topology, and a tool for evaluating different bicycle improvement plans in terms of exposure to danger situations for bicyclists. The tools will be demonstrated with case study data. The presentation will include a review of the Highway Capacity Manual Bicycle Level of Service and a discussion about using bicycle and pedestrian data collected through citizen-volunteer count programs.

Bio: Dr. Michael Lowry holds a joint appointment in Civil Engineering and Bioregional Planning at the University of Idaho. He is an affiliate researcher for the National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology. His research focuses on capital investment decision-making and transportation planning for bicyclists and pedestrians. Dr. Lowry teaches courses related to sustainable transportation, engineering statistics, and economic analysis. He received his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington and BS and MS from Brigham Young University.

TRB Showcase of Portland State University student research in transportation: Part 2

The video begins at 2:51.

Adam Moore: Bus Stop Air Quality: An Empirical Analysis of Exposure to Particulate Matter at Bus Stop Shelters

Congested traffic corridors in dense urban areas are key contributors to the degradation of urban air quality. While waiting at bus stops, transit patrons may be exposed to greater amounts of vehicle-based pollution, including particulate matter, due to their proximity to the roadway. Current guidelines for the location and design of bus stops do not take into account air quality or exposure considerations. This study compares the exposure of transit riders waiting at three-sided bus stop shelters that either: 1) face the roadway traffic or 2) face away from the roadway traffic. Shelters were instrumented with air quality monitoring equipment, sonic anemometers, and vehicle counters. Data were collected for two days at three shelters during both the morning and afternoon peak periods. Bus shelter orientation is found to significantly affect concentration of four sizes of particulate matter: ultrafine particles, PM1, PM2.5, and PM10. Shelters with an opening oriented towards the roadway were consistently observed to have higher concentrations inside the shelter than outside the shelter. In contrast, shelters oriented away from the roadway were observed to have lower concentrations inside the shelter than outside the shelter. The differences in particulate matter...

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