Webinar: Addressing Bicycle-Vehicle Conflicts with Alternate  Signal Control Strategies on Oct 16, 2018

EDUCATION LIBRARY ARCHIVE

Missed the webinar or want a look back? 

OVERVIEW

There is nationwide interest in supporting sustainable and active transportation modes such as bicycling and walking due to the many benefits associated with them, including reduced congestion, lower emissions and improved health. Although the number of bicyclists is increasing, safety remains a top concern. In urban areas, a common crash type involving bicycles at intersections is the “right hook” where a right-turning vehicle collides with a through bicyclist. While geometric treatments and pavement markings have been studied, there is a lack of research on signal timing treatments to address right-hook bicycle-vehicle conflicts.

Addressing Bicycle-Vehicle Conflicts with Alternate Signal Control Strategies, published in April 2018, is the first study to explore bicycle signal control strategies for addressing bicycle-vehicle conflicts. This study analyzed the operational impacts of traditional...

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The video begins at 2:45.

Topic: Skateboarding as Transportation: Findings from Exploratory Research

Bio: Tessa Walker is currently completing her thesis on non-motorized transportation and qualitative research methods with supervision from Dr. Jennifer Dill and Dr. David Morgan. For more information on her thesis research please visit the Skate Study PDX website (http://www.skatestudypdx.wordpress.com). Tessa has previously worked in town planning in Vermont, sustainability auditing in Massachusetts, and in bicycle and pedestrian transportation research with the Family Activity Study at PSU. She is currently an intern at the public opinion research firm DHM Research, and she will be a 2013-2014 Hatfield Fellow.

Bicycling Toward Equity:  Opportunities, Barriers & Policies for Vulnerable Groups

Friday Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. You can join us in person at 11:30 AM, or you can also watch online.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

THE TOPIC

This seminar will include two papers that will be presented earlier in the week at the Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington, DC. 

Adaptive Bikeshare: Expanding Bikeshare to People with Disabilities and Older Adults

John MacArthur, Portland State University
Nathan McNeil, Portland State University

Bike share systems are expanding efforts to be more equitable and accessible...

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The video begins at 0:10.

Summary: The declining rates of physical activity among children, particularly adolescent girls, are well-documented, yet there has been insufficient research into the attitudes about health behaviors, particularly active travel, of the children themselves. Tara's research explores attitudes about active transportation among children aged 4-17 years and examines how perceived ability, self-efficacy, and sensitivity to certain environments or facilities vary across gender and age of the children. She utilises data from the Family Activity Study, a multi-year longitudinal intervention study in Portland, Oregon, in which 490 children answered surveys regarding their attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors about traveling by walking, bicycling, or being in a car.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

OVERVIEW

The aim of this research is to investigate pedestrian behavior at signalized intersections using state-of-the-art LIDAR sensing technologies and to use this data, along with vehicular data, to develop a more effective multimodal signal control system.

In the presentation, the presenters will describe a novel method of collecting pedestrian crossing behaviors at signalized intersection, discuss the findings and implications of data analytics, and introduce a novel approach to dynamic flashing yellow arrow mechanisms to reduce the conflict between left turn vehicles and crossing pedestrians.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • Understand the framework of LiDAR sensing solutions;
  • Understand how to collect pedestrian behaviors at intersections;
  • Understand how to provide new protection for crossing pedestrians with object-tracking technologies.

THE RESEARCH

This webinar is based on a study funded by the National Institute...

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Aerial view of urban city road with cars on the road and crosswalk. Text reads: Webinar: Land Use and Transportation Policies for a Sustainable Future.
 

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

OVERVIEW

Even though there are tremendous uncertainties in the timing and evolution path of the Autonomous Vehicles (AV) technology, it may become a likely reality within most MPOs' long-range regional transportation plan horizon of twenty years. Yet a recent survey of the largest MPOs in the US indicates only one of them "even mentions driverless, automated, or autonomous vehicles in its most recent RTP". One of the uncertainties in assessing the impacts of AV is their direction: on one hand, self-driving cars could increase VMT by increasing roadway capacity, lowering costs of travel; on the other, they may reduce VMT by enabling more car-sharing, improving access to transit, eliminating the fixed costs of car ownership, and reclaiming parking space. To date, there is no suitable conceptual framework or modeling tools available to MPOs for quantitatively assessing the likely long-term effects of AV or potential policy scenarios.

This project studies the possible impacts on travel and land use of the emerging AV technology and focuses on advancing this innovative mobility option by...

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The video begins at 0:49.

It has been nearly 25 years since non-motorized modes and non-motorized-specific built environment measures were first included in the regional travel demand models of metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). Such modeling practices have evolved considerably as data collection and analysis methods improve, decisions-makers demand more policy-responsive tools, and walking and cycling grow in popularity. Many models now explicitly consider the unique characteristics of walking travel, separate from travel by bicycle. As MPOs look to enhance their models’ representations of pedestrian travel, the need to understand current and emerging practice is great.

This project presents a comprehensive review of the practice of representing walking in MPO travel models. A review of model documentation determined that – as of mid-2012 – 63% (30) of the 48 largest MPOs included non-motorized travel in their regional models, while 47% (14) of those also distinguished between walk and bicycle modes. The modeling frameworks, model structures, and variables used for pedestrian and non-motorized regional modeling are described and discussed. A survey of MPO staff members revealed barriers to modeling non-motorized travel, including insufficient travel survey records, but also innovations being implemented, including smaller zones and non-motorized network assignment. Finally, best practices in...

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Transportation mode choice is often expressed in terms of models which assume rational choice; psychological case studies of mode adoption are comparatively rare. We present findings from a study of the psychology of adoption for sustainable transportation modes such as bicycles, car sharing, and mass transit. Case studies were conducted with current and former participants in PSU’s ‘Passport Plus’ transit pass program, as well as a longitudinal cohort study of first-time winter bicycle commuters. Composite sequence analysis was used to construct a theory of the adoption process for these modes. Our findings suggest that mode evaluation is cognitively distinct from mode selection and has different information requirements. We conclude that public and private organizations could improve the adoption rate for these modes by tailoring their communication strategies to match the commuter’s stage of adoption.

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The video begins at 9:01.

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