National Institute for Transportation and Communities

How can we use a variety of data-driven speed management strategies to make transportation safer and more efficient for all modes–whether you’re driving, walking or taking transit?

The project was led by Yao Jan Wu, director of the Smart Transportation Lab at the University of Arizona. Co-investigators were Xianfeng Terry Yang of the University of Utah, who researches traffic operations and modeling along with connected automated vehicles, and Sirisha Kothuri of Portland State University, whose research has focused on improving signal timing to better serve pedestrians. Join them on Sept 15, 2021 for a free webinar to learn more.

"We want to improve mobility for all users, be it pedestrians, vehicle drivers or transit riders, and there are different strategies to do this. How do we harness data to drive us to these strategies?" Kothuri said.

Funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), this multi-university collaboration addressed the question from three angles:

• Wu and his students in Arizona looked at the impact of speed management strategies on conventional roadways...

The latest report funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities – Transit Impacts on Jobs, People and Real Estate, from the University of Arizona – represents the culmination of nearly a decade of research into the economic effects of transit. To unpack the dense and substantial findings from 17 LRT, 14 BRT, 9 SCT, and 12 CRT systems in 35 metro areas across the United States, we've been telling the story in chapters. Last month we focused on how transit affects where people live, and before that we explored how it impacts the locations of jobs.

This month, we're delving into volume 4 of the final report: Impact on Real Estate Rents with Respect to Transit Station Proximity Considering Type of Real Estate by Transit Mode and Place with...

"(Overlooked) Association between Express Bus Station/Stop Proximity and Multifamily Rents with a Surprise about Transit Mode Synergism and Implications for Transit and Land Use Planning" is an April 2021 article in Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, authored by Arthur C. Nelson and Robert Hibberd of the University of Arizona. 

The article (PDF of pre-publication version here) is an offshoot of the researchers' NITC-funded project, Transit Impacts on Jobs, People and Real Estate, which we reported on last month. There are two key findings:

• Express bus stops have positive influences on multifamily rents up to a mile away, and
• Shared express bus and light rail transit stops have synergistic, additive effects on multifamily rents up to one mile around them.

The research is the first of its kind and should open new avenues of transit planning and land use policy. Future economic returns to local economies and local government resources may be maximized by increasing development opportunities near...

Lincoln Edwards is a masters student in urban planning at the University of Arizona, and a TRB Minority Student Fellow for 2021. He currently works as a research assistant in UA's College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, on projects that relate to Equitable Transit Oriented Development (eTOD). In 2019 he was an intern for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Lincoln earned a BA from Pennsylvania's Millersville University with a double major in Geography (with a concentration in global studies) and Government & Political Affairs. His future career goals center around issues related to transportation planning, gentrification, universal design, and community development.

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Tell us about yourself?

I’m a second year Masters of Urban Planning student at the University of Arizona and a 2021 TRB Minority Student Fellow. I’m originally from Philly and received my B.A. in Geography at Millersville University in Lancaster, PA. Ever since high school, I knew I wanted to have a career in urban planning due to my passions towards urban restoration and community revitalization.

What (or who) has influenced your career path in transportation?

My upbringing as a wheelchair user allowed me to...