National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Sustainable Design and Transportation: Verifiably Measuring the Carbon Benefits

Portland State University, Urban Center (SW 6th and Mill), Parsons Gallery, Level 2

Special Transportation Seminar:

Join us for a presentation by Projjal Dutta, NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s first-ever Director, Sustainability. He tries to reduce MTA’s environmental footprint and quantify carbon benefits that accrue to the region from transit. This unrecognized service, if priced, can generate substantial resources for transit.

Sponsored by PSU's College of Urban and Public Affairs and the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium

Traffic Safety Engineering at Wisconsin: Using Traditional Methodologies with Full-Scale Driving Simulation to Advance Roadway Safety

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Abstract: Traffic safety engineering continues to rely on the traditional methods of design and operational guidelines, correlated to post-crash outcomes, in an attempt to understand the safety attributes of our roadway system. The recently published Highway Safety Manual provides the newest source of methodologies and statistical models that can be applied to help predict or modify safety outcomes. Additionally, Road Safety Audits are a commonly used practice to gain the insight and experience of traffic and safety experts in an effort to avoid or solve a perplexing and/or unexpected safety problem. Although none of these activities are completely void of human factors considerations, the ability to directly consider driver behavior, driver comprehension, and the impact of driver decision making in the analysis is incredibly complex and often omitted. The use of full-scale driving simulators as a research and analysis tool may help significantly reduce the complexity of human factors-based consideration in the context of safety analyses and provide a new and effective tool to improve the safety of our roadway system. This lecture will consider several safety issues facing transportation agencies, namely median crossover crashes, permissive left-turn crashes, and roundabout safety, presenting thoughts and findings on related research. Additionally, this lecture will integrate the attributes...

Emerging Trends in Developing and Implementing Bicycle Master Plans – The Seattle Example

The video begins at 0:47.

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Abstract: Using the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan as a model, this presentation will provide a roadmap for developing and implementing bicycle master plans.

Toole Design Group (TDG) served as the prime consultant for the City of Seattle Bicycle Master Plan. In partnership with the City, TDG took a diverse approach to public involvement, including working with a Citizen’s Advisory Committee and local advocacy groups, conducting an online survey, and conduction highly successful public input meetings that were attended by hundreds of people. The project involved extensive GIS and field analysis, and the development of specific recommendations for street reconfigurations and wayfinding signs for a 450-mile network of on and off-street facilities. The project included design innovations such as shared-lane markings, up-hill bike lanes, buffered bike lanes, and new warning and wayfinding signs. It also included new thinking on right-of-way assignment and the design of trail street crossings. In addition, TDG developed bicycle facility design guidelines recommendations for education and enforcement programs to support and encourage bicycling, and policies for integrating bicycle considerations into all City projects and programs. The Plan focused heavily on implementation and included...

How Sprawl is Lengthening our Commutes and Why Misleading Mobility Measures are Making Things Worse

The video begins at 2:26.

Abstract: This report offers a new view of urban transportation performance. It explores the key role that land use and variations in travel distances play in determining how long Americans spend in peak hour travel. It shows how the key tool contained in the Urban Mobility Report – the Travel Time Index – actually penalizes cities that have shorter travel distances and conceals the additional burden caused by longer trips in sprawling metropolitan areas. Finally, it critically examines the reliability and usefulness of the methodology used in the Urban Mobility Report, finding it does not accurately estimate travel speeds, it exaggerates travel delays, and it overestimates the fuel consumption associated with urban travel. How we measure transportation systems matters, and the nation needs a better set of measures than it has today.

Imagine 82nd

Steve Szigethy and Jamison Kelleher, a team of graduate students in PSU's Master of Urban and Regional Planning program, will present their Planning Workshop project entitled "Imagine 82nd." The project engaged residents, businesses, property owners and students along NE 82nd Avenue in Portland to develop a comprehensive vision for the future of the corridor. Imagine 82nd deals with the portion of 82nd Avenue between the Banfield Expressway and NE Sandy Boulevard, 1.3 miles in length. This particular stretch is home to many retail and service businesses that typify the rest of 82nd Avenue, but it also includes Madison High School, a major corporate headquarters, and a 20-acre vacant brownfield site. At this seminar, Steve Szigethy and Jamison Kelleher will present the vision concepts they developed with the community, with particular emphasis on transportation and land use components.

The video begins at 5:54.

Bicycling in London: Innovations, Outreach, and Progress

The video begins at 6:17.