transit | Transportation Research and Education Center

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/

Multi Modal Level of Service: State of the Practice

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Abstract: A new way of measuring Level of Service for bicycles, pedestrians, and transit is planned for the next Highway Capacity Manual. Are these the right tools to help us plan and build the system we want? If not, what answers do these tools give us and how should we use them? This presentation will review the approaches to multi-modal Level of Service at the national and local levels and discuss efforts to validate the HCM methods. It will also cover the effect of our LOS policies on climate change and explore ways that we might tweak our analysis to get a more accurate picture of the transportation system for all users.

Bio: Seleta Reynolds plans, funds, and implements bicycle and pedestrian projects as a consultant for the Seattle office of Fehr & Peers. Seleta contributed to the national Safe Routes to School toolbox and has served as a guest lecturer on transportation planning for San Jose State University, Portland State University, and UC Berkeley. She serves on the Transportation Research Board Pedestrian Committee and as the President of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. One of her favorite side projects was a collaboration with artists Steve Lambert and Packard Jennings to imagine the future of transportation for the Art on Market Street project in San Francisco. Prior to joining Fehr & Peers in 2001, she was the bicycle and...

Links Between Public Transportation and Physical Activity

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Speaker: Brian Saelens, Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Seattle’s Children’s Hospital & University of Washington
Topic: Links Between Public Transportation and Physical Activity (Effects of LRT on Physical Activity Based on Seattle GPS Study)

Summary: This seminar will explore the empirical evidence regarding the links between the use of public transportation and physical activity, with a specific focus on using integrated device and self-report methods to identify travel modes and physical activity.

Bio: Brian E. Saelens, Ph.D. is a Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington and Principal Investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Dr. Saelens is a clinical/health psychologist. His interest areas include obesity treatment and prevention, especially in environmental factors and policies that influence physical activity and eating behaviors in children and adults. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed original investigation and review articles.

Portland Bike Share: How Will Bike Share Work in the Nation's Most Bike Friendly City?

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Abstract: Portland is planning to launch a bike share system. Bike share is a new form of public transit that is rapidly spreading through the United States. In 2009, bike share operated in two U.S. cities. Today, 20 US cities operate systems with another 15 in the planning stages. In several cities, including Denver, Minneapolis and Washington, DC bike share has demonstrated the ability to bring new people to bicycling while reducing single occupancy vehicle trips. How will bike share work in the nation’s most bike friendly city (doesn’t everybody already have a bike)? What challenges does Portland face, and what opportunities does bike share offer to reach the Portland’s Bike Plan for 2030’s ambitious goals?

Speaker Bio: Steve Hoyt-McBeth is a project manager in the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Active Transportation Division. He has worked on bike share at PBOT since 2008. Steve also manages PBOT’s employer and commuter Transportation Demand Management program, SmartTrips Business. He has 15 years experience working with local governments and neighborhoods in Oregon and California on land use, energy and transportation issues. Steve is a graduate of the University of Oregon.

Zoning Strategy Effect in ADA Paratransit Services: A Simulation Study in Los Angeles, CA

Abstract: We study the impact on productivity of a specific operating practice currently adopted by some demand responsive transit (DRT) providers. We investigate the effect of using a zoning vs. a no-zoning strategy on performance measures such as total trip miles, deadhead miles and fleet size. It is difficult to establish closed form expressions to assess the impact on the performance measures of a specific zoning practice for a real transportation network. Thus, we conduct this study through a simulation model of the operations of DRT providers on a network based on data for DRT service in Los Angeles County.

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Examining the Role of Internal Planning Decisions in Improving Transit Performance and Economic Outcomes

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Topic: Examining the Role of Internal Planning Decisions in Improving Transit Performance and Economic Outcomes
Summary: Scholars and practitioners continuously seek best practices to increase transit ridership, efficiency, and modal share. The ongoing suburbanization and decentralization of U.S. metropolitan regions brings new challenges for accomplishing these goals. Investigating possible strategies for improving transit outcomes in the existing socioeconomic setting, scholars from the Florida State University have pointed to the role of internal performance factors. In a series of research studies, they have found that improving transit service characteristics, such as frequency, connectivity, regional coverage, intermodal integration, as well as decentralization of network structures, could result in increased transit ridership and productivity. These positive effects could be observed even in auto-oriented, low-density environments.

This presentation will briefly summarize the previous findings regarding the role of internal factors in improving transit performance and elaborate on the most recent study, which has attempted to assess the economic effects of implementing planning strategies based on adjusting the internal...

Human Transit: Old Principles, New Choices, New Opportunities

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Abstract: The historic divide between spacial planning and transport planning has caused many crucial insights to remain stuck on one side of the divide. When dealing with public transit, Jarrett Walker argues that planners urgently need a clearer view of transit's fundamentals. These are often lost track of amid the excitement of a particular project, resulting in development where efficient (and therefore abundant) transit is impossible. This talk reviews the much-ignored principles of efficient transit networks, bus or rail, and argues that true "transit-oriented development" must be consist with those principles. These principles yield surprising conclusions both about many New Urbanist projects, and also about the potential of 82nd Avenue and similar "sprawl arterials."

Speaker Bio: Jarrett Walker is an international consultant in public transit network design and policy. He has been a full-time consultant since 1991 and has led numerous major planning projects in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. He currently serves as a Principal Consultant with MRCagney based in Australia. He provides expert advice to clients worldwide

Born in 1962, he grew up in Portland, Oregon during the revolutionary 1970s, the era when Portland first made its decisive commitment to be a city for people rather than cars. He went on to complete a BA at Pomona College (Claremont...

ITS at Trimet: Improving Service and Saving Money

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The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet), the transit provider for urban Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties, has been a leader in applying ITS technologies to its operations since the mid-1990s. The use of ITS technology has enhanced service for its customers while providing significant operational efficiencies.

In this presentation, analyst David Crout will describe many of TriMet's ITS projects, including the automatic vehicle location (AVL) system, computer-aided dispatch (CAD), real-time customer information, transit signal priority, and automatic stop announcements, and show how they have resulted in improved service and cost savings for the agency.

Webinar: What Do We Know About Location Affordability in U.S. Shrinking Cities?

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Webinar: What Do We Know About Location Affordability in U.S. Shrinking Cities?

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WEBINAR SUMMARY

Traditionally the discussion about affordability has focused on housing, but HUD’s Location Affordability Index (LAI), released in 2012, helped to elevate the conversation by expanding the focus to include households’ transportation costs. In the...

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