Curb extensions are relatively understudied and there are few robust studies on tactical curb extensions, including those with mural art. This new research aims to change that. The report “Evaluation of Different Curb Extension Treatments for Pedestrian Comfort and Safety at Intersections,” from the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University (PSU) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) is out now. 

The study found that curb extensions have statistically significant impacts on pedestrian and motorist behavior and suggests that tactical curb extensions with or without mural art offer a feasible alternative to improve pedestrian satisfaction and safety compared to control locat…

Portland State University has named Sirisha Kothuri, a Senior Research Associate in Civil and Environmental Engineering, as the recipient of the 2025 Research Award for Non-tenure-track Faculty. This honor recognizes her extraordinary contributions to the field of multimodal traffic operations, management, and safety, and her dedication to improving safety for the most vulnerable road users.

Since starting as a Research Associate in 2014, Kothuri has established herself as a leading national expert in active transportation data. One of her groundbreaking achievements involves developing methods to use pedestrian push buttons at traffic signals to estimate walking volumes—a task previously considered too difficult and expensive for most agencies. The work has been validated through …

Courtney Furman graduated from Portland State University in 2012 with a Masters of Science in Civil Engineering. She now works as an Assistant City Engineer at the City of Tigard. Previously, she was a Principal Engineer and Senior Project Engineer at the City of Tigard, Traffic Engineer at Clark County, WA, and Transportation Engineering Associate at DKS Associates. 

What do you do in your current role, and what does a typical day look like?

I work closely with Tigard’s City Engineer and help support the engineering team. Each day at the City looks different and there are always opportunities to get involved in many types of projects. I enjoy the variety of work, ranging from leading my own projects, supporting teammates with their projects, assisting with private development, responding to community members traffic questions, and working closely with public works maintenance staff. The most rewarding part of my job is helping…

Originally called the Women in Transportation Seminar, WTS annually awards scholarships to support women studying in the field of transportation. These competitive scholarships are awarded to applicants who are assessed by their goals, academic achievements, and transportation related activities. 

This year two of the scholarships were awarded to Portland State University (PSU) students. Jiahui Ma and Lydia Ivanovic will be presented with the awards during the 2026 WTS Scholarships at the 2026 WTS Scholarships and Awards Gala. 

Congratulations to the 2026 WTS scholars of PSU!

Jiahui Ma: 

Jiahui Ma is a PhD student in Urban Studies at Portland State University focusing on travel behavior. Her research examines how social contexts and psychological factors shape adolescents' public transit use and attitudes.…

Portland State University (PSU) has been awarded a new contract by the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) for $300,000 to research “Measures of Transit Ambassador and Outreach Program Effectiveness.” TCRP is a program of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine and supports research analyzing the public transportation industry to provide innovative solutions to current issues, particularly for policy and decision makers. The project team includes the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Luskin School of Public Affairs & Institute of Transportation Studies, and the KFH Group.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated several issues…