TREC recently wrapped up its 17th annual Comprehensive Bikeway Design workshop. Since 2009, we've invited city planners, engineers, students, and anyone else to join us for a week-long deep dive into bikeway design in the Portland metropolitan area. From curb heights to conflict zones to innovative bicycle signals and more, participants explore creative solutions and unique constraints in Portland's bicycle infrastructure.

"It's amazing to see the interest from around the country and even the world," John MacArthur, TREC Interim Director said. "Portland truly is a living lab for bikeway innovation, so we love sharing what we've learned and seeing people get inspired to take ideas back to their cities."

This year's workshop hosted participants from places like Charlotte, Cleveland, Tucson,  Seattle, and even Barbados. During the week-long course, they split time between…

TREC recently hosted a workshop for the United Nations Development Program in Brazil (UNDP) and Infra SA, a public corporation that provides transport planning and engineering in Brazil, as they paid a visit to Portland to learn more about best practices for melding housing and transit to better serve residents.

Our daylong workshop brought together agencies working in the area of transit-oriented development (TOD) in the Portland region, including Metro, TriMet, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH), and the City of Hillsboro. The workshop included site visits to several sites in Washington County along the MAX Red/Blue line. 

"It was inspiring to see everyone come together to share and collaborate ideas," said Nathan McNeil, TREC Research Associate and workshop leader. "The Portland attendees were great about sharing their knowledge and expertise with not only the visiting UNDP and Infra teams, but w…

Phil Longenecker graduated from Portland State University's Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) program in 2021. He now works as an Associate Planner at Alta Planning + Design specializing in bicycle and pedestrian network planning and facility design, cartography, data analysis and visualization, and new mobility projects.

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

Working for a consulting firm means I get to work on projects in many different places, which gives me a fun perspective on just how many communities are working toward safer streets. Progress is rarely linear, so even when there are setbacks or delays in one place, it’s really rewarding to see major progress happening somewhere else. 

I work on a team that does all kinds of active transportation work, helping cities, counties, and states plan for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. I appreciate that this work operates at different scale…

We're excited to announce some leadership changes at TREC! Jennifer Dill has been named Interim Vice President of Research for Portland State University and will be stepping back from her day-to-day role as TREC Director. John MacArthur, TREC Sustainable Transportation Project Manager, will serve as Interim TREC Director.

"I'm excited for this opportunity to support research university-wide," Jennifer said. "And it's been wonderful to step into my new role knowing TREC is in such good hands. John and I have worked closely over the last 15 years and I can't think of a better person to take the reins."

Jennifer, a professor of Urban Studies and Planning, has built a long career at PSU as a faculty member and leader focused on public-impact research and engaged teaching. She has directed TREC since 2009 and has been a principal investigator on more than $32 million in external grants and contracts. Her research has directly informed federal, state, and local practices.

The class takes a break while on a bike tour underneath a tree in a public park, listening to a guest speaker. 

After 2 weeks of a hands-on, in-person participatory exploration of a city with world-renowned multimodal infrastructure, the 2026 Portland State University (PSU) Sustainable Transportation Study Abroad class has concluded. 

“It’s really about giving them a real-life experience of riding in a world-class biking city,” PSU lead instructor John MacArthur said. 

Alongside MacArthur and co-instructor and PSU alum Nick Falbo (Mobycon), this year’s class of 16 students rode buses, light rail, and subway trains, walked, biked, and absorbed how Copenhagen was built for human connectivity and accessible transportation. The students experienced the city's interlinked multimodal system through lectures, guided tours, guest speaker presen…