Fifth annual Oregon Transportation Summit drew a crowd of transportation professionals
PSU professors Jennifer Dill and Chris Monsere, in a session titled "What’s Black and White and Green All Over?" described research into the improvement of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. John Ivan of the University of Connecticut and Drusilla van Hengel of Alta Planning & Design also presented some analyses of the various factors involved in creating safe environments for cyclists and pedestrians, while maintaining traffic flow for cars. Research findings indicated, for example, that residential neighborhoods with buildings set back further from the road often experience higher traffic speeds than downtown areas with roadside parking, and this affects policymakers' decisions about the type and placement of bike lanes.
Stephanie Lotsaw of the Institute for Transport & Development Policy had a unique perspective on the current state of BRT, or Bus Rapid Transit. Lotshaw has been involved with implementing Bus Rapid Transit in developing countries, and with developing The BRT Standard as a planning, policy and evaluative tool. She described various BRT systems that have been created since the first in Curitiba, Brazil in 1974, and ranked them gold, silver or bronze based on their functionality.
At the Summit's conclusion, OTREC presented its annual awards to recognize those who have made a difference in the transportation field. Drive Oregon was named OTREC Partner of the Year, having leveraged over $120,000 of research for OTREC projects and focused on building research and educational expertise in electric vehicles within the Oregon University System.
Miguel Figliozzi was named Researcher of the Year, having been the principal investigator on 12 OTREC projects, totaling over $1.2 million. Figliozzi conducts multimodal research on electric and new vehicle technologies, emissions and air quality modeling, non-motorized modes, freight and logistics, and transit and traffic operations.
The Congressman Peter DeFazio Transportation Hall of Fame Award was presented to State Senator Bruce Starr, who has a demonstrated commitment to improving Oregon’s transportation network.
For more information about this year's summit, or to browse the archives of material from past summits, visit the Oregon Transportation Summit home page.