The Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans) is the Regional University Transportation Center (UTC) for Federal Region 10, housed at University of Washington (UW). Each year, PacTrans provides PSU with $150,000 to fund “small research projects.” Those projects must be selected using a competitive, peer-review process. The Year 3 Request For Proposals (RFP) is open now. PSU plans to award no more than three projects. Therefore, individual project requests should range from $30,000 to $70,000. 

Abstracts are due May 6, with full proposals due June 3, 2025.

Download the RFP and other relevant documents, and find instructions for how to submit a proposal, on the PSU PacTrans page.

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is a multidisciplinary hub for all th…

Every time a pedestrian pushes a button to cross the street, it creates a useful data point about how many people are walking through that intersection. Now, transportation planners and engineers in Oregon have easy access to that data: The newest feature we've added to BikePed Portal is a dashboard that lets you explore the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)'s pedestrian push-button data from all over the state.

ODOT has shared this data with Portland State University (PSU) for use in BikePed Portal, so that users can see where and how people interact with pedestrian crossings at signalized intersections. The dashboard (watch a walkthrough here) is still being developed and is anticipated to eventually include data from more agencies in addition to ODOT.

WHY IS THIS DATA HELPFUL?

Many, if not all, active transportation projects rely on pedestrian volumes to…

Spring term classes begin March 31 at Portland State, and there are a good selection of transportation courses available this term. As of March 20, there are still a couple of spots remaining in the Urban Studies Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning course, in which students will work on Better Block PSU community projects. Check out the listings below to see what else is on offer at PSU this Spring.

Not a current PSU student? You can still take a course: Anyone interested can register for classes through the non-degree application process, as a post-baccalaureate student, or for free if you're a senior citizen. Taking a course can be a good way to see if one of our …

Many states, including Oregon, are adopting the Safe System approach to improve traffic safety. One key element of this approach is safer speeds. To help make Oregon's road safer for everyone, Portland State University (PSU) is launching a new study, funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), to improve safety at intersections using traffic signals.

The project is led by Sirisha Kothuri of Portland State's civil and environmental engineering department, with Patrick Singleton of Utah State University.

It is generally accepted that automobile speeds play a key role in safety: The faster a car is traveling, the greater the risk of severe injury to vulnerable road users in a collision (especially people who are walking or bicycling). Most pedestrian crashes occur on higher-speed, multi-lane arterials.

To manage speed in the urban environment, one emerging str…

The Better Block PSU program at Portland State University (PSU) has opened our annual call for community organizations to reimagine their streets and underused public spaces in a way to bring people together and reclaim it for their community’s future. 

A partnership between the public spaces advocacy nonprofit Better Block PDX and the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at PSU, students in the Better Block PSU program have developed plans and designs for many community-driven projects that promote equitable placemaking, community building, and active transportation–including the well-known Better Naito project. What began as a PSU student-led initiative for safer and higher capacity bicycle and pedestrian facilities along the Waterfront Park, has gained so much public support that it was permanently im…