Webinar: Letting Bike Riders Catch the Green Wave

Oct 07, 2019

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

Miss the webinar or want a look back?

OVERVIEW

The "Fast Track" project at the University of Oregon focuses on a mode of transportation that is sometimes left out of vehicle-to-infrastructure, or V2I, conversations: Bicycling. NITC researchers developed an app based on a new technology being integrated into modern cars: GLOSA, or Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory. GLOSA allows motorists to set their speed along corridors to maximize their chances of catching a "green wave" so they won't have to stop at red lights.

This project demonstrates how GLOSA can be used by bicyclists in the same way it is used by motorists, with a test site on a busy car and bike corridor feeding the University of Oregon campus: 13th Avenue in Eugene, Oregon. Researchers developed a smartphone app that tells a cyclist whether they should adjust their speed to stay in tune with the signals and catch the next green. The project demonstrates how university researchers, city traffic engineers, and signal-controller manufacturers can come together to help bicyclists be active participants in a smart transportation system.

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Green bike signal

Translating Bike Traffic Signals: PSU Researchers to Identify Gaps in Driver Comprehension in New NCHRP Study

Nov 01, 2018
Principal Investigator: Chris Monsere, Portland State University
 Learn more about this newly funded research by viewing the Project Overview page. We anticipate findings to be published in 2020.

THE NEW PROJECT

Portland State University is embarking on a collaborative research effort, funded by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), to help road users better understand bike-specific traffic signals. Over the next year, Dr. Christopher Monsere and Dr. Sirisha Kothuri of PSU's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) will work with researchers from Oregon State University and Toole Design Group to identify gaps in driver comprehension and causes of confusion when both bike signals and motor vehicle signals are present...

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Student Study Abroad 2019: Sustainable Transportation in the Netherlands

Oct 19, 2018

Offered through the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation at TREC, this four-credit PSU study abroad program (CE 495 / 595) presents an introduction to sustainable transportation and land use applications in the Dutch context.

WATCH A RECORDED INFO SESSION

Before you apply for the program, check out some frequently asked questions or watch the recent Jan 11, 2019 information session:

PROGRAM OVERVIEW (June 23 - July 6, 2019)

The course creates an immersive experience to explore the Dutch approach to cycling, transit, innovative mobility and land use. The curriculum...

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New Manual Provides Guidance on Pedestrian and Bicycle Connections to Transit

Oct 24, 2017
Principal Investigator: Jennifer Dill, Portland State University
Learn more about this research by viewing related presentations and download the full manual on the Project Overview page. Hear firsthand from the researchers by tuning in for the webinar on December 4 (recording available post-webinar).

Prepared by TREC, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has just released a Manual on Pedestrian and Bicycle Connections to Transit.

TREC Director Jennifer Dill and TREC researcher Nathan McNeil worked with the FTA to develop the manual, a guidebook to creating a robust network for active transportation and transit users.

From defining "access sheds" to linking up transit and bike share, the newly published manual is a rich resource for planners and engineers looking to boost their city's bicycle and pedestrian transit access.

Dill and McNeil built the manual with a special...

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Webinar: Case Studies in the FTA "Manual on Pedestrian and Bicycle Connections to Transit"

Oct 18, 2017

RECAP: WEBINAR VIDEO + SLIDES

Missed the presentation or want a look back at the slides? Check out the video below or view the presentation slides here.

Webinar: Case Studies in the FTA "Manual on Pedestrian and Bicycle Connections to Transit"

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Bike-Specific Traffic Signals: A Preview of What's To Come

Apr 24, 2017
Principal Investigator: Christopher Monsere, Portland State University
Learn more about this research by viewing the final report and related publications on the Project Overview page.

The Federal Highway Administration issued an interim approval for bike signals, based on the NITC project "Operational Guidance for Bicycle-Specific Traffic Signals." The project, selected in 2015 as one of AASHTO's "Sweet Sixteen" high-value research projects, has been widely cited and the research is instrumental in beginning to standardize the use and design of bicycle signals.

This video provides a look at what that means for jurisdictions in the United States:

Naturalistic study pinpoints route features that cause stress for cyclists

Oct 11, 2016

A new NITC report introduces an important tool for safety analysis: a naturalistic method of data collection that can be used to improve the cycling experience.

Before now, most naturalistic studies (studies where data are collected in a natural setting, rather than a controlled setting) in bicycle safety research have been captured by stationary cameras and haven't followed cyclists along a route.

Researchers in this study used first-person video and sensor data to measure cyclists' reactions to specific situations.

Safety research in general has advanced significantly through naturalistic driving studies, which gather data from real drivers to illuminate the causes of traffic incidents both major and minor. For motorized vehicles, the U.S. Department of Transportation has been developing portable, vehicle-based data collection technologies since the early 1990s.

Portland State University researchers Feng Liu, Miguel Figliozzi and Wu-chi Feng sought to capture the cycling experience with physiological sensors and helmet-mounted cameras.

Their report, Utilizing Ego-centric Video to Conduct Naturalistic Bicycling Studies, offers a successful method for integrating video and sensor data to record cyclists...

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How small businesses are learning to love bike lanes

Jun 30, 2016

Former NITC fellow Alex Bigazzi measures airborne toxins inhaled by cyclists

May 04, 2016

Alex Bigazzi, a 2014 NITC dissertation fellow and graduate of Portland State University's Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. program, has published a paper based on his NITC-funded research in Environmental Science & Technology, a journal of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

See ACS coverage of the project here.

Bigazzi's research evaluates the concentration of air pollution encountered by cyclists in Portland, Oregon.

In the study, volunteer research subjects rode bicycles equipped with instruments to collect high-resolution bicycle, rider, traffic and environmental data.

Participants rode a variety of routes including bicycle lanes on primary and secondary arterials, bicycle boulevards, off-street paths and mixed-use roadways. They were told to ride at a pace and exertion level typical for utilitarian travel, and breath biomarkers were used to record the amount of traffic-related pollution present in each cyclist’s exhalations. 

This research was the focus of Bigazzi's dissertation, Bicyclists’ Uptake of Traffic-Related Air Pollution: Effects of the Urban Transportation System, published by NITC in December 2014. It was related to an earlier project...

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Agencies pool with TREC for safer protected bike lane intersections

Mar 31, 2016

Protected bicycle lanes have gained popularity as a safer way to get more people cycling. Earlier research from the Transportation Research and Education Center, TREC, at Portland State University showed that people feel safer in lanes with a physical barrier between bicycle and motor vehicle traffic.

The research hadn’t closely studied the intersections, where the barriers—and the protection they offer—go away. With little research guidance, agencies across the country could face the prospect of using untested approaches or avoiding protected lanes altogether.

TREC, through its National Institute for Transportation and Communities pooled-fund program, is now addressing intersections for protected lanes. The program lets agencies and interested partners invest small amounts to join research with a national impact. For this project, 11 partners each put $5,000 to $50,000 toward the $250,000 cost.

The project will help agencies decide which intersection treatments to use in which cases, and what elements each should include. Toole Design Group will work with the Portland State research team to tailor the results to practitioners.
 
“Right now, it’s based on their judgment,” said...

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