Last week, Portland State University (PSU) recognized the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) with its inaugural Public Impact Partner Award, celebrating the power of research to drive transformative change in the community.

The award was accepted by PBOT’s Deputy Director of Planning, Projects and Programs, Art Pearce, at an awards ceremony at PSU on Friday, May 9 in recognition of the agency's commitment to ensuring that Portland's transportation network is designed and maintained using evidence-driven practices. And the partnership continues: A new intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between PSU and PBOT was just signed in May 2025, which will support projects that foster innovation and meet Portland's goals of a livable, equitable and sustainable city.

By basing its plans, policies, and infrastructure designs on data and research findings, PBOT works to enhance safety and mobility for people walking, rolling, bicycling, riding transit, and driving in Portland. A long history of research partnership between PSU and PBOT means that people traveling in this city are using some of the nation's most innovative, multimodal transportation infrastructure.

Peter Koonce, PBOT's Division Manager for Signals, Street Lighting, ITS, & Electrical Maintenance, has worked on a number of research projects with PSU. He values the university-city partnership for several reasons, from introducing students to the transportation profession to addressing problems with on-the-ground research.

"What seem like mundane things really do impact the day-to-day lives of people in Portland and beyond. If you think about something as simple as rolling up to a traffic signal: Does the person know the signal has detected them? What happens when you push the pedestrian button? From the basic level, we can carve out questions that we can send to PSU and get answers to, so that we get an in-depth understanding of how users are interacting with and responding to the infrastructure," Koonce said.

WHY WAS PBOT CHOSEN FOR THE AWARD?

PBOT is being recognized for its demonstrated track record of active engagement with research at Portland State. The agency's collaborations with PSU's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) over the years have led to real improvements in the Portland area as well as on the national level. Additionally, dozens of PSU students have benefited from involvement in these research projects through hands-on learning, paid research experience, internships, and employment opportunities after graduation.

Since 2008, PBOT has contributed roughly $1.7 million in in-kind support for 18 research projects through PSU’s federally funded transportation centers, headquartered at TREC. Additionally, PBOT has provided more than $550,000 in direct funding for PSU-led research between 2002 and May 2024. 

WHAT ARE SOME IMPACTS OF THE PBOT/PSU PARTNERSHIP?

Dylan Rivera, PBOT's Public Information Officer, says the university partnership empowers PBOT to innovate.

"A lot of what PBOT is doing is different from what other city and state transportation departments are doing. Often we find ourselves at the cutting edge of new designs. When we're designing for safety instead of speed; bicycle and pedestrian traffic and not just vehicle traffic; it's going against half a century of inertia and longtime practices. So we need research to inform us," Rivera said.

Over time, incremental changes can lead to striking results.

"The long-term relationship really matters. It's like a LEGO structure: You just keep building additional blocks and then at some point you have this amazing display. It's really quite impressive when you think about the history of participation. The research is not always that one "aha" moment. It's building knowledge over time," Koonce said.

PBOT frequently turns to PSU with real-world transportation challenges that spark collaborative research. Below are just a few examples.

GREEN BIKE BOXES

After two tragic right-hook crashes involving cyclists in 2008, PBOT proposed green bike boxes as a potential solution—though these markings weren’t yet approved federally. To move the idea forward, PBOT submitted a request to experiment to the Federal Highway Administration, with PSU evaluating the results. This eventually contributed to green bike boxes being codified in the now-current edition of the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

Building on the initial bike box study, a 2021 masters thesis by a PSU civil engineering student looked into extending those boxes through the intersection via green-painted bike crosswalks, or "crossbikes."

THE TRANSPORTATION WALLET

PBOT launched the Transportation Wallet for Residents of Affordable Housing Pilot in 2019, providing low-income Portland residents with funds and discounts on public transit and other transportation services. PSU helped PBOT to evaluate the program, with results showing that participants tried traveling via new modes, were able to travel more than they would have otherwise, and felt less stressed about transportation costs. Since the pilot, PBOT has expanded work on the Transportation Wallet program.

BICYCLE DETECTION AND FEEDBACK ASSESSMENT

PBOT also collaborated with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to fund research on bicycle detection confirmation devices, which let cyclists know that the traffic signal has recognized their presence. The research conducted by PSU evaluated blue light detection feedback systems and the first installation of a bicycle countdown timer in the U.S., and provided recommendations for practitioners across the country for the installation of these innovative devices.

PROTECTED BIKE LANES: LESSONS FROM THE GREEN LANES 

PBOT was a partner in the first national study evaluating protected bike lanes in the U.S., led by PSU. Protected bike lanes, also known as cycle tracks, are on-street bike lanes physically separated from motor vehicle traffic by barriers such as curbs, planters, parked cars, or posts. The study provided clear evidence that protected bike lanes enhance riders' sense of safety, and that both drivers and pedestrians also support the creation of more such lanes to separate bicycles from motor traffic. The findings of this report have been adopted by numerous public agencies in their planning efforts.

BIKE BOULEVARDS

Bicycle boulevards, also known as neighborhood greenways, have been part of the City’s bicycle network since the 1990s. However, they are not common in the U.S. and there has been limited evidence of their effects on ridership. PBOT has supported PSU research projects with cash and in-kind support that have collected both survey and GPS data used to assess the effects of this infrastructure. Those studies helped demonstrate the benefits of bike boulevards, including the potential to reduce the gender gap in cycling.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PSU STUDENTS

Beyond the practical outcomes of the research, the partnership benefits both PSU and PBOT by allowing PSU students to develop their skills, trying new ideas and gaining hands-on experience. Students studying civil engineering and urban planning have developed plans and designs for the city through engineering capstone projects, Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) workshop projects, and the Better Block PSU program.

"It is truly a two-way street. We're helping to introduce new people to the wonders of transportation through being involved in the ground-level research. As a young researcher myself, thirty years ago, I had an internship studying transit signal priority in Portland. The city gave me that opportunity so it's really just a way to give back, introduce people into the profession, and try to attract smart minds to help solve the transportation problems that we have today. Over half of my staff engineers are from the PSU program," Koonce said.

WHY HIGHLIGHT PUBLIC IMPACT RESEARCH?

Being an urban-serving research institution is a key part of PSU's identity – hence the motto, "Let Knowledge Serve The City," meaning that the outcomes of higher education should directly benefit the community to which the university belongs. 

In recognition of this identity and commitment, PSU's Research and Graduate Studies (RGS) department announced two additions to its annual Research Awards this year: The Public Impact Partner Award and the Faculty Award for Public Impact Research. This year's Faculty Award for Public Impact Research was awarded to Mechanical and Materials Engineering professor Elliott Gall.

Learn more about PSU's annual research awards and meet the 2025 winners here.

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is a multidisciplinary hub for all things transportation. We are home to the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), the data programs PORTAL and BikePed Portal, the Better Block PSU program, and PSU's membership in PacTrans, the Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium. Our continuing goal is to produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education, seminars, and participation in research. To get updates about what's happening at TREC, sign up for our monthly newsletter or follow us on social media. 

Cassie Wilson graduated from Portland State University (PSU) in 2024 with a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies. She is now the Transportation Policy Manager for 1000 Friends Of Oregon.

Connect with Cassie on LinkedIn

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

I’m the Transportation Policy Manager at 1000 Friends of Oregon. I’m helping lead the Move Oregon Forward coalition to advocate for a state transportation funding package that prioritizes safety, climate, and equity. I meet with legislators, lead on coalition strategy, write sign-on letters, one-pagers, and testimony guides, and build relationships with other transportation stakeholders.

How did your experience at PSU shape your path into the transportation field?

Taking transportation classes at PSU helped me transition from volunteer transportation advocacy to a career in transportation policy by giving me the educational background to support what I was learning on the ground. I interned at 1000 Friends doing transportation policy research while I was at PSU. I also took public health equity and gerontology classes to expand my perspective on the impacts of transportation planning.

What advice would you give to current students or recent grads interested in a career in transportation? 

There are so many directions a career in transportation can go! Interning at 1000 Friends reassured me that public policy was the direction I was most interested in. I did informational interviews and networking with transportation professionals, and learned a lot through interacting with them on community advisory boards. Whether you’re interested in research, planning, policy, engineering, or program implementation - I encourage you to connect with people doing the work you’re interested in!

What’s one project or accomplishment you’re especially proud of in your career so far?

The Oregon in Motion report that 1000 Friends of Oregon published from my internship has been used by legislators, advocates, and other transportation stakeholders to get up to speed on the development and impacts of the last state transportation package. It’s been one of 1000 Friends’ most used Gerhardt intern reports and continues to be helpful to folks even halfway through the development of this year’s transportation package. It surprised me how many people read the full report – even at 60 pages in length!

This is the first installment in a new Transportation Alumni Highlight series, showcasing Portland State University (PSU) graduates who are making a difference in the world of transportation. 

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is a multidisciplinary hub for all things transportation. We are home to the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), the data programs PORTAL and BikePed Portal, the Better Block PSU program, and PSU's membership in PacTrans, the Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium. Our continuing goal is to produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education, seminars, and participation in research. To get updates about what's happening at TREC, sign up for our monthly newsletter or follow us on social media. 

Four new projects took their first steps down the Better Block PSU Project Pathway, this Spring term at Portland State. Submitted by community members, the projects got underway with students beginning to investigate their potential in the Spring 2025 Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning course taught by Drusilla Van Hengel and Ryan Hashagen.

The Better Block PSU program has been getting a bit of attention in recent months, with coverage such as "Dreaming Big Might Mean Starting Small" from the Portland Mercury, a BikePortland article, plus Better Block PDX managing director Ryan Hashagen's presentation, "Let Knowledge Serve The City And Beyond," at The Street Trust's Oregon Active Transportation Summit last month. So we're extra excited to welcome four new projects and see where they go.

Several community-led projects are moving through the pathway at any given time, and no two take the exact same path. For example, the Bridgeless Burnside project went through two terms of transportation planning and engineering classes in 2024 before being picked up by a Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) workshop team last fall, whose goal is to deliver a 90-percent complete plan to Better Block PDX by June of 2025. Meanwhile, other student groups have been working on plans and designs for the Steel Bridge Skatepark and the International School of Portland.

The newest projects to launch this spring are:

Alternative Pedestrian Walkways 

Project champion: Gena Gastaldi, Pedestrian Realm Coordinator, Complete Streets team, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT)

Goal: Identify promising sites for alternative pedestrian walkways in Portland.

The City of Portland's Pedestrian Design Guide provides detailed guidance on "alternative pedestrian walkways" in places where standard sidewalks cannot be installed. The treatment is a painted walkway for pedestrians (with or without physical barriers) on the shoulder of the road or on the street similar to a bike lane. As part of its PedPDX strategies, PBOT is looking for opportunities to implement this treatment when geography, topography, or neighborhood preference do not allow a traditional concrete sidewalk to be constructed. 

Two groups of students took on the task this Spring, with one group focusing on Northeast Portland and a second group in Southwest Portland. Students have created an Existing Conditions Report for each neighborhood and selected potential sites that would be good candidates for alternative pedestrian walkways.

Northeast Lloyd Carfree Block 

Project champion: Joshua Baker, Lloyd EcoDistrict

Goal: Activate a public space for the community.

In the NE Wasco St and NE 6th Ave area, there is some potential for improving a public space. The project's original proposal describes the space as "underutilized," saying that "through extensive community engagement for our 2030 Neighborhood Roadmap, residents have repeatedly voiced the need for more access to green spaces, play areas, and healthy food options—especially community gardens… A redesign of one of the blocks by the site would help transform this overlooked and underutilized space into a vibrant, community-centered area."

In the Spring term so far, students have conducted site observations and data collection to create a memo of the existing conditions within a four-block area in Portland’s Lloyd District, where the potential for a temporary parklet or community garden installation is being explored. The report considers the feasibility of placing a community garden or parklet, and includes an overview of neighborhood demographics, relevant traffic data, and key insights from six hours of field observation conducted over a two-week period. These findings aim to provide a clear understanding of existing uses, mobility patterns, and community context within the location.

East Burnside Corridor

Project champions: Strong Towns PDX, Kerns Neighborhood Association

Goal: Re-envision the corridor of 20th to 28th on East Burnside.

The intersection of 28th and East Burnside sits at the boundary line between the Buckman neighborhood and the Kerns neighborhood. The aim of this project is to improve the corridor's bike and pedestrian access, connections to neighborhood greenways, and crossings to make the 20mph, school-dense neighborhood more walkable.

Two groups of students have each taken on a section of the 20th to 28th corridor. Students have so far created detailed reports on the existing conditions for each section, identifying the area's history, planning context, demographics and safety considerations as well as crafting a set of metrics to assess the success of any improvements made. The types of improvements being considered include improved daylighting, traffic calming measures, enhanced pedestrian and bicycle crossings and transit priority areas.

Southeast Henry Street 

Project champion: Catie Tam, Woodstock Neighborhood Association - Neighborhood Accessibility Committee

Goal: Improve Lewis Elementary School Access.

In the Woodstock neighborhood, Southeast Henry Street is a Safe Routes to School Priority Investment Route. An unimproved roadway connects parts of the neighborhood to Lewis Elementary School, with limited access especially in muddy conditions. The neighborhood association has previously reached out to PBOT to ask if this segment of Henry Street could be converted into a pedestrian/cyclist only path. PBOT gave permission to install motor vehicle traffic diverters at each end of the block which would still allow pedestrians and cyclists. However, a lack of funding support has made pedestrian and bicycle improvements difficult to implement. A redesign of this road segment would connect the area and create an easier way for families to get to school.

Students explored the area's history and context, conducting site observations and data collection over the course of the term. They identified the neighborhood's demographics, crash patterns and traffic volumes, and the main issues and needs of the area, finding that a stable pathway and safe cycling facilities would improve the potential for year-round use of the road segment.

What's next for the new projects?

The existing conditions reports, created by students for all of the above projects, are a crucial first step and starting point for any community improvement effort. By collecting data and analyzing each of the sites, students have created a foundational document for each project area that can serve as a comprehensive snapshot of the physical, environmental, social, and infrastructural conditions at each location and help planners, engineers, and designers make informed decisions.

What's next for the new projects? It remains to be seen - Flexibility and adaptability are key aspects of the Better Block PSU program, so next steps will depend on the projects' needs and course capacities.

Learn more about the Better Block PSU program.

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is a multidisciplinary hub for all things transportation. We are home to the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), the data programs PORTAL and BikePed Portal, the Better Block PSU program, and PSU's membership in PacTrans, the Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium. Our continuing goal is to produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education, seminars, and participation in research. To get updates about what's happening at TREC, sign up for our monthly newsletter or follow us on social media. 

A new resource has been published to help transportation agencies identify key factors that influence the safety of people riding bicycles. 

Many cities around the country share the related goals of increasing bike use, improving safety, expanding access and connectivity, and promoting equity. More and more, agencies and communities understand that meeting these goals requires building bike networks that work for people of all ages and abilities, with routes that feel safe and comfortable for everyone.

"On-Street Bicycle Facility Design Features" is a data-driven guidebook created to assist practitioners in selecting appropriate design elements for bicycle infrastructure, depending on the surrounding context.

The report is especially valuable for state and local agencies wishing to enhance safety and expand bicycle ridership, as it provides a framework for choosing the safest, most effective bicycle facility designs for different settings.

The guidebook and its companion report, "Safety Evaluation of On-Street Bicycle Facility Design Features," are based on research funded by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP).

Access both documents here: 

• On-Street Bikeway Design Features: A Guide presents a state-of-the-art and data-driven guide for selecting context-appropriate design features for safety improvements of separated and non-separated on-street bicycle lanes.
• Safety Evaluation of On-Street Bicycle Facility Design Features charts how state DOTs and other transportation agencies deploy safe bicycle facilities.

The study was led by Texas A&M Transportation Institute, (TTI) with partners Toole Design Group, Safe Streets Research & Consulting and Portland State University (PSU). The PSU research team included Sirisha Kothuri, Chris Monsere and Nathan McNeil.

The guidebook was developed through a comprehensive literature review and safety analysis of bikeway types, including detailed crash data and roadway analysis of midblock (non-intersection) bicycle crashes. It includes before-and-after evaluations of new infrastructure installations, to assess the effectiveness of the different infrastructure types. 

PSU supported TTI in several areas of this research, including the development of the literature review, site selection, and data collection. The locations chosen for study were Seattle, WA; Arlington County, VA; Austin, TX; Dallas-Fort Worth, TX; Philadelphia, PA and Minneapolis, MN.

Sites were selected partly on the basis of what kind of bicycle data were available: The researchers needed crash data as well as bicycle counts and volumes to calculate cyclists' exposure to risk.

The safety analysis identified several factors that either improved or reduced safety. However, because of data limitations, the analysis did not account for specific design details or local conditions that likely influenced safety outcomes. To fill this gap, the research team also conducted a visual review of separated bike lane segments where crashes were concentrated, to better understand possible contributing factors. 

The visual review focused on separated bike lanes because they generally offer better safety than other bikeway types and shared lanes. This is largely because they limit interactions between drivers and bicyclists to specific crossing points like streets, alleys, and driveways. 

Separated bike lanes are of particular interest to planners and engineers since they vary widely in design, and best practices for their construction are still evolving.

The guidebook concludes with a general discussion of policies and planning strategies that agencies could have in place to address common challenges with midblock bikeway design. Learn more by downloading the guide or reading it online: "On-Street Bicycle Facility Design Features: A Guide."

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is a multidisciplinary hub for all things transportation. We are home to the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), the data programs PORTAL and BikePed Portal, the Better Block PSU program, and PSU's membership in PacTrans, the Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium. Our continuing goal is to produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education, seminars, and participation in research. To get updates about what's happening at TREC, sign up for our monthly newsletter or follow us on social media.