Friday Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. You can join us online or in-person at 11:30 AM. All presentations are recorded and shared on the event page afterwards.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Slides
• PDH Certificate

THE TOPIC 

On-Time Performance (OTP) is a probabilistic measure that tells the customer the likelihood that the trip they are about to take will arrive "on-time." However, this metric forces the customer to think in terms of a probability of trip timeliness and not an actual time value for how timely the trip will be. This presentation will explore a new way to examine on-time performance by quantifying the timeliness of trips. Customers can then use this information to determine which trip would be the best to take based on when they need to arrive at their destination. Using a system science approach, this new method will take into consideration the impact of service disruptions, reroutes, service failures, and other factors on the timeliness of route trips. This metric is especially important for customers who are attempting to make connections that hinge on reliable and timely travel times.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• What is on-time performance and how is it measured?
• What nuances go into how on-time performance is calculated?
• What is a better way to quantify the timeliness of a trip to help customers plan how they would like to get around?

SPEAKER

Miles Crumley, Manager of Service Performance and Analysis, TriMet

Miles Crumley, MS is the Manager of Service Performance and Analysis at TriMet where he oversees internal/external reporting and data analysis for fixed route bus, light rail, and commuter rail services. Starting out as a bus operator in 2013, Miles worked in various analytical positions at the agency and his contributions informed design on Division Transit Project and A Better Red. Miles holds a graduate degree in Systems Science/Psychology and an undergraduate degree in physics and psychology from PSU.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute seminar is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

Photo courtesy of TriMet

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is home to the U.S. DOT funded National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), PORTAL, BikePed Portal and other transportation grants and programs. We produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education and participation in research.

Friday Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. You can join us online or in-person at 11:30 AM. All presentations are recorded and shared on the event page afterwards.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Slides
• PDH Certificate

RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE PRESENTERS:

• Save Anchorage from Parking Mandates - Arguments, anecdotes, and research that helped push parking reform over the line in Anchorage.
• Anchorage Assembly Unites to End Parking Mandates - Written by Catie Gould
• Shifting Gears: Why Communities are Eliminating Off-Street Parking Requirements—and What Comes Next - Written by Catie Gould

THE TOPIC 

The movement to eliminate parking mandates is having a big moment. This summer, both Oregon and California took statewide action to roll back minimum off-street parking requirements, relegalizing homes and businesses regardless of how many parking spots they have. We’ll take a look at why parking reform is so important, what to expect next in Oregon, and lessons from cities who have already gone all the way to delete this regulation from their zoning code.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Overview of Oregon’s upcoming parking reforms adopted by the Land Conservation and Development Commission
• Case studies from cities that have already repealed parking mandates
• Narratives to help frame conversations around parking mandates

SPEAKERS

Catie Gould, Transportation Researcher, Sightline Institute

Catie Gould, Sightline Institute researcher, focuses on climate and transportation policy. She brings a decade of experience in engineering and data analysis into Sightline’s efforts to decarbonize our transportation system. Prior to coming to Sightline, she led advocacy work for better bike and bus infrastructure in Portland and wrote about local transportation issues.

Jeannette Lee, Senior Transportation Researcher, Sightline Institute

Jeannette Lee, Sightline Institute’s senior researcher and Alaska lead, focuses on democracy and housing issues from Sightline’s office in Anchorage, Alaska. Prior to Sightline, she served as a consultant at the Adaptation Fund and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a federal natural gas researcher, and a journalist for The Associated Press in Alaska and Hawai`i and Atlantic Media Company in Washington, DC.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute seminar is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is home to the U.S. DOT funded National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), PORTAL, BikePed Portal and other transportation grants and programs. We produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education and participation in research.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Fully Accessible Powerpoint Slides
• PDF version of Presentation Slides
• PDH Certificate

OVERVIEW

In this presentation we will highlight our past research on human indoor-outdoor wayfinding on an urban college campus. Our work is aimed at facilitating independent travel for people with blindness and low vision. Our research was funded by two successive grants from the National Institute for Transportation and Communities/US Department of Transportation. One of the central research questions sought to capture wayfinding preferences, information needs, and lived experiences of blind and low-vision pedestrian travelers. The projects afforded close collaboration with external partners, and foremost the American Printing House for the Blind. Our focus in the presentation will be on the discussion of considerations for wayfinding technology, human subject research design, findings and lessons learned across the two projects.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Foster greater awareness related to the navigation preferences of visually impaired travelers
• Enable a better understanding of supports for seamless navigation
• Create familiarity with the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale
• Share conceptualization of sustainable impacts in cities pertaining to pedestrian mobility

THE RESEARCH

This webinar is based on a study funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) and conducted at Portland State University, with collaboration and support from the American Printing House for the Blind and PSU's Digital City Testbed Center (DCTC). Read more about the research: Seamless Wayfinding by Individuals with Functional Disability in Indoor and Outdoor Spaces: An Investigation into Lived Experiences, Data Needs, and Technology Requirements.

SPEAKERS

Amy Parker, Portland State University

Amy Parker, EdD, COMS, is an assistant professor and the coordinator of the Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Program in the Special Education Department. In 2009 she completed her doctorate in special education, with an emphasis in deafblindness and a certification in orientation and mobility, through a leadership and enrichment fellowship funded by the Office of Special Education. Using participatory methodologies with community stakeholders, she has worked to design accessible multimedia learning modules for national technical assistance and personnel preparation. She is currently co-leading two federal grants to prepare O&M Specialists throughout the Pacific Northwest and has hosted an interdisciplinary event called Mobility Matters for the past 5 years on PSU's campus. Her research interests include orientation and mobility for individuals with complex disabilities, communication interventions, participatory action research with people with disabilities and their families, and community-based partnerships to create social change.

Martin Swobodzinski, Portland State University

Dr. Martin Swobodzinski is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at Portland State University with a specialization in geographic information science. He received his doctorate in Geography in 2012 within the joint doctoral program of San Diego State University and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Dr. Swobodzinski is an empirical researcher who subscribes to the scientific method and inductive reasoning, with an emphasis on experimentation and human subject testing. He has a long-standing interest in spatial cognition, an interdisciplinary field of research concerned with the acquisition, organization, utilization, and revision of spatial knowledge that informs human behavior. He also has a background in applied (spatial) computer science, which provides for a focus on methodological, analytical, and computational aspects in his work. The overarching theme of Dr. Swobodzinski's scholarship and research is the investigation of technology as it mediates the spatial behavior, reasoning, and choice making of individual human beings. His current research agenda engages foremost with the study of human wayfinding under consideration of visual impairment and blindness.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute webinar is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

LEARN MORE

Sign up for our newsletter to get updates on our events.

This webinar is hosted by the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University. The research was funded by the Summit Foundation and the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), a program of TREC and one of seven U.S. Department of Transportation national university transportation centers. The NITC program is a Portland State-led partnership with the University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Utah and new partners University of Arizona and University of Texas at Arlington. We pursue our theme — improving mobility of people and goods to build strong communities — through research, education and technology transfer.

Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. Formerly known as the Friday Transportation Seminar series, we've opened up PSU Transportation Seminars to other days of the week to better accommodate in-person attendance. You can also watch online via Zoom.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Presentation Slides
• PDH Certificate

THE TOPIC 

Count data for cyclists and pedestrians is considered an essential tool for city builders to inform, justify and manage active transportation infrastructure. When automated bike counters are strategically deployed across an urban area, a clear picture emerges of how cyclists move around the city. This presentation focuses on how count data can be used to illustrate modal shifts in response to improvements made to a city’s bicycle network.

In November 2020, the City of Montreal introduced the Reseau Express Velo (REV), or Express Bike Network, effectively transforming a network of arterials throughout the city into Complete Streets by repurposing vehicles lanes into dedicated AAA bicycle pathways. Using data from automated bicycle counters installed throughout the city, it was found that the REV bicycle paths became the most highly used facility in the entire city within six months of installation.

Using count data from automated pedestrian and bicycle Eco-counters, as well as open vehicle count data from the City of Montreal, both collected before and after the REV was deployed on Saint-Denis Street, Eco-Counter performed a study to reveal new transport habits and assess modal shift. Sales data collected by the City of Montreal was also used to support the changes.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• How to strategically deploy bike/ped counters - identifying locations, choosing the right time, etc.
• What to do with data, and how to use it to tell your story.
• The power of building high-quality infrastructure.
• How high-quality bicycle infrastructure can increase users and sales in commercial corridors.

SPEAKERS

Nicholas Smith, Client Consultant, Eco-Counter

Nicholas is a native Montrealer who loves walking and cycling all year round, regardless of the weather. He is passionate about the power of data to support better cycling and walking infrastructure. Nicholas helps governments and groups design counting programs that lead to actionable insights for programs, projects and plans that support active transportation. 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute seminar is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

Photo by Cait McCusker

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is home to the U.S. DOT funded National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), PORTAL, BikePed Portal and other transportation grants and programs. We produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education and participation in research.

Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. Formerly known as the Friday Transportation Seminar series, we've opened up PSU Transportation Seminars to other days of the week to better accommodate attendance. You can always watch online via Zoom.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Slides
• PDH Certificate

THE TOPIC 

Like any healthy professional community, the transportation safety community is not homogenous or without constructive conflict. The increased attention on systems thinking – most commonly known, if not necessarily well understood, under the “Vision Zero” approach – has sparked debate among engineers, planners, academics, public health professionals, advocates, and others about where our attention should be focused to reduce the epidemic of traffic violence. The built environment? Drivers? Engineers and planners? Car culture? What IS car culture? Dr. Goddard brings together her research conducted with colleagues on police crash reporting processes, NHTSA crash investigations, attitudes and effects of the language and framing around crashes, and recent examples of the “systems vs people” debate to recommend some shared definitions, research directions, and questions for practitioners, advocates, and anyone interested in reducing traffic injuries and deaths.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Define car culture, windshield bias, and related terms
• Identify how “systems thinking” versus focusing on individual behavior affects approaches to problem definition, data collection, and approaches to changing behavior
• Evaluate how transportation safety culture affects approaches in their role or organization

SPEAKERS

Tara Goddard, Texas A&M

Tara Goddard is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. After earning a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from UC Davis, she worked as an Associate Transportation Planner for the City of Sacramento and then served 2007-2011 as the Bicycle/Pedestrian Program Coordinator for the City of Davis, CA. Realizing she was a research geek at heart, Dr. Goddard returned to school and earned her PhD in Urban Studies at Portland State University. She joined the faculty of Texas A&M in 2017, where her research focuses on transportation safety, particularly the interactions of transportation culture, behavior, and infrastructure on differential experiences and safety outcomes for people who walk and wheel. 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute seminar is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

Photo by Lacey Friedly

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is home to the U.S. DOT funded National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), PORTAL, BikePed Portal and other transportation grants and programs. We produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education and participation in research.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Presentation Slides
• PDH Certificate

OVERVIEW

Recreational trails serve as valuable transportation corridors and support the health of users. Wheelchair accessibility of recreational trails depends on a variety of conditions, including slope, cross-slope, and surface characteristics. This project focused on improving the firmness and stability of a 0.2-mile section of trail that was otherwise accessible. The existing trail surface consisted of loose ¼” off-specification aggregate on native soil. A volcanic ash-Portland cement binder, studied in prior research, was batched, distributed, mixed, wetted, and compacted on site to improve the firmness and stability of the surface resulting in a smoother surface with less rolling resistance. The webinar will present details of the trail conditions, materials, batching, placement, and surface characteristics before and after treatment.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

Attendees will be able to:

• Describe and differentiate pozzolanic and cementitious behavior
• Describe how to practically use a raw volcanic ash with little processing as a binder for a soil-cement
• Measure trail surface firmness and stability using a rotational wheel penetrometer
• Mobilize small groups to practically treat a recreational trail with a cementitious binder to improve the firmness and stability of the trail surface

THE RESEARCH

This webinar is based on a study funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) and conducted at the Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech). Read more about the research, Trail Section Resurfaced Using Volcanic Ash in Oregon, or watch a recap video showing how the project was done.

SPEAKERS

Charles (C.J.) Riley, Oregon Institute of Technology

Dr. C.J. Riley is professor and graduate program director in the Civil Engineering Department at Oregon Institute of Technology. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and has taught solid mechanics and structural engineering for over 15 years with a particular focus on hands-on demonstrations, field investigations, and active learning. Dr. Riley is a licensed professional engineer (OR) with professional experience in highway bridge rating and design as well as vibration-based structural health monitoring methods.

Ashton Greer, Oregon Institute of Technology

Ashton Greer is an assistant professor of civil engineering at Oregon Tech, with a focus on water resources. She is particularly interested in western water management and is passionate about utilizing remote sensing and spatial analysis techniques to develop solutions to complex water issues.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute webinar is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

LEARN MORE

Sign up for our newsletter to get updates on our events.

This webinar is hosted by the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University. The research was funded by the Summit Foundation and the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), a program of TREC and one of seven U.S. Department of Transportation national university transportation centers. The NITC program is a Portland State-led partnership with the University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Utah and new partners University of Arizona and University of Texas at Arlington. We pursue our theme — improving mobility of people and goods to build strong communities — through research, education and technology transfer.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Presentation Slides
• PDH Certificate

OVERVIEW

Gateway communities are the small towns outside of national parks, forests, scenic rivers, and ski resorts. This presentation will highlight the housing, transportation, and development challenges that these communities faced in the aftermath of the COVID 19 pandemic. Our study captured the perspectives of over 200 communities using a questionnaire and case study approach. We present these results and highlight the innovative strategies that these communities are using to address their housing and transportation challenges.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Recognize and identify gateway communities,
• Understand that many "big city" problems are experienced in rural environments as well, and
• Learn about strategies to address transportation and housing challenges in these communities.

THE RESEARCH

This webinar is based on a study funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) and conducted at the University of Utah and the University of Arizona. Read more about the research: Rural Gentrification and the Spillover Effect.

SPEAKERS

Philip Stoker, University of Arizona

Philip Stoker is an Assistant Professor of Planning and Landscape Architecture in the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture. Philip holds a Ph.D. in Metropolitan Planning, Policy, and Design from the University of Utah where he completed his thesis on urban water use and sustainability. His academic foundations are in ecology, planning, and natural resource management. He has conducted environmental and social science research internationally, including work with the World Health Organization, Parks Canada, the National Park Service and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute webinar is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

LEARN MORE

Sign up for our newsletter to get updates on our events.

Photo by kellyvandellen/iStock

This webinar is hosted by the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University. The research was funded by the Summit Foundation and the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), a program of TREC and one of seven U.S. Department of Transportation national university transportation centers. The NITC program is a Portland State-led partnership with the University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Utah and new partners University of Arizona and University of Texas at Arlington. We pursue our theme — improving mobility of people and goods to build strong communities — through research, education and technology transfer.

Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. Formerly known as the Friday Transportation Seminar series, we've opened up PSU Transportation Seminars to other days of the week to better accommodate attendance. You can always watch online via Zoom.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Presentation Slides
• PDH Certificate

THE TOPIC 

As a social determinant of health, transportation significantly contributes to well-being through several pathways. Researchers and practitioners have called for health indicators as one way to integrate public health concerns into transportation decision-making. However, it is unclear how indicators are used and what their impact is on policy. This case study of five cities explored how health-related indicators are being used in municipal transportation plans, whether they are institutionalized into transportation agency decision-making processes, and what influence they have on administrative decision-making. In addition, this research also explored the conceptual use of indicators as it relates to social learning and policy change. Finally, this research examined whether health framing was important to policy adoption or change.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Learn which indicator characteristics are important for greatest impact, and at what point in the process
• Learn which organizational factors are important for institutionalizing indicators into agencies
• Learn how indicators are used to successfully shape individual beliefs
• Learn whether framing an indicator as a "health" indicator is compelling

SPEAKER

Kelly Rodgers, Portland State University

Kelly Rodgers, MLA, LEED-AP, is a PhD candidate in Urban Studies at Portland State University and the owner/executive director of Streetsmart Planning LLC. Kelly has 18 years of experience working across disciplines to create healthy, equitable, and sustainable cities. Her previous work includes the development of a performance-based transportation planning tool, creation of a pedestrian plan, and the development of a quality of life framework with principles, indicators, and proven strategies. Her current research is on the use and influence of health indicators in transportation plans. Kelly is a member of the Transportation Research Board Committee on Transportation and Public Health (AME70), is the chair of the ITE Transportation and Health Committee, and is co-chair of the Health Equity and Planning Interest Group at the American Planning Association. She also serves on the steering committee of Planning for Health Equity, Advocacy, and Leadership (PHEAL).

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute seminar is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

ADD THIS EVENT TO YOUR CALENDAR

Photo by Cait McCusker

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is home to the U.S. DOT funded National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), PORTAL, BikePed Portal and other transportation grants and programs. We produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education and participation in research.

Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. Formerly known as the Friday Transportation Seminar series, we've opened up PSU Transportation Seminars to other days of the week to better accommodate attendance. You can always watch online via Zoom.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Presentation Slides
• PDH Certificate

THE TOPIC 

There have been numerous studies on the relationship between travel behavior and built environment over the last few decades. Prior studies have mostly focused on producing point estimates of model coefficients and ended up with a wide range of estimates for the built environment elasticity of travel behavior, including household Vehicle Miles Traveled. With few exceptions, previous studies use data from a single region or a small number of regions, and thus are not able to sufficiently investigate the regional variation in built environment elasticity.

On the other hand, a few papers have addressed the heterogeneity of elasticity among different population groups and neighborhood types, but so far have paid little attention to regional variation of elasticity. In his latest research project, Liming Wang uses the 2009 U.S. National Household Travel Survey and high resolution built environment measures in the Smart Location Database to investigate the Urbanized Area-level variation in the effect of built environment with multi-level mixed effect models. He found that there exist regional variations in the relationship between built environment and household VMT, and, as a matter of fact, there is no significant fixed effect of major built environment factors on VMT after considering urbanized area-level random effect. This presentation will conclude with a discussion of the implications of this research.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• The study found that there is variation at the Urbanized Area-level in the relationship between built environment and household Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).
• The study highlights the limitations of previous research, which often relied on data from a single region and produced point estimates of the effect of built environment on travel behavior.
• The existence of regional variation in the effects of built environment on travel behavior poses a challenge to our understanding of the relationship, but also suggests opportunities for targeted policies.

SPEAKER

Liming Wang, Portland State University

Liming Wang is an assistant professor in PSU's Toulan School of Urban Studies & Planning. He teaches courses in Travel Demand Modeling, Transportation and Land Use, and Data Analysis Methods. His research takes a data-driven approach to address challenging issues in planning, in particular those intersecting land use and transportation. His recent research projects include data integration techniques for transportation and land use modeling, development and evaluation of comprehensive performance measures for transportation and land use systems, and regional strategic planning tools. Dr. Wang has conducted research on Continuous Data Integration for Land Use and Transportation Planning and Modeling, Evaluating and Enhancing Public Transit Systems for Operational Efficiency, Service Quality and Access Equity, and the development of a data science course, Introduction to Scientific Computing for Planners, Engineers, and Scientists.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute seminar is eligible for 1 hour of professional development credit for AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

ADD THIS EVENT TO YOUR CALENDAR

Photo courtesy of Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT)

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is home to the U.S. DOT funded National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), PORTAL, BikePed Portal and other transportation grants and programs. We produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education and participation in research.