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This event will begin at 5:30 PM, Pacific Time, with doors opening at 5.

Each year, the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State brings a world-class speaker to speak on active transportation with the support of an endowment from Ann Niles. 

THE SPEAKER

This year, we’re pleased to host Anna Zivarts. Anna is a low-vision parent, nondriver and author of When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency (Island Press, 2024). Anna created the #WeekWithoutDriving challenge and is passionate about bringing the voices of nondrivers to the planning and policy-making tables. Anna sits on the boards of the League of American Bicyclists, the Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium and the Washington State Transportation Innovation Council. She also serves as a member of TRB's Committee on Public Health and Transportation (AME70) and the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center Coordinating Committee.

THE LECTURE

One third of people living in the United States do not have a driver's license. The majority of involuntary nondrivers are disabled, lower income, unhoused, formerly incarcerated, undocumented immigrants, kids, young people, and the elderly. They are also largely invisible due to a mobility system designed almost exclusively for drivers. When Driving is Not an Option shines a light on the reality for non-drivers and explains how improving our transportation system with nondrivers in mind will create a better quality of life for everyone. 

THE TICKETS

"When Driving Is Not An Option: Steering Away From Car Dependency" will be held at PSU's Lincoln Recital Hall, Room 75, in the basement. The event is free, but tickets are required: Register here.

ADD THIS EVENT TO YOUR CALENDAR

To request reasonable accommodations, contact us at 503-725-2896 or asktrec@pdx.edu. In order to ensure that accommodations can be provided in time for this event, please make your request within seven business days before the event.

By promoting dialogue across disciplines and interests, this lecture series supports PSU's mission to "let knowledge serve the city." The annual lecture serves as a legacy to Ann Niles, who was a strong advocate for livable neighborhoods and safer pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and served on many transportation-focused boards and committees in Portland. The forum furthers the mission of our Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI) program to facilitate the exchange of knowledge among scholars, practitioners and community advocates around issues of active transportation. The Ann Niles speakers offer a fresh perspective and driving passion for safe, healthy, and sustainable active transportation. Learn about past Ann Niles Active Transportation Lectures.

MOVING BEYOND CARS IN SPRING 2025: JOIN US MAY 8

TREC is hosting a pair of events this spring focused on getting around without a car. Car dependency isn’t the answer for everyone, for all sorts of reasons. So after attending the Ann Niles Lecture with Anna Zivarts, we hope you can join us on May 8 for OPB's Stop Requested Live at PSU, an exploration of rural transit with Lillian Karabaic of Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Watch the video

Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center joins Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) to dive deep into rural transit. This event will also be livestreamed via OPB's youtube channel at www.youtube.com/@OPB/streams

THE TOPIC

Public transit is not just for cities. It’s an essential lifeline for people in rural communities. For OPB's 'Stop Requested' series, Lillian Karabaic spent 14 days riding 38 buses to some of Oregon’s most remote places and talking to riders and drivers.

If you’re used to 20-minute headways being frequent service, how about a bus that only runs once a week? What lessons can we learn from rural transit about meeting riders where they are and getting creative with service? What challenges are unique to transit in rural areas, and which ones are shared by agencies of any size? 

Join OPB’s Lillian Karabaic, producer of the series "Stop Requested," and Portland State University’s Evan Howington for a conversation about the joys and challenges of rural transit.

THE SPEAKERS

Lillian Karabaic, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Lillian Karabaic is the host of OPB's "Weekend Edition" and journalist focused on transit and economics. She spent two weeks riding 38 buses across rural Oregon for the OPB series “Stop Requested”. She has ridden transit in 51 countries and is always planning another trip to get more vegan donuts.

Evan Howington, Portland State University

Evan Howington is a Masters student in Urban and Regional Planning at Portland State University. Prior to working with TREC, Evan worked at Trillium Transit and Optibus supporting transit agencies nationwide with disseminating passenger information and making it easier to take transit! When not thinking about transportation, Evan enjoys growing chili peppers and making his own hot sauce.

THE TICKETS

"OPB's Stop Requested Live at PSU" will be held at PSU's Lincoln Recital Hall, Room 75, in the basement. The event is free, but tickets are required: Register here.

ADD THIS EVENT TO YOUR CALENDAR

To request reasonable accommodations, contact us at 503-725-2896 or asktrec@pdx.edu. In order to ensure that accommodations can be provided in time for this event, please make your request within seven business days before the event.

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is an independent, nonprofit media organization serving communities across Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Powered by the generous support of members, OPB connects people through trusted journalism that is freely accessible to everyone. 

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. 

MOVING BEYOND CARS IN SPRING 2025: JOIN US APRIL 30

TREC is hosting a pair of events this spring focused on getting around without a car. Car dependency isn’t the answer for everyone, for all sorts of reasons. So if you're interested in attending Stop Requested Live at PSU, we hope you'll also join us a week earlier at the Ann Niles Lecture to hear from Anna Zivarts, author of When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency.

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 

This seminar reviews the recently-adopted Oregon Transportation Plan and the process and innovations that underpinned the analysis to identify a preferred set of investments and actions to support the vision and goals of the plan. The plan used innovative methods for communicating how investment strategies may affect regions or example households across the state. Funding is a key influence on how the plan by identifying the affects of inadequate funding and identifying how investment priorities change if funding increases. The Statewide VisionEval strategic travel model was used to conduct an exploratory scenario planning process that informed the relationships between funding, investments, preservation & adaptation, and travel behaviors. The seminar explores the OTP and the respective roles that planning, analysis, and modeling had in the process.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Update on strategic modeling tools and methods available to planners and practitioners
• How Strategic Planning Models inform the development of policies, strategies, and actions in long-range plans
• How new tools and methods are available to conduct efficiently and effectively create output-driven plans
  Gaining insight on the interplay of quantitative, technical analysis with qualitatively-driven public outreach in the long-range planning process

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• PDH Certificate

OVERVIEW

Older adults often face challenges with mobility and accessibility, which can limit their independence and quality of life. This seminar will explore these issues and lessons learned from the research to improve travel experiences and satisfaction for older adults.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Highlights the importance of considering diverse dimensions of older adults' needs.
• Found a significant dissatisfaction and vulnerability experienced by older adults with limited mobility.
• Identified the need for addressing the critical accessibility and mobility gaps with older adults.

THE RESEARCH

This webinar is based on a study funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communites (NITC) and conducted at the University of Utah. Read more about the project: Transportation for Seniors (T4S): Developing a New Accessibility Measure to Support Older Adults in a Post-Pandemic World.

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 

The world of transportation is in a constant state of evolution, with emerging technologies offering greater efficiency and safety in our daily lives. However, these innovations at the same time also have far-reaching impacts on energy sectors. The rise of electric and autonomous vehicles is set to quickly transform the residential energy consumption pattern. A critical question to consider is: “How can we ensure that our energy infrastructure is ready to meet the changing demands”. To adequately prepare for this transformation, this study attempted to gain insight into the future energy pattern under different scenarios.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• A comprehensive understanding on what factors influence residential energy consumption patterns
• Understanding about the interconnectivity of transportation technologies and shift in energy usage
• Assess potential energy outcomes under various EV adoption scenarios
• Some proactive strategies to ready energy infrastructure for changing residential consumption

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Presentation Slides
• PDH Certificate

OVERVIEW

Heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States, and the implications of heat impacts range from individual transportation users, to emergency management services, and entire transportation networks and systems. In this presentation, we'll cover key concepts for urban planning and heat resilience, including heat mitigation and management strategies. Additionally, we will discuss the original NITC-sponsored data collection evaluating one such cool corridor strategy--PlusTI cool pavement rejuvenator--and the associated challenges of researching impacts of strategies on human-comfort in natural and built environments.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

The audience will walk away with:

• an understanding of planning for urban heat resilience;
• the ability to recognize and differentiate heat mitigation and management strategies;
• an understanding of the impacts of heat on transportation users and systems;
• an ability to explain the challenges of evaluating local impacts of strategie.

Friday Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. We've opened up PSU Transportation Seminars to other days of the week, but the format is the same: Feel free to bring your lunch! If you can't join us in person, you can always watch online via Zoom.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Slides
• PD Certificate

THE TOPIC 

The transportation system in the U.S. has been shaped by a core set of ideas that are embedded in professional practice. These ideas – freedom, speed, mobility, vehicles, capacity, hierarchy, separation, control, and technology – have produced a system in which most people are dependent on driving, with all the negative consequences that entails. Shifting to a system that offers people choices about their daily travel requires a shift in thinking on the part of the transportation profession. In this talk, I take a critical look at the way of thinking that, for the last century, has shaped our transportation system and consider the ways in which that thinking is – and is not – shifting.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Participants will recognize limitations of the existing US transportation system.
• Participants will learn key concepts shaping the transportation system.
• Participants will gain strategies for reducing automobile dependence.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Presentation Slides
• PD Certificate

OVERVIEW

How do people with intersecting marginal identities experience social exclusion as they travel via mass transit?

To answer this question, PSU researchers employed a qualitative method less common in transportation studies: photovoice. Researchers asked participants to describe the factors that shape their travel behavior and provide photographic data of their experiences. Then, they conducted in-depth video interviews to gain further depth and clarity regarding the visual data.

The findings from this study can help transit system designers better understand how experiences of harassment and discrimination across the entire users’ journey affects the riders’ decisions about whether and when to take transit, and the extent to which transit-related infrastructure is related to decisions about where to live or their access to long-term housing.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Specific strategies for enhancing equity in relation to transportation;
• Clarifying the places and spaces in which our most vulnerable residents experience mobility restrictions;
• Ways that transportation planners can work with MPOs and homeless service nonprofits to advance understanding about—and action for—historically marginalized populations.

Friday Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. We've opened up PSU Transportation Seminars to other days of the week, but the format is the same: Feel free to bring your lunch! If you can't join us in person, you can always watch online via Zoom.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Slides
• PD Certificate

THE TOPIC 

Working in the Forest Service Engineering has different challenges and benefits than other common organizations for Civil Engineers or Transportation Planners. This presentation should provide a perspective on how we utilize dynamic tensions to reach consensus, how we apply lessons learned across disciplines and agencies, and share opportunities for growth and learning.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• An introduction to Forest Service, the engineering done in the agency and how history shapes today's work.
• Transportation Planning across landscapes, planning for access absent residents/permanent job sites.
• Resolving conflict from competing goals and missions.

Friday Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. We've opened up PSU Transportation Seminars to other days of the week, but the format is the same: Feel free to bring your lunch! If you can't join us in person, you can always watch online via Zoom.

PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Slides
• Certificate

THE TOPIC 

About every eight years, the Oregon state legislature passes a large state transportation funding package. Transportation funding packages in Oregon have historically included funding mechanisms such as the gas tax, program areas such as Safe Routes to School, projects such as freeway widenings, and transparency and accountability measures such as establishing new reporting requirements and advisory committees. The way this legislation is developed and who has a seat at the table highly influences package contents and the public and political support needed for its passage. In this presentation, I will provide highlights from my recently published report, Oregon in Motion (PDF), which covers the development, content, and impacts of HB 2017 - Oregon's most recent transportation package - and previews what is to come with the next package anticipated for 2025.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Learn what a state transportation funding package is and how one is developed successfully.
• Identify the impacts of funding and programs created through state transportation legislation.
• Recognize the challenges and opportunities of the current state of transportation as they intersect with climate, housing, and equity.