PRESENTATION ARCHIVE

• Video
• Presentation Slides
• PDH Certificate

OVERVIEW

The aim of this research is to investigate pedestrian behavior at signalized intersections using state-of-the-art LIDAR sensing technologies and to use this data, along with vehicular data, to develop a more effective multimodal signal control system.

In the presentation, the presenters will describe a novel method of collecting pedestrian crossing behaviors at signalized intersection, discuss the findings and implications of data analytics, and introduce a novel approach to dynamic flashing yellow arrow mechanisms to reduce the conflict between left turn vehicles and crossing pedestrians.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Understand the framework of LiDAR sensing solutions;
• Understand how to collect pedestrian behaviors at intersections;
• Understand how to provide new protection for crossing pedestrians with object-tracking technologies.

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 Texas at Arlington, Portland State University, and the University of Utah. Read more about the research: Pedestrian Behavior Study to Advance Pedestrian Safety in Smart Transportation Systems Using Innovative LIDAR Sensors.

SPEAKERS

Pengfei (Taylor) Li, University of Texas Arlington

Dr. Pengfei (Taylor) Li is an assistant professor of Transportation Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington. He has over 20 years of experiences. Before he was appointed as a professor, he was a traffic engineer, ITS engineer and project manager at various companies and research institutes. His research and professional practices focus on intelligent transportation systems (ITS), smart sensor development, AI and big data analytics. He has built and delivered arterial management solutions and smart sensors for multiple agencies. Dr. Li is active in both research and engineering communities. He led the effort with many professional volunteers in delivering a practitioner-oriented “traffic signal simulation cookbook”, which has been downloaded over 8,500 times. His research has resulted in 70 peer-reviewed and referred papers and one patent. Dr. Li is a professional engineer registered in Alberta, Canada.

Sirisha Kothuri, Portland State University 

Sirisha Kothuri, Ph.D. is a senior research associate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Portland State University. Dr. Kothuri’s primary research interests are in the areas of multimodal traffic operations, bicycle and pedestrian counting, and safety. Dr. Kothuri is the research co-chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Pedestrians Committee (ANF10) and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Data Subcommittee (ABJ 35(3)) and a member of Traffic Signal Systems committee. Dr. Kothuri received her BCE from Osmania University, India, MSCE from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge and Ph.D. from Portland State University.

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.

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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
• Slides
• PDH Certificate

THE TOPIC 

The goal of agencies is to provide a safe and reliable multimodal transportation system that connects people and helps communities and economy thrive. In order to fulfill this mission, it is important to have a robust understanding of the usage of each mode within the system as well as the linkages between modes. Currently there is no systemic accounting of pedestrian traffic across the transportation network, making it difficult to understand systemic crash safety and prioritize projects. Analysts must rely on imperfect proxies such as land use density, race, income, and transit usage in the absence of measured pedestrian traffic data.

A noteworthy possibility is to utilize existing traffic signal infrastructure to count pedestrians by using push-button actuation systems as permanent traffic counters. This presentation reports on the findings of a research study that sought to examine the feasibility of estimating pedestrian volumes from existing on-street infrastructure, such as pedestrian push-buttons, at a large scale.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Explore the feasibility of collecting pedestrian data from existing on-street infrastructure.
• Develop adjustment factors to convert pedestrian data to actual pedestrian counts.
• Determine the transferability of the methods developed and the efforts needed to apply these methods statewide.

SPEAKER

Sirisha Kothuri, Senior Research Associate, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Portland State University

Sirisha Kothuri, Ph.D. is a senior research associate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Portland State University. Dr. Kothuri’s primary research interests are in the areas of multimodal traffic operations, bicycle and pedestrian counting, and safety.

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 Portland Bureau of Transportation

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

• Miss the presentation or want a look back at the slides? You can view them here.
• Watch the recorded video

Small towns and cities outside of national parks and other major natural amenities throughout the western United States are becoming increasingly popular places to visit and live. As a result, many of these gateway and natural amenity region (GNAR) communities—including places such as Jackson, Wyoming, and Moab, Utah—are facing a variety of “big city” issues, such as severe congestion, lack of affordable workforce housing, and concerns about sprawl and density. This webinar will introduce the planning and transportation concerns being experienced by GNAR communities throughout the west. It will then share the tools and resources developed by the University of Utah to train planners to work in these unique communities and to help these communities enhance livability and sustainable transportation options. The webinar will also introduce the University of Utah’s new Gateway and Natural Amenity Region Initiative and ongoing research aimed at better understanding and addressing the planning and transportation issues in GNAR communities. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Many small western communities near major natural amenities, such as national parks, are experiencing “big city” planning and transportation challenges.
• Professional and academic planners need to pay far greater attention to these GNAR communities and to helping them effectively plan for and respond to the planning and transportation challenges they face.
• The University of Utah has developed a range of tools and resources aimed at training planners to work in these communities and assisting these communities in tackling the challenges and opportunities they face. We hope other will use and build on these tools and resources.
• There are considerable opportunities for further research, education, and capacity building efforts aimed at understanding and addressing the transportation and planning needs of GNAR communities.

SPEAKER

Danya Rumore, Ph.D., is the Director of the Environmental Dispute Resolution Program in the Wallace Stegner Center and a Research Assistant Professor in the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. She is also a Research Assistant Professor in the University of Utah Department of City and Metropolitan Planning. She teaches courses in negotiation and dispute resolution and is a research affiliate of the University of Utah Center for Ecological Planning and Design  and Global Change and Sustainability Center. Danya’s work and research focus on supporting collaborative decision-making and stakeholder engagement in the context of science-intensive environmental issues and complex public policy challenges. She is currently developing an initiative to better understand the unique planning challenges facing small communities in gateway and natural amenity regions in the Mountain West, and to provide planning support and capacity building for these regions.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute webinar 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.

LEARN MORE

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

Friday Transportation Seminars at Portland State University have been a tradition since 2000. With over 450 seminars presented and recorded (access the archive of seminars here), we host both visiting and local scholars to share the latest in research, technology, and implementation in transportation.

EDUCATION LIBRARY ARCHIVE

Missed the seminar or want a look back? 

• Watch the recorded video
• View the presentation slides

OVERVIEW

Knowing where one wants to go and how to get there are essential life skills for all people. Community access and travel skills are not only important rites of passage for youth in becoming adults, they are linked to higher rates of employment and overall health. People who are blind and visually impaired (BVI) face challenges in accessing public transportation, yet studies have shown that with relevant orientation and mobility instruction, technology, and accessible design, vision loss need not preclude community travel.

Join PSU's Amy Parker and Intel's Prateek Dujari on the ways that knowledge from consumers and the field of Orientation and Mobility can positively influence design through participatory conversations. After this presentation, participants will be able to: describe the role of Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Specialists; identify features in the built environment that benefit individuals with visual impairments as well as the broader population; and identify unique needs for travelers with visual impairments in the Pacific Northwest region.

THE SPEAKERS

Amy Parker, Portland State University

Amy Parker, EdD, COMS, is an assistant professor and the coordinator of the Orientation and Mobility 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. 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.

Prateek Dujari, Intel

Prateek Dujari is a product reliability engineer for network and data center products at Intel Corporation. He is Intel's only completely blind engineer. He joined Intel as a sighted person in 1999 and lost his sight in 2001 in a sudden unexpected manner while climbing a glaciated Oregon mountain. He has demonstrated an iron will to thrive by re-charting a successful career at Intel and a fulfilling social and recreational life. Prateek has a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, has nine technical publications and holds 16 patents. His proactive advocacy continues to increase accessibility of Intel’s internal computer based environment providing a more even competitive field for disabled employees. Careers and Disabled magazine recognized his accomplishments in 2014 with the Employee of the Year award. He Chaired the Oregon Commission for the Blind from 2015- 2017 and was instrumental in increasing the efficiency and accountability of the Commission by standardizing measurable and quantifiable metrics. Prateek is an avid athlete as an active runner, snowboarder, hiker, climber, tandem biker, kayaker and paddle boarder.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute seminar 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.

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Sign up for our newsletter and check the box for "Events" to receive monthly updates.

Photo Credit:  Ben Churchill

Detailed directions for blind or visually impaired visitors:

The Harrison Street entrance to the Karl Miller Center is between 6th and Broadway on the north side of Harrison. Walking west from 6th Avenue, the entrance to the building will be on your right, about ten paces from the edge of the building or about 16 steps from the textured curb cut on the street corner. There are two shallow steps to your right, leading down to the glass double doors.

Once you're inside, you'll be facing a big open lobby area. The floor slopes down slightly, and there's a hand rail on the wall to your right. When you get to the end of the hand rail, keep walking in the same direction it was leading as if it continued in a perfectly straight line, and you should arrive at the opposite wall where there's another hand rail. (The room has two tables and two support columns to navigate around). Once you get to the other side of the lobby, if you come to a set of glass doors instead of a plain wall, then you're too far to the right. You need to follow the wall to your left until you reach the next hand rail. This rail will lead you to the elevators, which are on the same side of the wall as the hand rail. Since you're on the ground floor there's only one button.

On the 4th floor, you'll step out of the elevator and turn right. The room you're facing now is room 470; it's about 12-15 steps directly in front of you. There's usually a round table and chairs sitting by the wall in the hallway on the left side of room 470. Room 465 (where the seminar takes place) is the next room to the left, just past this table and chairs.

Analysis of the Contribution of Transportation and Land Use to Citizen Perceptions of Livability

WATCH THE RECORDED VIDEO

Slides are available for this presentation

What is livability? How does the built environment influence resident perceptions of livability? Although livability is a broadly used term and a key goal in land use and transportation plans at the state level, it is unclear whether residents think their neighborhoods are livable and what contributes to their perception of livability. The purpose of the project was to understand how Oregonians, in neighborhoods of varying densities and within Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), perceive livability at the nexus of transportation and land use. We sought to understand how residents define and perceive livability in three different MPOs in the state: Albany, Central Lane, and Rogue Valley. Our survey instrument included questions about livability, satisfaction, housing choice, and preferred and current characteristics of the neighborhood and accessibility. 

We found that perceptions were more influential in describing livability than objective or sociodemographic measures. We found that people tradeoff affordability and livability. When people said that housing affordability was more important in decisions about housing and neighborhood choice, they had more negative perceptions of livability in their neighborhood. But people who prioritize accessibility have a more positive perception of livability. Individuals that reported better access to transportation options across a broad range of measures reported higher ratings of livability. Pedestrian improvements and natural amenities were important to survey respondents. Finally, objective and subjective measures of density negatively impacted perceptions of livability. 

The seminar will discuss the findings of this work and takeaways for planners at the local, regional, and state level. 

THE SPEAKER

Rebecca Lewis, University of Oregon

Rebecca Lewis, PhD., is an Assistant Professor in Planning, Public Policy and Management at the University of Oregon and Research Director for the Sustainable Cities Initiative. She is a faculty affiliate of the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education at the University of Maryland. Her research broadly focuses on land use policy, growth management, state transportation spending, and housing in rural communities. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of the American Planning Association, State and Local Government Review, and the American Journal of Public Health. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute for Transportation and Communities, the Department of Land Conservation and Development and the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This 60-minute seminar 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 and check the box for "Events" to receive monthly updates.