Digital Commons Network^™

A New Approach To Transportation Pricing: Lessons From The Poem Project, Shoshana Cohen, Emma Sagor

PSU Transportation Seminars

In October 2021, Portland City Council accepted the Pricing Options for Equitable Mobility (POEM) report. This was the culmination of 18 months of work by the POEM Task Force, a group of 19 volunteer community members who explored whether pricing tools—or charges related to driving or using road space—could be used to improve mobility, reduce climate impact, and make our transportation system more equitable. More information is available at Portland.gov/POEM.

At this seminar, POEM Project Managers Shoshana Cohen and Emma Sagor from the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will share how this project took on the topic of …

Vehicular Design And Resource Allocation Policies For Equitable Road Safety, Alyssa Ryan

PSU Transportation Seminars

The diversity of road users is not equitably accounted for in vehicular and infrastructure design and funding allocation policies, among other areas that impact mobility. This impedes the ability for all road users to experience the same level of safety while traveling. Moving towards equitable road safety for all road users is critical to improve the quality of life and save lives of those that are most underserved in the transportation sector.

Professor Alyssa Ryan discusses two strategies to increase safety for vulnerable road users. First, a study on road injury differences between drivers of different biological sex is presented. …

Webinar: Radar Point Cloud Segmentation Using Gmm In Traffic Monitoring, Siyang Cao

TREC Webinar Series

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) change our communities by improving the safety and convenience of people’s daily mobility. The system relies on multimodal traffic monitoring, that needs to provide reliable, efficient and detailed traffic information for traffic safety and planning. How to reliably and intelligently monitor intersection traffic with multimodal information is one of the most critical topics in intelligent transportation research. In multimodal traffic monitoring, we gather traffic statistics for distinct transportation modes, such as pedestrians, cars and bicycles, in order to analyze and improve people’s daily mobility in terms of safety and convenience. In this study, we use a …

Economic Impacts Of Street Improvements: Findings From Portland Area, Jennifer Dill, Jenny H. Liu

PSU Transportation Seminars

The Active Transportation Return on Investment (ATROI) study aimed to provide a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the economic benefits of active transportation infrastructure in the Portland, OR region. The study was funded by Portland Metro and conducted by researchers at PSU and Metro.

This seminar will focus on one part of the study--a quantitative assessment of the economic impacts of 12 "catalyst" projects. These projects retrofitted busy commercial streets with pedestrian friendly treatments aimed at catalyzing economic development. The projects were in Beaverton, Cornelius, Forest Grove, Gresham, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Portland, and Tigard. The analysis estimated effects on employment, …

The Pacific Sentinel: November/December 2021, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

The Pacific Sentinel

Editor: Vivian Veidt

Articles in this issue include:

• Letter From the Editor
• Police Resistance to Federal Vaccine Mandates
• COVID on Campus
• Death of the Damsel in Distress
• Game Night at the Dysfunctional Family
• Same Old Story, Different Title
• Socially Alive
• The 2021 Portland Book Festival
• PSU Student Feature: Nikki James
• Notes From Behind the Bar
• A Far Reach for Greater Idaho
• The Truth Pandemic

Pedestrian Safety And Social Equity In Oregon, Josh Roll, Nathan Mcneil

PSU Transportation Seminars

Past research and planning has highlighted the existence of pedestrian injury disparities throughout the US and some local agencies have performed cursory analysis in Oregon. However, no statewide analysis of pedestrian injuries in Oregon has been completed to see how these injury outcomes differ by race and income.

This presentation aims to help better understand the factors that result in disparate pedestrian injury outcomes for different sociodemographic groups. This research uses data from a variety of sources to understand pedestrian injuries by social equity measures including income, poverty, race, ethnicity, disability and English proficiency. The authors conclude that Black, Indigenous …

Transportation Planning In Tribal Communities: From Plan Development To Implementation, Cole Grisham

PSU Transportation Seminars

Existing studies surveying transportation planners in Tribal communities have recognized two challenges: (1) that existing planning analysis tools do not always align with Tribal community context and needs, and (2) that it is not always clear what benefits planning provides to transportation project selection and delivery in Tribal communities. These challenges are outlined in a 2020 FHWA Research Needs Statement titled Making Transportation Planning Applicable in Tribal Communities.

This study, therefore, seeks to align available planning analysis tools to Tribal community needs based on a range of contextual factors, and to quantify the benefits of planning analysis in the project …

Retention Of A Diverse Construction Workforce, Maura Kelly

PSU Transportation Seminars

Having a strong pipeline of workers will be critical for ongoing efforts to improve transportation infrastructure, such as roads, highways, and bridges. This talk first provides an overview of the recruitment and retention of a diverse construction workforce in Oregon. Next are findings from research studies over the last ten years demonstrating the challenges experienced by workers on construction job sites that lead to low retention levels. The talk concludes with a discussion of several initiatives within the construction trades that have been implemented to address job site culture.

Webinar: The Impact Of Transportation-Related Barriers On Self-Perceived Physical Health Among Adults In The Us, Philip Baiden, Godfred Boateng

TREC Webinar Series

Drawing from the framework of social determinants of health, the objective of this study is to investigate the cross-sectional association between transportation-related factors and self-perceived physical health among adults in the U.S.

Data for this study were derived from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey. An analytic sample of 71,235 respondents aged 18 and 64 years was analyzed using binary logistic regression. Of the 71,235 respondents examined, 8.9% perceived their physical health to be poor. About 36% of the respondents had fewer vehicles per individuals in the household.

Controlling for the effects of other factors, respondents who had fewer vehicles …

An Assessment Of Bicycle Detection Confirmation And Countdown Devices, Christopher Monsere, Sirisha Kothuri, David S. Hurwitz

PSU Transportation Seminars

For a person on a bicycle at intersections, trail crossings, or midblock locations that are signalized, knowing that they have been detected and how long they must wait to receive a green indication is valuable information. This presentation will summarize the findings from the online survey (1,048 responses), observed behaviors (2,428 persons on bicycle), and an intercept survey ( 234 persons) to understand blue light feedback devices and countdown timers at signalized intersections.

Findings suggest that the design where the blue light was embedded in the sign was more visible to cyclists and observed by higher proportions of cyclists in …

Turning Streets Into Housing, Adam Millard-Bell

PSU Transportation Seminars

Wide residential streets in US cities are both a contributor to homelessness and a potential strategy to provide more affordable housing. In residential neighborhoods, subdivision ordinances typically set binding standards for street width, far in excess of what is economically optimal or what private developers and residents would likely prefer. These street width standards are one contributor to high housing costs and supply restrictions, which exacerbate the housing affordability crisis in high-cost cities.

Cities can certainly reduce street widths in new development. But what about existing neighborhoods? Dr. Adam Millard-Ball proposes two strategies through which excess street space can accommodate …

Portland State Magazine, Portland State University. Office Of University Communications

Portland State Magazine

PSU’s alumni magazine, published 2-3 times a year. In this issue: How the PSU community is leading Portland’s comeback from COVID-19; portraits of Portland State veterans from across the decades; three experts in conflict resolution, political science and history look at the roots of political polarization in the U.S.; PSU researchers spearhead efforts to protect the Pacific Northwest from cyber threats; comics break stereotypes around student homelessness; former Viking Ime Udoka becomes head coach of the Boston Celtics; writer Mitchell S. Jackson talks about his Pulitzer win; and more.

Webinar: Data-Driven Mobility Strategies For Multimodal Transportation, Yao-Jan Wu, Abolfazl Karimpour, Xianfeng Terry Yang

TREC Webinar Series

Multimodal transportation systems (e.g., walking, cycling, automobile, public transit, etc.) are effective in increasing people’s travel flexibility, reducing congestion, and improving safety. Therefore, it is critical to understand what factors would affect people’s mode choices. With advanced technology, such as connected and automated vehicles, cities are now facing a transition from traditional urban planning to developing smart cities. To support multimodal transportation management, this study serves as a bridge to connect speed management strategies of conventional corridors to connected vehicle corridors.

The study consists of three main components. In the first component, the impact of speed management strategies along traditional …

The Pacific Sentinel: September 2021, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

The Pacific Sentinel

Editor: Vivian Veidt

Articles in this issue include:

• Letter From the Editor
• The Opaque Places of Cinema
• A “PIG” in Portland
• Jazzed to be Back
• Notes from Behind the Bar
• The Predicament of Mayor Wheeler
• The City of Portland Must Cut Ties With Israel

Webinar: The Impact Of Ride Hail Services On The Accessibility Of Nonprofit Services, Dyana Mason

TREC Webinar Series

Nonprofit organizations are responsible for providing human services across the United States, often in partnership with government agencies. In this work, they address some of the most pressing social issues – including homelessness, poverty, health care and education. While many of these organizations consider location and accessibility crucial to supporting their clients – often locating services near bus or train stops, for example – little is known about the impact of new technologies, including ride hail services (also called Transportation Network Companies, or TNCs) like Lyft and Uber, on nonprofit accessibility. Do these services help fill gaps in client needs? …

Webinar: Electric Bus Deployment: Cost And Environmental Equity, Cathy Liu

TREC Webinar Series

This presentation introduces an innovative spatiotemporal analytical framework and web-based visualization platform developed by researchers at the University of Utah to assist transit agencies in identifying optimal deployment strategies for a battery-electric bus (BEB) system by using a combination of mathematical programming methods, GIS-based analysis, and multi-objective optimization techniques. The framework allows transit agencies to optimally phase in BEB infrastructure and deploy the BEB system in a way that can minimize the capital and operational cost of the BEB system while maximizing its environmental benefits (i.e., emission reduction).

Webinar: Eliminating Cash Options For Public Transit Fares: Costs, Benefits And Equity Impacts, Aaron Golub

TREC Webinar Series

Many transit agencies plan to automate their fare collection and limit the use of cash, with the goals of improving boarding and data collection while lowering operating costs. Yet about 10% of adults in the United States lack a bank account or credit card, and many either rely on restrictive cell-phone data plans or don’t have access to internet or a smartphone. This webinar will present part of a larger research project exploring these issues in the cities of Denver, Colorado, and Eugene and Portland–Gresham, Oregon. In this part, we explore the tradeoffs between reducing cash acceptance, ridership and the …

Transportation And Gentrification: Impacts On Low-Income Black Households In Portland, Steven Howland

PSU Transportation Seminars

Portland’s Black population has been heavily impacted by gentrification in the historic Albina community. Nearly half of Portland’s Black population lives in the area east of 82nd Ave, known as East Portland. This has had substantial impacts on both Black households that can continue living in Albina and those living in East Portland. The suburban-esque built environment of East Portland makes it difficult to get around and reach basic necessities. Those living in Albina have taken on exorbitant rents. Both groups suffer from a geographic divide that has made it difficult to rely on family and friends for basic needs …

The Pacific Sentinel: May/June, Mini Issue, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

The Pacific Sentinel

Editor: Vivian Veidt

Articles in this issue include:

• Letter From the Editor
• Vaccine Hesitancy
• Campus Policing and the Call for Abolition
• Goodbye Afghanistan Palestine
• Where Memes and Cinema Collide

Oregon Walks Pedestrian Crash Report: Causes, Effects, And Recommendations, Ashton Simpson, Scott Kocher, Brandon Summers

PSU Transportation Seminars

Perhaps you’ve seen a public meeting about pedestrian safety (or infrastructure projects) deteriorate into speculation about texting pedestrians or drunk drivers. What do the data say? The Oregon Walks Pedestrian Crash Report reviews police reports and available information for all 48 fatal pedestrian crashes in Portland from 2017-2019. The authors will summarize their most notable findings relating to infrastructure, other systemic factors, equity and the information that the public receives about crashes. Participants may wish to review the report or articles describing it to prepare for a robust discussion: You’re Driving Too Damn Fast, Willamette Week, March 17, 2021 Oregon …

Evaluation Of A Transportation Incentive Program For Affordable Housing Residents, Roshin Kurian, Huijun Tan, Nathan Mcneil, John Macarthur

PSU Transportation Seminars

This seminar presents the results from the Transportation Wallet for Residents of Affordable Housing (TWRAH) pilot program launched by the City of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). The program provided a set of transportation incentives for low-income participants including a $308 pre-paid visa card which could be applied to public transit or other transportation services, a free bike share membership, and access to discounted rates on several services. The researchers conducted a survey with the program’s participants to understand how they used the Transportation Wallet and how the program helped them use different modes to get around. The main findings …

Webinar: Rethinking Streets During Covid, Clare Haley, John Larson-Friend, Marc Schlossberg, Aliza Whalen

TREC Webinar Series

Re-allocating space on streets to accommodate new uses – particularly for walking, biking, and being – is not new. However, COVID-era needs have accelerated the process that many communities use to make such street transitions. Many communities quickly understood that the street is actually a public place and a public good that serves broader public needs more urgent than the free flow or the storage of private vehicles. This seminar describes a new case study book that captures some of these quick changes to city streets in response to societal needs during COVID, with two open questions: 1. What changes …

Racial Bias In Driver Yielding Behavior At Crosswalks, Kimberly Kahn, Peter Koonce, George Stern

PSU Transportation Seminars

This seminar discusses how pedestrian race and gender can influence drivers’ behavior in interactions with pedestrians at crosswalks. Three speakers will present different lenses to look at this topic. Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, a researcher at Portland State University, will discuss research exploring how pedestrian race and gender influence drivers’ behavior in interactions with pedestrians at crosswalks. One dangerous potential point of conflict for pedestrians within the transportation system is interactions with drivers at crosswalks, and racial minorities are disproportionately represented in pedestrian fatalities. Research tested the hypothesis that drivers’ would demonstrate unequitable yielding based on pedestrians’ race and gender in …

Webinar: Transit Impacts On Jobs, People And Real Estate, Arthur C. Nelson, Kristina Currans, Robert Hibberd

TREC Webinar Series

This webinar has six elements: Introducing themes related to how transit should affect the location of jobs and people, and how real estate should respond; Creating a research typology of different landscapes served by transit that is also useful in transit planning; Analyzing how transit stations influence shifts in the regional share of jobs, people and housing; Investigating how transit station proximity influences mode choice and household transportation budgets; Estimating the effect of transit station proximity on real estate rents by type of transit system and type of real estate, and the extent to which outcomes are consistent with theory; …

Open Education Week: Open Pedagogy And Student Content Creation, Shane Abrams, Frank Granshaw, Veronica Hotton

Open Education Week 2021

Open Pedagogy is the practice of engaging students in content creation through "renewable assignments" so that their work lives on beyond the course and has an authentic audience. In this workshop, you will learn about how to structure an Open Pedagogy assignment and will see examples from faculty who have designed their own renewable assignments.

Forging Equity In Cities: Using Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (Etod) As A Blueprint For Policy And Practice, Roberto Requejo

PSU Transportation Seminars

Racial equity, wealth building, public health and climate resilience goals are only possible through cross sectional engagement that includes city, state, and regional governments, community-based organizations, and private sector partners. Please join us for this jointly sponsored seminar and workshop to learn about models of community engagement for equitable transportation and housing development. In this seminar, Roberto Requejo, Program Director at Elevated Chicago, will discuss their community organizing and empowerment work to create equitable transit oriented development (eTOD) in Chicago. Their efforts to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion into planning and infrastructure investments center on community-focused benefits such as access …

How Does Oer Meet Our Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Goals?, Jenny Ceciliano, Lisa Notman, Karen Bjork, Jaime R. Wood, Scott Robison

Open Education Week 2021

Eliminating textbook costs through the use of Open Educational Resources may seem like a simple change, but it's one that can have a big impact. Research has shown that using OER in place of traditional textbooks helps to create more equitable and inclusive learning experiences for marginalized students. In this workshop, learn more about how OER is a DEI tool and how PSU faculty are using OER in their courses.

The Pacific Sentinel: March/April 2021, Mini Issue, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

The Pacific Sentinel

Editor: Vivian Veidt

Articles in this issue include:

• Letter From the Editor
• Royalty Notwithstanding
• A Man, a Plan, and a Virus
• United We Stand?
• Dreamhouse and Other Horrors
• The Art of the Podcast

Multnomah County Reach Transportation Crash And Safety Report: At The Intersection Of Transportation, Health, Race And Justice, Tameka Brazile, Brendon Haggerty, Charlene Mcgee

PSU Transportation Seminars

This seminar will discuss how transportation agencies are in a unique position to reduce health disparities in the African American, African Immigrant & Refugee communities through sustainable policy, systems, and environmental changes. These three speakers from the Multnomah County Health Department will present the findings of their recent Crash and Safety report. They will discuss their data and methodology to connect the dots between chronic disease disparities, leading causes of death in communities, and transportation inequities as determinants to health. They will also present policy recommendations and a call to action.

Webinar: Land Use And Transportation Policies For A Sustainable Future, Liming Wang

TREC Webinar Series

Even though there are tremendous uncertainties in the timing and evolution path of the Autonomous Vehicles (AV) technology, it may become a likely reality within most MPOs' long-range regional transportation plan horizon of twenty years. Yet a recent survey of the largest MPOs in the US indicates only one of them "even mentions driverless, automated, or autonomous vehicles in its most recent RTP". One of the uncertainties in assessing the impacts of AV is their direction: on one hand, self-driving cars could increase VMT by increasing roadway capacity, lowering costs of travel; on the other, they may reduce VMT by …