Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Development Of Intelligent Multimodal Traffic Monitoring Using Radar Sensor At Intersections, Siyang Cao, Yao-Jan Wu, Feng Jin

TREC Final Reports

Multimodal traffic monitoring is critical for improving mobility and safety at intersections with potential conflicts among various modes of transportation. Traditional traffic monitoring approaches utilizing cameras cannot work reliably during the night and under hazardous weather conditions. We propose to build a new intelligent multimodal traffic monitoring device using the low-cost mmWave radar. The proposed device can reliably distinguish different modes (such as buses, pedestrians, bicyclists, trucks, motorcycles, etc.), and determine the counts, speed, and moving directions of every single target in an urban environment under various lighting and weather conditions. In the study, a low-cost prototype system will also …

New Radar Sensor Technology For Intelligent Multimodal Traffic Monitoring At Intersections, Siyang Cao, Yao-Jan Wu, Feng Jin

TREC Project Briefs

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) need traffic data to run smoothly. At intersections, where there is the greatest potential for conflicts between road users, being able to reliably and intelligently monitor the different modes of traffic is crucial.

The Federal Highway Administration estimates that more than 50 percent of the combined total of fatal and injury crashes occur at or near intersections. For pedestrians the intersection is a particularly dangerous place: the City of Portland, OR identified that two-thirds of all crashes involving a pedestrian happen at intersections. And when darkness comes earlier in fall and winter, crashes increase dramatically. So …

Data-Driven Mobility Strategies For Multimodal Transportation, Yao-Jan Wu, Xianfeng Terry Yang, Sirisha Kothuri, Abolfazl Karimpour, Qinzheng Wang, Jason Anderson

TREC Final Reports

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 will serve as a bridge to connect speed management strategies of conventional corridors to connected vehicle corridors. This study consists of three main components. In the first component, the impact of speed management strategies along …

Applying Data-Driven Multimodal Speed Management Strategies For Safe, Efficient Transportation, Yao-Jan Wu, Xianfeng Yeng, Sirisha Kothuri

TREC Project Briefs

How can we use a variety of data-driven speed management strategies to make transportation safer and more efficient for all modes–whether you’re driving, walking or taking transit? The project was led by Yao Jan Wu, director of the Smart Transportation Lab at the University of Arizona. Co-investigators were Xianfeng Terry Yang of the University of Utah, who researches traffic operations and modeling along with connected automated vehicles, and Sirisha Kothuri of Portland State University, whose research has focused on improving signal timing to better serve pedestrians. “We want to improve mobility for all users, be it pedestrians, vehicle drivers or …

A No-Crash Course In Vision Zero Data, Anamaria Perez

PSU Transportation Seminars

Vision Zero was adopted unanimously by Portland City Council in 2015 with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries on Portland streets in a way that is equitable, accountable, and data-driven. But what does it mean to be data-driven? And should we stop there?

In this presentation, learn how Portland’s Vision Zero Action Plan was developed and how the Vision Zero team is using data to move into a future where all Portlanders can travel safely, regardless of the travel mode they use. Explore the datasets used in Vision Zero implementation and the challenges that come with them. …

The Safe System Approach: Considerations For Developing A Multi-Layered System, Offer Grembek

PSU Transportation Seminars

While the overarching objective of the transportation system is to provide mobility, it should be developed and operated under the framework of a safe system with the aspirational goal to establish a system on which no road user can be severely or fatally injured. To accomplish such a safe system, it is necessary to effectively harness all the core protective opportunities provided by the system. This includes the street design and operations, user behavior, vehicle design, protection systems, and EMS. The common thread across these layers is speed. This is directly driven by the quadratic relationship between velocity and kinetic …

Evaluation Of Bus/Bicycle Andbus/Right-Turn Traffic Delays And Conflicts, Miguel A. Figliozzi, Katherine Keeling, Travis Glick

TREC Final Reports

This research evaluates conflicts and delays caused by interactions between buses, bicycles, and right-turningvehicles. Two concerns caused by these overlapping bus, bicycle, and automobile facilities are analyzed; the firstconcern is the number of bus-bicycle conflicts (as a proxy for safety) and the second concern is bus delay. Video datawas collected and analyzed to quantify conflicts, travel time, and delay. For every bus passing through the study site,the mixed-traffic scenario that the bus incurs was categorized as one of 72 different combinations of bus, bicycle, andautomobile interactions. Video count data was weighted according to seasonal, weekly, and hourly bicycle volumedata to …

Webinar: Rethinking Streets For Bikes: An Evidence Based Guide Of Bike-Friendly Street Retrofits, Marc Schlossberg, Roger Lindgren

TREC Webinar Series

There is a growing demand for better infrastructure and fewer barriers to biking and other forms of space-efficient micromobility. Tackling daily trips by bike is easier on the environment, healthier for users and non-users alike, uses precious urbanized public and private land more efficiently, costs taxpayers less to build and maintain infrastructure, and when routes are safe and comfortable, moving by bike is also fun! Complete Streets policies are being adopted across the country, and there is an active conversation around the safety imperative of a Complete Streets approach. Yet, local officials often need both design guidance and the …

Drivers' Attitudes And Behaviors Toward Bicyclists: Intermodal Interactions And Implications For Road Safety, Tara Beth Goddard

Dissertations and Theses

Road safety concerns are a legitimate concern when promoting increased bicycle use. Currently, the share of bicyclist traffic fatalities and injuries is not proportional to its mode share, and presents both a public health concern and a disincentive to people taking up or continuing to bicycle for transportation. Bicycling is not an inherently dangerous activity; automobile drivers pose the most risk of harm in crashes with bicyclists. Despite that, drivers' attitudes and behaviors toward bicyclists have not enjoyed much systematic study, particularly in the United States. This research explored the dimensions of drivers' attitudes toward bicyclists, including implicit bias and …

Webinar: Economic Impacts From Bicycle And Pedestrian Street Improvements, Jenny H. Liu

TREC Webinar Series

As many cities are investing in street improvements to provide better biking and walking experiences, the economic value and impacts of these active transportation facilities remain areas where many practitioners, planners and policy makers are seeking more conclusive evidence. With various modes competing for scarce resources, planners and transportation agencies often struggle with how to justify infrastructure investments for non-motorized modes, particularly when driving is still the predominant mode of transportation in most cities.

In this project we assess property value impacts of Portland’s “Green Loop” signature bike infrastructure concept, illustrating the importance of considering both accessibility and extensiveness of …

Lessons From The Development Of A Guidebook On Pedestrian And Bicycle Connections To Transit, Nathan Mcneil, Allison Boyce Duncan, Drew Devitis

PSU Transportation Seminars

To improve safety and increase transit use, transit agencies and the jurisdictions they serve have to approach transit service as door-to-door not just stop-to-stop.

Walking and bicycling are key modes for transit access.

Working with the Federal Transit Administration, a team from Portland State University developed a guidebook on improving pedestrian and bicycle access to transit (forthcoming). As part of the guidebook process, the PSU team conducted case studies on best practices of recent efforts in Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

This presentation will cover key lessons from the case studies, along with an overview of the guidebook.

Geometric Design, Speed, And Safety, Richard J. Porter

PSU Transportation Seminars

In this seminar, Dr. Porter will explore the interactions of geometric design decisions, speed, and safety. A performance-based approach to this topic will be considered given the availability of several key documents, including the Highway Safety Manual and TRB's Modeling Operating Speed: Synthesis Report as well as a significant body of published research. A historical look at the design speed concept will show that while the design speed definition has changed on more than one occasion, the same basic but flawed philosophy that relates design speed to a “safe speed” is still reflected in supplemental guidance related to design speed …

Pedestrian Safety And Culture Change, Ron Van Houten

PSU Transportation Seminars

This session will describe the process and results of a NHTSA study that showed a change in driver culture of yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks on a citywide basis. The research won the Pat Waller award from the National Academy of Sciences, Transportation Research Board in January of this year. The approach to changing road user behavior focused on an integrated approach that include Enforcement, Engineering, and Educational efforts that were designed to be dovetailed together and that included a social norming component. Additional information will be provided on engineering solutions that can facilitate changes in pedestrian level of service …

Influence Of Road Cross Section On Access Spacing, Karen K. Dixon, Yanfen Zhou, J. L. Gattis

TREC Final Reports

This report presents a study on the influences of select cross-sectional-related design elements (specifically median configurations and bicycle lanes) and their impact on crash severity and type, as well as the associated driver gap acceptance for turning maneuvers at midblock driveway locations on urban arterials. The primary goal of this proposed research is to better understand how the median and bicycle lane configurations can influence safety and operations at driveway locations. The research team utilized crash data, traffic data, and roadway information from driveway locations in the U.S. states of Oregon, Arkansas and Oklahoma. The project team supplemented the data …

Improved Pedestrian Safety At Signalized Intersections Operating The Flashing Yellow Arrow, David Hurwitz, Christopher M. Monsere

TREC Final Reports

In some jurisdictions, protected left-turn phasing has been replaced with the flashing yellow arrow (FYA) for protected/permissive left turns (PPLTs) to reduce delay. However, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the conflict between pedestrians and the permissive left-turning vehicle. This presentation summarizes the results of research conducted with a high-fidelity, motion-based driving simulator and mobile eye-tracking equipment to study the effects of the opposing traffic, the presence and walking direction of pedestrians, and the number of section heads to display the FYA on driver performance. To accomplish this research, a six-intersection simulated environment was created. In total, …

Contesting The North Williams Traffic Operations And Safety Project, Amy Lubitow, Thaddeus R. Miller

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The North Williams Traffic Safety Operations Project, overseen by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), was proposed in 2010. With an initial budget of $370,000, the project was designed to reduce conflict between buses, bicycles and motor vehicles on North Williams Avenue and improve the overall safety and accessibility of the street. As is common practice, PBOT’s first step in this project was to organize a stakeholder advisory committee (SAC) of interested business owners, neighborhood association representatives, residents, and key stakeholders living or working along North Williams Avenue who would be tasked with advising the city on the project. However, …

Bicycle And Pedestrian Engineering Design Curriculum Expansion, Ashley Haire

TREC Final Reports

This project summary report describes the execution of OTREC Project #298 (Development, Deployment and Assessment of a New Educational Paradigm for Transportation Professionals and University Students). The project is one facet of a multiyear collaboration of the Region X Transportation Consortium that was sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The regional collaboration aims to shift the traditional paradigm of engineering course delivery to foster a more hands-on approach. The University of Idaho, for example, has created activity-based modules for a traffic signals course, while the University of Washington developed similar modules for a freight systems course. The focus of …

Evaluation Of Innovative Bicycle Facilities: Sw Broadway Cycle Track And Sw Stark/Oak Street Buffered Bike Lanes, Christopher Michael Monsere, Nathan Mcneil, Jennifer Dill

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Two innovative bicycle facilities installed in late summer and early fall 2009 in downtown Portland by the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) were evaluated to understand how they are functioning on multiple levels. All of these facilities involved removing a motor vehicle lane by restriping to provide additional roadway space to bicyclists. The facilities include:

• A cycle track (a seven-foot bike lane separated from motor vehicle traffic by a row of parked cars and a painted three-foot pedestrian buffer), on SW Broadway from SW Clay to SW Jackson through the Portland State University campus, and
• A couplet of …

Bicycle And Pedestrian Design Curriculum Expansion, Lynn Weigand

TREC Final Reports

This project broadened course offerings on bicycle and pedestrian transportation by redesigning and expanding an existing, three credit undergraduate/graduate course into a five-credit course that includes an applied lab component. The course was open to graduate and undergraduate students in planning and engineering programs. The PI (Lynn Weigand, Ph.D., adjunct faculty) and Mia Birk, adjunct faculty course instructor, developed the course with the following learning objectives:

• learn principles of bicycle and pedestrian facility design;
• understand integration of bicycle and pedestrian facilities within the right-of-way;
• understand basic transportation research and data collection methods; and
• apply course content through project work.

The …

Connecting Students And The Community, Lynn Weigand

TREC Project Briefs

Nationwide, few university courses focus specifically on planning and design for pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Before this project, Portland State University had only one three-credit course on the subject, which did not provide adequate time to cover all aspects of bicycle and pedestrian transportation planning, policy, design and practice. Although the course provided a useful introduction to the topic and received excellent student reviews, faculty members saw a need to expand the curriculum to provide an opportunity for practical application of the theory and practice and increase the course’s academic rigor.

This project broadened the course offerings on bicycle and …

Initiative For Bicycle And Pedestrian Innovation, Jennifer Dill, Lynn Weigand

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation aims to advance the field of bicycle and pedestrian transportation through four primary mechanisms: (1) developing and pursuing a collaborative research agenda that more directly informs practice and and involves students through dissertation research and fellowships; (2) translating relevant research into a format and language that is more useful to practitioners, and making that research available through technology transfer; (3) developing more holistic approaches to the education and training of planners and engineers; and (4) supporting community-based outreach and education, to promote awareness of bicycle and pedestrian issues statewide and nationally. This proposal …