Transportation Commons^™

Future Sandy: A Multimodal Transportation Plan, Afroza Hossain Misty, Anchal Erachankandy Cheruvari, Holly Querin, Katelyn Dendas, Symeon Walker

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

Coming soon.

Webinar: Marginalized Populations’ Access To Transit, Marisa Zapata

TREC Webinar Series

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 …

Webinar: Scooting To Healthy And Safe Mode Choices, Kristina M. Currans, Nicole Iroz-Elardo, John Macarthur

TREC Webinar Series

Shared electric scooters (e-scooters) are fast becoming a mobility option in cities across the United States. This new micromobility mode has the potential to replace car usage for certain trips, which stands to have a positive impact on public health and sustainability goals. However, many aspects of this emerging mode are not well understood.This webinar explores the findings of three NITC studies examining transportation mode choices, safety, and public health outcomes of electric scooters.

Webinar: The Impact Of Decentralizing Homeless Services On Transportation And Mobility, Sarah Canham, Ivis Garcia, Shannon Jones, Jeff Rose

TREC Webinar Series

With findings from a mixed methods research study, this interdisciplinary webinar will present results from a historical public document analysis, a GIS spatial analyses, client surveys and interviews, and interviews with professionals and service providers. In 2019, the delivery of homeless sheltering services in Salt Lake County transitioned from a centralized emergency shelter to a scattered site model with multiple resource center locations, operated by multiple service providers. To understand the degree to which “proximity” to public transportation and other needed services was achieved, this study examined: how the decentralization of homeless services influenced transportation demand and mobility patterns for …

Addressing Gendered Harassment And Women's Travel Needs, Madeline Brozen

PSU Transportation Seminars

This presentation will cover experiences, disparities, and solutions to gendered travel differences. Madeline will discuss research from a worldwide survey of harassment on public transit with specific insights from Los Angeles and research from two agency-led studies in Los Angeles. The talk will cover the large issues that make women's travel needs distinct from their male counter-parts - safety and complex travel patterns and some promising solutions for addressing these disparities.

Is Transit-Oriented Development Affordable For Low And Moderate Income Households?, Reid Ewing, Sadegh Sabouri, Justyna Kaniewska, Hassan Ameli, Wookjae Yang, Fatemeh Kiani, Junsik Kim, Douty Chibamba

TREC Final Reports

The transportation and land use planning paradigm is shifting away from segregated uses connected by highways and roads to more compact, mixed-use developments connected by high-quality transit. This new paradigm has brought transit-oriented development (TOD) to the fore, and researchers continue to highlight advantages of this style of well-integrated land use and transportation planning. When it comes to affordability, what counts isn’t housing costs alone but the combination of housing plus transportation costs (H+T). If TODs do, in fact, command higher rents due to increased transit accessibility, this creates an issue of social equity, especially if higher housing costs are …

Understanding The Impact Of Decentralizing Homeless Services On Transportation And Mobility In Salt Lake County, Sarah L. Canham, Jeff Rose, Ivis Garcia Zambrana, Shannon O. Jones

TREC Final Reports

In 2019, the delivery of homeless sheltering services in Salt Lake County transitioned from a centralized emergency shelter—The Road Home Salt Lake Community Shelter and Resource Center (TRHSLC)—operated by The Road Home to a decentralized, scattered site model with multiple “Homeless Resource Center” (HRC) locations operated by multiple service providers. To understand to what degree and to which “proximity” to public transportation and other needed services was achieved, this study examined: 1) how the decentralization of homeless services influenced transportation demand and mobility patterns for persons experiencing homelessness (PEH); and 2) how transportation and mobility changes affected access to services …

How Affordable Is Housing In Transit-Oriented Developments?, Reid Ewing, Nicole Iroz-Elardo, Arlie Adkins

TREC Project Briefs

Transportation and land use planning, as a field, is shifting away from segregated uses connected by highways and streets to more compact, mixed-use developments connected by high-quality transit. This new paradigm has brought special attention to transit-oriented developments (TOD), which are sometimes touted as being among the most affordable, efficient places to live. But how affordable are they, and who has the power to effect change?

Is Transit-Oriented Development Affordable for Low and Moderate Income Households?, a study funded by the National Institute of Transportation and Communities (NITC), examines housing costs for households living in TODs. Led by Reid Ewing …

Webinar: Mobility, Accessibility, And Resiliency Of Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Kate Hyun, Kathy Lee, Caroline Krejci

TREC Webinar Series

Mobility disparities among older adults affect their ability to travel and access services. This project seeks to understand challenges, barriers, and gaps that older adults experience and to develop forms of assistance or educational strategies to fill the varying mobility gaps and meet the mobility needs. This study characterizes older adults’ use of existing and potential transportation options, including conventional transit, paratransit, and ride-hailing systems, based on surveys and interviews collected from community-dwelling older adults in Dallas, Texas. Through the interview during the pandemic, the research team found that perceptual and knowledge barriers appear to be reduced among older adults …

Developing Strategies To Enhance Mobility And Accessibility For Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Kate Hyun, Kathy Lee, Caroline Krejci, Nilufer Oran Gibson, Troyee Saha

TREC Final Reports

Mobility disparities among older adults affect their ability to travel and access services. This project seeks to understand challenges, barriers, and gaps that older adults experience, and develop forms of assistance or educational strategies to fill the varying mobility gaps and meet mobility needs. This study characterizes older adults’ use of existing and potential transportation options, including conventional transit, paratransit, and ride-hailing systems, based on surveys collected from 146 low-income older adults in Dallas, TX. Using the survey data and interview data, we develop two mathematical modeling (a Latent Class Cluster Analysis and agent-based modeling (ABM)) and conduct content analysis …

Data From: “Developing Strategies To Enhance Mobility And Accessibility For Community-Dwelling Older Adults”, Kate Hyun, Kathy Lee, Caroline Krejci

TREC Datasets and Databases

This study administered a survey to 146 lower-income adults in Dallas, TX, aged 55 and older, between February and June 2020. As affordable public transportation options target senior citizens age 65 and older, this study focused on older adults as aged 65 and over. However, we also recruited adults aged 55 to 64 to distinguish how emerging seniors differently perceive or perform transportation activities compared to current older adults. In a partnership with a local organization providing resources and information for older adults and family caregivers located in Dallas, we used snowball sampling by recruiting participants from Foster Grandparent Program …

Examining The Impact Of Transportation-Related Barriers On Self-Perceived Physical Health Among Adults In The United States, Philip Baiden, Godfred O. Boateng, Stephen Mattingly, Alan Kunz Lomelin

TREC Final Reports

Objective: Drawing from the framework of social determinants of health, the objective of this paper was to investigate the crosssectional association between transportation-related factors and self-perceived physical health among adults in the U.S. while adjusting for known demographic and socioeconomic-related factors.

Methods: Data for this report 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. The outcome variable examined was self perceived physical health and the main explanatory variable was a measure of household vehicle deficit.

Results: Of the 71,235 respondents examined, 8.9% …

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).

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 …

Applying An Equity Lens To Automated Payment Solutions For Public Transportation, Aaron Golub, John Macarthur, Anne Brown, Candace Brakewood

TREC Final Reports

Many transit agencies plan to automate their fare collection and limit the use of cash for payment, with the goals of improving boarding and data collection while lowering operating costs. Still, 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, making it very challenging for these riders to ride. In light of these potential challenges, this project was developed by a group of transit agencies and consultants interested in the barriers faced by riders, and what …

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 …

The Impact Of Ride Hail Services On The Accessibility Of Nonprofit Services, Dyana P. Mason, Miranda Menard

TREC Final Reports

Nonprofit organizations are responsible for providing a significant level of human services across the United States, often in collaboration with government agencies. In this work, they address some of the most pressing social issues in society – 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 like Lyft and Uber, on nonprofit accessibility. These technologies, which are re-shaping transportation in both urban and …

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 …

Bi-Objective Optimization For Battery Electric Bus Deployment Considering Cost And Environmental Equity, Xiaoyue Cathy Liu, Yirong Zhou, Ran Wei, Aaron Golub, Devin Macarthur

TREC Final Reports

Public transit, compared with passenger cars, can effectively help conserve energy, reduce air pollution, and optimize flow on roadways. In recent years, Battery Electric Bus (BEB) is receiving an increasing amount of attention from the transit vehicle industry and transit agencies due to recent advances in battery technologies and the direct environmental benefits it can offer (e.g., zero emissions, less noise). However, limited efforts have been attempted on the effective deployment planning of the BEB system due to the unique spatiotemporal features associated with the system itself (e.g., driving range, bus scheduling). In this project, we developed an innovative spatiotemporal …

Rethinking Streets For Physical Distancing, Marc Schlossberg, Rebecca Lewis, Aliza Whalen, Clare Haley, Danielle Lewis, Natalie Kataoka, John Larson-Friend

TREC Final Reports

This report summarizes the primary output of this project, a book of COVID-era street reconfiguration case studies called Rethinking Streets During COVID-19: An Evidence-Based Guide to 25 Quick Redesigns for Physical Distancing, Public Use, and Spatial Equity. COVID-era needs have accelerated the process that many communities use to make street transformations due to: a need to remain physically distanced from others outside our immediate household; a need for more outdoor space close to home in every part of every community to access and enjoy; a need for more space to provide efficient mobility for essential workers in particular; and a …

Transit Impacts On Jobs, People And Real Estate, Arthur C. Nelson, Robert Hibberd, Kristina Marie Currans, Nicole Iroz-Elardo

TREC Final Reports

This is the first volume of a five-volume set of publications comprising the report titled “Transit Impacts on Jobs, People and Real Estate.” It is the culmination of four research projects funded by the the National Institute of Transportation and Communities (NITC), a US DOT funded National University Transportation Center. This volume includes a preface that review key findings of the prior four research grants, an executive summary that reviews key findings of all five volumes of the current report, the context that reviews the context of the present research including details on more than 50 fixed route transit systems …

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 …

Data Files: Bi-Objective Optimization For Battery Electric Bus Deployment Considering Cost And Environmental Equity, Xiaoyue Cathy Liu, Yirong Zhou, Ran Wei, Aaron Golub

TREC Datasets and Databases

This data supports the research project Bi-objective Optimization for Battery Electric Bus Deployment Considering Cost and Environmental Equity and a final report published on NITC’s website.

Dataset collected through multiple sources and organized into different formats including CSV format, JSON format, shapefile and code repository.

Context: The research project develops a bi-objective model that aims to help transit agencies to optimally deploy BEB while considering both capital investment and environmental equity. The unique spatio-temporal characteristic of BEB system, charging limitations (on-route and in-depot charging), and operational constraints are also considered and incorporated into the model.

Dignity Infused Community Engagement In Los Angeles, Caro Vera, Kevin Ocubillo

PSU Transportation Seminars

In 2019, the LADOT Vision Zero Division launched the Vision Zero Dignity Infused Community Engagement (VZ DICE) strategy with the intent to transform the way the City engages with local communities. This planning process intentionally and holistically incorporates the viewpoints, lived experiences, and perspectives of those most impacted by a planning project and seeks to restore and atone for historic, systemic, and institutional injustices. A team of community partners, advocates, social scientists, artists, everyday residents, and technical experts came together to reach community residents in ways that reflect the local social, cultural, and racial/ethnic identity of a neighborhood. The strategy …

Regional Transportation Goals: Reducing Sprawl Through Interconnected Centers, Reid Ewing

TREC Project Briefs

A “polycentric” region is a network of compact developments (centers) that are connected with each other through high-quality transportation options. As the antidote to sprawling suburbs, compact centers can encourage all the things that sprawl discourages: public health, environmental sustainability, social cohesion, and economic diversity. But how can metropolitan planning organizations ensure that their regional plans will actually meet these goals? Polycentric development has been advocated by urban and transportation planners for more than a decade. However, effective practice must be backed by solid research, and to date there has been little or no research that quantifies the transportation benefits …

Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled, Encouraging Walk Trips, And Facilitating Efficient Trip Chains Through Polycentric Development, Reid Ewing, Keunhyun Park, Sadegh Sabouri, Torrey Lyons, Keuntae Kim, Dong-Ah Choi, Katherine Daly, Roya Etminani Ghasrodashti

TREC Final Reports

Compact development can result in many benefits for communities and residents. Areas can connect compact developments through high-quality transportation options, creating a network of centers, or a “polycentric” region. This development pattern is very popular in Europe and is linked to significant benefits. Salt Lake County has organically developed several small centers, and with the right strategies could continue to fuel this kind of growth. The metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the region, the Wasatch Front Regional Council, has been planning for polycentric development since the Wasatch Choice for 2040 Vision was released in 2010. Our research is aimed at …

The Role Of Bus Stop Features In Facilitating Accessibility, Keith Bartholomew, Ja Young Kim, Divya Chandrasekhar, Reid Ewing, Arlie Adkins, Samuel Jensen

TREC Final Reports

Although transit decision-makers and riders generally favor improving bus stops by adding shelters, benches, and similar features, it is unclear the impact such features have on transit demand and there has been little research that measures these impacts. This study examines the link between stop improvements and changes in stop-level boardings on scheduled-service buses and in ADA paratransit demand in the Salt Lake City, UT, metropolitan area between 2014 and 2017. The study also investigates current bus stop improvement practices of leading transit agencies nationwide. The study uses a number of quantitative and qualitative techniques, including propensity score matching, propensity …

The Potential Of Green Infrastructure In Mitigating Flood Impacts On The Mobility Of Low Income And Minority Neighborhoods, Courtney Crosson, Yinan Zhang, Daoqin Tong

TREC Project Briefs

Short-term flooding from extreme storm events poses a serious transportation challenge in U.S. cities. This problem—which is anticipated to grow over the next century with our global climate crisis—is often hardest on vulnerable populations, including low-income and minority neighborhoods. This project advances national research methods for assessing flood vulnerability and prioritizing transportation improvement investments to ensure that no community is left stranded when the next flood occurs.

Urban Transportation System Flood Vulnerability Assessment With Special Reference To Low Income And Minority Neighborhoods, Courtney Crosson, Daoqin Tong, Yinan Zhang

TREC Final Reports

A flood vulnerability assessment of the City of Tucson, Arizona’s transportation systems was conducted with special reference to low-income and minority neighborhoods. Short-term flooding from extreme storm events pose a serious challenge to transportation system reliability and emergency response in cities across the United States. This problem, which is anticipated to grow over the next century due to climate change, is often hardest on vulnerable populations, including low-income and minority neighborhoods. Our work aimed to advance national research methods for assessing multi-modal transportation degradation due to flooding. We identified priority locations for Tucson to make transportation improvement investments for the …