Photo by Page Light Studios/iStock

Two national research centers at Portland State University have been awarded a new contract from the National Academies of Science (NAS): TCRP J-11/Task 40: Homelessness: A Guide for Public Transportation. We interviewed the two principal investigators to learn more about this new collaboration:

Photo by Sam Balto

Since 2013, local transportation activist group Better Block PDX has developed partnerships with organizations across the Portland Metro area. Most notable were the connections that emerged between the communities’ needs for tactical urbanism solutions and the expertise of Portland State University (PSU) transportation students.

Subcontract: NCHRP 15-73 Design Options to Reduce Turning Motor Vehicle – Bicycle Conflicts at Controlled Intersections

Sponsor: National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)

Research Team Lead: Christina Fink, Toole Design Group

Photo by Portland Bureau of Transportation

Effect of Residential Street Speed Limit Reduction from 25 to 20 mi/hr on Driving Speeds in Portland, Oregon

Hau Hagedorn, the associate director of Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center and the National Institute for Transportation and Communities, has been selected by the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) and the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) to win the 2020 CUTC-ARTBA Award for Administrative Leadership.

The 100th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) is coming up next month. Normally held in Washington, D.C., this year's meeting will be virtual and will take place from January 5–29. Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) researchers will have strong representation in the online conference: 23 Portland State University faculty, staff and students are presenting their expertise at TRB 2021!

Subcontract: NCHRP 15-74 Safety Evaluation of On-Street Bicycle Facility Design Features

Sponsor: National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)

Research Team Lead: Dr. Bahar Dadashova, Texas A&M Transportation Institute

A national non-motorized count data archive, BikePed Portal provides a centralized standard count database for public agencies, researchers, educators, and other curious members of the public to view and download bicycle and pedestrian count data. It includes automated and manual counts from across the country, and supports screenline and turning movement counts.

A new paper in the Journal of Planning Literature by Michael McQueen, Gabriella Abou-Zeid, John MacArthur and Kelly Clifton of PSU took a look at micromobility. The article focuses on the role of new modes like shared e-scooters in the efforts to cultivate a more sustainable transportation system by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, providing a reliable and equitable transportation service, and enhancing the human experience.

Chris Monsere, Sirisha Kothuri and Jason Anderson of Portland State University developed guidance for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) regarding the placement of Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons, or RRFB's, in combination with median refuges on three-lane roadways. Their research explored the effect of these crossings on driver yielding behavior. For roads with volumes higher than 12,000 average daily traffic (ADT), they found high yielding rates at pedestrian crossings that had a beacon, whether or not there was a median.