OTREC Newsletter Fall 2011

The third annual Oregon Transportation Summit drew 275 people to Portland State University for what has become a leading regional venue to connect transportation professionals with each other and with academic researchers. Workshops and plenary sessions spread some of the best ideas in transportation and the OTREC awards honored leaders in their field.

This year’s summit also marked the first time OTREC faculty and student researchers presented their work in a poster session, with posters spread throughout the conference site. The popular poster session featured 19 posters from three OTREC campuses on topics such as cyclist route choice, driver behavior at unsignalized intersections and active transportation in suburbia.
 
Report: Barriers, distance from cars clear air for cyclists
Moving cyclists just a few feet from automobiles can make a big improvement in air quality, an OTREC research project found. That’s the distance between a traditional bike lane and a separated cycle track. The research team examined the microscopic particles, called ultrafine particles (UFP), given off by automobile engines. Read more...
 
In transportation funding decisions, you don’t count until you’re counted. That fact can lead to cyclists and pedestrians getting less than their share of transportation money. OTREC hosted a conference Sept. 15 to address that problem. “Without the data, you have an incomplete picture of how the (transportation) system is being used,” said OTREC researcher Chris Monsere. Read more...
 
OTREC research leading to 100 mpg car
OTREC has teamed up with Portland-based Green Lite Motors to bring a 100 mile-per-gallon vehicle closer to market. OTREC researchers at the Oregon Institute of Technology will evaluate and improve the performance of the two-seat vehicle. The project grew out of a commercialization grant from the Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center, or Oregon BEST. Read more...
 
Third Sustainable City Year starts in Springfield
The third Sustainable City Year partnership, this year with Springfield, Ore., is officially underway after a kickoff ceremony Sept. 28 at the University of Oregon. The experiential learning program, part of the OTREC-supported Sustainable Cities Initiative, focused on the cities of Gresham and Salem, respectively, in its first two years. Read more...
 
Oregon State ITE chapter takes regional honor
Oregon State University’s student ITE chapter is the reigning Western District ITE chapter after taking the Student Chapter Award at the district’s annual meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. The award honors the outstanding chapter for the entire 13-state region, which encompasses 34 student chapters. The award marks a quick turnaround for a chapter that was dormant a few years ago. Read more...
 
Course uses Portland as laboratory for bicycle and pedestrian design
The Initiative for Bicycle & Pedestrian Innovation at Portland State University hosted a weeklong boot camp on bicycle and pedestrian design geared toward transportation planners, engineers and other public officials. The intensive course featured classroom sessions, discussions, daily field tours of Portland facilities and project applications. Read more...
 
OTREC campus update: University of Oregon
The last few months at the University of Oregon have been busy, with students connecting transportation with community and policy change. OTREC Assoicate Director Marc Schlossberg provides an update on two activities: a student-run transportation photo exhibit and the effects of the Sustainable City Year program of the Sustainable Cities Initiative. Read more ...