Transportation & Communities 2018: Academy Edition

Transportation professionals often need to survey users to better plan, design, and engineer our system. But, we often don't get the answers we really need, either because we don't ask the right questions, the right people, or enough people. This workshop will cover the basics of designing and implementing an effective survey, whether it be via mail, on-line, or in person.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
After this workshop you will have a better understanding of how to...

• Plan and implement an effective survey to use in practice
• Write survey questions to get the answers you need
• Get a higher response rate

 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

With the increased interest in walking and cycling due to the many benefits they provide, many cities are interested in better accommodating bicyclists and pedestrians at signalized intersections. However, traditional traffic signal timing objectives at signalized intersections have prioritized motor vehicles over nonmotorized users often leading to unnecessary delays. While signal timing strategies for bicyclists and pedestrians exist, they are not often used widely. The objective of this proposed half-day workshop is to provide attendees with a toolbox of bicycle and pedestrian focused signal timing strategies, expected safety and efficiency impacts of these strategies on all users, and methods to identify a suitable strategy to fit operational objectives. This workshop will also cover real life examples of situations where each strategy was implemented and how that determination to implement the particular strategy was made along with outcomes.

THE RESEARCH
Learn more about the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) research that informed this workshop.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Gain knowledge of a toolbox of bicycle and pedestrian focused signal timing strategies
• Explain the safety and efficiency impacts of each strategy
• Select a strategy based on operational objectives
• Implement the strategy using state-of-the-practice signal controller

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

This workshop will discuss frameworks and methodologies that transportation and planning fields can use to more deeply collaborate with their communities. The practices and principles of asset-based community development (ABCD) will enable grantees to move from being community anchors to community catalysts in ways that energize and empower their local community member to bring about positive change. Grantees and others will be able to change their relationship with their community from host and supplier to mutually beneficial partner and collaborator. Building on the skills of local residents, the power of local associations, and the supportive functions of local institutions, asset-based community development draws upon existing community strengths to build stronger, more sustainable communities for the future. I will employ examples from NITC research projects that deal with community engagement and vulnerable populations (immigrants, low-income and older adults).

THE RESEARCH
Learn more about the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) research that informed this workshop.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Strengths and challenges of existing and historic community engagement, and related assumptions.
• Key assets for community engagement, including socio-economic and demographic characteristics in the community role of community asset systems and dynamics: individuals, associations, institutions, economic exchanges, physical space and local cultures and stories.
• Current and desired networks and roles including: Power dynamics; Learning dynamics; and Exchanges
• Location and source of animation and passion in the community and among grantee stakeholders.
• Definition of apparent opportunities and points of leverage for change and improvement.
• Definition of what the team wants and needs to learn going forward.
• Identification of guiding principles for the work and the learning and values shared with relevant community actors.
• Identification of the operating ‘theory of change’ the group is operating within. “What is the change we seek, how does that change happen, what do we want to do and/or create to support that change?”
• Define data that will support learning and strengthen community engagement. How will we know if change is happening? How will we know what change is happening? What data will we look at and how and when will we respond? What are the sources of that data?

 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

Remember that stats class you took in college? If you’re like most, probably not. But, you have some data you need to analyze – a survey, traffic counts, crash data – and use in a memo or report to your boss, client, commission, the public, etc.. How do you know if the differences you see are “statistically significant”? Do you use a Chi-square or t-test? Row percent or column percent? How do you write up those findings? What do those regression model results someone shared really mean? This workshop will provide a refresher on how to analyze quantitative data, including the most common statistical tests, and how to write about data – all using Excel.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
After this workshop you will have a better understanding of:

• What statistical test to use in what situations
• How to write about the results from statistical tests, without being too technical
• How to do basic data analysis in Excel

     
 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

This session will present the new analysis procedures incorporated into HCM 6th Edition. These new procedures cover topics such as travel time reliability, multimodal facilities, freeways, alternative intersections and interchanges, and roundabouts. The session will also provide an overview of the new Planning and Preliminary Engineering Applications Guide to the HCM. This guide provides planning level procedures for many of the methodologies within the HCM.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Learn, at a high level, about the major changes and additions to the HCM
• Learn about the resources that help support the HCM 6th Edition
• Identify the planning tasks to which HCM methods can potentially be applied
• Learn about the case studies provided in the Guide and how they demonstrate the application of HCM planning methods to a variety of planning tasks

   
 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

This workshop will present strategies for leveraging app-based technologies designed to enhance ecological momentary assessment (EMA) transportation research methods with more diverse populations. Traditional transportation research tends to overlook individuals who do not own cars and do not drive during peak commuter hours, individuals who are disproportionately minority race and lower income and may be characterized as environmental justice (EJ) populations. Moreover, technology-enhanced methods remain under-utilized with EJ populations. As such, individuals who experience transportation disadvantage are at further risk of being excluded from transportation planning. First, we will define EMA methods and their role in reducing recall bias in transportation research. Second, we will explain how to adapt new technologies to collect EMA data with more diverse populations. This may include mobile phones, tablet devices, and apps. Finally, we will discuss strategies to overcome barriers to implementing technology-enhanced EMA methods, e.g., cost, hardware compatibility and Wifi connectivity.  
 
THE RESEARCH
Learn more about the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) research that informed this workshop.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Define ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data collection methods. 
• Learn how to collect EMA data with transportation-disadvantaged, diverse populations using technology-based methods. 
• Use EMA data collected through technology-based methods to answer questions about how to improve transportation planning for diverse populations. 
• Identify strategies for overcoming barriers to using technology-based EMA methods with diverse populations. 

                 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS   
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

This workshop starts with economic base theory, shows how to calculate location quotients and shift-share models, and interpret outcomes. It will compare economic base methods with others, showing the advantages and limitations of each.Participants will get the University of Arizona’s entire transit database. Then, using their laptops and being only moderately proficient with excel, participants will engage in hands-on analysis. They will choose one transit system to analyze, such as their local bus rapid transit system. Participants will then generate LQs, shift-share analyses, and graphs showing changes in the number and share of: 

• Jobs by sector with respect to type of system and distance from stations;
• Jobs by wage category with respect to type of system and distance from stations; and
• Population, households, householders by age, and housing by tenure with respect to type of system and distance from stations. 

THE RESEARCH
Learn more about the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) research that informed this workshop.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Understand the importance of using economic base theory to assess outcomes of fixed-guideway transit systems over time;
• How to apply LQ and shift-share techniques to measure outcomes to determine whether fixed-guideway transit systems make a difference shaping development patterns over time; and
• Interpreting results for planning and policy.

 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS 
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

Join us after the workshops on Thursday for an informal happy hour at Growler USA. This event is open to the public, not limited to workshop attendees! Growler is a craft microbrew pub located across & down the street from the venue, on the ground floor of PSU's Karl Miller buildling. We'll meet up there around 5:30 pm.

The safety, comfort, and accessibility of the pedestrian realm of our cities is improving slowly, though unequally. Improving the streets for pedestrian access is not just about adding or widening sidewalks; there are a wide range of design solutions to improve access, safety, and experience. Increasingly, cities are making investments to fill sidewalk gaps, improve ADA compliance, install pedestrian-activated signalized crossings, construct streetscape improvements, and build trails.

This workshop will consider not only how to achieve pedestrian infrastructure, but how to do so using the dual lenses of equity and universal accessibility. Through exercises and storytelling, we will probe at how to integrate pedestrian safety, equity, and accessibility at each of the the phases of project development, from planning through design to construction. As a way to frame the conversation, Amy Parker will facilitate a simulation exercise that allows participants to experience different abilities by using a low vision simulator, blindfold, or wheelchair, and observe how this affects their experience of the environment. The workshop will then consider how this experience relates to a framework for design, inclusion, and equity and different phases of the project development process. We will consider case examples of what’s working, and missed opportunities, in practice.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Tangible experiences of differently abled people moving through the city that will provide essential perspective for all designers, planners, and leaders
• Insight into how to recognize decision points in the project development life cycle, to apply the lenses of equity and universal access

 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

Smart cities planning has been active in many urban areas around the country. The City of Portland has been one of the leading cities planning for and implementing policies, programs and projects related to using data and emerging technology to improve people’s lives, particularly focusing on mobility. Cities see new developments in mobility solutions, connected and autonomous vehicles, travel data and information as important tools that can shape the ways people move around and live. Because transportation needs to be thought of both locally and regionally, suburban communities, cities and towns need to be part of the discussion and the solution so the region can benefit and thrive with the adoption of these technologies.
 
New mobility services tend to focus on serving affluent areas and urban neighborhoods that already have abundant transportation options. In order for these services to deliver on the promise to reduce congestion and emissions and advance equity, they need to work for suburban communities where people often lack options other than driving alone.
 
This workshop will provide an overview of new mobility concepts and technologies, and an update on regional activities in the space. Using both local and national examples of smart technology applied in a suburban context, the co-leads will present a framework for participants to use to start preparing for the implementation and adoption of these technologies in their community.
 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Develop a better understanding of smart cities and new mobility technologies in a suburban context and their role and impacts on the transportation system and city planning;
• Understand the current activities that are occurring regionally around the topic;
• Insight on how their community can adopt these technologies in a suburban context and what their role is regionally to collaborate, learn and planning for the future.

 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

Contemporary managed lanes began with the development and implementation of High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, which were first deployed in an era when the interstate building program was in full swing.  Four decades later this strategy has evolved to incorporate an array of innovative techniques to get more effective use out of our freeway infrastructure, making managed lanes a more sustainable way of moving people and vehicles.  What began as a way of moving bus passengers more efficiently has mushroomed into a way of managing limited roadway capacity through various combinations of access, eligibility, pricing, and traffic management technologies. Including HOV lanes, $20 billion has been invested in more than 3,000 miles of managed lanes to date.  More than $40 billion will likely be invested in the next decade, as these lanes are increasingly seen as a means of providing long-term sustainability and reliability.

Despite the large level of investment in managed lanes infrastructure, national guidance on the development, deployment, and operation of these facilities are relatively scattered among a few key documents. Furthermore, much of the state of the practice in managed lanes development owes more to the experimental experiences of implementing agencies than to prescriptive guidance.

This workshop will identify best practices as revealed by deployed managed lanes and provide instruction on how to incorporate these best practices throughout the project development process and throughout operations of managed lanes.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Understand the fundamental reasons to consider managed lanes, and, local context by which they would likely be successful if deployed
• Become familiar with the various implementations from a design and operations perspective, including variations available for local consideration
• Demonstrate understanding of available managed lanes guidance, law, and related resources.
• Be able to assess the potential for implementing a managed lanes facility
• Identify future opportunities to cultivate a managed lanes solution

 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

*This is the only full day workshop we're offering at TCA2018 this year. The cost of this full-day workshop is $190 (general admission) and $100 (student rate).

Large transportation-related data sets are becoming increasingly available to practitioners. Newfound access to these large data sets may outstrip the ability of even savvy data analysts.  The use of R, an open source statistical computing language, can greatly improve an analyst’s productivity and increase their skill set.

R allows users to:

• retrieve, merge, format and clean data, 
• perform data augmentations, 
• perform analyses, 
• produce summary graphics, and 
• make the process repeatable and shareable.

This workshop will showcase applications from other organizations that use R and transportation related data, highlight best practices, and provide reproducible examples for users that wish to learn and use R using PORTAL and PORTAL data. After finishing this workshop, participants will have a better understanding of the applications of using R with large unruly data. Participants should have a basic knowledge of data analysis and an interest in learning R.  

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Participants unfamiliar with R will come away with a better understanding its applications and utility in analyzing large datasets from reproducible examples and showcase of other work products from other organizations.
• Statistics is scary for some people but R can remove some of the barriers and make the application of advanced statistic more approachable.  Participants will have reproducible examples that demonstrate how to examine common data sets used in transportation.
• Communicating the story is vital for good decision making.  Wrangling and analyzing data can fall short without a compelling story and the picture to help illustrate the lessons.  Participants will learn the offerings from R for visualization techniques to help make the most of the lessons they glean from their data analysis efforts. 

 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This full-day workshop is eligible for 7 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

The United States has a little over 4 million miles of roads. 69% of that mileage is made up of the slowest, calmest type of street – the local street. These are the streets most of us use every day. Bicycle and pedestrian treatments which allow the mixing of motorized and non-motorized traffic are applicable to much of this 2.8 million mile-long system. While protected bicycle lanes and off-street facilities often grab the spotlight, local streets dominate our network and treatments for these streets deserve at least equal consideration.

These slower streets present their own challenges and are amenable to a range of facilities which are not normally appropriate for busier streets. These facilities go by names such as neighborhood greenways, bicycle boulevards, bike lanes, yield roadways, shared streets, and a new treatment called advisory bike lanes. Each of these facilities has their own personality, strengths, and weaknesses.

This workshop will present these treatments, compare their advantages and disadvantages, and look at the street conditions for which they are most suitable. Guidance on siting and design for each treatment will be provided.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Define the bicycle and pedestrian treatments available for calmer streets
• Understand the advantages and disadvantages of the various treatments
• Select the appropriate treatment for a given street environment
• Talk knowledgeably about a newly available treatment, the advisory bike lane
• Find resources to educate themselves further in this area

 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

Assessing the performance of public transit services has long been an important yet challenging issue for transportation agencies and researchers. While much previous work has examined public transit services for achieving optimal operational efficiency and access equity separately, the interplay of the two has rarely been investigated in research or practice. The objective of this proposed half-day workshop is to provide attendees with a comprehensive framework and an open-source toolbox for evaluating and enhancing the overall performance of public transit services. This framework enables operational efficiency and access equity of transit services to be assessed in an integrated manner. The python open-source toolbox and software operationalizes the framework and makes it accessible to transit planners, decision-makers and the public. This workshop will demonstrate the framework and toolbox using realistic transit data.
 
THE RESEARCH
Learn more about the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) research that informed this workshop.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Understand the current state of performance evaluation for transit services;
• Evaluate operational efficiencies and access equity for transit services using the developed toolbox and software;
• Identify top performers that can best achieve the diverse and competing goals set forth by any agencies, and bottom performers that are candidates for service modification and consolidation.

 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.

The workshop will describe Pasadena's hybrid approach to the adoption of sustainable transportation metrics, focusing on Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) for Greenhouse Gas reduction along with the use of conventional auto Level of Service (LOS) for project access management and protection of residential neighborhoods. Pasadena’s metrics, impact analyses process, and impact fee speak directly to the issues facing cities when attempting to create vibrant, sustainable and walkable communities.

You’ll come away with an understanding of the facts and history behind Pasadena’s approach, including specific development project case studies. As a group, we’ll share experiences with transportation impact analyses and discuss the pros and cons of each agency’s approach.

Reviewing project-level cases from other California cities and counties, we’ll cover the analytic tools used in each VMT estimation. Notably, we’ll discuss the four key steps needed for the analysis, as well as sketch-level tools that may reduce or preclude the needs for a traditional travel model.

Lastly, we’ll focus on innovative approaches to community and regional VMT mitigation strategies, and the need for more advances in the state of the practice.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Project-level VMT analysis, as is required in California, may have applicability in Oregon and elsewhere.
• Project-level VMT analysis may be a basis for exactions for sustainable transportation infrastructure.
• There is a clear need, and there are innovative examples, of community and regional VMT mitigation strategies being offered by the public and private sectors that may be adapted from California to other states. 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS
This half-day workshop is eligible for 3.5 hours of professional development credit through AICP (see our provider summary). We can provide an electronic attendance certificate for other types of certification maintenance.