News Tagged: Usdot

USDOT awards $3.5 million to continue OTREC sustainable transportation research and programs

Posted on January 12, 2012

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Portland State University $3.5 million for research and education on sustainable transportation topics, the department announced today. The Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC), the university transportation center based at PSU, will administer the grant.

OTREC, a partnership between PSU, the University of Oregon and the Oregon Institute of Technology, will join with the University of Utah to carry out the grant. This award reaffirms OTREC’s evolution into one of the nation’s leading transportation livability research centers and provides the resources to address national problems strategically.

Research and educational programs under the grant will focus on the following topics:

• Improving health and safety for all users
• Increasing the efficiency and understanding of cycling, walking and transit
• Making the best use of data, performance measures and analytical tools
• Integrating multimodal transportation with land use
• Taking long-term action on transportation emissions and climate change.

PSU was one of 63 applicants for 22 grants. The grant competition challenged university transportation center leaders to demonstrate the ability and experience to produce the country’s best transportation research and educational programs. “In five years, OTREC has advanced the state of research on topics such as the connections between transportation and land use; intelligent transportation systems; and bicycle, pedestrian and transit infrastructure,” said OTREC Director Jennifer Dill. “This award recognizes that work while allowing us to focus deeper on pressing national problems.”

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Tags: jeff merkley, jennifer dill, keith bartholomew, otrec, peter defazio, university of utah, usdot, utc, wim wiewel

OTREC hosts national Council of University Transportation Centers conference

Posted on July 1, 2011

Even with uncertainty clouding the future of university transportation research, more than 150 people from around the country showed their dedication to providing the most useful transportation research at the Council of University Transportation Centers’ 2011 summer meeting. OTREC hosted the conference June 13-15 at Portland State University.

University transportation researchers and staff, along with federal and state transportation officials, convened for three days of work sessions, meetings and exploring. OTREC-organized tours gave a Portland flavor to the proceedings, letting visitors explore the city by every available transportation mode. The 4T trail took participants on a light-rail train, a trail, an aerial tram and a streetcar (or trolley). The bike tour showed off the bicycle infrastructure that is making Portland nationally known. An architecture walking tour highlighted downtown Portland’s buildings and parks. And the food-and-beer tour explored the city’s burgeoning food-cart scene and copious microbreweries.

For many people, the conference provided the first opportunity to visit Oregon, and OTREC took the opportunity to share the state’s story of integrating transportation and land use. Rex Burkholder and Andy Cotugno with regional government Metro discussed how planning and policymaking dovetail with transportation in creating a livable region. Bob Hastings, agency architect with TriMet, described the transit agency’s sustainability initiatives. Lidwien Rahman with the Oregon Department of Transportation detailed the codes that provide a backbone for transportation and land-use planning.

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Tags: andy cotugno, bob hastings, cutc, jennifer dill, lidwien rahman, oregon department of transportation, rex burkholder, rich margerum, robert liberty, starr mcmullen, sustainable cities initiative, transportation research, trimet, university transportation centers, usdot