Pedestrians at Traffic Signals

I had a nice conversation with a researcher from the University of Manitoba on Friday pertaining to our efforts on Pedestrians. As I was reviewing our study of the HAWK (Pedestrian hybrid beacon) and the Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacon, it was clear that while we have learned a lot, there remains much to do to improve the conditions for pedestrians. I have been asked to participate in a National Cooperative Highway Research Program project on updating the Signal Timing Manual and incorporating more information about pedestrians at intersections.

Sustainable Transportation System Management

My presentation at ITS America is posted to the ITSA FTP site ftp://itsaweb.itsa.org/AnnualMeeting2010_Presentations/Special%20Sessions/Sustainability%20Track/SS14-How%20Do%20You%20Measure%20%93Sustainability%94%96%20Performance%20Measures%20for%20Transportation%20and%20Climate%20Change/SS14_pkoonce.pdf. It was focused on how we would measure sustainability. The challenge is that we don't measure much, so we're not starting from a strong foundation and we're trying to capture something that is hard to get a handle on. This is particularly challenging in an arterial network.

We've got lots of work to do.

GHG and Transportation Webinar

I participated in this webinar for AASHTO related to traffic operations improvements that would address GHG. I shared it with the Portland State University class as an introduction to Ecodriving.

I did see an Ecodriving booth in Rotterdam when I was there. I was thinking the first step would be to start education with the City employees if we wanted to target reducing our contribution, which is a study the City is currently undertaking.

Next Adventure: UTMS Japan

I have been invited to speak in Japan and so I started doing a little research on the country. I picked up the Lonely Planet book on Tokyo:Citiescape. It's a nice book that describes Japan in a nutshell. Andrew Bender writes the following in My Perfect Day: Jet lag will probably provide the wake-up call you need to reach Tsukiji fish market before the sun rises. Rubber-booted stall owners and an army of hydraulic lifts work toward selling a fish every four seconds. Then break for the breakfast of champions: the freshest sushi in the world. Hop on the subway to Asakusa, once the bustling centre of shitamachi and still the spiritual heart of Edo, where Senso-ji is Tokyo's grandest and most-frequented Buddhist temple. In the afternoon, take a peak into the future in the electronics and manga mecca of Akihabara of steep yourself in tradition with the fabulously made-up and costumed stories of the deeds of the samurai at the kabuki theater; the legendary department stores of Ginza are right nearby. As night falls, try to tear yourself away from the avenues of neon to commune with the fashionable teens and tweeners in Shibuya, or rise above it all with dinner in Roppongi Hills and a 360-degree night-time view amid artworks at the Mori Art Museum and its observatory.

Rambling around Europe GPS Info

Untitled by pkoonce99 at Garmin Connect - Details I haven't shared a trip before so I thought I would try it on the blog. Here it is.

The Bill Kloos Traffic Bowl Winners

In quite a tribute to Bill Kloos, my predecessor at the City of Portland... the Western District Traffic Bowl was named after him. In the first year held since Bill's passing, Portland State University won the competition. Bill was a huge advocate for Transportation Engineering at PSU. An interesting coincidence was that his alma mater Montana State was 2nd! It's just another example of his legacy in the profession and a reminder of what large shoes I am filling at the City.

Traffic Signal Controller Cabinet for Dutch Tram Line

On my trip to the Netherlands, I had a chance to speak to the Northeastern University class that spends a month at TU Delft.  
The class features several speakers from the local community and invited guests (like me) to have the students explore European transportation practices. The class I attended provided a tour of a new tram line and the development associated with that planning. On the tour, we ran into a crew that was working on implementing signal timing for the new tram line that was added. The people that I met were contractors with the electrician from Poland and the other technician did not talk much. It was difficult to communicate with them, but I did learn a little about the cabinet, the tram detection, and I got a peek inside the cabinet. There seems to be a lot to learn from the European experience.  
There are specific intersections on the Portland to Milwaukie line that might take directly from the practice used commonly in the Netherlands and Denmark.