Projects

Principal Investigator:

Malia Schilling

Funding Source:

Statewide Transportation Research Program & Pacific Southwest Region 9 University Transportation Center

Program Area(s):

Transportation & Communities, Transportation & Health

This report analyzes ten peer cities across the state, country and globe with the goal of providing best practices and lessons learned for Los Angeles’ update of its street design guidance: Atlanta, Dallas, London, Mumbai, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Toronto, and Washington DC. Specifically, the report examines each city’s development and implementation of its street design guidelines through semi-structured interviews and an analysis of six priority complete streets design treatments. Treatments analyzed include corner radii, curb extensions, pedestrian refuge islands, raised crosswalks, roundabouts, and transit platforms. Based on my analysis, I recommend three policy guidelines for the City of Los Angeles: 1) prioritize street design regulations over recommendations, 2) choose flexibility over specificity, and 3) create unified documentation.

Principal Investigator:

Rabi Abonour

Funding Source:

Statewide Transportation Research Program

Program Area(s):

Transportation & Communities, Transportation & Health

Vision Zero, the dominant traffic safety framework in the United States, typically includes as a strategy increased enforcement of traffic laws. Activists concerned with overpolicing of communities of color are often skeptical of this strategy and have tried to push cities to minimize police involvement in traffic safety plans. To help planners understand this complex issue, my research will address the following question: “How have Vision Zero planning efforts addressed the relationship between traffic enforcement and communities of color?” People of color are disproportionately likely to be pulled over while driving, but planners continue to include traffic enforcement in Vision Zero plans. For this project I will interrogate the planning process through case studies of Vision Zero cities, interviewing planners, policy makers, and community members to address the following question: “How have Vision Zero planning efforts addressed the relationship between traffic enforcement and communities of color?”

Principal Investigator:

Riley O'Brien

Funding Source:

Statewide Transportation Research Program

Program Area(s):

Transportation & Communities, Transportation & Health

Traffic collisions are just one example of the negative externalities resulting from motorized transportation, along with noise, congestion, localized air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Although some crashes involve only non-motorized modes, most pedestrian and bicycle crashes involve automobiles and other large motorized vehicles. While reducing pedestrian and bicycle collisions should be a priority everywhere, reducing them in Southern California has unique importance. In 2016, California had the 10th most pedestrian fatalities per resident in the United States, and SCAG anticipates an increase in walking and bicycling throughout the region over the next few decades.This study supports the State of California and SCAG’s objectives in decreasing traffic fatalities while increasing active transportation by identifying high-collision areas, ranking which factors predict crashes, and demonstrating that these areas tend to be low-income communities and communities of color. The research team will use linear regression models and geographic information systems software to meet their objectives.

Principal Investigator:

Ribeka Toda

Funding Source:

Statewide Transportation Research Program

Program Area(s):

Traffic, Transportation & Health

The 85th percentile rule is a widespread rule of thumb used for setting speed limits on public roads. Developed in the 1960s for use on rural two-lane highways in the US, this rule has been increasingly criticized as an inappropriate method for setting speed limits, especially in urban areas. The reasons behind the acceptance and continued use of this rule vary and are not uniform between engineers, law enforcement officers, and legislators.This study will explore the research and evidence to support using the 85th percentile rule for setting the speed limit, particularly in urban areas. The study will review the evolution of the rule and its application in cities primarily using interviews conducted with engineers, law enforcement officers, local political leadership, and legislators in the City of Los Angeles.

Principal Investigator:

Suzanne Paulson

Funding Source:

Statewide Transportation Research Program

Program Area(s):

Environment, Transportation & Health

Principal Investigator:

Suzanne Paulson

Funding Source:

Statewide Transportation Research Program

Program Area(s):

Environment, Transportation & Communities, Transportation & Health