PacTrans News
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April 15, 2025
Join us for the next PacTrans Regional Seminar: “Playing the Cat-and-Mouse Game Between Traffic Routing and Signal Control with Three ‘Consoles’: Results and Implications” with Michael Zhang, UC Davis
View the Full Flyer Here or Add to Calendar!
📌 HUB 250, UW or watch online at here.
⏲️ Monday, May 9 from 10:30 AM – 12:30 AM PT
💼 This event is free & open to the public!
☕ Complimentary coffee and snacks provided. -
March 27, 2025
PI Ji Yun Lee works to improve wildfire evacuation planning
Article reposted from WSU Insider, written by
Computer models that take into account how people act might someday be able to predict the ensuing evacuation challenges and traffic problems that occur during wildfire emergencies.
PacTrans researchers from Washington State University (WSU) used predictive machine-learning models to simulate how people behaved during the Tick wildfire in the Santa Clarita area of California in 2019. The research, published in Fire Technology, could improve evacuation policies and help emergency managers in fire-prone areas.
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March 17, 2025
UofI PI, Michael Lowry, is working to improve bicycle and motorcycle safety in South America
UofI PI Dr. Michael Lowry is currently on sabbatical leave in South America, where he is working to improve bicycle and motorcycle safety.
In fall 2024, he collaborated with a research team in Santiago, Chile, to study on-demand delivery traffic, which has surged globally due to mobile apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats. The on-demand delivery market is valued at nearly $250 billion and is projected to reach $750 billion by 2033.
In urban areas, the rise in delivery traffic—primarily bicycles and motorcycles—has significantly impacted congestion, safety, and infrastructure planning. Lowry’s team partnered with local city planners to analyze delivery traffic using computer vision, an AI-driven approach to advanced image processing. They trained a computer vision model with nearly 1,000 images of delivery bicycles and motorcycles and are analyzing video feeds from 30 CCTV cameras across Santiago. Their findings will help guide future transportation infrastructure investments.
In spring 2025, Lowry moved to Medellín, Colombia, where he is working with a research team to enhance bicycle demand forecasting by using computer vision data for model calibration.
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March 12, 2025
Applications now open for FREE overnight high school transportation camps this summer – Washington Transportation Camp
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March 7, 2025
PacTrans Leadership Development Seminar – Spring 2025: “The times they are a-changin’… so what else is new?” with Scott Murrell, P.E.
View the Full Flyer Here or Add to Calendar!
📌 HUB 145, UW or watch online at https://youtube.com/live/WtRh8ADGtvI
⏲️ Wednesday, March 12 from 9:00 AM – 10 AM PT
💼 This event is free & open to the public!
☕ Complimentary coffee and snacks provided.
