Research News

If You Provide, Will They Ride? Motivators and Deterrents to Shared Micro-Mobility

Bike share, e-bike share, and e-scooter systems (collectively known as shared micro-mobility) are gaining popularity throughout the United States and internationally, but no one has yet determined the optimal system design. This study investigated motivators for and deterrents to the use of such systems in the Pacific Northwest.

Dynamic Metering in Connected Urban Street Networks: Improving Mobility

As traffic congestion increases on urban street networks, a network’s ability to process vehicles decreases because of queue spillovers and gridlock. Traffic metering can help regulate the flow of vehicles entering congested areas to allow the network to operate at its optimum level. This study sought to develop a traffic metering method for urban street networks and to study the effects of metering on traffic operations.

Washington State School Walk Score

Walking and biking to school help children be healthy. They also reduce air pollution, local noise, and traffic congestion. Poor walkability environments pose barriers for children to walk to school. This project developed two school walkability scores that can help parents and school staff assess walkability levels around individual schools and that can also guide jurisdictions in selecting strategies that will increase walkability and safety around schools.

Freight and Transit Lane Case Study

In January 2019 the City of Seattle opened a local freight and transit (FAT) lane to explore ways to address the challenges of freight mobility. This study evaluated the performance and utilization of the FAT lane. Analysis included the percentages of buses and freight vehicles that chose the FAT lane, violation rates of the FAT lane, and factors that most influenced lane choice. The city will be able to use these findings to guide the development of future FAT lane projects.

Cargo E-Bike Delivery Pilot Test in Seattle

This study evaluated the pilot test of a cargo e-bike delivery system in Seattle, Washington. Researchers compared the performance of an electric-assisted tricycle with a removable cargo container used to perform last-mile deliveries and pick-ups in downtown Seattle with that of a traditional, truck-only delivery system. In evaluating and comparing both systems, the researchers looked at delivery area, number of delivery locations, number of packages delivered, and failed first delivery rate. The results are intended to provide information to help the city in developing future urban freight policies.

Ferry Vessel Propeller Wash Effects on Scour at the Kingston Ferry Terminal (Washington)

In recent years, severe scour at the Kingston ferry terminal in Washington state has caused concern for terminal safety, as underwater erosion has caused an undersea cliff face to migrate shoreward toward the onshore ferry trestle structure. This project investigated the role of ferry-generated turbulence in causing the erosion by characterizing the ferry vessel wake and wash structure and by developing a model to better predict seabed stress at ferry terminals caused by propeller wash.

Understanding Opportunities with Connected Vehicles in the Smart Cities Context

Pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized road users represent a large percentage of all traffic-related fatalities. This project focused on these especially vulnerable road users by developing a way to use information from connected vehicles to identify locations prone to conflicts between motorized and non-motorized users and improve traffic safety on multimodal roadway networks.

Washington State Ferries Triangle Route: Analysis of Alternative Concepts of Operation

The Washington State Ferry (WSF) System’s Triangle Route is heavily used and experiences a number of significant operational challenges. To improve operation of the Triangle Route, WSF would like to identify and evaluate operational concepts for the route that would not only improve ferry service performance but that could be implemented within the budget constraints of the agency. After analysis of several options, the researchers recommended three operational concepts for further exploration.

Cost-Effective Use of Sustainable Cementitious Materials as Reactive Filter Media

Transportation agencies need cost-effective tools to address stormwater pollution. In cold climates that require the use of a lot of snow/ice control products, chloride salts are a particular problem in highway runoff. This project assessed the use of crushed fines from recycled concrete (CFRCs), modified with nano silicon dioxide, to passively remove chlorides from polluted stormwater runoff.

A New Sustainable Additive for Anti-Icing Asphalt

This laboratory study developed and tested an anti-icing asphalt pavement that incorporated innovative salt-storage additives with a sustained salt-release rate. Anti-icing asphalt pavement that incorporates salt-storage additives holds promise as an effective strategy to not only prevent ice formation or weaken the bond of snow-ice to the pavement but also to reduce the use of salt chemicals for winter road maintenance.

Washington State Transportation Center