EUGENE, Ore. -- (Jan. 12, 2012) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a coalition of universities, including Portland State University, University of Oregon and the Oregon Institute of Technology, a $3.5 million grant for research and education on sustainable transportation topics. 
The Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC), the university transportation center based at PSU, will administer the grant, and the University of Utah will join the coalition of universities to carry out the grant.
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.”
“The U.S. Department of Transportation has recognized the incredible work being done by this University Transportation Center,” said U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio. “In 2005, I designated funds in SAFETEA-LU, a federal surface transportation bill, to create this UTC. Since then, this UTC has been on the cutting edge of transportation innovation and advanced research. This grant will continue the UTC’s work to improve the transportation infrastructure which is vital to our economic competitiveness here in Oregon and across the country.”
The grant ensures that Oregon research will continue to guide national transportation decisions, said U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley. “OTREC is an organization that is doing great work around regional planning and creating a vision for our transportation infrastructure’s future,” Merkley said. “This grant will help OTREC continue their important work around livability, environmental sustainability, and safety. I am excited to see the research put forth by the consortium.”
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.
“Since its founding in 2006, OTREC has helped the University of Oregon develop a national reputation for excellence in education and research integrating transportation, livability and sustainable community design,” said UO Associate Professor and OTREC Associate Director, Marc Schlossberg. “OTREC has helped bring multiple disciplines together to address the complexity of transportation planning, public decision making, and the creation of great places.”
In addition to the national focus and expectation of OTREC’s work, the Eugene-Springfield area has directly benefitted from past OTREC projects. Researchers and UO courses have worked on various “Safe Routes to School” projects with local partners in Eugene; OTREC is supporting work of the Sustainable Cities Initiative yearlong engagement with Springfield; and OTREC directly supports LiveMove, the student group that has brought national experts to the region for community discussions about active and sustainable transportation in the community.
As with current OTREC research, each project under the new grant will require a one-to-one match, doubling the effect of each federal dollar awarded. Grant-funded projects will be awarded competitively beginning in Fall 2012. For the first time, researchers from the University of Utah can lead projects.
“This partnership brings together the best researchers from Oregon and Utah to address the problems that affect us all,” said Associate Professor Keith Bartholomew, UU’s campus leader in the new partnership. “Our expertise in areas such as transit-oriented development and carbon emissions reduction, along with our history of successful and creative public engagement in planning processes, makes our respective states natural partners.”
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
MEDIA CONTACT: Julie Brown, UO media relations, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu
SOURCE:Marc Schlossberg, UO associate professor and OTREC associate director, 541-346-2046, schlossb@uoregon.edu
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