Dan Piatkowski, PhD is a recent graduate of the University of Colorado Denver Design and Planning PhD program and presented a portion of his dissertation research at the Transportation Research Board's Annual Meeting. The work was co-authored by Dr. Wesley Marshall and addresses challenges in promoting walking and bicycling in US cities. 

The research tests the effectiveness of "Carrots" aimed at promoting walking and bicycling against "Sticks" aimed at discouraging driving. Weighing the effectiveness of these two opposing types of transportation interventions against implementation challenges for practitioners. 

ABSTRACT
Influencing city-scale travel demand frequently involves a combination of carrots aimed at encouraging desirable mode choices and sticks meant to discourage undesirable mode choices. The interplay of such carrots and sticks depends heavily on existing conditions such as infrastructure, land uses, congestion, and multi-modal options. To encourage bicycling and walking – non-motorized modes (NMT), US cities focus almost entirely on carrot interventions to improve infrastructure or social norms regarding NMT, but how effective are carrots alone at impacting mode choice? This research asserts that carrots have been only modestly effective at promoting NMT in the US, and this is in large part due to a lack of sticks to discourage alternatives to NMT, namely driving. Existing literatures provides case studies of European cities that employ a combination of carrots and sticks and also boast NMT mode shares far beyond that seen in the United States. Similar research is lacking in the US because of a lack of available sticks to study. Combining quantitative and qualitative studies, we answer two research questions: (1) are carrots or sticks more effective at influencing NMT, and (2) what is the difference in terms of ease of implementation between carrots and sticks? Findings indicate that sticks may be most effective at changing behavior, but raise transportation equity concerns while also facing the greatest opposition to implementation. Combining carrots and sticks, while more challenging than implementing carrots alone, may be the most appropriate strategy for realizing significant mode shifts toward walking and bicycling.

 

Kara Luckey was awarded "Best Poster" at the U.S. Department of Transportation Dwight D. Eisenhower Fellows Showcase held at the 93rd Annual Transportation Research Board meeting in D.C.  Kara was invited to present in the showcase as part of her 2013-14 Eisenhower Fellowship, which supports top graduate students in transportation. Kara's poster, "Promoting socially-equitable transit and transit-oriented development: What are the key planning and policy levers?," provides an overview of her dissertation work, which is currently underway. This research focuses on identifying the ways in which cities and regions are maximizing the benefit of regional rail transit for low- and moderate-income families through planning and policies, and assessing the effectiveness of those interventions.  Her work complements existing case studies by undertaking a systematic cross-case comparison of 20+ U.S. metropolitan areas. Kara's poster can be downloaded here. 

Kara Luckey presented work she co-authored with Dr. Marshall on measuring the 'level of integration' between transit stations and the fabric of the community at the 93rd Annual Transportation Research Board in Washington, D.C in a session focused on "Light Rail: International and National Perspectives" sponsored by the Light Rail Transit Committee (APO75)  The concept of 'Level of integration' accounts for three components: built environment factors, transit service characteristics, and accessibility to amenities.  The work presented at TRB explores how different components of integration relate to four travel outcomes among station-area residents in Denver, Colorado.  Kara and Dr. Marshall's paper can be downloaded here.