ACT member Rachael Bronson presented the preliminary steps of her transportation resiliency research at the Bicycle Urbanism Symposium in Seattle, WA. The goal of this portion of her research is to build the foundation of a transportation resiliency assessment by measuring the quality and quantity of two mode choice options—bicycling and walking—in Denver, CO. Using a Geographic Information System (GIS), all Denver streets where bicycling and walking is permitted are measured by bicyclist/pedestrian tolerance of traffic stress. This tolerance is classified into four levels of traffic stress (LTS) 1-4. The results of the GIS analysis suggest that although the availability of multi-modal transportation facilities of various stress levels are present throughout the city, these facilities lack the connectivity necessary to make the network accessible to individuals of lower stress tolerance. This methodology offers a way to measure the quantity and quality of bike/ped mode options, which will inform the second part of her research, the resiliency assessment.
In the resiliency assessment, various variables (including the LTS levels) will be factored into a multinomial logistic regression mode choice model to determine the percentage of the population that will switch to a different transportation mode under various disruptive event scenarios. The cost savings of the mode shift will be measured to assess the change in transportation costs for neighborhoods/households.
Rachael was able to complete this work with the support of her advisor, Dr. Wesley Marshall ( This study was made possible thanks to data from the City and County of Denver. Funding for this work is provided by the Mountain-Plains Consortium, a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
In the resiliency assessment, various variables (including the LTS levels) will be factored into a multinomial logistic regression mode choice model to determine the percentage of the population that will switch to a different transportation mode under various disruptive event scenarios. The cost savings of the mode shift will be measured to assess the change in transportation costs for neighborhoods/households.
Rachael was able to complete this work with the support of her advisor, Dr. Wesley Marshall ( This study was made possible thanks to data from the City and County of Denver. Funding for this work is provided by the Mountain-Plains Consortium, a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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