Statistical Support for the Development of the District 1 Active Transportation Census Program

Statistical Support for the Development of the District 1 Active Transportation Census Program

Research Team:

Alexander Skabardonis, University of California Berkeley, PATH
Michael Mauch, University of California Berkeley, PATH 
Philip Stark, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Statistics
Julia Griswold, University of California Berkeley, SafeTREC
Krista Nordback, University of South Carolina

Funding Organization

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)

Study Description:

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 1 proposes to develop a statistically robust bicycle and pedestrian census network to elucidate active transportation volumes, travel patterns, and temporal trends. The census network will be paired with a big data platform to allow estimation of volumes on all road/trails across the entire District for the first time. The census network design will be optimized to maximize information utility and minimize cost. The overall network design approach will be scalable to facilitate adoption by other Caltrans districts.

The research team will provide statistical design support to design a statistically robust census network that is needed to provide a data-driven basis for engineering decisions related to improvements to the system. The resulting census network design will provide statistically robust and representative data required for engineering and planning decisions going forward. Ultimately, this work will result in safer and more equitable facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians while documenting the progress toward improved safety and mode shift Caltrans is trying to achieve.