We are excited to share our experience at the 2025 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting, where we showcased our work in Washington, DC, January 5–9. Research is a critical component of our work at Toole Design, and we are on the cutting edge of active transportation planning, policy, and design. From committee meetings to lectern sessions, our staff were busy engaging with the latest transportation research practices.
Below are some of the key ideas we presented and observed during our time at TRB this year.
Community Engagement is evolving
Sara Schooley and Karina Pazos from the City of Bloomington shared insights on the Bloomington Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Action Plan, a finalist in TRB’s Communicating Concepts to the Public competition. To energize residents around SS4A planning, the City hosted Safety Week in April 2024 — an all-out engagement and communication blitz that reached a broad range of over 2,000 residents of all ages, including long- and short-term residents. (Check out our project page to learn more about our approach and the factors that led to meaningful engagement in Bloomington.)
Speaking of engagement, TRB’s Public Engagement Committee is transitioning into a Task Force but will continue to stress the importance of community engagement in transportation planning, engineering, and research. Current research focuses on compensation, accountability, and right-sizing engagement efforts to ensure effectiveness while valuing participants’ time.
participants shared insights on design flexibility (and you can, too!)
Jeremy Chrzan and I led five practitioner engagement workshops for the NCHRP 08-163 study. Using Mentimeter polling to engage with participants, we gathered insights on:
- Challenges with design flexibility for active transportation projects
- Agencies that are consistently applying design flexibility
- Examples of projects that applied design guidance or deviated from it to meet active transportation user needs
Active transportation data is having a moment—and we’re helping to lead the charge
We’re currently involved with several national research projects, including:
- NCHRP 08-165: Use of Active Transportation Data in Decision-Making
- NCHRP 07-31: State DOT and Tribal Use of Active Transportation Data: Practices, Sources, Needs, and Gaps
- NCHRP 17-97: A Toole Design-led study on pedestrian safety at night, presented at TRB by Rebecca Sanders from Safe Streets. The study found over half of fatal pedestrian crashes happen in dark conditions in the case study cities. The report included recommendations for increased lighting, road design, land use, and speed reduction that can improve safety at night.
We’re also actively coordinating with NCHRP 08-177: Digitizing Bicycle and Pedestrian Treatments for Promoting Active Transportation Equity and Safety and the National Collaboration on Bike, Pedestrian, and Accessibility Infrastructure Data (NC-BPAID).
New methods for estimating non-motorized volumes are emerging
Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) cables are being tested in Berkeley, CA, to monitor pedestrian activity, emphasizing large space or distance detection in an affordable way.
Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) data and Smart Location Database (SLD) data are being used in a new model to estimate crossing volumes using variables related to employment, transit, road network density, tract area, single parent households, unemployed people, and older adults.
And open-source algorithms are identifying high-impact missing links in pedestrian networks based on existing network features. Potential links are scored based on accessibility metrics to assist with prioritization.
research Is Underway to Improve Safety and Remove Access Barriers for Vulnerable Road Users
Only 2% of all deaths in the United States are due to transportation, but this statistic is 12% for people experiencing homelessness. The needs of people experiencing homelessness are context-dependent, highlighting the importance of ethnographic studies and including people experiencing homelessness and advocates in the road safety audit process.
Access barriers can be reduced through low-income reduced fare programs for shared micromobility and public transit systems. Effective strategies include:
- Partnering with health departments, housing services, and advocacy organizations
- Simplifying application processes by using alternative verification methods
- Offering fare reductions — a WMATA study found that reducing fares doubled Metro Lift ridership, and free rides quadrupled it
At TRB’s Careers in Motion Fair, Andie de Vaulx, Hector Chang, Tariq Shihadah, and I shared our insights with over 150 attendees. Events like these provide valuable opportunities to connect with the next generation of transportation professionals and continue building a more equitable, sustainable future. (And in case you missed it — we’re hiring!)
