File photo: 4/4/07
The Institute for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), a fledgling research effort within the Oregon Transportation and Research Education Consortium (OTREC) at Portland State University, has received a federal grant to kick start its programs.
The IBPI’s purpose is to,
“Enhance policies, programs, and projects that promote pedestrian and bicycle travel through research, education, and outreach.”
According to Interim Director of the IBPI, Hollie Lund (in photo, above), the infusion of money (which includes matching funds) will go towards developing their professional development curriculum and identifying which research areas they should focus on.
I ran into Hollie downtown today, at a panel discussion of Portland’s bicycle industry, and she was excited about the news,
“This is really just seed money, but it is a great first step…and hopefully will lead to more. We are already applying for funds for ’08.”
This is good news for Oregon because quantifying the impact of various bicycle-related activities — from return on investment in bicycle facilities to the economic impact of tourism — is an area of growing importance and the IBPI will play a major role in supplying advocates with these valuable statistics.
To learn more about the IBPI, download this fact sheet. (258kb, PDF)