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Research finds pedestrian-focused infrastructure can boost safety

Article reprinted from CTS News, August 12, 2026.

Published MnDOT Report: Behavioral Investigation of Temporary and Permanent Pedestrian Infrastructure

Pedestrian injuries and fatalities have significant personal, societal, and financial impacts, making it crucial to identify effective strategies to improve pedestrian safety. A research project by the UMN’s Human Factors Safety Laboratory (HFSL) evaluated the effectiveness of both temporary (i.e., quick-build) and permanent pedestrian-focused intersection features, such as curb extensions and pedestrian refuge islands. Researchers sought to understand how these features changed pedestrian and driver behavior — and how that affected safety.

Minnesota, in line with nationwide trends, saw an increase in pedestrian deaths between 2013 and 2022 (from 1.55 to 2.33 deaths per 100,000 nationwide). Similar high-income countries generally experienced a decrease in pedestrian deaths in the same period. “This remains a hot-button topic for research in the traffic safety space,” said HFSL research associate Curtis Craig, lead investigator on the project and CTS scholar, in a webinar discussing the research. The project was sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Local Road Research Board.

Several unique factors make U.S. roadways especially challenging for pedestrians. “The high incidence of large trucks and SUVs makes it more difficult to see pedestrians, and any impact would be more severe because of the greater mass and geometry of the front grills on those vehicles,” Craig said. “There’s also simply a large preponderance of high-speed, multi-lane roads, which is a high-risk factor for pedestrians and drivers.”

Pedestrian-friendly infrastructure strategies aim to reduce those risks. With guidance from Minneapolis’s Vision Zero 2023–2024 pedestrian safety plan, researchers identified 12 intersections in Minneapolis and St. Paul to study before and after the installation of quick-build pedestrian infrastructure and concrete infrastructure. Quick-build infrastructure includes temporary or plastic features, such as bollards replicating bump-outs and sidewalk extensions. The goal of the study was to compare the safety influence on driver behavior of these quick-build features with those of permanent concrete infrastructure.

The study evaluated a mix of signalized and unsignalized intersections with temporary and permanent infrastructure features in a variety of income areas and with various levels of pedestrian and vehicle traffic. The team recorded driver behavior in pass-through and right-turn intersections. Data was collected in staged and natural pedestrian crossings using both in-person observations and video to record driver speeds, stops, and pedestrian behavior. The video footage was analyzed with the help of artificial intelligence algorithms.

The study found that whether permanent or temporary, the presence of the installations generally improved the rates of drivers stopping for pedestrians and led to a small but significant decline in traffic speeds at intersections. Temporary median refuges reduced the average speeds of drivers in free-flowing traffic at both signalized and unsignalized intersections. Since high driver speed is associated with a higher likelihood of pedestrian fatalities and higher injury severity, this is an especially meaningful benefit, Craig noted.

However, using flexible delineators as temporary curb extensions slightly reduced the likelihood of drivers stopping for pedestrians compared to permanent infrastructure, particularly at signalized intersections. The researchers noted a decline in stopping rates, for right-turning drivers at signalized intersections outfitted with temporary curb extensions, while the permanent, concrete curb extensions appeared to perform slightly better. The researchers speculated that the presence of bollards or other features surrounding the temporary infrastructure created a distraction, or “clutter,” that diverted drivers’ attention away from pedestrians as they navigated the intersection turn. “It’s a more visually complex environment, with more cars and more pedestrians to look out for,” Craig said.

The flexible delineators used cost between $30 and $100 each plus labor for installation, and most intersections require 12 delineators. Meanwhile, permanent concrete extensions cost about $18,000 each (or more if installation requires interaction with the sewage system) and median islands cost as much as $55,000. However, the study emphasizes that fatal pedestrian crashes have a tremendous cost. Beyond devastating personal and societal impacts, researchers point to a 2020 assessment by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that tallied more than $68 million in medical and work-loss costs related to pedestrian fatalities.

No two intersections in the study could be considered identical; the presence or lack of on-street parking, construction, and variations in pedestrian behaviors influenced each crossing. Craig said that future engineering projects considering the use of quick-build infrastructure need to weigh the many variables that define each intersection. Ultimately, when transportation infrastructure prioritizes pedestrians, public safety improves on Minnesota’s streets.

—Amy Goetzman, contributing writer

Related MnDOT research

Many MnDOT and LRRB projects have looked at pedestrian safety. Here is a sample of them.

Webinar shares industry and international perspectives on AI integration

May 26, 2026

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping how transportation and infrastructure projects are planned and delivered—and how information about them is shared with the public and stakeholders. A recent CTS webinar highlighted examples in these areas, from a large-scale urban development in Finland to communications and public engagement practices among U.S. agencies. 

Some transportation agencies and project teams have reported that they value AI for its ability to manage and make sense of large, complex data. Large infrastructure efforts generate massive amounts of information across design, construction, finance, safety, and public input. AI can connect and interpret this data and improve efficiency in routine tasks.

AI can also support more consistent and informed decision making. AI tools, such as project-specific knowledge networks, can make sense of scheduling risks, sustainability gaps, or recurring public concerns that might otherwise go unnoticed. These tools can improve service to the public by enabling faster responses through chatbots and translation.

Nicole Moon, strategic communications lead for engineering consultant HDR’s highways and roads division, described how AI supports transportation industry professionals in their day-to-day work. Rather than replacing human judgment, communications and public relations professionals use AI tools to draft content and streamline workflows, often improving efficiency, she said.

“Whatever day-to-day problems you have, you could probably find a way to use AI to solve it, but I would challenge people to consider whether that’s the right approach,” Moon said. “There are risks. As a communicator, I don’t want to lose the human side of what we do—that connection piece.”

To offer an international perspective, Tomi Kotala of the City of Helsinki’s public works department and Pieti Marjavaara of consulting and design firm AINS Group presented on the Infrastructure Programme Helsinki, an initiative focused on building a more sustainable city through light-rail expansion and transit-oriented development. The nearly decade-long project is set to run from 2025 through 2033.

Marjavaara introduced “Project AI,” a structured framework for integrating AI into the Infrastructure Programme Helsinki. 

“First we teach people what AI is, and then we teach AI how to build in Helsinki,” Marjavaara said. He emphasized the importance of training staff in both the ethical use of AI and the practical adaptation of tools to fit project goals.

Kotala and Marjavaara both stressed that AI should be understood as part of a broader commitment to sustainable and ethical development.

“We want to be carbon aware, nature positive, and resource wise,” Kotala said. “We want to be harm-free for people and the environment, both during construction and in the final product.”

In their daily work, staff interact with a project-specific AI chatbot embedded within a broader “context sphere,” also known as a knowledge network, that draws from live Slack conversations, formal documents, task logs, and other project data. The chatbot, nicknamed “Bob,” uses this shared context to generate informed responses in its conversations with staff.

“We want to take the next step. So that’s why we are bringing AI, and, of course, we want to be responsible … [and use] it in a sustainable way and an ethical way I,” Marjavaara said. “We want everybody to be part of our AI journey.” 

This webinar’s discussion built on CTS’s December 2025 webinar, Preparing Transportation Professionals for AI Integration.

Watch the recording.

—Olivia Hanson, CTS associate editor

Rough roads? How everyday cars might help flag trouble spots

Reprinted from CTS News, May 11, 2026

To assess pavement conditions throughout the state, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) uses a van specially equipped with advanced technology that measures roughness, cracking, and other signs of distress on a roadway’s surface. That system has its limitations, however. The vans cost about $800,000 each, and the data collection requires extensive coordination, trained personnel, and sensitive equipment that is limited to operating in warmer summer months. In addition, the data collection takes place once a year on MnDOT routes and every other year on County State Aid Highways.

van equipped with technology to measure pavement conditions
Mn/DOT’s Pathway Services, Inc. Digital Inspection Vehicle (DIV)

Could there be a more efficient and more timely way to assess the state’s road pavement conditions? To find out, researchers at the University of Minnesota (UMN) explored whether data already being generated by everyday vehicles could enhance MnDOT’s current method. 

To test this, UMN researchers equipped study vehicles with a simple plug-in scanner that captured onboard diagnostics data, explains CTS scholar Raphael Stern, the project’s co-investigator and UMN associate professor of civil, environmental, and geo- engineering. Modern vehicles already have sensors that collect this data, which can be used to monitor and optimize vehicle performance. That same data could provide clues to how a vehicle is responding to pavement beneath it, he says.

“If we could show that this can be done in Minnesota, MnDOT or local agencies can implement this technology,” says lead investigator and CTS scholar Mihai Marasteanu. “They could have a very good idea about the conditions of pavement every day—not just once a year.”

For this project, researchers adapted methodologies from Denmark’s Live Road Assessment (LiRA) project, considered to be the most comprehensive effort to use onboard vehicle sensors for continuous pavement monitoring. That initiative provided insights into both the technical feasibility and practical challenges of extracting meaningful pavement quality metrics from standard vehicle data.

Researchers tested a similar approach on three routes in Minnesota to capture a diverse range of pavement conditions under real-world driving scenarios. One route was a 15-mile loop in the northeast Twin Cities metropolitan area that covered urban and suburban road segments with consistent traffic flow. Another was a 96-mile loop between Minneapolis and Northfield, comprising a mix of urban, suburban, and rural roadways. The third was the 2.6-mile loop at MnROAD, MnDOT’s research facility near Albertville.

The plug-in scanner collected data on vehicle location, speed, and 3D acceleration; the last measures the intensity and complexity of vibrations transmitted from the road through the vehicle’s suspension system.

Across the three routes, researchers collected more than 9,000 data points. Machine learning models used 694 data values to predict pavement quality using the International Roughness Index (IRI) for a given pavement section.

Researchers compared and validated predictions against data from MnDOT and a commercial pavement‑monitoring system. Results demonstrated a correlation across diverse road conditions, although accuracy decreased in areas where pavement conditions changed quickly or road surfaces had defects. Predictions were also more accurate on highway segments than local roads because of variable urban driving environments.

Of the eight learning models evaluated, one achieved 94 percent accuracy on predicting pavement roughness. The performance of each model varied based on environmental factors, data collection conditions, and road types.

The research successfully demonstrated that vehicle sensor data can effectively support continuous infrastructure monitoring, Marasteanu says. “It could save money in the long run and give a much more accurate representation of pavement conditions over the entire year,” he notes.

The project, funded by MnDOT, included implementation guidelines for large-scale deployment, equipment standardization protocols, data-processing pipelines, and risk-mitigation strategies.

MnDOT is now exploring how to extend the research beyond the study vehicles, says Curt Turgeon, director of MnDOT’s Office of Materials and Road Research. One way will be to use commercial data sources that already collect similar information from everyday vehicles. For example, NIRA Dynamics, headquartered in Sweden, partners with automakers Volkswagen and Volvo to collect anonymized sensor data from consumer vehicles. These data streams are captured continuously throughout the year.

“MnDOT has a contract with NIRA to determine how this data might enhance our pavement management decisions as well as potentially document snow and ice response,” he says. “They also have a module that may flag potholes or other in-road hazards based upon vehicles swerving.”

—Peter Raeker, contributing writer

Related reading

Continue reading Rough roads? How everyday cars might help flag trouble spots

CTS Webinar: How Infrastructure Shapes Driver Behavior and Pedestrian Safety

About the Event 

Improving pedestrian safety requires a deeper understanding of how people interact with roadway design and infrastructure. This webinar will highlight two recent research efforts examining how transportation infrastructure influences driver behavior and pedestrian safety outcomes.

Curtis Craig, a research associate in the Human Factors Safety Laboratory, will present findings from two complementary studies examining infrastructure at intersections. The first study explored how right turn lane configurations affect pedestrian safety using a combination of behavioral analysis and multiple research methods. The second project examined how drivers and pedestrians respond to different infrastructure treatments and how those designs influence behavior in real-world environments.

These study findings offer transportation agencies, planners, and engineers practical considerations as they work to create safer and more accessible pedestrian environments.

Registration and More

This webinar is free, but registration is required. Visit the event web page to register and for more information. 

Related Reading

Active Research by Curtis Craig

Analysis and Risk Management of Motorcycle, Bicycle, and Pedestrian Crashes in Minnesota

CTS Webinar: EV Infrastructure and Fuel Policy—Understanding the Transportation and Economic Impacts

Thursday, April 23, 2026, 2:00–3:30 pm, Virtual

About the Webinar

Transportation policy and energy markets are evolving rapidly as states explore strategies to reduce emissions and support new fuel technologies. This webinar will examine two current policy areas shaping transportation systems: electric vehicle infrastructure development and low-carbon fuel standards.

Beth Kallestad from MnDOT’s Office of Sustainability and Public Health will provide an overview of Minnesota’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program. Her presentation will discuss how the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and NEVI funding have shaped the development of EV infrastructure in Minnesota, the program’s current status, and what to expect in the next phase of implementation.

Monica Haynes and Neil Wilmot from the University of Minnesota Duluth will highlight a 2025 study that examined the relationship between low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) programs and gasoline prices. They will explore how LCFS programs in other states have affected retail fuel costs and discuss the challenges of predicting the economic impacts of a potential LCFS program in Minnesota.

Through these presentations, webinar attendees will gain insights into how emerging transportation energy policies influence infrastructure planning and economic outcomes.

Speakers

Beth Kallestad is the sustainable transportation planning director with MnDOT’s Office of Sustainability and Public Health. She has a wide range of experience in the environmental field, including in the private, government, academic, and nonprofit sectors.  This experience has given her a strong background in the management and implementation of a variety of sustainability planning efforts, public and stakeholder engagement, effective communications, trust building, and collaboration. Beth joined MnDOT in June 2022 and has focused her work on the development and implementation of the EV infrastructure program with federal NEVI funding and supporting MnDOT’s internal fleet transition. 

Monica Haynes has served as the director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Minnesota Duluth since 2014, supervising a small team of student researchers and a writer/editor. During her time in this role, the department has completed more than 90 funded research projects on a wide range of topics related to current events, proposed development opportunities, and economic trends. She also serves as adjunct faculty in the Labovitz School of Business and Economics (LSBE), as chair of LSBE’s outreach committee, and on the Duluth Workforce Development Board. 

Neil A. Wilmot is an associate professor and head of the Department of Economics and Health Care Management, Labovitz School of Business and Economics, at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is also an associate of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. Wilmot’s research interests include energy economics and energy commodities, encompassing a wide range of topics including oil and gas markets, renewable energy integration, and energy pricing mechanisms. He has published numerous articles in leading energy economics journals, including Energy EconomicsResource and Energy Economics, and The Energy Journal.

Registration

This webinar is free, but registration is required. Once you have registered, you will receive an email confirmation with a Zoom link. The link should not be shared with others; it is unique to you.

Related Reading

Transitioning to EV Fleets: Best Practices and a Decision Tool | MnDOT Digital Library

The winding road to an electric fleet

Reprinted from CTS News, November 24, 2025

Even for cities, counties, and organizations with zero-carbon emissions goals, most fleet managers are skeptical about going fully electric. Calculating the return on investment for a single vehicle is straightforward—but for a fleet, it’s complex. 

Continue reading The winding road to an electric fleet

CTS Webinar: Preparing Transportation Professionals for AI Integration

Monday, December 15, 2025, 12:00–1:30 pm (Virtual)

About the Event

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping how we design, plan, and manage infrastructure systems. In this webinar, CTS scholars Qizhi He and Seongjin Choi from the University of Minnesota’s Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering will discuss how AI tools are beginning to influence teaching, research, and professional practice in civil engineering. Their conversation will consider how the field can adapt curriculum and training to prepare future engineers for an AI-integrated profession. They will also explore questions around quality management, professional ethics, and community-centered design in an AI-driven context.

Offering a practitioner’s perspective, Melissa Barnes will share insights from MnDOT’s ongoing AI pilot identification project. She will discuss how state agencies are evaluating opportunities and risks associated with AI implementation—and engaging and educating their staff about AI.

This webinar will highlight opportunities for collaboration between academia and practice as the transportation industry navigates the evolving impacts of AI on engineering education, quality assurance, and workforce development. 

Speakers

Qizhi He is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering at the University of Minnesota (UMN) and a CTS scholar. Before joining the UMN, he was a postdoctoral researcher in the Scientific Machine Learning Group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. His research focuses on developing hybrid physics–AI/ML computational methods for predictive modeling and the simulation of complex mechanical behavior in civil and geomaterials under extreme and multiphysics conditions. His work aims to advance next-generation, high-performance computing and digital-twin technologies that enhance infrastructure resilience and support natural hazard mitigation. 

Seongjin Choi is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering at the University of Minnesota and a CTS scholar. Choi was previously a postdoctoral researcher at McGill University in Canada and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea. His research focuses on developing machine learning and (generative) artificial intelligence models for transportation and mobility data, with the goal of enhancing both individual-level travel experiences and system-level performance.

Melissa Barnes is the Operations Division artificial intelligence program manager (mobility) at MnDOT and a licensed civil engineer with more than 21 years of experience in transportation. She has worked at MnDOT for more than 12 years, including positions in Central Office and the Metro District. Her expertise spans program delivery, traffic engineering, planning, safety, operations, project management, policy, and cross-functional leadership, and she is known for her commitment to equity and collaboration. 

Registration

This webinar is free, but registration is required. Once you have registered, you will receive an email confirmation with a Zoom link. The link should not be shared with others; it is unique to you.

More information

Visit the CTS website or contact Samantha Hahn-Douville at snhahn@umn.edu

If you’re unable to join us for the live broadcast, a recording will be available here after the event.

CTS Webinar: The Coffee Supply Chain—What Goes into Delivering Your Favorite Coffee to the Store Shelf

About the Event

This webinar may not be related to MnDOT research, but we thought you might find it interesting if you drink coffee.

Join CTS and Patrick Hessini, CTS Executive Committee member and head of supply chain at Cameron’s Coffee, for an in-depth look at the challenges and logistics of today’s supply chain. Grab a cup of coffee and bring your lunch as we learn about where and how we get our coffee from trees to mugs.

Registration

This webinar is free, but registration is required. Once you have registered, you will receive an email confirmation with a Zoom link. The link should not be shared with others; it is unique to you.

More Information

Visit the CTS website or contact James De Sota at jadesota@umn.edu.

CTS Webinar: Innovations for Energy-Efficient Transportation

Thursday, November 13, 2025, 12:00–1:30 pm Virtual

About the Event

Transportation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., and reducing those emissions is key to tackling the climate crisis. New technologies—from eco-friendly navigation apps to connected and automated vehicles—offer exciting opportunities to make our transportation system cleaner and more energy efficient. But these tools can also create unexpected challenges, such as increased traffic congestion or higher overall emissions, if not carefully designed.

In this webinar, researchers will share new approaches to smarter routing and vehicle technology that can lower energy use and reduce emissions. Join us to learn how innovations in navigation, automation, and vehicle control could help shape a more sustainable future.

Speakers

Zongxuan Sun is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He is an expert on dynamic systems and control with applications in automotive propulsion systems. He worked at the General Motors Research Center for seven years prior to joining the University in 2007. His research work includes system modeling, control theory, building unique instruments, and testbeds for experiments.

Michael Levin is an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering at the University of Minnesota and a CTS scholar. His research focuses on modeling connected and automated vehicles and intelligent transportation systems to predict and optimize how these technologies will affect travel demand and traffic flow. Levin is specifically interested in using traffic flow, transportation network analysis, and operations research methods to study these new technologies and their effects on cities.

Registration

This webinar is free, but registration is required. Once you have registered, you will receive an email confirmation with a Zoom link. The link should not be shared with others; it is unique to you.

Credit

Attendees are eligible for Professional Development Hours (PDHs) and American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification maintenance credits.

More information

For more information or to request support, go to complete announcement on the Center for Transportation Studies website.

Related MnDOT Research Projects

Minnesotans geared up for e-bike rebates. Now data reveals more about them

Republished from CTS News (Catalyst) for October 14, 2025

More than 14,600 Minnesota residents applied for a rebate through the state’s e-bike rebate program when it launched in 2024. Established by the Minnesota Legislature to help reduce the cost of buying a new e-bike, the program was so popular that within minutes of opening in June 2024, the number of applicants overwhelmed the system and crashed the website. The state was forced to fix the technology challenges and reopen the application about a month later.

The scenario drove researchers at the University of Minnesota to dig deeper into the data about who applied for the rebate in the first year. Their project aims to shed light on who benefitted from the program, get feedback on the application process, and learn more about rebate use.

E-bikes, which operate like a bicycle but have an electric battery and motor for pedaling assistance, have increased in popularity in recent years, and supporters are promoting their potential as a sustainable transportation option. The state legislature allocated $2 million in both 2024 and 2025 for the rebate program.

“Minnesotans seem to have an appetite to get an e-bike, whether that’s because of the state’s incentive or for other reasons—including that Minnesota has some of the best bike infrastructure around,” says Kaitlyn Denten, a researcher with the Humphrey School’s Institute for Urban and Regional Infrastructure Finance (IURIF) and project co-lead.

For the first part of this project, researchers analyzed rebate applicant data, which included demographic information, income level, tax filing status, and ZIP code but no personal identifiers. Data also included a person’s rebate application status, the rebate amount, and whether the applicant used the rebate to purchase a new e-bike.

In the program’s first year, the maximum rebate was $1,500; individual amounts depended on an applicant’s income level and tax filing status. People who applied for and received a rebate certificate could purchase their e-bike and eligible bike accessories from a participating retailer. Of the total applicants, 1,519 people received a rebate and 1,327 used one to purchase an e-bike. According to the data, half of the rebates went to households earning less than $75,000 a year.

The Twin Cities seven-county metro area had strong representation, with 66 percent of applicants, 67 percent of recipients, and 66 percent of rebate users coming from the metro area. The average age of applicants was 49 years old.

For the project’s second part, researchers used an online survey to collect feedback on the application process and information about how people who received a rebate were using their e-bike, among other data. The survey, which was available between March 17, 2025, and April 5, 2025, received nearly 4,500 responses.  

Of the survey respondents, 3,920 individuals applied for a rebate, 496 received a rebate, and 455 used the rebate to purchase an e-bike. For those who received a rebate but didn’t use it, among the reasons cited were that the rebate didn’t cover enough of the e-bike’s cost and the rebate certificate expired before they were able to use it. 

One surprising finding: Some people bought an e-bike even if they didn’t receive a rebate, says CTS scholar Camila Fonseca-Sarmiento, IURIF director of fiscal research and project co-lead. “Or, if a couple received a rebate, they ended up buying two e-bikes. This could be spurring the use of e-bikes instead of personal vehicles.”

Many survey respondents expressed frustration with the initial application process, referring to the technical glitches, long wait times, and unclear instructions. Several respondents did note, however, that the second application round ran more smoothly.

Some respondents also raised concerns about the fairness of the program’s rollout, pointing to barriers faced by people with limited internet access and electronic devices, people with disabilities, and people with inflexible work schedules (the application period opened on a weekday).

Future research should focus on the effects of 2025 program changes, including income eligibility, application processes, and rebate amount, the researchers say. In addition, researchers noted that a statewide travel study could help assess how rebates might influence a shift from personal vehicle use to an e-bike, a question left unanswered because of limited e-bike use among current rebate recipients.

This research project was sponsored by the Applied Research in Transportation (ART) Program, which addresses time-sensitive research questions in a 6 to 12 month timeframe. CTS and the Minnesota Department of Transportation contributed initial funding to launch this pilot program in 2024, with the Metropolitan Council joining in 2025. To reinforce the applied nature of the program, ART projects must directly address a current process, document, or policy need with an initial focus on sustainability in transportation and climate change impacts.

—Peter Raeker, contributing writer  

Related Research from MnDOT

Operational Characteristics of Conventional and Electric-Assisted Bicycles and Their Riders (ongoing)

Assessing the Economic Impact and Health Benefits of Bicycling in Minnesota