ODOT Student Data Entry System Guide: Enhancing Transportation Planning Through Pedestrian Data

Introduction

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is committed to improving safety and accessibility for all road users. A key component of this commitment involves leveraging data to inform transportation planning and investment decisions. The ODOT student data entry system, particularly its integration with the BikePed Portal, provides a valuable resource for understanding pedestrian activity and optimizing infrastructure. This guide explores the capabilities of the system, its benefits, and how it contributes to a safer, more walkable Oregon.

Understanding the ODOT Student Data Entry System and BikePed Portal

ODOT has shared pedestrian push-button data with Portland State University (PSU) for use in BikePed Portal, so that users can see where and how people interact with pedestrian crossings at signalized intersections. The newest feature added to BikePed Portal is a dashboard that lets you explore the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)'s pedestrian push-button data from all over the state. This data is generated every time a pedestrian pushes a button to cross the street, creating a useful data point about how many people are walking through that intersection.

The dashboard is still being developed and is anticipated to eventually include data from more agencies in addition to ODOT.

BikePed Portal Services

BikePed Portal offers several services:

Data standardization: The portal accepts data in multiple formats (including EcoCounter API, TrafX, manual, turning movement), and convert it all into a standardized format.
Quality control and assurance.

The Value of Pedestrian Data

Many active transportation projects rely on pedestrian volumes to measure pedestrian exposure, or the number of potential opportunities for a pedestrian to be involved in a crash with a moving vehicle. By analyzing usage patterns, practitioners can prioritize upgrades at high-demand or problematic locations, ensure compliance with ADA standards, and inform pedestrian infrastructure planning. The potential applications of push-button data are numerous.

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The new dashboard is a useful resource to help agencies improve signal timing, accessibility, and safety for all road users, as well as guide future investments in walkability.

Utilizing Push-Button Data: Examples and Applications

The push-button data collected by ODOT's system has several practical applications for improving pedestrian infrastructure and safety.

Deriving Pedestrian Counts

Researchers are exploring methods to convert the push-button data into complete pedestrian counts for the transportation network. At the 2025 annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), Sirisha Kothuri, Joe Broach and Elizabeth Yates of PSU presented a study along with Mahyar Vahedi Saheli and Patrick Singleton of Utah State University on "Pedestrian Volumes from Push-Button Traffic Signal Data in Oregon: Estimating Models and Assessing Model Transferability [PDF - add link to poster)" in which they used the ODOT data, along with video recordings, to estimate pedestrian counts. They also developed a workflow to integrate pedestrian traffic counts into ODOT’s enterprise traffic data system.

The initial research was funded by ODOT, as well as some funding support for the dashboard.

Analyzing Pedestrian Crashes

At Utah State, Singleton used similar data in Utah to do safety analysis. One paper examined the frequency and severity of crashes involving pedestrians, and another developed improved methods to predict crashes at signalized intersections. The research team wanted to examine whether the “safety in numbers” effect applies to pedestrian safety in the US. Both papers used push-button data as a novel data source to measure pedestrian exposure.

Accessing and Using the BikePed Portal

Metadata and Documentation

Additional resources have recently been added to BikePed Portal:

Manual count metadata and data documentation can be found here.
Pedestrian estimated push button documentation can be found here.
A video tutorial for organizations interested in having BikePed Portal host their active transportation counts can be found here.

ODOT Resources and Support

Workday Learning

Workday Learning is the online learning management system used by ODOT. Partners must create a Workday Learning account in order to take state-offered training. Partners are called Extended Enterprise Learners (EELearners) in Workday. This includes providers, contractors, volunteers, students and other non-state affiliates. This resource article addresses popup enabling and cookies, cache, and history clearing. Use the Workday search bar to find what you need. Type a few keywords into the search bar at the top. Review the "Articles" section for related topics. You don't need to type the whole course name, Workday search works best with just a few keywords.

Advanced Support

For questions about what training you need to take, contact your manager or program contact. If you need additional support, contact your Affiliation Manager.

SimCap: Fostering Collaboration in Transportation Planning

SimCap was founded in June 2006 under NCSITE as a technical users group within their local traffic engineering council. Since then, several SimCap chapters have formed. Some chapters have waned and have become inactive, while others continue to meet and foster strong dialogues within their local areas of activity. SimCap is a “grassroots” organization - in that the majority of activities are organized and conducted at the local chapter level. Currently, there are nine (9) active SimCap chapters. Each chapter is organized differently, tailored to best suit their local needs.

Getting Involved with SimCap

Contact your listed representative to learn how to get involved in your local chapter. If you don’t have a local chapter, consider creating one! The attached kit provides helpful information on how to start a chapter. The following calendar contains a comprehensive listing of upcoming SimCap-related events. If you want to get involved but are not sure how to do it, feel free to contact the chair, Eric Tripi.

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Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV)

Connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technology is evolving at a rapid pace. Transportation agencies must work to develop policies and strategies that will be able to address the organizational, societal, legal and infrastructure impacts of the new technologies. This guide looks at current resources that address these issues, including legislation and federal regulations, research conducted by federal and state agencies, information on current projects, obstacles to CAV, the vehicle manufacturers and developers, and news sources.

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