Congratulations to Sam Piper and teammates David Grover and Erica Wygonik for winning the Young Professionals Excellence in Innovation/Research of the Year Award!
Sam submitted research that categorizes state-owned highways across Vermont based on potential bicycle use by leveraging readily available data. The methods developed by the team can be used for prioritizing bicycling demand on State roadways using readily-available and easily collected data. Unlike other methods, these can be used over a large geographic scale, such as this state-wide model. This model is particularly innovative in that it uses both traditional data sets like the National Household Travel Survey — which were used to project likely cyclist trip lengths — and new data sources like Strava, a running and cycling tracking app, which were used to assess existing recreational demand for cycling facilities. The project team was comprised of and driven by young professionals, with the effort split across our friends in the public and private sectors.
