Many years ago, I decided not to drive regularly - I wanted to get the exercise, save the money, and simplify my life by walking, biking, using public transit, and carpooling. I am very fortunate that I live and work in a city where that is a possible and even practical decision. I am even luckier to have the opportunity to work with other cities and regions to provide those alternatives and choices for residents.
Hannah Kapell joined Alta in June 2008, after a two-year internship. Ms. Kapell brings strong skills in technical and analytical research, writing with a variety of transportation projects and studies. She also has strong skills in statistical analysis, data collection, geographic information systems (GIS), transportation demand modeling. Ms. Kapell has experience collecting and analyzing survey data for the Safer Routes to School Program in Portland, Oregon and for the San Francisco Cycling Report Card.
Recent Projects
- SW Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge
The SW Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge connects the historic South Portland Neighborhood and new South Waterfront developments on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. Ms. Kapell developed a travel demand model to predict the number of bicycle and walking trips over the bridge, both when it is scheduled to be built and forecasted to 2035. Learn more about the Gibbs Street Bridge in this article. - Ada County Highway Division (ID) Roadways to Bikeways Bicycle Master Plan
Ms. Kapell contributed to writing and editing the overview of existing conditions, user needs assessment (including bicycle counts and surveys), the identification of a recommended bikeway system, the creation of comprehensive design guidelines, and education and outreach strategies. In addition, the final plan identified priority projects and likely funding sources for those projects. - San Francisco Cycling Report Card
Alta conducted a survey of 800 people in San Francisco (CA) to determine the number of daily bicycle trips and characteristics and perceptions of frequent cyclists and infrequent cyclists in the city. Ms. Kapell conducted a statistical data analysis of the data collected, including a correlations analysis and a binomial logit model. - Portland Safer Routes to School
To evaluate the effectiveness of the Portland Safer Routes to School Program, Hannah oversaw a mailing of over 10,000 surveys to parents in Spring 2007, Fall 2007, and Spring 2008. She analyzed the data for all twenty-five schools in the program and compared the results to those from a handraising survey administered simultaneously. - Portland Platinum Bicycle Master Plan Update
Hannah assisted the collection of existing conditions data for the Portland Bicycle Master Plan update.
Other Related Experience
- Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC) Scholar, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008
Presentations
- Kapell, H. and Dill, J., "Factors Affecting Walking and Bicycling to Elementary School: Urban form, parental attitudes, and school characteristics." Transportation Research Board, 87th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 2008.
