On May 6, students at Southwest Charter School learned about what it takes to plan for the region's future transportation needs while making the most of what we have. As part of their continuing exploration of streetcars in the region, the middle school invited Metro staff to present information on transportation modeling. The students are working on the third installment of their entertaining audio report series about the past and future of transportation between Portland and Lake Oswego.
During this presentation, students walked through the steps of Metro's nationally-recognized transportation model. The model uses existing information to predict what conditions will be like in the future to help plan for regional public system and facility improvements. The analysis look at why people would want or need to take a trip, where they would be going, what route they would take and how they would travel (walking, biking, carpooling, transit or driving alone).
The process is often confusing to adults, but the students grasped the concepts right away, asking insightful questions and reaching astute conclusions about travel choices. The challenge, however, will be to bring the same humor that they have used in their previous audio reports to an often dry topic. Sarah Anderson, the class's teacher, is confident that they will find a way to make it informative and entertaining. You can be the judge when their report on transportation modeling is released in late June.
The project has allowed the class to take advantage the ongoing work of the Lake Oswego to Portland Transit Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement to learn about transportation and audio storytelling.