Luke Bartol ’23

Title of Abstract: Imagine People Here

Name of Mentor: Jim Tasse

Mentor’s Organization or Department: Bicycle Coalition of Maine

Research Abstract: During his time working with the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, Luke got to experience the wide range of work that is done in an advocacy non-profit. This varied from researching possible policy initiatives, compiling a database of bike routes throughout the state, teaching bike safety skills, and much more, letting him experience the breadth of the work of the organization. He conducted scholarly research on vehicle speed and lethality as well as on speed camera legislation. The major focus of his fellowship was researching behavior of different road users in order to create safer and more equitable streets as a part of the Imagine People Here campaign. This involved designing and conducting studies to observe pedestrian car interactions, car behavior, and count bike/pedestrian traffic. These studies helped to inform the work of the organization and measure its progress.