By Bryant Ficek, PE, PTOE “The phrase “I know it when I see it” is a colloquial expression by which a speaker attempts to categorize an observable fact or event, although the category is subjective or lacks clearly defined parameters.” – Wikipedia The current version of the Institute of Transportation’s (ITE) Trip Generation Manual, 9th Edition, provides the following land […]
By Mike Spack, PE, PTOE Every development goes through an approval process prior to being green-lighted for construction. The traffic portion of that process can range from a full-scale traffic study plus a Travel Demand Management Plan to a simple tech memo discussing the amount of traffic that will be generated by the development. Equally […]
By Mike Spack, PE, PTOE The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) leadership is proposing significant changes to the ITE Constitution. The three areas of significant change are: Eliminate the “Institute Affiliate” membership grade while shifting the “Institute Member” grade from transportation engineers to transportation professionals. Shift the international board elections from spring/summer to winter with […]
By Mike Spack, PE, PTOE Tort law in Minnesota regarding the installation of medians to limit traffic movements at driveways has been in place and tested since the 1960s. It is very clear that road authorities have the right to place medians on roads to limit access to cross streets or driveways so long as […]
Mike Spack, PE, PTOE Thanks to Denny Eyler, from SRF Consulting, for the following comments related to our Reduced Conflict Intersections post. Denny has significant experience with these types of intersections and we had a good email exchange over them. I think you’ll find his thoughts helpful and think they are worth a post instead […]
By Bryant Ficek, PE, PTOE The best place to start when talking about traffic signal warrants is to understand the definition of a warrant itself. According to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), a warrant is a threshold condition based upon average or normal conditions that, if found to be satisfied as part […]
By Mike Spack, PE, PTOE Traffic is often a scapegoat used by neighbors at public hearings to try to kill a proposed development project. It is a favorite tactic used by those opposed to new Walmart stores (at least the couple of dozen public hearings I have attended for my Walmart traffic studies). We see this […]
By Bryant Ficek, PE, PTOE At a recent Traffic Corner Tuesday webinar, Are Roundabouts a Silver Bullet to Traffic Issues?, we discussed roundabouts including pros and cons, situations that more inclined toward their use, and characteristics that may lend itself toward signal or other type of control. Through that discussion, a key question arose about […]
By Mike Spack, PE, PTOE If you’ve ever dealt with event traffic management, you know the amount of time, money and other resources that go into ensuring safe and efficient traffic conditions before, during, and after the event. But what happens when the event is recurring? At what point does it make sense to implement […]
By Mike Spack, PE, PTOE I get several calls a year from lawyers who want me to fight for their client. The government is going to close a median, their driveway, or cut-off their access in some other way. Usually, I can’t help the lawyer in these cases because the government has the right to […]
