Mike on Traffic

Jargon of the Minnesota Traffic Engineer

My friend Bob listened to a conversation between me and another traffic engineer (Bryant Ficek).  He likened the part of our conversation where we were talking about a specific engineering project to the scene in the Godfather where Michael Corleone says "excuse me while we discuss this in Italian" (I am sure I botched Bob's rendition of the movie's quote).  That dovetails nicely with the Roadguy's Blog post at the Star Tribune (Baby, don't forget my number: A county-road conundrum) that laments some of our industry's confusing jargon.

In the spirit of trying to demistify what we do, here is the best I could do in coming up with traffic engineering jargon from A to Z (any candidates for j, k, x, y, or z out there?):

AADT = Annual Average Daily Traffic

BPR = Bureau of Public Roads (precursor to FHWA)

CSAH = County State Aid Highway

DBE = Disadvantaged Business Enterprise

EAW = Environmental Assessment Worksheet

FHWA = Federal Highway Administration

GIS = Geographic Information Systems

HCM = Highway Capacity Manual (by Transportation Research Board)

ITE = Institute of Transportation Engineers

J

K

LOS = Level of Service (as defined in HCM)

MUTCD = Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices

NCHRP = National Cooperative Highway Research Program

OSHA = Occupational Safety and Health Administration

PE = Professional Engineer (licensed by state)

Queue = Length of line of cars waiting at an intersection  

RGU = Responsible Government Unit

SJR = Signal Justification Report

TH = Trunk Highway

US/DOT = United States Department of Transportation

VMT = Vehicle Miles Traveled

WIM = Weigh-in Motion

X

Y

Z

 

Bicycle Commuting is Up in Minneapolis + The Bike Box

I was at a luncheon last week and had a chance to talk with Mike Anderson about his work in Minneapolis (a consultant who worked this summer on bicycle issues for the City of Minneapolis).  With gas prices rising, bicycle commuting has become quite popular.  Some intersection crossings in Minneapolis are seeing 400+ bicyclists in the peak hour.  Minneapolis doesn't have a lot of historical bicycle volume data, but Mike says it anecdotally appears bike commuting is up four fold this summer.  Their busiest crossings used to have about 100 bikes/hour.  Minneapolis typically rates in the top three bicycling communities in the United States (next to Madison, WI and Portland, OR), so it isn't surprising that recreational bicyclists are taking advantage of the good infrastructure and ditching their cars. 

Portland, OR has been experimenting with a system to give bicyclists a head start over vehicles at intersections with traffic signals.  It is affectionately termed the Bike Box.  Here is a great video from Streetfilms showing how it works.  Maybe this is the next step for Minneapolis.

Miovision Update

Mike from Nova Scotia emailed me asking about my recent experience with the Miovision traffic counting equipment.  They have been using the equipment successfully for a few weeks, but here are a few questions from Mike with my answers.

1.  Any more accuracy testing?
We have not done any more accuracy testing, but we did a recent eight hour count (2 pm to 10 pm) at a single lane roundabout within a casino property.  We also did a matching eight hour count manually at the county road entrance into the casino.  There are no access points between the two intersections.  Over the eight hour period we had a 2% variance in volumes that should be going between the two intersections.  Not scientific, but anecdotally good results.

2.  We are having fogging issues with the lens, how about you?
We had a little rain that evening and the lens did fog up.  Miovision was able to process the video and send us good data.  Hopefully they will send me the new camera housing they have been promising for a few months, which is supposed to correct that issue.

3.  We are having trouble transporting multiple units because they are so heavy, how about you?
I have been using the 180 pounds of weight on the video tripod system.  One system weights about 300 pounds.  It is heavy and awkward (although I am still surprised by how quickly setup and take down goes).  Transporting is an issue for us too.  I am hopeful for the next model.  It is meant to be strapped to a pole or sign instead of being a standalone tripod.

4.  How about any issues with security of the units?
We have had zero problems with tampering of the tripod video system.

Please add your two cents if you have Miovision experience.

Roundabout Primer Courtesy of Time Magazine

Jane and I were out to dinner with friends Saturday night and one of them asked me (this is a professional hazard for traffic engineers) "what's the deal with all of the new roundabouts?"  Check out  Time's one page article on roundabouts for a succinct answer.

source:  Time Magazine

How to Run a Public Hearing

I go to about one public hearing a month to present the results of a traffic study or to be available for questions.  Tuesday night I went to the best run public hearing of my career at the Chisago County (MN) Planning Commission.  The meeting was dedicated to taking testimony about a new location for Hay Days (a  weekend event that draws about 20,000 people on the Saturday).

The public hearing went well for three reasons -

1. On topic:  There were three questions that the public could speak about.  This was well advertised in advance (website, local paper, etc.) and was detailed on large posters that were hung throughout the county building.  There was a greeter at the entrance of the meeting room that explained this (it wasn't a bitch session) and had a sign up sheet for those wishing to speak about one of the items.  The chairman called up the people who wanted to speak in order of their sign up and kept them on topic.
2. Organized Neighbors:  A neighborhood group formed that was very well organized.  They developed a ten page written paper that presented their issues on the three questions at hand.  The group submitted this in writing the afternoon of the hearing.  They had seven speakers who each spoke about a part of the ten page paper.  Once they were done, most of the other people who signed up to speak declined because the neighborhood group covered the issues very well.
3. Not a Debate:  Decisions will be made at subsequent meetings.  This gives staff and the applicant's team time to thoroughly prepare for and respond at the next meeting.

The public hearing lasted for about an hour and 15 minutes - the shortest public hearing I have ever been to.  Amazing given the significant neighborhood opposition.