Mike on Traffic

New "Stield" Sign

Gary Lauder designed this sign that is supposed to function in between a stop sign and a yield sign (Bill - thanks for posting this on the listserv).  I'm with Mr. Lauder in spirit - I am a proponent of using more yield signs and less stop signs.  There's no reason to come to a complete stop if there's no one else at an intersection. 

The yield sign has the same meaning as Mr. Lauder's sign, so I don't see a need for this new sign.  The idea behind a sign is that we can see the symbol and quickly determine how we are supposed to react.  There is a lot of information to absorb with the proposed sign.  Plus the placard below the sign is ambiguous at best.  Again the rules for stop signs and yield signs are crystal clear (first come, first serve - the vehicle on the right goes first if two vehicles arrived at the same time).  I like creativity, but I don't see a place for the proposed sign.

Deadbeat Clients - CEI Ventures (signed by Matt Crowe) and Select Senior Living (signed by Kerry Johnson)

This certainly isn't relevant to traffic engineering, but I know other Twin Cities based traffic engineers read this blog (thanks by the way).  As a service to them, here's a warning about two clients who are deadbeats.

CEI Ventures (signed contract by Matt Crowe.  I think he folded up shop at CEI.  He's calling his latest venture Huckleberry - http://www.huckventures.com/About/MatthewCrowe.aspx)

Select Senior Living/Coventry Senior Living (signed contract by Kerry Johnson)

I know it's a tough economy out there.  I know things don't go the way developers sometimes want them to.  I also know getting stiffed is part of being in business.  That still doesn't make it right and I'd be careful of doing business with either of these companies.

I will certainly retract this post if either of them come through with payment.  I'll also let you know about any deadbeats in the future.  I'd appreciate you letting me know about other developers our community should be concerned about working for.

Virtual Crosswalk Walk Concept

Yanko Design has come up with the Virtual Wall concept (it was discussed on the ITE Traffic Engineering Listserv this week - thanks Pradeep).  It's basically a hologram that will pop up between the cars and crosswalk when pedestrians in the crosswalk have the walk signal.  Regular readers know I'm quite open to new ideas related to our industry.  This one doesn't strike me as a good one though.  

The virtual wall doesn't provide any more protection for the pedestrian.  A mom could still be turned around dealing with her baby's pacifier and blow through the intersection - hologram and all.  Sure, the mom would be at fault and would probably end up doing jail time for maiming/killing the pedestrian.  But I'd rather have pedestrians (including me and my kids) be cautious and alive instead of "right" and dead. 

Now as a traffic engineer I might be in favor of the traffic signal's computer forcing the car to brake so they can't run a red light, but I'll stop before I step into Big Brother land.

On a side note.  The picture shows the hologram up when the signal is yellow.  I'd think the hologram would pop up after the light turns red.  Imagine the liability of shooting a hologram right in front of someone's face when they're legally entering the intersection?

From Tuition to Promotion by Mike Spack

Please forgive me for straying from my traffic theme this week, but I want to let you know about my new book - From Tuition to Promotion (available here at Amazon.com and hopefully coming soon to Barnes & Noble). 

The book was inspired by my co-teaching the civil engineering senior design class at the U of MN.  I've come to realize folks with professional degrees (accounting, engineering, architecture, etc.) are taught very little about the working world in their undergrad programs.  From Tuition to Promotion tracks Chris through the ups and downs of his first three years on the job, hopefully giving some insight on how the beginning stages of a career will play out.

From the back cover of the book:

You’re Hired.  Now What?

What’s it like to sit in a cube from 9 to 5?  How should you interact with your boss?  What kind of work assignments will be best for you?  How can you make the biggest impact?  How will you make it through the world’s most boring meeting?  What do you need to do to get that promotion and raise?  These questions (and many more) are ones Mike had when he started his career as a civil engineer - the same kind of questions his students at the University of Minnesota have. Your professors don’t talk about these issues and your boss probably won’t either. 

That’s where this book comes in, as a guide for not only surviving but thriving in the first three years of your new career.  It’s honest advice that your boss may not want you to hear, because sometimes the company’s interests won’t line up with your interests. 

Let Uncle Mike be your first mentor!

Thanks for indulging this little bit of self promotion.  I'll get back to traffic stuff with my next post.

Minneapolis Transitway plus Commuter Rail

Anyone who has visited the heart of downtown Minneapolis in the last year and a half is painfully aware that Marquette and 2nd Avenues are under construction.  A Christmas present for those office tower workers downtown - the improved corridors will be fully opened next week.  The major improvement lies in building side by side bus lanes, causing the Metropolitan Council to term this new one way pair the "crown jewel of the new express bus network."  Buses used to be stuck behind each other in a single file line, even if a particular bus wasn't making a stop.  Now the 60+ express bus routes using the corridor have a passing lane, which will significantly reduce their delay downtown.

On another transit note, the Star Tribune reports the Northstar Commuter train is averaging 2,207 passengers per day.  The headline Northstar LRT Ridership Below Metro Transit Goals is too pessimistic in my view.  The 2010 goal is to have 2,460 passengers use the train per day.  The train probably has a bump up because of the newness factor, but it also probably has a dip because of people working less during the holidays (its only been open for two weeks).  The train will eventually attract people to move to housing near train stations.  I will be surprised if the train ridership doesn't increase by ten percent to meet the goal by next December.

St. Paul Port Authority's Redevelopment of 3M's Former Saint Paul Campus - Spack Consulting hired for Traffic Study

The St. Paul Port Authority is redeveloping 3M's former 46 acre campus on the east side of St. Paul (read about it on the Port Authority's site here).  This is in line with their mission of assembling and cleaning up polluted and/or underutilized inner-city land.  Typically the Port Authority sells the cleaned up parcels to expansion minded businesses for $1.  The Port Authority works hard to create jobs on the east side of the Twin Cities.

We've been hired to do a traffic study for the redevelopment.  We'll be analyzing two development scenarios (+/- 700,000 square feet of new buildings along with the potential reuse of some existing buildings) and determining the traffic impacts of the redevelopment on about 30 intersections.

This is a great project for all involved and I'm excited to be part of it.  I always enjoying working in St. Paul - I was an intern with City while I was in college.

Perspective

I attended the North Central Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (more alphabet soup - NCITE) on September 21st.  The topic of the meeting was Mega Projects - Lessons Learned.  All three of the speakers were interesting, but I didn't take away too many lessons learned. 

The biggest lesson I took away was that of perspective.  Wally Wysopal, the city administrator for North St. Paul discussed converting a section of Highway 36 from a corridor with at grade traffic signals to a grade separated freeway.  Highway 36 is a large commuter corridor and it bisects the city of North St. Paul.  Its a barrier between their neighborhoods and businesses/civic amenities.  The city wanted bridges over Highway 36 that would improve their local connectivity.

The problem was that no agency except for the city had this project in their plans.  City staff and elected politicians eventually put together a very diverse funding structure - a little bit from here, a little bit from there to get the project fully funded and ultimately built.  Wally did a wonderful job of painting the history of North St. Paul, how it was developed, and how the highway inadvertently cut the community in half.  This project was the city's dream to reunite itself.  That constant, emotional message was the reason they were able to make the project happen (in my estimation).

 The take away is you have to paint a picture to make your points in an emotional way.  This is very out of character for us engineer types.  I have recently started to use Detroit as an example (sorry to pick on the Motor City, but this story is simple to grasp and makes my point).  I say "some level of traffic congestion is a byproduct of a successful community - Detroit doesn't have any congestion problems in the heart of the city, yet I don't think you want your city to look like downtown Detroit.  My job is to manage the traffic from this development in a tolerable way, but congestion is part of a thriving community."  This little story has made my job a little easier in public hearings. 

1st Avenue in Minneapolis - One Way to Two Way Conversion

I blogged about Minneapolis' conversion project in August.  1st Avenue was converted to a two way this past Sunday.  Here's a local story about the conversion.  The public is grumbling about the change, but we need to evaluate the innovations after the newness has worn off.  Unfortunately, the City installed more than twenty signs with the word buses spelled as "busses."  According to Merriam Webster this is a legitimate derivation for the plural of bus (but it is not the common usage). 

I saw a protoype of the sign in a presentation on the project.  I mentioned the busses "typo" to one of the presenters and he said they caught that.  Maybe the City decided to introduce the less common spelling to us Minnesotans (or is that Minnesotaites?).

Driving on the left side of the road comes to America! (Missouri's Diverging Diamond Interchange)

Check out Missouri's recently opened Route 13/Interstate 44 diverging diamond interchange.  Drivers go on the left side of the road over the bridge instead of the traditional right side.  This is much more efficient for many situations because the left turners have much less delay.  Courtesy of the Missouri DOT, here's a video of the interchange in action.

Spack Consulting Website Launch

Check out our completely redesigned website, www.SpackConsulting.com.  Bob and Mark at DKS Systems did a great job for us and I am proud of our new internet home.