April 10, 2008

HRM Cross-Harbour Needs Assessment. We recently submitted our report to the Halifax Dartmouth Bridge Commission about the capacity of the two cross-harbour bridges to handle traffic volumes now and into the future. The study was undertaken in light of a regional plan which allocates growth around the harbour. The study concludes that a new crossing could be required as early as 2016. To read the report, click here. http://needsassessment.ca/

December 11, 2007

Ford Motor Co. and the future of the car. Here is an interesting and (it seems to us) a very realistic perspective from the chairman of the Ford Motor Company, William Clay Ford Jr. Mr. Ford was quoted by the New York Times recently when he spoke about the difficulty of obtaining alternative fuels and the future of mobility. The Times said, “Pointing to efforts under way in India and South Africa to encourage consumers to use bicycles, mopeds and public transportation instead of automobiles, Mr. Ford said, ‘The idea of individual car ownership as we know it today will change, too.’ Ford wants ‘to be part of that -- not to be frightened by it, but to participate in it,’ he said.” Click here to read more.

You can also watch his entire speech through this link from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment (the video is about an hour long; the speech starts at about 15 minutes, 20 seconds after introductions and a FMC video):

August 27, 2007

Tomorrow's Traffic Today: new advances in Germany. In transportation planning, it is usually necessary to forecast traffic volumes well into the future, basing such forecasts on projected population and employment. Obviously, such projections are fraught with problems, since outside of a planned economy no one can predict such growth with accuracy. It is therefore of interest to see that in the German state of Hesse, engineers are now making traffic predictions, literally, for tomorrow’s traffic. They are using a broad range of factors, akin to those used in the science of yield management, to predict where traffic tie-ups are probably going to occur. This allows them to advise motorists to avoid certain routes, and to plan road works to avoid busy periods. The link below takes you to an article from Der Speigel.

Link: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,druck-499901,00.html

August 22, 2007

Here’s a new tool to help understand the potential walkability of your town, neighbourhood and even your home. It is called Walk Score and it uses data stored in Google Map to plot the location of destinations near any address you enter. It works equally well in the US as in Canada (in fact, anywhere for which Google has data; you can even enter your postal code), but we note from our perspective that the Nova Scotia data is a little out of date. Nevertheless, it is an interesting, provocative way of helping understand at least some of the factors that make for a walkable community. Destinations include parks, groceries, bookstores, libraries – anyplace you might want to go to from your home to satisfy your needs of daily life, apart from employment. Worth taking a look.

Read More: http://www.walkscore.com/

July 3, 2007

The 3,000 Dollar Car. Several companies in India are racing to develop a low cost automobile targeted at the country’s growing middle class. Combined with an ambitious program to develop a national highway system called the Golden Quadrilateral, India may be well on the way to experiencing the kinds of traffic jams and road safety problems already facing the G8 counties. Tata Motors, India’s biggest car maker, announced plans in 2003 to make a very low cost car and the result should finally hit the road this year. Several other companies, including Hero Motors with links to Bombardier, announced plans to follow suit. All of them are expected to unveil their products over the next year or so, ushering in a highly competitive and unprecedented future in car sales in this rapidly developing country.

Read More: http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article2692472.ece

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Quadrilateral

April 26, 2007

Real Time Projected Annual US Vehicle-Related Fatalities and Crashes. It’s a big issue we ignore. In the US, more than 42,000 people are expected to die in traffic accidents in 2007. On a per capita basis, Canada, does little better - there were 2,778 fatalities in 2001. By any accounting, these numbers are horrendous. To help drive home this point, ITE has launched a new web site to provide a real-time track of fatalities in the US. For the technically-minded, the projection uses an algorithm that considers the US 5-year rolling average of fatalities and crashes. Once you get over the amazing statistics on the front page you can drill town to the state and county level by using the map. You can click on any individual state and get actual 2001-2005 fatality, injury and crash data down to the county level. Also, under the Categories tab, you can see data by Modes/Vehicle Types/User Types, shown proportionally. Under the Links tab you can find additional fatality awareness websites. The final tab, What You Can Do, is still under construction. Though still in Beta, this site offers a powerful reminder of the tremendous amount of work still ahead to make roads safer. We think it could also provide a necessary jolt to complacency.

http://www.ite.org/crashes/index.htm

March 21, 2007

“Adaptive cruise control model shows benefits for freeway congestion". Adaptive or autonomous cruise control (ACC) is the next generation of cruise control now available on some high end cars (examples: Infiniti QX56, Volvo S80, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, ). Ordinary cruise control is really only safe to use on the open highway where there are substantial gaps between vehicles. Adaptive cruise control is intended for congested conditions. Using radar and intelligent technologies, ACC automatically maintains a safe gap between you and the vehicle in front of you. Researcher L. C. Davis of the University of Michigan has conducted theoretical model experiments that demonstrate ACC, when in use isn a certain percentage of vehicles, could actually reduce congestion. Read more.

Click this link for a brief primer on adaptive cruise control (this link opens a video file from CNET).

http://reviews.cnet.com/Adaptive_cruise_control/4660-3424_7-6213621.html

January 3, 2007

After a quarter century of every-day use by enforcement agencies across the province, Nova Scotia’s Collision Reporting Form No. MV 58A is being retired. On January 1, 2007 the Department of Transportation and Communications and Service Nova Scotia introduced a new form that simplifies and improves the old form in a number of ways. It is now easier to read, simpler to fill out and – most importantly – will be consistent with other forms that will gradually be introduced across the country. This initiative was initiated by the Canadian Council of Transport Administrators and has been supported by all the provinces. The new form features unified codes and definitions developed in consultation with traffic management agencies across the country. The expectation is that with this approach, road safety agencies across the country will obtain a better, more consistent understanding of accident patterns comparable from one jurisdiction to another. As part of the Province’s rollout, Delphi-MRC has been travelling across Nova scotia to present a seminar to police agencies to help explain the new changes.

Delphi-MRC has recently been using panoramic photography as a complement to road safety and planning objectives. This tool provides a seamless 360 degree, high-resolution virtual reality representation of any particular vantage point within a site at a point in time, providing the user with complete control in panning and zooming throughout the environment.  This technology has been used effectively for examination of sight lines, identification of risks in safety studies, and as a permanent visual record of status in forensic investigations and improvement projects.  Shown below is an example panorama of Halifax’s Armdale Rotary, taken from the centre, before conversion to a modern roundabout. To view this file you must download Apple Quicktime viewer.

Armdale Rotary Panoramic Photo

USLIMITS is a web-based expert speed zoning advisor to assist in setting appropriate and consistent speed limits. This expert system recommends a speed limit for a section of road based on road function, roadside development, operating speeds, road characteristics and other factors required to determine appropriate speed limits in speed zones. The system also warns users of issues that might require further investigation and engineering judgement. Although a user account is required to save projects and view the detailed speed zoning report, anyone can trial USLIMITS by entering "guest" for the username and password. For more information refer to this site:

http://www.uslimits.com/

December 13, 2006

Offering a new solution for urban designers and traffic calming advocates, the concept of “shared space” or “naked streets” is gradually catching on in Europe. Conceived by Holland’s Hans Monderman, the fundamental idea is that streets are not just for cars but also for people. As long as there is an alternate route for through traffic, in-town streets should be thought of as part of as public space where people have the same rights to use the road as cars, thus the term “shared streets”. The first of several Dutch experiments occurred in 1985 in Oudehaske. Subsequent applications have taken place in Germany, Denmark, Belgium, the UK (Ipswich Village).

Here is a recent article from Der Spiegel that discusses 7 European cities now employing the ideas:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,448747,00.html

Here is a link for Monderman’s “Shared Spaces” treatise, which provides detail on the theory.

http://www.shared-space.org/files/18445/SharedSpace_Eng.pdf

To date, no one seems to have linked the idea of “shared space” with “slow food” and “slow cities” but we think it is just a matter of time. Originating in Italy in 1986, the slow food movement was a reaction to the proliferation to fast food and other American-style franchises that were beginning to emerge in Europe. Proponents asked why local produce, food and ways were not good enough, and began to celebrate their diversity. The “slow city” movement was a natural exponent of this idea. Today, there are more than forty “slow cities” in Italy, three each in the UK and Germany and a handful elsewhere. Slow cities celebrate quality of life over pace of life, and traditions and traditional ways of doing things are valued, without sacrificing progress. For more information, see this site:

http://www.slowmovement.com/slow_cities.php

October 30, 2006

ITE has just announced the release of the Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) proposed recommended practice guidelines.
This report advances the successful use of context sensitive solutions (CSS) in the planning and design of major urban thoroughfares for walkable communities. It provides guidance and demonstrates for practitioners how CSS concepts and principles may be applied in roadway improvement projects that are consistent with their physical settings.

It is available for download at:

• http://www.ite.org/bookstore/index.asp

October 30, 2006

FHWA's NGSIM Algorithm on Lane-Changing Behavior Now Available. FHWA initiated the Next Generation Simulation (NGSIM) program to improve the quality of traffic simulation tools and promote the use of simulation research. Under the NGSIM program, researchers are developing driver behavior algorithms, which are mathematical models for replicating driver behavior, to support traffic simulation research. The Freeway Lane Selection algorithm is now complete and available on the NGSIM Web site, www.ngsim.fhwa.dot.gov, under the Core Algorithms link. This particular algorithm has recently been incorporated into the VISSIM microsimulation model. Three additional NGSIM algorithms are also under development: the Cooperative/Forced Freeway Merging algorithm, the Arterial Lane Selection algorithm and the Oversaturated Freeway Flow algorithm.

It is available for download at:

• http://www.ngsim.fhwa.dot.gov

October 11, 2006

The US FHWA has released a new brochure describing their SafetyAnalyst software and R&D development efforts and deployment schedule. The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released a brochure that describes its SafetyAnalyst R&D efforts. SafetyAnalyst is intended to provide state-of-the-art analytical tools for use in the road safety decision-making process to help highway agencies identify and manage a system-side program of site-specific improvements to enhance highway safety cost effectively. The SafetyAnalyst toolkit will include six software programs to help transportation agencies analyze the safety performance of specific sites, suggest appropriate countermeasures, quantify their expected benefits, and evaluate their effectiveness.

Interim tools will begin to be released this year, with all final tools scheduled to be released by the end of 2008. The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released a brochure that describes its SafetyAnalyst effort.

The new brochure is available at:

• http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pubs/06124/index.htm

More complete information on SafetyAnalyst - including a series of excellent White Papers discussing various aspects of the toolkit - is available at:

• http://www.safetyanalyst.org/

January 18, 2007

McCormick Rankin Corporation is Celebrating its 50th Anniversary. In 1957 Ted McCormick and George Rankin started the engineering firm of McCormick Rankin in what legend has it was a renovated garden shed in Mississauga Ontario. Now 50 years later McCormick Rankin Corporation (MRC) is a global transportation engineering firm with nearly 400 employees spread across Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Through this growth certain things have remained constant: our commitment to client service and quality and our focus on transportation planning and engineering. Growth and success comes from a happy combination of great clients and great staff. MRC looks forward to continued growth and excellent professional relations with our clients in the coming years.

January 15, 2007

Delphi-MRC provides specialist design advice and peer review services to the Province of PEI for its first modern roundabout. In September of 2006, the Province of Prince Edward Island opened its first modern roundabout. Located at Traveller’s Rest near Summerside PEI, the roundabout was developed in response to the continuing challenges faced with handling major traffic volumes and congestion at the junction of two of PEI’s major rural highways. During the course of the design process, Delphi MRC provided both design guidance and peer review services to the PEI Department of Transportation and Public Works in addition to developing a sophisticated microsimulation model of the proposed design using VISSIM – a cutting edge traffic analysis and microsimulation tool. The tool was used not only to verify that the proposed modern roundabout would provide a suitable improvement in traffic flow, but it’s animation capabilities were used to help illustrate the expected roundabout operations to the road user community in the area as part of the Department’s public consultation process.

You can read more here in this article courtesy of the Atlantic Construction & Transporation Journal:

• RoundaboutArticleConstructionTransportation

November 15, 2006

McCormick Rankin Corporation and their subconsultant Buckland and Taylor, of Vancouver received an Award of Excellence at the 2006 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards held on October 26th in Ottawa for their work on the Queenston-Lewiston International Bridge crossing. McCormick Rankin Corporation was retained by the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission to plan and design the necessary improvements to the bridge. They were asked to strengthen and widen the bridge to meet current truck loading and seismic requirements. They were also to improve the operational and safety of the crossing to provide for the Canada/U.S. Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program.

McCormick Rankin's team included sub-consultant Buckland & Taylor of Vancouver, and U.S. sub-consultants William Lettis Associates and Greenman & Pederson.

A full article on the project can be found at:

• http://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/issues/ISarticle.asp?id=179894&story_id=179010153710&issue=10012006&PC=

October 11, 2006

MRC breaks new ground for the firm in the area of Crime Science with a new project applying Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles to the design of the new Regional Hospital in Truro, Nova Scotia. Delphi-MRC has been engaged by WHW Architects of Halifax to provide expert services in the area of CPTED in conjunction with and on the design of a new regional hospital in Truro. Jeff Ward will be leading this effort, working closely with our CPTED expert, Dr. Jennifer Robinson, an Environmental Criminologist, and Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University in Boston. The project will entail a progressive review of opportunities to enhance the safety and security of the facility as the design is developed, beginning with a series of interviews and stakeholder consultations at the existing facility. These will be used to help develop a clear understanding of the various safety and security concerns and issues that have been identified by stakeholders, and to help set out a relevant framework of specific design principles oriented to stakeholder and institutional needs. CPTED reviews will be conducted at various stages of the design process to provide the architects with ongoing guidance on the incorporation of the principles into the final hospital design product.

Environmental criminology has much to offer the designers of built infrastructure in terms of enhancing the reality and perception of safety and security of public facilities. This includes such transportaion facilities as subway, light rail, and bus rapid transit stations, airport terminals, pedestrian malls and urban trail facilities, parking structures, and other similar installations.

A good overview of the CPTED science can be found at:

• http://www.answers.com/topic/crime-prevention-through-environmental-design

Key dates coming soon.