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Transportation Planning
We provide a wide range of expertise to improve the quality of life for all community members and transportation users, especially those facing unique challenges in dense urban areas. The team develops designs that maximize efficiency and transform public spaces into attractive, welcoming places that accommodate all modes of transportation, improve safety for all users, and encourage robust pedestrian activity.
Our approach is guided by practicing “design mediation”, where we use innovative public involvement techniques to make sure community voices are heard and integrated into the planning process. This allows us to achieve consensus on tough planning and design issues and develop strong relationships with public agencies, community groups, and elected officials to move a project forward. Our graphic design skills also contribute to the success of our public involvement methods because we create graphically sophisticated, clear, and communicative engagement materials and project deliverables that educate the public on the process and help guide them on their journey when the project is completed.
Corridor and Neighborhood Studies
Transit Planning
Taking a fresh look at tough cases, they conceive ideas that are innovative, realistic, and consider existing systems, needs, and the goals of the community. Today, a core challenge is blending existing systems and traditional operations with emerging mobility, new service models, and other rapidly-evolving aspects of the transportation field. Our interdisciplinary project teams—including our Transit, New Mobility, and Data Analytics experts—have worked with dozens of planning, transportation, and transit organizations to leverage new data sources and analytical tools to solve the most pressing challenges, operate more efficiently, and better meet the needs of their communities.
We have worked with transit agencies on innovative transit network plans, transit priority corridors, new mobility roadmaps, first- and last-mile plans (including microtransit and micromobility), and MaaS/MOD strategies. Use of big data (including location-based data) and innovative planning and analytical tools are a key element of these plans. We have also built sophisticated, custom data analytics and performance dashboard tools to supplement existing/available information.
Using these cutting-edge tools and our team's broad experience, in collaboration with clients and public agencies, we identify and then implement the most transformative, meaningful solutions. Since we are experienced in overcoming bureaucratic/public resistance, we can help guide clients through the regulatory processes to gain approvals. Making the most of what are often limited resources helps clients maximize the efficiency of their existing public systems while meeting new and evolving needs to the best of the system’s ability.
Safety and Vision Zero
On the national level in the US, we have led numerous behavioral safety research investigations for NHTSA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on critical traffic safety issues including seat belt use, distracted driving, impaired driving, speed, pedestrian safety, bicycle safety, and motorcycle safety. At the state and local levels, we have turned that research into practical application, playing a key role in supporting traffic safety and Vison Zero programs from coast to coast.
Civil Engineering
We're experts at advancing projects through jurisdictional agency review procedures. Whether we’re leading or supporting new development teams, other architecture and engineering firms, or advancing state and municipal public works and transportation agency initiatives into construction-ready plans, our proactive civil design engineers and project managers remain engaged in a project’s critical path from day one through substantial completion and beyond. We ensure our client’s needs are met throughout the life cycle of a project and aim to optimize their success.
Bicycle and Pedestrian/Micromobility
Our designs focus on the equitable allocation of the public right-of-way to meet the needs of all street users, particularly the most vulnerable, resulting in calmer, safer streets. We strive to integrate safer pedestrian and bicycle networks into our cities to encourage walking and bicycling. Utilizing our transportation and traffic experience, we approach active transportation projects holistically, as part of the overall transportation network.
We have worked with a variety of communities around the country to integrate emerging forms of mobility and technology into their transportation systems in support of established public goals and objectives. We are, and have been, actively engaged in helping transit agencies continually determine and measure success as new mobility technology changes the way people move through urban and suburban areas.
Sustainability, Resiliency, and Electrification
Strategic Planning
Our team helps cities and transportation agencies define, articulate, and implement their vision and goals. We work side-by-side with our clients to craft compelling and actionable strategic plans, create more aligned organizations, improve key processes, and communicate more effectively with their communities and partners.
Our strategic planning and organizational consulting work has helped reshape entire departments (or, in some cases, stand up new departments), build public support for major infrastructure funding measures, and embed policy priorities like equity and climate action into organizational culture and everyday business processes. Our team includes leaders that have guided organizational transformations in the public sector and led international research efforts into creating effective, well-organized transportation agencies.