San Diego Section NEWSLETTER
Transcription
San Diego Section NEWSLETTER
Volume 18, Issue 1 Thank You to Our Sponsors February - March 2012 San Diego Section NEWSLETTER INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERS SAN DIEGO SECTION PRESIDENT Dawn Wilson, P.E., P.T.O.E., T.E. RBF Consulting 760-476-9193 dwilson@rbf.com VICE PRESIDENT Minjie Mei, P.E. City of Santee 619-258-4100 mmei@ci.santee.ca.us TREASURER Kathy Feilen, P.E. City of La Mesa 619-667-1347 KFeilen@ci.la-mesa.ca.us President’s Message by Dawn Wilson It is both an honor and a privilege to be serving as the ITE San Diego Section ITE President for 2012. I am so fortunate to have a talented and dedicated Board to support me and to lead our organization. Mr. Minjie Mei will be taking the realm as Vice President, responsible for keeping me and the Section on schedule this year. Serving as Treasurer this year is Ms. Kathy Feilin, who will be responsible for ensuring our Section activities stay within budget and that we don’t go astray on our events. Our newest member of the Board is Mr. Mark Jugar. After serving several years as Membership Chair, Mark is prepared to take on the role of Secretary. He will be responsible for sending out monthly meeting notices, keeping track of meeting minutes and greeting you at all our meeting. Being a board member keeps us all busy, but it’s worth every minute of it. I am excited to work closely with this group of outstanding professionals again this year to make ITE a success. Looking ahead, we have a wide array of events planned for the Section for this year. To achieve our loft list of activities and programs we have planned, it will take an army of dedicated professionals. Therefore, I would like to express my thanks in advance to all the individuals who dedicate their time and energy to our organization. This year, we are looking to increase our participation by pairing young professional with our experienced pairs through an Assistant Chair program. SECRETARY Mark Jugar, P.E. Rick Engineering (619) 291-0707 mjugar@rickengineering.com PAST PRESIDENT Saul Kane, P.E., P.T.O.E. Lin Consulting 858-278-4800 skane@linconsulting.com Inside This Issue... President’s Message 1-2 Feature Article 3-4 Announcements 5-9 Advertisements 10-12 So, what is in store for ITE in 2012? We will of course continue with the tradition of Monthly Lunch Programs and Technical Programs throughout the year. In March, we join forces with the Southern California Section for an outstanding program on bicycle facility design and implementation. Then in October, we partner with WTS in our second technical program of this year. Monique Chen is working hard to line up speakers for all of our events. If you have suggestions for future programs, please give her a call or drop her an email. We are always looking for fresh, new ideas for our section. Social events are what make our Section strong both in membership and in relationships. In May, we will once again be hosting the Golf Tournament at the Vineyard Golf Course in Escondido. Brush off those clubs and find a group. We will be hitting the links on May 4th this year. To keep the momentum going, we’ll host the annual Summer Social. Walter Musial and Teala Cotter are in the process of developing some fun, family-friendly events ideas for us. More information will be made available soon! Continued on page 2 1 President’s Message INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERS SAN DIEGO SECTION ANNUAL AWARDS Leo Espelet Kimley-Horn & Associates 619-744-0136 leo.espelet@kimley-horn.com DIRECTORY/ ROSTER Phuong Nguyen nguyenhoangphuong@me.com MEETING LOCATION Miriam Leung, Lindy Pham Parsons Brinckerhoff 619-849-5408, 619-525-8395 leungm@pbworld.com MEMBERSHIP K.C. Yellapu LLG Engineers 858-300-8800 yellapu@llgengineers.com Our student section is going strong! Monthly meetings are currently being held on SDSU campus on the 4th Tuesday of the month. Deanna Chico (student chapter president) and Joe Schultz (student chapter liason) are working collaboratively. In the coming weeks, they will be preparing the Annual Report for the student chapter that will be submitted to Western District for consideration. Finally, I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to Saul Kane for his devoted efforts toward ITE in 2011. He did an outstanding job as Section President, and we are fortunate to have him on board in the advisory role of Past President this year. Amongst his many accomplishments as President, Saul successfully promoted ITE San Diego Section for the 2017 Western District Conference. Now that we have been selected to host this event, Saul will be taking on a active role in finding volunteers and locations for this exciting event. I am sure many of you will be hearing from him this year. In closing, I would once again express my appreciation to all the hard working professionals who make ITE a success every year. Without your on-going support and dedication, our Section would not be what it is today. I am looking forward to another exciting and fun year with ITE and I am looking forward to seeing you at our next event. Happy New Year. NEWSLETTER David Mizell, AICP, PTP RBF Consulting 760-476-9193 dmizell@rbf.com MONTHLY PROGRAM Monique Chen Chen Ryan Associates 619-318-4664 mchen@chenryanmobility.com SDSU STUDENT CHAPTER LIAISON Joe Schultz Rick Engineering jshultz@rickengineering.com STUDENT CHAPTER PRESIDENT Deanna Chico San Diego State University deannachico@yahoo.com SDSU STUDENT CHAPTER ADVISOR Dr. Supernak Janusz San Diego State University supernak@mail.sdsu.edu WEB MASTER Phuong Nyguyen nguyenhoangphuong@me.com 2 Feature Article INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERS SAN DIEGO SECTION STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP Zoubir Ouadah, P.E. City of Poway 858-945-5577 zouadah@ci.poway.ca.us ANNUAL GOLF EVENT Nick Minicilli RBF Consulting 760-476-9193 nminicilli@rbf.com SOCIAL CHAIR Walter Musial LLG Engineers 858-300-8800 musial@llgengineers.com VOTING CHAIR Joe De La Garza, P.E. Iteris 619-507-0987 jdlg@iteris.com TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY & MOBILITY TASK FORCE Eric Ruehr VRPA Technologies 858-566-1766 eruehr@vrpatechnologies.com TRANSPORTATION PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION LIAISON Linna Zhang, P.E. City of San Marcos 760-744-1050 lzhang@san-marcos.net PUBLIC OUTREACH / EDUCATION Vacant My Bike to Work Project Part 1: The Idea By: Seth Torma, AICP, PTP Hi. My name is Seth Torma. I am a Senior Transportation Planner at KOA Corporation a Planning and Engineering company and this is the story of my bike ride to work. In this story I will share with you the inspiration for my interest in biking and track my journey from my neighborhood in Normal Heights, San Diego to my office in Kearney Mesa, which is about a 10-15 minute commute by freeway (depending on traffic). Along the way I will explore what biking means to our environment, our health and find out what the future has in store for bike riders in San Diego. This is my story. I grew up during the BMX biking craze that reached its zenith in 1986 with the release of the classic movie Rad. Perhaps you remember the epic scene when our hero Cru Jones makes it through the vertical loop to win the BMX race on the Helltrack! My neighborhood gang of kids went everywhere on our bikes. It was our first taste of freedom created by mobility. Biking was also the norm in my household where my father, a traffic engineer for the City of San Diego, biked to the trolley station to go to work every day. It was partly by choice and partly because we only had one car at the time. It’s hard to imagine that now considering the USA has the second highest vehicles per capita in the world (Monaco is first) . It wasn’t until more recently, during a trip to my wife’s university in Montreal (where it regularly gets 20 below zero in the winter) that I was inspired by a North American example of a walkable and bikable city. I spent an entire week exploring the city on a rented bike. From the botanical gardens at the world expo site to the city’s various neighborhoods, to the canals along the waterfront, Montreal had worked hard to make a bicyclist feel at home on their streets. In 2006 my firm began working with the City of Long Beach to help transform the city into a bicycle haven. They have since been rated one of the top bicycle friendly cities in the country and the work there inspired me to learn more about what we could do to change the way we travel in San Diego. As part of that project I began to research what other world class biking cities did to encourage biking: cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam and even Portland here in the U.S. All of these cities have incredibly high bicycle ridership. 3 Feature Article INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERS SAN DIEGO SECTION So as I was sitting in my car one day during rush hour, I began conjuring up this idea. What would it be like to bike to work and share that experience with others? If I follow the City’s official route, how much longer would it take me to get to work than my drive? How safe is it and what obstacles would I find along the way? What are some of the good things about the ride and what are the City and the region planning to improve my bike commute? And then I kept thinking: what is the significance of biking in the bigger picture of mobility? What does it mean in terms of reduced vehicle miles traveled and reduced green house gasses? How can I do my part and what does my part really look like? What is the connection between this bike ride and healthy communities? How many calories would I burn on this ride? One hundred? Five hundred? And what is five hundred calories really? Is it a cheese burger or just a few fries? To do it I would have start by doing some research and talking to some biking experts. 4 Announcements Summary of San Diego ITE Section Monthly Meeting Date: Time: Location: Speaker: January 5, 2012 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. City of Oceanside Civic Center, 300 North Coast Highway, City of Oceanside, CA 92054 David DiPierro, T.E., City Traffic Engineer, City of Oceanside Members attended: 79 San Diego ITE President Dawn Wilson kicked off the meeting at 12:00 p.m. The attendees introduced themselves. Dawn Wilson reminded attendees that newsletter sponsorships were still available and forms were distributed at each of the tables. Lunch Program Topic: The topic was titled “City of Oceanside Transportation Management Center”. The City of Oceanside recently completed a $1.6million traffic management center (TMC) in City Hall comprising of 16 HD flat panel screens, 35 CCTV cameras and 20 miles of fiber optic cables. In planning for the TMC, City of Oceanside staff visited other TMC sites to get an idea of how other cities setup/operated their TMC’s. Some of these locations included the City of Riverside, City of San Marcos, City of San Marcos and City of Surprise, AZ. Some of the challenges of implementing the Oceanside TMC included; finding the ideal location, getting IT staff on board early in the project and planning accordingly if a Caltrans encroachment permit is required. Funding sources for the TMC were from TransNet Funds ($1,300,000) and Department of Energy Grant Funds ($300,000). The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 p.m. followed by a tour of the TMC, highlighting the room layout as well as a demonstration of one of the CCTV cameras. The Raffle resulted in $43 being donated to the SDSU student chapter. Continued on page 6 5 Announcements Summary of San Diego ITE Section Monthly Meeting Date: Time: Location: Speakers: February 2, 2012 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Handlery Hotel, 950 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, CA 92108 Jacob Armstrong and Karen Jewel, Caltrans District 11 Members attended: 58 San Diego ITE President Dawn Wilson kicked off the meeting at 12:00 p.m. It was announced that the next March 2012 ITE meeting would be a joint meeting with the Southern California Section. Lunch Program Topic: The topic was titled “Building a Partnership for Land Use and Transportation”. The presentation summarized Caltrans’ role, processes and procedures for traffic analysis review and design oversight for projects that are sponsored by others on the state highway system. Some of Caltrans goals in Local Development Review include: protecting existing State Highway System (SHS), Maintaining the operational and structural integrity and safety of SHS and Caltrans providing information for better decision making. The following departments are involved in this review: Local Development-Intergovernmental Review(LDIGR) Branch, Caltrans Traffic Engineering and Analysis Branch and Caltrans Functional Review Teams. A brief overview of the Caltrans PEER (Project Engineering Evaluation Report) and PSR/PDS (Project Study Report-Project Development Support) as it relates to District 11’s Business Practice Recommendations was also provided. The Raffle resulted in $46 being donated to the SDSU student chapter. The meeting was adjourned at 1:15 p.m. Continued on page 7 6 Announcements 2017 WESTERN DISTRICT CONFERENCE SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA ITE San Diego is looking for current members who wish to volunteer for the 2017 Western District Annual Conference. The conference will be held at a location to be determined and during June or July of 2017. We know it’s a long way out, but planning has already started. If you have any interest in being part of an amazing experience within your local section of ITE, then this is the perfect opportunity for you. We’re looking for volunteers to lead and/or participate in one of the many available positions within the Conference’s committees. The following is a list of the committees and whether the Chair position is available or filled: Local Arrangements Chair (LAC) – Not available Financial Chair – Available Registration Chair – Not available Technical Chair – Not available Technical Tour Chair – Available Accompanying Person/Youth Activities Chair – Available Exhibit/Vendor Chair – Available Family Night Chair – Not available Website Chair – Available Photography Chair – Available Additional Issues Chair – Available If you would like to sign up as a volunteer for a Chair position or would like to be on the list to help out in one of these committees, please contact Saul Kane via email at skane@linconsulting.com or by phone at (858) 278-4800. Save The Date! Mark your calendars for the next ITE social function that is planned for Thursday, April 12th. Walter Musial, ITE Social Chair, will provide details soon on location and time of event. Continued on page 8 7 Announcements Start Your Spring the “ITE” Way… With a Joint Meeting Between ITE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA & SAN DIEGO SECTIONS Presenting a Mini-Workshop /Luncheon Friday, March 23, 2012 – 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM Registration Begins at 9:30 AM (refreshments provided) / Lunch at 12:00 Noon Workshop Program: “Issues in Bikeway Design: Planning, Designing, and Constructing Cycle Tracks and Bike Boulevards” And “ITE Western District, State of the District” Walter Okitsu, PE, KOA Corporation “A Short Summary of the 2012 California MUTCD – What You Need to Know” John Fisher, Assistant General Manager, LADOT Lunch Keynote Address: “Safe Routes to Transit and Data Collection/Modeling Work” Christine Eary, Associate Planner, SANDAG Place: El Adobe Restaurant, San Juan Capistrano, CA 31891 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano (949) 493-1163 www.eladobedecapistrano.com From Los Angeles or San Diego: 5 freeway exit Ortega Highway; go west towards the Mission; turn left on Camino Capistrano; two blocks on right side. Parking lot behind building. (Additional parking across the street.) Parking – Free. Carpooling is highly encouraged and recommended. Metrolink is across the street! http://metrolinktrains.com/ Price: $40 with Reservation ($45 without); $30 lunch only with Reservation ($35 without); $20 for Students with Reservation. Payable at the door. Cash or checks only. Reservations: ITE SoCal – Sri Chakravarthy, sri.chakravarthy@kimley-horn.com ITE San Diego – Mark Jugar, mjugar@rickengineering.com Reservations Due by Noon, Friday, March 16th! Continued on page 9 8 Announcements Announcement from County of San Diego Department of Public Works To County Traffic Consultants, Thank you for your continued interest and patience since the last TIF Update External Stakeholder meetings. With the adoption of the County’s General Plan, TIF Update options are now being prepared for the Board of Supervisor’s consideration. In the upcoming weeks, DPW staff will be scheduling External Stakeholder meetings in preparation for a Board of Supervisors hearing tentatively scheduled for late March. At the External Stakeholder meetings, DPW staff and project consultants will be discussing various TIF program options that will be presented to the Board for their consideration and to obtain public input. A staff preferred/proposed program will not be presented to the Board. The purpose of the Board hearing will be for staff to present program options and receive direction from the Board. The Board will not be requested to approve a proposed TIF program and revised Ordinance at the March hearing. Staff will receive direction from the Board that will enable us to proceed with the preparation of the revised Ordinance and supporting documentation for consideration at a subsequent hearing. Fee rate information and TIF Improvement Facilities information provided at the External Stakeholder meetings will be general in nature, as they are still subject to change. Either prior to or in conjunction with the Stakeholder meetings, TIF Update information will be available online at the DPW TIF web page. The more detailed information will be part of the formal Board packet. We will e-mail your notices of the upcoming External Stakeholder meetings which will likely be scheduled for late February or early March. The Stakeholder meetings will provide interested parties with opportunity to review TIF program options and then express their opinions and make their recommendations about the updated TIF program. Thanks, F.Nick Ortiz County of San Diego, Department of Public Works Transportation Planning section Phone: 858-694-2410 Fax: 858-694-3373 MS 0336 9 Sponsorship 10 Sponsorship 11 Sponsorship TACK RAFFIC ONSULTING, Inc. 141 Sanford Street Encinitas CA 92024 Tel: (760) 487-1420 Fax: (619) 342-8043 Email: info@stacktraffic.com Website: www.stacktraffic.com 12