OCTOBER 2010

VOLUME 14 - 2

Conveyances INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERS The Official Newsletter of the ITE Colorado/Wyoming Section Members of the Outstanding ITE Section ... I cover three items in this message: the Executive Committee’s strategic plan, the Section Bylaws, and comments on the table survey from the last luncheon. The Executive Committee has adopted a strategic plan to guide the efforts of the individual committees and the Executive Committee as a whole. The strategic plan sets goals for the next five years and lists strategies to attain those goals. Each successive Section President will evaluate the Executive Committee’s progress towards the goals and will lead the revision of the plan both to account for the rate of progress and to extend the five-year horizon. The major goals of the plan stem directly from the Section purposes listed in the Section Charter. •

Bring more people together – Since the core Section purpose is bring transportation professionals together to network, to learn, and, at times, to enjoy ourselves, the Executive Committee will strive to bring even more transportation professionals together.

•

Share more knowledge and experience – The Executive Committee will strive to improve access to key transportation-related information and continuing education.

•

Increase participation of students and younger members – As we all recognize that our student members and our younger members are the future of the Section and our industry, the Executive

Upcoming Events ... October Luncheon · Page 9 ITE Webinars · Page 3 Green Streets and Highways Conference · Page 11

Committee will strive to increase opportunities for these members to participate in the Section function and development. The strategic plan has been posted on the Section website for your review. If you have any comments or suggestions, please send them to me and they will be considered in the plan update next year. The Section Charter and Bylaws have also been posted on the Section website and are available for your review. The Executive Committee plans to formally distribute the Bylaws to the membership October 15th to be followed by a membership vote from November 29th to December 10th. The Bylaws follow the form of the model provided by District 6 and they have been modified to describe how our Section does business. Finally, I would like to thank all the members who completed the table surveys at the last luncheon. Several good comments were provided including significant interest in Colorado’s Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101. Clear summaries of these initiatives are included in the Colorado Blue Book (which can be found at http://tinyurl.com/2fthjwc). In addition, our Legislative Chair, Scott Thomas, discusses these initiatives in his article both in this newsletter and the last. He will also give a brief summary of these initiatives in his committee report at our next luncheon, which will be held at the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland on October 22nd. Our program will be the I-70 “zipper” lanes, which will prove to be an interesting topic. I look forward to seeing you there.

Greg MacKinnon President Colorado-Wyoming Section ITE

Inside This Issue ... Oct. 22, 2010 Oct. 26 & 28, 2010 Nov. 14-17, 2010

Committee Reports · 2 Treasurer’s Report · 4 Technical Article · 5 Legislative Update · 6

Announcements · 7 Puzzle Maniac · 8 Luncheon Dates · 9 Events Calendar · 10

OCTOBER 2010

CONVEYANCES

September Luncheon

by Kari McDowell, Section Scribe

The Colorado/Wyoming ITE Section held their 2010 Annual Business Luncheon on Friday, September 17th at the Embassy Suites Hotel in the Denver Tech Center. 2009-2010 Section President, Ben Waldman, presided over the Section’s business meeting luncheon with 60 members in attendance. The meeting began with Waldman welcoming Ken Ackeret, Western District International Director, who swore in this year’s officers. Greg MacKinnon was sworn in as the Section President; Chris Sheffer as Vice-President; and John LaSala as Secretary/Treasurer. Greg MacKinnon presented Ben Waldman with the Past President award to recognize his contributions as last year’s Section president. Greg then presented the President’s announcements which included this year’s Executive Committee. Finally, he also reminded the group that abstracts for the 2011 ITE Western District Meeting are due October 1st. The Section is looking for volunteers to Professional Liaisons for the Section’s Student Chapters.

PAGE 2

Together, they presented on "Transportation for the Times: Bicycles and Living Streets". Crissy covered Living Streets and Emily talked about the City's bicycling initiatives. B-cycle is the first large scale bike sharing program in the United States. Our next Section luncheon will be held on Friday, October 22nd. Registration will be available at www.cowyite.org. The Colorado/Wyoming Section contact is Greg MacKinnon at [email protected] or (303) 4805633. Also, please visit our Section’s website at www.cowyite.org.

Ken Ackeret, Western District International Director, swears in this year’s officers.

The Colorado/Wyoming Section received several District and international Awards this past year. • • • •

Activities Award (District) Website (District ) Newsletter (International) Recognition of the Section’s Contribution to the Student Endowment Fund (District)

Ken Ackeret read a proclamation declaring September 17th as Melissa Rosas’ Day for her numerous accomplishments while serving ITE.

The Colorado/Wyoming Section received several District and international Awards this past year.

Dave Hattan presented Sarah Karjala with a belated Transportation Professional of the Year Awards for her service as committee chair at the 2009 Western District Annual Meeting. Vice President, Chris Sheffer introduced the program speakers, Crissy Fanganello and Emily Kreisa with the City and County of Denver's Policy and Planning group.

Crissy Fanganello and Emily Kreisa with the City and County of Denver's Policy and Planning Group, present the luncheon program “Transportation for the Times: Bicycles and Living Streets.”

OCTOBER 2010

CONVEYANCES

Continuing Education Committee by Joe Henderson, Chair

As the new Chair of Continuing Education, I have a goal of setting up at least one webinar per month so that the membership can take advantage of the savings offered by the Section and the time to discuss the content with others in attendance. I am searching for locations where the webinars can be viewed so please let me know if the Section can use your office for this purpose. ITE publishes its upcoming webinars about two months in advance. Here are the upcoming webinars. Please let me know if there are any that you are interested in viewing and I will see what I can do to set it up. •

Multi-Modal School Site Planning, Design and Transportation for Primary Grades (Grades K-8) 10/28/2010

The Section is also considering hosting classes on a specific topic or piece of software. Please let me know what interests you. You may contact me at (303) 5896875 or at [email protected].

PAGE 3

competition since Wyoming used to be part of the Intermountain Section. The Wyoming presentation won the competition (Go Pokes!) and the students enjoyed the meeting and networking with the other chapters. As part of this trip the students also toured transportation projects in Yellowstone with Western Federal Lands representative (and UW alumnus) Shane Schieck. Six students attended the Western District Meeting in June and competed in the MiteY Race and the Student Traffic Bowl. Unfortunately the chapter was not able to retain the Traffic Bowl trophy this year but look forward to earning it back next year! On Wednesday evenings this semester, professional development meetings will be held in which we invite transportation professionals to speak. The meetings are held every two weeks and started on September 8th with officer elections. Other speakers have been lined up throughout the semester, but we are always looking for speakers so please contact us if you are interested. Check out our website at http://wwweng.uwyo.edu/ societies/ITE/ for the latest Chapter news. We have three field trips planned for this semester in conjunction with a graduate class on ITS.

University of Wyoming Student Chapter Update by Rhonda Young, PE, PhD

The University Of Wyoming Student Chapter of ITE had a great summer and is looking forward to an exciting fall semester. This summer Wyoming students attended both the Intermountain Section meeting in Jackson Hole in May and the Western District Annual Meeting in San Francisco in June. The Intermountain Section meeting was having their 50th Anniversary and invited the Wyoming Chapter to compete in a transportation history

University of Wyoming Students at the Intermountain Section Meeting in Jackson Hole.

CONVEYANCES

OCTOBER 2010

PAGE 4

Treasurer’s Report

by John LaSala, Section Secretary/Treasurer

The current budget summary is listed below. If you have any questions or comments concerning this budget summary, please contact John LaSala at [email protected].

Actual Cash Flow as of September 21, 2010 Income Budget Actual Executive Committee Business Card Ads $3,375.00 $1,800.00 Dues - ITE Payment $4,000.00 $0.00 Dues - Misc $300.00 $0.00 Employment Ads $150.00 $0.00 Interest $200.00 $40.88 Lunch Meetings $9,700.00 $1,686.00 Spring Symposium $8,250.00 $0.00 Vendor Show $11,200.00 $0.00 Activities Annual Activity $2,500.00 $0.00 $4,500.00 $0.00 Continuing Education $8,000.00 $0.00 Golf

Subtotal Expense Executive Committee Administrative President's D6 registration Bank Charges EC Meetings Lunch Meetings Program Committee Newsletter Contest Spring Symposium Vendor Show Activities Charitable Giving Happy Hour Annual Activity Awards Continuing Education Membership Committee Golf Student Chapter Technical Committee Website Committee Website Upgrade

$52,175.00 Budget

$3,526.88 Actual

$1,400.00 $500.00 $100.00 $1,000.00 $10,600.00 $1,500.00 $100.00 $8,250.00 $7,000.00

$165.50 $0.00 $10.00 $118.42 $1,561.86 $0.00 $25.00 $0.00 $0.00

$1,000.00 $350.00 $2,500.00 $250.00 $4,500.00 $240.00 $8,000.00 $3,000.00 $0.00 $250.00 $1,635.00

$0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $113.35 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Subtotal

$52,175.00

$1,994.13

Total

$0.00

$1,532.75

The Colorado/Wyoming Section is now on Facebook! To get connected with other members, go to: http://tinyurl.com/cowyitefacebook

CONVEYANCES

OCTOBER 2010

Technical Committee Interest Column by Nitin Deshpande, P.E., Jacobs

Traffic Signal Clearance Intervals There seems to be a common agreement between various local, state, national, and international agencies that the timing of traffic signal clearance intervals (yellow and all-red time) can affect accident rates at signalized intersections. Although the calculation of clearance interval timings is relatively straightforward, the field implementation still remains a challenge. This article attempts to present a general overview of the clearance interval determination methods or policies being used in North America.

PAGE 5

Edition) states that a yellow change interval should be approximately 3 to 6 seconds, and the ITE Traffic Engineering Handbook states that a maximum of 5 seconds is typical for the yellow change interval. The red clearance interval, if used, should not exceed 6 seconds (MUTCD), but 2 seconds or less is typical (ITE). Research has documented that all of these methods work acceptably and no single method is superior. However, there seems to be a lack of uniformity across North America in the application of methods and factors used to determine traffic signal clearance intervals. Also, local signal design standards may vary from the suggested methods resulting in a new sub-set of earlier discussed methods.

When approaching an intersection, a driver is faced with one of several situations when the clearance interval occurs. For example, a situation where the driver can either stop or proceed through the intersection when yellow clearance interval occurs (decision zone) or a situation where the driver can neither stop comfortably nor proceed through and clear the intersection before the conflicting green indication appears (dilemma zone). The ideal clearance interval timing addresses both these situations by eliminating the dilemma zone and minimizing the decision zone. A review of ITE publications, recent articles and research papers reveal three different clearance interval determination methods or policies being used by the agencies – •

Kinematic Model equation—The ITE Traffic Engineering Handbook, 6th Edition, and the ITE Traffic Control Devices Handbook, 2001 Edition, provide formulae to calculate clearance intervals (yellow and red times) based on the kinematic model. The lookup tables showing yellow and red clearance interval values are also included in the Traffic Control Devices Handbook for quick reference.

•

Rule-of-Thumb method—Includes the calculation of yellow time based solely on speed. The approach speed in miles-per-hour is divided by 10 to determine the length of yellow change interval. The red clearance interval of 2 seconds or less is typically used.

•

Uniform Value method (uniform clearance interval lengths)—Various studies report that a uniform value of 4.0 or 4.5 seconds for the yellow change interval length is sufficient to accommodate most of approach speeds and deceleration rates. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD 2009

Source: ITE Traffic Control Devices Handbook (2001)

OCTOBER 2010

CONVEYANCES

Legislative Committee Update by Scott Thomas, Chair

With the elections drawing near, I’m following up to last month’s article about important ballot measures that will impact our transportation industry: Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101. To review the official wording of the 2010 general election ballot initiatives, visit this link: http:// www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/main.htm. By now, you should have received your 2010 State Ballot Information Booklet. The booklet describes each ballot measure, along with the arguments for and against each and the fiscal impacts. A few excerpts about 60, 61, and 101 from the booklet are as follows:

Amendment 60 – Has a fiscal impact by reducing prop-

erty taxes for local and state expenditures, thus reducing the amount of tax government agencies will receive. • Argument for: “provides property tax relief for Coloradans in a tough economic climate” • Argument against: “overturns nearly two decades of voter-approved tax decisions that fund important services provided by cities, school districts, and special districts”

Amendment 61 – Places limits on state and local govern-

ment borrowing, which is currently used to build or improve public facilities like roads, buildings, and airports. This affects Colorado’s state government by prohibiting any future borrowing capacity for public infrastructure projects. • Argument for: “Borrowing is expensive because it includes interest payments and fees.” • Argument against: “Borrowing is a crucial tool for financing large public investments such as prisons, schools, and water projects.”

Proposition 101 – Reduces or eliminates taxes and fees

on vehicle purchases, registrations, leases, and rentals that are used for state and local transportation budgets. One such program that would be eliminated is Colorado’s FASTER bill. • Argument for: “Allowing businesses to keep more of their own money helps the economy.” • Argument against: “Colorado’s economic success

PAGE 6

depends on services that governments provide, such as education and a safe transportation system.” We encourage our members to take time to understand these initiatives in order to make informed decisions in November.

OCTOBER 2010

CONVEYANCES

PAGE 7

Letter to the Editor

by Bill Hange, City of Loveland

Colorado state-wide ballot initiatives 60, 61, and proposition 101 have been projected by private citizens and local/state governments to severely impact budgets from everything from roadway projects to schools. A number of local agencies have prepared alternative budgets with budget cuts that could severely cut programs and reduce services related to streets and highways. Opponents of these measures have estimated a direct loss of 73,000 private and public jobs in Colorado should these measures pass this fall. Proponents advertise an instant tax cut, opponents say that these measures, if passed, would severely limit local governments’ ability to let voters decide on public improvement projects and to maintain existing infrastructures including local streets and state highways. I strongly encourage readers to get the facts on these items so you can be informed before voting. Try searching for “Colorado Ballot Initiatives 2010” online and there is lots of information available on these important 2010 ballot items.

Comments or issues expressed or discussed in letters to the editor do not reflect the opinions of the Section or the Executive Committee.

Videos of the Section’s business and presentations are now available to those who cannot make it the actual meeting. To access the videos, go to the Meeting Videos link on our website.

CONVEYANCES

OCTOBER 2010

PAGE 8

SECTION ANNOUNCEMENTS Please send any announcements that you wish to be posted in the newsletter to Bart Przybyl, Newsletter Editor, [email protected]. You are invited to join us… The Denver Chapter of Engineers Without Borders is hosting an evening filled with fine wine, delicious appetizers, and the fun and excitement of a silent auction! The 5th Annual Wine Tasting Fundraiser will be held on November 11th from 6pm to 10pm at the Translations Gallery in Downtown Denver.

STUDENT CHAPTER PROFESSIONAL LIASON The District 6 Board is promoting a stronger linkage between the Sections and the Student Chapters within the district. In the Charter and Bylaws update process, District 6 has identified a new position to be created on our Executive Committee for each student chapter within the Section. The new position is a Student Chapter Professional Liaison. The preferred characteristics of the person filling each position are: •

a recent graduate from the school at which the student chapter resides (currently either the University of Wyoming or the University of Colorado – Denver) a member of the Section employed in the transportation engineering field within the Section interested in advancing the objectives of the Section and ITE

Tickets for the event are $45. Space is limited so reserve now at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/129849.

• •

Like to make a donation to the silent auction? Interested in joining our corporate sponsors?

•

Contact Jen at [email protected] or visit the Chapter website at www.ewbdenver.org.

The main role of the position is to coordinate between the Section Executive Committee and the Student Chapter Executive Committee (which you were likely a recent member). While a member of the Section Executive Committee, you can be sure that other opportunities to participate within the Section will present themselves.

Proceeds will fund the Chapter’s ongoing humanitarian projects in Togo, Madagascar and Ecuador. This event is sponsored by:

If you are interested in opportunity of being the first to take on this new position, please contact the Section President, Greg MacKinnon, at 303-480-5633 or [email protected].

IMAGINE A DAY WITH ZERO TRAFFIC FATALITIES. ITE AND ASCE CELEBRATES THE TENTH ANNUAL "PUT THE BRAKES ON FATALITIES DAY" An early report released by the National Highway and Transportation Administration (NHTSA) estimated there were approximately 34,000 traffic fatalities in 2009. That's about 93 fatalities every single day - one fatality every 15 minutes. Imagine a day with zero traffic deaths where all drivers make a special effort to “Put the Brakes on Fatalities!” The tenth annual Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day will be celebrated on October 10, 2010 by promoting the theme “Don’t be Driven to Distraction-Drive to Arrive” to encourage the public to reduce driver distractions so they and their loved ones do not become one of those statistics. The goal is to unite the country in achieving one full day of zero traffic deaths by encouraging safer behavior and actions, promoting safer roadways and vehicles, and creating improved ways to handle medical emergencies and enforcement of traffic regulations. October was selected for the Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day observance because it is among the peak months for traffic fatalities. In fact, October 9th was the most dangerous day of the year to be on the road in 1999: 207 people died in traffic crashes according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). February 22 was the safest day to be on the road that year: 50 were killed in motor vehicle crashes.

OCTOBER 2010

CONVEYANCES

Puzzle Maniac

by Bart Przybyl, Newsletter Editor

Congratulations to Mark Schaefer, who was last month’s Puzzle Maniac winner! He generously chose to donate his prize to the University of Colorado at Denver Student Chapter. For this issue’s puzzle, use the five clues below to identify the locations of letters A through K in the diagram by placing one letter in each oval.

PAGE 9

To win, be the first person to e -mail the correct answer to [email protected] by October 15, 2010. The winner will be awarded a free ITE lunch OR a $25 gift certificate to the establishment of their choice.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

J is left of K and above C G is above F and right of J E is above A and right of B I is below D and left of A B is above G and right of H

SOLUTION TO LAST NEWSLETTER’S PUZZLE Roundabout

CONVEYANCES

OCTOBER 2010

PAGE 10

OCTOBER LUNCHEON What:

ITE Colorado-Wyoming Section Luncheon Meeting

When:

Friday, October 22, 2010

Where:

Budweiser Events Center at the Ranch 5290 Arena Circle, Loveland, CO 80538 Located at exit 259 (Crossroads Boulevard) on I-25

Time:

11:00 a.m. - Registration and Networking 12:00 p.m. - Lunch Served 1:00 p.m. - Program Presentation 2:00 p.m. - Luncheon Ends

Program:

Interstate 70 “Zipper” Lanes

Speaker:

Tony DeVito – Region Transportation Director Colorado Department of Transportation, Region 1

Cost:

$30.00 for Members and $35.00 for non-Members

Menu:

The luncheon choices are: Beef Bracciole—Thin Sliced Beef Filled with Spinach, Italian Bread Crumbs and Tomato Basil Sauce. Herb Roasted Baby Red Potatoes Atlantic Salmon—Basted with a delightful honey-soy-ginger marinade and served with Basmati Rice Pilaf Penne Pasta—Served with basil, olive oil, asparagus, mushrooms and julienne red peppers Entrées include a vegetable, a house salad, bakery rolls, and dessert.

Upcoming Luncheon Dates:

DEC 03

JAN 21

MAR 04

APR 08

MAY 13

CONVEYANCES

OCTOBER 2010

PAGE 11

Events Calendar Please send events to be posted in this calendar to Bart Przybyl, Newsletter Editor, [email protected].

OCT 2010

October 22, 2010 CO/WY ITE Section Luncheon Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, CO October 26, 2010 Promoting Sustainable Transportation Through Site Design: An ITE Recommended Practice Webinar October 28, 2010 Multi-Modal School Site Planning, Design and Transportation for Primary Grades (Grades K-8) Webinar October 29, 2010 CO/WY ITE Section Executive Committee Meeting DRCOG

NOV 2010

DEC 2010

JAN 2011

November 14-17, 2010 Transportation and Development Institute Green Streets and Highways Conference www.green-streets-highways.org Denver, CO December 3, 2010 CO/WY ITE Section Luncheon Denver Metro

FEB 2011

MAR 2011

APR 2011

March 4, 2011 CO/WY ITE Section Luncheon Colorado Springs March 11, 2011 CO/WY ITE Section Executive Committee Meeting April 8, 2011 Ninth Annual Spring Transportation Symposium Denver Metro April 15, 2011 CO/WY ITE Section Executive Committee Meeting

MAY 2011

December 10, 2010 CO/WY ITE Section Executive Committee Meeting

May 13, 2011 CO/WY ITE Section Luncheon Denver Metro May 19-21, 2011 Intermountain ITE Section Annual Meeting Jackson Hole, WY May 20, 2011 CO/WY ITE Section Executive Committee Meeting

January 21, 2011 CO/WY ITE Vendor Show Arvada Center January 28, 2011 CO/WY ITE Section Executive Committee Meeting

February 3-4, 2011 Wyoming Engineering Society Convention Cheyenne, WY

JULY 2011

July 10-13, 2011 ITE District 6 Annual Meeting Anchorage, AK

OCTOBER 2010

CONVEYANCES

PAGE 12

CONVEYANCES

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2010 2009

PAGE 13

2010—2011 Executive Committee President Greg MacKinnon DRCOG 303-480-5633 [email protected]

Vice-President Chris Sheffer Fehr & Peers 303-296-4300 [email protected]

Secretary/Treasurer John LaSala City and County of Denver 720-913-4534 [email protected]

Past President Ben Waldman Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. 720-359-3007 [email protected]

Technical Committee Nitin Deshpande Jacobs 303-223-5889 [email protected]

Scholarship and Career Guidance Committee Melissa Rosas Apex Design, PC 303-339-0440 [email protected]

Activities Committee Eric Boivin All Traffic Data Services 303-216-2439 [email protected]

Website Committee Duane Cleere AECOM USA, Inc. 303-325-8036 [email protected]

Membership Committee Trung Vo City and County of Denver 720-913-0721 [email protected]

Awards Committee Dave Hattan Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig 303-721-1440 [email protected]

Continuing Education Committee Joe Henderson Sustainable Traffic Solutions, Inc. 303-589-6875 [email protected]

Golf Committee Jeff Ream Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig 303-721-1440 [email protected]

Section Scribe Kari McDowell McDowell Engineering, LLC 303-949-4748 [email protected]

Vendor Show Coordinator Will Johnson Short Elliott and Hendrickson, Inc. 720-540-6851 [email protected]

Activities Report Coordinator Sarah Karjala DRCOG 303-480-6762 [email protected]

Legislative Committee Scott Thomas Apex Design, PC 303-339-0440 [email protected]

Newsletter Editor Bart Przybyl LSC Transportation Consultants, Inc. 303-333-1105 [email protected]