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Greater
Valley Forge Transportation Management Association On Monday, October
16
TPD employees
Matt Malozi and Chad Dixson attended the Transportation New Initiatives
2000 Conference sponsored by the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management
Association, which focused on key transportation issues in the region.
Among the participants were congressmen from most of the area's Congressional
Districts. Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), SEPTA,
PA Turnpike and PennDOT officials were also present. Nearly all branches
of area county governments, as well as, chambers of commerce were also
represented at the conference.
John Cosia,
the executive director of the DVRPC, stated that the region is experiencing
moderate growth, not explosive growth like Houston, or Atlanta, but significant
growth none the less. The majority of growth is taking place outside of
Philadelphia, into Chester, Western Montgomery, and Upper Bucks counties.
PennDOT District
6-0 Administrator, Andrew Warren, commented on the need to take a regional
approach to the area's transportation needs. He also stated that the region's
future depends on a strong Philadelphia. Warren stated, "If Philadelphia
goes belly up, the surrounding counties are gong to have a bellyache."
Mr. Warren was also eager to point out that 1-95 is 35 years old, with
the life expectancy of an interstate without major reconstruction being
25-30 years.
John Leary,
SEPTA's General Manager, discussed the timeline for the new Schuylkill
Valley Metro (SVM) rail line from Philly to Reading. The Environmental
Impact Study (EIS) for this rail line has been completed, and public hearings
are scheduled for November. Following all optimistic projections, rail
service could be phased in by 2007.
Stan Bagley,
President of Amtrak Northeast Corridor discussed the success of the new
Acela Line for the northeast corridor, and how it has brought Amtrak closer
to it's goal of being financially independent of government subsidies.
The Acela Line will be the first True High Speed Rail Line in this country,
running at speed of 150 mph between Washington D.C. and Boston.
John Durbin
of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission detailed the plans for EZ-pass
use on the PA Turnpike. This service will begin on December 2, 2000, and
includes exits 18 through 33 with more to be added later.
The topic
of the keynote presentation for the conference was the French Creek Center,
the development of which TPD members John Hendricks, Frank Montgomery,
Jerry Baker, Rob Prophet, and Matt Hickson are all involved with. This
Project will transform an old steel mill in Phoenixville into a multi-million
dollar development including mixed-use commercial property and residential
development, which will be served by highway and rail transportation.
The French Creek Development will also include bicycle and pedestrian
trails and serve to help revitalize the Borough of Phoenixville.
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TPD Goes
International
On Tuesday,
October 17th, Christy Staudt spoke with Sergio Carlo live on his on-air
radio show in the Dominican Republic about traffic issues in the City
of Santo Domingo. Apparently, the government in the Dominican Republic
decided one day to create one-way streets throughout the City of Santo
Domingo.
Christy was
interviewed for about 5 minutes on procedures in the United States and
how the government and traffic consultants utilize the media to disseminate
information. She also explained the public’s involvement throughout
the planning process.
Sergio found
TPD’s web page and contacted us because of our expertise in the field.
Now we can all proudly and accurately state that TPD is recognized internationally
as “The Traffic Experts.”
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TPD To
Begin Work:
Kennett Area Regional Transportation Study
The Project
On October
9, 2000 TPD received Notice to Proceed from the Kennett Area Planning
Commission to begin work on the Kennett Area Regional Transportation Study,
Chester County. The project, worth $125,000, has a study area that
spans 5 municipalities (Kennett Twp., East Marlborough Twp., Kennett Square
Borough, Pennsbury Twp., and Pocopson Twp.) And over 80 intersections.
During the span of the projected 34-week project TPD will develop a Quick
Response System (QRSII) Computer Model for the region. TPD’s
Chad Dixson will manage the project on behalf of TPD.
What is
a QRSII Model / How Does it Work?
A QRSII Model
allows transportation planners to construct a model of a roadway network
by actually drawing the existing layout of the roads to scale on the computer.
The model utilizes demographic information including population and employment
data to generate, distribute, and assign vehicular trips throughout the
network. Once the roadway network is constructed and the existing
demographic and roadway data (number of lanes, speed limits, etc.) are
entered, the model is “calibrated” to existing conditions using
traffic count data collected in the field.
Once calibrated
for existing conditions, the projected development conditions developed
by TPD and the Municipalities can be entered into the model in order to
project the resulting traffic volumes and patterns. We can also
modify the roadway network by widening roads, restricting or adding access
points, changing allowable traffic patterns, or adding new roads to determine
how each alternative will affect travel patterns throughout the study
area. This approach will allow for the examination of more alternatives
based on an infinite number of roadway and land development scenarios.
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Newspapers
Take Notice of TPD
Upon the
completion of TPD's Township-wide Traffic Impact Study on behalf of Bethlehem
Township, TPD has been featured in a variety of newspapers in the Allentown,
Bethlehem, Easton Area, over the past few weeks, as well as, in the Eastern
Penn Business Journal.
The first
article features Kevin L. Johnson, P.E., President of TPD, discussing
road improvements for the Route 33 corridor in Bethlehem Township Area.
Under the proposal presented by Kevin to township officials, $14 million
is needed to maintain existing roads and plan for existing traffic that
will be associated with future development.
The second
article features Christy Staudt, TPD Project Manager who has managed several
Township-wide and Act 209 Studies (including those for East Norriton and
Limerick Townships). The article covers the events at a Bethlehem Township
public meeting, where Christy discussed how traffic impact fees will affect
development in Bethlehem Township.
Blood
Drive
In response
to the American Red Cross’ appeal for blood donors, the businesses
at Sanatoga Commons have organized a blood drive on July 11, 2000.
Employees from Traffic Planning and Design, Inc., Morgan Stanley Dean
Witter, Pro-Tract Engineering and Nationwide Insurance have volunteered
and have set a goal of collecting 50 pints of blood for the Red Cross.
“We
are opening the blood drive up to the public,” says Robyn Hall of
Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. who organized the event. “Anyone
who would like to give blood is welcome to come by TPD’s offices
on the day of the event.”
The American
Red Cross issued an appeal on June 12, 2000 stating that supplies of certain
blood types were critically low and that the supply of all blood usually
decreases in the summer months.
Anyone interested
in participating in the Blood Drive should contact Robyn Hall at Traffic
Planning and Design, Inc. at (610) 326-3100.
TPD Helps
Limerick Police with DUI Study
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On
June 8 and 9, nine TPD employees volunteered to participate in a
motorist alcohol impairment study. The study was conducted by the
Traffic Institute for Police Services (Limerick Township) in order
to help officers determine if drivers are intoxicated.
Other
volunteers included the Linfield Volunteer Fire Company, Montgomery
County Police Academy, Wayne Carl’s Garage, and officer’s
wives.
To
read more about the story click here.
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Bring
Your Child to Work Day
Bring Your
Child To Work Day was commemorated by the TPD staff on Friday April 28,
with a moment of silence - something the TPD staff went without on Thursday
April 27 when the company was visited by 15 anxious pupils who were inundated
with all things TPD. They left the day a golden dollar richer and hopefully
with an appreciation of the hard work their parents (or grandparents or
aunts) do, and possibly spark an interest in transportation engineering.
The children
were treated to a day of educational programs, fun and a pizza lunch.
To remember their day, they were also given T-shirts and picture booklets.
To begin
the day, Kevin Johnson, P.E. (President) formally addressed the children
and explained the finer points of our organization including the location
of the bathrooms in the upper and lower buildings. Later, TPD signals
team members treated the children to a presentation about traffic signals.
Finally, after games and pizza, the rejuvenated group saw a presentation
on the environment and the finer points of Data Collection.
This experience
proved to be a benefit to both TPD and the community, in that parents
had the opportunity to show their children what their work environment
is like, as well as, share quality time with them.
TPD views
itself as an important member of the community, and TPD’s dedication
to community involvement is evidenced in this and many other programs
which the company sponsors, such as, blood drives, Adopt-A-Highway, supporting
local businesses, active participation in chambers of commerce, and employing
local students through its highly developed co-op program.
TPD awarded
Lancaster County Project Needs Study Contract
TPD was recently
selected as the Prime Consultant to perform a Project Needs Study on the
PA 72 Corridor in Lancaster County. The project consists of examining
the PA 72 Corridor through Mannheim Township and Borough, East Petersburg
Borough, and PA Turnpike Exit 20. The TPD team consists of Dennis W. Auker,
AICP, Advanced Technology Solutions (ATS), Inc., and the ELA Group.
Log on to www.pa72.com for more details.
What is
a Needs Study?
A Needs Study
involves parts of Steps 1-4 of the Transportation Project Development
Process (TPDP) developed by PennDOT. Primarily, the Project Needs
Study comprises all of Step 3. The purpose of a Needs Study is to identify
such items as roadway deficiencies, safety problems, capacity issues,
social demands, and land use issues which support the consideration of
a transportation improvement.
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Matthew
B. Malozi Named Vice President
Matthew B.
Malozi was recently named Vice President of Business Development. As such,
Mr. Malozi has been entrusted with providing his vision of development
for Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. (TPD) as the firm opens offices
in the Lehigh Valley and Harrisburg. Mr. Malozi’s vision has helped
TPD to be twice named to the Philadelphia 100 as one of the fastest growing
privately held companies in South Eastern Pennsylvania.
As Vice President
of Business Development, Mr. Malozi’s responsibilities includes the
promotion of TPD and the implementation of its evolving Business Development
Plan, recruiting and staffing of four offices, direct management of all
marketing and public relations activities, and he also oversees all administrative
activities.
Mr. Malozi
has been with TPD for seven years. He is a 1991 graduate of the University
of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering.
Mr. Malozi
is a respected member of the traffic engineering community as he is a
Past President of the East Penn Chapter (including Lehigh, Berks, Northampton
Counties) of the American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE), a society
which includes private, as well as, PennDOT engineers, contractors and
material suppliers.
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