Services

Every day, schools are faced with the challenge of not only maximizing the flow of buses and cars that drop-off/pick up students, but also ensuring their students can safely navigate through their parking lot.A poorly functioning drop-off/pick-up process leads to frustrated staff and parents, and can endanger students!We can help. For almost 20 years, Spack Consulting has helped schools across the country improve safety and traffic flow on their campuses.We work with municipal traffic engineers, school officials, and school district personnel to help create processes that increase the safety of students while making drop-offs and pick-ups quicker and easier.Whether you are looking to improve the flow of vehicles and increase safety at an existing school, expand an existing school site, or build a new school, we can help you find solutions that fit your unique needs — including affordable options for budget-sensitive schools.Interested in learning more? Download our free guide 4 Steps to Make School Drop-Off / Pick-Ups Safer and More Efficient. Call us at 888.232.5512 or email us for more details.

Transportation studies can take many different forms, but all will generally analyze the existing and future transportation network, identify issues, and provide potential solutions. The most common type of study is a Transportation Impact Study, which evaluates the potential impact of proposed developments on the surrounding transportation system.Other types of transportation studies include (but aren’t limited to):

• Safety Studies
• Intersection Traffic Control Evaluations
• Roundabout or Signal Justifications
• Corridor Operational Reviews
• Multimodal Facilities Evaluations

Many of these are present within a Transportation Impact Study, but can also be delivered as stand-alone projects.

The Vistro/Vissim Difference

For the majority of transportation studies, Spack Consulting uses cutting-edge Vistro/Vissim software to efficiently prepare traffic forecasts, capacity analyses, and micro-simulations for our projects.

Vistro allows for quick scenario planning and iterations, which in turn allows our team to hone in on not only figuring out what transportation improvements will be needed for a proposed development or troubled corridor, but when those improvements will be needed.

An additional benefit of the Vistro package is that it is very simple to change the modeling and adapt the Transportation Impact Study for any changes in a development plan.

Travel Demand Management Plans (TDMPs) implement measures to reduce the number of rush-hour vehicles on the road with a single person in them. They are also a method for cities to implement policies that call for balanced transportation choices, coordination between transportation options and land use, and actively promote alternative modes of transportation.

Several cities in Minnesota (notably Minneapolis, Bloomington, and Saint Paul) require TDMPs for new or changing developments. Other cities may look favorably at studies that include TDMP elements and strategies, particularly those that incorporate a city’s comprehensive plan.

TDMPs focus on multi-modal improvements (such as providing bike lockers/shower rooms) as well as non-infrastructure changes (such as remote work environments and subsidized transit passes) which can significantly reduce development and maintenance costs.

Our case study found that TDMPs reduced rush hour traffic by about 35% and reduced peak parking by approximately 20%. These reductions can then be incorporated back into the traffic and parking analyses to reduce a proposed development’s impact, ultimately resulting in the city or developer avoiding needing to build costly turn lanes and traffic signals.

Spack Consulting uses its experience with Travel Demand Management Plans to examine both sides of the coin – capacity improvements along with demand reductions.

 

Traffic signal systems are fundamental components of every transportation system, and upkeep is necessary to keep these key components working properlyUpkeep of traffic signal systems is usually divided into two components: Maintenance (which examines whether system components are functional), and Operations (which examines system timing and traffic flow).In many agencies, maintenance and operations are divided amongst departments which can lead to inefficient and ineffective system upkeep.

That’s why Spack Consulting provides an industry-leading service that combines both areas of upkeep – the Traffic Signal Tune-Up. Our Traffic Signal Tune-Up helps agencies maintain functional and efficient traffic signal systems that benefit both drivers and maintenance departments by:

• Confirming all components operate as intended
• Identifying issues before they become major problems
• Accounting for new signal-timing guidance (i.e. all-red timing or pedestrian crossing times)
• Reducing intersection delays and corridor travel times
• Lowering fuel consumption and emissions with less vehicle idling
• Complying with any new laws regarding signal timing (i.e. Minnesota’s legislation)

Here is what you can expect with our Traffic Signal Tune-Up service:

• Intersection turning movement count
• 16-Point field inspection, including basic cabinet maintenance
• Development and implementation of two or more signal timing plans
• A final report detailing counts, inspection results, and final timing plans

With three Tune-Up levels (Bronze, Silver, or Gold), you can pick which services are best for your individual intersections.  We can accommodate many different circumstances including railroad coordination, corridor interconnection, weekend plans and more.

The parking supply for a development is generally guided by city ordinances and guidelines using set formulas that determine the number of spaces according to land use type and size. In many cases, these standards were developed many years ago and do not reflect current driving habits. The use of these codes then often result in the over-building of parking lots, underutilized space, and other negative consequences. Spack Consulting helps cities better understand the parking needs and ‘right-size’ lots by:

• Measuring parking demand
• Identifying unused or underused parking
• Iterating effective development schemes

This unique form of transportation planning maximizes existing infrastructure to the benefit of cities, developers, and the general public.

Read here about a project where we helped justify building a daycare center on an unused portion of an office complex parking lot.

Watch a webinar where we discuss how we justified a parking variance of nearly 40% less parking stalls for a large multi-use infill development.

Once a traffic study has identified and recommended necessary improvements, the next step in the process is usually the traffic control design and plan preparation for construction.

We provide design services for traffic control elements, including:

• Traffic signals
  
• Roundabout layouts
  
• Street signs
  
• Pavement markings
  
• Traffic control during construction
  

We recommend having Spack Consulting assist the project’s prime civil engineering consultant by either directly designing or providing a Quality Control/Quality Assurance check on traffic control plans. This type of partnership is usually most cost-effective for our clients, while still providing the needed traffic engineering expertise.