RSS FeedUpcoming EventsFundamentals of Traffic Engineering, April 15https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/236795-fundamentals-of-traffic-engineering

Description

This course has provided California’s traffic engineers and transportation planners with core training for more than three decades. This unique overview of the many basic transportation concepts are meant to provide young professionals with a comprehensive picture of the dynamics affecting their specialty areas. Contents are regularly updated to reflect current practices and new issues, including the latest Federal and State major standards documents: Highway Design Manual, Highway Capacity Manual, California Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, and the latest update to the rules and regulations governing traffic and transportation in the State. The course spans the full range of key areas from characteristics of the transportation system, analysis of flow and capacity, traffic operations, traffic control devices, pedestrian/bicycle facilities, to traffic safety and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The course is taught by a team of expert practicing professional engineers, whose practice focus on California but also represents best practices throughout the country. Practical applications of the numerous regulatory and guidance documents are brought to the class by the practicing engineers in a friendly and facilitated lectures with plenty of interactive exercises.

 

Topics Include

  • principles of traffic engineering
  • traffic stream characteristics
  • speed, volume, travel time, delay studies
  • roadway design
  • traffic control devices
  • signing, markings, roadside delineation
  • traffic and freeway operations
  • congestion management
  • capacity analysis
  • lighting
  • pedestrian and bicycle facilities
  • neighborhood traffic management
  • traffic safety analysis and practices
  • intersection and speed control
  • parking studies
  • traffic impact studies
  • introduction to advanced traffic management systems

What You Will Learn

Training participants gain a solid, comprehensive understanding of the basic vocabulary, theoretical principles, and working concepts of all major areas of traffic engineering as they are practiced today. Students are also introduced to the essential traffic engineering toolkit used to analyze roadway and traffic operations and to develop projects. Training participants will learn about recent developments in the professional practice of Traffic Engineering in California, including capacity analysis methodologies, legal and societal implications of the practice, safety, professionalism, and how the future currents are affecting the fields. While the course content is vast and topics will be introduced, the instructor team is focused on providing the nuances and the bottom line on how it all fits together to broaden the perspectives of training participants.

Who Should Attend

This course benefits engineers, planners, and technicians in private and public sectors who are either in the beginning or the middle of their careers. The principles and practices are designed to educate and leave participants with a big picture of the interactions of many specialties in traffic and transportation fields. It should be viewed as the introductory course for other advanced classes on Focused topics in traffic engineering. This course may also benefit entry-level traffic engineers who may be planning on taking the California Professional Engineering (PE) License Exam in Traffic Engineering, although this course is not a review course for this PE exam. For more assistance in preparing for the Traffic Engineering PE exam for California, please refer to TE-29 California Traffic Engineering License Exam Review.

The materials in this course are based on the following references:

  • Fundamentals of Traffic Engineering Textbook
  • Highway Capacity Manual 6th Ed.
  • Highway Design Manual 6th Ed.
  • Caltrans Standard Plans, 2015 Ed.
  • California Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices 2014, Revision 3
  • SB-743 VMT and related publications
  • ITE Trip Generation Manual, 10th Ed.
  • AASHTO A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 6th Edition
https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/236795-fundamentals-of-traffic-engineering
Traffic Control for Safer Work Zones, April 16https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/228836-traffic-control-for-safer-work-zones

Description

Our one-day Traffic Control for Safer Work Zones course is designed to keep the workers and public safe during road construction and maintenance, utility work, landscaping and railway maintenance work along roadways in California. This training course is compliant with the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CAMUTCD), Cal-OSHA Sections 1598 & 1599, and California Vehicle Code Section 21400. It also incorporates the latest State and Federal guidelines.

Collectively, our team of instructors has over 150 years of work zone related experience. They are all Licensed Professional Engineers who work for public agencies or as engineering and liability consultants. Many of the instructors also are active members of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the Work Area Traffic Control Handbook (WATCH), and the Caltrans 2014 CAMUTCD working team.

 

Topics Include

  • Traffic control plans for various types of roadway situations encountered in cities and counties in California
  • Some instruction on proper flagging procedures
  • Legal section on work zone tort liability

What You Will Learn

By the end of the training, students will:

  • Understand the requirements to protect the driving public and work zone crew at and around construction and maintenance areas (or work zones)
  • Be able to develop traffic control plans for work zones in accordance with state and national guidelines
  • Understand safety equipment and markings and their uses/limitations under various conditions
  • Be able to install traffic control devices for work zones to assure safety of the driving public and the work zone crew
  • Be able to safely install and remove a variety of safety equipment and markings used to control/guide traffic safely through work zones
  • Gain knowledge concerning actions to reduce risk of personal and agency liability arising from negligence in the work zone design and operation
  • Be able to use techniques, devices and equipment to safely direct vehicle movements around work zones in accordance with state and national guidelines

Who Should Attend

This training is designed for road construction and maintenance crews and their supervisors who are expected to work in and around the public street right-of-way and are responsible for the implementation of traffic safety control plans in the field. This course will also benefit traffic/civil engineers and public works inspectors who design, direct, and inspect construction and maintenance work done on public streets. Utility company workers and contractors, who frequently do maintenance work within the public street right-of-way, will also benefit from this training.

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/228836-traffic-control-for-safer-work-zones
Traffic Control for Safer Work Zones, April 18https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/228849-traffic-control-for-safer-work-zones

Description

Our one-day Traffic Control for Safer Work Zones course is designed to keep the workers and public safe during road construction and maintenance, utility work, landscaping and railway maintenance work along roadways in California. This training course is compliant with the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CAMUTCD), Cal-OSHA Sections 1598 & 1599, and California Vehicle Code Section 21400. It also incorporates the latest State and Federal guidelines.

Collectively, our team of instructors has over 150 years of work zone related experience. They are all Licensed Professional Engineers who work for public agencies or as engineering and liability consultants. Many of the instructors also are active members of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the Work Area Traffic Control Handbook (WATCH), and the Caltrans 2014 CAMUTCD working team.

 

Topics Include

  • Traffic control plans for various types of roadway situations encountered in cities and counties in California
  • Some instruction on proper flagging procedures
  • Legal section on work zone tort liability

What You Will Learn

By the end of the training, students will:

  • Understand the requirements to protect the driving public and work zone crew at and around construction and maintenance areas (or work zones)
  • Be able to develop traffic control plans for work zones in accordance with state and national guidelines
  • Understand safety equipment and markings and their uses/limitations under various conditions
  • Be able to install traffic control devices for work zones to assure safety of the driving public and the work zone crew
  • Be able to safely install and remove a variety of safety equipment and markings used to control/guide traffic safely through work zones
  • Gain knowledge concerning actions to reduce risk of personal and agency liability arising from negligence in the work zone design and operation
  • Be able to use techniques, devices and equipment to safely direct vehicle movements around work zones in accordance with state and national guidelines

Who Should Attend

This training is designed for road construction and maintenance crews and their supervisors who are expected to work in and around the public street right-of-way and are responsible for the implementation of traffic safety control plans in the field. This course will also benefit traffic/civil engineers and public works inspectors who design, direct, and inspect construction and maintenance work done on public streets. Utility company workers and contractors, who frequently do maintenance work within the public street right-of-way, will also benefit from this training.

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/228849-traffic-control-for-safer-work-zones
Asphalt Concrete Materials & Mix Design, April 22https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229055-asphalt-concrete-materials-mix-design

Description

This course presents information regarding asphalt mix components and their relation to performance, and takes participants through the asphalt mix design methodologies used by the State and local agencies in California. The course covers both Hveem and Superpave mix designs, as well as open-graded mix design. This is the primary overview course on Asphalt Concrete Materials & Mix Design in the training certificate program offered by the City and County Pavement Improvement Center (CCPIC) in partnership with TechTransfer.

 

Topics Include

  • Functionality of Asphalt Pavement
  • Distress mechanism of pavements
  • Material Components of asphalt mixes
  • Mix Properties for different applications
  • Mix Design - Superpave
  • Mix Design - Asphalt Rubber Mix Design and Open Graded

What You Will Learn

  • Describe the key components of an asphalt mix
  • Identify the design philosophy for Superpave mixes
  • Identify the primary distresses of asphalt pavements used in design and how they are affected by mix components and their proportioning in design
  • Identify the different types of mixes used in California

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for engineers, state local agencies, consultants, contractors, maintenance supervisors, and quality control/assurance supervisors responsible for designing asphalt mixtures, material specifications, and quality control/quality assurance management of asphalt mixtures.

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229055-asphalt-concrete-materials-mix-design
Synchro and SimTraffic V11, April 23https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229056-synchro-and-simtraffic-v12

Description

This two-day online course provides beginning-to-intermediate training in Synchro and SimTraffic V11 software and the recently published Highway Capacity Manual 6th Edition: A Guide for Multimodal Mobility Analysis (TRB 2016 and HCS7) for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Using a combination of interactive lecture, question and answer, and computer lab, you will become proficient in the network coding and use of Synchro and SimTraffic. Working on a real-world multi-modal project, students will use Synchro to incorporate a Bing aerial background, add/modify roadways, input intersection geometrics, enter multi-modal traffic volumes (cars, trucks, pedestrians, and bicycles), and signal timings to perform capacity analysis for signalized, unsignalized and roundabout intersections. Students will also use Synchro 11 to evaluate and develop optimal signal timing plans that reduce delays, congestion, fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. The seamless integration of Synchro with SimTraffic, a microsimulation software, will be used to evaluate intersection operations and compare the differences between “isolated - macro-level” Synchro and “network-wide - micro-level” SimTraffic analysis that is recommended for multi-modal, closely spaced intersections and congested corridors. Lastly, this course will teach you how to review and understand the potential differences in delay, level of service, and queuing analysis when using the empirical (Synchro) analysis or the micro-simulation

 

Topics Include

  • Detailed review of Synchro 11 input requirements
  • Developing a Synchro 11 network for a real-world multi-modal project
  • Analysis of signalized, unsignalized and roundabout intersections using Synchro 11
  • Multi-modal vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle LOS using HCM 2016
  • Optimizing signal timings for a group of intersections
  • Seemless Integration of SYNCHRO with SimTraffic
  • SimTraffic Model Calibration and Application

What You Will Learn

Using a real-world project in a virtual computer lab class setting, students will be able to interact with the instructor as they learn how to develop a network and use the Synchro and SimTraffic V11 software. This includes incorporating a Bing aerial background, add/modify straight and curved roadways, inputting intersection geometrics and pocket lengths, entering multi-modal volumes (cars, trucks, peds, and bicyclists), and signal timings to perform capacity analysis for signalized, unsignalized and roundabout intersections. You will also learn to review and understand the analysis results and the potential differences when using the empirical (Synchro) analysis or the micro-simulation (SimTraffic) analysis.

Who Should Attend

No prior experience using Synchro and SimTraffic is necessary. This course is designed for traffic engineers, planners, and technicians in both public agencies and private firms who are involved in the planning, design, operation and management of signal systems.

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229056-synchro-and-simtraffic-v12
Bikeway Facility Design and Safety Improvement, April 30https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229057-bikeway-facility-design-and-safety-improvement

Description

This in-depth class on design of facilities for bicycling addresses both legacy facilities and innovative designs that are being developed within many communities at this time. This course will orient participants with fundamentals and details of bikeway design, ranging from application of traditional designs (bike routes, lanes, paths) to innovative facilities that are growing in popularity, such as separated/protected bikeways and special shared treatments. The course will cover a wide range of subjects ranging from user types and preferences, operator characteristics, to detailed design approaches. The course includes numerous examples of legacy and innovative facilities, including examples from European cities that experience extremely high bicycle usage for all ages and abilities.

The course is intended for persons charged with development or design of high-quality bikeway facilities. It may also meet the training needs of persons responsible for planning bicycle friendly networks, interested in learning how to deliver quality facilities, or desiring tools to remodel existing facilities to better serve user needs.

 

Topics Include

  • User criteria to establish design approach
  • Characteristics of the wide range of bikeway users
  • California laws that regulate bikeway design considerations
  • Recent changes to standards and guidelines
  • Liability issues related to project design and environmental review
  • Detailed design considerations for bicycle facilities
  • Traditional bikeway facilities
  • Innovative bikeway facilities
  • International treatments
  • End-of-trip Facilities
  • Case studies

What You Will Learn

Trainees will gain an in-depth understanding of the design considerations that should guide the development of bikeways that consider safety, provide attractiveness and comfort for new users, and encourage increasing bicycle usage. Trainees will be better prepared to develop quality designs, apply design principles to inform project planning phases, and address issues that may limit effectiveness of existing facilities. While the course is designed for persons who may be charged with design of bicycling facilities, it will offer value and insight to persons who are interested in or charged with oversight of the project selection, refinement, and design process.

Who Should Attend

This course is most appropriate for persons interested in understanding how to design a facility that meets user needs, encourages additional usage and growth in bicycling, and preserves or improves safety for all users. While appropriate and intended for designers, bikeway planners and other professionals will find value in learning principles of how to design for safety, to encourage new users, and to retrofit existing facilities that do not meet user expectations.

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229057-bikeway-facility-design-and-safety-improvement
Funding and Programming Transportation Projects in California, May 1https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/240562-funding-and-programming-transportation-projects-in

Description

Funding state and local transportation projects in California is a complex process involving multiple inter-related federal, state, regional, and local planning and operating agencies as well as an alphabet soup of documents and funding programs. Changing requirements and shifting political priorities can further complicate the process. Without a map and a strategy for developing fundable projects, public agencies and local governments risk losing funding opportunities. This course explains how the process works on the ground and provides planners, project managers, and grant managers with guidelines for thinking strategically as they develop fiscal plans, programs, and project descriptions.

 

Topics Include

  • How the federal and state funding process works in California, including relevant rules and laws
  • Specific policy concerns in California
  • The institutional frameworks through which funding decisions are made and how to navigate them
  • The specific roles played by Caltrans, MPOs, and the CTC
  • How conditions governing different funding sources influence what gets funded and what does not
  • The programming process and its iterations in different programming documents
  • Steps to build an effective funding strategy
  • How to match project description with eligibility criteria for key fund sources
  • Current state and federal transportation funding issues, including federal and state legislation affecting funding, with specific overview of California Senate Bill 1 (SB-1), The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017

What You Will Learn

This course focuses on the dynamics of transportation funding as well as knowledge to inform practical grantsmanship. Students develop a better understanding of how the process works in California, including who the players are, how to develop or match a project with a particular funding source(s), and what’s on the horizon with regard to funding priorities. Participants will also gain insights into the underlying sources of complexity and uncertainty in transportation funding and finance.

This is not a course on how to prepare a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) or how to meet specific procedural requirements for a funding program.

Who Should Attend

This course is for transportation planners and project managers in state and local agencies or governments, regional planning agencies, and transit operators. It will also benefit board members, managers, and others involved with developing fundable plans and projects and understanding where transportation funding comes from or how transportation investment choices get made.

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/240562-funding-and-programming-transportation-projects-in
Complete Streets Planning and Design, May 1https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/236903-complete-streets-planning-and-design

Description

Complete Streets are planned, designed, operated, and maintained to provide safe and comfortable travel for all users of all ages. Complete Streets provide for all modes of transportation, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit vehicles, and motorists, as well as allow for emergency response, road maintenance, and goods movement. This course covers the planning and design of Complete Streets, including the history of Complete Streets; the policy environment for Complete Streets, particularly in the California legislative environment; how to integrate Complete Streets with the urban planning process; and how to design streets, intersections, crossings, and interchanges consistent with the Complete Streets approach.

 

Topics Include

  • the history of Complete Streets
  • the policy environment for Complete Streets
  • new planning trends affecting decisions regarding transportation
  • integrating Complete Streets with general plans, specific plans, RTPs, TIPs, and the entitlement process
  • layered networks
  • design manuals and guidelines relevant to Complete Streets
  • cross-section element design: travel lanes, parking, shoulders, pedestrian facilities, bicycle facilities
  • experimental and innovative bikeway design
  • signalized intersection and uncontrolled crossing design

What You Will Learn

Students will gain an understanding of the Complete Streets approach and its application to planning and design. Students will learn how to plan for future Complete Streets as well as how to retrofit existing streets to provide for all modes of transportation. Additionally, students will learn how to evaluate complicated trade-offs between modes of transportation.

Who Should Attend

This course is intended for urban planners and transportation engineers at local, regional, and state agencies as well as consultants. Both new and experienced planners and engineers will benefit. The course is primarily appropriate for urban perspectives; however, it will address Complete Streets in rural environments as well.

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/236903-complete-streets-planning-and-design
Pavement Management Systems and Preservation Strategies, May 6https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/224369-pavement-management-systems-and-preservation

Description

Pavement networks are often the most valuable asset that an agency owns. This asset is not only expensive to replace, but it is an essential component to the traveling public’s safety. Agencies are looking for more cost-effective ways to perform engineering, maintenance, management, and rehabilitation of roadways more than ever before to stretch funding allocations. A pavement management system is an essential tool to assist in cost-effective roadway maintenance planning. This is the primary overview course on pavement management systems and preservation strategies in the training certificate program offered by the City and County Pavement Improvement Center (CCPIC) in partnership with TechTransfer.

 

Topics Include

  • Pavement management principles
  • Street inventory development
  • Pavement condition surveys (pavement distresses)
  • Pavement condition indices
  • Quality management
  • Types of PMS software
  • Types of maintenance treatments
  • Performance prediction models
  • Funding scenarios
  • Developing a work plan using appropriate prioritization techniques
  • Data to use in communicating with elected officials

What You Will Learn

This class will cover the fundamentals of pavement management systems (PMS). The student will learn the types of distresses included in a typical PMS, how pavements are surveyed for condition, and how condition and classification is used within a PMS. In addition, the inner workings of a PMS are described, covering prediction models and the use of varying funding scenarios and prioritization techniques to maximize your pavement network condition. The important topic of communicating with elected officials to sell your program will be covered. And preservation and maintenance techniques, commonly used by local agencies will be presented.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for engineers or maintenance superintendents responsible for:

  • Collecting data and updating a pavement management system
  • Determining the types of repairs for streets
  • Preparing cost-effective multi-year work plans e.g. resurfacing, seal programs, etc.
  • Planning how much funding is required for the future
  • Making presentations on funding street repairs to elected officials
  • Managing or maintenance of PMS software

Requirements

Students should bring a calculator and pencil for in-class problems

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/224369-pavement-management-systems-and-preservation
Traffic Signal Design: Engineering Concepts, May 8https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229058-traffic-signal-design-engineering-concepts

Description

This newly updated course covers basic concepts, standards, and practices related to the design and installation of traffic signals. Within the framework of the California Vehicle Code, California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD), and Chapter 9 on Highway Lighting from Caltrans Traffic Manual, this course will explore the relationship among various engineering disciplines as foundations for signal design; introduce signal phasing diagrams, signal controllers and cabinets; explain the layouts of signal heads, signal poles, conductor schedule, and associated signal conduits, pullboxes, wiring, interconnects, detection and safety lighting. The course includes lectures, sample problems, and exercise projects that will familiarize the course participant with the design process for a simple signal design plan, and to provide for a unit-price-based cost estimate. While this course will focus only on the introductory engineering aspects in signal design and introduce some local agencies’ equivalent standards and specifications that vary from Caltrans, the goal is for the course participants to become familiar with standards and specifications that guide the design and lead to successful project delivery of an operational traffic signal.

 

Topics Include

  • relationship of street designs and signal designs
  • signal phasing, controllers, cabinets
  • signal phasing
  • signal heads, poles, conduits, pullboxes, detection
  • intersection safety lighting
  • the format of contract documents

What You Will Learn

Students gain a good working understanding of concepts and standards needed to develop plans for traffic signal installations, including step-by-step procedures.

Who Should Attend

This is an introductory course targeted for traffic engineers, technicians, and maintenance and construction personnel with little or no experience in how to plan for and install traffic signals.

Requirements

Please bring the following tools to the course: pocket calculator, engineer’s scale (with 1:20 scale), 12” straight edge, and four colored pencils (red, green, blue, black). Optional item is a template with circles, squares and rectangles. The perspective course participants will be exposed to Caltrans Standard Plans and Specifications, and are encouraged to review them online at http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/oe/construction_standards.html.

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229058-traffic-signal-design-engineering-concepts
Traffic Signal Operations: Coordination for Corridors, May 14https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229059-traffic-signal-operations-coordination-for

Description

This two-day course will focus on topics related to coordinating/synchronizing traffic signals along the corridors. This course will enable you to develop and evaluate the performance of two types of traffic signal coordination – time of day and traffic responsive systems. For time of day and traffic responsive coordinated systems, attendees will learn how to determine good timing and coordinated solutions with innovative approaches for managing vehicle queues, progressing turns, and addressing potential gridlock situations, how to find optimal timing solutions, and how to safely accommodate non-motorists. Students will work on signal timing plans for several signals along arterials including freeway interchange signals; assess whether more complex timing solutions offer operational improvements; solve specialized problems such as offset intersections and diamond interchanges; and learn to perform analysis and evaluation of traffic volumes and field checks. The operational concept for traffic adaptive systems will be introduced. A basic knowledge of Synchro is helpful.

For other Tech Transfer courses for the above topics beyond this course, please see Traffic Signals.

 

Topics Include

  • principles of traffic signal coordination
  • analysis of volume and system characteristics
  • software and hardware requirements for signal coordination for each time of day, traffic responsive, and traffic adaptive systems
  • use of SYNCHRO to develop time of day and traffic responsive timing plans
  • find optimal timing solutions
  • hands-on entering and understanding coordinated signal timing sheets
  • performance comparison of the three timing strategies
  • overall evaluation of maintenance of optimized signal timing and operations
  • integration of arterial systems with freeway ramp metering and control systems.

What You Will Learn

Students learn to plan major signal coordination projects, when to use the different types of timing strategy (time of day, traffic responsive, traffic adaptive), how to proceed from data collection to satisfactory system operation and fine-tuning, and how to update signal coordination plans as traffic conditions change over time. Traffic adaptive software, a key to many “intelligent” traffic management systems, will be introduced.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for traffic engineers from public agencies and consulting firms who already have some experience in signal coordination work, or who have completed prerequisite courses equivalent to Traffic Signal Operations: Isolated Intersections (TE-04) and Synchro and SimTraffic (TE-13).

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229059-traffic-signal-operations-coordination-for
VMT Metrics Policy Application & Technical Analysis for SB 743 Compliance, June 5https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/240402-vmt-metrics-policy-application-technical

Description

The course will examine the origins of changing the transportation metric from level of service (LOS) to vehicle-miles-of-travel (VMT). We will discuss VMT and its relationship to climate change impacts; the legislative history of VMT in California, including Senate Bills (SBs) 375 and 743; and an overview of the new CEQA Guidelines update. We will also discuss means by which local agencies can continue to address the issue of traffic congestion outside of the CEQA process.

OPR has selected vehicle-miles-of-travel VMT as the preferred metric to comply with SB 743. The recommended changes to the CEQA Guidelines include a Technical Advisory that provides recommendations about VMT screening, methodology, and thresholds. These recommendations require fundamental changes in current transportation impact analysis practices and have implications for transportation planning as part of general plans and regional transportation plans. This course will explain the technical details of how to address these changes and include detailed step-by-step flow-chart explanations of how to analyze land use projects, transportation projects, land use plans (e.g., general plans), and regional transportation plans under SB 743.

 

Topics Include

  • What is vehicle miles travelled (VMT)?
  • VMT and its relationship to greenhouse gas emissions
  • The legislative evolution of VMT
    • SB 375 - Sustainable Communities Strategy
    • SB 743 - mandate to update the CEQA Guidelines
    • The CEQA Guidelines
      • Role of the Guidelines
      • OPR’s task to update the CEQA Guidelines
      • The underlying philosophy - encourage infill, discourage sprawl
      • What the CEQA Guidelines say
      • OPR’s technical advisory
    • Is LOS still a thing?
      • Exception for “roadway capacity projects”
      • Local development standards to limit congestion take the place of CEQA mitigation
      • Local traffic impact ordinances can live on
      • Role of VMT in environmental impact analysis versus transportation planning
      • VMT estimation and forecasting methods
        • Data and models
        • Project versus cumulative analysis
        • Differences in methods for energy, air quality, GHG, and transportation impacts
        • Induced Travel
        • Role of the ARB’s Mobile Source Strategy in establishing substantial evidence for significance thresholds
        • Role of RTPs and general plans in setting significance thresholds
        • Mitigation sources, strategies, and limitations

    What You Will Learn

    This class will provide attendees with a background of CEQA’s VMT traffic metric, including an understanding of the origins of the new traffic metric; a discussion of the new CEQA Guidelines provisions on VMT, including an introduction to the OPR technical advisory; and suggestions on how local agencies can adapt so that concerns about congestion and traffic impact fee programs can be addressed outside of CEQA. Students will obtain a rich set of practical information to help them navigate SB 743 compliance.
    This will include how to estimate and forecast VMT using a variety of methods and what limitations apply; how to relate VMT reduction goals across technical topic areas including energy, air quality, greenhouse gases, and transportation; how to select the form of VMT that is most useful in measuring transportation impacts; how to select appropriate thresholds; and what constitutes substantial evidence to support these decisions.

    Who Should Attend

    This course is intended for planners, engineers, policy analysts, and CEQA practitioners, among others, in private or public practice who want to understand the technical details associated with SB 743 implementation and the fundamental changes in current transportation impact analysis practices. It will also provide a foundational understanding of the origins and underlying philosophy behind California’s new VMT traffic metric.

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/240402-vmt-metrics-policy-application-technical
Type 170 & 2070 Traffic Signal Controllers, June 11https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229060-type-170-2070-traffic-signal-controllers

Description

This interactive course covers both similarities and differences in between the Model 170 & 2070 traffic signal controller. These rack mount controllers interface with a variety of electrical cabinet assembly styles, including the ever-popular classic, Model 332 standard. This hands-on course provides working knowledge about the capabilities, applications, and operations of these two controller types, as well as how to program signal timing plans into the controller using various local intersection software programs. The course covers all key topics ranging from controller hardware, module options, diagnostic tools, and field applications. Course instruction includes in-depth implementation issues, and to how to upgrade from NEMA TS1, TS2, or rack mount controllers. The course combines lectures with classroom exercises, case studies, and hands-on controller labs.

Topics Include

  • Hardware module & I/O differences between the Type 170 & 2070 controller platform
  • Selection criteria and specification differences unique to each platform type
  • Lessons learned from early installations, including use of diagnostic tools for each type
  • Signal timing plan strategy for both free and coordinated signal operation. Central system integration, field communications, and NTCIP standard considerations
  • Interfacing and signal timing strategies related to controller cabinet assemblies
  • Strategies and best practices related to controller maintenance & operations (M&O), and safety
  • Vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle detection features available for each controller platform
  • Planning for a successful mixed-use environment of 170 & 2070 controllers, and their associated central control software programs
  • Advanced operations applications involving transit signal priority, mid-block pedestrian crossings, and peer-peer communications
  • Advanced applications related to high-resolution data collection requirement for signal performance measures and connected vehicle operations

What You Will Learn

Students gain a working knowledge of both 170 & 2070 controller operation, including how to deploy the 2070 and integrate these controllers within the agency’s jurisdiction. From the controller lab, students will also learn to identify each of the various controller hardware modules, their functions, expansion features, and limitations.

Who Should Attend

All individuals in planning, engineering, and electrical-maintenance fields interested in gaining knowledge and proficiency of signal controllers should attend. Specifically, a need or study in the uses and operations of deploying traffic signal controllers in a field environment will benefit from this course. No prior background in traffic controllers is required, although basic knowledge of traffic signal timing is desirable. New students and returning “refresher course” professionals will benefit from the instruction related to both popular controller hardware styles.

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/229060-type-170-2070-traffic-signal-controllers
Airport Systems Planning and Design (53rd Annual Short Course), June 24https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/236910-airport-systems-planning-and-design-53rd-annual

Description

The course is being offered in association with the National Center of Excellence for Aviation Operations Research (NEXTOR).

This week long course offers an overview of airport planning and design for those entering or wishing to become more familiar with the field, as well as an opportunity for those with more experience to expand their knowledge of specific topics. The course will give particular attention to the challenges and uncertainties involved in planning airport facilities in the current situation and the implications for planning airport facilities for the future environment during and after recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The course is taught by some of the leading practitioners (and most experienced instructors) in the industry. In addition to covering the fundamentals of airport planning and design, the course discusses emerging issues and likely future trends facing airport planners, operators, and consultants in the US and around the world. The topics covered range from airport and airline economics and travel demand forecasting to airport capacity analysis, noise analysis, and environmental planning. Topics covered also include airfield design, passenger terminal planning, airport ground access, and air cargo facilities planning.

 

Intended Audience

This course is intended for engineers and planners working for airport authorities, consultants, and government agencies, as well as airport and airline management personnel interested in the technical considerations that need to be taken into account in planning airport development in the post-coronavirus pandemic environment. It will also be of interest to those involved in teaching transportation engineering courses or undertaking research on airport-related topics.

https://events.berkeley.edu/ttp/event/236910-airport-systems-planning-and-design-53rd-annual