Global Solutions in Public Works

APWA in Mexico

Latin American Task Force coordinates successful participation in ICLEI-Mexico National Public Works and Services Congress in Tijuana, Mexico, April 25-27, 2012

PWA through its International Affairs Committee (IAC), Latin American Task Force (LATF) and Jennings-Randolph (JR) Fellowship Program has actively supported technical and educational exchanges with Mexico and Mexican public works officials and practitioners for over 12 years, primarily through reciprocal attendance at partner conferences. Over the last several years, APWA members and officers have attended and participated in a number of ICLEI-Mexico Congresses, while ICLEI-Mexico staff have attended and participated in several APWA National Congresses. (ICLEI-Mexico is the Mexico City-based office of ICLEILocal Governments for Sustainability, an international nonprofit membership association focused on working with local governments on issues surrounding sustainability and climate protection.) This past April, a six-person delegation representing APWA traveled to Tijuana, Mexico to attend ICLEI-Mexico’s National Public Works and Services Congress. The conference venue was the multi-story twin tower Grand Hotel, located adjacent to a golf course several miles from the border and away from the commercial/tourist center of town. Leading the delegation was Bob Kass, current Chair of APWA’s Latin American Task Force, who offered welcoming comments on behalf of APWA President Diane Linderman and made a presentation to attendees about APWA and the current state of the practice of public works. Joining Bob at the Congress, and also making presentations, were:

• Jose Gamboa, Assistant General

Manager, Salinas Valley Solid

Waste Authority (Salinas,

California) • David Akers, P.E., Principal, Aztec

Concrete, San Diego, California • Martin Rivarola, AICP, Director of

Community Development/Interim

Director of Public Works, City of

Mission, Kansas • Ray Dovalina, P.E., Assistant

Transportation Director, City of

Phoenix, Arizona • Miguel Aceves, P.E., Project

Manager, CDM Smith Consultants,

Phoenix, Arizona

Presentation topics included: Regulation and Public Policy in the Delivery of Public Works and Services (Jose Gamboa); Implementation of Technology for Total Sanitary Landfill Elimination (Jose Gamboa); Sustainable Development and Planning in Mission, Kansas (Martin Rivarola); Permeable Concrete (David Akers); Complete Streets (Ray Dovalina) and A Case Study in Sustainable Design and Construction— the Salt Lake City Airport Light Rail System (Miguel Aceves).

Throughout the conference, the APWA delegation networked with public works professionals from south of the border, discussing common challenges

Conference attendees take a minute for a photograph with ICLEI staff. From left to right: Edgar Villaseñor (ICLEI Mexico Executive Director), Miguel Aceves, Ray Dovalina, David Akers, Martin Rivarola, Itzél Alcerreca (ICLEI Program Coordinator), Bob Kass Bob Kass, Chair, APWA Latin American Task Force, presents a general session on the State of the Practice of Public Works at the ICLEI-Mexico Public Works Conference in Tijuana, Mexico.

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and exploring opportunities for future international collaboration.

Contributed by Bob Kass; member, APWA International Affairs Committee; Chair, APWA Latin American Task Force

ICLEI-Mexico 10th Anniversary National Conference to be held in Cozumel, Mexico

ICLEI-Mexico has announced that its 10th Anniversary National Conference on Sustainable Development and Practices will be held in Cozumel, Mexico, August 1-3, 2012. ICLEI has invited APWA to be a participant in this congress, and has indicated a willingness to provide time for APWA members to present workshops and/or presentations that would be of general interest to the conference attendees. Any APWA members interested in attending and/or presenting at this conference are encouraged to contact Bob Kass, Chair, Latin American Task Force, at rmkass1@gmail.com or (408) 425-4707.

The Island of Cozumel is located in the Caribbean off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, and is a world-class tourist destination renowned for its diving and fishing. It is a convenient point of departure for many destinations along the Mexican Riviera, such as Cancún, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen, as well as the significant Mayan archaeological sites of Cobá and Chichén Itzá.

Chankanab National Park in Cozumel, Mexico

h e AP W A T Dona ld C. Stone Center for Leadership Excellence i n P u b l ic Wor ks

Educare et Crescere

Applied Public Works Research

The APWA Donald C. Stone Center for Leadership Excellence in Public Works

The mission of the APWA Donald C. Stone Center for Leadership Excellence in Public Works (DCS Center) is to position public works professionals for the twenty-first century. In keeping with this important goal, the APWA Reporter features a section dedicated to applied research in public works. This section, published quarterly, provides insight into thoughtful analysis of issues and opportunities based on applied scientific research methods as a way of further contributing to the body of knowledge.

Many of the articles appearing in this section are capstone papers written by participants in the DCS Center Level 3 Public Works Executive (PWE) Program. Other research articles are selected based on the applied nature of the paper and its relevance to public works.

Researchers interested in submitting articles should visit the website http://www.apwa.net/donald-c-stone/DonaldC-Stone-Center/Public-Works-Research to learn details of the requirements for publication. Articles submitted to the “Applied Public Works Research” section of the Reporter will be reviewed by the DCS Research Council, an expert group of professionals and academicians comprising the editorial board. Depending on the technical aspect of a submission, the Council may ask public works professionals to write a summary to highlight how the research can be applied. These will appear as “Research Application Summaries.” The 150-word abstracts of approved articles will be published quarterly. The full-length articles, as listed below, can be accessed via the link provided with each abstract.

This issue of the Reporter highlights two articles that fit the requirements for this section. The first is a capstone thesis written by John P. Lawlor, Jr. for Norwich University. The second paper was presented at the Transportation Research Board’s 2012 Annual Meeting. Norwich University and the University of Nebraska are currently two APWA partner universities offering MPAs with a public works emphasis.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these papers are solely those of the authors and may not represent those held by APWA or the entities referred to in the articles.

Starting from Zero: A Case Study in Building a Proper Public Works Facility

Researcher: John P. Lawlor, Jr. Source: Capstone Project, Master’s of Public Administration Date: August 2010 APWA URL: http://www.apwa.net/donald-c-stone/Donald-C-Stone-Center/Public-Works-Research/Applied-Research-Articles

Building a proper public works facility requires a sound design and the consensus of the community. A well-planned and constructed public works facility enhances the agency’s operational effectiveness and projects a positive, professional image to the community. Too many public works agencies occupy facilities that are not designed properly for their intended purpose. Residing in such facilities does not help promote public works as a profession, rather an afterthought. In order to ensure a proper public works facility design, the agency must be properly defined, a complementary project team must be created, the site for the facility must be selected and the concept of this undertaking must be sold to all of the community decision makers. The City of Waterbury, Conn., has undergone the process to create a public works facility that is properly planned to support the agency’s purpose, and properly constructed to further ensure operational functionality.

Associations between Road Network Connectivity and Pedestrian-Bicyclist Accidents

Authors: Yuanyuan Zhang, John Bigham, Zhibin Li, David Ragland, Xiaohong Chen Source: Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2012 Paper #12-0478 Date: January 2012 APWA URL: http://www.apwa.net/donald-c-stone/Donald-C-Stone-Center/Public-Works-Research/Applied-Research-Articles

It has been extensively accepted that the road network connectivity can positively impact the propensity and duration of non-motorized travel. But its impact on non-motorist traffic safety is still under debate: on one side, well-connected road networks could lead more through traffic into the core area of a region so that pedestrians and bicyclists would be more frequently exposed to conflicts with cars; on the other side, it could be safer when vehicle speed is slowed down by dense intersections and drivers are forced to concentrate on surroundings by active walking and bicycling. This debate stimulates the paper to estimate the associations between road network connectivity and pedestrian-bicyclist crashes. Four commonly utilized connectivity measures including block density, intersection density, street density, and mean block length are calculated based on the road networks of 321 census tracts in Alameda County, California. Then the four measures together with other factors like traffic behavior, land use, transportation facility, and demographic feature are employed separately in a spatial statistical model called geographically weighted regression. Conclusions are: first, the decrease of pedestrian-bicyclist accidents is significantly related to higher block density, higher intersection density, higher street density, and shorter mean block length; second, compared with the other three connectivity measures, street density is better for modeling because of its higher stability and stronger explanatory ability; third, employing street network, traffic behavior, and transportation facility data into the same model can produce the best model fitness.

For more information about this special section of the APWA Reporter dedicated to applied research in public works, please contact Mabel Tinjacá, Ph.D., APWA Director of Professional Development, at (816) 595-5214 or mtinjaca@apwa.net.

Heidi Flateau’s

ROUNDABOUT

Transforming a major four-way intersection into a tra c roundabout is no easy task. How do you install pavement to meet growing tra c needs without removing the existing concrete - all within specified grade limits? Add to it deteriorating pavement conditions and the constant left turns the roundabout would endure, and it became a very unique challenge. As Project Engineer Heidi Flateau evaluated her options, it became clear that utilizing Tensar’s TriAx® Geogrid was the smartest decision. This resulted in a projected 20-year service life, a savings of $500,000, and the reduction of future reflective cracking. Heidi’s assessment of TriAx Geogrid’s performance? “I love that stu !”

To read the whole story, submit your own, or to put TriAx to work for you, visit triaxstories.com/APWA or call 888-831-8333.

This year’s awesome keynote speakers: World-Class Education in Public Works

Bob Woodruff Broadcast Journalist, ABC News Michio Kaku, Ph.D. Cofounder of String Field Theory, Theoretical Physicist, Professor, TV Host, Author, Futurist

Jamie Clarke

Extreme Adventurer, Master Storyteller Simon T. Bailey Author, Catalyst of Brilliance

Cutting-Edge, Cost-Saving Programs • Neighborhood Partnering Program • Service Line Protection Program • Facilities Condition Assessment Program • Electronic Work Order System • Emergency Management Assistance Compact • Zero Waste Program • Reusable Bag Program • SMARTRAFFIC Program • Succession Planning Program • Public Outreach and Recycling Program • Preventive Maintenance Slurry Program • Anti-icing and Pre-wetting Program • Asset Inspection Program • Regional Construction Standards Program • Basement Flooding Protection Program • Complete Street Multi-Modal Transit Vision The Latest Technologies • Advanced Traffic Management Systems • Effective Energy Use Reduction and Management • • Mobile Applications GIS Facility Mapping • • • • Social Media Solar Bus Shelter/Solar Shade Structures State-of-the-Art Biowaste Trends Mapping Sidewalk ADA Compliance • • Waste-to-Energy Incorporating Solar Power into Water System Operations • Low Flow Diversion

New Funding Sources to Achieve Your Goals • Federal Funding for Roadway Projects • Compelling Grant Applications • Franchising Trash Collection • Green Vehicle Grant Funding Sources • Optimizing Maintenance

WWW.APWA.NET/CONGRESS Register and make plans today to attend!