In the ring with Greenroads: We got certified so what?

Freeman Anthony, P.E.

Project Engineer, City of Bellingham, Washington Member, APWA Transportation Committee Chair, APWA Transportation Sustainability Subcommittee

utting an industry-recognized stamp of sustainability on transportation infrastructure projects has been a hot topic in the sector for a few years now with pilot phases, Technical Committees, partnerships, lunch meetings, online surveys, and all the other work plan items that surround a new industry initiative. After tracking the leading systems over the last few years, the City of Bellingham Public Works Department decided to throw the Greenroads version 1.5 manual at a 2011 corridor rehabilitation project and wade into the deep, green end of the pool. The City has worked on and off with the Greenroads Foundation, a nonprofit, third-party transportation infrastructure certification system based in Redmond, Washington and initially developed at the University of Washington (with substantial industry help and input).

As a project engineer for the City’s Public Works Department, I began talking with Associate Professor Steve Muench at the University of Washington in 2009 as the City of Bellingham was working on a street rehabilitation project that included its first large-scale use of porous concrete in the Lake Whatcom watershed. A former gradstudent’s concept of a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-like certification system for transportation projects was being further developed into something real. The APWA Transportation Sustainability Subcommittee (TSSubcom) realized that the concept could have great value for the industry with the potential of LEEDlike success. The success in branding and benchmarking sustainability that LEED had demonstrated over 10 years could likewise help agencies and consultants in the transportation sector to standardize progressive designs and concepts and capture a broad audience. The public relations component of such a system could help engage the public, much like LEED had, to support complex project delivery with multiple stakeholders. For the TSSubcom, sustainability rating systems have been one of our key focus areas and includes INVEST, the FHWA selfevaluation tool, and ENVISION.

Our Northshore Drive project was one of the Pilot Projects for Greenroads and basically amounted to me dropping the entire construction file on Steve’s desk and saying, “Have fun, it’s a pretty sustainable road if you ask me.” After six or so months of guiding Greenroads staff through my cryptic reports, spreadsheets, specifications and construction data, the City received a score that put us three points and a few minimum requirements shy of certification. Not bad considering we had only submitted our standard City documentation without considering what the Greenroads Manual had wanted to see and without certification as a goal.

Freeman Anthony (right) receives the project certification from University of Washington Professor Steve Muench and Jeralee Anderson of the Greenroads Foundation.

The project included a new pedestrian footbridge over a local creek.

Installation of porous pavers for a parking area that manages roadway runoff

We had a great project with some unique, forward-thinking concepts, but our pilot project review experience really laid out the bigger picture of sustainable project delivery. As a public agency’s engineering department, we document all aspects of project design and construction via design reports, permits, payment records and other related documentation. During the Greenroads review of the Northshore Drive Pilot Project, I advocated for “minimal additional bureaucracy” and that Greenroads staff utilize standard project documents for much of the review process. While “minimal additional bureaucracy” avoided redundant paperwork, it also didn’t fully challenge an agency to design, spec, and build more progressively either. Therein lies the real value of the certification process.

Over the last three years, Greenroads has finished their pilot phase, developed the first complete version of the rating system (known as Greenroads v1.5), and has established itself as an independent nonprofit organization. In early 2010, the City of Bellingham began planning an interurban trail project, committed both state and local funding, added several progressive design concepts, and made the call to go for Greenroads Certification during the first call for registrations in December 2010. The Meador Kansas Ellis Trail project budget was $850,000, which is relatively small, but covers a number of typical urban transportation rehabilitation design challenges and as such was a good candidate to put the system to the test. In April 2011 the City signed a contract for Greenroads to review the project, and certify if it was up to snuff.

The City had no lead consultant, so we took the documentation into our own hands and created a master spreadsheet to track credits, submitted documents, and responses from the Greenroads review team, similar to a typical technical submittal. We initially identified which existing project documents (e.g., permits, design documents, construction reports, planning documents, correspondence) could be submitted to cover credit requirements. In some cases, supplemental memos speaking to specific design aspects and credit requirements were generated in response to feedback from Greenroads. This included

providing additional detail to support programmatic procedures, operational and planning policies, design approaches, and other similar internal documents. City staff also identified credits that wouldn’t be possible given the project scope and blanked those off the credit “hit list.” In June 2011, shortly after construction commenced, the first round of documents was submitted to Greenroads for the preliminary review, while information for construction-related credits was submitted post-construction under final review.

After our preliminary document review Greenroads noted where additional information or explanation was needed to show how various credit requirements had been met. There was a mix between needing more detail on the design calculations or site layout to programmatic procedures and planning policies employed by the Public Works Department. City responses amounted to everything from a brief memo explaining one procedure or another to submittal of previous departmental policies Council presentations to recalculating certain aspects of the site stormwater design and providing landscaping species information. Throughout the preliminary review, final review, and punchlist process City staff tracked the time spent submitting information to Greenroads for each credit to keep an idea of the overall certification effort.

At the end of 2011 City staff closed out the construction phase and addressed a few remaining credit requirements in time to be honored along with the City of Oak Harbor as the first certified projects.

So what did the City gain from the experience? A couple key things. First, and foremost, the system required staff to revisit a number of standard design concepts and construction techniques to look for more sustainable approaches. General specification items like the construction management plan, waste management and materials tracking requirements became more detailed and provided more information and options for City staff to consider. While much of the initial design had sustainable features, many more came about as a result of taking that second look at how our staff designs and builds its projects in relation to key credits in the system.

Secondly, we were able to use the anticipated certification as a focal point for stakeholders including elected officials, adjacent businesses, residents, and partnering agencies. This helped in championing the project through the review and construction phase. In the end the project met all the appropriate design and environmental standards and eked in under budget, while providing a high quality, more sustainable end-product that had less waste, more recycled material, and stakeholder buy-in.

In the end, the City of Bellingham Public Works Department delivered a more sustainable project with minimal budget impact (and it will be even less for our next one in 2013) by using the Greenroads system. All of our projects, regardless if they will be Greenroads certified or not or if they are water, sewer or stormwater, will be more sustainable too because of programmatic changes due to the Greenroads standard. A critical look at our system and the credit requirements detailed in Greenroads has provided a platform of systematic improvement that the City of Bellingham will continue to work with as Greenroads matures. And, the signs are nice too. We’re looking forward to our second set.

The project corridor proudly displays its certification.

Freeman Anthony can be reached at (360) 319-4642 or fanthony@cob.org.