WHAT IS ARC? ARC is an interdisciplinary partnership working to facilitate new thinking, new methods, new materials and new solutions for wildlife crossing structures. Our goal is to ensure safe passage for both humans and animals on and across our roads. Situated at the intersection of science and design, we are a forum for creative collaborations and surprising synergies.
WHAT IS ARC? • ARC is an ideology and a partnership, cultivated from an International Design Competition held in 2010 • Our partnership raises international awareness of a need to better reconcile human and wildlife mobility • ARC has developed innovative interdisciplinary design concepts that inspire tangible solutions • ARC integrates science and design through creative synergies between ecology, engineering, transportation, landscape and architecture
NEW THINKING A growing threat to people and to animals, collisions between wildlife and vehicles have increased by 50 percent in the last 15 years. These accidents now cost Americans $8 billion every year.
ARC engages new thinking to design crossing structures that reconnect landscapes, safeguarding our wildlife populations, their habitats and our ecosystems. The right solution will reduce the number of collisions to save human and animal lives, at a lower cost. In supporting innovative approaches to these structures, we are working to improve highway safety for people and animals.
NEW THINKING • ARC advances synergy across the disciplines to expressly resolve the challenges of wildlife crossings • We engage new thinking about animals and people • We pursue innovation in materials technology • ARC adopts a new approach to infrastructure based on: – education – conservation – connectivity – safety
NEW METHODS Integrating science and design, ARC is changing the way people and animals see and understand our landscapes. We use interdisciplinary collaboration and international cooperation to address a continental problem at local sites and scales.
NEW METHODS – Accomodate elevation and topography – Explore safe and beautiful pillar-free designs – Consider iconic structures – Employ the use of colour (invisible to many animals but noteworthy, symbolic to humans) – Innovation in construction methods
NEW MATERIALS Dynamic conditions demand flexible solutions and responsive materials. ARC explores new, sustainable infrastructure material strategies to respond to people, animals, and their shared environments.
NEW MATERIALS – Innovative materials include: • woodcore fibreglass • acrylic resins • polycarbonate modules, • steel-mesh grid • thin-shell concrete • reclaimed timbers, etc. – New materials invite potential partners for research, protoype development, materials testing, best-practice development etc.
NEW SOLUTIONS ARC works to implement creative solutions for wildlife crossing infrastructure to benefit humans and animals. Our success depends on partners and projects across North America.
NEW SOLUTIONS – Competition outcomes reflect a diversity of design concepts and strategies for wildlife crossing infrastructure – New solutions are adaptive, modular, and flexible – High standards for safety – Demonstrated cost-effectiveness – New developments in ecological performance and effective habitat design
WHO IS ARC? Initiated by the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University and the Woodcock Foundation in New York City, ARC quickly drew additional support from the Edmonton Community Foundation, the Federal Highways Administration and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials. ARC is now an evolving and innovative partnership supporting science, design and educational potential of wildlife crossings We continue to draw mounting support from federal and state agencies, universities, professional associations and non-profit organizations in the U.S. and Canada.
OBJECTIVES SHORT TERM (6 months – 1 year) – Public outreach and awareness, education through self-initiated and collaborative projects including the ICOET conference, ARC website, DIA exhibit – Increase awareness of landscape connectivity at a local scale and with potential funders through linking partners with like-minded objectives – Development of a strategic communication plan and funding tools relevant to the joint objectives of these partners
OBJECTIVES MID TERM (1–2 years) – Create informed and positive support for the continued implementation of crossing structures – Build Vail bridge – Effect policy change – Adoption of crossing structure innovation by other MT’s in the Y2Y region (AB/BC) – Development of ARC exhibits across different contexts to reach a broad audience
OBJECTIVES LONG TERM (2–5 years) – Effecting the innovations from ARC to increase awareness, and to: • provide long-term mitigation to the barriers created by highways/road system; • increase migration and habitat connectivity; • reduce costs, and • increase safety to road users.
OBJECTIVES LONG TERM (2–5 years) – Permanent exhibit with updatable digital content to relay new developments and information – Support in the successful adoption of crossing structure innovations throughout North America and the world – An innovative exhibition that acts as a literal and figurative connected landscape, to put visitors into a context that helps them better understand the needs of people and animals in their shared environment