Transportation engineering and traffic engineering are always meant to evolve. As one of the foundations of life as we know it, it is essential that accessibility of transportation and mobility adapt as urban communities grow.
Transportation engineering companies contribute to these changes by incorporating continuity plans into their various highway and traffic engineering projects. Through data collection, industry expertise, and more, transportation engineering companies do not only expect the need for change and upgrades in their projects, but will have a scalable plan prepared and ready to go with very few amendments.
Why is continuity planning is important for Transportation Planning?
We need mobility, especially in urban environments when space is tight yet travel is essential for livelihood. As more and more people move into urban cities due to advantages in accessibility in transportation, it is vital for transportation engineering companies to create innovative solutions.
By incorporating continuity planning, transportation engineering companies determine quality of life, public safety, and public aesthetics in any urban community. Instead of planning for what is necessary at the present moment, current needs are evaluated, scaled based on growth trends and data, and planned for accordingly. This allows communities to continue to live effectively, efficiently, and as unaffected by change as possible. In this way continuity planning not only keeps an eye out in preparation for our future, but ensures that our present is as optimized as possible.
Other important aspects of continuity planning include:
- Ensuring quick response times: as urban cities grow in population, so do emergency situations. Continuity planning ensures that emergency response teams can respond to crisis situations accurately and quickly. Easy highway access, lack of traffic, and accessibility to an entire city are a few major components of this.
- Adapting for future generations: through data analysis transportation engineering companies can determine the changes that need to be made to city highway and traffic engineering plans, parking facilities and locations, and accessibility to hot spots within a city.
- Prioritizing people: safety, happiness, and continued mobility allow us to live our lives to the very fullest. Transportation engineering companies always put these values at the forefront of all continuity plans. Some services that help manage these things include proper data collection, noise and vibration control for communities, air quality testing and planning, and safety planning.
Key elements of transportation engineering projects
Continuity planning for all transportation engineering projects is based on a few key elements:
- Prioritizing essential functions
- Defining necessary resources
- Defining the constant and evolving needs of communities
- Scaling for continued growth
- Testing, data collection, planning, and updates
Challenges of transportation planning
An important thing to note is that continuity planning does not stop. From prioritizing essential functions to scaling for growth, these elements are continuously questioned and updated for the best results. However, like in any industry, there are a few challenges that need to be considered.
Transportation engineering companies working on continuity planning must remember to maintain schedules as extended projects tend to negatively affect almost each of the five elements listed above; travelers/commuters may experience heavy delays, thereby terminating essential functions of the transportation system; resources may be wasted or damaged due to insufficient planning or redirection of plans; community needs will need to be reevaluated if the project goes far beyond the estimated finish date, and more.
At Trans-Plan Engineering Services we pride ourselves on providing fast, accurate results. Our project deliverables can be finished in as little as two weeks, depending on the project scope. No matter the timeline, we make sure to work closely with you to achieve your goals, no matter what they are.
Resourcing is another major aspect of all continuity planning because regardless of the plan, without the resources needed to support it (for new infrastructure, etc.) the plan is not realistic. Continuity planning in transportation engineering design also prioritizes sustainability and minimizing environmental impact.
When it comes to sustainability some key questions that transportation engineering design companies ask themselves include:
- What is the goal of the project/development?
- Is the project/development necessary?
- How long will the update last before another one is needed?
- Are there alternative solutions that better align with continuity planning priorities?
An example of effective continuity plans
As most Torontonians know, the Gardiner Expressway has been crumbling for many years. Being structurally unsound and built in a time when there was considerably less traffic, it is clear to modern highway and traffic engineering professionals that it needs an update as well as a more sustainable, long-term continuity plan.
In an effort to do just that, the City approved a plan back in 2016 called the Gardiner Expressway Rehabilitation Plan and Port Lands Flood Mitigation Protection project. In summary, it states that the demolition work will remove the Logan Avenue ramp and transform the Gardiner into a “hybrid” highway, which will create a less convoluted connection to the Don Valley Parkway (BlogTO).
This continuity plan is working to realign the expressway and keep it safe for travelers, will facilitate broad improvements and livability of the Port Lands area, improve public access to this area, and enhance future climate resiliency work (Toronto.ca). In addition, this plan will allow the Lake Shore Bridge to be lengthened and widened, and once that space is re-engineered, new spaces will be made for bike lanes, pedestrian paths, and more (Toronto.ca).
Toronto’s plan to tear down the east end of the Gardiner is an example of adjusting an outdated and ineffective highway and traffic engineering plan in favour of a stronger and more sustainable system. It aligns with continuity planning strategies and is looking to be a successful project.
All in all, continuity planning is not just about the future— it’s about the present, too. It means creating simple, smart highway and traffic engineering solutions based on industry standards, operations insights, and data collection. If you’re looking for the future of transportation engineering, Trans-Plan Engineering Services can help you. Contact us today to speak to one of our experts.
