01139027

Component

How can a small to medium-sized community incorporate visualization into the planning process? While the task of incorporating visualization techniques in small to medium-sized communities may seem daunting, it need not be. The Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council (MIC) incorporated various levels of visualization techniques into the Endion Land Use and Transportation Plan, a local corridor study. The Endion neighborhood, encompassing London Road, is transitioning from a strip retail corridor to a destination corridor (medical centers, hotels, local specialty stores). Additionally, a mixed-use development and revitalization of the historic Armory is planned near Duluth’s popular Rose Garden and Leif Erickson Park. The MIC studied the corridor to identify solutions to improve safety, access, and traffic flow. The author started the Endion project with the use of visualization in mind, with the primary goal of demonstrating how a roadway 68 feet wide could potentially be reconfigured. The use of visualization also allowed us to better communicate among staff and to the project steering committee, technical and policy boards, and the public. Visualization techniques ranged from beginner to intermediate and utilized software from various price ranges including freeware. The author utilized image editing software, incorporated 3-D objects, and geographically referenced 3-D data for use in geographic information system (GIS) and Google Earth. Software was chosen based on cost, ease of use, and integration with GIS software. All visualization was performed in-house by MIC staff. There was a time commitment up-front to learn new software; however, the experience gained from these visualization applications will transfer well to future projects. Before-and-after scenarios, new road configurations, pedestrian amenities, and streetscaping were presented to the public to vote on concepts they found favorable. Comments were taken on scenarios presented, providing an overall future vision of the corridor by local community members. Public comments were synthesized into final visioning components of the plan. Visualization techniques range from very simple to highly complex; both are effective for communicating conceptual scenarios. Incorporating visualization into the planning process can be done on a budget with limited staff.

01138544

English

11p

2008

11th National Conference on Transportation Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities

CD-ROM

Figures; Photos; References (8) ; Tables (1)

Before and after studies; Geographic information systems; Land use planning; Medium sized cities; Planning and design; Public participation; Small cities; Software; Transportation planning; Visualization

Google Earth

Duluth (Minnesota)

Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

TRIS, TRB

Aug 24 2009 12:15PM