MENU
Contact

Category: Uncategorized

Pushing the Boundaries of Affordable Housing

Posted on by OTAK Team

With their associated regulations and additional costs, affordable housing mandates are one set of hurdles developers face when seeking approval for new housing projects. The perceptions of affordable housing and gaining public support is another. Over several projects1, and through direct community involvement, Otak has been addressing these obstacles with success, helping guide new housing projects to completion—often with innovative solutions. While each situation has been unique, the common denominator has been a collaborative and integrated community approach.

See Our Affordable Housing Work

Changing City Codes, Expanding Development Options

Cristina Haworth, a Senior Planner in Otak’s Redmond, WA office, has been working with cities to solve the housing shortage many communities are facing, which is paving the way for a broader application of affordable housing solutions. For example, the City of Bothell, WA, a small, but quickly growing city outside of Seattle, was awarded a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to implement HB1923. The grant funds the development of housing action plans, municipal code changes, subarea planning, and environmental reviews—actions intended to encourage the production of more housing and a greater variety of housing types.

Cristina has been helping the City of Bothell in amending its housing codes in response to this grant and leveraging the opportunity to create more diversity in the types of housing allowed in new developments. She explains: “While the work is not directly related to affordable housing, the results are having a positive impact in this area. The new codes are providing greater housing choice, which is increasing both capacity and affordable housing opportunities more broadly.” Specifically, the City has raised its short plat thresholds, making it quicker and easier to divide larger lots into single-family city lots within new subdivisions, and has authorized a duplex on existing corner lots in the city. These duplex units are still market-rate, but their size and configurations make them effectively more affordable. The added caveat is that these units are not regulated as affordable housing, which keeps the developer’s costs down. Cristina is working with the City to consider options for allowing one or more multiplex units in new subdivision projects that could potentially be regulated as affordable housing to ensure these needs are met.

Overcoming Rising Costs

Affordable housing projects often cost more than market-rate housing, which can deter developers who need to maximize profit margins for a project to be viable. As Matt Neish, Otak Senior Project Manager, elaborates, “Affordable housing is a tightly regulated sector and is typically significantly more expensive to build. The higher cost presents a problem because a developer could build maybe twice as many market-rate units.” While there are funding sources available, the process can be complex to navigate and may require multiple sources to achieve adequate project funding. This is an area where Matt and Otak have been able to step in and help, “Affordable housing is an evolving sector, and we are seeing more of a nuanced approach to development that takes into consideration a variety of factors and opportunities to help offset costs.” Otak is taking strides to work with developers to determine project scope and viability at the outset. “This is especially helpful for developers who may not have done an affordable housing project before,” Matt explains. He adds that “trying to go back and rework a project after the fact can be an extremely costly and difficult process, so doing our due diligence ahead of time is critical.”

The public work Cristina and others like her are doing concerning code amendments is also helping to ease the higher costs of affordable housing. She states that “when we’re approaching code amendments, we’re trying to look at ways to include affordability requirements or even just make the process a little bit easier. So instead of having to go through a longer land use process to get approval, we are trying to find ways to make sure that a developer can use an administrative process instead. This has the potential to save a lot of time and cost, and it makes things quite a bit more efficient in terms of the permitting process to get to project delivery.” 

Adding Density Through Disbursement

What is happening in Bothell is part of a larger movement to create more affordable housing through density and disbursement of higher capacity lots and multiplex units throughout a proposed subdivision. Tim Leavitt, PE, Otak Regional Director for Oregon and Southwest Washington, notes that the thinking on affordable housing has evolved, “The traditional approach is placement of all affordable housing units into one area of a project site. We work with our clients to effectively integrate the project to accommodate a mixing of housing choices throughout the project site.” Through a co-mingling of market-rate and affordable housing products, the result will be a more cohesive and balanced neighborhood.

Another example of an integrated approach to new housing projects is Hyatt Place in downtown Portland, OR. This mixed-use high-rise includes a hotel, and housing, with some units designated as affordable housing. Rather than contribute to a general fund, the Otak team worked with the developer to include affordable housing units within the new building—the benefits of which were two-fold. First, the move to include affordable housing in the project allowed the developer to take advantage of new height allowances within the newly revised city code. Further, tenants of the affordable housing units will have access to the same amenities within the building and the surrounding community as the rest of the tenants. To gain approval of the new building, Otak worked with the neighborhood and the city to ensure all concerns were addressed and the building’s design embraced the history and culture of the neighborhood.

Creating Community and Place

The approach to affordable housing, in general, is being done differently today than in the past. “Affordable housing is no longer about designing and building ‘big barracks’ style housing as cheaply as possible just to fill state or city mandates. A lot more attention is being focused on how a place will function, and how it fits into the larger community,” Matt asserts. He further explains Otak’s approach stating that “what we do is integrate these projects the best we can into the existing communities and not make them be a piece that stands out on its own. The extent we can incorporate open space, trails, plazas, parks, transit connections, even commercial activities into and around housing developments, will go a long way towards integrating affordable housing into a community.”

This place-making and community mindset is a driving force in how Otak approaches each project. It is also integral to the firm’s employee involvement with various organizations, including the Portland Planning Commission. “We’re helping guide missions and policies and the evolution of community development and planning to incorporate affordable housing into our communities,” Tim states. “We’re not just putting up buildings. We are also creating public spaces for all community members to come together.”

Advocacy and Collaboration

Taking a broader community approach to the design and construction of affordable housing units in new subdivisions and existing neighborhoods has been key to Otak’s success in this arena. The recently completed Fields Apartments in Tigard, OR, and the South Cooper Mt. Community Project in Beaverton, OR, are two examples where the Otak team has proactively and collaboratively worked with the cities, residents, and developers to create designs that addressed neighborhood concerns, satisfied mandates, and ultimately won approval. “By engaging with the residents and taking their concerns into consideration, we were able to overcome objections,” Matt states. Additionally, with The Fields project, “by framing the project around housing for working-class families, we were able to present the proposed housing project in a positive light,” Matt explains. In this manner, Otak was also advocating on behalf of the developer who was seeking project approval.  

Looking at the Big Picture

Otak has the capacity to remove some of the complexities and barriers around affordable housing, including public perception, and to better integrate affordable housing into communities. “We are addressing an important aspect of the stigma of affordable housing,” Matt states. “Projects of this nature often face considerable public opposition, yet separating them from the rest of the community only serves to compound the problem.” As a multidisciplinary firm, Otak has the internal knowledge and resources to help cities and developers navigate complex zoning regulations, design, review and permitting processes, and funding options. This is coupled with Otak’s community mindset, which demands a big picture perspective and is the driving force behind the firm’s integrative approach to community planning and affordable housing. “Having an understanding of the big picture, and being able to plan through the construction and engineering, natural resources, and transportation, and how to integrate it all allows us to bring so much more to the table for a developer,” Matt stresses. “We’re not just solving one piece of the puzzle, we are offering solutions on multiple fronts and building resilient communities people want to live in.”

  1. The Fields Apartments: Affordable Housing; weds with Nature, Urban Transit, and a 40-Year Old Neighborhood
  2. Construction Underway at Elwood Affordable Housing Community Project in Vancouver, WA
  3. Otak’s South Cooper Mt. Community Project Design for Wishcamper Wins Approval

Creating Balance Between Park Use and Sustainable Environments

Posted on by OTAK Team

Outdoor recreation in America is booming. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that the outdoor recreation economy accounted for 2.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) for 2019 and all estimates indicate the next report will only grow that number. And it’s no wonder—spending time outdoors has proven to have both physical and mental health benefits and, during the pandemic, proved to be one of the few activities we could still enjoy.

But the number of people swarming into parks has a downside that a team from Otak is directly addressing with the goal of keeping open spaces truly open, enjoyable, and safe, while also protecting natural resources.

Otak has a long history of working with the National Park Service to both improve visitor experiences and safety, while also protecting natural, cultural, and historical resources. Through this work, we have witnessed the tremendous benefits people experience from being in national parks, but also the toll of high visitor use on parks and open spaces. Recognizing a pressing need as park usage continues to rise, in March of 2021 Otak brought on a team of social scientists, based in New England, to expand the focus of our projects through the lens of minimizing overcrowding, creating more efficient people movement, and ensuring safe opportunities for park visitors. The team, comprised of Steve Lawson, director of Visitor Use Planning and Management, and research analysts Abbie Larkin, Bill Valliere, and Annie Engen, has been working together for many years and collectively have vast amounts of experience working on both high-profile projects from Arches National Park to Mt. Everest, to smaller town parks. 

The popularity of outdoor recreation has skyrocketed putting a strain on natural resources.

The team had collaborated with Otak on several occasions which sparked the eventual hirings, an effort that was led by Mandi Roberts, Vice President and Principal at Otak who comments,

“By bringing this experienced and talented team into the fold of Otak, we are able to offer an even greater breadth and depth of services to clients, and in particular for the NPS, where social science and visitor use studies are needed on a constant basis. Our team is ready to assist in developing the best solutions for current and future generations of visitors and stewards of our cherished landscapes and settings in America.”

Visitor Use Planning and Management

As more people visit parks, there is increasing pressure on park resources that impacts the quality and character of visitors’ experiences and the overall perception of parks. Learning to identify problems and develop the tools and strategies to minimize impacts is critical to the sustainability of the parks and is the exact focus of this new Otak team. “We provide a data-driven basis for decisions on managing people and protecting the parks, while also providing outstanding experiences to all visitors,” Steve says.

Steve explains that his work involves social sciences, systems modeling, natural resource economics, and park and wilderness management. “I have been applying these skills and training for about 25 years to design and conduct social science research for the National Park Service (NPS) and other recreation resource managers. Our team provides NPS and others with information about who does and does not visit parks, what motivates them to come to parks, and what they do when they visit. We help build a data-driven understanding of visitor perceptions, preferences, and tolerances for park conditions and attitudes and opinions about how to manage use for public enjoyment and resource protection,” he says.

The work Steve and his team conduct requires analysis and modeling of visitor use and patterns. They use survey research and descriptive data collection including GPS and passive mobile data, automated counts of traffic and trail use, and observation studies of the number of people and types of activities and behaviors. The gathered data is used to develop insights about the relationships in parks among the amounts and types of visitor use, the quality and character of visitors’ experiences, and the conditions of park resources.

Case Study: Yosemite National Park Half Dome 

Yosemite National Park proved to be a case study on how to better manage visitors through a reservation system.

Steve was instrumental on an NPS project at Yosemite National Park where he was commissioned to study visitor use, crowding, and safety on one of the park’s most popular and iconic hikes, Half Dome. On the last leg of the hike, hikers scale a granite face using handrails that were originally bolted into place in the early 1900s by the Sierra Club. As the hike gained in popularity, the lines for the cables grew and visitors began to make the risky decision to scale outside of the cable area to circumvent crowds and get to the summit faster. These issues drew increasing attention in the press and increasing concern from park managers who decided it was time to address the problem.

Steve and his team conducted a multi-year study where they developed a simulation model of the number of total visitors on the hike, the number of visitors on the cables at one time, as well as the number of visitors going outside the cables and exposing themselves to greater risk. The findings became a primary basis for the Half Dome Stewardship Plan Permit System where the park now manages how many visitors it can sustain at one time and issues the corresponding number of permits per day. As Steve explains, “This became a precedent-setting example of how to effectively and proactively manage visitor use in popular outdoor recreation settings.” The Half Dome permit system “provided  for other park managers to acknowledge there are limits to the amount of use that can be sustained beyond which the fundamental values of these areas can be compromised.” 

The results of this project were widely published to provide an evidence-based solution to decision-makers who could point to peer-reviewed science as a basis for management decisions. In addition, the project increased awareness of the potential problems in parks. 

Long lines waiting to summit Yosemite’s iconic Half Dome created a dangerous situation.

Precedent-Setting Management

Reservation systems are becoming a part of the landscape and conversation in places where they may be needed. The idea is not to “lock people out” but rather to maximize the opportunities for people to experience these places while at the same time protecting park resources.

Steve explains that in places he’s worked where reservation systems have been assessed or implemented, it is possible in some of those cases to accommodate more visitors while still protecting the environment, by virtue of a proactive management system. Parks data demonstrate recreational use is inherently concentrated in time and space, and use generally has seasonal, daily, and hourly peaks “That leaves a lot of potential opportunity on the table to help disperse and manage peak use, but if you passively allow visitation patterns to persist, you may not be making the most of the resources,” he says.

The permit system at Half Dome was a precedent-setting decision by the Park Service as one of the most prominent locations to manage day use. It has led other parks to consider and implement day-use management with reservation systems in national parks such as California’s Muir Woods and Maine’s Acadia National Park as well as popular state hiking trails across the country. Steve explains, “All of the work is structured around a framework that is applicable to each and every kind of place. It’s a sliding scale of analysis. Arches, for example, is at the high end of the scale where decisions should be supported with a data-driven and peer-reviewed basis. But we also work through general legal requirements for use management plans where the use is maybe not intense but nonetheless, there are requirements to have a use plan. In some of these cases, we are at the lower end of the sliding scale of analysis, where extensive data and analysis are not necessary or feasible.” He adds that the approach and level of investment are context-dependent but the management framework that he and his team use applies universally to parks, protected areas, and tourist destinations.

Prior to the pandemic, Steve was invited to Nepal to present his findings to the managers of Mt. Everest, a site challenged by the impacts and risks of overuse. Compounding the problem for the managers is the need to overcome the stigma that quotas will limit tourism to an area where peoples’ livelihood relies heavily on tourism dollars. Steve felt he was making headway to help Nepal develop strategies for sustainable tourism management before the pandemic put this work on hold.

The pandemic exacerbated the issues and challenges in natural areas that are facing higher and higher levels of visitation. The boom in outdoor recreation has shone a light on how critically important the role of parks and recreation are to our society and how much that use needs to be sustainable to ensure what we love about parks today remains for generations. With Otak’s new team in place, we stand ready to help park managers achieve balance in welcoming all visitors and providing enriching experiences while ensuring park resources are protected.

Bathymetric Mapping: Modern Methods Yielding Better Data, Better Outcomes

Posted on by OTAK Team

When balancing functionality, safety, and design aesthetics against time, cost, and legal constraints, you can never have too much data. The role of the surveyor is critical in this regard as the data gathered—from boundary lines to the relevant shape and contour of a specific site—provides the foundation for how a project can move forward.

In the pursuit of highly accurate and reliable data, a familiar balancing act is at play: safety, cost, and time. This is especially true in hydrography and bathymetry mapping where access to waterways can be challenging or dangerous to survey crews and additional equipment and personnel may be required. Advancements in sonar imaging technology, coupled with remote data collection capabilities, is making this balancing act and the collection of reliable and accurate data much easier. It is this last piece of the puzzle, remote data collection, that has the survey teams at Otak pretty excited.

“We now have an easy way of collecting a significant amount of accurate data for mapping channel bottoms to aid in our fish passage and stream restoration work, as well as construction and engineering projects that are either abutted against bodies of water or submerged,” Nathan Dasler, Otak Water Resources Engineer, states. What Nathan is referring to is the capabilities of the single beam sonar unit Otak’s survey teams now employ via an unmanned surface vessel (USV).

Remote Data Collection

Utilizing single beam sonar echo sounding, mounted on an unmanned surface vessel (USV), Otak’s survey crews are able to collect detailed data of stream, river, and lake beds and precisely map the underwater topography. Portable sonars, like the one Otak uses, quickly measure and log depths with a high degree of accuracy, providing a seamless transition between land and bathymetric survey. The USV essentially extends the capabilities of traditional survey equipment, enabling remote data collection in otherwise challenging or inaccessible environments. GPS tracking and an autonomous control system also allow the USV to be pre-programmed to follow specific, repeatable track lines. This increases data acquisition consistency and efficiency. In situations where multiple surveys are needed over time, reliable data can be collected efficiently in the same location, and with extreme precision.

In addition to more complete data, Jon Yamashita, Otak Director of Land Surveying also points out the added cost savings as the USV can be operated by one person. “Whereas in certain situations we might have had to work with three people doing the work previously for safety and logistical reasons, we now only need one person. This significantly reduces our costs to do certain types of survey work, which of course reduces the costs for our clients.”

The application and use of the technology and equipment in the field are proving to be beneficial in a number of settings and project types.

Shoreline Validation

In the state of Oregon, certain property lines are based on an elevation and, for sites immediately adjacent to tidal bodies of water, those elevations may be underwater and not always accessible during much of the year. Depending on the time of year, shoreline accessibility and water flow can vary significantly. With remote data collection capabilities, water level, and flow, for example, no longer matter. “We can still find and follow the contour of the land beneath the water and accurately determine property lines, even during high flow seasons,” Jon states. “We no longer have to wait for low flows which may only be at certain times of the year.”

Hydraulic Modeling

In addition to shoreline validation, projects and developments that border or cross bodies of water need accurate hydraulic modeling. “Any construction work that is performed within a floodplain requires hydraulic modeling to verify flooding impacts from the project and, right now, we’re starting to see state agencies require more data-intensive models,” Nathan states. “Agencies are requiring 2D hydraulic models, which really need a full map of what the bottom of a river looks like and not just sections spaced at your typical 100 feet.” With remote access, Otak’s hydraulic surveyors are able to efficiently collect more refined data and provide highly accurate terrain for models.

“This level of data is key for the hydraulic modeling necessary in our bridge and culvert work,” Jon adds. As Nathan explains, “if you’re going to restore a riverbank or protect a bridge abutment, you need a hydraulic model to know how fast and how deep the water is flowing there. You don’t know those hydraulic characteristics without having good detail of what the channel looks like. The USV is what we’ll use to get that detailed information.”

Sedimentation Measurements

Understanding sedimentation levels in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs is also key to understanding, predicting, and managing depths for river passage, aquatic habitats, floodwater capacity, and the integrity of structures like levees, bridges, and pier footing. Remote access and a pre-programmable auto-drive system, like the one Otak is using, is extremely useful when collecting sedimentation data over time. As Jon explains, “we can run a pre-programmed route to map the exact same points over and over again and this allows us to reliably quantify bed changes.”

Better Outcomes

Otak has long been at the forefront of survey and mapping processes and electronic data collection. Staying abreast of the latest advancements in mapping methods and equipment assures Otak’s surveyors are able to provide the highly accurate and reliable data necessary for successful project design and engineering outcomes. Single beam sonar echo sounding coupled with an unmanned surface vessel is the latest example of how Otak is able to balance data collection needs against time, safety, and cost constraints. As Jon puts it, “we want our maps to depict what all the surfaces look like as accurately as possible. This technology and equipment give us the ability to easily and efficiently obtain a lot of data—we’re able to just get more data in the same amount of time.”

The technology and the data it yields removes some of the unknowns and this, in turn, allows designs to be more efficient, and ultimately more cost-effective. In the end, as Jon reminds us, “it’s not just about the new technology or even the data, it’s about how accurate data can be used for better outcomes.”

Waterway Restoration: A Holistic Approach to Improving Fish Passages

Posted on by OTAK Team

Every year, millions of fish migrate between the ocean and their native habitat, navigating waterways across natural landscapes, farmland, and ever-expanding developed regions of highways, towns, and cities. Removal of barriers such as dams, culverts, and levees, has long been recognized as a necessary and viable means to improving fish passage, and good progress has been made in this regard. More importantly, though, waterway restoration as a whole has evolved over the past 20-30 years to encompass a broader approach.

Fish passage restoration is no longer confined to removing or replacing existing impediments. It is also about understanding watersheds and river basins as a whole and implementing solutions that improve the health of a complex ecosystem, improve the ability of fish to migrate and thrive, and ultimately improve multi-species preservation efforts.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, a real sense of urgency has also emerged as 27 West Coast Salmon runs are threatened, including Chinook Salmon whose survival is linked to the recovery of southern resident orca. In response, local agencies and tribes in Puget Sound have launched comprehensive fish restoration programs. Otak has been involved in a number of projects in Washington and the Columbia Basin and has been at the forefront of this shift to a more holistic approach to improving fish passages.

Barriers, Encroachment, and Water Quality

Today, rather than looking at only physical barriers like culverts and dams within a waterway, multidisciplinary firms like Otak take into consideration all of the other factors that impact healthy fish passages. “Twenty years ago, we had this concept of the four Hs: habitat, hydropower, hatcheries and harvest,” Jamie Bails, Otak Senior Environmental Scientist, states, “and while each of these things is important, we have come to understand it is barriers that are preventing fish from getting where they need to go.” But there is more to it, as Jamie further explains, “all of those things can’t be improved if we don’t fix the habitat. Correcting infrastructure like culverts and bridges will help, but ultimately it is the streams that will do the work when we get out of the way.”

What Jamie and the rest of the Water & Natural Resources team at Otak understand is that improving fish passage is not just about the physical barriers, it is also about encroachment on waterways and adjacent habitat. Water quality, sedimentation, and pollution are equally important and present real barriers to fish. Russ Gaston, Senior Vice President, Water & Natural Resources, has 33 years of experience studying and improving fish passages, working in both the public and private sector. He explains “for years, restoration projects focused mainly on removing physical barriers or helping fish pass through or around barriers. What we have seen though, is streams that had polluted water flowing into them did not achieve positive results after physical barriers were removed. Rather, they saw little to no improvement at all.”  

For example, Russ and his team worked with Snohomish County for over 20 years to improve fish habitat and remove fish barriers in the French Creek watershed, but restoration of spawning salmon to the upper watershed remained impeded because the water-quality-barrier in the watershed had not been improved. They have since worked with the County and the farmers in the watershed, to restore stream buffers in the agricultural lands, and have developed options to improve water quality in the highly degraded lower reach of the watershed, which the County is evaluating and deciding on which option to move forward on. 

Today, Russ says “we commonly focus on stormwater runoff and work to create a stable channel to keep bank erosion to natural rates, which are primary sources of pollutants in a stream. We also use the Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBII) to project the health of the stream before and after the restoration is completed.” The work Otak did on the Miller Creek Daylighting project for the City of Burien, Port of Seattle, and the City of Sea-tac is an example of where the team has applied this process.

Multidisciplinary Project Teams

To fully understand what is happening within a waterway and what barriers—physical or otherwise—are having the greatest impact on fish passage, the entire watershed needs to be considered. And this requires expertise and perspective only possible through a multi-disciplinary approach. Optimally, project teams should include structural and civil engineers, geomorphologists, biologists, wetland ecologists, and landscape architects. Russ, who has been involved in a number of fish basin planning projects in Washington, points out that it is not just multiple disciplines weighing in on a project, it is integrated teams working together. “What I thought was an integrated team years ago, is nothing compared to what we do today. Engineers are no longer working in isolation, but are now working together with stream biologists, geomorphologists, landscape architects—all within one firm. This is a key advantage and influences the way we think about restoration,” Russ asserts.

Working closely together, integrated teams have a greater understanding of all the impediments to fish passage and where to focus restoration efforts. This level of data essentially provides a blueprint for identifying failing infrastructure and prioritizing projects. This in turn has the added benefit of not only improving fish passage and multi-species preservation across a region but can also save the various jurisdictions—cities, counties, the state—considerable expense.

Fish passage restoration is only a small piece of what teams like Otak’s Water & Natural Resources team can provide. For example, Otak has a surveying group that is experienced in collecting water resource information. “We are able to do everything in-house, which allows us to go beyond improving fish passages in isolation to really addressing stream restoration as a whole and improving an entire watershed,” Russ states.  

Fish Passages and Stream Restoration

There are two typical approaches to designing and improving fish passage. One is an engineered hydraulic calculation with a specific focus on providing the right depth and velocity conditions in a system that targets specific fish species.

The other approach involves stream simulation, which takes into consideration the natural geomorphic processes and seeks to replicate how a stream might have evolved naturally, what is currently impacting channel evolution and how it might be impacted in the future. “Obviously, there are constraints to what we can do—existing roads, cities, and other development—but when we look at streams in this manner, it allows us to come up with solutions that will have a greater impact than improving specific sites in isolation,” Russ states.

With this approach, Otak has been working with cities, counties, and agencies to help them assess where they should be focusing their restoration efforts. “We bring a multi-disciplinary team to assess water quality, water flow, channel degradation, floodplain, and habitat values,” Russ explains. “We’re assessing fish habitats and the connectivity of wetlands, as well as existing infrastructure, regional stormwater management, and integrating our findings into cohesive designs and fish passage restoration planning,” he adds. Ultimately, with such comprehensive data, Otak’s teams are able to give recommendations based on real cost-benefit analyses and offer solutions that benefit the fish and other species on a broad scale. “This is an area where we have been extremely successful,” Russ asserts, “and the advances we are continuing to make in the industry are exciting.” 

Lasting Resilience

It is not just firms like Otak that are embracing a comprehensive watershed approach to fish passage restoration. As the industry has evolved and best practices continue to improve with the integration of multi-disciplinary teams, government agencies are also looking at the bigger picture of coastal adaptation and seeking solutions that will not only improve fish passage and aid in multi-species preservation but will also benefit the region economically. Commercial and recreational fishing and tourism are all linked to fish preservation. Economics aside, the real benefit, as Russ points out, “is that we’re restoring natural processes, which holistically lifts the entire system, improves the resilience of the watershed, and benefits all aquatic and riparian life.”

See Our Fish Passage Work

Web-based Mapping Melds Design, Engineering, and Planning into One Platform

Posted on by OTAK Team

Whether you believe technology has brought the world closer or worked to divide us, the reality is that technology has changed everyone’s lives and in many cases, changed it for the better. In the realm of engineering, design, and architecture, the methods by which work is accomplished have come a long way from pencils and drafting tables. One of our most exciting new technologies is web-based mapping that has enabled us to take our planning processes to a whole new level and greatly enhance how we can interact with our clients. 

Nathan Jones, Otak’s GIS Specialist explains that web-based mapping has been around for some time, but it was clunky, only available on desktops, and required thousands of dollars worth of software. But within the past five years, online mapping has burst onto the scene with platforms such as MapQuest, and more recently these programs have been adopted by the private sector. An early adopter, Otak has been on the cutting edge to bring web-based mapping, specifically ArcGIS,  into the fold recognizing the inherent value in seeing things geographically. 

Nathan is passionate about the work he does and how impactful it is to not just Otak and their clients, but to the design and planning world as a whole. “The things we do, the data we create, is only as good as how we present it. We need to present in a digestible way to the average person. If we can’t, what good is that to the public or even the client? Data is great but only if you can show it in a  meaningful way. Web-mapping takes this concept and runs with it. It takes data to the next level, drilling down to a fundamental level of understanding by way more people,”  he said. 

Most municipalities or companies that have mapping use it predominantly for reference, such as giving the public the ability to look up tax maps from their city’s website. Otak uses the maps in more unique ways to both collect and analyze the data to tell the story of the work they are doing, as well as using the maps as the perfect way to collaborate across companies and organizations that are working jointly on projects. For Otak, the maps are true storyboards.  “Web mapping bridges the gap between design, engineering, planning, and the online world. It can be used in tons of ways and Otak is using the platform on 30 to 35 projects right now,” Nathan said. 

Mapping has become a powerful tool to share data and visualize projects whether teams are working in the same building or are scattered across towns, states, or even countries. Everyone involved has the ability to add information in real-time and Otak then pulls the data from the cloud to build the maps and stories so the team can see how changes impact the overall plans. This interconnectedness has been instrumental for many projects as the plans become living documents as opposed to shared pdfs or static documents living on a hard drive. It greatly boosts the efficiencies of contracted parties, saving clients time, and even costs. 

Otak has used mapping for public outreach greatly expanding the equity of the public process. People are more likely to get and respond to information if they can click a link from their home computer than if they have to attend a town hall meeting. Having an interactive map to explore instead of a 100-page document makes information easier to digest, adding value to the planning process and, in turn, to the client. 

Chuck Green, senior project manager, points out how mapping is valuable in the design and construction stage for transportation projects. “It gives us an easy way to present interactive 3D images or representations of the area. With just a click, utilities can see what’s under or over a road without leaving their office. GIS tools allow us to see where accidents occur on highways, who is involved, and where they are coming from and going to,” Chuck said. 

In addition, the map can be used to develop strategies for economic growth along roadway corridors as was recently done for WSDOT for their SR-4 Corridor study. Otak input data and created map layers based on multimodal transportation, safety and traffic operations, zoning, and planned growth to project long-term growth.  

One of the more visible projects that incorporated Otak’s web-based mapping was for the Discovery Corridor, an economic development project in Washington. The Discovery Corridor is an area that extends from approximately the I-205/I-5 junction north to La Center that is being developed with a focus on medical, educational, innovation, and technology-focused enterprises and activities. The state wanted a tool to help sell the concept to the surrounding communities,  market available property to developers, and shine a light on how increased traffic and population could impact the area. The map layers information on infrastructure, roads, population, traffic, and more that can be manipulated to find the most efficient, cost-effective, safest, and community-supported ways to grow this area. “The maps can answer crucial questions like how transportation needs can be accommodated without having to widen I-5,” Nathan said.

Completed last year, the Discovery Corridor map incorporates multimedia with embedded photos, maps, and data spreadsheets, as well as drone footage. Users can just click on a map area to get an extended overview along with images. The map became a true asset to the client who can now house the information to share with the public and use as needed, giving them the ability to continuously evolve the information. 

By offering ArcGIS online deliverables Otak provides a platform for clients to explore data, manage assets, collaborate across disciplines, and tell a story geographically. The capability that mapping affords, not only addresses clients’ needs but often fulfills a purpose they may not have previously envisioned or imagined.

A Holistic Approach to Transportation and Community Design

Posted on by OTAK Team

The cool thing about Otak—the reason we love working here—is our complete focus on making the places we live, work, and play even better than they are today.  We do that through our work and through our community activities. The services we provide as transportation engineers and planners are one of the ways we help implement a community’s vision.

Few elements shape a community and how it functions more than transportation. From roads to trails to transit systems, how and how far we travel has a direct impact on the economic and environmental sustainability of a region and ultimately its livability.

For the past thirty years, Otak has been working with city planners, municipal leaders, and developers to design new urban centers, plan transit systems, and restore and protect natural spaces. The hallmark of our work is an integrated multi-disciplinary approach to each project and to community development. We think about the community as a whole and all the implications of a project—a process we believe is critical when it comes to transportation planning.

Transportation engineering planning as a whole.

When we look at the transportation needs of a city or region, we look beyond the immediate problem to gain a broader perspective of priorities and possible solutions. We start by listening to the people who live and work in the community, as well as city leaders. We seek to understand the desires and needs of the community as a whole—residents, businesses, and commuters. We bring into focus the long-term goals, looking years into the future, exploring growth challenges, and possible solutions.

Otak’s continuing work with Community Transit (CT), Snohomish County’s transit provider, is a case in point. We have led the final design work on each of CT’s three BRT lines. Each of these lines is intimately connected with the cities and neighborhoods they serve. A value we provide is that we know those communities and have the experience to use our design talent to improve mobility and make them even better places to live—all while avoiding unwelcome impacts.  

Leveraging limited resources.

By looking at transportation projects as part of a whole, we not only find practical solutions that will not have to be replaced in a few years, we often learn of other pressing needs and projects, and ways to leverage resources and budgets for greater outcomes. What may seem like competing priorities can often work together.

A problem facing many cities today is a backlog of infrastructure repair and maintenance projects, as well as an equally pressing need for infrastructure expansion. The challenge is addressing both with limited funding resources and strict regulatory mandates. Finding workable solutions requires some creativity, but it all comes down to understanding the full range of community needs, current and proposed projects, as well as the regulatory process and the different funding sources available. One of the strengths of our team is we have experienced engineers, designers, and planners who are knowledgeable about both current regulatory guidelines and compliance, and funding and funding streams.

An integrated approach to solving problems.

At Otak, we are very intentional about how we bring various disciplines together—water resources, landscape architecture, civil engineering—enabling our teams to take an integrated approach to planning, design, and construction. It is what sets Otak apart from larger and less experienced firms and has led to exciting opportunities and work we can be proud of.

One such example is the work we are doing in Colorado. On behalf of the City of Manitou Springs, Colorado, an integrated Otak team of structural, civil, and water resource engineers are collaborating with our landscape architects to replace an aging bridge with an aesthetically pleasing, functional, and resilient structure. The new bridge will improve safety for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike, while also incorporating public art and low-maintenance contextual landscaping into the solution. Working together, in partnership with the client and the local community, the Otak team is creating a unique multimodal solution and a beautiful gateway to the Garden of the Gods.

Our planning, engineering, and construction services teams work on a full range of transportation projects throughout the Pacific Northwest and Colorado that are making a difference in how communities remain connected. From community transit projects crossing multiple jurisdictions, and first- and last-mile solutions, to culvert design for improved fish passages, and pedestrian and bike trails, we are solving complex transportation challenges and offering multimodal ways of commuting that present a sustainable model for a resilient future.

Reflections on COVID-19, the impacts on our business and the future

Posted on by OTAK Team

A Rapid Test of Our Capabilities 

COVID-19 has upended our normal routine. We have changed the way we work, interact, create, and contribute across the board. We empathize with those who have lost loved ones due to the pandemic. The changes we have implemented showed us that our company can be flexible while still providing excellent service to our clients and that by adapting to new circumstances we may help create a better environment not just on a large-scale but also within our personal surroundings.   

As Stay-at-Home orders were put in place in the regions where we work, we were able to shift to a predominately remote workplace. Many of our staff were already equipped with a laptop, making us well prepared to pick up and recreate our workspaces from home. Our IT team stepped up to help ease the pains of transition providing training, upgrades, and support. Some of our practice areas already implemented Microsoft Teams for their inter-office and client communications. New users were able to get training on the basics which allowed our groups to continue functioning effectively—and in some cases with improved efficiency!  

This change did not come without its challenges. Moving all meetings to teleconference came with growing pains, whether from a co-worker’s screen freezing as their bandwidth tried to accommodate simultaneous first-grade Zoom meetings, movie streaming, and a video conference, or determining how to best present our team during a virtual interview for a key project pursuit. Additionally, keeping a work-life balance, especially with children and pets became a big task with all family members suddenly at home. 

Moving towards the future

Otak is reflecting on the ways in which this time has impacted our business and what we can realize going forward in order to operate more efficiently, allow employees to maintain a work-life balance, and deliver great work while reducing our footprint as a business. 

Operations

With fewer employees now working from our offices, the need for expansive office space is changing. We still want to give our employees a place to work from, but this begs the question: do we need all of this square footage? It is something that many employers are contemplating, especially those who had office expansions planned for 2020. Each employee may not need their own workspace. Offices could be set up to offer shared hubs or hotel desks for those who primarily work from home in the future. 

Work-Life Balance

Allowing for flexible schedules might be one of our favorite benefits of working from home. Many employees appreciate the flexibility to take a walk, run or bike ride during their lunch break, or even run some errands in the middle of the day when things are less crowded. People with children have learned to work around getting their kids set up for school, doing homework, preparing lunches, and scheduling “after school activities”. Being able to keep multiple priorities balanced looks much different now. Work-life balance also means keeping self-care and mental health a top priority during these stressful times. Many of our employees signed up for the Bike More Challenge in Portland to log their bike trips throughout the month of June. Local yoga studios and gyms have also pivoted to offer remote classes. 

Deliver Great Work 

With our increased collaboration on MS Teams and other video conference platforms, we are able to continue to deliver great work to our clients. In some cases, we have seen project schedules condense, leading to overall cost savings. One reason for this has been more efficient or fewer site visits and less travel time. Additionally, video conferencing allows our project teams to review and work together on project deliverables. We no longer have to wait until everyone is in the office. While it was an adjustment for some, redlining plans and making markups can also be faster when done digitally. 

Impacts on Otak’s Sustainable Practices

All of these advantages come with the underlying benefit of reducing our overall footprint as a company. Most of our staff are no longer commuting to the office each day, which reduces vehicle emissions as well as commuting time. We have cut back on printing and paper by emailing invoices and digitally signing or stamping when allowed, reducing our waste stream company-wide. With fewer people in the office, our utility demands are decreased. And our company travel to project site visits, between offices, and to client meetings has been drastically reduced! 

This pandemic also challenges some of Otak’s approaches to sustainability in other ways. While our travel to project sites may be reduced, when we do travel for a site visit, we are advised to travel individually. For employees in our Portland office, the health risk of taking public transportation means many employees will prefer to drive (or bike!) to work when offices reopen. The impact of these choices on traffic volumes in our cities remains unclear. 

Despite this pandemic and the disruptions in our societal norms and economies, Otak is working to see a bright side. We are working diligently to implement the lessons we have learned and continue to operate more efficiently while providing a safe and welcoming workplace each employee can be proud to call their second home.

Otak’s Western Washington SMAP Report

Posted on by OTAK Team

In December 2019, Otak surveyed staff from 26 Western Washington’s Phase II municipal stormwater permittees to assess their preparedness to develop an effective Stormwater Management Action Plan.

Under the 2019-2024 NPDES permit’s SMAP requirement, cities and counties will need to develop a capital improvement program specifically to improve the water quality of their rivers, lakes, and streams—a first for many of the permittees.

The study’s results are highlighted in Otak’s white paper “How Prepared Are Phase II Western Washington Jurisdictions to Create Stormwater Management Action Plans?” and covers:
* how well SMAP requirements are understood,
* how stormwater management is communicated between departments, and
* what resources can help permittees reach compliance.

Four Ways an Art + Science Approach Produces Better Results

Posted on by Otak Staff

More than 500 years ago, renaissance artist Leonardo DaVinci said “art is the queen of all sciences, communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world.” Just as DaVinci believed a person needs to study the science of art and the art of science to develop a complete mind, the marriage of art, structure, sustainability, and planning is essential to developing complete projects.

Communities built for the 21st century need a balanced approach, with input from multiple disciplines and solutions that are unique to the client and project area. In this age, projects are too complicated for either art or science alone. Here are four ways art + science = better results:

1. Planning and architecture are not afterthoughts

Most companies in our industry primarily emphasize either art (planning and architecture) or science (science and engineering). And in most A/E firms, engineers take the lead by managing projects, being the public face to clients, and running the company.

For the best results, clients need to be able to tap into the combined talent and backgrounds of architects, planners, engineers, scientists, and other team members. Planners and architects need to serve important roles on multidisciplinary projects.

2. Clients and communities are best served by a multidisciplinary approach

Very few challenges can be solved within the realm of one discipline. Try replacing a road without addressing water quality challenges, for example. The best project teams are balanced, with input from multiple disciplines creating solutions that are unique for the client and community. Whether designing the expansion of King County Metro’s bus transit bases to support the county’s booming bus ridership, developing an overlay district for Denver’s hot RiNo neighborhood, or designing a leading-edge, mixed-use, car-free building with a hotel and housing in Portland’s trendy Pearl District, clients and communities are served better when we bring different types of expertise to the table. A diversity of thought results in a stronger project and 21st century communities.

3. All disciplines are equally valued and appreciated

In many large A/E firms, each discipline operates as its own business. Some clients might partner with a firm for years, never learning how the company could help tackle their challenges in other areas. When a client issues a request for proposals, companies need to form teams that contain the best subject matter experts from across all practice areas and a project manager who can get the job done right, no matter their area of expertise. What’s critical is that the entire team collaborates to deliver the best service possible to our clients.

4. Employees can bring art and science in their own lives

Employees who are driven by their individual passions to ask questions, find the answers, and leverage their collective passions are more likely to improve their communities and the world.

Take Zaq Dohallow, for example, an architectural designer driven by a passion for science. He interpolates raw data to inform the design process, and he integrates incentives to promote sustainable design measures. As one of Otak’s sustainability champions, he is also our go-to person for green tech systems to improve building performance.

And then there’s Ann Nguyen, who views landscape architecture and planning as a compilation of environmental design, policy, and science. As an urban planner and gifted sketch artist, Ann applies her art and science approach to her public outreach for the City of Denver Santa Fe Streetscape; Food Bridge International Marketplace and Center for Asian Pacific American Women; the Cleworth Architectural Legacy Project; and other organizations.

When Otak’s founders conceived of the company in 1981, they looked at the region’s planning, landscape architecture, and engineering firms and imagined a firm that was integrated and collaborative—an approach that’s art + science. Want to learn how Otak is living out our founders’ art + science approach by serving our clients well? Contact us to find out more.

At the Nexus of Inclusion and Innovation

Posted on by Otak Staff

Believing that diversity fosters innovation and strengthens our skills, at Otak, we’re working to build a culture of equity and inclusion. Our professionals come from diverse backgrounds, and we regularly collaborate across the disciplines of planning, architecture, landscape architecture, civil engineering, structural engineering, project and construction management, natural resource sciences, and other areas of expertise. This interdisciplinary dynamic embraces equity, inclusion, and valuing each other’s unique perspectives. We continue to explore how to foster this aspect of our culture even more and to a greater level of depth throughout all our offices and teams.

In October, Otak leadership participated in a workshop, hosted by the Medici Group of New York, to learn more about how diversity can directly contribute to innovative ideas and our success in business.

Our thought leaders from Medici, Sharang Biswas and Juliana Echeverri, facilitated interesting discussions and group exercises, helping us experience first-hand the magic that can happen when diversity and inclusion overlap with innovation and strategy as shown in their signature approach graphic to the right.

Participants broke into five small teams organized to include people of diverse disciplines, backgrounds, interests, ages, genders, geographic locations, and technical expertise. Each person shared information about themselves in short phrases and key words, writing on a large piece of paper in the form of a mind map. Then team members asked each other questions to gain a better understanding of each person’s story. The next step got participants’ ideas flowing—each team was asked to randomly pick two items on the mind map and come up with a new business-related idea or concept. The last step was to repeat the same exercise, but to brainstorm new ideas that were specific to a strategic goal of the company.

The Medici Group, founded by Frans Johansson, author of The Medici Effect (Harvard Business Press), a foundational book on innovation, and The Click Moment (Penguin Portfolio), helps companies activate diversity into an innovative edge by breaking down silos and leveraging diverse talents. Just as the Medici family catalyzed the Renaissance by bringing together people from different disciplines, cultures, and backgrounds, the Medici Group inspires the Renaissance of today.

Who were the Medicis?
The Medicis gained prominence in Italy in the early 15th century as wool merchants and bankers whose businesses were extremely profitable. They were leaders in business, politics, religion (three popes were Medicis), and the arts. Together with other prominent families, the Medicis inspired the Renaissance by funding creators from a wide range of disciplines—scientists, sculptors, poets, philosophers, financiers, painters, architects, and others, who converged on the city of Florence, where they learned from one another, broke down barriers, and forged a new world based on new ideas.