Our #EmployeeSpotlight shines on a brand new Otakian, one who has already enhanced our capabilities just by coming on board. Please give a warm welcome to Dave Hawkins, Principal at Tarr Whitman Group (TWG), a new division of Otak!
The Making of an Industry Leader
Dave is a graduate of the University of Washington (UW) with a B.S. in Building Construction, along with an MBA from the UW’s Foster School of Business. Dave’s connection with the UW runs deep, as his father even ran the College of Engineering. His career has spanned over 25 years on both the contractor and owner sides helping deliver some of the biggest capital projects and programs in the Pacific Northwest. He describes his expertise as the intersection of business and engineering, and his background includes contracts, value engineering, risk management, scheduling, and change management among others. Dave also loves the outdoors. He leads Canyoneering trips with the Seattle Mountaineers and is trained as a river raft guide. With more than enough experience under his belt and a shared love of natural spaces, Dave and the TWG team seemed like a prime fit into the Otak family.
New Horizons, New Services
Dave and the rest of the TWG team joined Otak in January 2022, and they have already hit the ground running in making our service lines stronger. The addition of TWG comes with the unveiling of Otak Project Controls. When asked what excites him about joining Otak, Dave said,
“Otak has an outstanding leadership team. We were impressed with the Otak team immediately. Otak and TWG plan to grow together and pursue what TWG does best – deliver mega projects and programs.”
To us, the feeling is mutual. We at Otak were immediately impressed with not only Dave as a leader, but also the TWG and their extensive, far-reaching body of work.
Past experience equals future success
Dave and TWG bring with them extensive program work at the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Sound Transit, the Port of Seattle, Amgen, Microsoft, and even on the Blue Origin Rocket Program. Their legacy in the area has already expedited Otak’s access to major work programs across the Pacific Northwest. In the Puget Sound region, TWG has given Otak a platform for the growth of its construction management vision thanks to their existing relationships within the project controls sector. When asked about TWG’s past success, Dave gave deference to Walter Tarr, their President and CEO:
“Walter Tarr started the company 16 years ago and is a big part of our past and current successes. We also hired smart people who did great work. That great work built a lot of trust with our clients. Those clients keep coming back to us and asking us to do more.”
We wholeheartedly agree. Otak prides itself on being a team of leaders, and when more leaders come into the fold, we only get more agile, and more experienced.
The Same Great Service, Only Bigger
Dave stresses the importance of maintaining existing relationships with TWG clients, adding that as Otak becomes more capable, TWG does too:
Over time we believe our clients will come to understand that joining Otak brings additional service offerings that go way beyond what TWG has done for them. Our team now has the depth and breadth to prime bigger projects, get involved earlier in programs, and bring more service offerings to our existing clients.
It’s go big or go home at Otak, and when we find someone who exemplifies that value, we can’t help but find a way to bring them on board. We’re glad to have Dave and his team among our ranks, and there is no doubt that Otak and TWG will continue to grow together under the same umbrella.
Let’s hear it for Dave, and here’s to all the great things that Otak and TWG can accomplish together.
At Otak, we deal in cornerstones. Whether it be on a beautiful building or one of our values— cornerstones make us who we are in every sense of the word. One of these cornerstones is our projects, the work we do to elevate our communities and make them accessible, sustainable, and vibrant. Which is why when we were called upon to handle one of the biggest school bond programs in Oregon’s history, we welcomed the challenge, rolled up our sleeves, and got to work.
This was the case in 2018, when voters approved a $619.7 million funding bond for the Salem-Keizer School District. The goals? Relieve overcrowding, expand vocational and science learning spaces, improve safety and security throughout the buildings, protect the public investment with planning for upgrading infrastructure, and expand the wireless network for improved equity of access to technology in mind. With the bond addressing every educational and support building in the district, our multidisciplinary approach wasn’t just desired, it was vital to the project’s success.
Building a Team
The project needed a qualified manager. Looking no further than our own team, we tappedBob Collins, PMP, CCM, to lead 19 other Otak employees in working with the district to ensure strong project planning and delivery. Tasked with developing a plan to make the district’s aspirations a reality, we provided management services so voters could be confident their tax dollars would be stretched for maximum benefit to students and the community.
Tools of the Trade
We utilized a variety of tools to accomplish this. First, we introduced the district to Smartsheet, a significantly less costly project management information system that allows for easy tracking of costs, tasks, and schedules. Smartsheet made it simple for them (and us) to cross-reference and standardize work so that each project optimally benefitted from the influx of funding.
Second, we developed a set of guiding principles and official specifications for the scope of work, establishing a clear roadmap to project completion. Serving as a guiding light for 25 pre-qualified, local contractors and architects, we provided an action plan that contended with the ambitions of the district. Our project management and construction management capabilities presented a direct benefit to this program, and were a key factor in how we won such a far-reaching project.
Reinforcing our Values
This all ties into Otak’s “Why.” When it comes to making equitable communities and elevating our built environment, we do those things not because it’s lucrative, but because the project has benefits that will last generations to come. We believe in creating places that will benefit the many, not just the few, and our growing experience with schools is a prime example. When students have adequate facilities for learning and growth, the benefit to society extends beyond our body of work, and instead translates to value-added approach that serves the public good.
In Bob’s own words, “We are actively matching and meeting the goals of the bond with all of the tools at our disposal. We do this by making taxpayer dollars stretch further with tools like Smartsheet, and through our expertise, we’re confident we can deliver facilities to students that need them.”
So, join us in celebrating the work we do that benefits scores of children within the Salem-Keizer district, and here’s to continued success as we leverage everything we can to accomplish this work for the good of all.
As we prepare to observe Black History Month here in the United States, we are reminded of the significant ways that Black Americans have contributed to and improved our communities through innovation. As we consider the Architecture and Engineering industry, one cannot separate the transformative nature of the work that we perform on a daily basis from the people who made so much of what we do possible. And even when we aren’t working, we see, use and enjoy inventions that Black Americans developed to improve our way of life.
Are you considering a roundabout as an engineering solution to improve traffic flow and relieve congestion? You can thank Benjamin Banneker, a watchmaker, almanac author and surveyor, who led the redesign of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) incorporating a series of traffic circles to address the misalignment of roads left by a previous roadway designer. Are you designing a signalized intersection? Look to the genius of Garrett A. Morgan who developed the three-light traffic signal. Do the streets that you designed need to be maintained? Charles Brooks has just what you need – a motorized street sweeper.
Do you enjoy the variation in color that you are able to use when drafting engineering designs? You can thank Mark Dean for co-inventing the IBM PC monitor. And speaking of computers, something that none of us can do without, the gigahertz chip – a revolutionary piece of technology that is able to do a billion calculations per second and is in every modern computer, was also invented by Mark Dean.
Designing a light rail corridor? Concerned about fuel efficiency and climate friendly solutions? Well, you can look to Granville T. Woods who invented the ‘troller,” a grooved metal wheel that allowed street cars (later known as “trolleys”) to collect electric power from overhead wires. And speaking of trains (or better stated, rail) don’t forget about the automatic car coupler (invented by Andrew Jackson Beard) because the railcars need to connect with ease.
Need to make a Teams or Zoom call? Make sure that your microphone (developed by James West) isn’t on mute! It’s a good thing that we have Marian Croak’s voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP) to keep us connected. And don’t forget to add a GIF before you end the meeting…thanks for the laughs, Lisa Gelobter. Taking a ride to the 8th floor on the elevator? The automatic elevator doors were invented by Alexander Miles over 100 years ago with design elements that have stood the test of time.
Are you going to take a client out for an afternoon of golf? Well, don’t forget the golf tees created by Dr. George Grant. And, if you get lost on your way to the course, pull up your GPS (invented by Gladys West) and make a quick call on your cellular phone (invented by Henry Sampson) to let your foursome know that you’ll be late. Thank goodness there’s caller ID on your touch-tone telephone (both invented by Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson) allowing you to find their contact information and dial with ease.
Going to the company picnic? Don’t forget your Super Soakers (Lonnie Johnson). Going on vacation and need to take a long-distance flight (not the first flight…the first long-distance one)? Charles W. Chappelle can help you fly the friendly skies. Just need to take a short hop to your next destination? Let Paul E. Williams helicopter get you there. And Katherine Johnson, the NASA research mathematician who made the 1969 moon landing possible, can get you to the moon and back.
While I’ve listed several inventors of significance, there are hundreds of individuals with thousands of inventions, that I haven’t. If you’re interested in learning more, visit your local library or check out sites like www.ASALH.org (Association for the Study of African American Life and History), Daily Hive – Inventions by Black People, or this list of inventors and scientists.
…and that, folks, is the ‘Real McCoy’ (a phrase suggesting authenticity that is attributed to Elijah McCoy who received nearly 60 patents related to lubrication systems, who developed designs for modern ironing boards, the lawn sprinkler and other machines)!
During an equity and design conversation held within the PLA group this summer, Alex Padgett and I chose to discuss the inequities within the existing homeless crisis, calling to action the need to focus on communities of color for affordable housing projects. During our conversation, many designers brought up nuances and complications with affordable housing policies and design, and it became apparent that while many of us within the field of planning and design may understand the need for affordable housing, our clients and communities may not. Stigma surrounding affordable housing often leads to opposition within communities, leading to questioning surrounding “the type of people” who will be living in affordable units. Furthermore, so many people in our conversation were shocked to hear how heavily impacted communities of color were by homelessness that I felt compelled to help provide some resources so that we can all be on the same page in identifying the problem at hand. During my research, I was curious to help formulate a current snapshot of where housing affordability stands right now by seeing how much the pandemic may have worsened housing disparities or exacerbated numbers of houseless individuals, particularly in Portland. I believe that in order to properly address the housing crisis, we need to extensively educate ourselves on best practices for navigating policies, advocating for change and designing for our clients. I hope the information provided here will give you a similar interest in learning more about how we can solve this problem at hand.
What is affordable housing?
Affordable housing is a term that causes a lot of misconception within our communities. Many assume that affordable housing is only for those in the lowest income bracket, and while that group is most impacted by increased housing costs, we all have a threshold for what is considered “affordable”. The department of housing and urban development defines affordable housing as the cost for housing and utilities that does not exceed a percentage threshold of the occupants’ gross income. In the 1940s, federal subsidized housing set the affordable rent rate at 20% of gross income. This number rose to 25% in 1961, and 30% in 1981, where it has become the standard indicator of affordability for housing, whether it be rented or owned. Households that spend more than this are considered cost-burdened, and those who spend more than 50% of their income on housing are considered severely cost-burdened.
Who can’t afford housing?
As housing costs have risen more rapidly than wages since the 1960s, the issue of cost burdening has become ever more prevalent. In 2019, 30.2% of all households nationwide were cost-burdened and 14% were severely cost-burdened. Renters face higher cost burdening, at rates of 46% moderately cost-burdened and 24% severely cost-burdened, compared to homeowners at 21% and 9% respectively. By contrast, in 1960, only 12% of renters were considered cost-burdened. The primary reason for this is that housing costs have risen faster than the median wage, especially among renters. For the past eight years in a row, the median sales price of single-family homes rose faster than median household income.
Due to high housing costs, homeownership has been in a steady decline for over a decade. High expenditures of income towards rent make saving to purchase a home much more difficult. To combat severe cost burdens, those seeking housing often have to look further away from where they work, overcrowd their families into houses that are too small, and reduce spending in other areas such as transportation, health care, food, and education. Households that are cost-burdened are also much less likely to have sufficient savings for unexpected events such as illness, unemployment, or disaster.
Who is most impacted by housing cost burdens?
The U.S. has a long and recent history of discrimination against African Americans, stemming from lasting impacts of the Jim Crow era, and filled with redlining policies and systematic displacement of black communities. From 1933 to 1964, public policies denied housing, mortgages, and insurance to black Americans and segregated black families into urban housing projects with little access to community infrastructure. Meanwhile, white middle- and lower-class families were able to purchase housing at state-sponsored rates and have continued to reap the benefits of owning that property as it gains value, passing down that accrued wealth through generations. Once communities of color were established in segregated areas, many were displaced for developments intended to benefit white communities. One example is Portland’s Albina district, which suffered resident displacement and tearing down of homes during the ‘60s and ‘70s to build the I-5 freeway and expand a local hospital.
Even today, implicit bias and racism among banks and realtors results in fewer black families being approved for mortgages. According to 2020 data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, lenders deny mortgages for black applicants at a rate 80% higher than that of white applicants, further immobilizing black families on the path to homeownership. Racism, segregation, redlining, and further displacement of black communities have resulted in only 43% of black households owning their home, compared to 73% of white households. People of color (POC) are twice as likely to live in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty and 5-12% more likely to have cost burdens than their white counterparts. The lack in homeownership has only increased the wealth gap between white and black families, thus perpetuating a cycle of black households bearing a larger and larger portion of housing cost burdens.
In Portland, homelessness disproportionately impacts communities of color, with POC accounting for 39% of the homeless population. In particular, Portland recorded a 48% increase in unsheltered African Americans from 2013-2015 and saw increases in homelessness among Native Americans, Latinos, and Asians. While Portland’s homeless shelters are consistently overcrowded, half of Portland’s homeless population remained unsheltered in 2015. Nationwide, African Americans comprise 13% of the general population and 40% of the homeless population. Native Americans represent 1% of the general population and 4.2% of the homeless population. Those who share the highest housing cost burdens are also most likely to face housing insecurity and homelessness.
How has COVID-19 impacted the housing crisis?
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the housing market and housing crisis in multiple ways. For those already living in a cost-burdened situation, COVID presented as an unforeseen and uncontrollable disaster. Overcrowded homes prohibited quarantine in the case of infection, disproportionately impacting Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and African American households. Many people lost their jobs, and in the summer of 2020, 25% of renters failed to make a rent payment in full or on time. Many cities saw an increase in homeless individuals during the start of the pandemic due to evictions and loss of income, and systems in place to provide aid faced the additional stress of maintaining safe measures to protect this particularly vulnerable population. Data has shown that loss of income from the pandemic and failure to pay rent and mortgages has disproportionately affected POC.
In order to protect renters who were unable to pay rent due to COVID’s impacts, the federal government put a moratorium on evictions. This, however, has only been a temporary solution to what will likely be a long-term issue. As we see the moratorium expiring, many tenants will be expected not only to resume paying regular rent, but also promptly pay backlogged rent from previously missed months. Some states, such as Oregon, have enacted extensions on paying backlogged rent and are requiring renters who take advantage of this system to apply for rent assistance. These systems have been confusing and difficult to navigate for tenants, and it is not known if these programs will be enough to combat the disparity in rent payments, or if we will still be seeing evictions increase once government protections expire.
Not only has COVID created additional strain between renters and landlords, but it has heavily impacted the market value of homes. Between quarter 1 of 2020 and quarter 1 of 2021, housing prices increased by 16% on average nationwide, with some metropolitan areas, such as Boise, ID, seeing 28% increase in housing values. Portland saw a slightly less, but still precipitous, increase of 14%, with the highest increases seen among homes below median market value. This was due to a restricted housing market with fewer homes selling during the pandemic and increased buyer demand driving up the market value. This growth is unsustainable and further exacerbates the affordable housing gap, decreasing the likelihood of those looking to get out of the renting cycle being able to purchase their first home anytime soon. Homes being built during the pandemic with increased costs of materials will likely further increase market value for new homes for purchase.
Conclusion
People of color have consistently faced greater barriers to acquiring affordable housing, and despite U.S. policy no longer explicitly allowing segregation and redlining, the structural racism of the Jim Crow era remains in the housing market to this day. The pandemic has only further exacerbated existing disparities in housing affordability and homelessness among people of color, with people of color experiencing higher rates of layoffs, more difficulty paying rent on time, and higher exposure to COVID-19 itself. The challenge of providing affordable housing for all is greater than ever, and it requires careful and considerate planning and design to be successful and avoid further alienation of the communities of color who need it most.
“2020 State of the Nation’s Housing Report: 4 Key Takeaways for 2021.” Cost of Home. Habitat for Humanity. Accessed 2021. https://www.habitat.org/costofhome/2020-state-nations-housing-report-lack-affordable-housing.
Balasubramanian, Sai. “The Covid-19 Pandemic Has Fueled a Crisis in the Housing Market.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, April 27, 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/saibala/2021/04/27/the-covid-19-pandemic-has-fueled-a-crisis-in-the-housing-market/?sh=4d8cb60a5928.
Bloom, Ester. “A Shocking Number of Americans Live in Housing They Can’t Afford, According to Harvard Study.” CNBC. CNBC, July 13, 2017. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/13/harvard-study-heres-how-many-americans-cant-afford-housing.html.
“COVID-19 Homelessness Response.” A Home for Everyone. A Home for Everyone, February 2, 2021. http://ahomeforeveryone.net/covid-homelessness.
“Defining Housing Affordability: Hud User.” Defining Housing Affordability | PD&R Edge. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Accessed August 18, 2021. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-featd-article-081417.html.
Gartland, Erik. “2019 Income-Rent Gap Underscores Need for Rental Assistance, Census Data Show.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. CBPP, September 18, 2020. https://www.cbpp.org/blog/2019-income-rent-gap-underscores-need-for-rental-assistance-census-data-show.
“Homelessness Statistics.” Homelessness Toolkit | City of Portland. The City of Portland, February 12, 2016. https://www.portlandoregon.gov/toolkit/article/562207.
“House Price Index Datasets.” Federal Housing Finance Agency. FHFA, 2021. https://www.fhfa.gov/DataTools/Downloads/Pages/House-Price-Index-Datasets.aspx#qat.
Olick, Diana. “A Troubling Tale of a Black Man Trying to Refinance His Mortgage.” CNBC. CNBC, August 19, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/19/lenders-deny-mortgages-for-blacks-at-a-rate-80percent-higher-than-whites.html.
“Oregon Eviction Moratorium FAQ.” Portland.gov. City of Portland, Oregon, 2021. https://www.portland.gov/phb/rental-services/helpdesk/oregon-eviction-moratorium-faq.
Parker, Njeri. “The Link Between Racism and Homelessness.” JOIN. JOIN PDX, July 23, 2020. https://joinpdx.org/the-link-between-racism-and-homelessness/.
Rep. America’s Rental Housing – Meeting Challenges, Building on Opportunities. Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, 2009.
Rep. The State of the Nation’s Housing 2020. Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, 2020.
Roos, Roy. “Albina Area (Portland).” The Oregon Encyclopedia. The Oregon Historical Society, May 15, 2021. https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/albina_area_portland_/#.YRrGSYhKiUk.
As COVID-19 swept across the globe in 2020, nearly every sector of the US economy was impacted, including the construction industry, which faced supply chain issues, labor shortages, and rising material costs. Now, in the latter half of 2021, as the world is fluctuating between a receding pandemic and variant surges, there is a lingering sense of uncertainty. While the construction industry as a whole is in a strong position (nearly back to pre-pandemic levels), rising costs are a reality project owners and contractors are facing.
At Otak, one of our roles as engineers, architects, planners, and project managers is to help our clients navigate and mitigate the unpredictability of cost variations. This requires accurately projecting the future cost and availability of specific materials and using a collaborative approach and design process that considers all the variables and factors impacting a project’s Total Installed Cost, many of which need to be identified before entering the design phase.
Pre-Design Risk Management
Kevin Dooley, Otak Senior Project Engineer, stresses the importance of gathering accurate data for a project prior to beginning the design. He specifically cites the need for accurate survey and geotechnical data as being critical, stating, “we don’t want to do a design based on an aerial photograph, only to later discover the soil at the project site is not optimal, and the top two feet need to be removed. That’s a significant cost to have to absorb. When we uncover unforeseen site conditions in the early conceptual design stage, we can plan accordingly and eliminate costly surprises.”
Much of the preliminary work that aids in risk management also yields better project outcomes. Kevin explains that Otak’s teams “put in more time in the beginning because we’re doing a lot of research and groundwork that is foundational to good design.” This research includes the aforementioned site analysis, as well as reviewing historical local data relative to materials and construction costs, inflation trends, and current market conditions. “There is a large body of statistical and historical data we can tap into, as well as Otak’s own extensive database of project information,” Matt Marshall, Otak Regional Business Development Manager, says. He adds that “we can apply that data and weigh the options with our clients before deciding which direction to go.”
Despite rising costs in general, Scott Belonger, Otak Senior Project Engineer, points out the need to “verify actual costs and not assume that everything is going up. The commonly held perception may be that prices are up by fifty percent for a specific material, but in reality, we may find the price hasn’t really changed.” Knowing upfront the reality of costs, and communicating those costs to clients, allows teams to effectively proceed with designs and for clients to predictably budget for capital projects. It may take more time upfront, but ultimately, this due diligence saves time and costs in the end.
Integrated Design Approach
Otak’s integrated multidisciplinary approach allows for a full range of expertise and alternate perspectives in project design and helps ensure multiple factors and contingencies have been considered. Collaborating with a team of colleagues, sub-consultants, and partners aids in this process. As Kevin Timmins, Otak Vice President and Water Resource Engineer, says, “it makes us more aware of all the different parts of a given project. It deepens our understanding, not just with the work that each of us does, but also makes it easier to anticipate potential problems and costs.”
Strong relationships with contractors and sub-consultant partners also help project managers paint an accurate picture of total projected costs. “We’ve worked with some sub-consultants enough times now that we know what to expect their services to cost under different situations,” Kevin says. “Having that understanding, we can help our clients build a more reliable project budget.”
Budget Management
Helping clients navigate and manage project costs goes beyond accurately predicting expenditures—it also identifies how a project can be completed within their budget. As Scott explains, “there are a couple of ways we can do this. We can scale back the project or identify ways we can phase in work to reduce the immediate scope, but efficiently add to it in the future.” This requires working collaboratively with clients to ensure they are fully aware of their options and that priority objectives are met for any given project.
Another approach is working with clients to find additional funding sources, which sometimes involves looking at other slated projects in a given area and planning projects in conjunction.
At the end of the day, effectively managing costs, budgets, and removing unpredictability boil down to accurate data, collaboration, and open communication. As Scott and Kevin Timmins both state, “it comes down to us working with the owner to find the best solutions based on a complete cost picture and maintaining regular communication throughout the design process.”
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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 arethreatened, 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.”
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.
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