Signs of Change Over the last several years, the rise of ridesourcing (a.k.a. TNCs, ride hailing, and ridesharing, such as Uber and Lyft) has brought the challenge of curb management to the forefront for cities large and small. Unmanaged curb access can impact a surprisingly broad range of critical city goals, such as transit access, […]
Intimidated by e-scooters? Not sure how to find the best bus route to get to work? Worried biking will be too hard? Here’s how Alta answered those questions in Austin, TX. For the past three years, Alta’s programs team has supported the City of Austin and Capital Metro by encouraging residents throughout the city to […]
At Alta, our programs team helps communities get the most out of the transportation options available to them. We support residents in diverse communities in overcoming the barriers they face to walking, biking, and using transit to get around. One way we’re doing this is through Motivational Interviewing, which is a goal-oriented and participant-centered style […]
Central City in Motion is a Go This Thanksgiving, there’s a lot to be grateful for. Here at Alta, we’re celebrating the Portland City Council’s unanimous vote to adopt Central City in Motion, which will make downtown streets safer, more efficient, and equitable for all Portland residents. The November 15 decision pledged to build a series […]
Alta rewards employees at their five-year mark with a travel stipend to any international destination that provides experiences related to Alta’s business. This reflection recaps Ryan Johnson’s recent travels through SE Asia. At any other time and place, bicycling in a steady rain would be one of the least pleasurable experiences I can imagine. Yet […]
Blog 1 of 3 —Reflections on Bike Safety Between March and June, 2018, my wife and I bicycled nearly 5,000 kilometers riding through 6 countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Before the trip started, one of my fears was that the roads were going to be really dangerous and […]
By nature, community planning is forward looking and speculative. In forecasting future investments, we tend to look at factors such as historic trends and growth projections. When designing streets, we turn to industry standards that tend to plan for extreme events. This ranges from multi-lane highways built for rush hour to parking standards requiring a […]
I know what you are thinking: “wait a minute, I thought Alta focused on active mobility. Why am I reading a blog post about motorcycles?” Yes, Alta’s mission is to create active communities, but in order to make streets safe for walking and bicycling, it is essential to understand the full transportation context of a […]
By: Marisa DeMull, EIT, Engineer, Alta Planning + Design Revelations are rare in our industry. Transportation engineers are not known for being swift and bold; instead we focus on precision and consistency. As designers, we design our projects using various guidelines such as the AASHTO Green Book and Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. We […]
Before I visited Singapore, people told me that there is no way anyone rides a bicycle there. They used the rationale of the climate being too unpleasant. I went with an open mind and was astonished by what I found — yes, the climate does not suggest undertaking any unnecessary physical activity, but also, there were bicycles […]
