OHM | Architects. Engineers. Planners.
By Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, Inc.
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Podcast Description
Orchard, Hiltz &McCliment, Inc. (OHM) is an award-winning architectural, engineering and planning firm committed to Advancing Communities. We opened our doors in Livonia, Michigan in 1962 and we've been growing ever since. OHM provides architectural design, planning, urban design, civil, environmental, and transportation engineering, surveying and GIS services to municipalities, agencies and institutions.
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| 1 | More that You Bargained For: How the “Simple Method” could be Overestimating Stormwater Pollution | In a guest editorial published in the May 2011 issue of Stormwater, the Journal for Surface Water Quality Professionals, OHM’s wizards of water, Scott Kaiser, GISP CFM, and Murat Ulasir, PhD PE, point out that a commonly used stormwater management planning model can overestimate pollutant loads by 20%. Kaiser and Ulasir share a formula refinement to more accurately determine pollutant quantities that they’ve dubbed “The Simple Method 2.0.” The original Simple Method model was developed in 1987 as a way to estimate four regulated pollutants - total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorous (TP), or total nitrogen (TN) – for land use and stormwater management scenarios in urban areas. This method allows the user to input parameters such as pollutant load concentration, watershed area, and annual runoff to determine an annual load. The output typically yields pounds per year of pollutant loading into receiving streams or natural features. So what’s wrong with being simple? It can be useful. The simple method provides a general planning estimate of likely storm pollutant export from areas at the scale of a development site, catchment or subwatershed. However, Kaiser and Ulasir caution that, because the simple method is widely discussed in water quality literature and used in public forums on water-quality projects, its potential for overestimating can cause problems. Those problems could take the form of disappointing results from post-BMP sampling and money wasted on overdesigned treatment structures. Since Kaiser and Ulasir are the kind of guys who eat technical challenges for lunch (and then ask for seconds), they created a new model that removes the overestimation and refines the results. Their model replaces the annual runoff variable in the equation with what’s known as the “first flush” calculation. First flush describes the initial portion of the rain event that is considered to be the pollution-contributing portion of a storm (the early runoff that cleanses the landscape of pollutants.) In Michigan, where OHM is headquartered, the first flush is measured at 0.5 inches, although that measurement may vary from region to region. The article describes the new Simple Method 2.0 equations, along with guidance on how to obtain accurate precipitation data from public sources, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA.) The results? In a southeast Michigan example using sampled precipitation data, the Total Suspended Solids (TSS) value was about 21% less than the amount using the original simple method. For more information on the Simple Method 2.0, or to get help with your community’s stormwater management planning, contact Scott or Murat at 888-522-6711. | 6/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Retroreflectivity | New Rules for Retroreflectivity Listen to the PODCAST! How do you maintain the traffic signs in your community? Below is a simple self test. Choose the answer that reflects your standard practices: We replace traffic signs only if they have been knocked down or if a resident complains about how poor they look. On an irregular basis, during regular business hours, we sweep through parts of town and replace the traffic signs that seem the most faded or damaged. At least once a year, we perform nighttime inspections to discover which traffic signs are no longer visible. We track the age of traffic signs and replace all those that have reached a specific age. We have a fancy instrument that measures the traffic sign face for minimum performance. We also have a schedule to routinely measure signs and replace those that are substandard. If you checked answer 1 or 2, get ready for a change. In December 2007, the Federal Highway Administration published a new rule that requires minimum retroreflectivity for signs on public roads. Retroreflectivity is the scientific term that describes the ability of a surface to return light back to its source. Retroreflective signs and pavement markings bounce light from vehicle headlights back toward the vehicle and the driver’s eyes, making signs and pavement markings visible to the driver.* The key to compliance is to have a system in place. Essential elements of a compliant system include regularly inspecting signs and replacing those that no longer function adequately. If you checked answers 3, 4 or 5, in our self test, you have the makings of a management system. Your next step is to make sure that you know the new requirements, and then perform a quick review of your system to make sure that you are fully compliant. If you checked answer 1 or 2 in our self test, run (don’t walk) to your friendly engineering advisor and get help creating a system to manage this important asset. Deadlines for compliance will be here before you know it. For help or advice interpreting the new requirements, or creating a plan to comply contact: Stephen Dearing, Manager of Traffic Engineering Services - 888.522.6711 ohm-advisors.com | 8/3/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 3 | Sustainable Suburbs: From Drivable Suburbanism to Walkable Urbanism | In this information-packed presentation below, Jim Houk, co-founder of architecture and planning firm, Bird Houk Collaborative (now a division of OHM) shares best practices in suburban redevelopment – creating suburban sustainability. Jim, a certified planner and market-based redevelopment expert, reviews the history of town planning, current social, demographic and psychographic trends, and shares best practices in making places better for people. What is suburban sustainability? It’s the sweet spot where people/lifestyle, the planet, and economic prosperity intersect. I don’t know about you, but sounds like a great place to me. Sustainable Suburbs: From Drivable Suburbanism to Walkable UrbanismView more presentations from OHM Advancing Communities. | 6/15/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 4 | Walkability: Key to Sustainable Suburbs | When it comes to advancing communities, walkability is a hot, hot topic right now. The Infrastructurist, a blog focused on America's infrastructure, recently featured a post that caused big electronic buzz, How Cul-de-Sacs are Killing Your Community. The post highlights a research study performed at the University of British Columbia of the effects of cul-de-sacs in neighborhoods in King County, Washington. The study found that neighborhoods with cul-de-sacs, rather than interconnected streets, promote more automobile use. The Infrastructurist post [May 7] reports that the UBC research and others show that the higher a neighborhood's walkability, the greater the walking and biking. More walking and biking results in less air pollution, less fuel use and thinner residents. The Michigan Municipal League's magazine, The Review just published an issue focused on walkable communities. In it, Dan Burden of www.walkablecommunties.org share his 12 Characteristics of a Walkable Community. 1. Intact Downtowns 2. Residential Densities, Mixed-Income, Mixed Use 3. Public Space 4. Universal Design 5. Key Streets are Speed Controlled 6. Well-Linked Streets and Trails 7. Properly Scaled Design 8. City/Village is Designed for People 9. Community is Thinking Small 10. There are Many People Walking 11. The Community and Neighborhoods Have a Vision 12. Decision Makers are Forward Thinking Besides being focused on "place making" as an essential part of advancing communities, we're working with one of our long-time client communities to create a more walkable village. In future posts, I'll share some of the steps the village is taking to increase pedestrian access, safety and a ssense of "place." | 5/18/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 4 Episodes |
