Academy for Community Transportation Innovation

The major purpose of the project is to further the adoption and objectives of the national contextsensitive design/solutions initiative by developing and providing education and professional development opportunities through a series of educational and training initiatives. This is to build upon the unique and highly successful two-day workshop that has been offered to transportationrelated professionals numerous times in Kentucky and throughout the states. While the evaluations from that workshop have been extremely favorable there has been an expressed need for more information on the practice of context sensitive design (examples - both good and bad). At the same time it has become clear that the process, if it is to be successful, must integrate the 'design' process back into planning and forward into construction and operations. To this end some have begun using the terminology of Context Sensitive Solutions to include the entire range of activities of project delivery (pre-construction, construction, post-construction). While more examples of the practice will be instructive there is a need to also examine the process of project delivery from an organizational, policy and procedural perspective. This examination would be instructive to those responsible for the administrative and management functions of project delivery. New and possibly innovative arrangements may be more supportive of the process of context sensitive design/solutions than traditional arrangements. Tradition generally supports an assembly line type system of project delivery while the new requirements for interdisciplinary problem solving and teamwork (with a project manager) along with participation from the stakeholders and the public requires something substantially different. The traditional approach tends to work at cross-purposes with the demands for stakeholder involvement and citizen participation and meeting the commitments that are being made throughout the life of the project. At the same time those that are not officially or professionally associated with project delivery, need a succinct way to learn about CSD/S. They may be associated with transportation planning and development in their community or they may be concerned about a specific planned roadway that could directly affect their business or residence. While the two-day workshop contains the basic elements or components of CSD/S it is designed primarily for the professionals that must work together on a project team. From time to time a short version of the two-day workshop has been offered to special interest groups on request. A web-based 'generic' introduction to CSD/S may be useful to the interested non-highway professional that is either concerned about community transportation planning and development and/or is expected in someway to understand the project delivery process and participate in a meaningful way. This project would develop: (1) a short-course for the full-range of project delivery practioners that highlights real world issues and concerns with the design and operation CSD/S projects, (2) a seminar for administrators, policy officials, and program managers on the challenges of organizational structure and program procedures for CSD/S, and (3) a basic or generic introduction to CSD/S for the non-professional that will encounter CSD/S in a community that could be delivered via the web.