Transportation

The purpose of the Transportation Competition is to provide students with a practical transportation problem. This challenge requires students to analyze a real-life problem in transportation and apply methods of intersection design, geometric design, and traffic engineering to develop a solution. The 2022 Transportation Competition requires teams to analyze and present a solution to a practical problem with the bike network of the city of Sacramento. This project requires a 5+ page document containing their project summary and a 10-minute presentation utilizing a professional poster.

The progressive bike network in the city of Sacramento has an obvious gap in the south Natomas Crossing area. How can you close the gap while taking the existing system and surroundings into consideration? From cost and construction to pedestrian and environmental effects, teams must consider several factors to optimize their plan. We are looking forward to all the creative proposals and presentations by the teams!

For the complete rules and more information about Transportation, please refer to the following document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EeMf9m7354GlemtPuZLiMEWHGIjutN84/view?usp=sharing

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Contact:  

Any questions/concerns regarding the Transportation Competition may be sent to:  

[email protected] 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Do participants have to build a new road in the open space, or can participants
   just make adjustments to the original road?
   Participants should assume that the extension of East Commerce Way will be
   constructed by others. The project should address how improvements to San
   Juan Road within project limits will address all modes of transportation before
   and after the extension is constructed, and discuss what, if any, changes to the
   proposed improvements will need to happen after the extension is constructed.
2. Does the government have specific plans for this area, such as land use plans?
   Land use plans can be found in the City of Sacramento’s 2035 General Plan.
3. Does the government have construction planning for East Commerce Way?
   Project plans are not available for the extension of East Commerce Road.
   Participants are directed to the General Plan for assumptions about the roadway
   cross section.
4. Does the government have the road design geometry of these five roads which
   were marked in?
   There are ways to estimate the road geometry, for example, Google Earth.
5. Participants have tried to find some data on the Sacramento government
   website, but participants can only get the traffic data of motor vehicles, but not
   the traffic data of bicycles and pedestrians, and the traffic data of motor vehicles
   is relatively old. Participants would like to know if these data are sufficient or if
   organizers have a better source for their reference.
   Pedestrian counts are not available in the area, and no new traffic counts will be
   collected for this project. Participants should use their engineering judgment in
   analyzing the available traffic data.
6. In the area provided by the rules, participants are going to construct something
   like roads, but participants want to know the ownership of the land in this area. In
   other words, do participants need to pay extra to get the right to use the land?
   Could organizers please tell them the detail of the ownership, or provide them
   with some methods to obtain relevant information?
   Participants can assume that the right-of-way owned by the City is 60’ centered
   on San Juan Road. Improvements outside of this right-of-way will require right-of-way acquisition from the adjacent property owners. Determining right-of-way
   costs will be incumbent on the participants. If right-of-way acquisition is needed,
   participants should document their assumptions in the project report.
7. To what extent do participants need to document drainage and elevation
   changes within the project?
   Participants should use their engineering judgment and available resources to
   make assumptions about drainage and elevation changes within the project
   limits.
8. What is the scope of the environmental and societal analysis required? Is there
   any specific framework you would like teams to follow?
   Participants should include a discussion of potential societal and environmental
   impacts with the proposed project in the project summary. How this is
   incorporated into the report will be left up to the participants.
9. Can participants go beyond connecting jackrabbit and fisherman’s lake trails, as
   long as those two trails are connected?
   Additional improvements to the bicycle and pedestrian network can be included
   in the report, but the focus should be on closing the gap along San Juan Road.