Mad About Thoroughly Modern Roundabouts

What's not to love about modern roundabouts? They're faster, safer and so-o-o much prettier than a traditional intersection. In case you aren't convinced that they're the greatest thing since, well, paved roads, check out this presentation, delivered by OHM's genius road designer, Jim Marcinkowski. (Before gracing OHM's doors, Jim worked for CALTRANS, so you'll see a couple of slides from those good 'ol days - note the Pinto behind the donkey - you just don't see sweet rides like that anymore!)

This presentation, Modern Roundabouts: Coupling Safety and Mobility, delivers a primer on roundabouts, the differences between roundabouts, traffic circles and rotaries, and the important rules of roundabouts. It answers those timeless questions:

How do you drive in those crazy circles?
Who has the right-of-way in a roundabout?
Why are roundabouts safer? (Roundabouts have a stunning safety record - a 90% reduction in fatalities over a traditional intersection.)
How do I ride my bike through a roundabout?

Sit back and enjoy the show!

Modern Roundabouts: Safety & Mobility Wrapped in a Pretty Package

View more presentations from OHM Advancing Communities.

Being Part of Something Bigger: Hilliard's 9/11 Memorial Uses Trade Center Artifacts

As architects, engineers and planners, we like to say that we improve the quality of life for people. Heck, sometimes we even think of ourselves as heroes when we've solved a particularly tricky problem.

This Saturday, though, every one of us will, at one point or another, pause for a moment to think about real heroes. And in Hilliard, Ohio, the citizens and the city leaders will honor real heroes when they unveil First Responders' Park, the largest 9/11 memorial to date.

The park was created to honor the service personnel who responded to the 9/11 tragedy, as well as the civilian victims of the attacks.

The park, which incorporates three steel artifacts from the World Trade Center, will be located on Main and Center Streets in the heart of Olde Hilliard.

Among the first cities to send its public safety departments to assist with search and rescue efforts after the attacks, Hilliard’s connection to the victims of the tragedy runs deep.

“This memorial honors the willingness of our first responders, and so many others, to put themselves in harm’s way for the benefit of others. That commitment to the greater good is what makes this country great,” says Hilliard Mayor Donald Schonhardt.

“We had the opportunity, in that the land was available, and we wanted to make this happen, “ adds Norwich Township Fire Chief David Long.

The .633 acre park, designed by architecture, engineering and planning firm Bird Houk-OHM, is a contemplative space to remember and reflect on this life changing event. The park incorporates sculpture, intersecting granite walls etched with the names of the victims of the New York, Pennsylvania, and D.C. tragedies; as well as tiered fountains, a trellis resembling structural beams, and artifacts from the World Trade Center.

The project team was one of the first ‘civilian groups’ permitted by the New York and New Jersey Port Authorities to select items for the park’s design from Hangar 17 at JFK Airport where the fragments of the WTC Towers are housed.

“The experience was incredibly moving,” says Bird Houk Designer Tony Slanec.

Slanec says the items that were chosen demonstrated the sheer force and power of the event, including bent steel from the underground rail systems and structural I-beams from the towers.

Hilliard police department, fire department, and a local trucking company donated their time to bring the steel from New York to Ohio.

“This memorial is a reality because the members of the community made it happen,” says Schonhardt.

Perhaps the most compelling element of the park is the sculpture created by local artist Dale Johnson. The stainless steel sculpture incorporates silhouettes of assorted American lives doing everyday activities while over 2,000 lives were lost over the course of a few hours. This piece will be updated with a new “figure” annually for the next century as part of a high school design and scholarship competition.

“We want the park, and the event itself, to always be in our hearts. We think this sculpture is a good way to do this, incorporating the assistance of a new generation each year,” says Johnson.

Long adds, “It’s a place to remember so that we are better prepared in the future.”

The $1.4 million memorial was paid for through bonds and an ongoing public donations campaign. Students from Central Ohio Technical College donated their time to assist in the creation of the campaign video. Watch the video:

Charles Humphriss, Certified Arborist

By day, Charles Humphriss is a quiet and unassuming environmental engineer, but by night...(well, actually, this is by day, too, 'cause whatever Charles does at night is his own business) he's a Certified Arborist!

That's right,a Certified Arborist. With a seal and everything. Charles took his lifelong love of nature and trees and parlayed it into a valued service that he can perform.

How do you get to be a Certified Arborist? It's a combination of experience and subject matter knowledge. Becoming a CA requires at least three years full-time experience working in the professional tree care industry. You also have to pass a 200-question examination on tree biology, identification and selection, tree-soil-water relations, tree nutrition and fertilization, tree planting, pruning concepts and techniques, tree preservation on construction sites, problem diagnosis and management, tree risk assessment, and more.

In our line of business, clients often use a Certified Arborist to conduct a Tree Survey or a Tree Inventory before starting a construction project. Having a complete picture of the trees on a site helps the developer (whether a public or private entity) determine the best course of action.

The survey will reveal information such as:

- Species of the tree based on scientific name.
- Physical measurements of the tree such as height and diameter.
- Age of the tree.
- Overall health of the tree.
- Life expectancy.
- Management recommendations.

Based on information from the tree inventory, the project can be designed to maintain certain trees and remove others. A landscape architect may build interesting site features around existing trees. Depending on the type of existing trees on the site, they may be replaced with other, hardier varieties.