Long Island is car-focused and car-dominated. While many of its downtowns are struggling and in dire need of revitalization, walking has so far not been considered a solution to get a downtown back on track. GPI developed a Downtown Walkability Improvement Study for Lindenhurst, one of Long Island’s most populous villages. It needed to win over the residents. GPI used a series of innovative tools to generate support for the study and its many walkability improvements.

Find out more about GPI’s approach here.

The Channelside Drive project will transform what was once a vehicle centered arterial in the heart of an industrial zone in downtown Tampa to a walkable, safe street that balances the needs of all users. Channelside Drive will experience a repurposing of space to provide significant pedestrian and bicycle space while improving connectivity from the high density urban residential neighborhood to transit routes and local entertainment venues. Channelside Drive will become a self-enforcing street through the application of various traffic calming treatments including reducing the speed limit, narrow lane widths, mid-block pedestrian crossings and significant landscaping, to name a few.

Ruggles Street is the heart of the multi-cultural Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, MA. This diverse street connects two major transit hubs and provides neighborhood destinations to Northeastern University, a community center, recreational fields/park, high school, church and other residential and commercial uses. In addition, Ruggles Street is served by several MBTA transit lines and the Southwest Corridor, a popular shared use path connecting to downtown Boston and major employment centers. GPI worked with the City and organized a robust community engagement process which guided the multi-modal redesign of the roadway which is currently catered to vehicles/motorists. The solution includes the narrowing of the roadway width, wider sidewalks with curb extensions, prominent pedestrian crossings, raised crosswalks at side streets, two raised intersections, a protected bicycle lane, a contra-flow cycle track, transit stop improvements, street trees, green infrastructure, lighting, and public art.

In February 2018, a tragic pedestrian-related crash left the Town of Needham, MA grieving the lives of two high school students and asking what could have been done to prevent such a tragedy. In an effort to improve upon the pedestrian environment and establish itself as a more walkable, livable and healthy town, Needham contracted GPI to develop a Town-wide Pedestrian Safety Audit to identify high-risk locations and potential short-term and long-term solutions to address the public’s concerns.

Read more about Needham’s journey to becoming a safer and more walkable community.

GPI had the privilege to design 8.7 miles of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail in Massachusetts in close cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation as well as numerous stakeholders. The trail is part of a larger network that connects a half-dozen communities northwest of Boston along the abandoned Penn Central railroad line. The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail traverses meadows, woodlands, waterways, historical sites, a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail line station as well as both residential and commercial areas. This beautiful and transformative trail provides both recreational and transportation benefits. It continues to grow in its popularity.

Watch the trail take shape here.

GPI is supporting the development of sustainable transportation modes. On Long Island, where today the car is by far the most used mode, BRT is being seen as a valid transportation alternative. BRT is planned along an important north-south corridor (Nicolls Road) on Long Island where historically east-west routes accommodate commuter’s needs to reach New York City.

The BRT includes components such as bus lanes, transit signal priority, queue jumps, and real time passenger info in order to produce a high-quality mass transportation option to encourage decreased auto usage. The BRT service would make stops at key traffic generators including a large university and hospital, a community college, a major train station/transportation hub, and myriad communities. Establishing parking facilities along this 12 mile route is critical and will help support economic development and provide a more favorable option for residents that would otherwise operate single occupancy vehicles to and from their destinations.

GPI was assigned 29 schools to develop school safety reports and develop pedestrian safety improvement plans. The goal of this program was to improve walking conditions for students and provide safety in their daily commute to school.

GPI provided the design for this GreenLITES project (Green Leadership in Transportation Environmental Sustainability), a NYSDOT rating program that recognizes transportation project designs, operations, and maintenance practices that incorporate a high level of environmental sustainability. This project was certified as a GreenLITES Evergreen project, the highest level of advancements of sustainable transportation solutions in New York State. As part of the design, GPI employed the themes of sustainability and smart growth while improving safety and mobility. It integrated landscape restoration, multi-modal traffic planning, and road safety improvements along the project corridor of New York State Route 347 in a complementary manner. Project elements included roadway improvements, traffic calming, shared-use path and greenway stops, bio-swales, rain gardens and water quality basins, and bus stops and shelters with bike racks and solar lighting. This project was also the recipient of the ACEC Engineering Excellence Award by the American Council of Engineering Companies in 2014.