A Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is a federally designated transportation policy-making body composed of representatives from local governments and transportation agencies in the designated planning region. Federal legislation passed in the 1960s required urbanized areas with a population over 50,000 to establish a metropolitan planning organization to ensure that existing and future transportation expenditures in…
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Did you know Sain Associates has many on-call contracts with ALDOT? There are many benefits of on-call contracts. First, they allow Sain Associates to work with ALDOT on a range of projects. Over the years, the projects have ranged from surveying to corridor and traffic studies to a broad array of design projects. Since a…
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Have you ever wondered what that terrible noise and vibration are when you slightly veer on a roadway? Those noisy bumps are referred to as rumble strips, and they are formed when a ribbon of asphalt has been milled with a special tool. Rumble strips produce sound and vibration to alert drivers when they cross…
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With the recent trend of increased integration between transportation planning and traffic operations, it is important for new traffic analysts and engineers to understand the different levels of planning along with the most appropriate tools and methods of analysis. As planning encompasses areas ranging in size from a few intersections to entire sub regions of…
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In honor of National Roundabout Week, we’re sharing a throwback blog from 2016! A few years have passed since it was last published, but one thing remains the same – roundabouts are a proven safety countermeasure because they can substantially reduce crashes that result in serious injury or death. Roundabouts can improve safety, promote lower…
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Greek inventor Archimedes once said, “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.” This idea is such a simple concept and can be seen in so many parts of life. For example, babies understand this concept when crawling towards their parents, and predators understand this notion when chasing their prey. In engineering, we…
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There are over 1.8 million registered electric vehicles in the United States, a threefold increase from 2016. As electric vehicle (EV) batteries become lighter and the travel range increases, electric vehicles will become increasingly prevalent across the country. The rise in electric vehicles on our roadways has led to an increased demand for EV charging…
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One of the goals of an internship is to give students hands-on experience in a particular industry. Since beginning her internship at Sain, Ashton Moore considers herself immersed in engineering. We sat down with Ashton to learn more about her Sain experience so far and discussed her plans for after this summer. Interning at Sain…
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Bicycling is more than a practical, cost-effective solution to many municipal challenges. It’s an opportunity to make a community a vibrant destination for residents and visitors – a place where people don’t just live and work but an environment where everyone can appreciate the outdoors. Understanding bicycling and walking activity, preferences, and trends is critical…
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About a year ago, Sain published a blog discussing the use of big data as an alternative for traffic data collection during COVID-19. At that time, travel behavior changed, the number of vehicles on the roads had decreased, and peak hours were not the same when compared to pre-pandemic times. Since manually collecting reliable traffic…
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