University of South Florida

Training Opportunities

CUTR conducts workshops and seminars on a range of considerations in corridor preservation and access management. The workshops are intended for representatives of state transportation agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, local governments, and consultants involved with transportation and development decisions, transportation planning and engineering, comprehensive planning, land development regulation, and development review. A cross-section of participants from different agencies is recommended as a way to facilitate improved intergovernmental coordination and understanding of agency roles, policies, and practices related to access management. Contact us to tailor a short course or seminar for your agency. Some of our previous course offerings are listed below. For further information contact Kristine M. Williams, AICP, at the Center for Urban Transportation Research (813) 974-9807.

Short Courses

• Access Management Short Course/Workshop. CUTR offers a short course/workshop on Access Management. The co-authors of the Access Management Manual published by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in 2003 -- Vergil G. Stover, PhD, PE, and Kristine M. Williams, AICP - are the instructors. The course is typically 3 days in length. However, it can be 2-days, 4 days or 4 ½ days in length depending upon the sponsoring agency's interests. The presentation can be directed to local governments, state DOT's, or a combination of both. Click for course description.
• Urban Street Design. Pedestrians, bicycles, and business and residential driveways are some of the factors that make urban streets different from rural highways. Transit, drainage and intersections may also have unique design criteria when they are part of an urban street system. Traffic flow conditions, peak and off-peak speeds and volume variations are also significant and can affect street design. Schematic drawings and photographs are used to illustrate various urban street design practices. In workshop sessions, course participants will work on problems and exercises related to a variety of design issues including sight distance assumptions, determination of the functional intersection area, and length of left-turn and right-turn bays. Corner clearances, minimum centerline radii, the rationale for the cross-section of arterials, collectors, and local residential streets are addressed. Click for course description.
• Land Development and Access Management Strategies for Interchanges Areas. A variety of transportation problems can occur if intersections, median openings, and driveways are too close to interchange ramps. Weaving traffic, sudden right turns into driveways, and left-turning vehicles near interchange ramps can lead to frequent crashes and recurrent traffic problems. This short course reviews land development and access management strategies that local governments can apply to interchange areas to preserve the function of the interchange while accomplishing development objectives. State roles and policies related to interchanges and growth management are also addressed.
• Land Development and Access Management. This short course explores the principles and benefits of access management, issues and problems in current practice, land development and access management strategies, corridor access management plans, and intergovernmental coordination.
• Medians: A Short Course. This short course provides technical guidance on the design of nontraversable medians and median opening decisions, and provides a review of research findings related to the effects of medians on safety, operations, and businesses.
• Public Involvement in Median Projects. This short course addresses techniques for building public awareness, conducting public meetings, and building strategies for early public involvement in controversial median projects.
• Community Impact Assessment. Community impact assessment is "a process to evaluate the effects of a transportation action on a community and its quality of life." CUTR prepared a definitive guide to community impact assessment for the Florida Department of Transportation, Community Impact Assessment: A Handbook for Transportation Professionals, and a complementary training program. The course provides specific, practical guidance on methods for evaluating social and economic impacts of transportation projects. A variety of important community issues are addressed in the handbook and training including land use and growth inducement, aesthetics and visual quality, mobility, social cohesion, community facilities and services, civil rights and environmental justice, safety, relocation and economic impacts.
• Corridor Preservation. This short course addresses corridor preservation in the planning process, corridor preservation best practices, advance acquisition, legal considerations, and establishing a corridor preservation ordinance or program.

Seminars

As an alternative to a short course, CUTR conducts short seminars on corridor preservation and access management issues targeted to specific agencies. Seminars can be from one to four hours in duration and provide for more personalized attention to specific agency needs or practices.

Presentations to Policy-Makers or General Public

Less technical presentations can be conducted for elected officials, the media, civic groups, or other interested parties on the principles and benefits of corridor preservation and access management and general concepts for managing development on major thoroughfares. Examples have included presentations to county commissioners, chamber of commerce breakfast meetings, and presentations to various groups at state or regional conferences.