Providing traffic engineering expertise that delivers solid results

By providing superior service and traffic engineering expertise, we create long-lasting partnerships with our clients, like Cooper and Company and the City of Southlake, Texas. Our staff has been involved in the planning, design, and development of Southlake Town Square from its inception in 1996. During this time, Lee Engineering has conducted traffic impact studies for the initial development proposal’s zoning case, and supplemental studies for the addition of the Post Office block, the introduction of a residential component to the development, the Grand Avenue Addition that included a hotel and movie theater, the addition of Trader Joe’s in 2014, and a proposed multifamily block in early 2020.  As a major mixed-use development that was an early adopter of new urban concepts, the project required us to rethink traditional traffic engineering approaches to commercial development and traffic management.  Our work on the project led to a presentation at the ITE International Meeting in 2009.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) wanted to assess the impacts of existing Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Light Rail Transit (LRT) crossings on surface street traffic. To meet the objectives of this study, Lee Engineering surveyed LRT System Operators throughout the country to identify analysis procedures used to assess the impacts of at-grade crossings, as well as collected field data on vehicular delay, queue length, and gate down time at existing at-grade crossings.  The study validated planning efforts and provided valuable data that was used to assess the impacts of at-grade crossings included in several subsequent expansions of the DART LRT system.  The study also identified LRT operating procedures that affected operations related to at-grade crossings.

The Vision Tulsa – Public Schools Safety 1st Initiative stemmed from safety issues and concerns spanning 104 public schools throughout the city. To address and fulfill the traffic needs of this $14.5 million initiative, Lee Engineering collected data on the existing conditions of each school site, recorded pedestrian counts, and reviewed the lighting conditions and accessibility. Each school was then classified and prioritized based on their safety needs and major areas of concern. Through the Safety 1st Initiative, Lee Engineering was able to provide public schools with new school crossing guard locations, pedestrian lighting improvements, sidewalk and crosswalk enhancements, traffic signal installations, and improved pedestrian and bicycle routes to schools. Updated signing and striping provided improved visibility to students walking and biking to school, as well as improved operations and efficiency during school drop-off and pick-up.

As part of this award-winning study, Lee Engineering teamed with the Texas Transportation Institute (as a subcontractor) to help develop and execute the methodologies for studying the safety and efficacy of pedestrian hybrid beacons (PHBs). Our team completed a survey of practitioners, conducted video data collection at 10 higher speed PHB sites throughout the state, served as “staged pedestrian” and observed motorist and pedestrian/bicyclist behaviors at the 10 sites, developed recommended changes to the ADOT TGP 640, and developed an implementation plan for the recommended changes. To gain better insights on driver and pedestrian behaviors, over 40 hours of video data was collected at PHB crossings on higher-speed roads. Lee Engineering also participated in identifying volume data for the PHB and control sites for the safety study and was involved in the interpretation of the safety results. The safety study team found that PHBs reduced severe total crashes by 25%, pedestrian-involved crashes by 46%, and severe rear-end crashes by 29%. As a result of the research findings and recommendations to ADOT, this study was awarded AASHTO’s 2020 Sweet 16 Award.

Teaming with WHPacific, Lee Engineering provided the traffic operations and alternative analysis leading to the design of this award-winning, multilane double roundabout. The backbone of this project stemmed from pedestrian safety concerns for Truth or Consequences’ high school and elementary school. Community stakeholders needed viable solutions that would assist pedestrians in safely crossing four lanes of traffic while still providing adequate access to businesses along Date Street. With our expertise in 3D VISSIM modeling, Lee Engineering was able to address the community’s concerns by depicting how pedestrians and vehicles would interact with and traverse through the roundabouts. These models played an important role in helping the team refine the design while also creating a positive effect on the community’s view of the roundabouts.