Assignment 6 - Designing Infrastructure Systems (Part 1)

REQUEST OF PROPOSAL

Virginia Tech has been growing at a rapid pace the last 5 years, and with it the population of Blacksburg. Blacksburg Transit is working to adapt their transportation system to better serve the increasing population. However, the signs presented by the current situation indicate a different trend than predicted.

• The demand for Blacksburg Transit has constantly decreased while the prediction was an increase;
• VT parking services saw an increase in parking passes requested;
• The city has reported more traffic delays in specific points of the city that surround the university and some high density business and residential areas.

Beginning in August 2016, Blacksburg Transit offered new routes aiming to serve the growing population of the town. The current public transportation system present the following routes:

Virginia Tech, The City of Blacksburg, and Blacksburg Transit have decided to join efforts to develop a new plan of action to improve transportation in Blacksburg. They have asked Virginia Tech Planning (VT-P) to lead the initiative of planning and designing a solution.  VT-P is looking for solutions that are:

• Low cost
• Include multimodal transit systems
• Reduce the number of car-trips to campus each day

For these reasons, VT-P is reaching out to your engineering designing and planning firm for solutions. More information about bus routes, transit statistics, among other potentially useful information can be found on the following sites:

• Blacksburg Transit: http://www.btransit.org/ Links to an external site.. 
• Town of Blacksburg: http://www.blacksburg.gov/ Links to an external site.
• Virginia Tech alternative transportation: http://www.tcs.vt.edu/alternative/no_car.asp
• Virginia Tech Parking Services: https://www.parking.vt.edu/

Assignment

You must submit a proposal that explicitly shows your proposed solution.

Your submission should include:

• An introduction (1 page) that explains your proposed solution and how the proposed proposed solution will improve the current situation?
• A detailed explanation (1 page) clearly defining the best aspects/outcomes of your proposed design and includes a preliminary rendering/drawing/sketch or excel sheet with data and assumptions about your solution (no page limit on drawings or data).
• A list of bullet points or notes (2 page max) that explains to your boss how you developed your proposed solution, the steps you took, the data, and alternative solutions you considered.