/n/ - Transportation » Thread #1698915

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Anonymous Tue 24 Aug 2021 08:10:43 No.1698915 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>1698916 >>1698971 >>1698973 >>1698978 >>1699010 >>1699019 >>1699727 >>1701980 >>1701986 >>1702091 >>1705028 >>1705029 >>1705086 >>1706305

>transit agency doing public comment for service changes
>look at plan and make a comment with my thoughts as a hobbyist armchair planner
>transit agency executives personally respond
>agency releases final draft
>plan partially changed due to "community feedback" (me)
>autistic email complete with name and contact info in the appendix to show the community feedback they incorporated in the new plan
Wtf bros it was just a suggestion they weren't actually supposed to do it

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 24 Aug 2021 08:19:07 No.1698916 Report

Quoted By:

>>1698915
Proofs i want to lol

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 24 Aug 2021 12:50:36 No.1698971 Report

Quoted By:

>>1698915
Please tell me the email is early ‘00s instant messenger tier

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 24 Aug 2021 12:55:22 No.1698973 Report

Quoted By: >>1698978 >>1699010 >>1699727

>>1698915
Your thoughts as an autist are probably better than those if whatever consultant they hired. Keep it up, anon.
>I have a meeting scheduled with a representative of my state department of transportation this Wednesday because I kept sending them emails calling them wastrels and they"re tired of that being in the public record

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 24 Aug 2021 13:18:27 No.1698978 Report

Quoted By:

>>1698915
>>1698973
absolutely based and im proud to have you both on /n/

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 24 Aug 2021 15:03:42 No.1699010 Report

Quoted By: >>1699243

>>1698915
>government outsourcing planing to a random Autist
wew lad I wonder what specialization their staff have
sometimes there seems to be quite a disconnect between appointed positions and the skills that people have
>>1698973
do you think they will de escalate or will they challenge you to a dual ?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 24 Aug 2021 15:27:20 No.1699019 Report

Quoted By:

>>1698915
I’ve heard that’s pretty normal for this kind of thing. No one writes because they think there’s some machine behind everything.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO autism.jpg, 256KiB, 2550x1053

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 01:05:47 No.1699243 Report

Quoted By: >>1699268 >>1699608 >>1706312

>>1699010
I think he's going to try to bamboozle me with all sorts of statistics deflecting from the core issue of how it is Yuropoors can afford to build trains but we can't despite their being Yuros and poor. At the absolute minimum I want to know where to direct my autism next.
He is an engineer though so I'm going to try to let some of the autism shine through and see if we can talk as only our kind can.

I'll update you tomorrow kek

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 01:29:45 No.1699268 Report

Quoted By:

>>1699243
oh shit. keep us posted

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 02:57:25 No.1699313 Report

Quoted By: >>1699326 >>1699727

Kek bump this is fantastic both of you activist autists

I’ve done a similar thing complaining against a local chemical factory that makes the whole downtown area stink like rotten pinesol and hot garbage. It’s fun to get involved in shit that’s outside of your specialty.

(I do work in roadway design tho)
What are you complaining to the PE about specifically? Got any maps? I’d love to see em

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO mountain view corridor.jpg, 120KiB, 1024x457

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 03:33:56 No.1699326 Report

Quoted By: >>1699336

>>1699313
I don't have many complaints with the projects they're designing, just that the projected start date on a bunch that are needed now are pushed out to 2050 or beyond due to funding issues that seem preventable. There has to be something seriously wrong with the contracting process if picrel (built on a greenfield in a corridor the state bought decades ago, two lanes in each direction) is coming in at $50+ million per mile, turning a landscaped mound into a light rail platform (with no modifications to the rails whatsoever - just a concrete platform with a ticket machine and a small metal roof) is coming in at $3 million, etc. If concrete work actually cost that much every real estate developer in the state would be bankrupt, but instead they're all rich. If we can find out where that money is going then maybe we can have nice things again.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO uinta basin railway.jpg, 193KiB, 1667x1040

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 04:00:31 No.1699336 Report

Quoted By: >>1699382

>>1699326
There was also the time they concluded that building a 10-mile rail tunnel under Indian Pass (i.e. the middle of nowhere) for the Uinta Basin Railway would cost $2 billion, so to cut costs they want to make a ton of hideous curves going up and over the pass instead. The environmental impact of that is severe enough the whole project might get canceled as a result.

The Ceneri Base Tunnel (newly built in Switzerland) cost $2 billion for 10 miles of tunnel - including two bores with HSR-capable track. The Uinta Basin Railway is meant to be a single-track freight railroad.

Lots of nonsense like this. If they're going to undertake these projects I'd prefer they didn't take up the entire budget for the department of transportation to do it.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 04:53:06 No.1699357 Report

Quoted By:

Shit man ive been doing something similar on a more local level. Keep it up

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 07:07:30 No.1699382 Report

Quoted By: >>1699656

>>1699336
We have banana republic levels of corruption.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 25 Aug 2021 21:21:30 No.1699608 Report

Quoted By: >>1705104

>>1699243 here with an update. Spent about an hour on the phone with the project development director. The highlights:
>By state law all projects costing more than $180,000 must be contracted out
>Contracts are awarded as a lump-sum design-build contracts, on either a lowest-cost or best-value (in practice this is never more than 10% over the lowest bid) basis
>An itemized breakdown of the lump sum is required; single-bidder contracts are carefully scrutinized
>submissions are de-identified before evaluation to prevent favoritism
>NEPA environmental reviews and litigation cause significant delays, driving costs up
>the state faces intense competition from private-sector construction for contractors
>he is currently at a meeting of similar officials from other states in Montana reviewing best practices; no foreign experts are in attendance
>an average of 4 contractors bid on a given contract; bids from contractors thought not to have the means to complete ("Bob's janitorial service") it are not accepted
>often the contractors that bid are just the ones that own the closest gravel pits
>he is in regular contact with the state legislature
>he clearly read the same Alon Levy article I did about the costs of the New York Subway
>UDOT has implemented innovative features like diverging diamond intersections and reversible lanes to get the most benefit from what is built
>he would love to travel abroad to study their techniques if the state legislature would give him money to
Learned a lot but I don't see any obvious specific changes to advocate for beyond allowing the state to compete directly with contractors and maybe breaking up some of the big design/build contracts into smaller parts and soliciting bids from non-traditional contractors more aggressively to enhance competition a bit. Four bids per project (likely the same companies, too) seems like the easiest part to change and might make some difference. Hard to know, though.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 26 Aug 2021 01:14:10 No.1699656 Report

Quoted By:

>>1699382
goes hand in hand with being a bananer republic

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 26 Aug 2021 05:23:20 No.1699727 Report

Quoted By: >>1699791

>>1699313
>>1698973
>>1698915

Ya know, it could be fun to have /n/ planning autists share any public inquiries they can lay their hands on for /n/ to improve whatever project that's on and have someone send the final result to the city council.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 26 Aug 2021 12:54:43 No.1699791 Report

Quoted By:

>>1699727
A planning autism general would be great fun

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO 1515534662091.png, 962KiB, 1014x761

Anonymous Tue 31 Aug 2021 14:52:00 No.1701980 Report

Quoted By:

>>1698915
what was the change?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 31 Aug 2021 15:05:13 No.1701986 Report

Quoted By:

>>1698915
I want to fuck Judy and lick her paws after we went cycling together

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 31 Aug 2021 18:33:49 No.1702091 Report

Quoted By:

>>1698915
Nice. When is that blimp train going into service?

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO 1477413391424.jpg, 11KiB, 270x237

Anonymous Thu 02 Sep 2021 11:27:23 No.1702860 Report

Quoted By:

>/n/ discovers civic engagement
well ... good, i guess

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 06 Sep 2021 21:39:58 No.1705028 Report

Quoted By:

>>1698915
Yes

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 06 Sep 2021 21:42:12 No.1705029 Report

Quoted By:

>>1698915
Good job OP
people underestimate the effect of civic participation

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 06 Sep 2021 23:49:50 No.1705086 Report

Quoted By:

>>1698915
You are now mayor

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 07 Sep 2021 00:48:50 No.1705104 Report

Quoted By:

>>1699608
>By state law all projects costing more than $180,000 must be contracted out
That's low. Old law that didn't consider inflation?
Having an in-house team isn't inherently bad. If nothing else, it gives you an option of last resort and can serve as a key part of overseeing contractors (which is essential to effective project management).
>on either a lowest-cost or best-value (in practice this is never more than 10% over the lowest bid) basis
What do they have in terms of auditing capabilities? Companies deliberately underbidding to win contracts, then passing the uncounted costs on to the state is a frequent problem.
>NEPA environmental reviews and litigation cause significant delays, driving costs up
Those are both major problems. More work needs to be done to reduce things like that to a standard "menu" so that value-extraction is minimized and these things aren't constantly being stalled.
>reviewing best practices; no foreign experts are in attendance
That contradicts. In the modern era competition research absolutely requires a global look. Otherwise, you risk becoming incestuous.
>he would love to travel abroad to study their techniques if the state legislature would give him money to
Would it be easier to get money to bring foreign experts over? Perhaps include it in one of those trade commissions governments like to send out.
What are they doing in terms of value capture? Even without going full Japanese transit-cum-real estate company, there need to be more ways to automatically convert some of the benefits of transit projects into revenue for further work.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 10 Sep 2021 06:16:29 No.1706305 Report

Quoted By:

>>1698915
Hey, based, anon. I would be proud. Maybe keep in touch with that company to see if they could get you a decent paying job as some sort of planner or something.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 10 Sep 2021 06:26:26 No.1706312 Report

Quoted By:

>>1699243
Most of these unelected middle management-type government officials don't get many emails from the public. It's probably just as interesting for you as it is for them.

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