Alta Launches Special Projects Team
for Natural Surface Trails
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| Seven Streams trail and revegetated corridor designed and constructed by Alta staff. | Natural surface trails provide an escape into adventure and are prized possessions of any community. They afford a break from the built environment, allowing recreation and relaxation whether in a municipal park or a National Forest. They connect to on-road and hard surface bikeway systems, and are an important aspect of achieving League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle Friendly Community status. Recognizing the importance of all types of trails in helping people lead healthy, active lives, Alta has created a new Natural Surface Trail Team, focused on such activities as: - Trail assessment and evaluation
- Risk management
- Stakeholder outreach and involvement
- Trails master planning
- GIS & CAD design services
- Environmental analysis
- Integration of hard surface and natural surface trail systems
- Trail design and layout
- Training for staff and volunteers
- Cost Estimating and construction management
- Signage Plans
- Bike park and ski/bike resort design
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| Chris Bernhardt, Senior Planner | Leading this team is Senior Planner Chris Bernhardt, formerly with the International Mountain Bicycling Association where he led the organization's professional trailbuilding program. Chris has managed natural-surface trail projects in 35 states and three provinces, with a focus on building sustainable trails for pedestrians, equestrians, and mountain bicyclists. His planning project experience includes team management of transportation, land use, environmental, and legal disciplines, and extensive work in trail advocacy and stakeholder involvement. Chris presents and has been published on the topic of sustainable, risk-managed innovative bicycle trails, and has worked with the Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, and over one hundred state and local jurisdictions. Chris has an M.A. in urban planning from Portland State University and worked as a planner in The Dalles, OR. Chris joins our stellar crew of trail planners/designers including George Hudson, Mike Rose, Karen Vitkay, Mike Tresidder, and Hagen Hammons who have developed such projects as the Government Camp Trails Plan, OR; Fernandez Ranch Public Access Plan, Contra Costa County, CA; Las Vegas Wetlands Park, Clark County, NV; Clark County Equestrian Trail Study, Clark County, NV; and Tualatin High School Cross Country Running Trail, Tualatin, OR. Alta is a proud new member of the Professional Trailbuilders Association (PTBA), comprised of expert trail consultants and contractors. Contact Chris Bernhardt for further information.
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Chelatchie Prairie Rail with Trail
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| February open house for the Chelatchie Prairie Rail Trail Plan | Alta is completing a corridor plan for the 33-mile Chelatchie Prairie Rail with Trail in Clark County, Washington. The county owned rail right of way is leased for local freight and excursion trains and was purchased over a decade ago with the intention of developing a multi-use trail in addition to restoring rail service. Over 110 people attended an open house in February and their enthusiasm was apparent. Lisa Goorjian, Vancouver-Clark Parks & Recreation Department project manager said "...The responses we've had to our open houses have been unusually well received and I attribute much of that to the quality of the materials that were presented, your staff approach and knowledge..."
For more information, visit the website at www.chelatchie.org or contact Steve Durrant .
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Alta's News from the East
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| Kick-off parade for the Columbus Bicentennial Bikeways Plan | There are a number of interesting projects happening in Alta's East Coast offices. The Columbus, Ohio Bicentennial Bikeways Plan was highlighted in Mayor Michael Coleman's recent State of the City presentation and the Bikeways program is featured on the cover of the "Get Green Columbus 2007" summary report. The Dayton regional bike plan project has been extended to include Bicycle Friendly Communities workshops in 10 communities, including a workshop with the League of American Bicyclists in May as part of National Bike Month. In the Upper Connecticut River Valley of VT and NH, Alta principal Jeff Olson was the keynote speaker for the 2008 Trails Connect Forum hosted by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance in Lebanon, NH. The Forum involved more than 100 participants in developing an action plan for trails in the Upper Valley. In Florida, Alta is involved in a trail feasibility study along a Florida Power and Light (FPL) utility corridor near Naples, and is continuing work with the Indian River MPO by developing a new North County greenways plan for the communities of Fellsmere and Sebastian. In New York, the Ulster County Non-Motorized Transportation (NMT) Plan is moving forward, and in Virginia, the Roanoke Lick Run Greenway Study is underway. In Louisville, KY, Alta is part of the team working on the 100 mile Louisville Loop bikeway project. With gas prices at more than $3 / gallon, concerns about climate change, the physical inactivity epidemic and economic issues, we keep seeing more interest in walking and bicycling and trails in a wide range of urban, suburban and rural communities. It's great to be part of the solution in all of the communities that Alta is working with!
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Alta is Growing Adrian Leung has relocated from Berkeley to join Matt Benjamin's team in our expanding Los Angeles office. The LA branch also has a new address and phone number:
Alta Planning + Design
453 S Spring St Suite 804
Los Angeles, CA 900134
(213) 489-7443 The Los Angeles office is leading the way on the Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan Update , OCTA Commuter Bikeways Strategic Plan Update , and Mammoth Lakes Trails . For more information contact Matt Benjamin .
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IBPI's Summer Bicycling and Pedestrian
Design and Planning Course Alta is proud to sponsor the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation's intensive course " Comprehensive Bicycle and Pedestrian Design and Planning " this summer (August 3rd-8th). This week-long course will provide practitioners with the fundamentals of pedestrian and bicycle planning and design through an intensive week of classroom, field, and project experience. Registration is currently open. For more information visit the summer workshop website .
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In the News... 
- Principal Mia Birk recently joined Minneapolis/St. Paul's Transit for Livable Communities for a series of lectures and meetings about bike/walk street (a.k.a bicycle boulevard) development. Bike Walk Twin Cities is one of the nation's four non-motorized pilot communities. According to Mia, "It's exciting to see how enthusiastically these communities are developing great pedestrian and bicycle projects. I'm impressed by the energy that this federal program has created." Agatha Vaaler of KFAI radio put together this short feature from Mia's presentation and the theme of bike boulevard development.
- Alta is honored to be awarded the Portland Chapter of Women in Transportation's Employer of the Year distinction. We will be accepting the award at the May 28th WTS Reception.
- BicyclePaper.com's recent article on Seattle's goals to reach Platinum Status with their Bicycle Master Plan mentions Alta's help with the City of Portland's Platinum Bicycle Master Plan .
- Mark your calendar: on Tuesday May 27th, Alta will be featured on the Sundace Channel's series Big Ideas for a Small Planet as part of their episode on transportation.
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Alta Welcomes New Staff John Erving, Document Production Specialist
John Erving has eight years of experience in the desktop publishing field. As a Desktop Publisher for several corporations, such as IBM, Macro International, CNSI, and QSS Group, Inc., Mr. Erving has worked on thousands of successful proposals. While at Macro International, he initiated a training program for Microsoft Office, which included an in-house training classroom and a company-hosted certification exam testing facility. He has written articles for Web sites and has collaborated with government agencies on national ad and information campaigns. His experience also encompasses the design of logos, brochures, fact sheets, business cards, Web sites, and publications.
Benjamin Doyle, Information Assistant
Benjamin Doyle joined Alta in November of 2007. He brings a range of technical skills to the firm including data manipulation, web publishing, and communication support. After several years in television and media production, Benjamin turned his efforts to safe and sustainable transportation practice. Prior to joining the Alta team he worked with the City of Portland's Transportation Options division in the SmartTrips program. Benjamin is also involved with Shift , promoting bike fun and sustainable practice through empowering bikers; the World Carfree Network's Towards Carfree Cities Conference , an annual think-tank on practical alternatives to automobile dependence; and Bike Farm , a non-profit learning space lending skills and resources to the community. He's a strong believer in making good, practical lifestyle choices and encouraging others to think about the impact they make on their social and natural environment. It's Alta's similar approach to innovative transportation and recreation infrastructure that excites him about being part of the firm.
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