How “Building our Way Out of Congestion” created a Smart Growth convert

Location: C&MP Faculty Lounge
Date: Tuesday Oct 06, 2009
Time: 5:00 PM — 7:00 PM

How “Building our Way Out of Congestion” created a Smart Growth convert.

Optimizing Arterials

Born into a Red-State car culture, Mike Brown spent his first years at Wasatch Front Regional Council convinced that a dollar spent moving cars at high speeds was far more valuable than money spent in any other way. That all changed forever after he developed a unique travel demand model algorithm to “built his way out of congestion!” The resulting size of freeways and induced vehicle miles traveled was fascinating – enough to convince Mike that there truly is a limit to what can wisely be spent on freeways.
Come find out more about this first-of-its-kind model application. Results have been presented nationally at Rail~Volution and AMPO, along with several local venues. Mike has been on a personal quest ever since to find practical alternatives to free freeways to help prevent political pressure for more “Big Digs”. He has gained significant recognition in the emerging field of Innovative Intersection designs, which increase capacity and reduce delay at intersections, but also by chance happen to integrate well with Smart Growth pedestrian oriented environments. This makes it possible to drive slower, but travel faster, through sensitive areas. And if more people can travel faster on arterials, this in turn reduces political pressure to build our way out of congestion with expensive “Big Dig” freeways.
Mike obtained a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in transportation planning and computer programming. He spent 8-years with the WFRC, where he helped develop the travel model which has played a significant role in obtaining federal funds for multiple passenger rail projects. Mike was the principle transit planner for Salt Lake’s recent “Downtown in Motion” Transportation Plan. Mike is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and recently launched his own planning and engineering firm, Metro Analytics.