The Kleingers Group recently created plans for the first underground utility connection installed under the new Cincinnati Streetcar while the overhead lines are energized.

Specifically, the Water Service Branch Plan created by Kleingers identifies the routing of a new water service line and the location of the bore pits required to tunnel under the streetcar line.

Like most projects in an urban setting, the routing of the new waterline had to be configured in a tight space while avoiding a number of existing utilities, all at various depths. The location of the bore pits also had to be chosen carefully to work around a large number of existing utilities.

The new water line, installed by Greater Cincinnati Water Works, will service a building currently under renovation by 3CDC.

Plans submitted to Greater Cincinnati Water Works were approved the same day, allowing work to begin quickly.

The project is expected to be the first of many to come that will require extra care to work around the tracks for the Cincinnati Streetcar.

Delaware County is currently conducting a series of public meetings to gather input before they start revising their sanitary sewer master plan. The Kleingers Group recently attend the meetings and is encouraging area developers to get involved.

Two things to note:

1. The county is currently looking for input from developers. The new master plan will affect sanitary sewer plans and development throughout the county. If you are a developer who works in Delaware County, now is a great time to voice your opinions about what you would like to see happen before the planning process gets underway.
2. Delaware County is also looking for information about specific projects to incorporate into the plan. They intend to consider existing and future developments as well as economic conditions, affordability, funding, and infrastructure assessments in developing the master plan. Understanding your plans for the future can assist the county in developing the best master plan.

Getting involved is easy. There is a public meeting tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 20 at the Frank B. Willis Government Building on US 23 North or you can submit your feedback online at www.co.delaware.oh.us/sanitary. You can also find a link to the meeting presentation here.

We’ll try to keep you informed as new developments happen, but getting your feedback in early is important so it can be considered as the county develops the plan.

Today, we hosted a  FIRST® LEGO® League team, and it was so much fun!  FIRST® LEGO® League introduces young people (grades 4-8), to the fun and excitement of science and technology. Teams of up to ten children, led by two screened Lead coaches, participate in a challenge tournament. Teams and events are all over the world.

By designing challenges around topics, participants are exposed to potential career paths within a chosen challenge topic, in addition to solidifying the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) principles that naturally come from participating in the program. Team members also learn valuable life and employment skills which will benefit them no matter which career path they choose.

Many thanks to Nathan Moore, Jason Ellis, and Brad D’Agnillo, for giving awesome presentations with visual demonstrations to the kids. You should have heard the incredibly good questions the kids asked: How does the point cloud show measurements? What do the different colors in the scan mean? What kind of education/degree did you get to do this?

After visiting several job sites, the kids will select a project. If the topic is something they learned here, we have committed to being available to answer questions as they begin the project. We can’t wait to hear if we piqued their interest in something related to engineering, 3D scanning, or sports fields.

What an awesome opportunity to expose young kids to things we do here and encourage them into the survey and engineering professions. The presentations were so good that I could see us taking this show “on the road”….to local middle and senior high schools!

Everyone knows buying in bulk can save you money.

Paving city streets may not be any different. Contractors tell us that one larger contract is more attractive than several smaller ones and can save the end-user money.

Unfortunately, many smaller municipalities can never reach the level required to achieve costs savings on their own.

This year, The Kleingers Group, in coordination with the Center for Local Government, will premier one of the first multi-jurisdictional pavement improvement plans, combining paving needs from three communities into one project.

The idea is that three communities—Silverton, Amberley Village, and Golf Manor—are more likely to attract a competitive bid and get better pricing with a combined request for the proposal than individually.

“The Center for Local Government exists to help local governments work together to achieve efficiencies.  We are always looking for innovative new methods of service delivery, and we are happy to be working to make this project a reality,” said T.J. White, Executive Director for the Center for Local Government

There are numerous benefits to the three communities working together. For starters, the communities can share small costs, such as printing and advertising, almost immediately. The cost of asphalt is cheaper when purchased in large quantities. Another real cost savings comes from transporting the very large paving equipment to the site. Since Silverton, Amberley Village, and Golf Manor are all neighboring communities, the contractor selected for the project will be able to transport equipment to the area once, completing the needed repairs in all three communities without incurring the cost of transporting equipment multiple times.

The result is an RFP that is more attractive to contractors and potentially cheaper for the communities involved.

The Kleingers Group has created combined bid documents previously. Last year, Kleingers coordinated two nearby improvement projects—one in Deer Park, one in Silverton—into one set of bid documents. Although the documents were created so they could be two individual sets, they were released as one document, producing a more attractive package for contractors and creating more competition.

Following that success, The Center for Local Government approached the Kleingers Group to discuss additional ways to help create coordination between local governments and began exploring multi-jurisdictional pavement improvements.

The Kleingers Group participated in a series of meetings to examine the possibility, bringing Silverton, Amberley Village, and Golf Manor on board.

As a result of the meetings, an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) was drafted between the three communities agreeing that Silverton will hold the contract with the roadway contractor for work to be done in all three of the communities and will be reimbursed by the other two communities for the costs. While Silverton will hold the contract and administer the construction, each community will prepare its own plans, have its own inspector, and approve the work completed.

The Kleingers Group and each of the three communities ensured their paving projects were as homogenous as possible. This coordination included using standard Ohio Department of Transportation asphalt mixes, consistent special provisions, and material testing standards. The result is the contractor doesn’t have to use a different set of standards in each community, which would have increased costs.

Moving forward, The Kleingers Group hopes to not only add communities to the Silverton/Amberley Village/Golf Manor paving program but also look at working with other Southern Ohio communities to cluster their paving programs.

Silverton Mayor John A. Smith emphasized the need to share services and cooperate with neighboring jurisdictions, even as Silverton retains its own identity.

“Our residents have told us clearly:  we don’t want to merge with another community and lose Silverton’s identity and self-governance.  For Silverton, partnering with neighbors like Deer Park and Amberley Village has always been a priority.  Today, though, it is essential. We have found even more ways to pool our resources and cooperate.  Paradoxically, it is only by working together on projects like this that we can preserve our communities and determine for ourselves how to self-govern,” he said.

Construction documents for the project will be sold on March 9 and bids will be opened on March 23.

The Kleingers Group is proud to be both a sponsor and to help plan the 2016 Safe Routes to School National Conference.

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and the National Center for Safe Routes to School recently announced that the 2016 conference will be held April 5 to 7 in Columbus, Ohio.

Since 2012, The Kleingers Group has served as one of just a few Safe Routes to School Statewide Consultants to the Ohio Department of Transportation and has worked on more than 4 dozen Safe Routes to School (SRTS) projects throughout the state.

The Kleingers Group is a leader in creating both school travel plans and infrastructure design, creating safe and convenient opportunities for children to walk or bicycle to school.

According to the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, the conference will bring together program representatives, state departments of transportation, planners, elected officials and community members to provide an opportunity for individuals, agencies and organization involved with Safe Routes to School to network, engage in educational opportunities, become inspired, and form partnerships.

The Kleingers Group is proud to sponsor the partnership’s goal of creating safer and more walkable communities and to share its traffic safety expertise.

More information about the conference is available at www.saferoutesconference.org.

As concussions caused by sports injuries continue to gain attention, it becomes more and more important for synthetic field owners to complete regular maintenance to ensure that their field continues to be safe for their players.

In November, Sportworks Field Design added G-MAX testing to its arsenal of field testing tools, allowing schools and other field owners to test the impact of the synthetic turf on players’ bodies and, more importantly, their heads.

Some studies highlight ways a synthetic field can be safer for players than natural grass. But over time, as a field gets more and more use, the infill can migrate away from high-use areas and begin to thin. The obvious result is that the field can get harder with less shock absorption each time a player falls. Field owners may be tempted to skip maintenance because of cost, but an unmaintained field can be a liability when players get hurt.

Sportworks recommends all owners perform G-MAX or “Impact Attenuation” testing annually to measure the shock absorption of synthetic turf throughout the field. The test is performed in accordance with ASTM Standard F355-A ensuring the field falls within an acceptable range.

Because Sportworks is a civil engineering firm and does not build fields or perform maintenance, field owners can be confident that the results are completely independent and unbiased.

The end result is owners can reduce their liability and be confident that their field is up to standards, and ultimately safe for players.

After a recent ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication, Otterbein University broke in their new synthetic turf field Saturday with a 20-0 win over Marietta College.  The Kleingers Group worked with MSA Architects on the renovation of Memorial Stadium.  The new project includes upgrades to the Memorial Stadium field turf and track facilities.  Two of our sports field design gurus, Craig Honkomp and Megan Cyr, were on hand to take in the game and field dedication ceremonies.

Traveled through Columbus lately? You may have seen construction at the new Orange Barrel Media Headquarters. The headquarters is located along I-670 just west of the confluence of the Scioto River and the Olentangy River near downtown.

It’s hard to miss the gigantic signage for the project, also under construction. Each tower for the sign is designed for a construction height of 160′! To help verify the towers were being constructed plumb, the contractor looked to our Central Ohio based surveyors to provide measurements at 20′ intervals to check the position of concrete forms. Proper adjustments were then made to ensure the towers met adequate dimensions, there is a minimal tolerance of 3/4″ for the steel between the towers.

Our survey crews assisted with renovation efforts for the newly opened Renaissance Cincinnati Downtown Hotel. The Kleingers Group survey crews ran level circuits up and down the existing stairs of the entire 18-story building and located areas where new stairs were located on each floor. This was completed during the demolition phase so that the steel manufacturer could prefab the metal stairs within a 1/8″, saving them time and money.

Check out completed photos from the recent Grand Opening.

The Kleingers Group recently completed work for Phase 1 of the Campus-Wide Geothermal Distribution project at Antioch College. This small, innovative, liberal arts college provides graduate programs that mix traditional class time with full-time work and community engagement. The noteworthy geothermal project does much of the same.

The project design elements included a large well field with 300 wells; a new entrance; sidewalks and curb; pervious patio; educational rain gardens and vegetable gardens; and a new grand entrance and drop-off area for students. The survey, civil engineering, and landscape architecture designs were completed by The Kleingers Group. While professionals drilled the geothermal wells and set the previous pavers, most construction was carried out by students on campus as part of their education/studio requirements.

The geothermal plant in combination with an existing solar array provides the College an opportunity to expand its sustainability efforts while reducing its overall power usage. Sources state that this package will help cut campus energy costs by nearly $400,000 annually, once completed.

The Kleingers Group’s commitment to site accessibility goes beyond the design. The Kleingers designers take unique measures to get a better understanding of how the end-user benefits from their design.

Recently, members of The Kleingers Group transportation team spent an afternoon with visually impaired residents and their guide dogs in the Columbus area. The team was split into two groups and paired with a blind individual, their sight dog, a cane, and blindfolds. Team members were then given the opportunity to experience the end-user. Members were blindfolded and given simple instructions to utilize their given tools (guide dog or cane) to navigate around a city block. Through the experience, team members were able to gain a new perspective about how end-users experience their design in real life and how everything in the design from curb ramps to accessible pedestrian signals to street conditions is important. This experience has helped our transportation engineers become more mindful of their design and how it impacts daily users.

For the Leblond Regional RecPlex project, our engineers were given the opportunity to design a recreation facility for individuals with and without disabilities. The team looked for opportunities to exceed ADA requirements for the project. The end result was a facility with accessibility to nearly everything from nearly everywhere in the parking lot. Designers found the solution by removing the reveal at the curb/pavement connection, this, in turn, saved money on the curb, bringing the cost in line with the budget, all while creating a ‘flush’ connection to all sides of the site.

“We put in extra ADA spaces, but it’s as if the whole lot is ADA accessible because people can spread out and park wherever they want and cross the lot and access everything without a ramp. With the baseball field on one side, the basketball court and playground on the other side, and the building on a separate side of the lot, [users] can park wherever and get to all three easily. Good call.” – Doug (Cincinnati Recreation Commission)

The Kleingers Group is proud to look beyond the ADA requirements on projects. Ultimately, it is about the end-users experience in our designs, why not make it a stress-free encounter.

Today marks the grand opening of The Reserve at Lakeview Landing, a brand new residential community of 33 one- and two-bedroom garden style apartment homes and 12 villas with attached garages, located in Huron, OH. This community is open to adults 55 and older and features a full set of amenities such as a community meeting space, fitness room and a business center.  The Kleingers Group was selected by Miller-Valentine Group to provide site design for this project that included civil engineering, landscape architecture, and surveying services. The Kleingers Group is proud to be part of this exciting development and we would like to thank Miller-Valentine Group for asking us to be involved in another great community project.

Rendering Credit: Miller-Valentine Group