National Engineers Month |
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Planning Vickstown's Transportation Future Students work in teams. Each team role-plays one of seven different parties providing input regarding options for a fictional town's transportation future. The goal is to develop a consensus solution. Students learn about the complexity of public policy making; about conflicting priorities; and about the need to listen and respond to others' points of view in order to move forward. Grade Level 7-12 Materials
Discussion Transportation agencies are responsible for building, maintaining, and operating transportation facilities and services. Because new transportation facilities and services have such a sweeping impact on civic life, economic development, and the environment--and because they cost taxpayers a lot of money, major decisions regarding what to build, when, and where are made by elected officials, after considerable public debate. The engineers and planners who work for transportation agencies have input, and their viewpoint is balanced with those of many other groups, including developers and business groups; environmental groups; historic preservation groups; local civic groups; and other government agencies, such as the health department. Activity Preparation:: Duplicate the handouts for each of the seven role-playing groups, and the map of Vicksburg . Staple the map to each student's handout. If an overhead projector is available, also make an overhead of the map. If possible, set up the classroom beforehand to accommodate the discussion groups. Otherwise, ask the students to move their chairs into circles now to accommodate their groups' discussion. 1. Divide the class up into groups of three to five students. Give each group the handouts for their team (one for each member of the group), and one colored marker. [Handouts for seven groups are included with this activity. This will accommodate a class of 21 to 35 students. For smaller classes, consider reducing the number of role-playing groups. For larger groups, consider having more than one group assigned to the same role.] 2. Put the map of Vickstown on the overhead projector (if available). Otherwise, direct the students to the map (page two of their handout). Explain the scenerio: Vickstown is a fictional town along the Panache River in the valley between the Sorverd Mountains and Parkins Ridge. It lies just north of Morristown along Route 309. Morristown is a larger city along Interstate 78. A railroad line runs in an east-west direction north of Vickstown, near Route 17 and Lake Challenge. A new commercial/industrial park is being developed at a large site at the intersection of Route 309 and Route 17. However, the main source of labor for the factories is Morristown. Vickstown's main transportation challenge is to find a way for the Morristown workers to commute to New Horizon more quickly than the current 30 minute commute along Route 309, a two-lane road in need of rehabilitation. 3. Read aloud the role of each of the groups. 4. Tell the students that each group must recommend a solution to Vickstown's transportation challenges. Using the colored marker, they should show where they would propose any new transportation facilities to be built. Tell the students that they will have 15 minutes to develop their group's recommendations. Ask them to appoint a group spokesperson. Tell them that they should be able to explain not only what the group recommends, but why. 5. During the discussion time, circulate around the room to provide additional instructions or information to the students as needed. 6. At the end of the 15 minutes, ask each group spokesperson to present the findings of their group. If an overhead projector is available, ask the spokesperson to draw the location of their proposed facility on the map on the overhead projector. Otherwise, sketch the map on the chalkboard or flip chart and have the students draw it there. 7. Discuss with the students how the solutions differ. Ask them to brainstorm ways to compromise varying viewpoints in order to develop a consensus solution. During the brainstorming, use the chalkboard or easel to write suggestions from the students. Then provide closure by suggesting to them the ways that a typical community might resolve the problem. Discussion In recent years, many transportation agencies have found it increasingly difficult to get new projects approved because of public opposition. In many cases, people support the general idea of new roads or trains, but object to construction in their neighborhood. This is called the "NIMBY" phenomenon: Not-In-My-Back-Yard. When projects are proposed for more remote areas, farther away from existing communities, some people object to the loss of open land. Still others oppose projects because they will harm the environment, or important historic sites. Some people object to new roads because they would rather have additional transit facilities; others oppose the transit facilities and want more roads, or bike trails, or sidewalks. Meanwhile, our population continues to increase, and without new facilities travel will become increasingly difficult in the future. Somehow, the varying factions must learn to compromise enough to agree on some form of action.
Vickstown Roles Local Government Officials and the Mayor's Office: Local government officials include the Chair of the City Council and City Councilpersons who are elected for two-year terms; employees of the city government, including the Director of Planning, the Director of Public Works and Transportation; The Public Health Director; the Public School Superintendent; the Chief of Police; and the Mayor (elected for a four-year term) and his staff. Developers and Business Groups: Many of Vickstown's business people are investors in New Horizon Development Corp., which is building a commercial/industrial park north of town. New Horizon consists of a few small office buildings and one factory now, but plans call for a half dozen factories and several high-rise office buildings at full build-out. The Development Corp. is courting major corporations throughout the country to convince them to move operations to the Vickstown area and build at New Horizon. To accommodate the needs of the office park, transportation improvements will be needed. Most owners of businesses in Vickstown support New Horizon, even if they are not investors, because the development will increase the town's population and their customer base. The exception is the merchants in the Olde Town area, who fear that overdevelopment could spoil the character of the historic area and dampen the tourist trade. Environmental Groups: The local chapters of the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Fund, and Clean Water Action have formed a coalition to clean up the Panache River and to protect the Panache Valley's air quality. Vehicle emissions are the source of about half the harmful air pollution in the Vickstown Region and about one-third of the water pollution. Historic Preservation Group: The local historic preservation group generally opposes any development or road construction in the Panache Valley because it would further disturb the community's irreplaceable historic treasures, which include Native American archeological sites, including sacred burial grounds; as well as splendid Victorian buildings. City Engineers: The engineers employed in the transportation division of the city's Department of Public Works and Transportation work with county and state officials to analyze Vickstown's traffic and transportation problems continually. They know that the town must add transportation capacity in the near future or gridlock will result, as well as unacceptable levels of highway casualties. They also know that city funds are limited and that the most cost-effective way to add capacity is to widen the existing roadway. Civic Group: The Olde Town Vickstown Civic Association consists primarily of the owners of the historic Victorian homes and businesses in Olde Town. The civic association has many affluent and powerful members who are friends or business associates of the mayor and city councilpersons. Most members of the civic association oppose the New Horizon development because it would change the character of the town. However, a minority of Civic Association members also are members of the Chamber of Commerce, and they are in favor of the New Horizon development. Consequently, the Civic Association is some degree of internal turmoil. City Health Department: The employees of the City Health Department are charged with enforcing State and Federal regulations regarding hazardous waste disposal, transportation of hazardous materials, and other regulations designed to protect the public health.
PLANNING VICKSTOWN'S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE GROUP 1 HANDOUT Vickstown is a fictional town along the Panache River in the valley between the Sorverd Mountains and Parkins Ridge. It lies just north of Morristown along Route 309. Morristown is a larger city along Interstate 78. A railroad line runs in an east-west direction north of Vickstown, near Route 17 and Lake Challenge. A new commercial/industrial park is being developed at a large site at the intersection of Route 309 and Route 17. However, the main source of labor for the factories is Morristown. Vickstown¹s main transportation challenge is to find a way for the Morristown workers to commute to New Horizon more quickly than the current 30-minute commute along Route 309, a two-lane road in need of rehabilitation. Role Playing Group 1: Local Government Officials and the Mayor's Office Local government officials include the Chair of the City Council and City Councilpersons who are elected for two-year terms; employees of the city government, including the Director of Planning, the Director of Public Works and Transportation; The Public Health Director; the Public School Superintendent; the Chief of Police; and the Mayor (elected for a four-year term) and his staff. Key Issues For Group 1 The adopted long-range master plan for Vickstown calls for widening existing Route 309 during the 2002-2010 time frame to accommodate projected traffic volumes. This plan has been on the books for 15 years, and the city's Planning Director and several city councilpersons think that the existing plan should be implemented without change. The city's Director of Public Works and Transportation and the Chief of Police think that the improvement project should be implemented right away because there have been a number of traffic-related fatal crashes on Route 309 in recent years, and because traffic is increasing faster than projected. Some city councilpersons agree, while other city councilpersons who are allied with the environmental groups and civic associations are against the widening project. The mayor has not announced her position on the issue. Although the city's master plan calls for improving Route 309, there is no existing source of funding for the project. Although some state and federal funds may be available, the local government recognizes that new revenue sources (income taxes, gas taxes, tolls, fees, etc.) will be needed to implement any new or improved transportation facilities in Vickstown. The mayor and city council are very reluctant to increase taxes, since the last time taxes went up in Vickstown all of the city's elected officials were voted out of office during the next election. Vickstown High School was built in 1948 and needs a new roof and heating/cooling plant. Many townspeople are actively working to build support for building a new high school. The town cannot afford either to make the necessary repairs to the old school or to build a new one without raising taxes. Elected officials are aware that the issue of the new high school is more important to most voters in Vickstown than the transportation issue is.
PLANNING VICKSTOWN'S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE GROUP 2 HANDOUT Vickstown is a fictional town along the Panache River in the valley between the Sorverd Mountains and Parkins Ridge. It lies just north of Morristown along Route 309. Morristown is a larger city along Interstate 78. A railroad line runs in an east-west direction north of Vickstown, near Route 17 and Lake Challenge. A new commercial/industrial park is being developed at a large site at the intersection of Route 309 and Route 17. However, the main source of labor for the factories is Morristown. Vickstown¹s main transportation challenge is to find a way for the Morristown workers to commute to New Horizon more quickly than the current 30-minute commute along Route 309, a two-lane road in need of rehabilitation. Role Playing Group 2: Developers and Business Groups Many of Vickstown's business people are investors in New Horizon Development Corp., which is building a commercial/industrial park north of town. New Horizon consists of a few small office buildings and one factory now, but plans call for a half dozen factories and several high-rise office buildings at full build-out. The Development Corp. is courting major corporations throughout the country to convince them to move operations to the Vickstown area and build at New Horizon. To accommodate the needs of the office park, transportation improvements will be needed. Most owners of businesses in Vickstown support New Horizon, even if they are not investors, because the development will increase the town's population and their customer base. The exception is the merchants in the Olde Town area, who fear that overdevelopment could spoil the character of the historic area and dampen the tourist trade. Key Issues For Group 2 A new commercial/industrial business park, "New Horizon Development," is located north of Vickstown along Route 309. The Vickstown Chamber of Commerce is actively promoting the business park, and a number of manufacturing companies are considering building new facilities there. However, Vickstown is a community populated principally by retirees and affluent professionals who are affiliated with the college and the research foundation, who send their children to a nearby private academy. The skilled and unskilled blue-collar workers needed to work in the factories live in Morristown, to the south of Vickstown. The business investors are concerned that Morristown workers will be discouraged by the 30-minute commute along the existing two-lane road. Upgrading Route 309 to a four-lane divided freeway would reduce the commute time to by one-half. The business community also is concerned about assuring efficient freight movements in and out of New Horizon Development. When New Horizons is fully developed, the developers project that and additional 400 trucks per day will move in and out of the industrial area. The business community asserts that attracting new businesses to Vickstown is the best way to address the city's financial crisis because the businesses will provide increased tax revenues to the city.
PLANNING VICKSTOWN'S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE GROUP 3 HANDOUT Vickstown is a fictional town along the Panache River in the valley between the Sorverd Mountains and Parkins Ridge. It lies just north of Morristown along Route 309. Morristown is a larger city along Interstate 78. A railroad line runs in an east-west direction north of Vickstown, near Route 17 and Lake Challe nge. A new commercial/industrial park is being developed at a large site at the intersection of Route 309 and Route 17. However, the main source of labor for the factories is Morristown. Vickstown¹s main transportation challenge is to find a way for the Morristown workers to commute to New Horizon more quickly than the current 30-minute commute along Route 309, a two-lane road in need of rehabilitation. Role Playing Group 3: Environmental Groups The local chapters of the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Fund, and Clean Water Action have formed a coalition to clean up the Panache River and to protect the Panache Valley¹s air quality. Vehicle emissions are the source of about half the harmful air pollution in the Vickstown Region and about one-third of the water pollution. Key Issues For Group 3 The environmental groups are calling for a clean-up of the Panache River, and point out that the volumes of additional vehicle traffic that are projected for the next 20 years will produce an unacceptable level of harmful emissions that will further pollute the river and also cause Vickstown¹s air quality to worsen. The environmentalists oppose any road widening or new road construction. Instead, they want to run express buses from Morristown to New Horizon. They also want a bicycle/pedestrian path constructed along the Panache River, with a branch trail running to New Horizon to accommodate bicycle commuting. If the Panache River becomes more polluted, aquatic life could be threatened, including fishing adjoining wetlands. The environmental groups agree with the historic preservation groups in opposing a widening of Route 309 through downtown Vickstown because it would destroy the lovely historic character of Olde Town Vickstown. The environmentalists point out that the widening would make it impossible for pedestrians to walk or bike to shop or do errands, as they can now. They want sidewalk improvements and bike paths in the downtown area, with cars blocked off and shuttle buses running from the Olde Town area to residential neighborhoods and to the bus and rail stations. PLANNING VICKSTOWN'S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE GROUP 4 HANDOUT Vickstown is a fictional town along the Panache River in the valley between the Sorverd Mountains and Parkins Ridge. It lies just north of Morristown along Route 309. Morristown is a larger city along Interstate 78. A railroad line runs in an east-west direction north of Vickstown, near Route 17 and Lake Challenge. A new commercial/industrial park is being developed at a large site at the intersection of Route 309 and Route 17. However, the main source of labor for the factories is Morristown. Vickstown¹s main transportation challenge is to find a way for the Morristown workers to commute to New Horizon more quickly than the current 30-minute commute along Route 309, a two-lane road in need of rehabilitation. Role Playing Group 4: Historic Preservation Group The local historic preservation group generally opposes any development or road construction in the Panache Valley because it would further disturb the community's irreplaceable historic treasures, which include Native American archeological sites, including sacred burial grounds; as well as splendid Victorian buildings. Key Issues For Group 4 Existing Route 309 passes through the center of Vickstown, a 130-year-old community which has a number of classic Victorian homes and commercial buildings abutting the current route. Widening the road would necessitate destroying or moving some of these historic buildings. The Vickstown Valley was the site of Native American settlements and trade routes. Some of these sites have already been excavated along the Panache River, although they have yielded marginal information. Historians believe there are much richer sites still undiscovered throughout the Valley. There is a sacred Native American burial ground along the Panache River just to the north of existing Route 309. Widening Route 309 would necessitate disturbing the remains, which would be highly offensive to the Native American community. PLANNING VICKSTOWN'S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE GROUP 5 HANDOUT Vickstown is a fictional town along the Panache River in the valley between the Sorverd Mountains and Parkins Ridge. It lies just north of Morristown along Route 309. Morristown is a larger city along Interstate 78. A railroad line runs in an east-west direction north of Vickstown, near Route 17 and Lake Challenge. A new commercial/industrial park is being developed at a large site at the intersection of Route 309 and Route 17. However, the main source of labor for the factories is Morristown. Vickstown¹s main transportation challenge is to find a way for the Morristown workers to commute to New Horizon more quickly than the current 30-minute commute along Route 309, a two-lane road in need of rehabilitation. Role Playing Group 5: City Engineers The engineers employed in the transportation division of the city's Department of Public Works and Transportation work with county and state officials to analyze Vickstown¹s traffic and transportation problems continually. They know that the town must add transportation capacity in the near future or gridlock will result, as well as unacceptable levels of highway casualties. They also know that city funds are limited and that the most cost-effective way to add capacity is to widen the existing roadway. Key Issues For Group 5 Existing Route 309, a two-lane road, carries 10,000 vehicles per day, and is experiencing mild congestion during peak hours (rush hours from 6 to 8 am and 5 to 7 pm). Traffic projections indicate volume will increase to 17,000 vehicles per day by the year 2005 (worsening rush-hour congestion), and to 27,000 vehicles per day by the year 2020--producing severe gridlock conditions. (An average lane of traffic carries 2,000 vehicles per hour per lane.) Peak hour travel is approximately 20 percent of the average daily travel. The hillsides surrounding the Panache River Valley are shale clay and would be extremely difficult to either construct a road on or to tunnel through. Cost of a new road is $1 million per mile. Cost of reconstruction is $500,000 per mile. The number of crashes on Route 309 is currently 30 percent higher than statewide average for similar routes. PLANNING VICKSTOWN'S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE GROUP 6 HANDOUT Vickstown is a fictional town along the Panache River in the valley between the Sorverd Mountains and Parkins Ridge. It lies just north of Morristown along Route 309. Morristown is a larger city along Interstate 78. A railroad line runs in an east-west direction north of Vickstown, near Route 17 and Lake Challenge. A new commercial/industrial park is being developed at a large site at the intersection of Route 309 and Route 17. However, the main source of labor for the factories is Morristown. Vickstown¹s main transportation challenge is to find a way for the Morristown workers to commute to New Horizon more quickly than the current 30-minute commute along Route 309, a two-lane road in need of rehabilitation. Role Playing Group 6: Civic Group The Olde Town Vickstown Civic Association consists primarily of the owners of the historic Victorian homes and businesses in Olde Town. The civic association has many affluent and powerful members who are friends or business associates of the mayor and city councilpersons. Most members of the civic association oppose the New Horizon development because it would change the character of the town. However, a minority of Civic Association members also are members of the Chamber of Commerce, and they are in favor of the New Horizon development. Consequently, the Civic Association is some degree of internal turmoil. Key Issues For Group 6 The Civic Association officially opposes any improvements or new construction along Route 309 because of the noise, dust, and inconvenience that would occur during construction; because some member's homes and businesses would have to be destroyed or moved; and because additional traffic in Olde Town Vickstown is very undesirable to them. Some members are advocating a freeway bypass around the city. The Olde Town Vickstown Civic Association is pressuring the mayor's office for speed bumps along existing Route 309 to slow traffic through town. The Civic Association supports the pedestrian, bikepath, and rail improvements supported by the environmentalists. PLANNING VICKSTOWN'S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE GROUP 7 HANDOUT Vickstown is a fictional town along the Panache River in the valley between the Sorverd Mountains and Parkins Ridge. It lies just north of Morristown along Route 309. Morristown is a larger city along Interstate 78. A railroad line runs in an east-west direction north of Vickstown, near Route 17 and Lake Challenge. A new commercial/industrial park is being developed at a large site at the intersection of Route 309 and Route 17. However, the main source of labor for the factories is Morristown. Vickstown¹s main transportation challenge is to find a way for the Morristown workers to commute to New Horizon more quickly than the current 30-minute commute along Route 309, a two-lane road in need of rehabilitation. Role Playing Group 7: City Health Department The employees of the City Health Department are charged with enforcing State and Federal regulations regarding hazardous waste disposal, transportation of hazardous materials, and other regulations designed to protect the public health. Key Issues For Group 7 There is a major Superfund (hazardous waste) site just south of the New Horizon Commercial/Industrial Park, where a plastics factory was formerly located. Removing the hazardous waste from this site has an estimated cost of $3.2 million. Any construction in this area would stir up the waste and cause a public health hazard. Mining through the Panache Valley in the late 19th Century has left the river somewhat polluted. Officials fear that any additional development will make this river unswimmable and unfishable. Officials are very concerned about the amount of hazardous materials destined for New Horizon that are traveling on existing Route 309, which is somewhat unsafe. They agree with the City Engineers that road improvements are needed to assure public safety. |
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