Montage Enterprises: Surpassing the expectation in mower parts
If there is a constant during the spring and summer, it’s the wave of never-ending mowing. Highways, ditches, right-of-ways, parks and other municipal and DOT properties all require routine trimming to improve motorists’ visibility and the quality of public property. … More from our cover sponsor →
Boardwalk Ocean City, Maryland
The small town of Ocean City, Maryland, with about 7,000 residents, opens its doors — or rather its boardwalk — to 8 million visitors every year. The 2.5-mile traditional wooden plank walkway stretches north and south along pristine sandy beaches on the Atlantic coast. … Continue reading →
Going electric with public transit: Is it for your municipality?
Smaller cities might like hybrids For smaller municipalities with less ridership or those who just want to stick their toes in the pool of electrification, a hybrid shuttle bus like the ones offered by XL Fleet may be the way … Continue reading →
Taylor Wing leads the competition
Based in Northern California, Taylor Wing is driving innovation in the after-market truck industry when it comes to truck tool boxes, tool/fuel combo boxes and fuel tanks. For 40 years, the company has set out to do one thing: build … Continue reading →
Leawood, Kansas: Growing with distinction
Picture it — a vivid display of growth that propelled Leawood, Kansas, to the top of WalletHub’s Top 20 Small Cities of America for the second year in a row for cities with a population of 25,000-100,000. Leawood is home to a … Continue reading →
A wall failure repairs case study
A reinforced concrete block wall, originally constructed 40 years ago for the Hiawassee Highlands, a single-family residential subdivision, showed rotation of instability that may impact the walking residents adjacent to a busy highway. The existing concrete block wall is positioned … Continue reading →
Lancaster welcomes public works under one roof
For decades, the public works department in the city of Lancaster, Pa., has been held back by having too many of its bureaus located under multiple roofs. This prevented effective communication between the bureaus from taking place, but that’s recently … Continue reading →
Atlanta Department of Watershed’s fleet sharing and automation project saves taxpayer dollars, improves efficiency and greens the fleet
The city of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management automated the management of its vehicle fleet to reduce cost, improve utilization, enhance service to employees and to further green its fleet. Fleet vehicles are a critical tool used by the Watershed … Continue reading →
Cambridge updates buildings with net-zero in mind
Cambridge, Mass., has been hard at work in its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality. It is just one of the city’s future-forward goals and is an integral part of a net-zero action plan begun in 2015. While certainly not an … Continue reading →
Ann Arbor and Ford partner to realize the future
When Disneyland first opened in 1955, one of its popular theme parks was Tomorrowland, a nod to Walt Disney’s futurist views. That was then, this is now: a new concept of tomorrow is here today. Just like the magic of … Continue reading →
Goldsboro, N.C., earns unique chance to host Mid-Atlantic Regional Quidditch Championship for 2019, 2020
The game of Quidditch got its beginnings as a fictional sport in the “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling. In October 2005, a freshman at Middlebury College in Vermont decided to make this fictional sport a reality and laid the … Continue reading →
Nebraska rebounds following historic flooding
Nebraska, Missouri, South Dakota, Kansas and Iowa have dealt with massive flooding throughout spring 2019, with some areas experiencing prolonged flooding along the Missouri River well into December. Starting mid-March, the 2019 Midwestern U.S. floods marked the wettest January-to-May period … Continue reading →
Police departments work to protect children through school bus safety
Hit the Brakes In Sterling Heights, Mich., Police Sgt. Aaron Susalla is taking a different approach toward spreading school bus safety awareness. “From our Facebook page, we were getting a lot of messages about how people were disregarding … Continue reading →
AFADs rolled out in construction zones
Robo flaggers are becoming more popular with departments of transportation and cities as they offer greater safety for workers. Admittedly, not every state has implemented them as of yet, but there is certainly something to be learned from those who … Continue reading →
Mobility is a community endeavor in Sugar Land, Texas
It makes intuitive sense. Municipal plans that engage stakeholders are better received than those that have no community input. The city of Sugar Land, Texas’, mobility master plan and related task force are examples of that principle in action. … Continue reading →
Tracy McKee is the chief innovation officer for Charleston, South Carolina
When it comes to her professional life, Tracy McKee said there is one question she is asked more than any other: What exactly is a chief innovation officer? “I get that all the time,” she said in a recent … Continue reading →
Cities getting smart with traffic signals and streetlights
Grand Rapids in process Grand Rapids, Mich., is in the process of switching to smart streetlights with a two-phase $20 million bond project. The first phase was an $8.8 million bond that will take care of infrastructure. Bruce … Continue reading →
Poverty Point Pioneer, Louisiana
The place is a mystery, a classroom, a cultural museum and an ancient encyclopedia written more than three millennia ago that is slowly unfolding its pages to the painstaking efforts of archaeologists. Poverty Point State Historical Site, a U.S. National … Continue reading →
The roads of tomorrow
The roads of tomorrow will not be like the roads of today. Sure, they might continue to share the same materials — or maybe not, I’m still crossing my fingers for solar panel roads that don’t ice over — but … Continue reading →