2019 Annual WASLA Conference

Greater Tacoma Convention Center, March 22, 2019

3:00 - 4:00 PM
Light Rail Corridor Landscapes: Scope and Significance

Description:

While light rail is transforming our region by connecting communities and addressing growing mass-transit needs, it is also changing the landscape we live in. Light rail reshapes existing development patterns of communities encouraging them to revisit their current codes and standards to capitalize on the redevelopment potential while preserving their essence. Using the Federal Way Link Extension project as an example, this session will address how the field of landscape architecture is contributing to these “regional transformations” through large scale lineal infra-structure projects within the lens of Design-Build delivery.

Speaker Bios:

Shikha Chauhan, Landscape Architect, HDR

Shikha Chauhan is a landscape architect at HDR. She has multidisciplinary experience in design and construction fields spanning more than a decade. Her design approach is client and community focused context specific and resource efficient. She has worked on projects of varied scales including small neighborhood parks to projects spanning multiple jurisdictions. She is passionate about working on complex multidisciplinary infrastructure projects where landscape architects are not only designers but advocates, negotiators, data analysts and sometimes change agents in the midst of rapid regional landscape transformations.

Michelle Victor, GIS Analyst, HDR

Michelle is a Senior GIS Analyst and Environmental Scientist at HDR. Her design and implementation of geographic information systems (GIS) increase efficiencies in the management and delivery of engineering and construction projects spanning over 15 years. She has managed all aspects of Information Technology and GIS services integral to the successful delivery of large scale projects involving multiple disciplines. Her knowledge in GIS, environmental permitting, and engineering have positioned her to understand the unique challenges of multidisciplinary infrastructure projects and find solutions to technical issues using geospatial solutions.
Lisa Danielski, Environmental Scientist, HDR
Lisa has over 18 years' experience in natural resources studies and environmental permitting for a variety of public infrastructure projects throughout the Western US. Lisa manages wetland, stream, and wildlife habitat studies to support projects ranging from preliminary alternatives analyses to land use permitting and construction permit compliance in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. She also manages Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and state and local natural resources permitting on transportation, utility, and site development projects in Washington and Oregon.
Zac Eskenazi, Project Manager, Federal Way Link Extension Project, Sound Transit
Zac is a Sound Transit Project Manager for the Federal Way Link Extension Project. He has more than a decade of experience in community outreach and public engagement. He holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. In his prior role as a Community Services Manager for a local non-profit, he assessed community needs and developed opportunities for programs and services for South King County residents including recently arrived immigrants and refugees. He has continued this effort at Sound Transit first as Community Outreach Specialist on the Federal Way Link Extension project and now as a Project Manager for Federal Way Link Extension project. In these roles he has helped connect impacted residents to additional resources to aid in their relocation as a result of the project and developed critical agreements with the four local jurisdictions where the FWLE project is being constructed.

Learning Objectives:

  • Develop an understanding of the scope of landscape architecture in light rail transit projects.
  • Develop an understanding of Design Build as it relates to landscape architecture and as a transit agency's preferred means of delivering light rail lines.
  • Explore the tools, strategies and methodologies used to deliver large-scale light rail projects
  • Understand the opportunities and challenges presented by jurisdictional codes and standards for achieving consistency in design and uniform character of the corridor through landscape design.
  • Gain an understanding of the performance versus prescriptive requirements related to landscape restoration distilled from Sound Transit's design criteria, jurisdictional standards and environmental regulations.