Kuyrkendall and Sewell to Present at Complete Streets Conference

April 3, 2018

Gresham, Smith and Partners is proud to announce that Bert Kuyrkendall, P.E., senior transportation engineer in GS&P’s Chattanooga office, and Mike Sewell, P.E., GS&P’s service line leader for active transportation and Louisville office transportation leader, will present at the Intersections: Creating Culturally Complete Streets Conference on April 3rd and 4th in Nashville. The National Complete Streets Coalition is producing the conference in partnership with Smart Growth America’s Arts & Culture team. It will include mobile workshops, interactive panels and breakout discussions about cutting-edge Complete Streets and creative placemaking research, ideas, and practices. GS&P is also a conference sponsor and will host a welcome reception for conference attendees at the firm’s Nashville office.

“It’s exciting for GS&P to be so involved in this year’s conference, as a sponsor, event host and leader of two panel discussions,” commented Michael Flatt, P.E., division vice president at Gresham, Smith and Partners. “This conference is about sharing lessons learned and equipping participants with knowledge to help create streets that are safe, multi-modal and truly for everyone, in a way that supports thriving communities. We’re proud to be part of it.”

A summary of the presentations are as follows:

Glass Street: Using Art and Placemaking to Raise Up a Neighborhood
Panel session with Bert Kuyrkendall, P.E., Blythe Bailey of Chattanooga Department of Transportation, Nicole Lewis and Josiah Golson of Glass House Collective, and Greg Heath of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

The Glass Street Neighborhood in Chattanooga has gone through many changes over the years: from being a diverse neighborhood with streetcar service into its active commercial neighborhood center, to an economically struggling neighborhood with boarded up store fronts, struggling schools and deep issues with safety and crime. The panel session will explore the remarkable impact this work by planners, activists, artists, architects, engineers, and public health officials has had on the area, and how art has served as the core mechanism for the work as an outreach tool, an expression of civic identity, a means of celebration and gathering, a method of activating public spaces, and a creative tool to bring beauty and pride to the neighborhood.

Transportation and Health: Making Cross-Sector Collaboration Work
Panel session with Mike Sewell, P.E., Kate Riordan of Health by Design and Carol Kachadoorian of Toole Design Group

Most people would not expect a strong association between transportation and health. On the surface, they are worlds apart, but well-planned transportation projects can also significantly support public health by creating safer roadways for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians; improving air quality; and encouraging active, healthy lifestyles. The panel session will discuss public health’s critical tie to land-use and challenge transportation professionals to use their platform to encourage healthier lifestyles by providing residents with safer and more attractive access to destinations. The session will also touch on equity, context and air quality.