2023 Optimizing Main Street Sandbox Competition

Sponsored by ITE's Consultants Council

Key Dates:

• Expressions of Interest are due by February 24, 2023; 
• Final Submissions are due on May 15, 2023;
• Two finalist teams in both the student and professional categories will be notified by Friday, June 9, 2023.
• Each finalist team will be expected to send one representative to do a final presentation in Portland, OR, for the Annual Meeting and winners will be announced during the Awards Luncheon.

PURPOSE

• Competitors will plan and design a corridor to meet the Mayor’s Vision for the City of Neverland.

Our goal is to ensure all of our City corridors are balanced in addressing residents and visitors needs for comfortable and connected safe traveling options (walking, biking, taking transit, driving, etc.), increasing accessibility and micromobility, and providing curbside space for businesses to thrive.

The design should take into account land use, bus activity, and demographics of the corridor. Submissions will be judged on their creativity and innovation, the practicality and balance achieved by the individual ideas, soundness of their technical approach and design, and the transferability of its elements to other jurisdictions or corridors.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The goal is to optimize the right-of-way for a corridor that could serve as an example in terms of balancing corridor needs, safety, operations, mobility, equity, and livability.  To make the competition parameters consistent, we will be using a one (1.0) mile long Main Street corridor in the City of Neverland with a posted 25 MPH speed limit. This corridor is hypothetical and does not exist anywhere. Information for the corridor such as right-of-way, land use, roadway characteristics, etc. are provided in a CAD-based file. The goal is to use the information provided to re-envision the corridor especially curbside activity and optimize the needs of abutters, residents, and visitors.         

Start a Submission HERE.

• Provide the required contact information for your team and upload your submission (one PDF file) to the judging portal
• Each submission is limited to ten 8 ½ X 11 pages including covers, tabs, graphics, and/or images.  Submitters can use an 11x17 page to present the proposed corridor design and this 11x17 will count as one page. At least one proposed cross section must be provided.
• Methodology and transferability to other corridors are the keys to the competition.
• The submissions have to give judges the confidence that it is a legitimate approach when it is transferred.
• Explain your thought process and justify all your decisions – for example, did you include dedicated space for people biking, how and why? Why did you provide the bus stop there?
• Submitters must articulate why they selected the approach they did.

CRITERIA

• Corridor’s curbside activity approach including vision and goals (15%)
• Criteria met and the layout of the plan (40%)
• Differentiator – any other criteria you suggest incorporating into the plan (10%)
• Transferability and adaptability of the approach to other corridors (20%)
• Quality of writing and presentation (15%)
  • There is an expectation that one graphic will show the proposed corridor plan with curbside activities labeled. Submitters can present this on an 11x17 page instead of an 8 ½ x 11 page

All details for this competition can be found at https://www.ite.org/membership/2023-optimizing-main-street-sandbox-competition/