Cole was proud to be a Platinum sponsor of the City of Charlotte’s Department of Transportation golf tournament benefiting the United Way of Central Carolinas. Currently facilitating an ADA Self-Evaluation for the City of Charlotte, Cole also has a field office in the City, and we feel strongly about giving back to the communities in which we work.
Accessibility means many things to many different people, and the United Way of Central Carolinas has made it their mission to provide access to various services and programs that would not usually be available to some residents. Fighting for the education, health, and financial stability of every person in their community, all donations remain local to support life-changing efforts in the City of Charlotte’s back yard. To learn more about their mission and to get involved, please visit their website: https://uwcentralcarolinas.org/
Curious as to how Cole assists municipalities in achieving ADA compliance? Watch the video below to see how our Segways are utilized to accurately collect street and sidewalk data for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1LTxIgsEGg&feature=youtu.be&list=PLyLWQADRroOW-Zcx_ZoiNbvtf7hvMRaXx
For additional information on how Cole can assist with ADA transition planning, please contact Belinda Banger at bbanger@colestl.com.
Cole is hiring for a Field Data Collection Technician in Charlotte, North Carolina!
Join us for an open interview day on Friday, May 5, 2017, from 10 AM to 3 PM.
Location:
The Hyatt House Charlotte City Center
435 E. Trade Street
Charlotte, NC 28202
Please bring a hard copy of your resume with you or email a copy ahead of time to hr@colestl.com.
See you Friday!
Cole is pleased to announce that Melissa Anderson has joined our staff as the Vice President of Engineering for Accessibility.
Prior to joining Cole, Melissa worked at the US Access Board, serving as their Transportation Engineer, developing accessibility guidelines and assisting Federal, State and Local Agencies in meeting their obligations to provide accessible facilities for people who have disabilities. Her work involved refining the proposed Public Right of Way Accessibility Guidelines, updating the Transportation Vehicle Accessibility Guidelines and leading the Rail Vehicles Access Advisory Committee. Melissa also continues to participate as a subject matter expert on several research panels and remains a member of two committees for the Transportation Research Board.
Prior to her work for the Access Board, she was employed for 10 years with the Missouri Department of Transportation, where she was involved in traffic and safety data collection and analysis, research, standards development, and professional services procurement. Melissa became the statewide non-motorized transportation engineer, where she was responsible for developing pedestrian and bicycle policy, training staff and local agencies, and reviewing plans for accessibility.
Previously, Melissa also worked for two small local agencies on a wide variety of projects including water and waste water design, managing street and sidewalk programs, review of residential and commercial developments, and long range planning and zoning updates.
Cole is excited to have Melissa lead our ADA Team, providing expert guidance and working with our clients to understand their obligation to provide accessible facilities. We look forward to sharing her skills with our partners in the evaluation of their existing infrastructure and development of State and community transition and prioritization plans and accessible pedestrian networks.
U.S. Access Board Announces Melissa Anderson is joining Cole’s team.
Access the complete newsletter here: https://www.access-board.gov/news/access-currents-july-august-2016
Cole will be presenting at the Arizona Chapter American Public Works Association’s 2014 Statewide Conference being held in Tucson, AZ, next week July 28-29th. We are speaking on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards and Regulations for Public Rights of Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG). Our presentation is meant to help attendees gain a better understanding of the ADA legislation, the necessity of a transition plan, and the benefits of a cost-effective, proven technology. Cole is utilizing this exclusive technology in public agencies throughout the country, including the current Chandler, AZ, ADA Transition Plan.
Mike Vonderheide, PE, Senior Project Manager, and Belinda Banger, Vice President / Chief Strategist will co-present. Both Mike and Belinda are very familiar with U.S. Access Board design guidelines, standards, and technical requirements of providing accessible routes in the public right-of-way. This is one of many occasions they have presented “ADA Transition Planning using ULIP-ADA™ Technology”.
The conference welcomes around 700 Public Works professionals and representatives from municipalities and agencies in the state of Arizona. As a member of APWA and leading ADA Transition Planning consultant, Cole is looking forward to networking with existing colleagues and making new connections. If you’re planning to attend, don’t miss us Tuesday morning at 10:30am.
Cole will be presenting at the 2014 APWA Mid-America Conference & Exhibit Show being held in Overland Park, KS, this week May 21-23. We are speaking on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards and Regulations for Public Rights of Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG). Our presentation is meant to help attendees gain a better understanding of the ADA legislation, the necessity of a transition plan, and the benefits of a cost-effective, proven technology. Mike Vonderheide, PE, Senior Project Manager, and Belinda Banger, Vice President / Chief Strategist will co-present.
The ULIP-ADA™ technology that has transformed ADA Transition Planning will be on site throughout the duration of the conference. Visit us at booth #17 for a quick demonstration and to learn more about how our cutting-edge technology is improving accuracy and efficiency in data collection.
The conference welcomes over 500 representatives from the Missouri, Kansas, KCMetro, Iowa, and Nebraska APWA Chapters. As a member of the organization and leading ADA Transition Planning consultant, Cole is looking forward to networking with colleagues. We hope to see you there!
Washington University celebrated the new Knight Hall and Bauer Hall last Friday at a very well attended ribbon cutting and building dedication ceremony. This major expansion was constructed adjacent to the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center on the current site of Eliot Hall and nearly doubles the size of the Olin Business School on the Danforth Campus. A striking glass atrium links two five-story state-of-the-art buildings which provide 175,000 sf of new program space. The $90 million project integrates seven classrooms, an auditorium, 75 faculty offices, numerous forums, lounges, offices, and spaces for interaction and collaboration.
Cole’s primary responsibilities included design of the storm and sanitary sewer systems, site grading, design of Best Management Practices (BMP’s), ADA accessibility, and coordination for LEED certification. The project also encompassed several ancillary efforts to accommodate the expansion. This consisted of a stair tower addition with a fully functional green roof which can be used for gathering space at McMillan Hall, additional labs and classroom space, and a new pedestrian plaza to create a cohesive new identity for Olin Business School. We worked alongside a talented team which included Tarlton Corporation as the Construction Manager; Santa Monica, CA, based Moore Ruble Yudell, Architect-of-Record; local Mackey Mitchell Architects, Associate Architect; KPFF, structural engineer; and mechanical engineers of Buro Happold and William Tao & Associates.
Cole is honored to continue our collaboration with Washington University on this and many other campus projects. We’re proud to contribute to the resources and spaces that build momentum for the students, faculty, and alumni.
Cole has been asked to speak at The American Public Works Association (APWA) Missouri Chapter Fall Conference being held in Lake of the Ozarks, MO, next week Nov 3-5. Cole will present on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards and Regulations for Public Rights of Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) and the ULIP-ADA™ technology behind ADA Transition Planning. Our presentation intends to help attendees gain a better understanding of the ADA legislation, the necessity of a transition plan, and the benefits of a cost-effective, proven technology.
Mike Vonderheide, PE, Senior Project Manager, and Belinda Banger, Vice President / Chief Strategist will co-present. Cole will also have one of our very own certified ULIP-ADA™ operators at the conference to demonstrate the technology and make a few runs on the segway.
The APWA Fall Conference welcomes various municipalities and public agencies in the state of Missouri. As a member of the organization and proven ADA Transition Planning consultant, Cole is looking forward to networking with colleagues. We hope to see you there!
At Cole, we assist our clients in taking a proactive, sensible approach to effective planning for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance in the public rights-of-way. While some public entities have completed ADA Transition Plans, many are in the process of updating or creating new plans to include the necessary assessment of public rights-of-way. The traditional ADA inventory process can be laborious and imprecise. This challenge motivated us to find a viable solution for our clients. We identified a one of kind sensor and acquisition system created by Starodub, Inc. who was originally contracted by the Federal Highway Administration to develop a dedicated technology designed for accurate collection of comprehensive data for ADA transition planning. With the complement of our in-house software development, engineering and ADA expertise, Cole aligned forces with Starodub, Inc., a highly reputable transportation engineering firm specializing in advanced technology, to ensure this system could be made available nationally.
In June 2013, Cole and Starodub, Inc. signed an exclusivity agreement for the ULIP-ADA™ technology. Having exclusive rights to the ULIP-ADA™ allows us to offer a unique service to our clients around the country in the most cost effective way possible. The Ultra-Light Inertial Profiler (ULIP) records measurements and potential barriers to determine compliance with the ADA. This highly accurate tool is mounted on a segway for expedient and efficient data collection.
Cole has completed the inventory process for two transition plans in the St. Louis area and is currently working in North Texas, Arizona, and with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Stay tuned for updates on these projects.
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