Sounds of Transit Earns ACEC National Recognition
May 23, 2011
 Ahmed El-Aassar, Ph.D., INCA, ASA (Harrisburg, Pa.) Sounds of Transit, Gannett Fleming's computer-based Interactive Sound Information System, earned a National Recognition Award in the American Council of Engineering Companies' (ACEC) 2011 Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) competition. The National Recognition Award is a prestigious distinction honoring projects that demonstrate exceptional achievement in engineering. Ahmed El-Aassar, Ph.D., INCA, ASA, a project manager and designer of Sounds of Transit based in Harrisburg, Pa., attended the EEA Gala awards program and dinner on April 1, 2011, at The Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C.
During a transit analysis study of the South Florida East Coast Corridor, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) contracted with Gannett Fleming to evaluate different transit and transportation solutions, including multiple transit technologies. The planning process created a need for extensive public outreach in the 85-mile, 28-city corridor. The planning process addressed common community concerns, including one highly controversial component – the sound impact. FDOT required an innovative solution to convey transit sound samples to stakeholders. In response to this need, Gannett Fleming created Sounds of Transit. Using this tool, Gannett Fleming developed a library of recorded and calibrated sound levels collected from 32 real transit and rail sites with similar corridor characteristics.
Never before could community stakeholders experience the impact of actual sound levels of a proposed project. Sounds of Transit is a powerful, revolutionary application whereby the public can hear actual transit sounds, helping them to clearly understand the sound levels that will result from an infrastructure project. This original solution was designed as a tool for conveying sound information in a format that requires no special technical knowledge of noise management strategies.
Sounds of Transit is a powerful, revolutionary audio visual tool with global potential. This innovation has far-reaching aptitude to assist communities worldwide, as this precedent-setting technology is independent of language and noise metric systems. Sounds of Transit is an influential, scalable tool that can be customized for any type of infrastructure improvement where noise concerns exist, such as high-speed rail, highways, airports, and military operations.
For more information, please contact Judy L. Hricak, CPSM at (717) 763-7211, ext. 2624 or via e-mail.
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