MassDOT to Use Drones for Infrastructure Projects : CEG

The Aeronautics Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced recently that it has received $1 million in funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration Program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and authorized to accelerate innovation in highway transportation.

This grant funding goes toward the second stage of a three-phase project using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or drones, to create a “digital software systems infrastructure.” The initial phase of the project was funded with an AID grant received in 2021 and an additional match funding of $250,000.

Implementing the necessary UAS digital infrastructure to integrate the technology into the operations of MassDOT’s Highway Division and a variety of MassDOT agencies will enhance the state’s ability to collect, store, process and disseminate UAS data throughout the agency.

“The [MassDOT] Aeronautics Division is recognized as being a leader in the use of drones for tasks of the Highway Division, and the funding from this second phase of the AID grant will give us a unique opportunity to improve and expand digital software systems for drones,” explained state Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt.

The UAS-based digital infrastructure is designed to integrate with MassDOT highway projects across the state, ranging from rural to urban locations and supporting a host of projects, including advanced bridge inspection, asset mapping, construction monitoring and highway corridor asset detection/inspection.

The agency anticipates that the new technology will lower the costs of some projects, provide enhanced asset inspection opportunities and allow for the monitoring of many construction projects simultaneously.

Consultants Assisting Amherst to Create New Downtown Design Standards.

Over the past 15 years, five mixed-use buildings, each rising to five stories, have been constructed in downtown Amherst, Mass., all developments that have significantly affected the look and feel of the town’s commercial center.

After roughly a 40-year span when central Amherst only saw one major new commercial development — the Tucker Taft Building at 48 North Pleasant that replaced a gas station next to the Central Fire Station — change through in-fill development has become a constant, with a sixth new mixed-use building currently in progress off South Pleasant Street, the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Mass., reported Dec. 16.

With the Amherst Planning Department understanding that such projects are likely to continue, and several areas ripe for redevelopment, town officials have hired consultants from nearby Northampton to complete new downtown design standards for sidewalks, crosswalks, sitting areas, bicycles lanes, parklets and trees, as well as creating building design standards — all of which could bring some consistency to the look and feel of the city’s downtown.

During an in-person public workshop earlier in December, which followed similar forums held in September after a walk around downtown Amherst, four interactive stations were set up for people to discuss their views, supplementing continued collection of feedback from residents, property owners, visitors and others through online surveys.

“Our goal is to develop a vision for downtown that can serve as the basis for regulatory changes,” said Peter Flinker, president of Dodson & Flinker Landscape Architecture and Planning of Northampton, in speaking with the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Flinker noted that the focus is on the public realm — the places people hang out while downtown, even if some of the areas are not publicly owned.

“You have an opportunity to build on what private developers are already doing,” he added.

Dodson & Flinker is being assisted by a working group that has been meeting privately and providing input in anticipation of continued development downtown, using what Amherst Senior Planner Nate Malloy calls a “consensus-building model.”

While Malloy understands that some residents may be critical of the project as a “pro-density” vision of downtown, he said it is essential to have a wide swath of opinion to learn what people like and what draws them downtown. Even so, it can be challenging to separate what people like about a specific business from what they like about the town itself, he said.

“This is about how to keep the streetscape, and people walking through downtown, and what places can be enhanced,” Malloy said.

Although no new developments have been filed, there is potential for more projects that would join the five-story Boltwood Place, as well as those at Kendrick Place, 1 East Pleasant St., 11 East Pleasant, 26 Spring and the now-under-construction 45-55 South Pleasant building.

In some ways, the Daily Hampshire Gazette noted, it is about continuing the efforts to guide development through a planning process that was originally spurred by the 1960s-era construction of the 1 South Pleasant St. building occupied by the Bank of America. The structure has often been seen as a poster child for what Amherst residents do not want new development to look like.

“Amherst zoning has tried to respond to what’s on the ground,” explained Malloy.

For building design guidelines, there may be information about how tall a building should be as well as whether there should be setback upper levels, articulation of the facades, and specific window treatments, as well as also understanding that people like brick and granite.

The streetscape design manual in 2001 sought to bring brick and concrete cross-hatching to all sidewalks and crosswalks, but the town’s Department of Public Works found that using different materials sometimes limited their life expectancy and has turned instead to thermoplastic paint for crosswalks.

What is developed by Dodson & Flinker, including annotated drawings, dimensions and material recommendations, could become part of the Amherst zoning bylaw or a standalone document referenced by the zoning bylaw, though Malloy said it’s unlikely to be strictly form-based code, a land development regulation that focuses on the physical form of a community, rather than land use and density.

“It may be a hybrid of design standards and form-base code,” Malloy told the Northampton news source. “The hope is that it will give developers a better sense of building mass, and it’s important that if we want 12-foot sidewalks, we get 12-foot sidewalks.”

The Amherst Design Review Board would possibly have revised design review principles to use in its evaluation of projects.

This also could streamline the permitting process, Malloy said, as both developers and members of the Planning Board will have a better sense of what is being sought.

Strengths, Weaknesses

Already, Flinker said strengths have been identified, such as the Kendrick Park playground and the benches and seating throughout downtown Amherst, while weaknesses include the look of new buildings and more traffic congestion.

There is potential for sub areas, too, such as main street, village street and side street requirements that would be put into the regulations. He noted that decisions also will have to be made about offering flexibility versus predictability and cost versus quality.

“Generally, things that look expensive are expensive,” Flinker said.

Some Amherst officials and residents who participated in the town’s design forum offered thoughts about what they would like to see:

• Erica Zekos, who chairs the Design Review Board, said consistency of the streetscape and buildings will take a long time, adding, “Inevitably there will be a lot of variety within the set of standards.”
• District 4 Councilor Pam Rooney noted that she saw too many transitions in the thoroughfares, which causes problems for people making their way through downtown.
• Amherst Planning Board Chair Doug Marshall would rather have more consistency than less, he explained, even if there is a need to use lower-quality materials.
• Brestrup said that keeping street standards simple is important, as more materials create bumps and problems for those in wheelchairs.
• Others want Amherst to be a place that values the streetscape, especially if it means ensuring trees are in good shape.