Just got an email about one of the more interesting projects going on in Downtown LA. DLANC Sustainability Committee
The Downtown Los Angeles Youth & Cultural Center needs to build a parking lot on the blank lot adjacent to its center at 132 S. Beaudry Avenue – right next to the 110 Freeway to generate the necessary revenue to maintain their lease. Green Pockets Project
Wouldn’t it be great to see a permeable parking lot with plants and maybe even a water feature instead of the standard asphalt surface?
The DLANC Sustainability Committee is looking into how we can provide the Center with resources and partners to help it build a smarter, more sustainable parking surface. We hope to collaborate with other Neighborhood Council committees on this project and would like to invite you to a kick-off meeting to discuss next steps.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at the Downtown Los Angeles Youth & Cultural Center (132 S. Beaudry Ave.), starting at 6:30pm
Today I am working on an earthwork with a survey that has contours that are elevated, but the areas near the house have no elevated contours. I understand that around the house, there is no reason to have 1′ increments as the elevation is pretty flat at around 843.5′. Most surveys I have seen elevate those parts by using 3D Polylines. Especially where the surveyor shoots around the hardscape and connects the polylines. I probably should be thankful that the contour portion of this survey are elevated and I am not looking at a 0 elevated flattened drawing. This kind of thing would be more important if using Civil 3D as you must design straight to the existing and can’t just work in pure plan view.
I was walking around the other day looking into the hillside thinking about benching a slope. For those not familiar with the word, benching, it’s when you put a swale with a minimum slope for self cleaning on a 2:1 slope that is higher than 30′. This swale then drains to a downdrain which can be connected with multiple swales located on the slope. The downdrain than leads to a stormdrain or street.
What always amazes me is how someone who doesn’t understand how to design these would take the benching and slope for granted. I have worked on some very large planning phases of subdivisions and this was always a very very complicated thing to make work. Not only is the designer making a street work with the mountain, but they also have to get as many rough pads as possible. Not to mention making a street on the toe of the slope work with the street located at the top of the slope and then factoring in if it’s possible to make a rough pad in there. A designer must also keep in mind that a larger bench gets put in for slopes that are higher than 100′ which loses even more valuable space. I really liked this part of the design as it’s very difficult to make work, but once it works the plans look like some kind of beautiful artwork.
Next time you drive or walk around a hillside development make sure to take a look at this very complicated design. And imagine someone trying to make their magic work on the plans, which from what I have seen is always done by hand before going into the computer.
Trying to find the engineering gold at the end of the government rainbow is very unnecessary in these internet days. Â The gold for my company are the standards that a particular municipality enforces. Â Some websites have full standards that are hard to find. Â Other websites have partial standards hiding in the depths of their pages. Â Others even have hidden documents that can only be found when using the GOOG to search the site. Â Enforceable and changing over time, standards should be easy to navigate from the main public works webpages. Â Anything not on the site should clearly explain what standards they do want used. Â Will I ever be able to find engineering gold at the end of the rainbow?
Surveyors are easy to find. You just Google your city and the word “surveyor” or flip through a phone book. But how do you know that surveyor is the one that you want surveying your property?
My first job was at an engineering/surveying company. The nice thing about working at a company with multiple disciplines is that you learn how they work together. There are reasons the surveyor picks up certain shots. These shots, spot elevations with a description attached, fulfill specific government agency requirements for the client’s set of plans. A surveyor will attempt to gather as much data required for the plans that will be getting submitted based on the scope of work.
The amount of shot data is where surveyors stand out from others. I have looked at many surveys and notice many plans missing crucial data. The excuse is generally that the client did not pay for that extra information. I have always wondered what the point of getting a survey with missing data is.  The good surveyors though will tell the client the surveyed data most likely needed so the upfront cost is lower, with the possibility of getting more information later on. This is rare though.
Anyone needing a survey should definitely go by word of mouth if you can. My example of a good surveyor with a very good reputation is Denn Engineers, who have been around for over 50 years. If you compare their plans to others you can see just how badly other survey companies are lacking in their data. In fact if we have the chance, we recommend this smaller company over everyone else.
So comparing a surveyor to a surveyor should never be a comparison of money versus money or random selection, as you may get what you pay for.
