Parinaz Aghili

https://lnkd.in/gkS_juwQ Here is an opinion on BART's San Jose Extension. What I really want to know is this: Was the argument ever settled between Twin Bore as wanted by BART Corporate or Single Bore as wanted by VTA who is tasked with delivering the BART extension into San Jose. The benefit of Twin Bore is it's consistent across the United States. The drawback to twin bore is the "open heart surgery" necessary to accommodate the construction into the City Center. The benefits to single bore is the avoidance of "open heart surgery" and a high-tech operation that is used throughout Europe. In a nutshell, twin bore puts both directions on the same level. Single bore puts the directions on separate levels. I'm not quite sure how the platforms work out. #transit

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Successful program delivery, policy, and governance, value-added infrastructure, and enduring benefits. The Alameda Corridor continues to be a model of how to get things right even when facing many challenges.

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From SF Gate: Are historic piers worth saving? "Each year, millions of dollars are poured into maintaining the state’s historic piers, many of which are more than 100 years old and under near-constant threat. In addition to a recent slew of strong winter storms, likely intensified by climate change, almost the entire coastline is overdue for a big earthquake, an inevitable disaster waiting to challenge the seismic integrity of these aging icons. There are environmental concerns with these nostalgic constructions, as well. Many of these piers are coated in toxic substances such as creosote, which helps prevent wood rot in the water and could harm vital area sea life, trickling through the aquatic food chain. Yet, cities, counties, the state and even the federal government funnel money into these ancient pieces of infrastructure every year, guessing at how long until they’ll need major funding again. Which brings us to one very simple question: Should California’s historic piers exist at all?" Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gzWtBhUU Image courtesy of California State Parks

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We need strong transportation networks but this does not mean more or larger road networks at the demise of communities. The US had a huge opportunity for rail, failed by the monopoly system of privatized rail. Light rail has become difficult to impossible as there odd simply too much urban sprawl. Can central multimodal transportation fix our current transportation issues in areas heavily affected by urban sprawl? Could centralized light rail stations connected to multi modal hubs work and prevent more destruction of communities? Imagine driving no more than 10 minutes to a station that rapidly arrive to a destination ready with an array of tasting options to your ultimate destination. Imagine all of this being faster than your car commute and cheaper than your gas. Better transportation is possible, if we are willing to imagine it.

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I am proud University of Washington College of Built Environments alumni, first gen, and it was just announced that I was promoted to Associate Teaching Professor in the UW Construction Management Department. At 72 I am still working to promote diversity in construction and construction education. After a long career in construction, that started way back in 1972, and after my retirement from industry in 2020, I returned to the University of Washington as a full-time assistant teaching professor to give back to the industry that I have been proud to be part of. My hope is that I can be good role model to both my female and male students and help guide them on their path to careers in construction. My advice is to choose a career that you love, never listen to naysayers, and happiness will follow you in life. Mine has been a path in construction. PS - Never be afraid of getting old. You are never too old. Many people tell me as a woman not to mention my age as people will look at you as grandma who should be home knitting. However, I am proud of my age and my construction accomplishments, because older professional construction women are very wise and have many construction lesson learned, just like older professional men. For us women in construction, first we were to young and then we were too old, let’s break this myth. Older women are wise and never underestimate a young woman on a construction site, she might surprise you in her project ideas or knowledge! #womeninconstruction #constructionmanagement #constructionindustry #construction

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Transformation and redevelopment

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THANK YOU for y'alls monumental effort writing letters opposing #AB2580 - a poorly conceived bill that implies preservation constrains housing. The Senate Housing Committee Hearing is tomorrow at 1:30 PM. We hope to see you there. Out of the 8,000 letters we've received, the one from C.C. De Vere is especially poignant: "Preserving California's older buildings for the countless residents who need them is just good common sense... Construction and demolition produce about one-quarter of America's waste, and more than 90 percent of that is from demolition." We especially like the stats: - Of the 35 HPOZs that currently exist, 21 have populations where there is a greater share of racial diversity than in the rest of the city. - As much as 69% of housing in HPOZs has more than one unit, with 39% providing five or more units or apartments. - Between 1999 and 2019, L.A. created over 12,000 new housing units through adaptive reuse of historic buildings.

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Thrilled to share a major update from the heart of San Diego! 🌊 🚧 In a City where the stakes for robust infrastructure have never been higher, I've stepped into a new adventure as the Director for the City of San Diego’s Transportation Department. January 22nd marked a historic day for us with record flooding, putting the spotlight on the urgent need for resilient infrastructure. It's been a whirlwind, diving deep into the challenges from day one – with over 6,600 lane miles of roads crying out for attention and a bold $1.9B vision to pave our future. But, the journey’s just begun. Our team's relentless drive has led to the creation of San Diego's first-ever Pavement Management Plan (https://lnkd.in/g5bhyED5). It's not just about laying asphalt; it's about paving the way for a city that moves smarter, faster, and safer. 🚀 As we navigate the twists and turns of transportation, my mantra remains the same: Grit, hard work, and clear skies of no excuses. Transparency, urgency, and proactive communication are the fuel that powers our journey forward. A huge shoutout to the mentors and colleagues who've been the compass in this journey over the years – Michael Rolband, PE, PWD, PWS Emeritus, Carlton Ray, George Hawkins, Mark Kim – your guidance has been the beacon of success. San Diego, we are in motion, and together, we're not just building roads; we're driving a vision for the future. Let's champion the change for a city that moves, because we are #SanDiegoatWork. 💪 ���� Check out "Transportation Champions" (https://lnkd.in/g6YurCSc) for more insights into our mission and impact. #SanDiego #Infrastructure #Innovation #TransportationEngineering #PublicService #Leadership #ASCE #PavementManagement #RoadToTheFuture #TeamworkMakesTheDreamWork

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We had a great time visiting the Stanford Medicine Sutter Health Cancer Center project lead by The Boldt Company. This is a $400 million dollar IFOA project where the team is performing at a high level. We were fortunate enough to learn from Digby Christian, Ariana Alvear, Sean Franklin, Felipe Engineer-Manriquez, and Baris Lostuvali, DBIA™. If you are interested in visiting the project in order to see a real authentic lean project for yourself, please reach out to Baris or Felipe. We are happy to have more owners and the industry see lean for themselves and to see the true power of applying lean design and construction to improve both profitability and happiness of the people doing the work. If you are interested in more documentary type videos where we film "lean construction in the wild" and highlight the people doing the work, their daily lean practices, and results; please comment below with the term "Lean in the Wild Discovery Channel". If there is enough interest, we can get some sponsors and make this a more regular series. The videos are good to expose people who cannot visit the project but we really encourage people to visit the field trip and see it for themselves. To talk to the people who are applying lean in the wild whether it is a superintendent doing a daily huddle or a project manager applying LPS and takt. There is nothing like seeing people in their "natural habit" applying lean and see how the project benefits from it. Again the lean construction world is very collaborative, transparent, open to sharing, and learning. If you want to visit this or one of our 6 billion dollars worth of on-going design and construction projects, please reach out and we can help you have a fun learning experience. Learning and applying lean doesn't need to be boring. It can be fun. It can be enjoyable. It can be interactive with two way interaction with deep conversations, and learning. I hope to see you at one of our upcoming project tours. #leanconstruction

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Riechers Engineering is California's leading firm in SB9 Lot Splits, with over 50 new residential properties created in the last two years. SB-9 is affecting the social landscape of California! In disrupting the norms of single-family residential zoning, SB-9 offers the opportunity to create more affordable housing throughout CA. I think SB-9 has the potential to play a part in shifting systemic racism, piercing the veil of single family residential suburbs which have for decades been catering to mostly white, wealthy families. https://lnkd.in/gRByWyZa

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https://lnkd.in/gtsmKsbM I think the $11 billion is an extremely overinflated estimate especially given that Merced to Bakersfield is projected to cost around $40 billion, or less. If I get the CEO position with the Authority, I plan to fast track Merced to Bakersfield to 2028 which is way ahead of the 2033 timeline as indicated in the most recent Business Plan. #highspeedrail Fast tracking reduces costs.

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DPR Construction’s Abe Sipes and Chad Arthur will present with the University of California, Davis Health’s, Creed Kampa, Assoc. DBIA, AIA, and SmithGroup’s, Jacqueline Lee, AIA, WELL AP and Gabriel Fonseca AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, Assoc. DBIA at the 2024 DBIA Western Pacific Region Conference on their collaborative efforts on the UC Davis Health 48X Complex in Sacramento, California. Their presentation, Accelerating Projects with Smart Blocking and Stacking and Choosing by Advantage will: ✔Demonstrate leadership techniques for early collaborative decision-making and delegation to cluster teams.  ✔Detail how to align teams in clear design concept communication by using cost modeling Smart Blocking, and Stacking.  ✔Assess cost and schedule impacts while efficiently integrating new input and maintaining project milestones. ✔Help identify, plan, and execute prefabrication opportunities. Learn more about the conference: https://lnkd.in/gCvtdwas

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DPR Construction’s Abe Sipes and Chad Arthur will present with the University of California, Davis Health’s, Creed Kampa, Assoc. DBIA, AIA, and SmithGroup’s, Jacqueline Lee, AIA, WELL AP and Gabriel Fonseca AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, Assoc. DBIA at the 2024 DBIA Western Pacific Region Conference on their collaborative efforts on the UC Davis Health 48X Complex in Sacramento, California. Their presentation, Accelerating Projects with Smart Blocking and Stacking and Choosing by Advantage will: ✔Demonstrate leadership techniques for early collaborative decision-making and delegation to cluster teams.  ✔Detail how to align teams in clear design concept communication by using cost modeling Smart Blocking, and Stacking.  ✔Assess cost and schedule impacts while efficiently integrating new input and maintaining project milestones. ✔Help identify, plan, and execute prefabrication opportunities. Learn more about the conference: https://lnkd.in/gCvtdwas

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𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞! Register for the Construction Project Manager workshop before they're gone. . For more information reach us at: info@mangates.com | corporate@mangates.com . #mangates #workshop #constructionprojectmanager #constructionmanagement #construction #projectmanagement #projectmanager #pm #project #development #engineering #building #architecture #contractor #constructionlife #builders #scheduling #budgeting #costcontrol #communication #leadership #safety #quality #riskmanagement

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Today, the California Supreme Court upheld Prop 22 as a valid ballot initiative. This is part of a longer saga that involved a law (AB 5) to give gig workers the rights of employees, followed by a ballot initiative (Prop 22) to overturn that law. For my friends in transportation research, please remember two lessons: 1) Transportation is about people-both the people who use it and the workers who make it possible. While we often focus on the efficiency of the system, these decisions are often bigger in how they affect people's lives. 2) We often are in a position to bring clarity into the public discourse for important issues like this to help the public understand the implications of decisions like this for transportation and more broadly. If we can look for this type of impact, it is more important than publications, citations, or other performance metrics. https://lnkd.in/gdBxHeFZ

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Check out this video recap of the Façade Completion Ceremony for the Resources Building Renovation Project.

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