Transportation planning, analysis, and engineering design to promote safety and community vibrancy
Great Places provides high-quality transportation analysis and design services that promote mobility and safety for all transportation users and support community vibrancy. It assists municipal agencies and private partners with comprehensive planning, traffic capacity analysis, preliminary engineering, and detailed construction administration.
Dean ChamberlainFounder & Lead Engineer
Developing long-term mobility and safety strategies to address infrastructure deficiencies and support community goals.
Drafting multi-modal strategies to enhance transit and community accessibility.
Formulating safety strategies and safety action plans to reduce serious injuries and fatalities.
Managing asset life cycles and scheduling maintenance priorities.
Conducting formal safety performance examinations of existing or future roads and intersections.
Defining engineering scope and compiling applications for state and federal funding.
Creating compliance strategies and detailed barrier inventories for public right-of-way facilities.
Providing embedded professional support to public agencies and consulting partners.
Evaluating current and future traffic patterns, corridor capacity, and safety metrics to optimize public corridors.
Evaluating travel networks for pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and motorists.
Modeling corridor and intersection operations using specialized engineering software packages.
Designing geometric and physical measures to manage vehicular speeds.
Analyzing and recommending traffic control devices, signal systems, or roundabouts.
Projecting vehicle and multi-modal traffic volumes for future conditions or developments.
Reviewing concept viability and constructability during early planning phases.
Drafting visual layouts, conceptual plans, and initial cost estimates to guide the early phases of infrastructure projects.
Creating diverse design concepts to address safety, operational, and community needs.
Illustrating preliminary ideas through architectural and engineering hand-drawings.
Facilitating collaborative design sessions with stakeholders and communities.
Producing scaled structural geometric alignments and general corridor configurations.
Drafting early-stage plan sheets for pavements, curbs, trails, and signing.
Determining early-stage budgetary needs for project feasibility.
Preparing complete construction documentation, managing project specifications, and overseeing building phases through to completion.
Developing highly detailed geometric, pavement, ADA-compliant ramp, and alignment plans at scheduled intervals.
Compiling written technical guidelines and special provisions for general bidding and assembly requirements.
Assisting clients with contractor inquiries, plan clarifications, and general bidding procedures.
Providing on-site and remote engineering support to ensure built work matches plan intent.
Conducting final walks to build punchlists and verify work compliance.
Measuring and analyzing real-world project effectiveness after corridor opening.
Government · Transportation · Highways & Roads · Transit
Bayfield County, WI · Highways & Roads · Client: Red Cliff Tribal Community
A conceptual design to enhance safety, mobility, and community connection at an intersection experiencing safety issues. The design converted the corridor into a five-legged roundabout with enhanced crossings.
Minneapolis, MN · Highways & Roads · 2026 · Client: City of Minneapolis
Development of concept design alternatives and roadway reconstruction plans up to the 30% design level to reconnect Nicollet Avenue, aiming to support local neighborhood land use goals.
Superior, WI · Transit · 2026 · Client: City of Superior
Design process and construction administration for ADA-compliant concrete pads and shelter upgrades across dozens of transit stops.
Midwest, US · Highways & Roads
Design and construction administration of targeted, low-cost safety and mobility improvements within routine pavement preservation, maintenance, and overlay projects.