Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering; Cum Laude; University of Louisiana
(Lafayette), (then known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana),
May 1980
- Interconnection of Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Warning Systems and Highway Traffic Signals
- Video Image Processing for Highway Incidents
- Grade Crossing Collision Investigation
Professional Activities:
Registered Professional Engineer in Civil Engineering, State of
Louisiana, Registration No. 21472
Professional Traffic Operations Engineer - Institute of Transportation
Engineers Registration No. 733
Member of Tau Beta Pi and Chi Epsilon engineering honor societies
Member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers serving on the Urban
Traffic Engineers Council, the Expert Witness Council and on the ITE review
team for proposed revisions to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
Member National Society of Professional Engineers
Member Louisiana Engineering Society
Past President of the Deep South Section of the Institute of Transportation
Engineers
Past President of the Association of Louisiana Transit Operators
Secretary, University of Louisiana (Lafayette) Civil Engineering Advisory
Board
Current Activities:
Managing Engineer - Acadiana Region for Gulf Engineers and Consultants, (2002 - Present). GEC is one of the top 500 engineering companies in the world. The seven major program areas at GEC are Civil and Structural
Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Water Resources Engineering,
Economics and Planning, Environmental Services, Geographic Information
Systems, and Information Systems.
Owner and Principal Engineer for Dean Tekell Consulting, L.L.C., (1998
- Present). The firm provides advice and expert witness services regarding the safe, efficient and environmentally compatible movement of people and goods on
streets, highways, parking lots, sidewalks, bikeways, and transit
systems. Its clients primarily include attorneys.
Experience:
City-Parish Transportation Engineer - Lafayette Consolidated Government (1985 - 1998) - responsible for the safe and efficient movement of people and goods in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. This was accomplished as Division Manager of a staff of 60 people working in four (4) sections; a Development Section, a Traffic Services Section, a Transit Section and a Parking Section.
The Development Section reviewed all capital improvement plans,
subdivision applications, and commercial building permits for Lafayette
Consolidated Government. Trouble
shooting traffic complaints, identifying high frequency accident
locations and operating a computerized traffic signal network were
common activities.
The Traffic Services Section maintained all signs, signals and pavement
markings on roadways throughout the City and Parish of Lafayette.
The Transit Section was a unionized operation comprised of 26 people
that provide public transportation within the City of Lafayette via a
fleet of 16 buses. The Section also operated, via contract, a fleet of five (5) vans that provide door to door transportation services to citizens of the City who were unable to use fixed route buses due to a physical or mental
handicap.
The Parking Section operated two (2) public parking garages, maintained
and collected revenue from approximately 800 parking meters and
maintained a staff of three (3) parking control officers who were
authorized to write parking citations to insure public compliance with
the parking ordinance of the City of Lafayette.
Total Annual Operating Budget: $3.5 million
Chief Accomplishments:
Start up and
maintenance of a computerized traffic signal system for the City of
Lafayette comprising over 100 signals and school warning flashers.
Established operating and auditing procedures for a new 500 car
parking garage for the City of Lafayette and supervised the renovations
and the installation of a revenue collection system for a 300 car
parking garage formerly controlled by the Parish of Lafayette.
Authored a new Parking Ordinance for the City of Lafayette, which
changed parking violations from criminal to civil offenses.
Authored legislation, obtained a sponsor and lobbied the State
Legislature to permit the City to change its law.
As a result, parking tickets and disputes were eliminated from a
crowded criminal court document. City
Police were freed from writing parking citations.
Collections on parking tickets rose from 18% to over 60%.
Parking meter revenues increased as a result of improved
enforcement.
Initiated a public transportation service for disabled persons within
the City of Lafayette.
Established a traffic control device inventory at fatal and serious
injury accident scenes and participated in the investigation of over 70
fatal or serious injury accidents.
Crash types included, single vehicle, multiple vehicle,
pedestrian, train/automobile, train/truck, truck/automobile, head-on,
rear-end, and right-angle crashes.
Many of these crashes occurred in adverse conditions created by
fog, rain, wind, night, dusk and dawn.
Accepted as an expert in accident reconstruction in Louisiana's 4th,
15th, 16th, 23rd, 24th &
31st Judicial Districts.
Accepted as an expert in the application and operation of traffic
signals, and other traffic control devices, in Pike County Mississippi.
Additional
Information:
Adjunct Professor of Civil Engineering; University Louisiana at
Lafayette Fall 2000 (1987 - 1988)
Graduate of Lafayette Chamber of Commerce - Leadership Lafayette IV
Executive Board Member of the Louisiana Public Transit Association (1996
- 1998)
Certified Senior Arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau of Acadian
Immediate Past President, Parish Council, St. Mary Church in Lafayette
Infrastructure Committee Chairman, Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce
Funding Allocation Team Member for the United Way of Acadiana
Grant Review Team Member for the Acadiana Educational Endowment
Recent Technical Presentations
Traffic Sign Inventories for
Rural Parishes
Presented at the June 1998 meeting of the Louisiana Parish
Engineers and Supervisors Association
An Application of Multi-way Stop Signs on Neighborhood Streets
Presented at the July 1998 meeting of the Deep South Section of
the Institute of Transportation Engineers
Signs and Driver Information Needs ("What you should consider before
you decide to erect a sign") Presented at the Fall Seminar of the
Louisiana Parish Engineers and Supervisors Association, September 1999
A Review of Highway Capacity Manual Procedures for Analysis of
Roundabouts Presented
at the Fall Meeting of the Deep South Section of the Institute of
Transportation Engineers, October 1999
Motorist Understanding of
Abbreviations Used on Dynamic Message Signs Presented at the Winter
Meeting of the Deep South Section of the Institute of Transportation
Engineers, February 2000
Signs and Pavement Markings Required at Railroad Grade Crossings Presented
at the Spring Seminar of the Louisiana Parish Engineers and Supervisors
Association, May 2000.
MUTCD 2000, Significant Changes Affecting Parishes Presented at the
Spring Seminar of the Louisiana Parish Engineers and Supervisors
Association, June 2001.
Mock Trial - The Traffic Engineer as an Expert Witness, Presented
with Dr. Olin K. Dart at the Southern District Annual Meeting of the
Institute of Transportation Engineers, April 2002.
Recent Technical Conferences Attended
Institute of Transportation Engineers, Southern District Annual
Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 2002
Co-presenter on session titled "Mock Trial - The Traffic Engineer as
an Expert Witness". Attended
Sessions on neighborhood traffic control, environmental screening of
highway corridors, Hurricane Evacuation, ITS using leased Communication
Systems
Louisiana Transportation Engineering Conference, Baton Rouge, LA,
February 2002, Attended Sessions on NCHRP 350, Hurricane Evacuation
Planning, Traffic Safety in Louisiana, Access Management, Highway
Right-of-Way Encroachment, Advanced Transportation Controller 2070, ITS
Telecommunications.
Satellite Video Conference on the Manual
on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Millennium Edition, sponsored by
the American Traffic Safety Services Association and the Federal Highway
Administration.
Recent Technical Reading
MUTCD 2000, Manual on Uniform
Traffic Control Devices, Millennium Edition, December 2000, U.S.
Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.
Traffic Signing Handbook, published by: Institute of Transportation
Engineers, Washington, D.C., (1997).
Road Safety Audit, published by AUSTROROADS (The National
Association of Road Transport and Traffic Authorities in Australia),
(1994)
Using ITS to Improve Safety & Mobility at Railroad-Highway Grade
Crossings, by Amy Ellen Polk, Presented a the 1999 Highway-Rail
Grade Crossing Safety Conference in College Station, TX, October 17-19,
1999.
Developing Traffic Signal Control Systems Using the National ITS
Architecture, U.S. Department of Transportation, Intelligent
Transportation Systems Joint Program Office, February 1998.
Hobbies: Running, Wildlife Habitat Management, Fishing, and
Reading
Copyright © 1999-2007 Dean Tekell Consulting L.L.C..
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