GreenWave offers a focused range of traffic and transportation engineering services. Every project is led personally by a licensed PE and PTOE providing senior-level technical expertise on each engagement. Our work is analysis-driven, agency-ready, and delivered cost-effectively by minimizing overhead.

Traffic operations analysis is the foundation of GreenWave's practice. We evaluate how traffic infrastructure performs under current and future conditions for all types of transportation projects and site developments. Our analysis helps clients evaluate project alternatives and their impacts on operations, capacity, access, and safety. Results are presented in a clear and concise manner (using graphic aids where possible) to enable easy coordination with client and stakeholders, develop practical recommendations, and support an informed decision on the preferred design alternative.

Traffic Operations Analysis — Public Agency Projects

GreenWave supports public agencies through a range of transportation projects, including intersection control evaluation & design, assessment of roadway design alternatives, corridor improvement studies, and network-wide traffic analysis.

• Operational and capacity analysis for existing and design-year conditions
• Intersection and roadway design alternatives evaluation
• Macro- and micro-simulation modeling (Synchro/SimTraffic, HCS, Sidra, Vissim^*)
• Data validation, model calibrations, incorporating big-data geolocation repositories such as Waze™, StreetLight™, Replica™; and agency data such as signal performance metrics
• Work zone traffic control planning and operational analysis

^*Available on select projects

Traffic Impact Studies — Private Development

Traffic Impact Studies (TIS) are often required by local agencies for new developments and modifications. GreenWave prepares TIS reports that are technically rigorous, agency-ready, and practical for our client's timeline and budget.

• Residential, commercial, mixed-use, and industrial developments
• Evaluation of site access, driveway and parking operations, and off-site intersection impacts
• Signal and stop-control warrant analyses
• Recommendations for improvements and mitigation strategies
• Coordination with permit agencies, guidance and representation through review process and public meetings

GreenWave has deep experience evaluating traffic operations in environments with heavy truck volumes. Our familiarity with intermodal facilities, logistics parks, and warehouse complexes enables us to provide accurate modeling of truck and mixed-traffic operations at critical locations including roundabouts, at-grade rail crossings, and terminal gates. This gives agencies and operators a realistic picture of delays, queue lengths, and bottlenecks before opening day, supporting better design decisions and smoother operations from the start.

• Traffic impact studies for intermodal terminals, container yards, and freight complexes
• Design and Analysis for site access, internal and external roadway networks
• Queuing and delays at automated and staffed terminal gates
• Operational impacts from at-grade railroad crossings
• Analysis of roadway network operations (surface streets and expressways) adjacent to freight facilities

Improved transportation safety is one of the most consequential services a traffic engineer can provide. GreenWave delivers safety analyses that helps public agencies identify high-risk locations, understand contributing factors, and develop targeted, cost-effective countermeasures.

GreenWave is committed to Vision Zero, a framework built on the principle that traffic fatalities and serious injuries are preventable, and that transportation system design bears shared responsibility for protecting road users. Consistent with FHWA's Safe System Approach, our safety work goes beyond documenting crash history to understanding which crashes cause greater injury and what design, operational, or behavioral interventions will most effectively reduce harm. GreenWave provides both traditional safety analysis and advanced predictive and quantitative methods aligned with current federal and industry standards.

• Crash data review and statistical analysis, including multi-year crash history, pattern identification, and High Injury Network (HIN) prioritization
• Review and application of HSM predictive methods, Safety Performance Functions (SPFs) and Crash Modification Factors (CMFs), to evaluate expected crash frequency and quantify the safety benefit of proposed countermeasures and design alternatives
• Empirical Bayes analysis to ascertain true safety performance at high-collision locations, accounting for regression-to-the-mean
• Systemic safety countermeasure identification and development, targeting crash patterns across a network and individual high-crash sites
• Road Safety Audits (RSAs) facilitated with multi-agency teams
• Roadside safety and barrier warrant analyses per AASHTO standards
• Benefit-cost analysis and documentation to support HSIP, SS4A, and other safety grant applications

Many local public agencies lack the workload to warrant a full-time traffic engineer or the resources to support one. GreenWave serves as an extension of your staff; reviewing consultant studies, advising on traffic operations and safety issues, and ensuring you get objective, technically sound guidance that represents your agency’s interests.

On-Call Traffic Engineering for Public Agencies

• Independent reviews of Traffic Impact Studies submitted by private developers
• On-call technical support for traffic operations and safety questions
• Technical advising on intersection operations, signal timing, and access management
• Review of traffic control plans and signal design submittals
• Representation at plan reviews and agency coordination meetings

Peer Review & QA/QC for Consulting Teams

• Independent peer reviews of traffic and safety studies and signal design packages
• Project delivery and technical guidance for firms without in-house traffic expertise

Developing the right geometry for bicycle and pedestrian facilities is only part of the solution. Understanding how these facilities interact with vehicle traffic, signal timing, and transit operations is where traffic engineering expertise becomes essential. GreenWave helps agencies and design teams evaluate and optimize the operational performance of bicycle, pedestrian, and transit facilities, and how they function alongside each other.

• Evaluation of protected bike lane, shared-use path, and cycle track operations
• Transit signal priority (TSP) analysis and implementation support
• Bus stop placement and transit operations in mixed-traffic environments
• Design reviews for ADA/PROWAG compliance
• Design guidance for Pedestrian and bicycle accommodations at interchanges
• Multimodal corridor feasibility and alternatives analysis
• Operational analysis of transit station access and intermodal connections

Securing federal transportation funding is increasingly competitive. GreenWave brings a rare combination of technical depth and direct federal program experience gained from both the consultant and federal sides of the grant process. We help clients prepare stronger applications and navigate the compliance requirements that follow.

Grant Application Technical Support

• Technical analysis and documentation supporting FHWA grant applications for programs such as SS4A, RAISE/BUILD, RCP/NAE, and more.
• Identification of transportation deficiencies and development of benefit-cost metrics
• Documentation of operation and safety improvement needs for grant narratives
• Coordination with MPOs and state agencies on programming and eligibility

Post-Award Program Management Advising

• Project controls setup: scope, schedule, budget, and milestone tracking
• Federal compliance guidance: NEPA, ROW, utilities, procurement regulations
• Reimbursement request review and cost eligibility advising
• Risk identification and schedule recovery strategies

The GreenWave Advantage: Senior Expertise, Lower Cost

GreenWave's structure is developed for clients who want direct access to senior expertise without the overhead. Large full-service engineering firms carry significant indirect costs, including accounting, legal, HR, marketing, executive overhead, and layers of coordination and project management. Those costs are built into every invoice you receive. As a focused, independent practice, GreenWave eliminates that overhead entirely.

What that means for you: You work directly with a credentialed senior engineer who has 20+ years of experience. You pay for that expertise at a rate that reflects our lean and efficient practice.

This model is well-suited for agencies and clients with specific project needs, limited budgets, or timelines that benefit from a lean and responsive team. We offer senior-level traffic engineering expertise at a cost that reflects the scale and focus of your project.

Geographic Reach

GreenWave is based in the Portland, OR metro area with a strong presence in the Chicago region, and serves clients nationwide. Our practice draws on 20+ years of project delivery, including 18 years across the greater Chicago region, and nation-wide experience developed through federal grant program work and projects spanning the West Coast to the Midwest.

GreenWave's practice is structured to deliver the right level of engagement for each project. Where site visits, agency meetings, or public presentations add value, we make them happen. For analysis-driven scopes, our remote-work model allows us to serve clients efficiently without unnecessary overhead.

Quality Control

Quality control at GreenWave begins with having a licensed PE and PTOE directly produce every deliverable, eliminating the gap that exists when senior engineers review work they didn't perform. For projects that benefit from independent technical review, GreenWave maintains a network of experienced engineering colleagues available for peer review on a project basis.

Reduced Rates for Smaller Public Agencies

GreenWave recognizes that smaller municipalities and rural agencies often face the greatest transportation challenges with the fewest resources. We offer reduced rates for qualifying smaller public agencies, making expert traffic engineering accessible to communities that may otherwise rely on limited in-house capacity or forgo outside expertise entirely. Contact us to discuss whether your agency qualifies.

Engagement Models

GreenWave offers flexible contract structures to fit the scope and requirements of each client or project:

Have a specific project in mind or just want to explore whether GreenWave is the right fit? Let's start a conversation.