While architecture and urban design form the core of my professional experience, it is only part of my story. Bicycle activism goes WAY back for me...1981 to be precise, when I started a petition drive in my Junior High School to push the City of Keene NH to build a BMX track. (As far as I know, approval, permits and funding are still pending!) From there, I worked with Transportation Alternatives and Times Up! in NYC. Moving to Portland to attend graduate school, I began my single-handed campaign to find funds to improve the Morrison Bridge with help from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, the Bike Advisory Committee and others. Our letters, postcards and lobbying efforts were successful in securing $1.5+ million in federal funds to build a two-way bike facility on the south sidewalk. I was also on the Bike Summer 2003 host committee and was a founding member of SHIFT.
After moving to the Boston area in 2004, I immediately enveloped myself in sustainable transportation advocacy. I was part of the core group that founded the LivableStreets Alliance and since then things have changed dramatically. My design work and LivableStreet’s great advocacy over the last three years has lead to Boston’s first bike lane project in its 350+ year history, along Comm Ave through the BU campus. Now, things are really hot over here and the Mayor wants to make Boston the “most bike friendly city in America” (sic!). We’ll see...
Phil Goff brings over 16 years of urban design, pedestrian/bicycle planning and advocacy experience to the team. As office manager for Alta’s New England office, he merges his passion for multi-modal streetscape design with his keen ability to effectively manage a diverse set of complex projects. Previous to his recent work at Alta, Mr. Goff used his architecture and urban design background to design and manage master planning projects for private-development parcels, transit-oriented development sites and neighborhoods within cities and towns large and small.
Advocating for bicycle and pedestrian-friendly streetscape design goes back many years. During his three years on the Cambridge-based LivableStreets Alliance Board, he oversaw the design portion of Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue reconstruction advocacy effort. As a member of the Somerville (MA) Bike Committee, he developed the Bike Lane Design Guide, currently used to evaluate bike-lane proposals in Somerville based on the prevailing streetscape and land-use context. In Portland, Phil was the primary motivator behind the Morrison Bridge project which, after four years of lobbying, was granted over $3 million in federal transportation funds to replace a narrow sidewalk with a 15’ wide facility for pedestrians and cyclists. His sincere passion for making cities and towns more lively, bike-friendly and sustainable places for people represents a common theme in his work.
Recent Projects
Charles River Basin Pathway and Bridge Master Plan (MA)
Teamed with Halvorson Design Partnership and HDR Engineering, Alta is working with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to develop a plan that addresses the needs of pedestrians and cyclists along an eight-mile stretch of the Charles River Basin in Boston, Cambridge, Watertown and Newton. Led by Mr. Goff, Alta’s 18-month effort will include recommendations for new trails and improved open spaces along the river, in addition to enhanced pedestrian and bike connections to ten bridges across the Charles.
Regional Naugatuck and Waterbury Naugatuck River Greenway Routing Study and Plan (CT)
Partnered with civil engineering and planning firm Fuss & O'Neill, Alta is leading the planning effort for a 22-mile greenway corridor along the Naugatuck River. The effort will involve community outreach in four communities for the Council of Governments of the Central Naugatuck Valley. The regional project complements a separate project for the Waterbury Development Corporation that looks at a routing and feasibility study for a seven-mile stretch of the Naugatuck River that passes through the City of Waterbury.
Portsmouth NH Safe Routes to School Planning Study
For the City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Alta has teamed up with Richardson and Associates landscape architects and TND Engineering to develop an innovative Safe Routes to School plan for the city of 25,000. The effort involves creating recommendations, based on the five "E's"(Engineering, Encouragement, Education, Enforcement and Evaluation), to increase the number of children walking and biking to Portsmouth's three elementary schools, the middle school and a private Catholic school.
Representative Projects
North Decatur Road Bike Path Study (Atlanta, GA)
While working with Boston’s Goody Clancy & Associates, Mr. Goff lead a workshop with the surrounding communities, bicycle advocates and other stakeholders to develop a recommended alternative for accommodating bike traffic along North Decatur Road, a key link to the Emory University campus in Atlanta. Alternatives included a three-lane “road diet” with bike lanes, and numerous sub-options for separated or multi-use paths running parallel to the street within a future easement maintained by the university. The North Decatur bike route will be the first phase of a comprehensive network of improved bicycle and pedestrian accommodations throughout the Emory University area completed with Kittelson Associates, a transportation planning firm in Baltimore. Additionally, streetscape and building design guidelines were developed as part of the larger master planning study that preceded the North Decatur bike plan.
Commonwealth Avenue Reconstruction Project (Boston, MA)
This all-volunteer effort to advocate for bicycle and pedestrian-related improvements was coordinated by LivableStreets. While on the Board, Mr. Goff developed design drawings that highlighted the recommended alignment for the inclusion of a bicycle lane along the length of the project. The plan and other supporting diagrams and drawings were used extensively in the successful effort to convince the City of Boston and MassHighway to include the bike lane and consider additional pedestrian improvements. In conjunction with Massbike, the Institute of Human-Centered Design and WalkBoston, Phil and LivableStreets worked with the City every step of the way to develop a plan that creates a safe environment for cyclists and represents the first major bike lane project ever for the City of Boston.
Interstate MAX bicycle network planning (Portland, OR)
While living in Portland OR, Mr. Goff and his former firm were hired to develop a plan for bicycle-network improvements along the Interstate Avenue corridor, in conjunction with a new light rail line. Working with the City of Portland and Tri-Met, the local transit agency, Phil helped to develop a plan that provided bicycle-facility connections to each of the four light-rail stations along with increased opportunities for curb-side parking and pedestrian amenities. Most of the planned bike lanes and local street improvements were later implemented to coincide with the opening of the transit line.
