A National Leader in Managing Traffic
As the head of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), Len Levine was instrumental in initiating the first major traffic management program in America, the Minnesota Guidestar Program; this program is considered to be the model for all subsequent traffic management programs. After leaving Mn/DOT, Len Levine, working with a private engineering firm, led the team that developed the first parking/guidance system in the country. Similar systems are now operational in Germany, Israel, Singapore and China as well as in numerous cities and airports across the U.S.
The far-left photo is downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. In the photo (2nd from left) Len is with Amiram Strulov, the strategic advisor on transportation to the World Bank, in downtown Tel Aviv, Israel. In the 3rd photo is a similar parking sign in Beijing, China- next to it on the right is a sign in Los Angeles, California, then a sign on the main street in downtown Singapore, a city-state in Southeast Asia and on the far right is a sign in downtown Seattle, Washington.
An electronic parking sign in the Pudong area of Shanghai, China shows when the first picture was taken there were 350 parking spaces available and 45 seconds later when the second picture was taken the number had dropped to 347.
Len Levine started the MINNESOTA GUIDESTAR program which the Federal Highway Administration said established the nation’s standard for the most comprehensive traffic management system in the country. Most states today still follow the GUIDESTAR model. He is seen here in the Minnesota DOT’s Traffic Management Center, a state-of-the-art facility.