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R.
BOUWMEESTER & ASSOCIATES
Sun & Shadow Position
Specialists
with Modeling Applications in
Collision and Crime Scene Reconstruction,
Urban Development, Site Planning and Building Design
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| About Us |
Services |
What We Do |
Projects |
Clients |
Site
Map
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take a moment and help us with our survey:
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Important To You Is Sunshine?
How much
sunshine, when and
where?
Search this Site -
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to search this site
Home - a brief description of who we are, what we
do,
the types of clients we serve, and links to our most popular pages
The
Firm & its Principal - an
overview of our civil engineering practice
and a summary of Mr. Bouwmeester's credentials
Interviews and Media Articles Featuring or
Referencing Our
Firm: AM640 -
Interview with Kelly Cutrara on AM640, by Kelly Cutrara
Barrie Advance - Helping
opportunity knock,
by Donna Douglas
BlogTO - Here's when you can see the most spectacular sunset of the year in Toronto, by Phoebe Knight
CBC News
Toronto - Interview for 'Torontohenge'
sunset to be in line with city grid Saturday,
by Talia Ricci
CBC News
Toronto - Special
'Torontohenge' sunset wows commuters
CBC News
Toronto - City's
new downtown plan aims to prevent high-rise shadows on parks,
by Lauren Pelley
CityNews Toronto - Shedding Light
on the Core - TV interview re: Toronto's
Downtown Plan and preserving sunlight on
downtown parks.
Curiocity - Here’s when Toronto will have its most breathtaking sunset of the year, by Karen Doradea
Dallas
Fort Worth Star Telegram - Shedding
light on sun glare, by Gordon Dickson
Des Moines Register - Drivers,
beware of sun's glare, by Tom Alex
Des Moines Register - Sun
blamed in 1 death, 2 collisions, by Tom
Alex
Des Moines Register - Equinox
driving, by Jeff Bash
Des Moines Register - Seasonal
Danger
- sun glare graphic
DurhamRegion.com - 'Dangerous
for drivers': Daylight time ends, impacting driving conditions, by
Mike Pearson
East Valley Tribune - Equinox
means more problems for commuters, by Mike
Branom
GlobalTV National News - Top Story - What
Happened at that Rural Intersection in SK? - TV interview
re:
Humboldt Broncos bus crash.
Times
Herald-Record - A
sure sign of autumn: sun glare when driving, by Judy
Rife
National Post - Lurking
in the shadows, by
Guy Babineau
NorthBayNipissing.com - First Torontohenge of 2024 set for Feb. 15. Does your southern Ontario community have its own henge?, by Norm Nelson, Metroland
Omaha World-Herald - Sun
is a glaring change, by Nancy Gaarder
Spacing Magazine (Spring 2015 issue) - Sunny
Side of the Street, by Glyn
Bowerman
Spacing Magazine (Spring 2015 issue) - Torontohenge,
by Glyn Bowerman
The
Record - Cresskill Crossing Guard Struck by Weehawken Principal's Car, Sun Glare a Possible Factor, Police Say, by Yellin
and O'Brien
The Record - Road Warrior:
Seasonal blind spots easily turn deadly,
by John Cichowski
Toronto
Star - Working in
sun and shadow, by
Robert Burg
Toronto Star - Our
Places in the Sun - The Shadow Factor, by
Stephen Weir
Toronto
Star - Toronto
Grappling With Shadows From Tall Condos, by Donovan Vincent
Toronto Sun - Skygazers
take in 'Torontohenge', by Maryam Shah
Weather Network - Torontohenge to deliver Toronto's most amazing sunset views this week, by Scott Sutherland
Weather Network - Cloudy skies obscuring Torontohenge? Here's when you can see it, by Scott Sutherland
WTMJ Radio - Sun
Glare Poses Challenge to Drivers, Our radio
interview Debbie Lazaga
Scope
of Services - an overview of the
types of
projects we are involved with, the types of tables, drawings and
reports we prepare, and the types of presentations (including expert
witness testimony) we provide
Presentations:
Virtual Modeling
of Tall Buildings - Sun & Shadows -
presented by
Ralph Bouwmeester at the Higher Learning Symposium held in Toronto,
Ontario, on October 19, 2006. The event was co-sponsored by
the City of Toronto,
the Canadian
Urban Institute and the Toronto
Society of Architects.
The
presentation slides are
provided in PDF format below:
Part
1, Part
2, Part
3, Part
4
Sun
and
Shadow Modeling in Accident Reconstruction, presented by Ralph
Bouwmeester
to the Canadian Association of Technical Accident Investigators and
Reconstructionists (CATAIR), Ontario Region, on February 18, 1997.
Free Data Available:
Historical
Sun Position Data for accident investigation and legal
professionals
Free Sunrise/Sunset
Tables for
the
current month
Canada
USA
For
those of you interested in
this month's sunrise/sunset data for the Middle East:
Pan
Am and Parapan Am
Games
Toronto2015
Free sunrise/sunset table for the Toronto2015
Pan Am and Parapan Am
Games,Toronto, Canada, July/Aug 2015.
Olympics
Vancouver
2010
Free sunrise/sunset
tables are
available for those of you who visited Vancouver and Whistler BC
during
the Olympics and Paralympics in February and March 2010.
London 2012
Sochi 2014
PyeongChang
2018
Torontohenge
Link to Weather Network article about Torontohenge that mentions our firm.
Torontohenge info for 2024
Torontohenge info for 2023
Torontohenge info for 2022
Torontohenge info for 2021
Torontohenge info for October 2017
Torontohenge
info for October 2014.
World
Disaster Areas
Sunrise/Sunset
Tables for Port-au-Prince,
Haiti and Sendai,
Japan were added in support of those involved in rescue
and relief work. The tables provided rise and set times and
the total number of hours of available daylight for each day of the
month.
To
assist wildfire victims and
firefighters in Slave
Lake, Alberta, a table of daily sunrise/sunset
times and hours of daylight was posted shortly after the fires.
Similarly,
a Kathmandu, Nepal sunrise/sunset table
was added to assist in the 2015 earthquake rescue
efforts.
To
assist wildfire victims and
firefighters in Fort McMurray, Alberta, a table of
daily sunrise/sunset
times and hours of daylight for May 2016 was posted.
To
assist the August 2016 earthquake victims and
rescuers in
Amatrice, Italy, a table of
daily sunrise/sunset
times and hours of daylight was posted.
Sunrise/Sunset Tables:
Sunrise/Sunset
Tables are available for any dates and locations.
The current month
for your location is free upon request.
They are available
in two
free formats as follows:
1. Rise/Set
Times, Time of Solar Noon, Number of Daylight Hours
(our standard format), or
2. Rise/Set
Times, Azimuths of Rise/Set (great tool for photographers).
See samples of each
by clicking
on the links above.
Modeling
Applications
- an overview of our three main types of projects:
Shadow
Impact Assessments - related to
proposed
development and building projects - we have represented proponents as
well as objectors. Project types range from proposed house
additions to 75-storey condo developments.
Solar Access Studies -
related to passive solar
energy, architectural daylighting, and pedestrian comfort.
Collision & Crime Scene
Reconstruction - related to the
investigation and reconstruction
of collisions of all kinds (e.g. involving pedestrians,
cars, trucks, buses, trains, aircraft and watercraft) where sun glare
or blinding is suspected to have been a contributing factor, and crime
scene reconstruction where there are issues related to visibility /
ambient lighting / suspect identification. We also provide
forensic shadow analyses of photos and videos to determine and/or
confirm the date and time they were taken. Our analyses
assist in establishing timelines and proving/disproving witness
statements in criminal, civil and collision investigations.
Representative
Client List
- a sampling of our Clients
Representative
Projects - a summary listing of
our
projects
Samples of Our Work:
Shadow
Impact Assessments
House
addition
Monster home addition
Second
storey addition
Proposed
downtown highrise
Proposed highrise condo
Virtual
Modeling of Tall
Buildings - Sun & Shadows - presentation
made on October 19, 2006, at the Higher Learning Symposium, Toronto,
Ontario. The event was co-sponsored by the City of Toronto, the Canadian
Urban Institute and the Toronto
Society of Architects. (For a
PDF version of the presentation slides, click
the following: Part
1, Part
2, Part
3, Part
4)
Solar Access
Studies
Proposed
Skylights - shadow animation (AVI file)
Proposed
pool and residence
Daily
sun position graph and table
Sun
exposure charts for various building faces
Collision
& Crime Scene
Reconstruction
Sample photos of sun glare
while driving
Collision scene photos with superimposed sun position
Sun
and Shadow Modeling in Accident Reconstruction,
presented by R. Bouwmeester to the Canadian Association of Technical
Accident Investigators and Reconstructionists (CATAIR), Ontario Region,
on February 18, 1997
Miscellaneous
Projects
Frito-Lay
SunChips
Solar Billboard - See this YouTube
page for a time-lapse video of the SunChips 'solar'
billboard installed in Oakland California on Earth Day 2008 to
celebrate the opening of Frito-Lay's solar-powered SunChips plant in
nearby Modesto. The shadow casting components of the
billboard were designed by R. Bouwmeester &
Associates. Ad agency Juniper Park of Toronto took home the
2009 Cassies Grand Prix on January 28, 2010, for the ad campaign that
included our billboard. See story.
Air
India Flight 182 Memorial Sundial - R.
Bouwmeester & Associates was commissioned by the City of
Toronto to design the sundial feature which is central to the Air India
Flight 182 Memorial unveiled on the Toronto Ontario waterfront by Prime
Minister Stephen Harper on June 23, 2007.
NASCAR
Track Sun Angle Diagram
- NASCAR
Sprint Cup
driver and six-time champion, Jimmie
Johnson, told me via Twitter on October 25,
2014, that "The
late stages at PIR are tough with the sun in your eyes."
In response, I prepared a sun angle diagram for the next
Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) scheduled for
Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014.
Canada
150 Solar Event - visible
across Canada on July 1, 2017. Page added June 27, 2017.
Human
Sundial Project for Kids
- During these challenging times in 2020, here's a fun and simple
outdoor project to do with your kids as the weather improves. Not
only is it fun, it is very educational. Hope this brightens your day a
bit! Page added April 2, 2020.
Interesting
Articles about the
Dangers of Driving & Sun Glare:
Glaring
Danger - Bright Sun, Deadly Collisions,
San
Francisco Examiner, October 12, 1998
Sight
Unseen,
Transcript of ABC News 20/20 program, aired March 22, 1999
Driving and Sun
Glare Can
Be a Deadly Mixture, PRNewswire, December 30, 2002
Shedding
light on sun glare,
Dallas Fort Worth Star Telegram, September 15, 2003
Drivers,
beware of sun's glare,
Des Moines Register,
September 16, 2004
Sun
blamed in 1 death, 2 collisions,
Des Moines Register,
September 18, 2004
Equinox
driving,
Des Moines Register, March 21, 2005
Equinox
means more problems for commuters, East
Valley Tribune, September
29, 2005
Sun
is a glaring change, Omaha
World-Herald, April 1,
2010
Sun
glare dangers during spring and fall commutes
Judy Rife: A sure sign of
autumn: sun glare when driving, Times
Herald-Record, October 11, 2011
Cresskill
Crossing Guard Struck by Weehawken Principal's Car, Sun Glare a
Possible
Factor, Police Say, The
Record (northjersey.com), February 10, 2012
Road
Warrior: Seasonal blind spots easily
turn deadly, The
Record (northjersey.com), September 20, 2015
Sun
Glare Poses Challenge to Drivers, March 2019 interview with
Debbie Lazaga on Milwaukee's WTMJ Radio about the challenge that sun
glare poses to drivers.
Interesting
Articles about Sun
Glare Reflection from Tall Buildings
Overview
of our
Solar Model
Links
Contact Info:
Ralph Bouwmeester, P. Eng.
R. Bouwmeester & Associates
Barrie, Ontario Canada
Phone: 1-705-726-3392
rba@sunposition.com
(Please call or email for
complete address details)
More ways to contact us
All the
information contained within these World Wide Web Pages is
Copyright © 1997 - 2024, R. Bouwmeester & Associates.
All Rights Reserved.
All Trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.
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