This year’s theme is at the heart of what ITE is all about. When we ask our members why they belong to ITE, connecting with their peers is a big part of the answer. Through these personal interactions and with ITE’s products and services, members find new practices and solutions allowing them to positively impact their communities. There are many different avenues to make these connections within ITE. The most obvious is through the local Sections. Our Sections are at the heart of the member experience and the easiest way to stay connected locally. Our Councils and Committees provide connections with national and international practitioners and leaders. ITE’s e-Community provides a ready avenue to engage with others virtually and to find new practices and solutions to your most vexing problems.
During 2023, ITE will be providing a wide variety of opportunities to Connect People and Communities. In November, we kicked-off our year-long transportation planning professional membership drive. In just the first month, more than 250 planners have taken advantage of the free membership offer. More information is at www.ite.org/
membership/transportation-planning-professionals. This month, we start the new year with a full set of Council and Committee meetings in conjunction with the TRB Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, USA. For the meeting schedule, visit https://bit.ly/ITE_TRB_23. We will also be bringing back our student reception for the first time since
COVID-19, held at ITE Headquarters on January 9. For more information and to RVSP, visit https://bit.ly/TRB_ITE_student23.
In February, our first All-member survey since 2016 will be conducted, helping ITE benchmark its progress in meeting member needs, serving members in the post COVID-19 environment, and identifing opportunities to improve. March 14-15, we will be holding our third virtual Spring Conference, Great Communities: At the Intersection of Planning and Engineering, showcasing how planners and engineers are collaborating to create great communities and providing leading edge practices to take back to their communities. In April, we will release the initial version of the online ITE TrafficWiki, allowing members to access key traffic engineering knowledge. The wiki format will allow this knowledge to be more readily maintained and updated.
In August, the ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibition will be held in conjunction with the Western District Annual Meeting in Portland, OR, USA. We are planning for a power-packed program of sessions and workshops, Council and Committee meetings, networking engagements, and opportunities for attendees to see leading practices on the ground in Portland. And in September, we will issue the Parking Generation Manual, 6th Edition, the latest version of one of ITE’s signature products. This new Manual will provide updated parking demand information, including insights on the impacts of COVID-19. Finally, in November we expect to release the ITE Strategic Plan 2024-2026, incorporating input from the All-member survey and charting new frontiers for ITE.
Stay connected with ITE throughout the year and look out for these and additional new resources that can help you make your community a better place to live and work. As
always, contact me on the ITE e-Community or on Twitter: @JeffPaniatiITE.