This issue of ITE Journal is focused on Traffic Engineering, a topic area that brings large crowds into sessions at our Annual Meeting, generates a lot of interest on our e-Community, and is an incredibly diverse and complex discipline that is sometimes misunderstood by the public (and even by others in the transportation space).
For a profession that has been around for more than 100 years, these past few decades have been truly exciting in the traffic engineering arena. Technology has blown open the doors to new possibilities, there has been an increasing acceptance by policymakers that roadway safety oftentimes must come before convenience, and the breadth of disciplines now contributing to traffic engineering projects has blossomed.
As a self-professed fan of transportation technology, I’ve enjoyed watching how traffic signal design and operation has evolved thanks to advances in computing, communications, and connectivity. The breadth and depth of data now available has changed the ways in which we go about what used to be the mundane task of planning and signal timing. Signs, striping, and basic control devices have evolved to offer us a toolbox that is 10-times larger than what our predecessors had 50 years ago. And techniques in speed management, intersection design, and safety countermeasures have progressed to becoming mainstream not just in our profession—but (generally) accepted by the public.
There will be elected officials that still struggle with basic concepts like signal warrants, curbside management, and parking capacity—but there is an increasing reliance on data-driven decision-making that at least arms us professionals with more tools when coming up against these situations. And there are an increasing number of decision-makers that recognize just how important transportation safety and consistency can be in terms of social factors like quality of life, walking/biking, and economic development. Those elements swing the needle with voters, which is a key toward swinging the funding bucket in our direction.
But technology doesn’t solve all problems, and policymakers don’t always follow the recommendations provided by engineers—which is why one of the other positive trends I’ve seen in my nearly 40 years in the business is the rapid growth in disciplines contributing to our industry.
Just look at our profession today and the disciplines, education, and training that now make today’s traffic engineering projects successful. That, intrepid reader, is a cross-section of ITE’s membership. Civil engineers, planners, data scientists, electrical engineers, technicians, policy experts, environmental scientists, mechanical and industrial engineers, finance specialists; today’s traffic engineering projects benefit from a lot of expertise.
And that’s why ITE has been actively referring to ourselves as A Community of Transportation Professionals. We have progressed so far beyond a group of civil engineers that got together in 1930 to form a society engaged in “the battle to reduce accidents and facilitate traffic movement.” Today’s ITE is so much more. As you read through this issue of ITE Journal, absorb the material in the technical articles—appreciate the individual spotlights and ITE Council and Committee activity—look at all the advertisers and recognize their contributions to the industry. Oh, and while you’re at it—find a traffic engineer and say, “Thank you for all you do!”