If it were not for ITE, I truly do not believe
that I would be where I am today—serving the City of Los Angeles as the executive
officer of its Department of Transportation. I give a lot of credit for my
moving up the ranks to attending ITE meetings, both international and local.
Whether it’s the very first candlestick delineator used in one of the City’s
early road diet projects, or a sparked idea turned into a solution, I always
bring back something I can implement at home.
In fact, it was an idea I had that I took to
the ITE membership at a meeting that changed the way the City of LA, and
eventually the entire nation, installs traffic signals. While I was working as
an assistant to the City’s general manager, my colleagues and I were asked to
complete a seemingly impossible task—to install a traffic signal in just 30
days, including the design. At the time, we were installing conduits with a wet boring
jack pit process. This process alone to three to four weeks, not to mention the
major traffic disruption it caused. Then, an idea came to me.
At about the same time, my wife and I had bought our first house and I had just
completed installing a sprinkler system. I thought, “why not install the
conduit the way I installed the sprinkler pipes at home?” I figured we could use
an earth saw to cut a four inch wide hole and then use a ditch
witch to take the dirt out and then place the PVC pipe in, just like the home
sprinkler system that I had installed. After discussing the idea with my
management team, they were convinced it would not work, so I decided to seek
counsel form our ITE members at an upcoming meeting. With their advice and
encouragement, I was more determined than ever to give it a shot.
I discussed the idea with the general manager,
explaining to him that while the management team was unconvinced, my ITE
colleagues believed my solution could work as long as we used the thicker
schedule 80 PVC pipe and the right type of glue. I assured him that if we went
with this method, we would be able to meet the 30-day deadline. He was
persuaded and we were able to install the conduit using this new method in only
four hours. Today this procedure is used throughout the nation.
This was a proud moment for me. Had I not attended that meeting,
and been able to discuss my idea face-to-face with accomplished transportation
professionals, I don’t know that I would have been successful in convincing the
general manager to move forward with my plan. I am very thankful to have such a
strong and vast network. It is why I will continue going to ITE meetings
whenever I can.
I hope to see you all in San Diego!