Latest Blogs

ITE Meeting and Exhibition Leadership Series: Kirsten Tynch, P.E., PTOE, LEED AP, ENV, SP (F)

By Mr. Ransford McCourt P.E., PTOE posted 9 days ago
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Kirsten Tynch, P.E., PTOE, LEED AP, ENV, SP (F) is the Managing Director of VHB’s Virginia Beach office. Kirsten has paralleled my term on the ITE Executive Committee in her time on the ITE International Board of Direction. Frequently, young professionals will ask me “how” to lead in our industry. While it is difficult because everyone has a different journey, if you want an example to follow as a road map, Kirsten has it down. Every step, every effort, and every choice she has taken are tied together cumulatively building to greater learning, relationships, accomplishments, and trust—all the foundations of a great leader. Women in engineering face incredible ...
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Will traffic go up or down after COVID?

By Mr. John Fleck P.E posted 14 days ago
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  Here’s a challenge to the ITE community—What is your prediction of what will happen to traffic post COVID? (say, after a vaccine provides reasonable security from infection).  I think there are four key numbers, two of which are guesses, and two of which are based on existing data.  I’m looking at the SF Bay Area where I live, but the same arithmetic can be applied to any metropolitan area.  Here are the numbers.  Knowns: 5% of workers telecommuted prior to COVID 12% of commuters in the Bay Area used transit pre-COVID  Guesses: Percentage of workers who will continue to telecommute after COVID-19? This article from Global Workplace ...
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COVID-19

By Mr. Jeffrey Paniati P.E posted 17 days ago
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So much has changed in the world, the United States, and within ITE in the last month, it is hard to know where to begin. COVID-19 is having a devastating human and economic toll. Things are evolving and changing so rapidly, much of what I write now in April will likely be rendered meaningless when you read this in May. So I will try to focus my thoughts around ITE and how we are reacting to events at-hand and continue to bring value to our members. ITE staff moved into fully remote operations on Wednesday, March 18. This process was aided by our existing telework policy and the experience that most of our staff had in working remotely, at least occasionally. ...
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Send In Your Biking Photos to ITE Journal

By Holly Stowell posted 17 days ago
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In celebration of National Bike Month, we want to see photos of YOU in action! Send photos of you, colleagues, friends, or family biking to  ITE Journal  Sr. Editor Holly Stowell at hstowell@ite.org by Monday, June 1st for a chance to be featured in the July "Active Transportation" issue of  ITE Journal ! Be sure the photo is high resolution (at least 300 dpi) and include a detailed caption.
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Speed - A New Era Rises

By Mr. Ransford McCourt P.E., PTOE posted 23 days ago
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Since my birth, nearly three-quarters of a million people in the United States have perished using our transportation system due to excessive speeding. We all do it. Our culture and our siloed approach to this topic makes it nearly impossible for anyone to get their hands around the issue and tackle it to the ground. One would think with the amount of studies and research involving vehicle operating speed and speed limits, and the billions of dollars in infrastructure created using speed-based criteria, we would have solved this. But we’ve learned through research that engineering alone, education alone, enforcement alone, adjudication alone, or the public ...
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ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibit Leadership Series: Ashley Lickliter, P.E.

By Mr. Ransford McCourt P.E., PTOE posted 23 days ago
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Ashley Lickliter, P.E., is a Vice President with Kimley-Horn in Richmond, Virginia. While I met Ashley at prior ITE events, I really got to see her in action last year at the Southern District-Mid Colonial District Joint Annual Meeting in Virginia. She is a leader with grace, energy and passion and is making it possible for the next generation of transportation planners and engineers to achieve the gender balance that once was not believed possible in our industry. Ashley is a driving force behind her workplace’s initiative called LIFT (Lasting Impact for Tomorrow) where hosts roundtable discussions and webinars for women employees on various management ...
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What Your Content Marketing Strategy Should Include to Combat the Coronavirus Crisis

By Frederick Tartt posted 04-27-2020
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‘Business as usual’ has become ‘business unusual’ since the coronavirus pandemic began sweeping across the globe. While businesses are closing left and right, yours could be next, unless you change your strategy and the direction in which you’re steering your endeavors. One of the easiest ways to adapt to doing business in a pandemic is to change your social media content strategy. Here are some content marketing tips that should factor into your decisions: The move toward video Where images accompanied by text used to satisfy the people who visited your site, things have changed significantly in recent years. There is so much competition, and you ...
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ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibit Leadership Series: Todd Long, P.E., PTOE (M)

By Mr. Ransford McCourt P.E., PTOE posted 04-16-2020
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Todd Long, P.E., PTOE (M) is the Georgia Division Transportation Lead for Atlas Technical Consultants, LLC (formerly Moreland Altobelli Associates) in Duluth, GA, USA. Todd also serves as an adjunct faculty at Georgia Institute of Technology. My connection to Todd came while attending the Southern District (SDITE) Board meetings. Todd has served as an officer of the Georgia Section and Southern District and is the current Past President of the Southern District. He is an unassuming, collaborative, and humble leader who is great to work with. Through his work and with ITE, Todd lives his commitment to improving customer service, efficiency, and management ...
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What to do When Your Loved Ones Resist In-Home Care

By Frederick Tartt posted 04-12-2020
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If you’re near breaking point and your elderly loved ones refuse an in-home caregiver, what can you do? Older adults may resist assistance because they fear losing their independence and becoming a burden.  They also don’t want their privacy to be invaded and may be worried about costs. Convincing them that they need help can lead to arguments and they may just shut down altogether when you bring up the subject. This is a challenge many caregivers face. Here are some ways to make your loved ones feel more comfortable about accepting help.  Listen and understand the reasons for resistance When older adults realize that you are listening to ...
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Our Profession's Dedication

By Dr. Beverly Kuhn P.E posted 04-07-2020
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The three weeks since I was elected ITE VP have been a roller-coaster ride to say the least.  I have barely had time to breathe - like most of us - shifting to a remote work situation, navigating a high schooler doing online coursework, extracting our college freshman from his dorm, and - most importantly - ensuring the safety of my family.  As we have settled into some semblance of a routine, I have carved out time to channel my heightened stress energy for a productive purpose.  The sewing process has been therapeutic, yielding masks for those who need them. They have been delivered across the street, across the state, and across the world.  This batch is ...
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#ITENOLA2020 Leadership Series: Christa Greene, P.E. (M)

By Mr. Ransford McCourt P.E., PTOE posted 04-06-2020
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Christa Greene, P.E. (M) is a Senior Principal and the Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering Sub-Sector Leader with Stantec in Raleigh, NC, USA. This past year, I was fortunate to get to know Christa better when our paths crossed in our morning trips to hotel fitness centers at ITE meetings. We’re fortunate to have leaders like Christa devote their volunteer time to ITE with her experience running her own company for several years before joining Stantec. She is encouraging and engaging, and her attention to detail makes other volunteers around her feel valuable. Her knack for problem-solving may come from being a second-generation transportation ...
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Trip Generation – Looking Back, Moving Forward

By Mr. Jeffrey Paniati P.E posted 04-05-2020
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Since 1976, ITE has been the go-to source for trip generation data and tools. We have come a long way, particularly in the last five years. The First Edition of Trip Generation was less than 200 pages and included only approximately 50 land uses. Today, we provide a Web-based App allowing access to trip generation data for 177 land uses, in rural, suburban and urban settings, parking generation data, and are continuing to enhance the person-based and multimodal aspects of our data set. In February of this year, ITE released the Trip Generation, 10th Edition Supplement. This supplement significantly expands the multimodal data available to users. It provides ...
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Were the Jetsons’ Vehicles Level 5?

By Mr. Ransford McCourt P.E., PTOE posted 04-01-2020
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It’s 2062. Meet George Jetson and his wife Jane. Both are holding the controls to their vehicles—and it’s 40 years from now! I figure most rural areas will likely still have drivers “driving” vehicles in 40 years. In the technological world of the future, our ability to visualize the safety benefits of a fully autonomous vehicle network exceeds the world’s transition from driver controls. Does that mean we won’t attain Vision Zero without Level 5? I say NO. It’s 2020, and we’re more than half-way to the Jetsons. Let me share with you a vision for the next 40 years and how technology can help us zero in on Zero. As part of transportation reauthorization, we ...
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New Product Development Leads to Improved Consumer Experiences

By Frederick Tartt posted 03-30-2020
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Today it is easier than ever for customers to simply switch to a different brand that meets their expectations if they’re dissatisfied with a product or service. They expect companies to keep innovating and it’s harder to impress them than ever before.  The companies that manage to deliver personalized, smarter and more user-friendly solutions to the challenges consumers face are the ones that will stay ahead of their competitors.  Understand your customers Before you create a new product or service, you need to deeply understand your target audience. The foundation for new product development is built on customer research .  One tried-and-true ...
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#ITENOLA2020 Leadership Series: Cindy Pionke, P.E.

By Mr. Ransford McCourt P.E., PTOE posted 03-24-2020
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Cindy Pionke, P.E., is the Strategic Facilities Engineer/ADA 504 Coordinator for Knox County’s Department of Human Resources in Knoxville, TN, USA. I first met Cindy at a Southern District meeting and she’s now serving as the District’s Vice President. I was immediately taken by her dedication to leadership, training, and development. She openly shares ideas of how we can help ITE members advance their careers in leadership. When the opportunity arises to speak with young people about transportation and advancing STEM interest, you can feel her passion and excitement. She truly cares about furthering our profession.  Cindy has played a pivotal role in ...
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#ITENOLA2020 Leadership Series: W. Hibbett Neel, P.E. (H)

By Mr. Ransford McCourt P.E., PTOE posted 03-09-2020
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Hibbett Neel, P.E. (H) , is a transportation engineer who is the president and CEO of Neel-Schaffer in Jackson, MS, USA. For those who ever wonder if doing the right thing pays off, just talk to Hibbett Neel. I first met Hibbett in Denver, CO, USA at the 1995 Annual Meeting. He is the contrast to my west coast, crazy idea whirlwind, every minute being the even-paced, calm demeanor southern ambassador of ITE. Hibbett’s heart for making a difference in his community and our industry is enormous—he cares for the people around him and is compassionate toward their needs. It started early in his life as an Eagle Scout and serving the county as a captain for the ...
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Signals are Us

By Mr. Ransford McCourt P.E., PTOE posted 03-03-2020
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Upon graduating from the University of California–Berkeley, I had no idea the significant role traffic signals would play in my career. While I received more than my share of Highway Capacity Manual training from Dolf May, I didn’t know jobs revolved around traffic signals. Moreover, I wanted to pursue transit-related planning and design and wanted little to do with signals. I quickly learned that knowledge of signals provided a gateway to transit projects. I had the great fortune to be mentored by pioneers in transit priority (Hans Korve, P.E. (F), Paul Olson, P.E. (F), Warren Tighe, Peter Coffey) and rapidly found my fear of signals was unwarranted. I became ...
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National Engineers Week 2020 Recap

By Ms. Pamela Goodell posted 02-25-2020
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National Engineers Week 2020 is over; however, its impact will continue. If you haven't had an opportunity to read the blogs written by ITE members, it is well worth taking the opportunity to do so. Read about how others found their career passion and how they envision the future of transportation.  How Does Making a Difference Start?  by Randy McCourt Small Changes, Impactful Results  by Alyssa Rodriguez National Engineers Week 2020  by Eric Rensel Empowering Professionals in the Profession  by Cathy Leong Opportunities to be Involved in Transportation  by Matthew Bennett A Female in Engineering! ...
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Call for Nominations for Technical Councils and Standing Committees

By Ms. Pamela Goodell posted 02-23-2020
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ITE is pleased to announce open nominations for Chair and Vice-Chair appointments for the following councils and standing committees: Coordinating Council Transportation Consultants Council Transportation Safety Council TSMO Council Complete Streets Council Pedestrian and Bicycle Standing Committee Nominees should demonstrate these characteristics:  Leadership Serve as an inspiration and mentor to other ITE members Proven ability to assemble and motivate volunteer experts Harness volunteers' enthusiasm and commitment to meet the goals of ITE Demonstrate excellent communication skills Management Ability to develop and follow ...
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Engineers Week 2020: Moving Forward

By Mrs. Patricia Tice posted 02-21-2020
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I became an engineer because I had already made it past the hazing (Differential Equations).  I remain a transportation engineer because for the first time in my life I see hope.   Traffic seems to be a universal complaint that guarantees job security for all of us.  Roman soldiers were probably complaining about the rabble in front of their chariots thousands of years ago and it's difficult to imagine a time when congestion of some kind will not be an issue, even if it's digital.  (Hey honey, why's the internet so slow tonight?--Everyone's watching the Superbowl.  Come look at this cool commercial!).   The obvious solution was to move people out of their cars.  ...
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