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Hopefully by now you have all received your ITE all-member survey that was sent via email on February 13. This is our first all-member survey since 2019. We are very interested to learn more about our members and your needs in a post-pandemic environment. The first goal of the survey is to learn what we are doing well and where there are opportunities to improve, particularly in the near term. Staff and our volunteer leaders will use the results to adjust or enhance the products and services we provide. Second, we want to inform ITE’s longer-term strategic direction. The International Board of Direction (IBOD) has formed a Strategic Planning Committee under the ...
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Transportation moves people and goods through cities, states, and countries, allowing people to decide where to live, work, recreate, and shop, or decide where to go on short weekend trips or long vacations. We rely on transportation for nearly everything we do. Since the beginning of time, every civilization has relied on some form of transportation, and the transportation priorities and goals change as the needs of society change. The communities we live in and serve today are asking for multimodal, diverse solutions that allow them to get where they want to go safely, while also providing options for a healthier lifestyle. Transportation planners look at ...
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17,000!

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At the end of 2022, ITE reached a major milestone with more than 17,000 members for the first time in our 92-year history. We finished 2022 with a record 17,302 members. While a late boost of new members (about 450) from the offer of 1 year of free membership for transportation planning professionals got us to the milestone a little early, we were already on a trajectory to pass the 17,000-mark in 2023. We have been steadily adding numbers since 2015 when our membership sat at 14,228. Achieving this milestone did not come because of any one action or initiative, but a series of efforts since 2016 that have steadily increased our membership year-over-year. The ...
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My parents live in a neighborhood (barrio) in the mountains in Puerto Rico, an area that has been affected by natural disasters, especially in the past 5 years: Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, and Hurricane Fiona in 2022. Rain from both caused landslides impacting the two-lane rural roadway that connects my parents' barrio to the rest of the town (pueblo). This two-lane rural roadway provides access for my parents (and lots of elderly people) to healthcare, groceries, jobs, services, and the rest of the island. Rural roadways—in the United States and around the world—not only provide access to people living in rural communities, but also connect people living ...
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Wishing you and yours health and prosperity in 2023! My journey in ITE started, like many of you, as a student. I was part of the first Student Chapter at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and President in the second year. It was there my ITE leadership journey started. When I moved to Tampa, FL, USA in January 2002, I joined the ITE Tampa Bay Chapter and started volunteering with the Chapter. At the end of 2002, I was encouraged to run for Chapter officer. Because English is my second language and because of my accent, I was terrified because that meant I need it to talk in front of people. But my ITE family helped me feel that I belong and encouraged ...
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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 ...
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For me, the year started a bit ominously with a case of COVID-19 right before I was supposed to attend the first Board of Direction meeting of the year in January. Fortunately, it was a very mild case and technology allowed me to participate virtually. From there, things improved, and we are finishing the year with a strong record of accomplishment and continued enhancement in member value. The end-of-year review article on page 26 provides you with a rundown of some of the most significant accomplishments in 2022, and I thought I would highlight a few that really stood out to me. We continue to grow as an organization fueled by strong public agency participation. ...
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It is hard to believe that my time serving as your ITE International President is coming to a close. When I think about the past year, I am reminded of my favorite quote from Ferris Bueller: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Over the past 11 months, I have made a conscious effort to stop, take a breath, enjoy my surroundings, and be fully engaged at the various District meetings across the country. I have traveled by plane, train, automobile, bicycle, and my ever-present feet. I have visited some of my favorite places but have also visited others for the first time. Through it all, I have tried to ...
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Jeff Lindley

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As you have likely heard, Jeff Lindley will be stepping down from his position as Deputy Executive Director and Chief Technical Officer at the end of October. This will certainly create a big void at ITE and for me personally. Jeff has served in the Deputy ED/CTO role for the past six years and has been instrumental to ITE’s success over that time. As a Deputy Executive Director, Jeff serves as part of ITE’s Executive Leadership Team. Working with the ITE Board of Direction and guided by the ITE Strategic Plan, we provide day-to-day management and support for the ITE enterprise. Jeff has been a key member of this team, bringing strong leadership skills honed ...
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Like most of you, I am painfully familiar with the tragedy of roadway deaths. My first exposure to this epidemic was in middle school when a childhood friend I’d known since I was three was killed while riding his bicycle down a two-lane highway. I still think of him when I drive down that road. His mother was my math teacher a few years later, and I remember wondering how difficult it must have been for her to teach her son’s friends. She is now in her late 80s and has lived nearly 50 years with her loss. As a mother of two, I cannot imagine what that would be like. Unfortunately, my list of personal connections to roadway tragedies is lengthy, including our ...
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#ITENOLA2022

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Our much-anticipated return to an in-person ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibition took place in New Orleans last month, and I wanted to share some exciting highlights from the event. A productive International Board of Direction meeting included the acceptance of new charters and bylaws for three New England Sections—Northern New England, Connecticut, and Southeastern New England—and approval of our first new international Chapter in many years. This new Chapter in Pakistan is a direct outgrowth of our establishment of a Student Chapter there several years ago and helps grow our global professional footprint. The Board also took note of the strong progress being ...
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Growing up in a suburban town in the 1970s and 80s, my awareness of traffic engineering practices was fairly run-of-the mill, especially for someone who didn’t give any thought to a career in transportation until college. Our community had the typical street network with a handful of traffic signals, a rail line running through it, and a major interstate that connected us to the beach in Galveston, TX, USA and the big city of Houston, TX. Like most of my peers, I learned to drive at 15, navigating typical Texas roadways with little variety as to their design and operation. My first exposure to a different type of intersection control was at the age of 19, riding ...
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At the Opening Session of each ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibition,I provide a “State of ITE” report. I wanted to take this opportunity to share the highlights of my presentation in New Orleans: Membership Is Growing – Despite COVID-19, our membership continues to grow. We expect to exceed 16,500 members in 2022. If recent trends continue, we can reach 17,000 in 2023—which would be the highest membership in the more than 90-year history of ITE. Fueling our growth are new public agency members; the past year we added Caltrans; New York State DOT; Kentucky Transportation Cabinet; Connecticut DOT; City of Atlanta, GA; City of Orange, CA; City of Victoria, BC and ...
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Without innovations in technology across a broad range to industries, we would not be where we are today when it comes to transportation. When I consider how rapidly our profession and the modes we utilize and operate have advanced, I think about my own great grandmother, who was born in 1888 when the primary mode of personal transportation was the horse and buggy. She died in 1985 at the age of 97, having witnessed the evolution of the personal automobile, bullet trains, supersonic airplanes, and humans walking on the moon. As we in the profession know, transportation is a foundational component of society that contributes to the safety, security, and prosperity ...
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At the upcoming ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibition in New Orleans, ITE, PTV Group, and Transoft Solutions will be debuting the latest advancement in ITE’s trip generation efforts, a new applications programming interface (API) that supports integration between the ITE TripGen11 app and third-party traffic engineering software. Since the release of the first Trip Generation Manual (TGM) in the 1970s, ITE has been the industry leader for transportation impact analysis resources. Over the last 5 years, we have been on a journey to modernize our trip generation offerings. With the release of the TGM 10th Edition in 2017, ITE took a major step forward by including ...
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Some of my earliest memories growing up in my family were related to service. My parents and grandmother served as role models for my sisters and me through their involvement in our community. Their commitment to giving back includedvolunteering with organizations such as the Pilot Club, the Optimist Club, and the Girl Scouts of America. They were involved in our local church, served on the school board, and were members of organizations that supported education, the health of children, and the community as a whole. Service was in their blood, and I followed their lead through my involvement in service organizations starting in high school. I have continued that ...
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Finally! After 3 years of fits and starts in trying to hold the ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibition in New Orleans, LA, USA, it is finally going to happen in 2022. While it has been great to start reconnecting with members at District meetings this spring, nothing replaces the opportunity to draw members from across ITE together at the Annual Meeting and Exhibition. We have a strong line-up of plenary session speakers from the federal, state, and local level, including U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg and Louisiana Department of Transportation Secretary and AASHTO President Dr. Shawn Wilson, who will share their perspectives on key transportation ...
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When one looks across the landscape of America, it is easy to see the impact the personal automobile has had on our evolution as a society. The Interstate system allowed Americans to travel from coast to coast in the comfort of their car, charting their own route and seeing the beauty of the horizon rising before them. I, myself, have been a devotee of the road trip, having traveled across the country with my husband and our two sons since they could see out of the back seat window, stopping at many a national park and cozy roadside eatery along the way. However, growing up in a small Texas community in the 1970s, I was more likely to roam the streets on my ...
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NTCIP 1213 Electrical Lighting and Management Systems (ELMS) Standard v03.37b On April 25, 2022, ELMS Standard v03 was accepted as a Recommended Standard by the NTCIP Joint Committee (JC). The JC is made up of representatives of the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). Effective date of the standard: The effective date when this “Notice of Intent to Adopt” is deemed complete as of June 21, 2022 close of business, if no appeal is received. The next and final step to adopt the standard is obtaining ...
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The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO) is sponsoring a new project to help address cybersecurity issues in the US transportation infrastructure. The project is called the Advanced Transportation Controller (ATC) Cybersecurity Project. It is supported by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), and SAE International. The primary purpose of the project is to identify and address cybersecurity needs in the ATC family of standards made ...
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