Category: Events

Setting the agenda for understanding and responding to the public transit needs of Canadian women

Details

Date: April 13 (Thursday)
Registration & Social: 11:40 AM – 12:00 PM (MDT)
Luncheon & Presentation: 12:00 – 1:00  PM (MDT) 
Location: Faculty Club at the University of Alberta, Winspear Room
               11435 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G9
Cost: $35.00 ITE or APPI Member / $40 Non-ITE or APPI Member / $50 Late Registration (within 24 hours of event start)

About the Presentation

Gender has recently been emphasized as an issue to be featured on the agenda of sustainable and inclusive public transit planning practices. But, this knowledge mobilization study led by the University of Alberta researchers revealed that transport planning and design have paid little attention to gender. This can be attributed to a lack of gender-specific data, gender-neutral planning practices, and a lack of gender representation in the public transit workforce at all levels (from transit operators to senior leadership). With an absence of data collection practices designed to capture gender differences in public transit use and travel demand, little gender-specific insight can be generated. This is problematic as data are applied in several aspects of transit planning, such as developing service standards, fare policies, and business cases for major public transit projects. This presentation will focus on Canada’s gender data gap, specific to public transit but also more broadly related to transportation data collection practices, and its implications on transit planning, operations, and resource allocation. Lastly, action to be taken to close the gender data gap and build an evidence basis of how women use public transit will be discussed with emphasis placed on how we can put women at the heart of future public transit strategies.

About the Presenter

Dr. Emily Grisé is a forward-thinking transport researcher with specializations in the areas of transport & land use planning, customer satisfaction & loyalty with public transport, pedestrian & bicycle planning, travel behaviour of disadvantaged populations (seniors and people with disabilities) and public transport planning & operations. She is an Associate Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Alberta and her work focuses on collaboration with several local and regional transport agencies to directly address issues of concern to key stakeholders. She is also frequently engaged in providing transport expertise in the private sector. The underlying goal of her research is to develop effective policies that contribute to a more livable and sustainable society.

Date: March 1
Registration & Social: 11:40 AM – 12:00 PM (MDT)
Luncheon & Presentation: 12:00 – 1:00  PM (MDT) 
Location: Faculty Club at the University of Alberta, Winspear Room
               11435 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G9
Cost: $35.00 ITE Member / $40 Non-ITE Member / $50 Late Registration (within 24 hours of event start)

About the Presentation

“River Crossing is where the city meets the North Saskatchewan River at the heart of Edmonton. On both banks of the river connected by the impressive Walterdale Bridge, and on the water — this is River Crossing.”

The Rossdale Transportation Network project, identified in the River Crossing Business Plan (RCBP), aims to enhance public spaces and design the roadway network for all modes of transportation, including people walking, biking, taking transit and driving. The design considers the connections for this important link of roadways into and out of the Rossdale neighbourhood for commuters accessing downtown from the south and for those travelling east-west across the City. Concept planning for the Rossdale Transportation Network was completed earlier in 2023 to establish a plan that meets the Rossdale Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) and the community needs while balancing needs of businesses, active users and those who commute through the area.

Background: In anticipation of the changes adopted in the Rossdale Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP), City Administration initiated the Rossdale Transportation Network Analysis study with a focus on verifying and finalizing the changes to the transportation network outlined in the Rossdale ARP. The Concept Plan was completed as a follow up to the Network Analysis study providing the conceptual details to deliver the plan. This Concept Plan carries forward established objectives outlined in the Network Analysis Study, the RCBP, Rossdale ARP and River Crossing Heritage Interpretive Plan (RCHIP). The goal was to develop an integrated urban roadway concept and streetscape design that balances the needs of local and regional users. The Concept Plan also incorporates other aspects such as, but not limited to, land use, active modes connections, accessibility, stakeholder feedback, right-of-way requirements, traffic operations, transit service, on-street parking, utilities (existing and future), environmental concerns and historic resources.

The Rossdale ARP was adopted by City Council in 1986 without specific direction regarding West Rossdale. Following studies over the subsequent years, Council adopted the River Crossing Vision for West Rossdale in 2015 and directed Administration to take actions to help bring the vision of the area to life by preparing a heritage interpretive plan and business plan. Following this direction, the 2017 RCHIP and 2019 RCBP were completed. The RCBP integrates direction from the RCHIP by identifying areas for interpretive programming, considering connections and compatibility between heritage features and future development and by involving stakeholders and partners connected to the area’s heritage. Through the integration of the RCHIP, the RCBP provides a fresh redevelopment concept, along with proposed changes to the transportation network for supporting the proposed redevelopment.

About the Presenters:

Satya Gadidasu is an experienced Engineering Program Manager at the City of Edmonton with over 15 years of experience in modelling, designing, and managing projects related to roads, streetscapes, and bridges. Satya’s passion for creating safe, efficient, and sustainable transportation systems is admirable, as it speaks to his commitment to improving the lives of community members and ensuring that their needs are met. This passion drives him to approach each project with a high level of detail and thoroughness, ensuring that all aspects of the project are well-planned and executed.  In addition to his technical skills, in his free time, Satya volunteers at the community centre and goes hiking with his family in the Rocky Mountains.
 

Daniel Zeggelaar is a Transportation Project Manager at ISL with over 15 years of experience and certified as a Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE) and Professional Transportation Planner (PTP). Dan specializes in transportation master planning, policy development, servicing studies, and network planning. In the community, Dan has volunteered with NACITE for many years and is currently serving as Past – President. He also helps as technical advisor and guest lecturer to the U of A CIVE 419 Capstone Class. Dan is a regular cyclist, rolling an average of 5,000 km+ per year and competing in various road races. Dan also rides indoors and recently became the 2023 Cycling Canada E-sports National Champion. Dan is a passionate transportation planner and thrives on finding balanced solutions to mobility needs.

Date: December 7
Registration & Social: 11:40 AM – 12:00 PM (MDT)
Luncheon & Presentation: 12:00 – 1:00  PM (MDT) 
Location: Faculty Club at the University of Alberta, Winspear Room
               11435 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G9
Cost: $35.00 ITE Member / $40 Non-ITE Member / $50 Late Registration (within 24 hours of event start)

About the Presentation

The City of Edmonton started renewing neighbourhoods in 1995, and since has established a long-term Neighbourhood Renewal Program. The Program has gone from a “like for like” replacement of transportation infrastructure to expand and look at neighbourhoods more broadly. As the transportation infrastructure is being completely removed and replaced, this provides the opportunity to add work related to other initiatives and programs including safe mobility, open space and park developments, LID, improvements to commercial properties and active transportation.

About the Presenter:

Jen Rutledge is a Professional Engineer with over 17 years of project management, contract administration, and technical expertise related to transportation engineering in both the public and private sectors. Most of her career has been spent on strategy, planning and design stages of transit, rail and roadway projects, with a heavy focus on neighbourhood-level infrastructure. 

Jen currently works for the City of Edmonton and is a Supervisor in the Neighbourhoods Planning and Design section of Building Great Neighbourhoods.  Her work involves stewarding the Edmonton’s Neighbourhood Renewal Program, feeding her passion for rebuilding Edmonton one neighbourhood at a time.

_{Photo Courtesy of ATS Traffic}

Date: November 2
Registration & Social: 11:40 AM – 12:00 PM (MDT)
Luncheon & Presentation: 12:00 – 1:00  PM (MDT) 
Location: Faculty Club at the University of Alberta, Winspear Room
               11435 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G9
Cost: $35 ITE member / $40 Non-ITE member

About the Presentation

In Trans Mountain Expansion Project, IntelliTrafik division of ATS Traffic is  providing the services of: (i) traffic control plan quality reviews and (ii) travel delay monitoring and reporting. This presentation will discuss both aspects of this project with specific focus on travel delay monitoring. Application of innovative technologies for real-time travel delay measurements made it possible for better construction management and scheduling. Additionally, the large dataset obtained from this project-initiated data driven research for work zone delay prediction modeling using machine learning.

About the Presenters:

Mudasser Seraj has been a part of IntelliTrafik since 2021. Before joining IntelliTrafik for full time, Mudasser finished his master’s and PhD in Transportation Engineering from University of Alberta. For last 9 years, he has been actively involved in different types of ITS technology and their implementations including: variable speed limits, transit ridership estimation from cellphone data, connected and automated vehicles, video camera and LiDAR based data collection etc. Mudasser is extremely passionate about all things related to transportation which motivated him to volunteer in multiple transportation organizations involving Edmonton Transit Service Advisory Board, ITE Northern Alberta Section etc. Mudasser mostly enjoys the company of his family and friends in his spare time.
Steve Ennis has worked with ATS Traffic for almost 15 years and currently manages IntelliTrafik, the business’ newest division, offering ITS and data driven solutions. He has passion for emerging technology and the unique applications of these technologies to solve real world problems. He is fortunate to share an industry research chair at the University of Alberta’s Centre for Smart Transportation where research is focused on the infrastructure required to support autonomous vehicles. In the spare time, Steve enjoys spending time with his families or playing the guitar.

Date: September 7
Luncheon: 12:00 – 1 PM (MDT)
Location: ​University Club of the University of Alberta, Winspear Room
               11435 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G9
Cost: $35 ITE member / $40 Non-ITE member / $20 Student

About the Presentation

A concept plan was completed for the Saskatchewan Drive (99 Street to 109 street) rehabilitation project in 2018 that included the addition of a shared use path and widening of the existing shared use path. The project did not proceed to preliminary design due to significant costs and stakeholder concerns. During the Covid 19 Pandemic, the City implemented “mobility lanes” along Saskatchewan Drive (between 109 to 104 street) to provide additional space for active transportation users and received positive feedback from the public. The combined implications of shared use path widening costs and public feedback from lane closures prompted a review of the concept plan.

The Saskatchewan Drive Network Analysis project included a multi-modal evaluation to understand the impacts of lane reduction on Saskatchewan Drive for the implementation of a dedicated cycling facility. The primary goal of this study was to inform the next steps for the Saskatchewan Drive corridor and provide the City with information about whether an updated concept plan should be prepared to enhance the cycling and pedestrian facilities between 109 Street and 104 Street. A secondary goal of the project was to test out the policies related to City Plan as they applied to the evaluation. We will provide an overview of the evaluation criteria that were developed for this project, the process of evaluation, study outcomes and recommendations for future work.

About the Presenters:

Pablo Orozco is a passionate transportation professional and Edmontonian. He is currently the General Supervisor for Mobility within the Planning and Environment Services Branch at the City of Edmonton. His experience includes working as a transportation engineer for The City Plan project where he co-led a holistic analysis of Edmonton’s mobility system and land use patterns as well as the Mass Transit Study which identified the necessary mass transit network and policy for 2 million people. He has led the development of a Mobility Network Analysis and Mass Transit Planning work at the City of Edmonton both of which are implementation plans of the City Plan. He has also served as a Program Manager within the IIS department of the City of Edmonton. Pablo holds a Master of Engineering from the University of Toronto and is P.Eng, PMP and ELITE certified.

Erin Toop moved from Edmonton to Jasper in 2018 and has missed NACITE luncheons and events ever since. At WSP she is a Senior Consultant in the Sustainable Transportation Advisory team, where she has been leading and collaborating on multi-modal transportation projects across Western Canada, with a focus on planning for public transit and active modes.

Anika Muhammad is a Transportation Planning Engineer with WSP with 11 years of experience in multi-modal planning, Complete Streets, strategic transportation planning and policy development. Anika is a system thinker that applies her diverse experience in the public and private sectors in the development of long-term solutions that meet client needs. Anika’s combined experience in long-term strategic planning and implementation enables her to develop feasible and practical solutions for communities. Anika works on diverse projects that include active transportation network plans, Complete Streets design manuals, transportation master plans, public transit feasibility studies and concept design. Anika is also the Vice President of the NACITE 2022 board.