Transportation Radio

Karen Aspelin, P.E., PTOE (F), joins the ITE Talks Transportation podcast to discuss her involvement with ITE and how it's culminated in her current position as International President. She addresses her views on leadership, what it means to be a leader, and offers her perspective on achieving a work-life balance for volunteer leaders. Karen also shares more about her own career path in engineering and how it led her to where she is today, including being a transportation engineer at Olsson.

In this episode of The Stream by AASHTO, we explore the novel Blueprint for Arterials that is a partnership between Missouri DOT and East-West Gateway Council of Governments and is a collaborative vision on how to design ideal roadways - especially arterials - that meet the needs of an ever growing urban and suburban landscape in Missouri. Covering topics such as improved access, safety, and mobility, the Blueprint will ensure that MoDOT builds roads to satisfy all users.

In this episode, Bernie Wagenblast interviews the following:
- Paul Hubbman, Senior Manager of Corridor and Long-Range Planning, East-West Gateway COG (the MPO for the St. Louis region)
- Tom Blair, Missouri DOT, District Engineer for the St. Louis District
- Amanda Brauer, Managing Director of Roads and Traffic, St. Charles County, Missouri

Episode Notes
More information on AMPO can be found here: AMPO | Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations

Dale Picha, P.E., PTOE, Director of Transportation Operations for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) San Antonio District, joins the ITE Talks Transportation podcast to talk about Crash Responder Safety Week (CRSW). Dale highlights the importance of this critical information campaign that promotes safety for first responders responding to crash sites and ITE's role in CRSW. He also discusses TxDOT's Traffic Incident Management program and how data plays a role in promoting and maintaining safety.

Aimee Flannery, Ph.D., P.E., Global Principal – Transportation Risk & Resiliency at Jacobs, joins the ITE Talks Transportation podcast to talk about making the transportation system more resilient and steps the industry can take to set standardized methods to measure resilience. She discusses several strategies to improve transportation resilience, including hardening assets, nature-based solutions, and improving system redundancy. She also addresses educational and training needs around resilience and how to better support practitioners in their professional development on the topic.

Cadaver dogs play a crucial role in identifying buried remains and culturally sensitive artifacts during transportation projects. Their exceptional sense of smell helps locate historic and prehistoric resources, ensuring that significant cultural sites are preserved. Today, Jen Anderson from the Texas Department of Transportation will discuss the impact of these trained canines on managing archaeological resources in transportation initiatives.

Brian Cronin, Director of the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office of the U.S. Department of Transportation, joins the ITE Talks Transportation podcast to discuss the recently released National V2X Deployment Plan. The plan, drafted and advanced with collaboration across public and private partnerships, provides stakeholders with vital information to enable a safe, efficient, and sustainable transportation system through the national, widespread deployment of interoperable V2X technologies. Brian talks about what agencies need to do to implement the plan, the short- and long-term goals of the plan, and available resources for implementation. He also touches on the Accelerator Grants and pilot projects that have resulted in real deployments of V2X at-scale, and talks about what the future may look like with full deployment of V2X.

This is the first episode of a two-part series that focuses on the impacts of transportation noise on the road. This episode features Ross Hudnall, Noise Abatement Coordinator for the Virginia Department of Transportation. Ross discusses how VDOT is working to address noise impacts. 

Cipriana Patterson, P.E., PTOE, Director of Operations, Mid-Atlantic Region for Toole Design, joins the ITE Talks Transportation podcast to delve into issues of equity, representation, and collaboration. She shares both her background and her experience as a Black woman in transportation, and discusses what more can be done to make both the profession and the built environment a better experience for all users. She also talks about HBCUs and their role in the development of Black transportation engineers and planners, and the importance of representation in the industry. 

This is the second episode of a two-part series on The Stream by AASHTO podcast covering NEPA in the transportation sector. Joining us to talk about challenges and creative solutions to completing the NEPA process is Douglas Kolwaite, Environmental Program Manager with the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities.

ITE's 2024 Young Member of the Year Sam Harris, P.E., joins the ITE Talks Transportation podcast to share his journey from beginning at ITE through a Student Chapter to his current leadership roles on the Safety Council and the ITE Georgia Section. He also shares his passion for safety and how he has progressed in his career, as well as what he looks forward to accomplishing in the future.