President's Ponderings

What a wonderful and busy time of year it is for CITE! We have so much good information to share with you in this edition of Transportation Talk about what’s happening at CITE and things to look forward to (including new opportunities for you!) along with a healthy dose of inspiration on two timely and important topics: walkability and collaboration. Ryan Martinson has created another masterpiece that shines a light on the challenges facing pedestrians of all kinds and ways for us as transportation professionals to consider walkability in our projects and view our work from a variety of perspectives. A partner article by Graham Matsalla talks about the WalkABle Alberta program with a focus on the connection between transportation and health and how professionals from these two fields can work effectively together.

JULIA SALVINI, P.Eng. Canadian District President president@cite7.org

two sessions is finalized. Last weekend, we gathered the CITE Board of Directors in Victoria for the second stage of the update to our strategic plan. The session built on the work of the small group that gathered in Vancouver in the fall and resulted in both exceptional ideas and clear direction for the organization. We look forward to sharing the results of the process with you as the work from the

While I was in Victoria, I had the privilege of attending a Vancouver Island Section lunch. Meeting CITE members and friends and hearing about the work you are doing in your communities is one of my favorite parts of CITE involvement. I thank the Section for making me feel so welcome and inspired by your dedication and passion for transportation.

Awards season is upon us and there are a few changes this year related to the ITE awards program. ITE has embedded their Council Technical Awards into their broader awards program. Nominations for these technical awards in five categories will come from the District so we invite you to submit for these along with the Stan Teply Outstanding Technical Project Award. Also, ITE has introduced Section and Student Chapter Momentum awards designed after our Delta awards so we have renamed our awards accordingly. Nominations for all of our practitioner, student, and section/student chapter awards are now open and we welcome your submissions. We’ve included a listing of the winners over the last 10 years for some inspiration.

As many of you will have seen from ITE correspondence, we are celebrating the 90th anniversary of ITE. Each edition of the ITE Journal will highlight the history and progress of one District and the Canadian District is no exception. They will also be highlighting the important work done by District Administrators so Steven Garner will be well represented in our issue. We are collecting historical CITE documents and photos to share with ITE and to prepare a poster to be displayed at the ITE Annual Meeting this summer. If you have photos, especially from notable past CITE events both at the District and Section level, we would be very grateful. Please reach out to me and to Steven (admin@cite7.org) with any information you can share.

CITE is embarking on a landmark project with TAC for the development of a Road Safety Webinar Series. The project is underway and a consultant was recently selected for the project. We are seeking two private sector volunteers to sit on the steering committee for the project representing CITE. A call for volunteers with further information will be released in the coming days.

Conference planning for CITE/QUAD 2020 in Vancouver is in the final stages. The technical program is set and the local arrangements committee is putting the final touches on what will be another fantastic CITE conference. Registration will be opening in the next couple of weeks and we look forward to seeing you in Vancouver.

This year will be the first year we will be distributing the Jenn & Jan Voss Travel Bursary for women engineers to attend the Vancouver CITE conference. Please consider applying for the bursary or encouraging those you know who may qualify to apply.

I’ll sign off with a thought that came out of our meetings in Victoria last weekend. There are many things that differentiate us as an organization, but the most valuable is the connections we form through our local sections and student chapters. It’s our members. I encourage you to connect with other ITE members at a local event—especially if you have not had the opportunity recently. You won’t be disappointed.

Julia Salvini, P.Eng. Canadian District President