Member Highlight: Mariam Bello

MARIAM BELLO P.Eng.

Current Employment

TransportationEngineer,LiveableStreetsattheCityofCalgary City of Residence: Calgary,Alberta

Education: BachelorofScienceinCivilEngineering, UniversityofCalgary

First job in transportation

TransportationPlanningEITwithDillonConsultinginOttawa,ON What positions have you taken on as a member of ITE? • VariousroleswiththeNationalCapitalSectionExecutive, includingPresident,from2019tonow • Currentlyservingonthenewly-formedITEEquityCommittee Family: MypartnerLucasandawholebunchofbelovedhouseplants

Things I like to do

Itendtolikeold-timeyhomebody-typethingslikeknitting, gardening,painting,andreadingagoodbookwithahotcupof teabutinnon-pandemictimes,travelingisalotoffuntoo!

ITE INVOLVEMENT

What was the first ITE event you attended?

Events organized by the University of Calgary Student Chapter while I was a student.

What is your ITE involvement (past and present)?

I am currently Past President of the National Capital Section (NCS). I also previously served as President (a term I was able to finish after moving to Calgary in 2021 thanks to the virtual reality of the last few years!), Vice-President (2020), and Director of Events (2019) with NCS. As the Director of Events, I led the organization of the NCS/Carleton University Chapter STEM Outreach Event with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa which ended up winning ITE International’s Award for Best Event in the Small Events category and remains one of my favorite ITE experiences.

I am also currently serving on the newly-formed ITE Equity Committee, whose mandate is to make ITE more equitable and to help ITE members improve transportation equity in the communities they work in. I am also “informally and unofficially” supporting CITE’s efforts on Diversity and Inclusion in the Canadian transportation industry context.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

What attracted you to the transportation profession? Did you have another career in mind?

When I started my undergraduate degree, I had big plans of getting a civil engineering degree with a structural major as a stepping stone towards becoming an architect. That plan quickly fell apart when I discovered that 1) I don’t enjoy structural design and 2) a civil engineering degree can be used for careers other than structural engineering.

As I got to the end of my degree, I wasn’t sure about what I wanted to do with my career. I was interested in city-building—working on those behind-the-scenes systems that help communities run—but I didn’t have the right words for it and didn’t know how I could use my engineering degree to do that kind of work. Then I got super lucky with a rotational new grad position with Dillon Consulting straight out of university which gave me the opportunity to try a bunch of the civil engineering services that Dillon Consulting offered, including transportation planning and engineering and… the rest is history.

What is the last book that you read or are reading?

I love a good fiction book and I just started The Strangers by Katherena Vermette. It’s a companion to the author’s first novel, TheBreak, which is an incredible story that has stuck with me for years now.

What is your favourite mode of transportation?

Public transit! I have very fond memories of taking transit throughout my childhood and adolescence and getting to see so many parts of my communities while on board. I also love being able to listen to my podcasts, stare out the window wistfully with my Spotify playlist acting as my official life soundtrack, or even nap while someone else drives. In addition to that (and I don’t mean to brag), I think I am somewhat of a “professional pedestrian.”

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS & PERSPECTIVES

How would you describe your job to someone you just met at a party?

I help make streets feel more like a place people want to visit and travel along, regardless of their age, ability, or way of travelling. Tell us about a project you’re proud to have worked on

One that always comes to mind is the Transit Master Plan I worked on for Transit Windsor in Ontario during my time as a consultant, when my role required me to be more of a “jack of all trades” in transportation planning and engineering. The project was the first long-range planning study I was involved with from beginning to end and it was so special because we had the opportunity to re-design the city-wide transit network from scratch, with minimal constraints, which isn’t something that happens often. The project involved innovative tools for understanding travel behaviour, analysis of big data, and extensive public engagement to make sure that the solution was responding to the needs of riders in the best possible way. I think that the final plan will significantly improve public transit in Windsor over the next several years for the people who depend on the service today and that it will also help attract many new riders.

What is one aspect of your work that you particularly enjoy?

Access to safe, comfortable, and convenient transportation options is a key determinant of quality of life and my job allows me to extend this access to more people. To me, that’s extremely rewarding.

I also love that my work has so many opportunities for public and stakeholder engagement. While not always fun, I really enjoy engagement; it’s always a learning opportunity and great reminder of the impact my projects have on people’s lives.

Mariam and fellow NCS & Carleton University organizers at the event that won the ITE International 2019 STEM Outreach Competition, Small Event Category