Young Professionals in Transportation http://ypt.transportation.org
Mobility Matters V o l u m e
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Di d y o u k n o w. ..
Where are the trucks?
TRB recently announced a new registration cost tier for young professionals under age 35. Young professionals full registration is $170 in advance and $195 onsite. Please see the TRB website for additional information.
In a meeting last week with Bruce Lambert of ITTS, a conversation began about the myriad of thoughts, opinions, research and designs – but imminently no plan – of how a future national transportation vision might actually be conceived.
nately, past experience has showed that, rather than the emergence of popular consensus among stakeholders, any number of various players on the field fight for their piece of the pie, often at the expense of other competing visions.
Are you interested in joining the YPT Executive Committee? If so, consider applying and running for a position on the Executive Committee. Serving on the Executive Committee is a great way to increase your involvement within the organization.
While the six-year Congressional surface transportation authorization cycle has historically been variation on a theme, many in the transportation community have eyed this year’s expiration and reauthorization as a chance to carpe diem and enact a long range vision for fundamental transportation policy reform. What will ultimately emerge as this final vision is, at this point, anyone’s guess.
This notion was not as apparent until a picture appeared on the screen: “The Street of the Future is a Livable Street.” This future livable street showed an ideally planned urban community, complete with ample walking space for pedestrians, individual bike and bus lanes, and coordinated traffic signals to ensure the safe crossing of passerby. The picture even has a place for the icon of American commerce, the vendor, whose mere presence invites motorists out of their cars to take a closer look.
Additional election information is included at the bottom of this page.
Inside this issue: Bicycle paradise
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Q&A
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Member SPOTLIGHT
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New YPT blog
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network rewind
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Midway update
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Next Gen air 5 travel Baseball/ YPT events
When it comes to its infrastructure, America is at a pivotal crossroads where citizens and leaders must begin to articulate what they want their transportation system to be. Unfortu-
It is a fantastic vision of the future of transportation. Until the question is posed: Where
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are the Trucks? The mere presence of pedestrians suggests people with places to go and things to see. If they are going shopping, the stores they frequent must have stock to sell. If they are headed home, did the bed, couch, and appliances that furnish it appear out of thin air? Unfortunately the artist was not available for comment, so it cannot be assumed that trucks – and railroads, container ships, barges and any other viable mode of freight transportation – were intentionally neglected. However, the question is one of many that must be answered when articulating an innovative and comprehensive vision for the future of our national transportation system. The goods we manufacture and continued, page 2
Executive Committee elections YPT will hold elections for leadership positions at our October Annual Meeting. Details on the nomination process and time and date of the meeting will be announced shortly. In order to vote in the election you must be a Voting Member of YPT and have paid annual membership dues of $20. If you haven’t paid your dues, you can do so through Paypal or by sending a check payable to Young Professionals in Transportation to: Young Professionals in Transportation ATTN: Joung Lee 444 North Capitol Street, NW Suite 249 Washington, DC 20001
6 Election information will be forthcoming, be sure to check the YPT website.
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Volume 2, Issue 3
Bicycle paradise Over the last couple years communities across the United States and Canada have experience a massive growth in bicycle transportation trips
as the personal convenience, health, economic, and environmental benefits of cycling become more widely acknowledged. Communities, large and small are responding and encouraging this trend through creating networks of on- and off- street bicycle-friendly routes. The bicycle is rightly now starting to be seen as not
just the toy of children and weekend warriors but as an efficient and practical form of transportation. There is a growing realization that the needs of cyclists are distinct from those of the drivers of motor vehicles and pedestrians and the architects of the new complete streets movement being championed by USDOT, AASHTO, ITE and other partners has placed the bicycle front and center. North American transportation planners have been fortunate to have excellent models of bicycle-friendly communities just across the Pond upon which to build. Through careful planning and innovative design, cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen have developed vast bicycle networks which have in turn promoted commuter mode shares approaching 40%. Of course limited and expensive motor vehicle parking has played a major
roll too. I have been fortunate to have firsthand experience bicycling through Amsterdam and have also spent time cities on our side of the Pond, like Montreal, that have successfully brought innovative bicycle-friendly street and trail designs into our physical context. Montreal, where I got to spend a whole sunny June day enjoying its cycling wonders, has probably done more than any other city in North America to promote bicycling as a mass form of transportation through physically separated bicycle lanes, bicycle-only paths, and a large-scale hi-tech bicycle share system. In the next issue of Mobility Matters, I will go into further detail (including photos) on the innovative designs that Montreal is using to make it (at least in the Summer) an urban cyclists’ paradise. As a professional transportation planner, I hope to replicate what I saw. -- Steve Pinkus, YPT Deputy Vice Chair for Programs
Where are the trucks?, continued from page 1
distribute… import and consume…are such an integral part of the economy that freight must be an integral part of discussions concerning the future of transportation. Consideration must be given to how future communities will provide access to commercial goods in an economically efficient manner.
Q: Is there a one-stop resource for transportation professionals to review career opportunities? A: One option is FastLane Hires, www.fastlanehires.com. FastLane Hires is an online career development network geared towards transportation and infrastructure. The organization offers services such as job listings, resume searches, links to industry blogs, and networking opportunities.
Deputy Vice Chairs now on board The Federal Highway Administration publishes its annual Freight Facts and Figures, available online at www. /ops.fhwa.dot.gov/ freight/, offering a comprehensive look at the impact of commercial goods movement now and in the future. The future of transportation looks brighter when we stare into the darkness with one light. -- Chris Smith, Vice Chair for Membership, YPT
Join us in congratulating the newest members of the Executive Committee. Their support will be critical to moving YPT forward as we continue to grow. For more information, see the YPT website.
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Deputy Vice Chair for Administration: Mr. Aaron Zimmerman
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Deputy Vice Chair for Communications: Mr. David Grant Hill
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Deputy Vice Chair for Finance: Ms. Saraswati Singh
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Deputy Vice Chair for Membership: Ms. Devon Barnhart
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Deputy Vice Chair for Programs: Mr. Christopher Der
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Volume 2, Issue 3
On July 17th, the YPT Communications Subcommittee launched the all new YPT Blog at http:// yptblog.wordpress.com. The YPT Blog will be updated regularly (in some cases in real-time) and cover a whole range of transportation topics, including:
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Major transportation events and activities in which the YPT either sponsors or participates (e.g., Leadership Seminars, TRB meetings)
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Special topic areas where transportation leaders and specialists will regular contribute (e.g., aviation, public transit, congestion pricing)
Please take time to visit the new YPT Blog, comment on the various posts, and become an active participant today.
Member SPOTLIGHT Planning perspective: regional planning and MPOs By Daniel Haake Growing up I was always interested in transportation. My father was a road construction laborer, and throughout my childhood we would watch projects develop and be constructed. One particular interchange project near my home was one of the first projects in the Chicago area to utilize fly-over lanes. I was hooked. I was also always very interested in trains, in fact as a teenager I helped refurbish an old railroad caboose at my community’s historical society. Later, I went to graduate school at Ball State for Urban Planning. I concentrated my studies on transportation planning, and while I was developing thesis ideas, I came across the beginnings of private highway investment in the United States. It intrigued me and eighty pages later I graduated. This early fascination with transportation has manifested itself in my role as a transportation planner with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC). MORPC is the regional planning commission for twelve counties in central Ohio, and the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Columbus Urbanized Area. At MORPC, I am responsible for freight planning and innovative finance development. This focus has become increasingly important as major freight developments, like Norfolk Southern’s Rickenbacker intermodal mega-facility, will impact the transportation network in the coming years. Currently over 1 in 10 jobs in central Ohio are employed by the logistical industry. Over the past 15 years, a true partnership has developed in central Ohio between the private, public, and quasi-public sectors. We have learned that by truly working together is in the best interest of our constituents and our respective interests. By util-
izing each other’s respective strengths, the logistical industry in our region has seen remarkable success. However, as our success continues, so does the danger that the area will become victim of our accomplishments by not investing for the future accordingly. Challenges exist to maintain the region‘s competitive advantage. While the partnership is active and very successful in central Ohio we still have work to do to truly capitalize on our success. A major barrier to executing our planning efforts is simply the lack of funding available to fund infrastructure projects. One way MORPC and our partners have worked to overcome this barrier is by stronger relations with the private sector to attract more private investment for infrastructure. These efforts will become even more important as infrastructure funding becomes more and more limited. In addition to pursuing innovative finance solutions, we’ve worked with our partners to “think outside of the box” on project development, while staying within the federal guidelines. This work shortens the time required to make it to the construction phase of project development, and in consequence lessens the overall cost. This challenge is what especially drew me to this position at MORPC. Not only do I get to live out a childhood dream and my graduate work…but I am consistently challenged to “think outside of the box,” and work with partners throughout the region and the nation to accomplish the goals of my organization. - - Daniel Haake is a YPT member and Transportation Planner with Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. Contact Dan at dhaake@morpc.org.
If you would like to be featured in a Member Spotlight article, contact Nick Perfili, Vice Chair for Communications, at ypt@transportation.org, Subject: Member Spotlight.
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Volume 2, Issue 3
network rewind The Spring of 2009 saw the arrival of new beginnings and fresh ideas for Young Professionals in Transportation. On April 13, YPT hosted a Leadership Seminar with Bill Millar, President of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Millar became the CEO of APTA in 1996 after serving 13 years as executive director of the Port Authority of Allegheny County (PAT), the primary transit system serving the metropolitan Pittsburgh, PA area. Millar spoke of the importance in maintaining a proper work-life balance. He noted that work commitments should always been analyzed in the context of how they affect the people in your life, especially your spouse and children. He also encouraged the development of sound moral values, and emphasized the enormous importance of how you treat people in your professional and personal lives. Finally, Millar said that many organizations and public sector offices in transportation are searching for people like us to represent their transforming values and goals. The month of May played host to our first joint-sponsored Networking Happy Hour. The D.C. chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) helped to co-host the event at the Science Club in downtown D.C. (1136 19th St, NW). The happy hour brought together a diverse collection of brilliant young minds in transportation as our attendees mingled, connected, and exchanged ideas on the outdoor patio of the Science Club on a warm spring evening. A fun and engaging time was had by all.
Bill Millar
Dr. Stephen Van Beek, President/CEO of the Eno Transportation Foundation, provided a wealth of knowledge and guidance for rising stars in transportation at June’s Leadership Seminar. Van Beek is a renowned figure in transportation policy, serving under the Clinton administration as DOT Assistant Deputy Secretary, and has advised over a dozen airports on federal grants, finance, and regulatory policies. Van Beek emphasized the importance of part-time jobs and volunteer opportunities for budding transportation professionals, and encouraged the usage of situation-oriented thinking, as opposed to belief-based solutions. He also advised the enthusiastic crowd at the offices of Parsons-Brinckerhoff on the importance of thorough research before solution-building and transforming one’s ideas to match a particular audience. Finally, Van Beek spoke highly of social networking portals (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc) and their tremendous importance in the lives of young transportation professionals. YPT would like to thank our guest speakers, Mr. Millar and Mr. Van Beek, for their guidance and insight. Additionally, we would like to thank the Science Club and Parsons-Brinckerhoff for hosting our events. Last but not least, we also want to thank WTS for co-sponsoring our May Happy Hour.
Stephen Van Beek
Privatization update Chicago Midway-MDW Airport Privatization Is Grounded The City of Chicago and the MIDCo consortium agreed in late April to terminate the 99-year lease agreement for Midway International Airport. The consortium, comprised of Vancouver Airport Services, Citi Infrastructure Investors, and John Hancock Life Insurance, was having difficulties securing the necessary financing for their $2.52 billion bid to take over operations the airport. Poor global credit and financial market conditions did not allow the consortium to raise the full amount of their bid. The transaction was delayed in early April with the City granting the consortium up to an additional six months
to put its financing package together. The City of Chicago and MIDCo seemed to both be working well together to make the transaction happen, but at the end of the day the financial markets simply couldn’t provide the necessary liquidity at terms that were tenable by the consortium due to the ongoing international credit crunch. Offers were submitted by multiple bidders last fall, and the MIDCo proposal was the most economical for the City. But the credit markets have continued to weaken and the project finance debt market issues have continued to escalate. “The global economic recession continues to have a substantial impact on the availability of financing, which has created seri-
ous challenges for many businesses and financial institutions, including those involved in this transaction,” Chicago’s Chief Financial Officer Gene Saffold said. The City may decide to re-bid the airport at a later date once credit markets return, but the City is not is not left holding the bag entirely. MIDCo, as part of its proposal to the City, posted $126 million in earnest monies along with their bid, which the City will now keeps since MIDCo couldn’t reach financial close. The City will apply a portion of the funds to cover their own costs related to the procurement, including legal, financial, and technical advisors. In concontinued, page 5
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Volume 2, Issue 3
Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen): The Future of Aviation By David Grant Hill Have you been on a plane lately? If so, you probably experienced a rather long and inefficient process of parking your car, getting to the terminal, checking in your luggage, and going
through security only to find out that your plane has been delayed. Over the next 15 years, air traffic is expected to double or even triple in size. Putting that in perspective, by 2025, it is projected that there will be 100 to 150 thousand flights per day compared to today’s 50 thousand flights. Leaving this inefficient process and rapid growth unaddressed will lead to vast economic and transportation impacts, costing our Nation’s economy billions of dollars.
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Having industry and government work together under one roof is regularly acclaimed as an example of “good government.” Once NextGen is fully-implemented, our visits to the airport and use of the air transportation system should be greatly improved. NextGen improvements will include:
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Space-based navigation and integrated surveillance
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Digital communications
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Layered adaptive security
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Weather integrated into decision-making
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Advanced automation of Air Traffic Management
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Net-centric information access for operations.
By 2003, delays were already plaguing our National Airspace System (NAS). It was then that Congress took action by passing the VISION 100 – Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. This act mandated that the air transportation system be updated as quickly as possible to help increase capacity and reliability, improve safety and security, and minimize environmental impacts.
For more information on NextGen and the JPDO, visit their website at www.jpdo.gov. There you can find out how to track their progress via Twitter, Facebook, a blog, and more.
VISION 100 also established the NextGen Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO).The JPDO brings the aviation industry together with the Departments of Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
- - David Grant Hill is an Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton and a Senior Strategic Communications consultant for the NextGen JPDO. He also serves as the YPT’s Deputy Vice Chair for Communications and Chairs the YPT Communications Subcommittee. His e-mail is hill_david_g@bah.com.
Midway deal grounded, continued from page 4
tinuing with its innovative ways of utilizing its infrastructure financing, Chicago will use the $126 million for multiple purposes including budget-balancing both for their current fiscal year and also future-year budgets and also to repay debt issued for neighborhood infrastructure improvements. The City of Chicago continues to be a leader across the USA with privatization, and the Midway situation is only a minor speed bump. The City led the markets with its groundbreaking 99-year lease of the Chicago Skyway toll bridge in 2005 for $1.8 billion, quickly followed in 2006 with raising $563 million from privatizing four downtown parking garages. Chicago also recently closed a $1.15 billion transaction to privatize the management of the City’s parking meters.
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YPT @ THE BALLGAME YPT Events ♦ Thursday, Aug. 20—YPT Networking Happy Hour. 6:00 PM at the Science Club; 1136 19th St NW, Washington, DC. Metrorail: Blue/Orange/Red to Farragut North or West. ♦ Thursday, Aug. 13— Executive Committee meeting. 6:00-7:30 PM at AASHTO; 444 N. Capitol St., Ste. 249, Washington, DC. Metrorail: Red to Union Station. ♦ Thursday, Sep. 10—YPT at the Nationals baseball game. 7:05 PM at the Nationals Ballpark, Washington, DC. Washington Nationals vs. Philadelphia Phillies. Discounted tickets available through YPT. Metrorail: Green to Navy Yard. ♦ Thursday, Oct. 8—YPT Networking Happy Hour/FastLane Hires launch party. Sponsored by FastLane Hires; information forthcoming.
Joint YPT at the Nationals Ballpark on Thursday, September 10th to see the Nationals play the Phillies. First pitch is at 7:05 PM. Contact YPT to get your discounted tickets to the game.
U PCOMING 2009 T RANSPORTATION E VENTS ITE Annual Meeting
San Antonio, TX
Aug 9-12
GHSA Annual Meeting
Savannah, GA
Aug 30-Sep 2
ITS World Congress
Stockholm, Swe.
Sep 21-25
APTA Annual Meeting
Orlando, FL
Oct 4-7
ARTBA National Convention
Charleston, SC
Oct 6-9
Rail~Volution 2009
Portland, OR
Oct 19-21
AASHTO Annual Meeting
Palm Desert, CA
Oct 22-27
Rail~Volution 2009
Boston, MA
Oct 30-Nov 1
2010 TRB 89th Annual Meeting
Washington, DC
Jan 10-14
2010 ITE Technical Conference
Savannah, GA
Mar 14-17
2010 APA National Planning Conference
New Orleans, LA
Apr 10-13
Contact Marcus Bowman to have an event added to the events calendar
YPT Executive Committee YOUNG PROFESSIONALS IN TRANSPORTATION http://ypt.transportation.org YPT is a Washington, DC-based organization. General membership in YPT is open to anyone engaged or interested in transportation regardless of age. All are welcome to participate in the organization and activities. Mobility Matters is the official publication of YPT. If you have questions about this newsletter or wish to contribute material, please contact Nick Perfili, Vice Chair for Communications, at ypt@transportation.org, Subject: Mobility Matters. For additional information, visit our website. Mobility Matters © 2008 Young Professionals in Transportation
Chair — Joung Lee, American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Deputy Chair — Marcus Bowman, IAC Transportation Vice Chair for Administration — Susan Howard, North Carolina Department of Transportation Vice Chair for Communications — Nick Perfili, Fairfax County (Virginia) Department of Transportation Vice Chair for Finance — Laura Feast, Science Applications International Corporation Vice Chair for Membership — Chris Smith, American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials Vice Chair for Programs — Matt Bieschke, PB Consult Deputy Vice Chair for Programs — Steve Pinkus
YPT Board of Advisors Jack Basso, Chief Operating Officer, AASHTO
Mortimer Downey, Chairman, PB Consult
Robert Flanagan, Senior Vice President, First Southwest Company
Emil Frankel, Bipartisan Policy Center
John Horsley, Executive Director, AASHTO
Tony Kane, Director of Engineering & Technical Services, AASHTO
Janet Friedl Kavinoky, Director of Transportation Infrastructure, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Emeka Moneme, Chief Administrative Officer, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Gloria Shepard, Associate Administrator for Planning, Environment & Realty, Federal Highway Administration
Stephen Van Beek, President & CEO, Eno Transportation Foundation
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