via Young Professionals in Transportation

(Salary: $75,600 – $104,300)
The Baltimore City Department of Transportation, an urban multi-modal transportation agency with primary responsibility for the City’s roadways, bridges, transit systems, and traffic safety is seeking a dynamic professional to function as the City’s Chief Traffic Engineer and manage the Traffic Management Center.

The Chief of the Traffic Division will lead a team of professional engineers, managers and  technicians to:

• Authorize installation of Traffic Control Devices including signals, signs and pavement markings
• Operate and maintain the city’s 1,350 traffic signals
• Conduct Traffic Studies
• Develop measures to enhance all modes of transportation in the City;
• Implement the City’s Complete Streets Program
• Oversee multi-disciplinary planning and design teams for roadway improvement projects, ITS projects, transportation safety projects, bicycle and pedestrian projects, and other transportation-related projects;
• Oversee consultant resources through the planning and design project development processes;
• Recruit and hire professional traffic engineers
• Manage agency-wide data collection and GIS programs;
• Manage the agency’s transportation safety improvement program;
• Manage the agency’s transportation management center;
• Manage the signal electronics and signal construction maintenance shops; Conduct training of staff and consultants;
• Conduct traffic policy research and analysis on a range of topics;and
• Other duties as required.

Desirable qualifications: Master’s degree from an accredited college or university, five years of experience managing engineering projects as a licensed professional engineer, certification as a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer, and a minimum of five years directly supervising senior engineers, junior engineers and engineering technicians. Consideration may be given to a combination of experience and/or education. This position reports directly to the Deputy Director and will have frequent contact with the Director of Transportation, the Mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations, and members of City Council. This is a benefited, at-will position serving at the pleasure of the Director of Transportation.

Qualified candidates should submit a cover memo and resume, which specifically addresses the experience relevant to this position, to Kathy Litz, Baltimore City Department of Transportation, 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 546, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 or email to: Kathy.litz@baltimorecity.gov. Submission deadline is March 31, 2014.

An equal opportunity employer.

(Source: Baltimore Sun, New York Times & Wired)

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon smiles after test-driving a Maya 300 electric car outside the Maryland Science Center Tuesday, June 23, 2009 in Baltimore. ExxonMobil and Electrovaya, a manufacturer of electric car battery systems, announced an all-electric car-sharing program Tuesday in Baltimore. (AP Photo/ Steve Ruark -via Baltimore Sun)

The nation’s first all-electric car-sharing program debuted in Baltimore, Maryland this week. The nation’s first all-electric car-sharing program debuted Tuesday at the city’s Inner Harbor, with manufacturer Electrovaya hoping urban residents seeking to go green and curious tourists will take the concept for a spin.   Electrovaya Inc. is offering its Maya 300 for rent at the Maryland Science Center. The car can go up to 120 miles on one charge of its lithium-ion battery system, and it gets its juice from a regular 110-volt outlet.

The altcar car-sharing service has a fleet of 10 electric cars at the Maryland Science Center.  Ten cars will be available starting Wednesday through the new car-sharing Web site Altcar.org. A two-hour trip costs $29, with discounts for science center members. (Wired reports that the cars won’t be available to the public until Aug. 1). Signing up requires a $25 application fee to pay for the background check and a $50 membership fee.

Image Courtesy: AltCar.org

This rental program gives Baltimore residents and tourists the opportunity to rent a five-door, five- passenger Maya-300 at the Maryland Science Center and drive it around the city.  The car makes little noise, provides dashboard gauges for battery life and temperature, and offers other conveniences of gas-powered cars.  Electrovaya’s battery technology is made possible by ExxonMobil Corp.’s battery separator film. The film, with lithium-ion batteries, allows for the units to operate at higher temperatures with a reduced risk of meltdown.

“This is an example of what science centers do best,” said Van Reiner, president and CEO of the science center. “We are showcasing new technology, and that’s what makes us so excited.”

The manufacturer calls the fleet of emission-free cars a “game changer” in urban transportation alternatives. Electrovaya CEO Sankar Das Gupta said that’s because the vehicle has the look and feel of a four-door, gas-powered sedan and should appeal to consumers who want to reduce oil dependence.

Das Gupta said he hopes to ink deals with larger fleet operators to scale up production of the Maya 300, which is currently manufactured in Michigan. He hopes to begin selling the vehicle to the general public within a year for about $25,000 apiece.

“Ultimately, in order to drop the price of electric cars, you have to generate large volumes,” explained Das Gupta, who said the lithium-ion battery his company makes constitutes 40-50 percent of the Maya 300’s cost.

In addition to manufacturing and selling the Maya 300, Electrovaya would supply major automakers lithium-ion batteries — which move lithium between an anode and cathode when charging and discharging. Das Gupta declined to say with whom he is discussing such an arrangement.

The Maya 300’s debut came as President Obama and his advisers dished out $8 billion in loans to Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Tesla Inc through DOE grants. “We have an historic opportunity to help ensure that the next generation of fuel-efficient cars and trucks are made in America,” Obama said.

More than 50 million new vehicles hit the world’s roads each year, and President Obama has set a goal of 1 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015.

Electrovaya’s Das Gupta is bullish on America’s — and the world’s — ability to achieve the Obama’s goal.

“We expect that within the next few years, one third of these vehicles will be electric,” he said.

Click here to read the entire article.