via YPTransportation.org

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Long Range Planning Division is accepting applications for a Community Transportation Planner 1 position in the Long Range Planning Division’s Office of Community Transportation, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Application for the Community Transportation Planner 1 position requires completion and submission of the following three items:

• Letter explaining applicant interest in the position
• Resume that is a maximum of two pages
• Written responses to the four application questions below

The three items should be emailed to Ms. Suzie Howard, Suzie.Howard@tn.gov, by 4:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time on Thursday, February 12, 2015.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

A Bachelor’s Degree in Planning or related field from an accredited college or university and at least two (2) years of planning experience

Or

Master’s Degree in Planning or related field from an accredited college or university

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The Long Range Planning Division Community Transportation Planner 1 will assist in the Division’s development and implementation of strategies that coordinate the State’s land management and transportation infrastructure needs.

• Assists in the development of guidelines for coordination of land use and transportation decisions between state and local entities.
• Assists in the development of rural regional transportation plans, major thoroughfare plans, corridor management agreements, and statewide access management plans.
• Provides technical assistance to local community partners, Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Rural Planning and Consultation Organizations.
• Participates in regular collaborative opportunities with metropolitan transportation planning organizations, rural transportation consultation organizations, cities, and counties.
• Reviews new and established federal, state, and local plans and policies and makes recommendations for implementation.

This position will require occasional statewide travel.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

(Please use a separate sheet for each question.)

When answering the application questions, you should use examples of work related experiences. If you do not have appropriate work related examples, non‐work related examples are acceptable.

1. Describe two or three major trends in transportation and land use planning.
   • Do you see any of these trends in Tennessee?
   • What are some of the biggest challenges coordinating land use and transportation?
2. Give an example of a transportation planning idea or improvement that you had and how did it make a difference in the community that you were serving?
3. Give a specific example of a situation in which you had to deal with conflict when working with the public.
   • Describe in detail how you handled both the person(s) and the situation.
   • How did this affect the overall outcome of the situation or issue?
   • How did you document and communicate the outcome?
4. Provide a few detailed examples of professional and/or self‐improvement skills that you developed or enhanced over the past two years.
   • Were these skills prerequisites of your current position?
   • How have these skills assisted you in the performance of your current job responsibilities?

Please contact Ms. Tanisha Hall, Director, Long Range Planning Division, at Tanisha.Hall@tn.gov with questions about the position openings. 

via Young Professionals in Transportation

At IBI Group, our transport professionals thrive on solving problems by combining logic and creativity. They are able to invent, explore, and question to enhance the areas around us. As a member of our team, you will have the opportunity to work on unique and leading-edge projects with a local focus to make a global difference.

IBI Group’s New York office is searching for Junior Project Manager to join its growing team. This is a unique 12 to 24 month contract secondment position to work with our client to provide technical support on an as-needed basis to the Program Manager in charge of a $3 billion systems capital program.

The role will require the successful candidate to relocate to the New York City area for the duration of the project.

Connect with Phillip Farinha (phillip.farinha@ibigroup.com) to learn more about this opportunity or refer a professional colleague.

Now that I’ve returned to my office after a week long transportation nerdery (is that a word??) in Washington, DC, I thought of quickly registering a few observations I made during the week.  What I call the TRB Week has three back-to-back transportation events that happen in a week:  it all began with the 3rd Transportation Camp (Jan 12) then followed by the 2013 TRB Annual Meeting (Jan 13-17) and concluded with the Transforming Transportation (Jan 17-18).  As I stated earlier, these are mere observations and shared with the hope that it benefits the attendees heading to DC for future Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting and events planned around that conference.

1. Transportation Camp: My TRB Week began at Transportation Camp here in DC (awesome facility support provided by co-host George Mason University’s Transportation Policy Program) and offered a glimpse of things to come.  This annual unconference is one of my favorite events in the Transportation Calendar for many reasons and continues to remain on the “MUST Attend” category.  As usual, I learned a lot about how much interest there is for biking among the Transportation planning community. Yes! A lot of bike-related sessions.  And the organizers, esp. OpenPlans, did a fantastic job keeping the event pace along.  For some odd reason, there are fewer sessions involving technology, technologists and hacks and more attendance from Transportation planners. My favorite session at this event featured a discussion on safety and security for women riders on Delhi’s Metro rail.
2. 2013 TRB Annual Meeting:  Like in the years before, this conference continues to be at the center stage  for many of us in the Transportation Community and its importance has only continued to grow with more and more participants and innovative programming ideas tested by the organizer (Transportation Research Board).  This event offers a great chance to meet, learn and network with fellow researchers from around the world.  It is also an opportunity for me to catch up with many of my friends and colleagues whom I’ve known for years when they arrive in town.   Coffee breaks, lunch hour and dinner are always booked for me during this conference.  A few notable nuggets from TRB this year:
   • TRB smartphone app –  This was an awesome addition to the slate of conference planning tools, despite having some glitches/difficulties syncing the sesssion information across the platforms (phone/tablet/PC).  I’m hoping this app will be better and much more user-friendly as TRB continues to fine-tune the product in the months ahead.
   • Wifi access –  Internet connectivity during the conference continues to be a big pain but TRB staff noted that relief is on the way when the conference moves from the hotels (Marriott, Omni and Hilton) to the Convention Center in 2015.  This also would render more opportunities to attend sessions that are currently not accessible to many of us due to the logistics involved (riding shuttle buses between hotels is a big deterrent when it comes to planning my sessions at the different hotels though it doesn’t take much time to travel between them).  Thanks to my employer (Citizant, Inc) I was lucky to have had a Verizon MiFi hotspot that allowed me to stay connected to the web at 4G speeds and allowed for a seamless support for my clients throughout the conference.
   • Food – Continues to remain a major sore point as all the eateries around the conference hotels, esp. Marriott, get jammed up quickly with conference goers during lunch times.   The Lobby bar at Marriott continues to be a major attraction for coffee breaks and post-dinner drinks as it can be a great venue to schedule meetings.
   • My first audio podcast interview – Got interviewed for an Audio Podcast by Andy Boenau, a Transportation planner who also does very interesting podcasts with experts engaged in transportation. We discussed various issues randing from social media  in transportation to the evolution of driver-less cars (vehicle automation).   Yet to see the final product and I’m hoping to see it available on Andy Boenau’s website soon (urbanismspeakeasy.com)
   • Social Media – I cannot stress enough the role of Social Media in bringing people together during such large gatherings of people.  The presence of twitter is undeniable as the volume of tweets continue to swell year after year during the conference (and also in the weeks leading up to the conference). Don’t believe me? I recommend you check the hashtag #TRBAM and you will know what I am talking about.   And this shows you how popular Twitter is:  tweet from @TRBofNA today says “3,968 tweets using #TRBAMSun. Jan. 13-Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. In 2012, we had 2,830 during the same#TRBAM timeframe”. One of the major highlights of the TRB Annual Meeting is the impromptu tweetup I planned with a few fellow Twitterti. This tweetup held at Open City Cafe on Jan 16th  was conceived, planned and executed via Twitter.  We had a great turnout (about 85 people) and full sponsorship from @Uber_DC, the best hi-tech Taxi service at your fingertip.
   • Innovative Programming: TRB staff are testing different formats to keep the audience engaged.  One such effort was the Pecha Kucha style presentation, a 1st for TRB, that I happened to be a part of.  Though the event was slated at the tail end of the conference (Yeah. Wednesday evening 7:30PM start), we had a great turn out.  The moderator (and friend Shin Pei-Tsay) did an awesome job mixing up the line up, alternating between U.S. and European presenters to keep up the tempo.  Each presenter had 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide to tell their story, mostly with visuals (and a sprinkling of text).  I couldn’t have imagined a better format for a tired audience who have endured death by powerpoint all through the week.
   • Networking: I cannot stress enough the importance of networking during the TRBAM Week.  Here are a few words of wisdom for the new and young attendees:
     • Stuff a ton of business cards in your coat/jacket when you arrive at TRB.
     •  Always be willing and ready to tell your story. If it is not too much work, I recommend that you prepare a two minute “elevato r pitch” that tells your story. You never know who will be in that hypothetical elevator with you.
     • Looking for a job? Prepare and print a few copies of your resume and keep it ready for sharing with people interested in your story.
     • Attend as many networking events as possible.  Often you will see many Happy Hours, Receptions, Sponsored Events, etc held along the sidelines of the Annual Meeting. These are great venues for meeting and interacting with cool people.
     • Get a lot of sleep if you can can. That’s one of the toughest things to do when you are in town for just a few days catching up with people and attending sessions.
     • And stay connected on Social Media:  Are you the shy one?  No worries. If you are not so social in person, you may want to start by chatting with your target audience on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. This virtual interaction should definitely give you the confidence to interact with them in person when you are at the event.  Also, from a civic sense, the conversations in the community will only get better when more people start talking. So, don’t hesitate to send out a tweet or post a note on LinkedIn.
     • Do not hesitate to signup for volunteer opportunities, especially at the TRB Committees. If you are under 25yrs old, the committees would be glad to have you added as a Young Member.  Also, a few notable forums that you should consider checking out during the Annual Meeting – Young Professionals in Transportation (they host an awesome reception every year. MUST ATTEND for us transportation professionals), Young Members Council, Womens Transportation Seminar, etc
3. Transforming Transportation – Right on the heels of TRB Annual Meeting, the World Bank and World Resource Institute’s EMBARQ hold this annual event, Transforming Transportation, at the World Bank building, bringing together experts from around the world to discuss sustainable transportation issues.  This year was a bit more special than previous years with the addition of a Keynote by New York City Mayor Mr. Michael Bloomberg, who has a great interest in supporting sustainable transportation initiatives not just in his city but also across the globe. The amount of knowledge sharing that happens in this event is unparalleled and I always walk away with a ton of new ideas that I could easily implement in my world of transportation and communications.  This event also serves as a reminder for me as a professionals practicing the craft in the Developed world, that there are so many challenges that remain unsolved in transportation domain in the developing world.

There are so many more things I’d like to write about but in the essence of time, I’m going to stop here.  Should I find the time and energy in the next couple of days, I’ll do a follow-up post.  If you think I have missed something or should have addressed a few more points, do not hesitate to drop me a note in the comments sections.  I’ll be happy to respond to your comments/suggestions/etc.  Also, do not hesitate to share this article with your fellow Transportation professionals if it will help prepare them for the next year’s event.

Related articles

• TRB 2013 Annual Meeting News: Revolutionary Change Cometh – Transportation Practitioners See Industry Transformation with Mobility Data from AirSage(TM)

(via Young Professionals in Transportation)

Image Courtesy: WIKIPEDIA

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) is one of the leading transportation agencies in the nation.  ConnDOT offers a variety of transportation-related career opportunities for entry level civil engineers in their Office’s of Engineering and Construction, including traffic engineering, transportation design, and construction. Advancement opportunities also exist in our Bureaus of Policy & Planning and Bureau of Aviation & Ports.

ConnDOT is recruiting new hires to work in the Transportation Engineering field.  Entry at the Transportation Engineer Trainee level requires a 4-Year Engineering Degree from an accredited school and a ConnDOT interview. These positions have:   

• Starting Salary: $56,208
• 40 Hour Work Week
• Excellent Benefits Package
• On-the-job Training
• Advancement Opportunities

More information can be found on their Human Resources webpage.

(Via YPT Voice)

IRF is pleased to announce the 2012 IRF Student Essay Competition. This competition, open to all students attending an IRF Member university in good-standing, has a $500 cash award for the winning essays. Thanks to input from various IRF Member organizations, we have structured this year’s program to generate maximize participation by IRF member universities and their students. Specifically, IRF is providing several topics within each of the competition categories for the essay competition. Participants may choose any topic within any category for their essays, or professors may wish to limit the topics based on their particular curriculum.

English: IRF logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Topics include:

• Road Safety
• Innovations in Finance
• Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
• Sustainable Roads
• Pavement Technology, Management, and Maintenance

Click here for more information on the competition and eligible topics:  2012Topics

All papers must be submitted online at https://irf.wufoo.com/forms/w7w4p7/and be received by 5:00 p.m. (EST), October 31, 2012.  We look forward to strong participation by all of IRF’s valued university members this year! If you have any questions about the competition, please contact Kathy Mejasich at +1 703 535 1001 / kmejasich@irfnews.org. Thank you for your support!

Cross-posted on YPTVoice, the blog for Young Professional in Transportation (YPT)

TRB Annual Meeting Tips from Ananda Palanisamy on Vimeo.

YPT Voice is pleased to present the sixth in a 10-week series of blog posts to introduce YPTers to the TRB Annual Meeting (#TRBAM) and to help them prepare for the annual conference in January 2012.  A complete summary of YPT-recommended TRBAM events will be available before and during the conference.

Dear YPT-ers,

When I was approached by YPT to share some tips for fellow-YPT-ers in terms of maximizing their benefit while attending the upcoming TRB, I chose to take a different route and opt for a video blog post rather than the the usual text-laden post. Thanks to my wife Chithra Jeyaram (@RealTalkies), a skilled film-maker from Univ. of Texas, I managed to get a quick video post done. Let us know what you think.

Oh, please remember this video only offers some random thoughts and by no means should be considered as a comprehensive tool when you are preparing to attend the TRB Annual Meeting. One item left out in this above video is the possibility of running into poor internet connectivity. Though the lobby at conference hotels offer free internet, it is often slow and not secure. The situation gets even worse when you are holed up in many of the conference rooms during the event. So my advice is to you, if possible, is to bring an aircard that can help you connect to the internet when you are attending the event.

Also, one more item I forgot to mention in the above video is the busy lunch/dinner times in the nearby eateries around the conference hotels, esp. around Marriott and Omni Shoreham. Yes! Trust me it gets very busy and sometimes meetings attendees have to skip lunch in order to make it to the next session on time. So, do not hesitate to hop on the metro Redline and get to the adjacent stops – Cleveland Park & Dupont Circle are located on either side of the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro station. There are plenty of eateries around Dupont Circle and Cleveland Park stations and can help save you considerable amount of time, which you otherwise would have spent waiting in line at the eateries around Woodley Park station.

Finally, do check out the TRB Facebook page and follow the daily updates shared on the feed wall. If you find anything interesting or worth sharing, please do not hesitate to share with fellow attendees.

Looking forward to meeting you all at the YPT Reception.

Previous posts in the #TRBAM  2012 series:

• TRB Annual Meeting Session Spotlight – Choose Your Acronym: Credentials for Transportation Professionals
• TRB Annual Meeting Session Spotlight: Young Members Council Meeting
• My First TRB Annual Meeting: Some Tips for Newbs
• Looking Back: TRBAM 2011
• TRB Annual Meeting: What you need to know

When:  Wednesday 24 February 2010; 6:00-7:30 PM

Where:  Capitol Visitor Center Room SVC-20 , E Capitol St NE & 1st St NE, Washington, DC

Young Professionals in Transportation (YPT) is pleased to announce the February 2010 Leadership Seminar on Transportation Policy featuring leading industry figures in shaping the nation’s surface transportation vision.  This panel discussion will feature representatives from three major recent efforts that examine the current state of the transportation system and offer policy recommendations moving forward based on a series of testimonies and rigorous research.

In addition, panelists will offer their thoughts on professional development and leadership skills necessary to make a difference in the arena of national decision-making.

Featured Panelists:

Jack Schenendorf, Of Counsel, Covington and Burling – Representing the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission

Jack Schenendorf’s practice concentrates on transportation and legislation with a particular focus on legislative strategy, legislative procedure, and the federal budget process. He was recently appointed by Speaker Hastert to the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, where he serves as Vice-Chairman. For nearly 25 years, Mr. Schenendorf served on the staff of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was Chief of Staff from 1995 to 2001. In BNA’s Daily Report for Executives, Mr. Schenendorf was described “as one of the most powerful staffers on the Hill, [who] has played a large role in crafting every piece of major transportation legislation in the past decade.” Prior to joining the firm in 2001, Mr. Schenendorf served on the Bush/Cheney Transition where he was Chief of the Transition Policy Team for the U.S. Department of Transportation and was responsible for reviewing all transportation policies and issues for the incoming Administration.

Kathy Ruffalo, President, Ruffalo and Associates LLC – Representing the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission

President of Ruffalo and Associates, LLC – a government affairs consulting firm in Washington, D.C. Ms. Ruffalo has 20 years of experience in the public policy arena at both federal and state levels of government. From 1989 to 1999, she served as a senior advisor to the United States Environment and Public Works Committee – for then Chairman Senator Max Baucus – with the primary responsibility for developing, drafting and negotiating federal transportation policy. From 1999 to 2004, she was a senior policy advisor to Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne. In 2004, she was recruited to return to Capitol Hill where she was a key drafter and negotiator of SAFETEA-LU. She is a 1989 graduate of Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences.

Emil Frankel, Director of Transportation Policy – Representing the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Transportation Policy Project

Emil H. Frankel is an independent consultant on transportation policy and public management issues. He serves as Director of Transportation Policy for the Bipartisan Policy Center. Mr. Frankel was Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy of the United States Department of Transportation from 2002 to 2005. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Mr. Frankel played a key role in the coordination and development of the Administration’s proposal to reauthorize the Federal highway, transit, and highway safety programs. From 1991 to 1995, he was Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Between state and Federal service, Mr. Frankel was Of Counsel to Day, Berry & Howard in the law firm’s Stamford, Connecticut, office. During that time he was also a Management Fellow of Yale University’s School of Management and a Senior Fellow at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, engaged in teaching and research on issues of transportation, energy and environmental policy and public management. Also at the Yale School of Management and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Mr. Frankel will be a visiting lecturer in Spring 2008. From 1999 to 2001 he was a Selectman of the Town or Weston, Connecticut. Mr. Frankel received his Bachelor’s Degree from Wesleyan University and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School, and was a Fulbright Scholar at Manchester University in the United Kingdom. From 1981 to 1997 he was a member of the Board of Trustees of Wesleyan University, where he is now a Trustee Emeritus.

RSVP: Due to security restrictions, a list of names for non-Congressional staff must be submitted to the Capitol Visitor Center prior to the event.  Please send your RSVP to ypt@transportation.org with “YPT Seminar” as the subject by COB Monday 22 February 2010.