ITE Journal - August 2020 - 4

| president's message
Virtual Meetings to Virtual Streets
INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTION

International President
Ransford S. McCourt, P.E., PTOE (F)
Portland, OR, USA

International Vice President
Alyssa A. Reynolds Rodriguez, P.E., PTOE (F)
Assistant Director, Public Works,
City of Henderson, NV, USA

Immediate Past International President
Bruce Belmore, P.Eng., PTOE, VMA (F)

Director, Western Canada Transportation Planning, WSP,
Regina, SK, Canada

Directors
Gordon E. Meth, P.E., PTOE, PTP, RSP1 (F)

(Northeastern District) Transportation Engineering
Expert Witness, Robson Forensic, Cedar Knolls, NJ, USA

Jeff Riegner, P.E., AICP, PTOE (F)

(Mid-Colonial District), Vice President,
Whitman, Requardt & Associates, Wilmington, DE, USA

Scott Knebel, P.E. (M)

(Great Lakes District), Group Manager,
Crawford, Murphy, and Tilly, Columbus, OH, USA

Kristi M. Sebastian, P.E., PTOE (M)

(Midwestern District), Traffic Engineer,
Dakota County, Apple Valley, MN, USA

Kirsten Tynch, P.E., PTOE, LEED AP BD+C, ENV SP (F)
(Southern District), Managing Director,
VHB, Virginia Beach, VA, USA

Karen E. Aspelin, P.E., PTOE (F)

(Mountain District), Principal, MaxGreen
Transportation Engineers, LLC,
Colorado Springs, CO, USA

Cathy Leong, P.E. (F)

(Western District), Associate Director,
Wilson Okamoto Corporation, Honolulu, HI, USA

Carlos Ortiz, P.E., T.E., PTOE (M)

(Western District), COO, Advantec,
Consulting Engineers, Irvine, CA, USA

Jen Malzer, M.Sc., P.Eng. (F)

(Canadian District), Transportation Engineer,
City of Calgary, AB, Canada

Daniel Przychodzki (M)

(Global District) Team Leader, Transport,
City of Greater Dandenong, Victoria, Australia

Dale Picha, P.E., PTOE (M)

(Texas District), Traffic Operations Manager,
Texas Department of Transportation, San Antonio, TX, USA

Andrew Velasquez, P.E., PTOE (M)

(Florida Puerto Rico District) Program Manager - Planning
and Traffic Engineering, AECOM, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

Ex-Officio Members
J. Andrew Swisher, P.E., PTOE (M)

(Missouri Valley District) Project Manager,
HR Green, Inc., Des Moines, IA, USA

Jason Crawford, P.E. (F)

(Coordinating Council Chair)
Research Engineer/Division Head, Texas A&M
Transportation Institute, Arlington, TX, USA

Over the last five months, we all have become more familiar with
the virtual world. ITE is hosting its first virtual Annual Meeting
this month, and a few of our Districts (Midwestern, Western, and
Mountain) have jumped in to create virtual events that expanded
the sharing of information for our members in new and valuable
ways. Members facing travel challenges to attend in-person
meetings are now able to attend virtually, saving time and money.
In this new virtual world we live in, events have become easier to
navigate, creating a new experience-not one that replaces faceRANSFORD S. MCCOURT,
to-face, but complements and enhances it.
P.E., PTOE (F)
The virtual world has opened our eyes to new ways of doing
ITE International President
things. The pandemic has forced us to consider alternate ways in
solving transportation issues. ITE members should be on the lookout this month for guidance
on how to deal with traffic counts and studies during a pandemic. Emerging "big data" sources
are allowing us to look at data in different ways. These new data approaches are being put to the
test in unique ways that will become more applicable in daily analysis. Commute trip reduction
through virtual work-from-home practices are altering travel patterns that will be a legacy
beyond the pandemic.
Transportation professionals are constantly finding innovative ways to shape our
communities. In this edition of ITE Journal, you will learn more about roundabout techniques
and interchange configurations-the details and context of these designs can improve how
people can navigate their transportation system.
Setting speed limits is another area we can help all road users have a better experience. Our
streets can be safer if we shed single-track mindedness about 85th percentile speed, opening
our eyes to a balanced approach of context, characteristics, users, and the science of speed
distribution. Just as we don't use the exact same science that launches a moon rocket to make
a racecar go fast, we should not use the same science for freeway speed studies as we would
neighborhood or urban street speed studies. With proper context, both can be great.
This new experience might become more cost and time efficient. Consider the idea of using
a few simple facility types with ranges of target speed limits, then using knowledge of context,
characteristics, and users to position where in the range the limit should go. For example-
flatter, wider, straighter, less access, median, fewer vulnerable users (upper end of the range);
traffic calmed, landscaped, on-street parking, multiple road users (lower end). We may even
consider averting repetitive speed studies
Target Speed Ranges by Facility Type.
where conditions are unchanged. Where
conditions stray out of the typical range,
School Zones (15-20 mph)
detailed studies can be done.
Neighborhood and CBD Local Streets (20-25 mph)
Many communities are looking at how
Collector (25-35 mph)
our streets can be designed and managed
Urban/Suburban Arterials: 2/3/4 lanes (25-35 mph)
with greater safety and efficiently. How are
Urban/Suburban Arterials: 5/7+ (35-45 mph)
the lessons of the virtual world opening your
County Rural Unpaved (30-45 mph)
eyes to better shape your community?
Rural/State Highway 45-55 mph
Urban Freeway: Access < 1 mile (50-60 mph)
Urban Freeway: Access > 1 mile (55-65 mph)
Rural Freeway (65-75 mph)

Abbas Mohaddes, P.E. (F)

(Industry Council Chair)
President and COO, Econolite, Anaheim, CA, USA

Institute of Transportation Engineers
1627 Eye Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006 USA
Telephone: +1 202-785-0060 | Fax: +1 202-785-0609

www.ite.org

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Au gust 2020

ite j o ur n al

Ransford S. McCourt, P.E., PTOE (F)
ITE International President


http://www.ite.org

ITE Journal - August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ITE Journal - August 2020

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