ITE Journal - June 2021 - 4

| president's message
Designing for Safety
INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTION

International President
Alyssa A. Reynolds Rodriguez, P.E., PTOE (F)
Director, Information Technology,
City of Henderson, NV, USA

International Vice President
Beverly Thompson Kuhn, Ph.D., P.E., PMP (F)

Division Head and Research Fellow, Texas A&M
Transportation Institute, College Station, TX, USA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daniel Przychodzki (M)

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

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

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

J. Andrew Swisher, P.E., PTOE (M)

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

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

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

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

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

K. Scott Walker, Jr., P.E. (M)

(Southern District), Project Leader,
Toyota Motor North America, Georgetown, KY, USA

Melisa D. Finley, P.E. (M)

(Texas District), Research Engineer,
Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX, USA

Cathy Leong, P.E. (F)

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

Mark Spencer, P.E. (F)

(Western District), Senior Principal,
W-Trans, Oakland, CA, USA

Ex-Officio Members
Eric Rensel (M)

(Coordinating Council Chair) Vice President,
Gannett Fleming, Mechanicsburg, PA, USA

Abbas Mohaddes, P.E. (F)

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

In the 1990s as a new neighborhood developed in west Las
Vegas, NV, USA, the city approved the installation of several
roundabouts on major thoroughfares. Depending on the source,
they are considered the first modern roundabouts in the United
States. The first office I worked in following my move to the
valley was located just down the street from them. As we've all
experienced, some of the first feedback we hear when designing a
roundabout is that people do not understand how to drive them
and lots of crashes occur.
ALYSSA A.
Certainly, I have witnessed a couple unique behaviors
RODRIGUEZ, P.E., PTOE (F)
from motorists at these roundabouts: reversing through the
ITE International President
roundabout after missing a turn or failing to navigate the
approach and landing in the center landscaping; but on the whole, tens of thousands of drivers
navigate the roundabouts every day without incident. Further, to paraphrase a metropolitan
police department officer: crashes still happen, but drivers don't have to call the ambulance.
Perhaps that is the most compelling aspect of the Safe System Approach-the acceptance of
the fact that humans are fallible, and mistakes are inevitable. Those mistakes, however, should
not result in death or a trip to the hospital.
There's a corollary to that as well: accepting humans for who they are, not for what we wish
they would do. As planners and designers of the transportation system, this should be the core
of our work. For instance, when two attracting land uses are located across from each other, we
cannot assume pedestrians will divert to the nearest controlled crossing, hope drivers will heed
the speed limit sign, or wish site developers would have aligned building access points to the
transportation infrastructure.
To advocate more strongly for the Safe System Approach, ITE recently joined with the Johns
Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy in a Safe System Consortium, which resulted
in a set of recommendations aimed at Congress and the U.S. presidential administration. The
Consortium hopes these recommendations can change the course of road safety and help leaders
and practitioners work toward a more equitable transportation system that leads to fewer
injuries and deaths. The feature article outlining these efforts begins on page 29.
As I write this, I'm enjoying an iced coffee at a café on the newly renovated Water Street
outside city hall in Las Vegas. I'm proud to have had a small influence on this street design, so I
have to brag a bit. Anticipating all the users of this facility, leadership on this project considered
the primary user to be a pedestrian. As such, the roadway is curbless for much of its length.
Frequently used for parades and other events, the facility's retaining walls also serve as seating.
Slow speeds are critical due to the vehicle/pedestrian interaction, and the narrow lanes, gates, and
landscaping provide visual cues to slow without excessive signage. And even though the primary
users walk, the street still accommodates transit vehicles and parents dropping off their kids at
hockey practice.
Vision Zero is achievable. Eliminating serious injuries and fatalities on our roadways is
wholly compatible with other transportation goals of system efficiency and access-if we
plan for all users, influence policy, anticipate conflicts, control design, and retrofit existing
infrastructure for modern use.

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

4

J u ne 2021

i te j o urnal

Alyssa A. Rodriguez, P.E., PTOE (F)
ITE International President


http://www.ite.org

ITE Journal - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ITE Journal - June 2021

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