ITE Journal - June 2021 - 6

| director's message
EDITORIAL STAFF
Holly Gilbert Stowell

Making the Most of the ITE e-Community

One of the biggest benefits of being an ITE member is access to
the ITE e-Community, ITE's internal social media network. The
e-Community provides a place to share with all ITE members
through the All Member Forum, or a narrower interest area
through the more than 87 available forums. More than 12,800 of
ITE's 16,000 members are registered for one or more forum. Most
choose to get a daily feed that summarizes posts from the last 24
hours and lands in your inbox in the early morning. I often start
my workday by scanning through this summary to see what new discussions have been
started, or what replies have been added to existing threads.
A powerful aspect of the ITE e-Community is the wide range of topics that are
covered. Everything from nuts and bolts of traffic engineering and transportation
planning problems to volunteer opportunities, high-level policy directions, and
everything in between. If you want to find solutions to challenging problems, this is the
place to go. Members from across the country and around the world are at the ready to
offer advice, examples, and lessons learned. I am always amazed at the generosity of our
members and their willingness to devote their time and expertise to helping others.
ITE staff strives to use e-Community to keep you abreast of the latest developments and
upcoming opportunities. ITE's Marketing Senior Director Pam Goodell does an outstanding
job of posting about upcoming Virtual Drop-In Sessions, webinars, upcoming ITE
District, Section, and Chapter events, and other professional development opportunities.
ITE Director of Planning Sarah Abel often shares the latest developments in her areas of
expertise and highlights new ITE products or services. I try to post articles that highlight
interesting news in our profession and share major announcements from ITE.
At times, discussions on e-Community can get rather passionate. The recent thread
on President Biden's American Jobs Act is a good example. Because this proposal was
centered on infrastructure-yet went beyond transportation-it generated some strong
views on the merits of these investments. The e-Community is a good place for opposing
perspectives on an issue, IF those views are expressed professionally and respectfully.
Though seeing the other side of the argument can be hard, it may be a great way to learn
and even sharpen the arguments for your position.
I always hesitate to close a thread, preferring to let the dialogue run its course and allow
the community to decide how long to continue the discussion. However, sometimes we
have no choice but to close down a thread. When posts become repetitive and continue
to make the same point over and over-or worse, when one member attacks another
member's views, rather than focus on the merits of their own perspectives-then the
discussion has moved from productive to counterproductive, and it is time to move on.
I appreciate those of you who reach out to me to share your thoughts about an ongoing
discussion or a recent post I've added. I also thank all of you who post on the e-Community,
whether you are sharing your expertise or your opinion on a topic. We will do our best to
continue to make e-Community a safe and productive environment that supports the values
of ITE-technical excellence, community, making a difference, and diversity and inclusion.
As always, you can reach me on the ITE e-Community, or on Twitter @JPaniatiITE.

Jeffrey F. Paniati, P.E. (F)
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer
6

J u ne 2021

i te j o urnal

Senior Editor and Writer

Pam Goodell

Marketing Senior Director

Content Worx
www.thecontentworx.com
Design and Production

ITE STAFF
Jeffrey F. Paniati, P.E. (F)

Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer

Kathi P. Driggs, IOM

Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer

Jeffrey A. Lindley, P.E. (F)

Deputy Executive Director and Chief Technical Officer

Colleen A. Agan

Associate Executive Director and Senior Director of
Membership Strategies and Operations

Sonya Torres

Accounting Specialist

Ann O'Neill

Certification Programs Manager

Tatiana Richey

Contracts Manager

Zach Pleasant, PMP

Information Technology Services Senior Director

Douglas E. Noble, P.E., PTOE (F)

Management and Operations Senior Director

Linda S. Pierre, CMP, CEM, DES
Senior Director of Meetings

Eunice Chege Thoya

Membership Associate

Jennifer Childs

Membership Database Associate-Data Services

Sallie C. Dollins

Membership Services Associate

Kellyanne Broom

Professional Development Director

Kevin G. Hooper, P.E. (F)

Strategic Projects (Consultant)

Nicola Tavares, PMP

Technical Products Manager

Niloo Parvinashtiani

Technical Programs Manager

Deborah L. Rouse

Technical Publications Manager

Lisa M. Fontana Tierney, P.E. (F)
Traffic Engineering Senior Director

Sarah Abel (M)

Transportation Planning Director

Siva R. K Narla (M)

Transportation Technology Senior Director

Volume 91 | Issue 6
ITE Journal (ISSN 0162-8178) is written by and for transportation engineers,
transportation planners, and others responsible for the safe and efficient
movement of people and goods on our surface transportation system. Published
monthly by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, 1627 Eye Street, NW, Suite
600, Washington, DC 20006 USA. © 2021 Institute of Transportation Engineers.
All rights reserved, except for brief quotation with attribution. Periodicals-Class
postage paid at Washington, DC, and additional mailing offices. Rates: Single
copy, $5. One-year subscription, $100 in the United States, Canada and Mexico;
$150 elsewhere. Annual subscription rate for ITE members is $35, which is
included in member dues. Postmaster: Send address changes to Subscription
Department, ITE, 1627 Eye Street, NW, Suite 100, Washington, DC 20006 USA.
GST Registration Number R 130 188 667.
Article Submittals: All articles submitted for publication undergo peer review
to determine suitability for publication and to ensure technical accuracy and
credibility; before submitting manuscript, request a copy of " Information for
Authors " from the editor. Indexed in: Engineering Index, Applied Science and
Technology Index, Highway Research Information Service Abstracts, Environment
Abstracts, Journal of Planning Literature, Sage Urban Studies Abstracts and TRID.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not reflect
official ITE or magazine policy unless so stated. Publication of advertising does not
constitute official ITE endorsement of products or services. Microfilm Copies:
Available from NA Publishing, P.O. Box 998, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-0998 USA;
800-420-6272; info@napubco.com.

http://www.thecontentworx.com

ITE Journal - June 2021

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