A virtual section meeting was held on Wednesday, October 27, 2021. President Kelly Akasaki welcomed everyone to the meeting. ITE Western District International Director Cathy Leong reminded attendees that the ITE Joint Western District Sections Fall Technical Webinar Series titled, “What You Knew is Changing” is halfway through and that registration for the last two sessions is still open. Cathy also announced the new ITE Western District mentorship program which was created to support young members from ages 35 years and under. Links to all Western District events are provided below.
Vice President Jasmine Teramae-Kaehuaea introduced the guest speakers, Nicola Hedge, Deputy Director, and Alex Yee, Coastal and Water Program Manager, from the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency. Nicola’s presentation focused on the plans, policy, and goals of their department. She discussed transportation emissions which has been a key factor in their climate action and resilience plan and their continued focus on supporting a successful multi-modal system. She also talked about the King St. bus lane pilot project and how electric busses, complete streets projects, and electric vehicles will support their efforts. Alex’s presentation focused on their climate adaptation strategy which lists 5 primary hazards; sea level rise and coastal erosion, increase in temperature, significant rain events, decrease in precipitation, and hurricanes. He also talked about the Climate Ready Oahu Web Explorer which provides location-based data regarding a variety of climate change stressors and how the city uses such information for planning, design and long-term operations. Their presentation is available through the ITE Hawaii Section website .
After their presentation, Cathy announced the new Hawaii Section officers for the 2022 year. Cathy swore in the new officers, Jasmine Teramae-Kaehuaea (President), and Keoni Wasano (Vice President), Mike Motoki (Secretary-Treasurer).
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, to celebrate STEM Day, we will be supporting high school students through a pre-recorded technical tour about traffic signals. The next section meeting will be held early next year.
We would also like to congratulate Kelly Akasaki who was recognized as the City’s Department of Transportation Services employee of the year for her exceptional service! Her dedication and strong engineering background gifted Honolulu with new traffic safety modifications, bicycle and pedestrian upgrades, and improvements to roadways.
ITE Joint Western District Sections
Fall Technical Webinar Series – What You Knew is Changing
- November 3: Session 4: CMS, DMS, VMS and Automated Vehicles
- November 10: Session 5: MUTCD Update – Part 2
MiteY Mentorship Program
Register today to join the program as a mentor or someone seeking mentorship (mentee).
ITE Western District Annual Meeting 2022
The annual meeting will be held June 26-29, 2022 at the Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel and Palm Springs Convention Center. Full registration rates and information about the hotel have been posted to the website.
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