October 2021 Meeting Highlights
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.
September 2021 Meeting Highlights
A virtual section meeting was held on Wednesday, September 22, 2021. President Kelly Akasaki welcomed everyone to the meeting. ITE Western District International Director Cathy Leong announced the upcoming ITE Joint Western District Sections Fall Technical Webinar Series titled, “What You Knew is Changing”. Additional information about this series is provided below. Cathy also revealed that registration for the 2022 ITE Western District Annual Meeting in Palm Springs is open and they are currently accepting papers and topics.
Michelle Agustin, Student Chapter Professional Liaison, provided a summary of the joint ITE, ASCE and SWE UH Resume and Interview Workshop. The event was a success with 19 professionals helping 55 students prepare for the upcoming Career Fair. Thank you to all our volunteers!
Secretary-Treasurer Keoni Wasano announced that the 2022 Hawaii Section board election ballots were emailed, and votes should be received by October 26, 2021.
Vice President Jasmine Teramae-Kaehuaea introduced the guest speaker, Aki Marceau, Director – Electrification of Transportation with Hawaiian Electric. Aki’s presentation focused on the current initiatives HECO is working on to shift toward clean energy and electrified transportation. They are working with several public and private entities to support electric city and school buses, electric fleet vehicles, improve the state’s electrical infrastructure, and update their 10-year strategic roadmap. Lastly, she demonstrated how the Charge Up Hawaii website allows for public input to make sure EV charging stations are reliable, conveniently located, and accessible to everyone. Aki’s presentation is available through the ITE Hawaii Section website. HECO is hiring for a few positions in their Electrification of Transportation (EoT) division and invite those interested to visit their careers page.
ITE Joint Western District Sections
Fall Technical Webinar Series – What You Knew is Changing
Everyone knows how to set speed limits, use the MUTCD, plan for a speed hump and design signs – right? Well things are changing and fast. With the completion of NCHRP 17-76, work underway with the MUTCD NPA and ITE’s Speed Hump guide refresh on the horizon, as ITE members you might want to peek in on the work behind the scenes to change/update these every day.
Our goal with this webinar series is to provide opportunities for ITE members to learn about new developments, understand multiple perspectives, and leave with applicable insights to help you with your work in the future as the change rolls out. The Western District presents an ITE Joint Sections five-part technical series hosted by the San Diego Section starting October 13th. Each session in this series will focus on a current technical topic with each session conveniently scheduled over lunch time (noon to 1:00 PM Pacific). Registration is open to all ITE members for free (small registration fee for non-ITE members).
• October 13: Session 1: MUTCD Update – Part 1
• October 20: Session 2: Guidance for the Setting of Speed Limits
• October 27: Session 3: ITE Speed Humps Recommended Practice Update
• November 3: Session 4: CMS, DMS, VMS and Automated Vehicles
• November 10: Session 5: MUTCD Update – Part 2
June 2021 Meeting Highlights
A virtual section meeting was held on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021. There were 21 people in attendance.
ITE Western District International Director Cathy Leong welcomed everyone to the meeting and reminded everyone about the upcoming 2021 Virtual ITE Joint International, Western, & Mountain Districts Annual Meeting. Event details and links to register are provided below.
Cathy introduced Mark Spencer, Senior Principal and Vice President of W-Trans, a traffic engineering consultant in the state of California. Mark also currently serves as one of the two ITE Western District International Directors. Mark’s presentation focused on W-Tran’s partnership with the City of Menlo Park and their recently completed Transportation Master Plan (TMP). Menlo Park is located between San Francisco and San Jose and lies in the center of Silicon Valley. Although Menlo Park’s total resident population is relatively small, the number of daily commuters traveling through the city is nearly three times higher than the number of local residents due to its location and proximity to regional connections. In his presentation, Mark discussed lessons learned and the efforts required to complete the master plan. That included an assessment of transportation operations, a robust public engagement program, reconciliation of proposed transportation improvements to a common baseline, formation of unified recommendations based on input from a Steering Committee, and identification of funding partnerships and grant opportunities. All of which culminated into the development of the Menlo Park TMP that now serves as a blueprint for City decision making going forward. A total of 190 projects were assembled for potential inclusion in the TMP and prioritized based on the level that they address or serve one or more of the following criteria:
- Safety
- Transportation Sustainability
- Greenhouse Gas Reduction
- School Access
- Congestion Relief/Management
- Sensitive Population
- Green Infrastructure
Lastly, we will not be holding section meetings during July and August in support of ITE’s Joint International, Western & Mountain District Annual Meeting (see below). Our next scheduled section meeting will be in September with details to be provided at a later date.
2021 Virtual ITE Joint International, Western, & Mountain Districts Annual Meeting
The International Annual Meeting will be held over two weeks (July 20-22 & July 27-29). The meeting will feature plenary sessions, technical sessions, workshops, & poster sessions. In addition, there are a few Western District only events held during the joint meeting which require separate registration through the Western District website. The district events include:
Friday, July 23rd:
- Annual Business Meeting (12-1 PM PDT) – This will be on Zoom with the link shared with all members
- Awards Session (4-5:15 PM PDT) – This will be on Zoom with the link shared with all members
- Family Night Event (5:30-7:30 PM PDT) – Registration required
Saturday, July 24th:
- Career Guidance Sessions (8 AM-12 PM PDT) – Registration required
- Panel discussion
- Debut of mentorship program
- Resume/speed interview workshop
- Kell Competition (12:30-4:30 PM PDT) – Registration required
April 2021 Meeting Highlights
A virtual section meeting was held on Wednesday, April 21st, 2021. There were 25 ITE members and 1 non-ITE participant in attendance.
President Kelly Akasaki welcomed everyone to the meeting and announced that the Committee Chair reports would be provided in the section meeting minutes. Reference the Committee Updates section below. International Director Cathy Leong introduced the candidates for ITE Western District Secretary-Treasurer, Justin Link (City Traffic Engineer/Principal Engineer for the City of Simi Valley, CA) and Douglas Smith (Senior Program Manager – Traffic Engineering and ITS for HDR). The Hawaii Section invited the candidates to share a little about themselves and why they were running for the position. For more information about the 2021 candidates please visit the Western ITE candidates page here.
Vice President Jasmine Teramae-Kaehuaea introduced Jon Nouchi, Deputy Director, City & County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services, who focused on how the C&C of Honoluluʻs DTS responded to Oahu residents’ needs during the pandemic, and a past, current, and future look at mobility on our island. Jon discussed some of the issues they’ve overcome during the pandemic, provided updates on the Holo card being released in July, and shared a video from his first ride on the HART train. His presentation is available through the ITE Hawaii section website.
Lastly, Cathy announced that the Hawaii Section will be hosting a virtual Technical Solutions Event on Wednesday, May 19th, in place of the next meeting. This event is provided in collaboration with transportation industry partners including Carmanah, Econolite, Iteris, PedSafety, and Q-Free. The goal of these sessions is to provide attendees with innovative solutions for transportation issues and shared lessons learned from these projects. For this inaugural year, registration is free for ITE members and public agency members with a nominal fee for all others. A link to register is available on the event webpage, provided below, and will be emailed in the coming days.
ITE Quarterly Meeting Updates (March ’21)
The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD) released a notice of proposed amendments in December 2020. The proposed changes are intended to update the technical provisions to reflect advances in technologies and operational practices, incorporate recent trends and innovations, and set the stage for automated driving systems as those continue to take shape. These proposed changes are being designated as the 11th edition of the MUTCD.
FHWA and US DOT are requesting comments on the NPA. Comments must be received on or before March 15th, 2021.
Committee Updates
Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization (OMPO) – Committee Chair Robert Nehmad
The Oahu Regional Transportation Plan (ORTP)-2045 update process is underway, looking at transportation through 2045. The ORTP 2045’s theme is Ke Ala Imua, which roughly translates to The Path Forward. The ORTP 2045 will lay out our path forward for our transportation system for the future. Our future transportation system is one that will be multi-modal, equally supporting people who are walking, biking, using transit, and driving to get to their destination.
The following meetings have been held:
- Citizen Advisory Committee Meeting – April 7, 2021
- Technical Advisory Committee Meeting – April 9, 2021
The final meeting, where the Policy Board votes on the ORTP-2045 Plan approval, will be held on April 27, 2021 at 1:00PM via MS Teams.
Upcoming Events
May 19: ITE Hawaii Section Virtual Technical Solutions Event
June 23: ITE Hawaii June Section Meeting – Mark Spencer, Senior Principal, W-Trans and ITE Western District International Director
July 20-22, July 27-29 (Two weeks): 2021 Virtual ITE Joint International, Western, & Mountain Districts Annual Meeting
February 2021 Meeting Highlights
A virtual section meeting was held on Wednesday, February 20, 2021. There were 20 ITE members in attendance.
President Kelly Akasaki welcomed everyone to the meeting. Wayne Yoshioka, Legislative Chair, provided information regarding two bills currently in the legislation. House Bill 132 (HB132) – Relating to License Plates, would allow for use of a single license plate on vehicles rather than two. Senate Bill 1402 (SB1402) – Relating to Transportation, intends to modernize its planning and projects by achieving equity for all communities and addressing climate change.
International Director Cathy Leong introduced the guest speaker, Keoni Wasano, Director of ITS Engineering with Goldwings Supply Service, Inc. Keoni’s presentation focused on the FCC safety band ruling, its impacts on connected vehicle projects, and how it affects the innovative technology landscape. His presentation is available through the ITE Hawaii section website.
Lastly, Jenny announced that the next session meeting meeting will be cancelled in support of ITE’s virtual Technical Conference on Intersections and Streets. This online technical conference focuses on new and innovative solutions to transportation challenges being implemented in communities in the United States and around the world. This two-day event will feature 10 technical sessions developed by ITE’s Councils and Committees along with a plenary session and engaging networking activities. Conference topics include Bicycle and Pedestrian Treatments, Micromobility, Multimodal Performance Measures, and Safe System Approach. Program and registration information can be found here.
Upcoming Event Links
2021 ITE Joint International, Western, & Mountain Districts Annual Meeting
January 2021 Meeting Highlights
A virtual section meeting was held on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. There were 37 ITE members and 3 non-ITE members in attendance.
President Kelly Akasaki welcomed everyone to the meeting and provided updates from the committee chairpersons. HCES Engineer’s week is tentatively scheduled for late February. Details about this virtual event will be distributed as it becomes available. Michelle Agustin, Student Chapter liaison announced that ITE will be hosting a student workshop to help engineering students prepare for the upcoming UH Manoa career fair tentatively scheduled for February.
International Director Cathy Leong reminded everyone that the upcoming joint International, Western, and Mountain District Meeting is scheduled to be in-person and held in Portland, OR on July 18 – 21, 2021. The planning committee will make an official announcement regarding in-person or virtual participation as more information becomes available. Cathy also announced that the International Virtual Student Leadership Summit is scheduled for February 19 – 20, 2021. Cathy then encouraged members to submit local projects for the Transportation Project of the Year award. The Western District panel will select a winner for each category; Complete Streets, Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO), Safety, Planning, and Traffic Engineering. In addition, one of the five selected projects will be awarded the Western Districts Transportation Project of the Year award. Links for all these events are provided below.
Vice President Jasmine Teramae-Kaehuaea introduced the guest speaker, Ed Sniffen, Hawaii Department of Transportation Deputy Director for the Highways Division. Ed’s presentation focused on the State Highway Division’s values and goals as well as their year 2021 – 2022 initiatives. These values include their dedication to safety, accountability, community, innovation, and teamwork. His presentation is available through the ITE Hawaii section website. As part of their transparency and accountability initiatives, HDOT is looking for continual feedback on current interaction points and would appreciate feedback through their online survey.
Lastly, Kelly announced that the next virtual meeting will be held in February 2021 and reservations will be accepted through Eventbrite. Some members reported issues with the Eventbrite process, which Secretary-Treasurer Keoni Wasano will be addressing in an upcoming email.
Upcoming Event Links
2021 ITE Joint International, Western, & Mountain Districts Annual Meeting
International Virtual Student Leadership Summit
Western District Project of the Year
ITE Joint Sections FREE Webinar Series – Diversity & Inclusion, Session 1: Voices of Thought Leaders, February 17, 2021
ITE Technical Conference: Innovative Intersections and Streets, March 23 – 24, 2021
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