ABSTRACT
Paniati offers his message as ITE Executive Director and CEO. He shares that when they ask their members why they belong to ITE, connecting with their peers is a big part of the answer. Through these personal interactions and with ITEs products and services, members find new practices and solutions allowing them to positively impact their communities. There are many different avenues to make these connections within ITE. During 2023, ITE will be providing a wide variety of opportunities to Connect People and Communities. In Nov, they kicked-off their year-long transportation planning professional membership drive. In just the first month, more than 250 planners have taken advantage of the free membership offer. In Feb, their first All-member survey since 2016 will be conducted, helping ITE benchmark its progress in meeting member needs, serving members in the post COVID-19 environment, and identifing opportunities to improve.
ABSTRACT
For Paniati, the year started a bit ominously with a case of COVID-19 right before he was supposed to attend the first Board of Direction meeting of the year in January. Fortunately, it was a very mild case and technology allowed him to participate virtually. From there, things improved, and they are finishing the year with a strong record of accomplishment and continued enhancement in member value. ITE continues to grow as an organization fueled by strong public agency participation. In 2022, they added a significant number of public agency members, including three of the largest state Departments of Transportation--California, Texas, and New York. They have exceeded 16,500 members and are on track to reach their highest membership ever in 2023. Their strengthened financial position has allowed them to bring more value to membership.
ABSTRACT
One of the most confounding and unexpected results of COVID-19 has been the dramatic increase in the loss of life on our nations roadways. If you had told me at the start of the pandemic that travel would drop dramatically during this period, but fatalities would increase significantly, it would be hard to believe. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, the National Safety Council estimated that there were 39,107 motor-vehicle deaths. That increased to 42,339 in 2020, and again in 2021 to 46,020. Across this same period, the fatality rate increased from 1.20 fatalities per hundred million vehicle miles traveled in 2019, to 1.43 in 2021. What to do? No single action or solution will reverse this trend. As a community of transportation professionals, this vexing problem requires all the tools in our toolbox. This is the essence of the Safe System Approach. ITE has championed this approach in the United States, which is built around the idea of creating a multifaceted safety net of safer users, safer vehicles, safer roads, safer speeds, and effective post-crash care.
ABSTRACT
Paniati looks back at 2021. While people have seen a lot of improvement from 2020 with the advent of the COVID-19 vaccine, the rise of the Delta variant threw cold water on some of their plans. And yet, they thrived. Their experiences in 2020 of quickly adapting to a virtual world served them well in 2021. They now have the tools, training, and experience to successfully create and deliver a program of services that includes both in-person and virtual opportunities. This blend allows them to reach more members and enhance their member value--not only at the International level, but also with their Districts, Sections, and Chapters. They had significant successes in four major areas in 2021--Collaboration/Learning, Leadership, Solutions, and Recognition/Support. In the area of Collaboration and Learning, their Councils and Committees delivered their first-ever virtual Technical Conference, and their staff were able to--once-again--reconfigure their Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Annual Meeting to a virtual format.
ABSTRACT
Since 2011, ITE Headquarters has been in the Army-Navy building in downtown Washington DC, just north of the White House. This is the home base for the 25 staff, where the ITE International Board of Direction often meets and where they collaborate with their many association partners. Each year during the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, the offices bustle with activity as the Board, Council Leadership Team, LeadershipITE, and many technical Councils and Committees all meet here. Many of the student members also join for the annual student reception. Here, Paniati shares how ITE looks for an opportunity to reduce their space and costs.
ABSTRACT
Paniati highlights the 2020 International Board of Direction (ITE) Annual Meeting and Exhibition. As the COVID-19 pandemic started to unfold, it quickly became clear that the ITE would not have the ability to safely gather together for the annual meeting and exhibition in New Orleans LA. Knowing that it is impossible to met in person, the ITE has monitored what other associations were doing and thought through a number of alternatives. While it will not be the same as being together for the event, the ITE still hopes that the event will turn into success.
ABSTRACT
In what seems like a blink of an eye, our world has changed. It is breathtaking how different life is now than in early March. While I have been fortunate not to have family members directly impacted by COVID-19, it has been heartbreaking to watch friends and co-workers deal with this illness and the loss of loved ones. I hope each of you and your families are safe and healthy. In the short term, COVID-19 has had dramatic impacts on travel, including traffic volumes, mode share, crashes and fatalities, and revenues.
ABSTRACT
Will a significant number of businesses conclude that it is more cost efficient to reduce the amount of office space they lease? There is no virtual replacement for the learning and relationship building that takes place outside of formal meeting rooms. At the upcoming virtual ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibit, COVID-19 impacts and implications will be woven throughout our program, beginning with our Opening Plenary session.