iTRANS Services in Arizona - Maricopa County

In 2008, iTRANS, in partnership with a US consultant, won a contract with the Maricopa Association of Governments in Arizona to provide on-call Safety, Traffic Engineering, and ITS Planning and Operational services. Maricopa County is the 14th largest county in the US.

Richmond Hill Regional Centre

The Town of Richmond Hill selected the team of Urban Strategies and iTRANS to establish a long-term vision and strategic direction for the development of the Richmond Hill Regional Centre as a "mobility hub", in accordance with the policies and objectives of the Provincial Growth Plan and the Official Plans of the York Region and the Town of Richmond Hill. The Town's Regional Centre area is intended to serve as a major office, residential and institutional centre, as well as a pedestrian-oriented transit hub serving as the junction for the Yonge Subway extension, YRT and VIVA bus service, GO Transit, and the proposed 407 Transitway, in addition to servicing connections to Hwy 407, Yonge Street, and Highway 7.

Provincial Highway System Traffic Forecasts - MTO Study

The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) recently engaged iTRANS to develop a software tool for the forecasting of provincial highway traffic volumes at a strategic level for the entire Province of Ontario. This tool will be used to support long range transportation planning, investment analysis, and policy analysis on any and all Provincial highways throughout Ontario.

Brampton Transit AcceleRide & York Region Transit VIVA BRT Service Integration

iTRANS was recently awarded a retainer contract by the City of Brampton to assist Brampton Transit with the preparation and implementation of the first phase of AcceleRide Bus Rapid Transit service in 2010 The goal is to ensure seamless BRT transit service is provided for customers, regardless of where they live.

November, 2008
Ron Whitelock joins iTRANS Consulting

Tyrone Gan, President of iTRANS Consulting, is pleased to announce that Ron Whitelock has joined our Richmond Hill office as a Senior Consultant. Ron brings a strong electronics and traffic and parking management expertise. This unique combination has led Ron into some projects involving solar powered energy. He led the installation of solar panels for a truck inspection station for MTO and for traffic control devices for Ontario Municipalities. He has also been involved in some unique Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) projects including the installation of variable message signs in construction areas, the supply and installation of parking systems, and the implementation of wireless (radio) communications for traffic control devices. He has many years of experience with traffic signal control systems, and in the distribution of traffic and parking related products.

November, 2008
Karen Freund joins iTRANS Consulting

Tyrone Gan, President of iTRANS Consulting, is pleased to announce that Karen Freund P.Eng, LEED AP has joined our Richmond Hill office as a Senior Project Manager, focussing on BRT, LRT, Rail, and transit infrastructure projects. Her higher-order transit skills are complemented by her strong knowledge and understanding of transit planning and operations through her experience in Canada, the US, and the UK. Karen recently managed the York University Busway project on behalf of the Toronto Transit Commission - the Commission's first Bus Rapid Transit Design-Build project. Karen also has considerable experience in the areas of transportation technology design and implementation, traffic and parking management, and transportation facility design. She is a LEED accredited professional.

September 21 - 23, 2008
2008 TAC Conference - Toronto

iTRANS is pleased to be a Silver Sponsor of the 2008 Annual Conference for Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) from September 21 through 23 in Toronto. At the Conference, two staff from iTRANS will be making presentations: David Kriger will be presenting TAC Transportation Planning "Best Practices", and Bosco Tong will be presenting Incorporating Transit at West Campus at the University of Calgary.

We look forward to meeting everyone at the Conference!!!

During the banquet ceremonies of the Conference, the iTRANS TAC Scholarship in the amount of $10,000 was awarded to Dominique Poirier. Dominique is working towards her Ph.D. at McGill University on materials for mechanical properties of lighter material, in hopes to find apply this research in producing lighter vehicles in the future.

Transit Signal Priority - Brampton

iTRANS was recently awarded the Design and Implementation of Transit Signal Priority (TSP) within the City of Brampton. This very important project will identify the most appropriate transit signal priority system for the City, and then integrate it with the City's other systems, including their traffic signal equipment, traffic signal control system, as well as their schedule adherence and passenger counting transit systems. The TSP system will look at more than 70 signals on major corridors throughout the City.

October 27-28, 2008
iTRANS is a sponsor of CSVA 2008 Conference in Toronto

iTRANS is pleased to be a sponsor of the upcoming CSVA 2008 Conference from October 27-28 in Toronto. In addition to our exhibit booth at the Conference, two of our leading Value Engineering staff will be in attendance - Joseph Arcaro and Tammy Dow.

We look forward to meeting everyone at the conference.

iTRANS Consulting was selected by the Town of Caledon to facilitate two stakeholder meetings. The first meeting included commercial vehicle operators, Caledon Town staff, council members, the Mayor, and representatives from the Ministry of Transportation, and enforcement; to set goals and discuss strategies for improving truck safety. In preparation for this meeting, iTRANS conducted a review of collision data and the roadway network, along with preparing material related to the trucking safety strategies that have been conducted in other jurisdictions. To support the consultation held on May 6, 2008, iTRANS also conducted a safety survey of commercial vehicle stakeholders.

iTRANS helped facilitate a public consultation meeting on trucking safety in the Town of Caledon on October 15, 2008, along with representatives from the Ministry of Transportation, the Region of Peel, and the Ontario Provincial Police. A public survey was also conducted as part of the process to identify strategies and countermeasures to address the increasing number and severity of truck related collisions.

Descriptions of the public meeting may be found at:

http://www.caledonenterprise.com/editorial/article/58697

http://www.caledonenterprise.com/news/article/58717

Rossland Road Environmental Assessment Public Open House - Town of Ajax

On Tuesday, October 21, 2008, the Town of Ajax, with the assistance of iTRANS, held a second Public Open House for the Rossland Road Improvements, from Brock Road to Westney Road, Environmental Assessment Study at the McLean Community Centre. The purpose of the Open House was to review the results of the analysis to date, and to present the design decisions and design alternatives, the evaluation of the design decisions and design alternatives, and the technically preferred design for public review and comment.

More information can also be found on the Town's project website at: http://www.townofajax.com/Page1870.aspx .

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Development Charges Study for the City of Burlington

The City of Burlington has retained iTRANS to carry out the update of its Development Charges. The purpose of this transportation study is to identify the cost and timing of transportation improvements required to support the City's growth from 2009 to 2021. Development Charges funds are fundamental to facilitate new growth in the City.

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iTRANS Joins Utah DOT Roster of Qualified Consultants

The State of Utah has selected iTRANS to be part of the Utah Department of Transportation's pool of qualified consultants in four areas:

• Planning
• ITS - Installation & Testing of Field Equipment
• Value Engineering
• Research Studies/ New Development

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Sandalwood Parkway EA - Brampton

The City of Brampton has awarded iTRANS the Environmental Assessment and Preliminary Design study for improvements to Sandalwood Parkway, from Airport Road to Dixie Road. We look forward to working with the City on this project.

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Bradford Parking Strategy

iTRANS Consulting was retained by the Town of Bradford / West Gwillimbury to undertake a Downtown Parking Strategy. This growing community has over 22,000 residents and a parking strategy will provide a sustainable direction for the future of its downtown area. This study will review various aspects of parking operations, make recommendations regarding current operations, and will identify an approach to cope with current and future parking demands.

On December 3, iTRANS hosted a public information centre to review their findings on the Bradford West Gwillimbury Downtown Parking Strategy Study. The local newspaper published an article about the event. http://www.bradfordtimes.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1341787

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November 19 2008
National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims

A National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims is observed in many countries as part of the UN Road Safety Collaboration. Today, November 19, 2008 marks Canada's first National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims. Eight Canadians die every day on our roads. That's almost 3,000 Canadians every year.

iTRANS, a leader in Transportation Safety since 1998 is committed to improving the safety of all road users, and increasing awareness for the part we all play in making roads safe as engineers, planners, and as drivers. At iTRANS staff were given ribbons that can be worn in recognition of this day. Canada's National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims raises awareness of road safety and promotes ways to prevent road traffic injury and death on our roads

More information is provided below, and can be found at: www.rememberroadcrashvictims.ca(check out the video under Multimedia)

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September 19, 2008
iTRANS' Latest Addition to Office Locations - Downtown Toronto

To better serve our clients and accommodate our growing number in staff, we are excited to announce the opening of another iTRANS office, conveniently located near the Union Station in Downtown Toronto:

144 Front Street W, Suite 655
Toronto, ON M5J 2L7
Phone: (416) 847-0005

An Open House is scheduled for Thursday, November 20 - to thank our clients and business partners.

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Best Practices for Technical Delivery of Transportation Planning Studies, Canada

The Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) retained iTRANS to prepare the 'Best Practices for Technical Delivery of Long-Term Transportation Planning Studies in Canada.' This 278-page research report looks at international best practices for travel demand modelling, surveys and data collection for small- and medium-sized communities; whether these are stand-alone communities or places that are part of a larger urban region. The report includes a guidebook for everyday use. It is applicable to transportation master plans, environmental assessments and functional plans, corridor planning, transportation demand management, transit planning, sustainable transportation, freight planning and the range of transportation plans that are typical of Canada's 400+ small- and medium-sized communities.

TAC published the report in October 2008. The English version can be downloaded from TAC: http://www.tac-atc.ca/english/pdf/best-practice.pdf. A French version will be available shortly.

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Transit Feasibility Study Recommendations (PEI)

iTRANS Consulting conducted a feasibility study for public transportation services for the Towns of Stratford and Cornwall, on Prince Edward Island, each of which are within commuting distance to the City of Charlottetown. While the City of Charlottetown is served by public transit, there is no public transportation service to or within the cities of Cornwall or Stratford. As part of this study iTRANS:

• Quantified the current latent demand for transit service
• Identified ridership growth strategies to target various markets
• Identified appropriate vehicles and service levels required to meet the demand
• Determined route and service design (hours of operation, route travelways, etc.)
• Identified low-cost methods of service delivery
• Quantified the impact of service in reducing green house gases and emissions
• Developed a Five Year Service Plan that is fiscally responsible
  

As per the study's recommendation, exactly one year after the completion of the study, in September 2008, the Town of Stratford launched transit service. Prince Edward Island Communities Minister, Carolyn Bertram, stated that this "is an exciting time for the Town of Stratford". She continued to explain that "there are many benefits to public transit, including economic, social and, of course, environmental benefits. By encouraging commuters to take transit, this new system will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and ultimately create a greener, healthier community for us all to enjoy".

Photo courtesy of The Guardian
Carolyn Bertram, Minister of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, is joined by MLAs Alan McIsaac and Cynthia Dunsford

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August 2008
Stephen Keen joins iTRANS in Toronto

Tyrone Gan, President of iTRANS Consulting, is delighted to announce that Stephen Keen will be joining our Richmond Hill office as a Senior Project Manager, and moving to our new Downtown Toronto Office when it opens later this fall. Stephen will be a great asset to our Evironmental Assessment practice and will also assist Wally Beck in our Transit practice.

Some recent projects Stephen has worked on include EA Studies for the extension of Whittle Road for the City of Mississauga, and the extension of Thorold Stone Road for the Region of Niagara. The former study will establish Mississauga's first roundabout, and the latter a new 5-legged roundabout in Niagara Falls. Stephen has also completed an EA Study for Transportation Improvements in the Railway Lands / Fort York Neighbourhood Communities in Downtown Toronto, which will see the replacement of the Bathurst Street bridge in the vicinity of Fort York, as well as establishing streetcar on its own right-of-way on Bathurst Street and an extended Bremner Boulevard.

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Yellowknife Transportation Improvement Study

iTRANS Consulting has been awarded a major Transportation Improvement Study by the City of Yellowknife to provide professional engineering services to the City as part of its Smart Growth Development Plan. The services to be provided by iTRANS under this 15-month study include:

• Data collection (manual traffic counts, ATR, parking inventory, and utilization survey)
• Construction of a travel demand forecasting model in Quick Response System including a telephone origin-demand survey
• Public outreach and the conduct of a design charette
• Traffic signal and sign review
• Truck route analysis
• Parking evaluation
• Transportation improvement plan
• Construction cost estimate

See attached PDF

Also see http://nnsl.com/northern-news-services/stories/papers/oct8_08cw.html

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Eastern Municipal District of Rocky View Network Planning

An Innovative Development Framework for the Long Term Roadway Network Planning at Springbank and Area 8 in the Municipal District of Rocky View

Rapid growth in Alberta's economy has resulted in the need to develop an innovative approach aimed at addressing interface issues in planning of roadway network connecting urban and rural communities. In the development of solutions for the long term traffic issues, the Municipal District of Rocky View has charted a new course of action to provide a framework for a sustainable and intensified rural development.

The new concepts are realized through development of a long term transportation network addressing all modes of transportation and using a flexible cross-section system. The created network addresses the local and regional issues reflecting a context sensitive design, using state-of-the-art techniques in planning. The plan forms also a skeleton supporting the intensified development concept.

See attached PDF

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Durham Region Long Term Transit Strategy Study

iTRANS Consulting has been awarded the Durham Region Long Term Transit Strategy Study by the Region of Durham. As Durham grows to one million people by 2031, Durham Region requires a Long-Term Transit Strategy that will: set the transportation vision for the future of Durham; embrace compact communities; promote sustainable development; protect the natural environment; promote economic vitality and healthy communities; and provide safe, affordable, and efficient transportation for people and goods. iTRANS is pleased to be working with the Region of Durham on this exciting study.

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Hamilton Safety Management Program

iTRANS Consulting was awarded a contract by the City of Hamilton in August to develop a Strategic Road Safety Program. This three year assignment combines all safety functional areas and links to the City's asset management investment planning. The services that iTRANS will provide for this project include:

• Bringing City engineering, enforcement, educational, and health services together to form a safety partnership
• Setting safety short- and long-term safety goals and objectives
• Public outreach in support of goals and objectives, and ongoing feedback mechanisms
• Developing a comprehensive road safety strategic plan, including an organizational safety management process
• Network screening and prioritization of key emphasis areas and emphasis area objectives
• Countermeasure selection, costing, effectiveness assessments, and measures of success
• Long-term safety action plan details, urgency and priorities, including City team leads from the different safety partners
• Safety project funding and cost sharing
• Short-, medium-, and long-term investment plans with links to asset management (e.g. engineering, maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction)
• Auditing safety investment outcomes and safety culture adoption over two years

These services compliment and build on the work iTRANS has been doing for other Canadian jurisdictions, and on work we have done in the USA on the Strategic Highway Safety Planning initiative.

"We are very excited about this project and believe the City of Hamilton has set the benchmark for future comprehensive safety management practices. This assignment takes the many safety functional areas and links them into a single and sound business value chain of events design to produce long-term safety investment to achieve their goals. The new process will also integrate safety into asset management." Tyrone Gan, President

"We have a very strong and diverse safety team at iTRANS and this assignment paves the way for our new safety focus of moving from defining and researching traffic safety, to building new sustainable safety business cultures, multi-agency teams, and enabling jurisdictions to implement their safety projects to achieve their long-term goals." Michael Trickey, Vice President

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June 6, 2008
Smart Commute 404-7 Bike to Work Day

On Friday, June 6, the first Bike-to-Work Day took place to raise awareness and encourage commuters to ride their bike, instead of their cars that congest the roadways in rush hour. Smart Commute 404-7 hosted the event, with the help of sponsor engineering firms iTRANS Consulting and MMM Group. There were 84 cyclists in all, and 10 enthusiastic cyclists were iTRANS staff. iTRANS hosted the Refreshment Station at the halfway point, with our staff welcoming the cyclists as they rolled in, and prizes given away by Smart Commute members.

Rogers Cable News was on site, interviewing the sponsors mms://video.rogerstelevision.com/video/17/FirstLocalJune6th2008%20.wmv. Other visitors included the Red Bull truck and The Liberal newspaper.

Also see the link http://www.smartcommute404-7.ca/Whats_New.htm#B2W

Smart Commute 404-7 expressed their gratitude for our sponsorship and participation:

Pollution Probe Clean Air Commute Week
June 23 - 27, 2008

Pollution Probe's Clean Air Commute Week
is held annually in June, involving workplaces around the GTA in a week of friendly commuting competition. The goal of the event is to encourage commuters to find alternate modes of transportation and help combat pollutants affecting our lungs and our air. iTRANS registered for the event and encouraged our staff to make cleaner choices when deciding how to commute to work that week. Events were held throughout the week with prizes awarded for their accomplishments, as well as a random draw among all participants for a Raleigh mountain bike (provided by Pollution Probe to each organization registered in the event).

iTRANS staff rose to the challenge, with 42 staff across three Ontario offices who walked, cycled, rode transit, carpooled, and even telecommuting. We certainly made a difference, as our combined efforts helped to reduce over 1,305,063 grams in GHG production. We hope this year's event was the most successful one yet for Pollution Probe and we look forward to next year's challenge.

A Raised Profile Across Canada
June 19, 2008

iTRANS has been retained and sought out for several large scale and high-profile projects across North America. Our expertise in transportation planning and strong relationships with our clients have engaged existing and new clients alike to work with iTRANS in improving road networks, transit systems, and road safety across North America. For a sampling of these project and the details of each see below or our Interesting Projects page.

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iTRANS & City of Surrey

Over the past year, our Vancouver regional office has had success in developing and strengthening a working relationship with the City of Surrey. Surrey is one of the fastest growing municipalities in BC and is set to catch up with the City of Vancouver population by 2031. iTRANS was originally awarded the 72nd Avenue Corridor Signal Optimization Study helping to develop a relationship with the City by providing strong technical work and maintaining excellent lines of communication. Surrey purchased a copy of iTREC® and which has greatly assisted the work and confidence in the study results. As a result of this budding relationship with the City, iTRANS was recently awarded the 64th Avenue Corridor Signal Optimization Study. The City has also invited iTRANS to partner with them in providing Traffic and Safety Operations Services on an on-going contract basis. iTRANS hopes to continue to be the City's transportation Consultant of Choice. This is a perfect indication of the high caliber of service iTRANS provides its clients, and helps to raise our profile in western Canada.

British Pacific Propertiess

Since its inception, the Vancouver regional office has been working closely with a large private real estate developer, British Pacific Properties Ltd (BPP). Owned by the Guinness family from UK, BPP has played a key role since 1931 in the development of West Vancouver and shaping the mountainside community. West Vancouver is a municipality on the North Shore, with a population approximately 40,000 and one of the wealthiest municipalities in Canada. BPP's most recent project is the planned Rodgers Creek Area, involving iTRANS as an essential contributor to the multi-disciplinary team, moving towards a successful application approval by Council. To date, iTRANS has undertaken the traffic impact study, on-site operational review for Mulgrave School, attended public meetings, presented before Council, and worked with a community technical steering group in the interest of the community. iTRANS' has built a strong foundation for future partnership opportunities with BPP through our strong technical team, innovative problem solving and open communication. We look forward to many more opportunites

GO-by-Bike

iTRANS Consulting is pleased to sponsor the GO-by-Bike project. GO-by-Bike is a green tourism and transportation pilot project encouraging cyclists to take their bikes on the GO Transit to access the network of cycling trails across the GTA. On Sunday, June 1, and every Sunday this summer, cyclists can arrive - with their bikes - at the Ajax GO Station for a great "green day" with plenty of exercise. The paths go from Ajax to Scarborough's Rouge Hill station, where cyclists can hop the GO back to the city to avoid busy roads - their only option when waterfront paths cut off for a long stretch of suburb.

To date, there has been excellent media coverage of GO-by-Bike, including GO News newsletters on trains and in stations (pg 6 & 7 http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/publications/GONews_spring_08_web.pdf) and the Globe & Mail Toronto edition (May 17) in print and national news online: Cyclists get in gear and First, ride the rails. At the project launch on May 28, a Media Conference brought travelers from Union Station to Ajax and back for the Media and Partners Lunch, including the Minister of Health Promotions (Scarborough), Margaret Best and Minister of the Environment, John Gerretsen.

You can read more about the project, learn about participation, sponsorships and other media coverage on the GO-by-Bike website: www.GO-by-Bike.ca

iTRANS Study results in National CUTA Award

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, was recently awarded with the 2008 National CUTA Award for Exceptional Performance/ Outstanding Achievement for their Transit Master Plan. iTRANS was retained by the RM of Wood Buffalo for recommendations which were widely accepted and implemented in their Transit Master Plan. The study was completed in 2007, both on time and within budget. These effort resulted in iTRANS winning a first ever 3-year transit retainer to assist Wood Buffalo in implementing the additional recommendations of the Transit Master Plan, including the functional design and location study for a downtown bus terminal. iTRANS wishes to congratulate to all parties involved in this achievement.

REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF WOOD BUFFALO - WOOD BUFFALO TRANSIT - SERVICES RESTRUCTURING AND IMPROVEMENTS
		The urban transit system within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo faced unique challenges. The Oil Sands boom created a backlog of infrastructure needs, the gridlock was prevalent, the fleet was aged and the buses were behind schedule. As the public of Wood Buffalo was not happy, there was a need to create a transit culture overnight and completely revamp theservice during the coldest months of the year. Wood Buffalo Transit was faced with a 'no choice' situation to implement the change before any formal approval. A Transit User Group was established and the system was compelled to focus on service over fare
revenues. The gamble paid off. The Council listened and took action. A more simplified and direct service with fewer routes and newer fleet was implemented. A performance-based contractor agreement was drawn up and customer service became a priority. Ridership decline reversed virtually overnight.
Details can be viewed at: http://www.cutaactu.ca/sites/cutaactu.ca/files/Corporate%20Award%20Eng%20Final_0.pdf

Also see attached PDF

Vaughan OPA 620 Proposed East-West Collector Road Class EA

The City of Vaughan retained iTRANS Consulting for a Class Environmental Assessment Study to assess the implementation of the Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 620 Proposed East-West Collector Road. The proposed road will provide an east-west connection between Jane Street and Keele Street, north of Steeles Avenue and south of the CN Rail York Subdivision in the City of Vaughan. The study area is presented on the key map below.

This study is being carried out under the guidelines for a Schedule 'C' project under the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (October 2000, as amended in 2007).

The first public information centre (PIC) was held on June 17, the purpose of which was to introduce the study, to present the consultation process, the need and justification for the project, including existing conditions, alternative planning solutions, next steps, and to gain public input. A second PIC will be scheduled to present the findings and receive additional public input. Upon completion of the study, an Environmental Study Report will be available for public review and comment for a minimum 30-day public review period.

Red Deer Transit Feasibility Study

A recent article in the Red Deer Express outlined details of a meeting with iTRANS and Red Deer County Council on June 10, 2008. iTRANS presented our Transit Feasibility Study, which was very well received by Council, and made a point of complimenting iTRANS' efforts in putting together a very comprehensive report and hitting all the marks necessary for them to make a decision. As a result, iTRANS has been retained to continue our work and to assist in the next steps identified in our report. Red Deer Transit was also very receptive to our report. A sample of the Red Deer Express article follows:

Transit to Gasoline Alley a step closer

06/11/08
BY ERIN FAWCETT
Red Deer Express
efawcett@reddeer.greatwest.ca
309-5457

Public transit is a definite need in Red Deer County.

County council heard this statement yesterday as they listened to the final report of the Public Transportation Feasibility Study.

"The study is essentially saying there is a need for Red Deer residents to access businesses and places of employment in Gasoline Alley and there is a need for rural residents to access medical services and shopping facilities in Red Deer city and Gasoline Alley," said Wally Beck, vice presidents of iTRANS Consulting Inc., the company hired to conduct the County's Public Transportation Feasibility Study.

Beck told council that 90% of the people who work in Gasoline Alley live in the City of Red Deer.

"There is an immediate demand for public transit in Gasoline Alley," said Beck.

Work on the Public Transportation Feasibility Study got underway last year.

Beck consulted with stakeholders, developed policy framework and short listed service concepts as part of the study.

He discovered some key issues with people he talked to included quality of life, access to medical services, employment and to transit stops.

"There are two different markets out there. One market is the workers and the shoppers wanting to get to and from Gasoline Alley regardless whether they are from Red Deer city or the County," he said.

"The other market is the ones in the rural area that have to access medical services and leisure activities to address quality of life, et cetera."

Beck came up with two options for integrating transit into Red Deer County.

Option one included a transit service running on an hourly basis from Bower Mall, south to Gasoline Alley, over to Springbrook and back to Bower Mall.

Option two included an hourly service running from Bower Mall to Gasoline Alley and back.

"With both of these options we looked at integrating with Red Deer Transit," said Beck.

Two service levels were also studied.

The first service level would see transit running six days a week.

The scheduled service would run Monday to Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. with no service on Sundays and holidays.

The second level would see scheduled transit service run seven days a week.

Mayor Earl Kinsella suggested tabling the report in order to discuss it further with council and other County departments.

"Now that we have all the information in front of us, I would like to discuss this further," he said.

If council approves the study, the next steps would be to look for external funding to implement transit service, purchase the necessary vehicles, negotiate an agreement with the city and determine the best method for service delivery.

It is expected transit service will begin in Red Deer County sometime next year.

 

iTRANS Consulting was retained by the City of Mississauga for their Master Plan Study and Implementation strategy, in anticipation of expanding the existing cycling network by integrating and connecting existing and proposed routes. The planning process shall include several public engagement sessions with hands-on workshops. The Plan will also include use of the Bicycle Compatibility Index to provide detailed assessments for key on-road cycling routes, as well as best practices research for construction and maintenance of cycling facilities. In addition, the Plan will provide an implementation strategy to develop a comprehensive network through several different funding sources, and opportunities through concurrent construction / development projects. You can read more about this ongoing project at:

http://mississauga.com/article/14000

http://www.bikemississauga.ca

NovæResUrbis article

January 31, 2008
United Way of York Region Awards iTRANS with the 2007 Corporate Spirit Award

On Thursday January 31, 2008 the United Way of York Region recognized iTRANS Consulting with the Corporate Spirit Award for its successful campaign. This award is presented to the organization that excels in its overall support of UWYR by progressively increasing its corporate gift, actively promoting Leadership giving and by providing sponsorship of gifts-in-kind.

We surpassed our fundraising goal of $25,000, and over the course of our 2 week campaign, iTRANS staff of 75 helped to raise

Through the incredible leadership and support from owners Tyrone and Hilda Gan, this campaign continues to thrive. Each year employees are divided into teams and participate in various campaign challenges with a theme. This year's theme was "Around the World", and once again our staff of 75 surpassed our fundraising goals. In the end, iTRANS contributed over $30,000 towards the UWYR's overall fundraising achievement of $9,004,321.

See the full article in the UWYR Impact Newsletter attached.

The iTRANS campaign gets stronger and stronger each year. The company matches its employees' contributions dollar for dollar resulting in a 28% increase in fundraising in 2007.

May 31, 2007
iTRANS Awarded 2007 Consulting Engineers of Ontario Award of Excellence

At the CEO 2007 Annual General Meeting and Awards Reception & Banquet, iTRANS Consulting was presented with the Award of Excellence for their Transportation Master Plan for the Town of Richmond Hill. This project was awarded for excellence due to its forward thinking and innovativeness in considering sustainability and environmental factors when planning for one of Canada's fastest growing communities. iTRANS helped the Town to implement a Master Plan that was presented to its community and received unanimous support from the citizens and Town Council.

Poster for Richmond Hill TMP: Richmond Hill TMP - Project Poster.pdf

For further details, see the attached document or contact us directly.

CEO Award 2007 - Accolades Magazine Article.pdf

For more about the Richmond Hill Transportation Master Plan please visit: http://www.richmondhill.ca/subpage.asp?pageid=photo_gallery_07_tmp_award

May 14, 2007
Michael Trickey joins iTRANS in Richmond Hill

Tyrone Gan, President of iTRANS Consulting, is delighted to announce that Michael Trickey will be joining our Richmond Hill office as a Senior Project Manager. Michael will be a great asset to our safety practice in our continuing efforts to advance safety in the United States and Canada.

Michael comes from the Ministry of Transportation (Ontario), where he worked in variety of positions including the Regional Manager of Engineering in North Bay, Head of Maintenance Contracts and Analysis, and Head of Asset Management. Prior to working with MTO, Michael worked with the Ministry of Transportation (British Columbia) as a Supervising Transportation Planning Engineer, where he advanced the concept of asset management and introduced long-term corridor investment planning.

Some recent projects Michael worked on include strategic finance and business planning, asset management, engineering and design, modernizing highway maintenance, and performance-based contracting. 

April 23, 2007
iTRANS Consulting is in the Top 50 Best Workplaces in Canada

iTRANS Consulting is proud to be ranked by Canadian Business magazine to be among the Top 50 Best Workplaces in Canada for 2007. In fact, iTRANS is ranked in the Top Ten (#9) in the country. This and related stories appear in the April 23rd issue of Canadian Business magazine, available on newsstands and at http://www.canadianbusiness.com.

This list of "Best Workplaces in Canada" is compiled for Canadian Business magazine by Great Place to Work® Institute Canada. The competition process is based on two criteria: two-thirds of the total score comes from a 57-statement survey completed by a random selection of employees, along with their open-ended comments about their organization; the remaining one-third of the score comes from an in-depth review of the organization's culture, including an evaluation of HR policies and procedures. This offers a rigorous representation of the organization from an employee perspective, and an overall portrait of the workplace culture. Together, they provide crucial data relative to the five trust-building dimensions of a great place to work®: credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.

Plaque Top 10 Best Workplaces 2007.pdf

April 16, 2007
Keith Dustin Joins iTRANS Team in Ottawa

Tyrone Gan, President of iTRANS Consulting Inc., is delighted to announce that Keith Dustin has joined the iTRANS team as a Senior Project Manager.

Keith comes to iTRANS from the Ministry of Transportation where he was a Senior Project Engineer. His project experience includes detail design, environmental assessments, value engineering, contract administration, and corridor investment plans. He also has previous consulting engineering experience with several engineering firms in the Ottawa area throughout his career.

Some of the more notable projects Keith worked on include:

• Hwy 417 - Preliminary Design and Environmental Assessment for Superstructure Replacements from Maitland to Island Park Drive;
• Hwy 401- Detail Design for 6 lanes at the West End of Kingston; and Hwy 41- Detail Design for a total of 50 km of rehabilitation with significant vertical realignments,
• rock treatments, roadside safety improvements, and structural rehabs.
  

April 5, 2007
Wally Beck is Appointed Vice-President

Tyrone Gan, President of iTRANS Consulting Inc., is delighted to announce that Wally Beck has been appointed our Vice-President with overall responsibility for our public transit practice.

Wally has attained a high level of success managing public transit projects with great success, and drawn many accolades from clients.

Wally has been with iTRANS since January 2003. He is another shining example of our staff advancing to our executive team, and how our culture fosters professional development.

January 31, 2007
iTRANS is Top 20 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada

iTRANS is pleased to be named among the Top 20 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada, as announced in the Globe and Mail . The survey, now in its third year, is published annually in the Globe and Mail. iTRANS has ranked in the Top 20 in Canada every year the survey has been conducted, and is very pleased to be ranked #6 in Canada. The award is given out by the study partners Queen's School of Business, Queen's Centre for Business Venturing and Hewitt Associates.

"Our staff are very proud of our accomplishment, as it reflects the hard work and dedication of each person to make iTRANS a great place to work. We work very hard to maintain our culture of teamwork, while providing opportunities for personal and professional growth for each employee, ensuring we attract and retain the best people", says Tyrone Gan, President of iTRANS.

Becoming a Top Best Small and Medium Employer is a very detailed and competitive process. This national awards program recognizes top employers with between 50 and 399 employees. The program mirrors the renowned Best Employer in Canada list published in Report on Business Magazine. The rankings are primarily determined using the results from Employee Opinion Surveys. More information about the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada is available online at http://business.queensu.ca/qcbv/sme.

iTRANS recently celebrated 11 years as a Consulting Engineering firm specializing in transportation planning, transportation safety, transportation systems, transportation design, and public transit, serving clients across Canada, the United States and internationally, with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Cambridge, Toronto, and Ottawa. Another measure of success for iTRANS is its rapid growth, having doubled in numbers in less than two years. To be recognized among the Top 20 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada for the third year in a row reaffirms the firm's commitment to make iTRANS a great place to work.

January 25, 2007
United Way of York Region Awards iTRANS with the 2006 Employee Campaign Spirit Award

On Thursday January 25, 2007 the United Way of York Region recognized iTRANS for the Employee Campaign Spirit Aware for its successful campaign. This award is in recognition of top campaigns that show progressive growth in participation and high per capita giving by organizing and running successful textbook campaigns that are both fun and educational.

Through the incredible leadership and support from owners Tyrone and Hilda Gan this campaign continues to thrive. Each year employees are divided into teams and participate in various campaign challenges with a theme. This year's theme was "Back to the Future". See the full article in the Impact Newsletter attached.

Impact Community Newsletter - see page 6

January 19, 2007
Amanda Hosford is Awarded the Human Resources Employee of the Year for 2007 for York Region.

This is the inaugural year of this award presented by the York Region chapter of the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario (HRPAO). Amanda was selected as this year's recipient for small to medium size businesses. Amanda will be presented with the award at the Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce Annual Award's Dinner on March 7, 2007. It shows that the work that Amanda does as a Human Resources Professional is valued as much by her peers as it is by us at iTRANS.

Congratulations Amanda!

December, 2006
iTRANS Opens its Doors in Cambridge

iTRANS Consulting Inc. is excited to announce the opening of a satellite office in Cambridge, Ontario in January 2007. The office provides a full range of traffic engineering and transportation planning services to all of iTRANS' public and private sector clients in southwestern and central Ontario, with the continued support of staff from our other offices, in Richmond Hill, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver and Washington, D.C.

Joining Dave Banks are Stewart Elkins and Darren Hardenbrook, providing a combined history of more than 60 years of experience in Transportation Planning.

See attached Cambridge Office (PDF)

December 2006
IDNR-TV Interview

On Monday, December 4, 2006 Dave Banks, P. Eng., Senior Consultant at iTRANS did a live half hour interview on the show Social Impacts on IDNR-TV (In Depth Natural Resources Television) which currently broadcasts to northern Ontario and northern Quebec. The topic of discussion was driving in the north in winter conditions and what safety issues/precautions drivers and pedestrians should be aware of in this environment. Based on his previous experience working for the Province of Manitoba Dave was an informed resource who could relate to the issues/conditions that drivers face in northern Ontario.

The interview focused on hazards found in the north and how people should prepare for travel in the winter. The discussion directly related to driving in winter conditions, human factors and the driving task, equipment quality, vehicle maintenance, etc. There was some discussion regarding Highway 69 and MTO's Action Plan for 4-laning Highway 69 between Parry Sound and Sudbury in the next 12 years. In addition Dave discussed driver behaviour on 2 lane roads where there is a lot of heavy truck traffic and some of the dangerous driving manoeuvres that some drivers undertake.

The interview wrapped up with a discussion on getting the message out to people on how to drive in winter. Dave spoke about the use of various types of media (i.e. radio, TV, brochures, posters, etc.) and the need to identify the issues properly and to identify the demographics of the target audience before preparing any type of media release to ensure efficient use of funding.

The show concluded with Dave providing website addresses to MTO and the Transportation & Health Association of Ontario (www.thsao.on.ca/publications/winter-driving.pdf) which has an excellent brochure directed at the types of drivers found in the north.

November 2006
Richmond Hill Transportation Master Plan Update

GTA in Brief - Insert published in NOVAE RES URBIS, Greater Toronto Area Edition - November 1, 2006 Richmond Hill Council approved an update of Richmond Hill's transportation master plan. iTRANS Consulting was retained in February to prepare the update. To read more, click on below link (see page 11).

See attached "Richmond Hill TMP Update"

June 2006
iTRANS is a platinum donor to the TAC Foundation Scholarships

iTRANS has recently become a platinum donor to TAC with an annual scholarship donation of $10,000 for the next 5 years. iTRANS is proud to be the first Consulting firm to sponsor a scholarship at the Platinum level. The winner of the TAC Foundation iTRANS Scholarship for 2006 is Dalia Said, a PhD Student at Carleton University. With this Scholarship, iTRANS continues with its commitment to sponsorship of students in the field of transportation studies.

Other scholarships that iTRANS sponsors includes the iTRANS Ontario Graduate Scholarship at the University of Toronto, valued at $15,000/year annually; the Dr. Michel Van Aerde National Graduate Scholarship Fund where iTRANS is a founding member of the CITE scholarship fund developed in memory of Dr. Van Aerde and a $400.00 award for academic excellence at Mohawk College.

The Program supports the educational needs of the Canadian transportation industry, by providing financial assistance to promising undergraduate and postgraduate students, and professionals returning to school, for studies in transportation related disciplines.

See attached clipping, which was published in the TAC News (Volume 32 - Summer 2006), or to learn more about the TAC Foundation, visit them at http://www.tac-atc.ca/english/educationandtraining/scholarships.cfm

To read more, click on below link TAC Foundation

June 2006
ITE- Update to Guidelines for the Design and Application of Speed Humps - ITE Recommended Practice

iTRANS has been awarded the ITE Update to Guidelines for the Design and Application of Speed Humps Project.

The ITE Traffic Engineering Council (TENC) is leading the preparation of the updated Recommended Practice to reflect changes in the state-of-the-practice and to provide a broader comprehensive summary of key considerations for speed hump design and application. The TENC has formed a Technical Advisory Committee to assist in the development of the update, which will work closely with iTRANS throughout the project.

The objective of this assignment is to create an up-to-date reference document for speed humps, which includes the most current research and practical information available regarding the design and application of speed humps. It is important to include both the positive (e.g., low cost) and potentially negative (e.g., increase to emergency vehicle response times) attributes of the installation of various speed hump designs and characteristics. The new recommended document will include the issues currently addressed in the Recommended Practice with additional identified concerns.

Congratulations to Geni Bahar and Margaret Parkhill on this exciting achievement for the US office.

June 2006
iTRANS focuses on Teamwork

By Roy Green - Article published in York Region Business Times - Business of Month, June 2006

At iTRANS even the President undergoes an annual performance review. Tyrone Gan, founder and president of the Richmond Hill transportation consulting firm, is a firm believer in performance appraisals for each and every one of the company's 75 employees. "That means everyone, even me, get reviewed by their peers and not just one senior person", Mr. Gan said. "I get appraised by eight, nine even 10 people, it helps all of us grow and develop."

It's that employee-centric approach to doing business that landed iTRANS among the top 10 in 2006 listing of the 20 best small and medium employers in Canada in an annual review conducted by Queen's University, Hewitt Associates and the Globe and Mail.

To read more, click on below link Teamwork

June 2006
Reconfiguration to Aid Redevelopment -Six Points Renaissance

By Anne Marie Aikins - Article published in NOVAE RES URBIS, News of the City of Toronto - Friday, June 23, 2006

After nearly two decades in the making, the "Six Points" renaissance is another tiny step closer to reality this week as city staff presented a shortlist of preferred options for a major overhaul of the tangled west-end intersection.

Currently, the intersection near the Kipling subway station is a no-man's land of wide arterial roads where cars whiz by local plazas and quiet residential streets. Running north-south Kipling Avenue interrupts the east-west connections along Bloor and Dundas streets, resulting in a confusing tangle of loops and overpasses and a big waste of good land.

In 2003, city staff and consultant iTRANS Consulting Inc. launched a municipal class environmental assessment and have been considering a number of proposals to bring the area into conformity with the secondary plan.

Staff is now hoping to redevelop Six Points into an attractive pedestrian-friendly streetscape, with lots of opportunities for safe crossings and more space for new development. The environmental assessment is currently weighing a number of different options to deal with the problem intersection, narrowing the choices down from 33-initial design concepts to four options to reconfigure the road.

To read more, click on below link (see page 1 and continuation on page 6).

See attached "Six Points"

The Toronto Transit Commission approved $5.8 million in funding for an additional 635-commuter parking spaces, and a feasibility study for the consolidation of parking lots at the Wilson station. The expansion is to support the TTC's ridership growth strategy objective of increasing available parking by 2,600 spaces over 10 years. The new spaces are to be located at Kipling, Kennedy and Islington stations. A recent study conducted by iTRANS Consulting Inc. included the identification of existing and new stations where opportunities for expansion of surface parking existed.

To read, click on below link (see page 10 - City on Brief) TTC Parking Expansion

Donna Howes

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