Spring 2008 - Canadian Institute of Transportation Engineers

Well here we are, emerging from what has been a long andvery snowy winter in most of Canada. Coming out ofhibernation, it’s a good time to consider volunteering for ITE –there are lots of ways to participate which don’t require a hugetime investment. Join our Technical Liaison Committee, helpout with organizing Section activities, or write an article forthis newsletter. Having volunteered for ITE for close to 20years now, I can say I’ve always gotten more back than I haveput in. It’s a way to make your career about much more thanjust going to work every day.SO WHAT’S UP THIS SPRING?The upcoming CITE Annual District Conference, April 26 to 30in Victoria, promises to be a great event. This is a “Quad”conference as well, which means that the two northwesternU.S. Sections are participating together with the VancouverIsland and the Greater Vancouver Sections. Three events willbe particularly interesting, I think:• First, the two candidates for International Vice President –Paul Eng-Wong and Gene Wilson – will be there to kick offtheir campaigns in Canada. This is your chance to heartheir positions on the future of the Institute, and engagewith them on their visions for ITE;• Second, the Intersection Capacity Analysis seminar will beheld on Thursday, May 1. While the seminar is based onthe new Third Edition of the Canadian Capacity Guide forSignalized Intersections, this session will be valuable foranyone in traffic engineering. There should be someinteresting discussion on methodologies, given that theHighway Capacity Manual is predominantly used in BC;• Finally, the annual East vs. West hockey game, whenMike Skene, Bruce Belmore and Gene Chartier will onceagain demonstrate their athletic prowess, only to haveGarreth Rempel and Jonathan Regehr, two of theUniversity of Manitoba’s stars, outplay them at every turn.Which side will Manitoba be on this year?CITE is working with ITE to organize professional certificationexams at a site in Canada later this year. The location isDIRECTOR’Sexpected to be in Toronto, though if there is a groundswell ofinterest from another part of the country, there is still time toconsider another site. Let me know if you want moreinformation, please.I recently attended the joint Hamilton-Toronto Section CareerFair and Student Presentation Competition, and I wasimpressed by both the number and quality of students whoturned out to this annual event. Everyone is hungry for newrecruits, and career fairs are a great way to get students andemployers together for an introductory chat – I met with anumber of very well-qualified students. Combining that eventwith the presentation competition makes for a greatopportunity for both networking and technical exchange ofinformation. Don’t forget that CITE will provide prize money forthe presentation competition.The Toronto Section also held a recent meeting on the futureof modelling in the Greater Toronto Area. This was a paneldiscussion between the province, local municipalities andacademics. One of the great things CITE can do is arrangeevents like this that provide a forum for technicaladvancement; think about what topics need to be discussed inyour area, and make a suggestion to your Section or Districtexecutive.Finally, it’s not too early to start thinking about the ITE AnnualGeneral Meeting, which will be held in Anaheim, California,from August 17 to 20. Anaheim is part of the greater LosAngeles metropolis. The conference is just across the streetfrom Disneyland, so this would be a great opportunity tocombine a vacation with the conference....................................... Jim Gough, P.Eng., FITEDistrict DirectorMESSAGESpring 2008 3