The American Public Works Assn. (APWA), in association with the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College (EI), has announced the 2016 Jennings Randolph International Fellows. The APWA Jennings Randolph International Fellows are accomplished public works professionals who have studied public works topics and projects internationally in association with APWA’s international partner organizations. APWA’s Jennings Randolph International Fellowship Program is an international study and professional exchange opportunity that promotes collaboration and sharing of public works best practices, knowledge, and innovation, both internationally and with public works colleagues in North America.
Chosen from a field of 18 applicants, the two 2016 APWA Jennings Randolph International Fellows will conduct public works study tours and make presentations at international partner associations’ annual membership meetings in Auckland, New Zealand and in Malmö, Sweden.
The APWA 2016 Jennings Randolph International Fellows include:
Bruce Kaplan, manager, transportation systems analysis group, Central Transportation Planning Staff, Boston
Kaplan will study the waterfront redevelopment experience of Auckland, New Zealand, specifically concerning its central rail terminal, the Britomart Transport Centre, to compare and contrast the waterfront renaissances in Boston and Auckland. He will make presentations at the Institute of Municipal Public Works Engineering (IPWEA) New Zealand Conference in June 2016. He plans to meet with involved local agencies, such as the Auckland Council and Auckland Transport (MAXX), the contracted commuter rail operator (Transdev Auckland), national agencies such as the New Zealand Transport Agency and KiwiRail, as well as members of the P3 Consortium responsible for Britomart Transport’s management, maintenance and operation. In addition, he hopes to meet with Waterfront Auckland, the Council’s organization managing the waterfront redevelopment and Waterfront Plan.
His goals for this study tour, in addition to the presentation and attendance at the IPWEA NZ Conference, are to acquire new perspectives, lessons learned, guidance and knowledge about waterfront and rail terminal redevelopment to become better equipped to ensure the success of the South Station Expansion, a landmark public works project, in which he is involved, that will ultimately benefit not only Boston, New England and the Northeast, but all of North America.
Kaplan, a certified transportation planner, has been involved in Massachusetts transportation planning since 1999. In his current position as the transportation systems analysis group manager for the Central Transportation Planning Staff to the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization, he oversees a 6-person team involved in FTA New Starts studies, alternative analyses, transit studies, highway studies, transit-oriented development studies and other planning and policy work for various Massachusetts agencies and communities.
Matt Rodrigues, principal engineer, Public Works Engineering, City of Eugene, Ore.
Rodrigues will conduct a public works study tour in Malmö, Sweden relating to Sweden’s implementation of the Vision Zero Initiative to eliminate transportation related fatalities and serious injuries. He will make a presentation at the Swedish Association of Municipal Engineers (SKT) Annual Conference in Sept. 2016. In addition, Rodrigues will extend his study tour to Copenhagen, Denmark to learn about Denmark’s Road Safety Action Plan, which is similar in goals and successes to Sweden’s Vision Zero Initiative.
Rodrigues’ study will highlight the topic of transportation safety, which is relevant to Eugene’s recent action to adopt a Vision Zero resolution in 2015, and other municipalities in the U.S. who are striving to adopt safe and accessible multimodal transportation systems that provide attractive alternatives to single vehicle auto trips. The Vision Zero initiative is an acknowledgement that no transportation related loss of life is acceptable, and is a long term commitment to reducing fatalities and serious injuries, which the City of Eugene plans to focus on with efforts to provide a safe, efficient and effective, multimodal transportation system within the region.
Rodrigues is a civil engineer and an Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) who has expertise in sustainable infrastructure design and construction. As Eugene’s Principal Civil Engineer, he manages a 17-member capital project management team delivering pavement preservation, pedestrian and bicycle, traffic signal and street lighting, parks and natural spaces, storm water, wastewater conveyance and airport development projects. His work focuses on public works working with planning and development in the city’s comprehensive plan, the Climate Recovery Ordinance internal implementation team representing public works, the ADA Transition Plan for Public Rights-of-Way, and the Technical Review Committee for the city’s Transportation System Plan Update. He also is the lead drafter of the city’s Emergency Debris Management Plan.
Source: American Public Works Assn.
