The Evolving Demands of the "Active Transportation Specialist"

Want to put your passion for active transportation to practice? My team at WSP is hiring! More info at the bottom of this post.

Active Transportation is a rapidly evolving specialization in the transportation field. What began just a few decades ago as a few practitioners designing bike lanes has evolved into an incredible field of talented planners, engineers, public health specialists, geographers, and others, all working to reform and reshape transportation to be more focused on people walking and cycling.

Look around and you'll see more and more job functions include some duties related to active transportation: the roadway designer needs to understand grading for cycle tracks, the traffic engineer needs to know about new bike signal and detection technologies, the transit planner needs to encourage walking and cycling to stations, and the land use planner needs to understand how the built environment influences walking and cycling patterns.

Many large cities have integrated pedestrian and bicycle-centric planning into all functions to the point where Ottawa, for example, now builds Complete Streets by default. Ask a roadway designer in Ottawa what a "protected intersection" is, and they'll give you an apt description and may even tell you about one that they're working on right now.

But as responsibilities for active transportation become more dispersed, the need for active transportation specialists remains ever more prominent. As someone deeply entrenched in the field, I can say that active transportation today is more multidisciplinary and more exciting than ever. Rooted in passion and empowered by a growing public demand for safe, healthy, and active communities, today's active transportation specialists are working on some of our most challenging and cross-cutting issues. Here's a few examples of some challenges we are facing today:

"We know how to plan a bike network, but how do we do it equitably to deliver improvements to those who deserve it the most?"

"I get that raised bike paths are better for cyclists' comfort, but how can we make them work for people with sight loss?"

"Our land use plans call for more density on main arterial roads, but how to we make those streets more pedestrian friendly?"

"How do we make intersections safe not just for the average able-bodied adult, but for a younger child or older adult?"

Today's active transportation specialist needs to have a broad knowledge of issues and sub-disciplines in order to do their job effectively. Here's some examples:

Universal Accessibility

Streets must be designed to accommodate the full range of physical and mental disabilities that people experience. On the most practical level, this means things like ramps for wheelchair users and tactile walking surface indicators (TWSI) for people with sight loss. For today's active transportation specialist though, this means deeply understanding how different designs will affect different users; for example, how can a large suburban intersection be made safe and comfortable for an older adult with reduced stamina to cross independently? Answering questions like this requires empathy and first-hand experience understanding the challenges that people with different abilities face.

Road Safety

Pedestrians and cyclists have been dubbed "vulnerable road users" because, when mixed with streets that are full of fast-moving vehicles, they are at a much higher risk of serious injury or death. Designing to encourage active transportation means understanding the aspects of streets and intersections that improve or worsen safety for these users: things like the frequency and design of driveways, the different types of signal phasing at intersections, or the radius of a corner. Rather than squeezing walking and cycling facilities into a road, today's active transportation specialist is being empowered to adjust the road to suit active transportation: things like reducing the speed limit, changing roadway geometry, reprogramming signals, and even reducing the number of vehicle lanes.

Equity

We think we live in an equitable society, but when you drill into how transportation dollars are spent, this is not often the case - some of the most impoverished neighbourhoods often have some of the worst mobility options: crumbling (or non-existent) sidewalks, a lack of safe crossings, poor lighting, and perhaps nowhere safe to ride a bike. Today's active transportation specialist understands this and finds ways to identify these "equity deserving communities", knows how to engage then effectively, and creates policies and projects that centre their needs.

Small Things With Wheels

Cycling is no longer just about the classic "acoustic" bike; e-bikes are booming in popularity and with their growth comes new problems to anticipate and plan for (or sometimes react to). Today's active transportation specialist designs instead for small things with wheels including considerations for everything from skateboards and scooters to cargo bikes.

The above examples are just a snapshot of the exciting challenges that today's active transportation specialists get to help solve. It's never been a better time to join the field!

Want to put your passion for active transportation into practice? My team at WSP is hiring for two roles in the Greater Toronto Area! We're looking for a senior planner/engineer with 6+ years of experience and a engineer/technologist/planner with 2+ years of experience. Reach out if you're interested!