Date/Time
19/10/2023
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location
Nottawasaga Inn Resort and Conference Centre
Overview
The Traffic Engineering Symposium brings municipal transportation professionals together from across Ontario to discuss important issues in the profession. This symposium is a multidisciplinary one-day conference with presentations from experts in issues dealing with traffic and transportation issues in Ontario.
Book Your Hotel Room at Nottawasaga Resort At A Great Rate!
Delegates can book by calling 800-669-5501 or 705-435-5501 and
Book with group code 302221
Reservations will be made as long as rooms are still available within the hotel.
Agenda*
7:55 a.m. – Welcome and opening remarks
8 a.m. – Roundabouts and Pedestrians, Phil Weber, CIMA+
8:45 a.m. – Designing Intersections for All Users: Introducing the New OTC Protected Intersection Guide, Matt Pinder, WSP
9:30 a.m. – Innisfil Traffic Calming Project, Greg Kent, EXP and Carolina Cautillo, Town of Innisfil
10:15 a.m. – Networking Break
10:30 a.m. – Transit via Uber – Innisfil’s Innovation Initiative Update, Carolina Cautillo, Town of Innisfil
11:15 a.m. – Automated Speed Enforcement Program in Toronto, Linda Rothman, Toronto Metropolitan University and Saroar Zubair, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
Noon – Lunch and OTC AGM
1 p.m. – Panel – Challenges with PXO – What works, what doesn’t and why? Moderated by Dave Richardson
Panelists: Roger S. Browne, City of Toronto, Heide Schlegl, Town of Milton and and David Knutson, City of Greater Sudbury
2:30 p.m. – Networking Break
2:45 p.m. – Introducing a new Road Safety Product Portal, Steve Desrocher, ASI Technologies
3:30 p.m. – Closing remarks
*Agenda is subject to change
Speakers
Matthew Pinder, WSP
Matt Pinder is a Transportation Engineer based out of WSP’s Ottawa office, focused on designing streets for people. Matt has a master’s degree in civil engineering and six years of experience in transportation planning and engineering, specializing in active transportation facility design, complete streets, and first and last-mile access to transit.
Matt is an emerging expert in the planning and design of streets and intersections that balance the needs of all road users. He has advised on and completed concept and detailed designs for dozens of complete streets and bikeway projects across Canada and was a contributing author on Ottawa’s dual-award-winning Protected Intersection Design Guide and the updated Ontario Traffic Manual Book 18: Cycling Facilities.
Presentation title: Designing Intersections for All Users: Introducing the New OTC Protected Intersection Guide
Description: Protected intersections are those where cyclists are accommodated in the boulevard, making them much more suitable for users of a wide range of age and ability. However, protected intersections provide benefit to all users, with potential to reduce all types of crashes and better connect communities for people walking as well. Matt’s presentation will provide an introduction to protected intersections, present some built examples in Ontario, and provide an overview of the new highly-visual 200+ page guide.
Caroline Cautillo, Town of Innisfil
At the Town of Innisfil Carolina Cautillo has managed traffic and transportation projects large and small, served as staff liaison on the Town’s School Zone/Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, and written over 200 public-facing documents. She is interested in using master planning and policy development as drivers of safety and sustainability. Carolina is currently serving the Town as its
Capital Planning Engineering Associate and prior to that as a Project Manager for Roads, Traffic and Transportation
Presentation title: Transit via Uber – Innisfil’s Innovation Initiative Update
Greg Kent, EXP
Greg is a Professional Engineer with 30 + years of experience in the field of traffic and transportation engineering. After graduating from Carleton University, he started his career with Delcan Corporation in 1987 as a Jr Engineer and switched over to the municipal world in 1989. While with the Region of Ottawa-Carleton and the City of Ottawa he worked his way up through various roles and responsibilities covering everything from traffic impact studies to transportation modeling to road safety programs to traffic management and CAV research and development. He retired from the City in 2020 and is currently with EXP Engineering as its Manager of Traffic Engineering in the Ottawa office.
Presentation title: Innisfil Traffic Calming Project
Dave Richardson
Dave Richardson is a retired Traffic Engineer who started his career at Metro Toronto where he managed the Traffic Control Centre and then the Research and Investigation Division. After serving as Executive Assistant then Deputy Chief of Staff for two Metro Chairmen, he joined Marshall Macklin Monaghan, later known as MMM Group, which then became part of WSP.
Throughout his career he has written numerous technical papers and co-authored wide variety of publications. These include three editions of the Canadian Capacity Guide for Signalized Intersections, the fifth edition of TAC’s MUTCDC, the first edition of the TAC Bikeway Traffic Control Guidelines, two editions of OTM Book 18 – Bicycle Facilities as well as the first two versions of the Ontario Bicycle Policy.
Dave has served on the OTC Engineering Committee since 1990, as well as numerous TAC and ITE Committees. He currently sits on the Advisory Councils for the TMU (formerly Ryerson) and York University Faculties of Engineering. He retired in 2021 after 47 years of being stuck in traffic.
Presentation title: The Early History of the Pedestrian Crossover
Description: Dave will provide a brief overview of the origin of the PXO in Metropolitan Toronto in 1958. Its evolution over the early years will be described up to the point when MTO standardized the design across the province as a result of some significant operational variations in other municipalities.
Linda Rothman, Toronto Metropolitan University
Linda Rothman BScOT, PhD is an Assistant Professor at the School of Occupational and Public Health at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), an Adjunct Scientist in Child Health Evaluative Sciences at the Hospital for Sick Children, and an Assistant Professor (status only) at Dalla Lana, School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Her area of expertise is in vulnerable road user injuries in urban environments as a public health issue and has been working in this field for over 20 years. She holds several Canadian Institutes of Health Research grants, including the new Healthy Cities CapaCITY/É team grant involving researchers working together with municipalities across Canada and Australia. This grant investigates the implementation and evaluation of interventions related to speed reduction and All Ages and Abilities Bicycle Networks. Other recent research projects include studying the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on road traffic volumes and collisions in 4 Canadian cities with a social equity lens. This work includes the evaluation of new road design modifications such as cycle tracks, reduced speed limits and automated speed enforcement. Linda has published many scientific reports and manuscripts and presents her work in many international, national and local venues.
Saroar Zubair, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
Saroar Zubair is a Clinical Research Coordinator within the Child Health Evaluative Sciences division at The Hospital for Sick Children. He coordinates studies related to road safety, traffic collisions and child injury. In addition to road safety projects, he provides technical and organizational support for multicenter randomized controlled trials at SickKids.
Saroar holds a master’s degree from the University of British Columbia in Human Nutrition with an emphasis on population and public health. Drawing from a diverse professional background encompassing clinical research, education, and the non-profit sector, Saroar is passionate about making a meaningful impact in his field through data-driven practical projects.
Saroar’s expertise led him to serve as the lead data analyst for the Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) program evaluation in Toronto. He looks forward to sharing valuable insights from the ASE program at the Traffic Engineering Symposium.
Presentation title: Automated Speed Enforcement Program in Toronto
Description: The Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) program in Toronto was launched in 2020 as a crucial part of the city’s Vision Zero Road Safety Plan to reduce speeding in the community safety zones near schools. This program was conducted over six phases, which involved the rotation of 50 strategically placed camera units. Investigators at the Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto Metropolitan University partnered with the City of Toronto Transportation Services to evaluate the effects of the ASE cameras on speed reduction. Our longitudinal quasi-experimental design and robust analysis allowed for comparisons of speed data collected before, during, and after the ASE intervention. One of the notable findings of our study was a significant reduction in the percentage of drivers exceeding posted speed limits while the ASE cameras were actively ticketing. This outcome indicates a positive shift in driver behaviour, demonstrating the program’s capacity to deter speeding. In conclusion, the ASE program has the potential to be an effective strategy for managing speeding and, in turn, creating safer community safety l zones within our community. The program represents a step towards achieving the overarching goal of Toronto’s Vision Zero initiative – to eliminate traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries.
Phil Weber, CIMA+
Over the past 20-plus years Phil has worked in the transportation field in the public and private sectors. Disciplines have included transportation planning, traffic engineering, geometric design, roundabouts, human factors and road safety. Phil is considered a national authority on roundabout planning and design. He has been involved in projects throughout Canada and in the USA since 2003 and, to date, has seen more than 100 roundabouts through to construction.
Presentation title: Roundabouts and Pedestrians
Description: This presentation will discuss the components of the pedestrian experience at roundabouts, and how they compare to signalized intersections. These components are statistical level of safety, the feeling of safety (security), convenience, and accessibility. Roundabouts are statistically safer for pedestrians, but they don’t always feel as safe and they are not as accessible to persons with vision loss. This presentation will focus on aspects of the geometric design of a roundabout, and specific treatments, that can improve the pedestrian experience at roundabouts.
Panelists
Roger S. Browne, City of Toronto
Roger Browne is the Director for the Traffic Management Section at the City of Toronto overseeing: the City’s ~2500 traffic signals in terms of planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation, the City’s RESCU Traffic Operations Centre, all traffic safety and efficiency related investigations, construction work zone coordination and both the City’s Traffic Agents and school crossing guard program. Prior to this he was the Manager of the Traffic Safety Unit that introduced Vision Zero to the City of Toronto as well as managing the City’s Automated Speed Enforcement and Red Light Camera program. He is a professional engineer with over 25 years of varying experience in the field of transportation engineering at the City, MTO and as a consultant. In parallel with his work at the City, Roger has taught transportation engineering at McMaster University as well as having been an instructor for a number of years at the Ontario Traffic Council’s Technical Traffic Operations Course.
Heide Schlegl, Town of Milton
Heide graduated from the Transportation Engineering Technology at Mohawk College in 1990. Upon graduation, Heide started working for the City of Mississauga as a Traffic Technician. In July 2002, Heide joined the Town of Milton and is currently the Manager of Traffic, which encompasses Traffic Operations/Engineering, Transportation Planning, Traffic Signals, Street lighting and Crossing Guards. Heide presently sits on the Board of Directors as well as the Traffic Engineering Committee of the Ontario Traffic Council. She also sits on a number of TAC Committees – Road Safety, Traffic Operations and Management Standing Committee and the Small Municipalities Integrated Committee. When not working you can find Heide on a cruise or planning another cruise and hanging out at home with her husband and 3 yellow Labrador retrievers.
David Knutson, City of Greater Sudbury
David Knutson is a Traffic and Transportation Analyst at the City of Greater Sudbury. After graduating from Cambrian College with a diploma in Civil Engineering Technology in 2008, he worked in consulting engineering specializing in highway design before joining the City of Greater Sudbury’s Traffic and Innovation Group in 2016.
As part of Sudbury’s small traffic team, David has been involved in all aspects of traffic engineering including signal design, signal timing, RLC & ASE implementation, ATC cabinet & ATMS implementation, policy creation, development approvals, operations, and signal maintenance.
David holds a C.E.T. designation and is also part of the City of Greater Sudbury’s CPTED Team and working group.
Professional Development Points
Did you know OTC symposiums, workshops, and conferences count towards professional development points for those professions requiring professional development?
As a not-for-profit association, proceeds from OTC events are re-invested into the association to help fund projects, communications, advocacy and member products and services. Your participation at OTC events goes a long way to helping make municipal multi-modal transportation in Ontario that much better.
Register online here
Registration fees (in-person or virtual attendance)
OTC member – $289 + HST
Non-member – $389 + HST
Students receive a 20 per cent discount on registration fees. Proof of enrollment at a College or University must be emailed to traffic@otc.org along with name and contact details for manual registration prior to the event.
Cancellation and refund policy
Should a registrant decide to cancel attendance at an in-person or virtual event, training or symposium based on health concerns, unexpected travel issue or emergency, OTC will provide a credit to the registrant.
Rescheduling to another event is permissible and the registrant will be charged an administrative fee of $75.00. If the request is made five days in advance, no cost will be applied.
If a registrant wants to cancel attendance at an event (in-person or virtual) and requests a refund, the registration fee less 50% will be refunded.
Please note that from time-to-time additional consideration may be given based upon circumstance and situational need. However, the above policy will be strictly enforced as the policy governing our events, trainings and symposia in all circumstances.