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Congratulations to MTI Trustee Toks Omishakin on his nomination by California's Governor Newsom to Secretary of Transportation (pending Senate approval). Currently serving as the 33rd Director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Director Omishakin's vision is centered on a safe, sustainable, and multimodal transportation system with strong local partnerships. He also founded the Caltrans Office of Race and Equity (CORE) and has continued to make equity a priority vision for California. The MTI team looks forward to continue working with Trustee Omishakin in his new role.
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This month, MTI is shining a spotlight on MSTM student Helena Mekonnen! Helena has excelled in math and science since childhood, and when she moved from Ethiopia to the US as a teenager, she seized the opportunity to fully commit herself to the study of engineering and became the first of her family to attend college in the US. In addition to attending SJSU, Helena works full time as a civil engineer at Caltrans.
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Helena considers parenting her two children to be one of her greatest accomplishments along with her volunteer work with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and her church where she has helped minority high school students to become interested in STEM programs. Helena strives to continue contributing to her community.
"As a woman of color in science, I am motivated to lift up and encourage underrepresented groups, particularly women and minorities, to pursue science-related fields academically and professionally."
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MTI is also spotlighting MSTM student Philip Halley! Before becoming an experienced Contracts Compliance Administrator at AC Transit in Oakland, Philip’s career in transportation began by accident when he was hired as a management analyst at the City of San Jose Department of Transportation. Growing up in the Bay Area, he also preferred (and still prefers) taking BART, AC Transit, Muni, and the VTA over driving. As a transportation professional, Philip focuses mostly on policy.
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“I believe that's where the necessary changes can happen. Good policy with safeguards, enforcement, and flexibility can almost always create solutions to a problem,” he explained.
After he finishes his MSTM Capstone with research on international Road Space Rationing programs, Philip has considered completing a JD program but ultimately plans to follow the path to becoming the general manager of a transit provider.
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Negotiating Transportation Insecurities in San José
MTI researchers find that downtown San José residents identify transportation insecurity as excess time consumption, manifesting in convoluted schedules, congested traffic, and service complications. All factors further drive residents to use a private vehicle rather than public transit.
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Crowdsourcing Counts in Pedestrian and Cyclist Data
MTI researchers examine the consistency between crowdsourced and traditionally collected count data to obtain more accurate bicyclist and pedestrian counts, which is critical to better designing active transportation-related facilities and empowering people who walk and cycle.
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Reclaiming Urban Spaces: SoFA Pocket Park
MTI collaborated with local community outreach groups to assess the success of SoFA Pocket Park, which was formerly an empty 7,000-square foot parking lot. 91% of survey respondents indicated that the park would have a positive or very positive influence on the surrounding neighborhood.
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Fresno State Keeps up with K-12
MTI Researchers at Fresno State University, a CSUTC partner of MTI, continued their efforts to increase K-12 interest in the transportation industry with the Fresno State Transportation Challenge.
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The challenge uses an action civics approach to support K-12 students in developing transportation-related projects that have a positive impact on the community and expose students to the topic of transportation and transportation careers. One high school focused on the topic of active mobility, specifically biking. Students researched and addressed the challenge of how to get more students to ride their bikes to school. The capstone was a bike ride to city hall to advocate for a more bike-friendly city.
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MTI is a proud co-sponsor of
Coming to Terms with the Bay Area's Parking Problem
February 28, 2022 | 12:30-1:30p.m. (PT)
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Parking may seem scarce when you’re looking for just the right spot, but it’s actually one of the Bay Area’s most expansive resources. With 15 million parking spaces — enough to wrap around the planet more than twice — the region has an excessive amount of parking. Yet for decades, planners have operated blindly when they attempt to determine parking needs or assess the impacts of new parking policies. Learn about a new effort, the Bay Area Parking Census, produced by the Mineta Transportation Institute in partnership with SPUR, to quantify the region’s parking supply and its negative impacts on health, climate and affordability. Join a discussion led by the effort’s principal researcher, Mikhail Chester, PhD, to learn more about the Bay Area Parking Census and the strategies that Bay Area cities can use to reduce, manage and convert parking.
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MTI presents
Effects of Bike Lending on Commuting to Work:
The Google Case Study
March 9, 2022 | 10:00-11:00a.m. (PT) How are high-tech employees returning to work? Maybe by bike. Google employees borrowed high-quality electric-assisted and conventional bicycles for free, for up to six months. In this webinar, MTI researchers will discuss their recent evaluation of this transportation demand management program.
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MTI presents
Riding with Transportation Equity
This webinar featured a keynote address by Dr. Beverly Scott followed by a panel Q&A with Jennifer Fierman, April Rai, Selika Talbott, and Maceo Julio Wiggins.
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How can the transportation industry approach issues of diversity and accessibility in the workforce, in transit riders, and the community? How can we overcome historic and current injustices both by taking action now and by laying the groundwork for further transformation down the road?
By shifting from broader conversations on equity to timely, focused discussions and hands-on planning, our industry can begin to understand and address the needs of community members of all ages, races, genders, and abilities. This Black History Month, MTI and a panel of experts discussed transforming racial inequity in the transportation industry while reflecting on some of the most pressing issues of equity in the nation and industry today.
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MTI is a proud co-sponsor of
How to be Your Own Boss without Going Broke or Crazy
Part 1/3
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WTS-SF Bay Area and San Jose State University's MTI hosted the virtual event "How to Be Your Own Boss Without Going Broke or Crazy - Part 1."
This first session in the series featured an opportunity to talk with business owners about how they got started, what they've learned along the way, and their successes and challenges as they started their own transportation and planning consulting businesses.
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Executive Director's Blog
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Professional Development's Role in Diversity, Equity, in Inclusion
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As we shift away from virtual meetings with neat, non-hierarchical squares, and return to in-person meetings at a table with c-suite designated spaces, we take a hard look at who has a seat at that table. What do they look like? Are they representative of their organization? What steps did they take to reach that chief officer position? How can we, the transportation industry as a whole, ensure that we are creating equitable opportunities to ensure those seated at the table reflect the communities our transit agencies serve and the people they employ?
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MTI Celebrates Black History Month
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