Hello ITE Toronto Section Members and Friends

ITE Toronto Section will be holding an election for the position of Activities Coordinator on our 2012 Executive Committee during its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Christmas Luncheon.

Three nominations for the position have been received.  The three candidates, in alphabetical order, are:

-        Matthew Browning, ARUP

-        Clayton Rudy, Ourston Roundabouts Engineering

-        Farhad Shahla, City of Mississauga

The election will be held during our AGM and annual Christmas luncheon which is being held on December 2^nd 2011 at the Toronto Cricket, Curling, & Skating club at 141 Wilson Avenue (Toronto).  The luncheon starts at approximately 11:00-11:30am, with the AGM and elections to follow.

ADVANCED VOTING:  If you are unable to attend the AGM you are welcome to vote in advance via email.  Advance voting is available from November 15^th 2011 to December 1^st 2011.   A short bio of the three candidates is attached below for your information when voting.  Advance votes should be sent to our section vice-president and elections coordinator, Mark Jamieson at jamieson@bagroup.com.  You can also contact Mark to vote at 416-961-7110 extension 160.

Thanks and we hope to hear from you!

Regards

ITE Toronto Section Membership Coordinator

Hossein Zarei 

CANDIDATE BIO’s 

Matthew Browning

Transportation Consultant, ARUP 

After graduating from the University of Liverpool with a Masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2005, I joined the Arup Liverpool office as a Graduate Transport Planner. During my first years, I was an active member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in the Northwest and sat on the Graduates & Students Committee for 2 years. In 2007, after working mainly in traffic micro-simulation and masterplanning projects in the UK, I moved to Arup’s Toronto office to join the growing Transportation Planning team here. Since joining, I have worked on a number of local and regional transit projects including the Central Waterfront Revitalization and the Spadina Subway Extension Stations at York University and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. As the Toronto office has grown I have found myself taking a role in welcoming the new starters and organizing events and activities in and out of the office.

Clayton Rudy, E.I.T.

Project Coordinator, Ourston Roundabout Engineering 

After working on transportation projects in Alberta and completing my studies at the University of Saskatchewan, I moved to Toronto and have been working with Ourston Roundabout Engineering for the past two years.  My recent activities include co-authoring an article for the ITE Journal with Mark Lenters, P.E., P.Eng., FITE titled HCM Roundabout Capacity Methods and Alternative Capacity Models, attending the 2011 TAC Fall Meetings and Conference in Edmonton, and attending the HSM workshop organized by the Toronto Section of ITE.  In addition to my very strong interest in the transportation engineering profession, I can contribute to the Toronto Section by bringing my experience of having volunteered for several executive positions of various organizations, including 5 years with Engineers Without Borders.  If elected to the position of Activities Coordinator, I would work diligently to continue the successes of past executives in organizing educational and social events for fellow ITE members.  Thank-you for your consideration.

Farhad Shahla, B.Eng., M.Eng., EIT

Transportation Project Engineer, City of Mississauga

Farhad has approximately 3 years experience in planning and designing municipal roads, the Class Environmental Assessment process, transportation planning, traffic studies, and the coordination of municipal transportation infrastructure projects.  He obtained his Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from Ryerson University in 2007 and his Masters of Engineering in Civil Engineering at University of Toronto in Transportation Engineering and Planning.  Farhad has contributed to the field of public transit safety through research filed with the Transportation Research Board in 2009.  Striving towards obtaining his P.Eng., Farhad currently works at the City of Mississauga as a Transportation Project Engineer.  He has become a core team member for some high profile projects, namely the first downtown roundabout in the City of Mississauga.  He was instrumental in the preparation and execution of the communications and monitoring plans related to the introduction of the downtown roundabout.  In addition, Farhad brings a transportation and infrastructure planning perspective and provides valuable information pertaining to the changes the City continues to experience through urbanization and intensification.  He has an extensive number of social and professional volunteer hours working with public members and experts.  Farhad’s involvement with ITE began in 2006 as Vice President of the Ryerson Institute of Transportation Engineers (student chapter), and he now serves as member of the ITE Best Practices Phase III/Sustainability Task Force with the ITE.  He is also involved with the City of Mississauga Accessibility Advisory Committee, as well as the Transportation and Works Design Standards Committee.  He has recently become a member of the Road Safety Mississauga Committee.  Farhad is an effective communicator and representative, working well with all levels of management, councillors, the public, and other external clients and stakeholders to forestall or resolve conflicts and achieve positive results.