Characteristics like race, ability, age, gender, sexuality, income, class, and more affect how different people experience travelling to, from, and through our communities. They also affect who has access to the various aspects of the transportation system such as frequent transit, safer cycling infrastructure, or continuous sidewalks.
The events of the last year – including (but not limited to) demands for racial justice, wealth and class inequalities made more obvious by COVID-19, and horrific reminders of our history and treatment of Indigenous people – have sparked many overdue conversations about the unique challenges that members of different social groups face in aspects of their daily lives, including transportation. Within the transportation industry, these conversations have led to questions about what transportation professionals can do to improve transportation equity in our communities.
Join the National Capital Section (NCS) for a panel discussion on transportation equity in the Canadian context with transportation planning and engineering leaders from across the country. Our panelists will give 10-minute presentations on different aspects of transportation equity, including
The presentations will be followed by a Q&A session for the audience.
Panelists:
Jessica Lamarre – Director, Safe Mobility, City of Edmonton
Jessica is the Director, Safe Mobility for the City of Edmonton. She and her 14,000 colleagues are dedicated to achieving Vision Zero, zero traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries, through safe and livable streets in Edmonton; a goal that they are well on their way to achieving. Jessica leads a diverse team of rockstars who champion a holistic portfolio of work in support of the City’s Safe Mobility Strategy, including road safety engineering, automated enforcement, planning and evaluation and community activation. At the heart of this work is a commitment to equitable safety and pushing beyond the traditional pillars of safety to facilitate the decisions necessary to achieve a more livable and equitable Edmonton. Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta, has worked in both municipal government and post-secondary, and is currently delighted by replacing vehicle trips with her new e-bike.
Shewkar Ibrahim – Manager of Safe Mobility Engineering, City of Edmonton
Shewkar Ibrahim is the Manager of Safe Mobility Engineering with the City of Edmonton’s Safe Mobility Section. She has just completed her Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in the area of Transportation Engineering with a focus on Traffic Safety. An engineer by day and a researcher by night, Shewkar is passionate about finding ways to improve safety and mobility for all road users. Her work and research are focused on Vision Zero and moving towards adopting a proactive approach to improve safety in the areas of traffic safety, planning, geometric design and speed management.
Inge Roosendaal – Senior Planner, Ottawa Public Health and Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development, City of Ottawa
Inge Roosendaal, RPP, MCIP is the Senior Planner for Ottawa Public Health and is currently co-located with the City of Ottawa’s Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development department to work on the new Official Plan. Inge is experienced in the development of healthy public policy, and advancing strategic partnerships on innovative, inter-sectoral projects.
Matthew Davis – Manager of Capital Projects & Programs, Transportation Services, City of Toronto
