Congratulations to our winners! Our annual YPT Awards program was created to fill the void presented to young professionals in large, established transportation organizations. In the past we have only had two award categories, but this year StreetLight Data contacted us with a great opportunity to sponsor a new fellowship award category.
Award winners will receive an award plaque, a free year of YPT membership, one month access to StreetLight Insight, and $500* (*only for the StreetLight Graduate Fellowship Award). If you have any questions regarding the awards program please contact us at (admin@YPTransportation.org).
StreetLight Graduate Fellowship *New*
Michael McQueen, Portland State University – YPT Portland
I have always been captivated by the different methods we use to travel from point A to point B, and oftentimes this is my favorite part of any journey away from home. During my time as an undergraduate aerospace and mechanical engineering student at Case Western Reserve University, I took great joy in discovering the bus and rail public transit systems available throughout the city of Cleveland, something to which I did not have much exposure while growing up in the suburbs of Detroit. My most cherished memories of experiencing well executed public transit and a walkable built environment came during my six-month stay in Paris, France for an aerospace engineering internship. As a burgeoning urbanist following this adventure, I knew I wanted to see this approach towards mobility embraced and better championed back home in the USA, but I did not know how to help.
Project of the Year:
Trans-Canada Highway Twinning
Joey Chiu, McElhanney – YPT Vancouver BC
The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a geological and environmental masterpiece. The Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) is the only major road allowed through the protected area. The TCH, completed in 1962, is Canada’s national highway. It serves as a link to all Canadians and is the primary east-west route for inter-provincial trade and travel from coast to coast. It is a major access route into Canada’s Rocky Mountain parks and connects the rest of the nation with one of Canada’s most important ports on the Pacific Coast: Port Metro Vancouver, the gateway to Asia-Pacific markets. Due to its importance as a transportation corridor and the increasing traffic demand on the highway, there has been substantial need over the years in upgrading the TCH from its original two-lane form to a four-lane divided highway (“twinning”).
Excellence in Innovation / Research:
Building Communities and Enhancing Lives: A Quality of Life Report
Hannah Quinsey, Valley Metro – YPT Phoenix
Ten years ago the Valley of the Sun embraced high-capacity transit in the form of light rail. Building Communities and Enhancing Lives: A Quality of Life Report evaluates the impact of Valley Metro Rail over the past decade, measuring light rail’s continuous impacts on the Phoenix metropolitan region to show how the investment in light rail transit has helped Valley communities thrive. The report is a culmination of research and analysis that quantifies the benefits of transit investments and presents them in an understandable way; especially the types of benefits the public might not realize have been influenced by light rail. The Quality of Life Report includes many “Before and After” comparisons, highlighting changes in the light rail corridor that improve quality of life and benefit everyone, including non-riders.