Álvaro Caviedes is a transit planner and data analyst at Jarrett Walker + Associates. He contributes experience in urban planning, social equity, statistical and spatial analysis, cartography, and research in North and South America.  He is also skilled and programming and automation of large analysis tasks. Álvaro holds a dual master’s degree in Urban Planning and Civil Engineering. He has also helped JWA creating products and translating documents into Spanish to reach a broader audience.

Education

Master of Urban and Regional Planning, Portland State University, 2017

Master of Science, Civil Engineering, Portland State University, 2017

Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, 2012

Positions Held

Spatial and Transportation Data Analysis

Álvaro is skilled in statistical analysis, data visualization, spatial analysis, and GIS. His experience in JWA and with prior employers includes:

• In depth service analysis, job access analysis and data visualization for Chicago Transit Authority and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (2019-present).
• Evaluation of potential transit priority measures for the City of Portland, Oregon (2019-present).
• Data analysis and cartography for a transit network redesign for Miami-Dade County, and creating public materials in Spanish (2019-2020).
• Existing transit analysis for the Sarasota, Florida, Transportation System Plan (2019).
• Assisting in the development of a displacement risk analysis for the Puget Sound Region in Washington state (2018).
• Supporting the development of policies to support accessible and equitable public transportation in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and Bogotá, Colombia (2018).
• Exploring accessibility needs and public transportation gaps for women in several cities in South America (2017).
• Collaborating in a research to identify risk factors that contribute to pedestrian and bicyclist crash severity in Oregon State Roads.

Daniel Costantino is an experienced urban planner with expertise in public transit planning and sustainable development consulting. As a Principal Associate, Daniel works directly with clients on analyzing transit system performance, redesigning transit networks, and managing the public and policy-maker conversations that are integral to the success of transit plans. His clients have included public transit agencies, local and state governments, and for-profit companies in the US and abroad.

Daniel’s combination of technical and people-focused experience has honed his ability to communicate complex information to many audiences and support confident decision-making.

Education

Master of Urban and Regional Planning, Portland State University, 2009

Bachelor of Arts (First-Class Honours), Geography, McGill University, 2005

Positions Held

2016 – present:           Senior Associate (2016-2017) and Principal Associate (2018-present)           Jarrett Walker + Associates (Portland, OR)

2010 – 2015:               Planner, Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E & E) (Portland, OR and Casablanca, Morocco)

2009 – 2010:               GIS Technician, Transportation Modeling Division, Metro (Portland, OR)

2007 – 2009:               Research Analyst, TREC, Portland State University, Portland, OR

2006 – 2007:               Transportation Analyst, KFH Group (Bethesda, MD)

Public Transit Planning and Network Design

Daniel has worked on a variety of transit network design, planning, evaluation, and mapping efforts.

• Monterey-Salinas, CA (2020-present): Leading a countywide network plan for a large area with major rural and urban populations, county which represents the entire state of California in microcosm. Managing a large team of experts including Dan Boyle & Associates and AMMA Transit Planning, who are providing operational expertise, service planning, financial planning and public involvement support.
• Tucson, AZ (2018-2020): Led the development of a Long-Range Regional Transit Plan for an urban area of 800,000 with a major state university. Included assessing existing service, developing medium- and long-term scenarios that to expand the frequent network and improve evening and weekend service, and assessing the value of BRT and streetcar projects.
• Eugene, OR (2018-ongoing): Led the consultant team on Transit Tomorrow, a comprehensive analysis of transit in a university town of 300,000 with a recently-expanded BRT route. In response to public input, developed a Draft Plan shifting resources toward higher ridership and more weekend service.
• Kansas City, MO (2019-ongoing): Managing redesign of the RideKC network in Kansas City, MO. Evaluated existing service, gathered public input on values and priorities, and released a Draft Network Plan in February 2020. Second round of public input recently ended.
• Richmond, VA (2016-17): Analyzed existing service and participated in developing the bus network proposed in the Richmond Transit Network Plan. Developed operating cost estimates for the daytime and night-time network. Analyzed end-of-line and transfer facility requirements.
• Grants Pass, OR (2016-17): Managed development of a long-range Transit Master Plan in a city of 40,000, including network design in a very constrained budgetary environment.
• Seattle, WA (2016): Developed, analyzed and presented new routing patterns to reduce bus volumes on key downtown streets while maintaining passenger throughput, taking advantage of new through-routings and connections to Link light rail.
• Tigard, OR (2016): Examined operational issues in relocating a suburban Transit Center near Portland. Developed and presented three reconfiguration alternatives, reconciling the technical requirements of future light rail, planned mixed-use developments, and bus connections.

Stakeholder Engagement and Outreach

Daniel has led and helped facilitate workshops engaging stakeholders in public transit, emergency operations and disaster recovery and resiliency plans.

• Transit Planning Workshops (2016-ongoing): Helping stakeholders learn the basics of transit planning as part of JWA-led planning efforts in multiple cities.
• Core Design Retreats (2016-ongoing): Leading and assisting in network design workshops with transit agencies and their local agency partners.
• Colorado Local Resilience Plans (2015): Facilitated plan review sessions for local Resiliency Steering Committees convening local, state, non-profit and business interests (with E & E).

Complex Project Management

Daniel has managed multi-year projects involving complex combinations of clients, partners and subcontractors and achieved successful outcomes, including:

• Ville Verte Mohammed VI (2010-2014): Managed sustainability advice and LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) certification for a green city development. Reported to state-owned firm’s sustainability division while assisting Project Owner based in another division. Coordinated with separately contracted Owner’s Representative to provide direction to French and Moroccan designers. Delivered LEED ND Silver approval (with E & E).
• Morocco, Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique (2012-2015): Managed LEED for New Construction (LEED NC) certification for university buildings under similar client arrangement. Provided direction to French and Spanish architects and engineers. Managed subcontractors based in the US and Spain. Main building achieved LEED NC Silver certification (with E & E).

Michelle Poyourow specializes in managing large network redesigns and facilitating community conversations about transit. Her analysis and planning experience spans issues of bus network design, operations and scheduling; dial-a-ride and rural transit; integrated land use and transit policy; and the design of complete streets for transit and cycling.

She has created and conducted many successful public involvement plans, and led interagency collaboration among roadway, transit, land use, and development departments. Her experiences as a political aide and an advocate also attune her to the political and communication aspects of transit planning.

Education

Bachelor of Arts, Biology, Reed College, 2003

Positions Held

2013 – present:           Principal Associate, Jarrett Walker + Associates

2010 – 2013:               Owner, Poyourow Consulting

2006 – 2010:               Policy and Advocacy Director, Bicycle Transportation Alliance

2004 – 2006:               Economist, Public Power Council

Transit Network Plans

Michelle has managed transit network plans and redesigns for large and small cities including:

• Dallas, Texas (in progress)
• Atlanta, Georgia (in progress)
• Sacramento, California
• Anchorage, Alaska
• Richmond, Virginia
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Salem, Oregon
• Missoula, Montana

All six of these completed network redesigns have been successfully implemented, and two of them (Indianapolis and Missoula) were integral to voter-approved funding initiatives.

Michelle also manages transit plans for rural areas and small cities, such as:

• Kingsport, Tennessee
• Boulder, Colorado
• Sandy, Marion and Polk Counties, Oregon
• Princeton, New Jersey

Specialized Transit Planning

In collaboration with her colleagues and partner firms, Michelle has contributed more specialized transit expertise to projects such as:

• A review of University bus and mobility services for the University of California, Davis, and Princeton University
• Research on visitor transportation for Travel Oregon and its tourism partners (2018)
• Land use and development reviews in California (2016-2017)
• Downtown transit network designs for Denver, Colorado (2018)
• Transit service speed and reliability analyses for TriMet in Portland (2015, 2019)
• Service and capital planning for the Cities of Bellevue and Redmond, Washington (2013-2015)

Facilitation

Michelle often facilitates stakeholder workshops and public meetings, as well as discussions of Boards and City Councils. Some workshops occur in the context of her network planning projects, and others are special events or trainings:

• Interactive virtual public meetings held during the pandemic as part of transit planning in Dallas, Texas; Columbia, South Carolina; and Salem, Oregon
• Interactive stakeholder workshops and trainings, attended by 20-60 people, in Memphis, Richmond, Flagstaff, Eugene, Sacramento, Missoula, Anchorage, Salem, Canby (conducted in English and Spanish), and other communities
• A transit network training for approximately 100 advocates, riders, and the media, in Mississauga, Ontario (2016)
• Network design classes for Portland State University planning and engineering students (2015-present)
• Board workshops and trainings in numerous cities and towns

Service Branding and Information

JWA helps clients improve the clarity of service branding and public information. Michelle has developed new insights for clients through projects such as:

• Exploratory design and research for a new AC Transit system map (Oakland and Berkeley, CA) (2016)
• Transit service branding and planning advice for TransLink in Vancouver, BC (2018-present)
• Transit service branding for San Francisco MTA (2014)

Jarrett Walker is an international consultant in public transport planning and policy, including the links between transport and all aspects of community planning and urban structure.  His clients include transport authorities, cities, developers, and non-profits – anyone who wants to make better use of public transport as a tool to support resilient communities, individual liberty, and social inclusion.

In his 28 years of consulting, Jarrett has worked on more than 200 public transport planning projects in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, in more than 100 cities, from small towns to major metro areas. Many of these network designs have been successfully implemented.

Jarrett’s firm has built a strong track record in a range of transport planning and policy issues, including local-regional transport integration, flexible services planning, and innovative public involvement. JWA staff have worked extensively on the integration of public transport into community planning at all scales, from the design of new developments to the structure of an urban region. Their work covers the spectrum of planning perspectives, from visionary urbanism to operational detail.

Jarrett is also known for his work educating stakeholders about the choices that public transport requires, building clear public consultation processes, and helping organizations form coherent and implementable transport goals. Since 2009 he has written and edited HumanTransit.org, which has grown into a well-respected collection of articles explaining key transport concepts and emerging issues.

Education

PhD, Humanities and Theatre Arts, Stanford University, 1996

Bachelor of Arts cum laude, Mathematics and Computer Science, Pomona College, 1984.

Publications

Book:  Human Transit: How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives.  Island Press, 2011.

Scholarly Papers:

• “Purpose-driven public transport: creating a clear conversation about public transport goals.”  Journal of Transport Geography, 16 (6): 436-432.
• 2018 “To Predict with Confidence, Plan for Freedom,” Journal of Public Transportation, 21 (1): 119-127

Many articles on public transport topics in news publications, including the Washington Post, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Atlantic, and The Times (Ireland).

Transport Network Design Studies

Jarrett has led network design tasks for major cities and large suburban areas on multiple continents.

• Chicago, IL (2020-present)
• Moscow, Russia (2016, 2020-present)
• Dublin, Ireland (2017-2019)
• Auckland, New Zealand (2012-2018)
• San Jose, CA (Silicon Valley) (2015-2018)
• Richmond, Virginia (2015-2018)
• Houston (METRO) (2013-2015)
• Indianapolis, Indiana (2013-2016)
• Columbus, Ohio (2013-2014)
• … and many others.

The Auckland, Houston, San Jose, Richmond, Indianapolis, San Jose and Columbus networks are fully implemented and achieving patronage growth. Before founding JWA, Jarrett’s work included successful network revisions in Sydney, Canberra, San Antonio, and many parts of California.

Small-City and Rural Service Design

In the 1990s-2000s Jarrett designed transport networks for more than 35 small cities and rural areas across the western U.S.  In the 1990s he worked on such plans in 50 of California’s 58 counties.

Transport for Campus and College-Town Environments

Jarrett has done extensive planning for the special environments of college and university towns.  His work directly for universities includes campus shuttle studies for Stanford University and Washington State University, and for numerous small cities where large universities drive public transport demand, including Fort Collins, Colorado; Davis, California; San Luis Obispo, California; Corvallis, Oregon; Bellingham, Washington; Toowoomba, Australia and Canberra, Australia.

Bus Rapid Transport (BRT)

Jarrett’s consulting work on BRT and transport priority includes:

• Portland, Oregon, Enhanced Transport Corridors project (2018-present).
• Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Consulting on Bus Rapid Transport strategies (2014).
• Auckland, New Zealand. Studies on BRT feasibility and options for two BRT corridors, including Auckland-Botany-Manukau and Henderson-Albany (2008-10).
• Visakhapatnam, India. Provided on-site expertise on design and alignment options for a proposed BRT network for the city (2008).
• Berkeley, California. Operations plan for the Telegraph/International BRT project (2005).
• San Antonio, Texas. Pre-feasibility and network planning for the Via Primo BRT (2002).

Jarrett has also led numerous bus network revisions whose purpose was to adapt the bus network to new BRT or priority investments and spread the benefits of those investments beyond the project areas, across the network.

Long-Range Planning

Jarrett has led long-range transport network and policy planning processes for a range of urban areas, including:

• Tucson, Arizona (2018)
• Raleigh, North Carolina (2015) leading to successful 2016 funding referendum.
• Indianapolis, Indiana (2014) leading to successful 2016 funding referendum.
• Canberra, Australia (2008)
• Vancouver, British Columbia (2005-6 and 2011)

These projects have synthesized short-term political and financial challenges with the long-term challenges of growth.  All have included recommendations regarding new ways for transport agencies to work together with municipalities to achieve common goals.

Transport Policy Development and Facilitation

Jarrett is a recognized innovator in the area of public transport policy.  Much of this work is intended to increase the transparency of public transport agencies, by helping stakeholders and citizens understand the real choices involved in transport planning.  This policy development work has been an important part of recent projects in Toronto, Vancouver, Houston, Portland, Canberra, and Los Angeles, among other cities.

He has developed tools for helping elected officials and policymakers provide clear direction about their public transport goals, including the mathematical trade-off between productivity and coverage.

Jarrett and his firm have developed a variety of innovative tools, including “planning games” that allow participants to experience the challenges of designing a transport system, using simplified geography and budgeting. These tools facilitate transport conversations for short- and long-range plans and transport network redesigns.

Service Branding

Jarrett has done original work on the definition and branding of Frequent Transport Networks – the subset of a transport agency’s services that run every 15 minutes or better all day.

Jarrett’s work on service branding integrates diverse efforts – marketing, transport planning, land use planning, and street infrastructure – around a common vision for a region’s permanent transport network that includes not just rapid transport services (like BRT or light rail) but also productive, frequent local bus routes. He has developed policies relating to this concept with many agencies, including those in Brisbane, Canberra, Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis and San Francisco. He has also helped refine and implement Frequent Service brands for networks in San Francisco, San Antonio and Vancouver (BC).

Bus-Rail Integration

Jarrett was a lead planner on bus-rail integration issues in Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Sacramento, and handled bus-rail integration issues for many of the studies listed above.  He was also a planner on studies comparing rail and bus options for corridors in San Francisco, Portland, and Oakland-Berkeley.  He was responsible for bus-rail integration planning in the station area redesign plans for TransLink in Vancouver in 2005-2006.

Teaching and Training

Jarrett taught humanities courses while pursuing his PhD, and also taught the graduate-level course in Public Transportation Systems at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2002.

He now provides a wide range of training services, mostly in the form of his Interactive Short Course in Public Transport Network Design. This two-day course is an interactive workshop in which students design networks for a range of situations, and discover for themselves the trade-offs that transport requires them to think about. Jarrett has offered this course more than 20 times, including sessions in New York City, Washington DC, Toronto, Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Canberra.  He has also conducted staff training for the World Bank.

Public Speaking

Jarrett has done major keynotes or plenary speeches at countless conferences, including:

• Congress for the New Urbanism (US)
• American Public Transportation Association
• UITP Australia/New Zealand
• New Zealand Planning Institute
• Transport Research Annual Conference (Dublin)
• CEDEUS (Chile)
• RailVolution (US)
• Shared Use Mobility Summit (US)
• State/province public transport conferences in California, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, and British Columbia.

He is a frequent speaker for local economic development organizations and transport initiatives.  He has led numerous webinars and is has been interviewed on transport issues in many major media, including the BBC, RTÉ, Fox Business, US National Public Radio, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and countless local media outlets in all the countries in which he has worked.

The years of Covid-19 have been stressful all of us, but we’ve stayed busy, mostly completing bus network redesign plans and starting new ones. We’ve been especially focused on helping agencies deal with the sudden uncertainty caused by the pandemic, and to make plans that show a path to a better network on the other side.  Meanwhile, Jarrett Walker’s writing, in Bloomberg Citylab and other venues, has focused on sustaining the case for fixed route service both during the crisis and beyond it.

We’re proud of our leading role in bus network redesign. Our redesigns for Cleveland and Dallas are both implemented and doing well, and our Dublin network is beginning implementation.  We are now in the midst of similar projects in Atlanta, Madison, Norfolk, Columbia, and Suffolk County on New York’s Long Island, as well as Cork, Galway, and Limerick in Ireland.   We continue to be proud of our work in many smaller communities.

Here are some of our most recent highlights!

Bus Network Design

Dallas

Our network redesign for Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) went into effect on January 24, 2022.  It’s going well so far.

Dublin

The National Transport Authority of Ireland (NTA) hired us back in 2016 to lead a complete redesign of the bus network across Ireland’s capital.  Our work finished in 2019 and the first three phases have now been implemented.   The project is part of the larger BusConnects effort, which includes parallel work addressing bus infrastructure.  More here.

Miami

The Better Buses project in Miami is unusual in that the client was a well respected advocacy group Transit Alliance, which raised much of the funding for the work and took the lead in presenting and consensus-building locally, with Miami-Dade Transit as active partners.  Our network design study took the community through thinking about alternatives, and then developed a draft network plan.  You can learn more about the project at Transit Alliance’s website here.  Our reports can be downloaded here.—

Other Recent and Current Projects

Bus network design isn’t all we do, and we have been branching out.  We are doing more long-range planning, including the Tucson Long Range Transit Plan last year. We’re helping universities and private companies think about transit and working on corridor-level bus-priority studies.  Some of these projects include:

Princeton University Mobility Plan

We’re currently working with Princeton University analyze their campus’ mobility needs, and think through how transit, walking, and bikeshare can play complementary roles in helping people get to and around campus.

Portland Rose Lane Project

In our own hometown, we’re working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation on the Rose Lanes Project- the first citywide effort to study potential transit speed and reliability improvements in the city.  The initial concepts for a network of transit priority lanes throughout the city were presented in December 2019 and using our analysis, city staff are currently refining the design of these transit priority measures and will bring this to project to city council early this year.  See more on PBOT’s project website here.