Planning with Clarity in Times of Uncertainty

The global pandemic created significant disruptions, notably in transport and the way we move. This pause provides an opportunity to reframe how we think about the future of mobility and how we address the pressing challenges of safety, sustainability, resilience, climate, and equity.  This panel will share tools and strategies that help to meet this moment. Brian Carrico, WSP Vancouver, will moderate the session.  Matt Ransom, RTC Executive Director, will discuss key transportation and growth forecasting dynamics and issues of uncertainty facing Clark, Skamania, and Klickitat counties.  Nick Roach, WSP Seattle, will describe interactive tools and dashboards that provide communities with data and ways to facilitate decision-making across safety, equity, energy, climate, and other areas. Richard Chavez, WSP Long-range Planning Lead, will describe new scenario planning techniques using System Dynamics for exploring uncertainty, informing and improving decision-making around planning and policy topics like emerging technologies, revenue expectations, and climate.

Brian Carrico 
WSP

Brian is a land use and environmental planner with 29 years of experience in environmental and land use planning in Washington. Brian has been a long-range planner, current planner, and planning director for counties and cities in Washington State before moving to consulting. His experience in both the public and private sectors provides him with a unique perspective to planning and project delivery.

Nick Roach, AICP
WSP

Nick Roach is a Senior Supervising Planner with WSP Advisory Services. He has more than 30 years of experience as a multi-modal transportation planner and project manager and is a senior supervising planner with WSP USA. He is experienced in the areas of bus rapid transit, advanced public transportation systems, highways, multimodal regional transportation planning, environmental assessment (air quality), project management, and policy analysis. This experience includes intelligent transportation systems for transit, bus rapid transit project development and evaluation, and environmental assessments (NEPA/SEPA/CEQA) for federally funded transportation projects, and stakeholder engagement and public involvement. Nick is a skilled and seasoned project manager, leading successful projects in both the public and private sectors.

Matt Ransom
Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council

Matt Ransom is currently the Executive Director of the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council (RTC). The RTC serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) for three counties in southwest Washington (Clark, Skamania, Klickitat). Matt holds the degree of Master of Urban and Regional Planning (Portland State University); and, Bachelor of Science (University of Utah).

Richard Chavez, PE
WSP

Richard Chavez is the National Lead for Long-Range & Strategic Planning at WSP USA. With more than 30 years of department of transportation (DOT) and metropolitan planning organization (MPO) experience, Richard has led a variety of planning, project and program initiatives in transportation, land use, and environmental planning. Richard’s current focus is long-range planning that incorporates strategic methods for improved decision-making during these times of rapid change. He coordinates best practices and innovations across the country and with colleagues from around the world.