Woolpert Engineering Project Manager John Brigham Appointed to TxDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee

The global traffic and transportation engineering expert will assist in the development of departmental policies affecting bicyclist and pedestrian safety across Texas.

HOUSTON, Texas (Sept. 12, 2023) — Woolpert Project Manager John Brigham has been appointed to the Texas Department of Transportation Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). Brigham is a professional engineer and professional traffic operations engineer who is based in Houston and has more than 34 years of global transportation experience. He and other members of the BPAC are approved by the Texas Transportation Commission and represent a geographically balanced and professionally diverse committee.

Originally founded in 2014 as the Bicycle Advisory Committee, the scope of the committee was expanded in 2021 to include pedestrian interests. The 11-member committee was implemented as part of transportation planning and construction across Texas and to ensure communities’ perspectives are considered in the development of departmental policies affecting bicyclists and pedestrian safety.

The committee’s knowledge and findings on bicycle and pedestrian accommodations and transportation funding contribute to TxDOT’s Strategic Direction Report, an annual report identifying existing conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians across the state’s 38 districts and summarizing existing TxDOT processes for funding, planning, project development, and programming.

Brigham worked for a global engineering firm as a supervising traffic engineer before joining Woolpert in 2022, frequently working with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the development of Safe Routes to School travel plans. This U.S. Department of Transportation program is an approach that promotes walking and bicycling to school through infrastructure improvements, enforcement, tools, safety education, and incentives.

In his new role, Brigham supports TxDOT’s Road to Zero goal of reducing the number of deaths on Texas roadways by half by the year 2035, and to zero by 2050. A reported 3,894 people lost their lives on Texas roadways in 2020. Brigham said this goal of zero crashes goes beyond motor vehicles to address safe routes for all travelers. He said the BPAC is another tool Texas can use to help achieve that goal.

“We’re focused on providing safer, more accessible, and equitable transportation for all, whether that’s ensuring continuous and connected sidewalks or expanding designated bike lanes,” Brigham said. “By giving communities a voice through the BPAC, TxDOT doesn’t have to solely rely on traffic data for guidance. Planning and improvements can also be informed by the very people who live and travel in those communities.”

About Woolpert
Woolpert is the premier architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG), and strategic consulting firm, with a vision to become one of the best companies in the world. We innovate within and across markets to effectively serve public, private, and government clients worldwide. Woolpert is a Global Top 100 Geospatial Company, a Top 100 ENR Global Design firm, earned six straight Great Place to Work certifications, and actively nurtures a culture of growth, inclusion, diversity, and respect. Founded in 1911 in Dayton, Ohio, Woolpert has been America’s fastest-growing AEG firm since 2015. Woolpert has over 2,000 employees and more than 60 offices on five continents. For more, visit woolpert.com.