Planning Associate Patrick McMahon addresses the balance between work for private and public clients.
Though each office varies, Kittelson & Associates has always striven to have an even workload balance between private and public clients. This includes national research projects, work for state and local governments, and contracts with private developers and other consultants. This broad base of experience is relatively rare for transportation engineering and planning firms. While working for multiple sectors has its challenges, we have found that it provides a number of key benefits:
- Our work with private developers helps us better inform policy makers and regulators about ways in which their regulatory environment is impacting the private sector and how developers may react to specific proposals. This can help the jurisdictions tailor their guidelines to better serve the public need and result in the desired goals.
- Research, on issues ranging from roundabouts to transit-signal priority, helps us stay on the cutting edge of the transportation field. The knowledge gained in the research work allows us to keep our public and private clients apprised of the latest developments, helping them to make informed decisions and implement the industry's best practices.
- Our experience working with government agencies helps us educate developers about the local jurisdiction goals and how to best achieve the spirit of those policies. Additionally, the trust we have built through our work with public agencies adds credibility to the work we do for private entities.
- Our goal is to provide analysis and recommendations that inform decision making and improve the safety and efficiency of our transportation system. A balanced, data-driven analysis should produce a similar outcome regardless of whether a problem is being approached from the public or private perspective. We take pride in approaching our work with objectivity and consistency.
Rather than view work with both sides of the permitting desk as a potential conflict of interest, we have instead found it valuable to work on transportation issues from several different perspectives. I know that I have personally grown through my work with private and public clients. How have you been able to combine the variety of your experiences to inform your work?
