2001 - Current. Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors., KCI Technologies, Inc.
1990-2008 Project Director for a study of magnetic levitation (Maglev) train operation between Baltimore and Washington, DC for the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Maryland Department of Transportation, Feasibility Studies Through FEIS
1988 to 2000. Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of KCI Technologies, an employee-owned, multi-discipline engineering consulting firm headquartered in Maryland with 12 offices throughout the mid-Atlantic region. KCI employs approximately 1000 people serving government agencies and private clients.
1984 to 1988. President, Kidde Consultants, Inc. that became KCI Technologies, Inc. following an employee financed leveraged buyout led by Mr. Kinstlinger in 1988.
1982 to 1984. Corporate Vice President for Transportation Programs, Daniel, Mann, Johnson, Mendenhall
1975 to 1982. Executive Director, Colorado State Department of Highways. Responsible for the on-time and on-budget completion of the $120 million second bore of the Eisenhower Tunnel, the award-winning Vail Pass section of I-70 through the Rockies, as well as the planning and start of construction of the $400 million Glenwood Canyon section of I-70 and the C470 Beltway around Southwest Denver.
1968 to 1975. Deputy Secretary for Planning, Pennsylvania Department of Highways, which in 1970 became the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Responsible for all long-range planning, capital programming, budgetary and intergovernmental coordination for transportation improvements.
1957 to 1968. Associate, Tippetts, Abbett, McCarthy, Stratton at the firm's New York headquarters and as manager of the company's New England office. Directed many engineering and planning projects, including the Fall River Area and Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Transportation and Arterial Studies.
1954 to 1957. Officer Candidate School and commissioned as an officer in the Civil Engineer Corps of the U.S. Navy. Stationed at several overseas bases, overseeing the construction of military facilities.
Warren Buffet's purchase of BNSF is a big vote of confidence not only in railroads but also in the expectation that the economy is on a rebound, and that the nation is becoming serious about energy independence and climate change, all of these factors contributing to a more prosperoyus rail industry.… Read more
As one who has served in both public and private sectors, I believe there is much each can learn from the other. Public officials must better appreciate the value of time in terms of prompt payment ( delay in payment is a real cost to the vendor), and in terms of prompt project completion. Often the official gives greater weight to the interests of the Agency over the welfare of the public. A case in point, shifting road construction to night hours costs the agency more but this is outweighed by the benefit to the motoring public. The private sector operates… Read more
Much as I admire and respect Secretary Peters, I cannot wholly agree with her position. First, while tolls and private financing are valuable, their use is limited to high density corridors, The unavoidable truth is that we need significant increase in user fees- gas tax at present and VM fees in the future.These fees were not controversial in the past but have become politicized now. If we create a compelling vision and tie spending to perfomance, we will regain credibility.With the united front of AASHTO, contrractor and designer groups and users and business, the time to press forward is now.The issue… Read more
If we want a more robust transportation system, transportation user fees and taxes will have to be significantly increased. Now that we are looking at new initiatives like freight corridors and high speed passenger rail, new user charges need to be imposed on freight users and rail passengers.Traditionally there was little opposition to increases in gas taxes as these were viewed as user fees and there was a national consensus on the need for better transportation based on a vision and purpose, Many of these favorable conditions have been lost in recent years. Additionally, taxes have become viewed as a negative and caught… Read more
Earmarks have become caustic to the transportation program, and have been equated to "pork" in the mind of the public and has eroded public confidence. It is difficult to focus the program on a unifying theme or vision when funding becomes a political grant program.On the other hand, realistically it is doubtful that eatrmarks can be totally eliminated and perhaps that is not even desirable. When I served as Highway Director in Colorado, the Congressional delegation routinely asked what the Department's top priorities were and those projects were earmarked. I suspect that was not an isolated case. As a minimum, legislation should mitigate against… Read more
ARTBA's Rail Policy statement recommends creation of a Critical Commerce Corridors Program to develop additional capacity required for U.S. freight shipments that would be funded outside the Highway Trust Fund with freight-based user fees or other appropriate revenue sources.ARTBA calls for creation of a national rail infrastructure investment policy and calls on USDOT to regularly assesss freight and intercity passenger rail infrastructure needs.ARTBA supports targeted federal tax incentives to help attract investment in rail infrastructure improvements.Credit assistance programs as TIFIA and RRIF should be expanded.Public- private ventures are encouraged with each party contributing amounts commensurate with benefits each would receive.A dedicated… Read more
Climate change , according to most of the world's scientists, including those in the NAS conclude that climate change is real, an imminent threat to the planet, and that it can be slowed or reversed by actions of the world community.I'm still amazed at the number of learned individuals who remain unconvinced. Greenhouse gases could wreak havoc with our climate, health, food supply and could result in low lying lands being inundated. The cost of this scenario could be so huge that even costly solutions make economic sense. Technology, in the form of new energy sopurces and ways of propelling vehicles… Read more
First, most private sector people have a low but undeserved view of public sector competence. I spent 15 years in public sector, 35 in private and found that competence and dedication comparable, the only difference being that public sector operates in a fishbowl while private companies can more easily hide their mistakes. For more effective delivery of public investment dollars, we need adequate and predictable funding and willingness to raise taxes for essential public functions.We need to establish deadlines for actions by public agencies and opposing parties, we need better measures to predict project effectiveness and we need a federal… Read more
The real question is whether greener transportation is good for America? Surprisingly there are still many credible folks out there who don't subscribe to the notion that greenhouse gasses are a threat to our way of life and can and must be reduced by society. I will rely on the findings of the NAS that is in the affirmative. A successful effort to reduce global warming will undoubtedly create a short term cost on energy intensive industries and on transportation due to higher cost of fuel. But in the longer term, it will intensify the effort to create a Highway… Read more
Of course, reducing vehicle miles of travel is an appropriate national goal, coupled with reducing global warming , pollution, and reducing dependence on foreign oil imports. But that achievement must be matched by offsetting goals, finding alternatives to oil based energy, offering alternatives to travel by personal vehicle, and developing an alternative source of infrastructure financing other than the gas tax. Reducing vehicle miles of travel can best be done by implementing stringent CAFE standards, raising the federal gas tax by a significant amount and ultimately a vehicle mile tax, congestion pricing and similar policies and measures. The only major… Read more
This is certainly a laudable goal and measuring performance on the roadway will be facilitated through modern technology. But if performance is to drive investment decisions we will also have to be able to predict performance in advance of implementation. ,a far more difficult chore. Also performance can be evaluated only years after the improvement has been realized, and tying perfomance changes to the improvement project will be difficult owing to the many variables involved- changes in vehicle performance, changes in travel behavior, changes in land use will also affect performance. … Read more
The obvious answer is more investment in mass transit and special demand responsive transportation services for the elderly and handicappe,d. but another strategy is to extend the time that elderly can continue to legally drive. Research into this area is on going especially by state motor vehicle agencies into new signage, redesigned vehicle quipment, and special training for elderly drivers.… Read more
The Railroad and Public Transportation Advisory Council of ARTBA , of which I serve as Chair,has recently adopted a Policy position that advocates the following: US DOT shopuld regularly assess passenger and freight rail infrastructiure investment needs Abandoned rail ROW should be protected or recaptured for rail and transportation purposes. Federal tax incentives should be enacted to encourage private investment in rail improvements Federal innovative financing assistance programs-TIFIA and RRIF- should be expanded Public Private partnerships should be created with contributions commensurate with benefits received A dedicated funding mechanism-user fees paid by railroads and shippers should be enacted to ensure… Read more
Transportation revenues should be ailablre for transportation related projects such as hiker/ biker trails, lanscaping, transportation museums and the like. In my years as Colorado DOT Secretary, it was my experience that this kind of flexibility often resulted in gaining support of communities and environmentalists who otherwise would have stymied the progress of major transportation improvements.… Read more
High Speed Rail is long overdue on the American transportation landscape.Its advantages are many, including getting people quickly and comfortably beteween citiy centers 100-600 miles apart ,saving energy, reducing air pollution and decongesting freight rail lines, highways and most important, airports and airways. Along the northeast, for example, nearly 40% of air travellers are destined to another city in the Northeast 500 miles apart or less. Think of the relief to airports if these travellers werediverted to HSR or Maglev. While the construction cost of a dedicated guideway is high($50M to $100M per mile- either for conventional steel wheel-TGV-like or… Read more
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