Specific changes to the transportation professionals approach can allow his or her knowledge and experience to fit more comfortably with a constantly shifting set of societal expectations. ADDRESSING THE DILEMMA

The dilemma faced by the transportation professional is largely artificial and unnecessary. Transportation facilities and services are indeed essential, integral to society and reflective of societal values and aspirations. The transportation profession should not feel threatened by the notion that there are many demands on and often-competing expectations of the transportation system. Such a situation is simply a validation of the important role the professional plays.

The key to eliminating the angst is to drop the engineering construct of the bulk of the transportation decisionmaking processes. Understand that while designing a bridge to handle a certain load is a true engineering process, the majority of transportation decisions are not engineering in nature. Most decisions simply reflect a natural process of sorting out objectives and making tradeoffs, with all of these objectives and tradeoffs loaded with value judgments.

The professional's job is not to define the "correct" choice but to articulate the tradeoffs, ensure that facts are respected and facilitate an informed public decision process.

Specific changes to the transportation professional's approach can allow his or her knowledge and experience to fit more comfortably with a constantly shifting set of societal expectations.

Further Reading:

Societal Demands on Transportation: Addressing an Artificial Dilemma