Transportation Planner

City of Edina • Engineering 7450 Metro Blvd Edina, MN

6d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Transportation Planner serves as the administrator for the Transportation Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, Safe & Equitable Mobility Action Plan (SEMAP), Living Streets program and Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety (PACS) Fund in the creation, maintenance and improvement of transportation facilities for the primary benefit of pedestrians and cyclists in Edina. This role supports the implementation of the Climate Action Plan’s Transportation & Land Use Chapter strategies to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas emissions. The planner also assists the Department with the planning and design of traffic operations, street reconstruction, and street maintenance within the City. The duties and responsibilities of this job are performed with latitude for independent judgment in accordance with Department and City policies, Federal, State and Local regulations and are based on detailed knowledge of Department operations. Work is subject to periodic review by the supervisor, who provides input on and approval of recommendations, and discusses assignments, priorities, and work. The role directly supervises the Traffic Safety Coordinator.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Planning, Urban Design, Engineering, or equivalent or at least four years of experience, which have included municipal transportation planning, urban planning and design, engineering, land use planning, or project management.
• Ability to gain confidence and trust of public prior, during and after project implementation.
• Excellent communicator, planner and collaborator.
• A valid driver’s license or evidence of equivalent mobility is also required.
• Knowledge of principles and practices for multimodal transportation activities including planning, transportation, bike/pedestrian/transit issues, applicable rules and regulations.
• Knowledge of principals of local and State laws and regulations pertaining to urban planning, transportation and related operations.
• Customer service skills including demonstrated ability to build positive relationships with citizens, contractors, other agencies and coworkers.
• Ability to effectively work with diverse interest groups to find consensus and move innovative ideas forward.
• Strong research, analytical, and problems solving skills.
• Demonstrates the desired standard of conduct and work performance including confidentiality and privacy requirements of the department.
• Excellent project management skills, prioritization, and delegation skills.
• Ability to communicate and present municipal projects to the general public and other community groups in a straightforward and understandable manner.
• Verbal and written communication skills sufficient to effectively present information and respond to questions from a wide variety of audiences, and reading comprehension skills sufficient to read, understand and interpret varied work-related materials.
• Ability to proficiently use or learn CAD and GIS and other City computer systems and programs related to work assignments.
• Skill in using personal computer software including MS Office.
• Knowledge of and ability to operate standard office software sufficient to manipulate data, draft reports and maintain records.
• Knowledge of governmental practices and policies.

Nice To Haves

• American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification
• Professional Transportation Planner (PTP)
• Professional Transportation Operations Engineer (PTOE)
• Professional Engineer (PE)
• Experience in pedestrian and bikeway planning and/or project design.
• Knowledge of Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MMUTCD) as well as state and federal transportation standards and processes.

Responsibilities

• Serves as the administrator for the Transportation Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, SEMAP, and Living Streets program.
• Develops and updates plans for the creation, maintenance and improvements of sidewalks and bikeways, including the prioritization of projects within the plan.
• Develops and updates street reconstruction and street maintenance capital improvement plans with the inclusion of sidewalks and bikeways, including the prioritization of projects.
• Develops and updates standards and policies for traffic operations.
• Serves as the City’s subject and technical matter expert on multi-modal transportation while leveraging and increasing the City’s internal and external knowledge base.
• Coordinates drafting the Transportation Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan.
• Coordinates implementation of multi-modal transportation strategies in the Climate Action Plan in collaboration with the Sustainability Division.
• Manages the PACS Fund budget.
• Receives yearly fund revenue information from Finance.
• Reviews year-to-date spending reports and monitors performance against plan making or recommending adjustments as necessary.
• Approves expenditures that are within budget and within the authorized approval limits of the job.
• Negotiates with vendors to ensure the most cost-effective alternatives are identified when planning expenditures.
• Identify alternative funding sources including grant research and writing in coordination with the Sustainability Division.
• Prepares annual reports summarizing each year’s PACS Fund expenditures and presents this to the City Council.
• Oversees the planning and design of traffic operations within the City.
• Coordinate traffic operations studies and written reports including traffic volume, speed, turning movements, origin and destination, accidents, and pedestrian/bicyclists.
• Receives and reviews resident requests for traffic control or calming devices throughout the City, conducts the appropriate level of analysis and makes recommendations.
• Reviews proposed development/redevelopment plans and City/County/State public improvement plans to determine if traffic operational and safety standards are met and recommends changes as necessary.
• Works with the Streets Division to properly and effectively manage and maintain street maintenance, street signage, pavement markings, and traffic signal maintenance.
• Serves as the staff liaison to Edina’s Transportation Commission (ETC).
• Provides support to the Commission in the form of technical research and advice.
• Performs cost analysis and impact analysis for Commission initiatives.
• Coordinate non-motorized transportation facilities (NMTF) marketing and promotional activities to educate residents, businesses and visitors.
• Provides supervision and leadership to full- and part-time staff.
• Provides training and work direction.
• Recommends hiring, termination, and promotions.
• Sets goals and objectives and monitors performance of direct reports.
• Conducts ongoing feedback, coaching, mentoring and timely performance reviews.
• Successfully leads and manages across division, departmental and agency organizations to form multidisciplinary teams of managers, engineers, planners, technicians, analysts, sworn law officers and consultants to advance programs and projects and to implement city policies and programs.
• Communicates courteously and professionally and maintains working relationships with internal and external audiences in carrying out job functions.
• Assists in conducting public information meetings and preparation of public informational items to ensure that the public affected by City projects are kept well informed, including travel and meeting with individual residents impacted by projects.
• Represents the City to the community, with stakeholders and on various committees.
• Collaborates with Metro Transit to preserve and enhance Edina’s transit service.
• Communicates with others relating to work assignments and progress of work or to convey information about conditions or work-related needs.
• Provides general or technical information in response to written or oral inquiries, and responds to questions and requests from other departments, agencies and the public.
• Maintains professional competence and stays abreast of trends and innovations.
• Attends training, conferences and meetings and reviews relevant literature.
• Performs other duties and activities as assigned.

Benefits

• The job may involve dealing with and calming individuals who are emotionally charged over an issue.
• There are frequent evening meetings to support the Transportation Commission or for other business purposes.
• Some requirements in this job description may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health and safety of themselves or other employees.
• All requirements are subject to modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level