American Planning Association

Episode sponsor: Eastern Washington University Episode URL: https://planning.org/podcast/critical-conversations-in-transportation-planning-wes-marshall-and-trung-vo-aicp/ In this episode, co-hosts Divya Gandhi and Em Hall were excited to take the podcast show on the road, recording episodes at the 2025 National Planning Conference in Denver. This dispatch of Critical Conversation in Transportation Planning kicks off our safety series and features Wes Marshall, PhD, PE, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado Denver, and Trung Vo, AICP, PE, Denver Office Director, Senior Planner, and Owner at Toole Design. Our speakers highlight how many traffic engineering standards are based on flawed assumptions rather than science, specifically pointing to problems with level of service metrics, automatic traffic growth assumptions, and designing for peak hours rather than community needs. They emphasize the need for courage to tackle arterial roads where most fatalities occur, challenging the reactive approach of waiting for crashes to happen instead of proactively designing safer streets for all users. Relevant Links: Death by Design: A New Book from a CU Denver Transportation Expert Rethinks the Science Behind Our Roads Killed By a Traffic Engineer, Shattering the Delusion that Science Underlies our Transportation System Denver Moves: Safe and Slow Streets with Bikeways No More Five-Lane Roads: An Engineer’s Perspective About Wes Marshall: Wes Marshall, PhD, PE, is a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado Denver, where he holds a joint appointment in urban planning. He plays a pivotal role as director of the CU Denver Human-Centered Transportation program and the Transportation Research Center at CU Denver. Wes is a licensed Professional Engineer and focuses on transportation teaching and research dedicated to creating safer and more sustainable transportation systems. Wes is the author behind the 2024 book Killed by a Traffic Engineer. He also has more than 80 peer-reviewed journal publications and book chapters to his name and has received millions of dollars in research funding. Wes was the winner of the campus-wide CU Denver Outstanding Faculty in Research Award. He also has a passion for teaching and mentoring students and is the only three-time winner of the CU Denver College of Engineering Outstanding Faculty in Teaching Award. A native of Watertown, Massachusetts, Wes is a graduate of the University of Virginia (BS) and the University of Connecticut (MS and PhD). He is a recipient of the Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship, Australia’s Endeavour Fellowship, and the Transportation Research Board’s Wootan Award for the outstanding paper in policy and organization. About Trung Vo: Trung serves as a Senior Planner and our Denver Office Director. In his work, he leverages his certification as a planner, licensure as a Professional Engineer, and experience in both the public and private sectors to help communities become safer, more connected, and more resilient. Trung specializes in multimodal planning and design, public engagement, and design guidance. Outside of the office, Trung enjoys photography, bicycling, snowboarding, and spending time with his wife and two sons.