Transportation Master Plan

Alvaro Almuina is the consultant project manager for the County of Essex Transportation Master Plan. He is a Vice President, Municipal Transportation Planning at R.J. Burnside and Associates Ltd. and has over 36 years of experience in transportation planning and traffic engineering in Ontario and across the globe. Alvaro is widely recognized for his services to public sector clients in the areas of community planning, environmental assessments, project management and institutional strengthening. Alvaro is a graduate of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto and holds a master of engineering with a specialty in transportation. He is a registered professional engineer in the Province of Ontario and a project management professional. Alvaro has completed over 20 transportation master plans for small and large communities, locally and internationally.

Jerry Behl heads the planning and development section of the County of Essex Infrastructure and Planning Services department.

Nadine Ibrahim, P.Eng, PhD, is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream and Turkstra Chair in Urban Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo. She holds a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in civil engineering, and a Certificate of Preventive Engineering and Social Development from the University of Toronto. She leverages her academic and industry experience in engineering consulting and international development to lead new approaches in urban infrastructure and sustainable cities. In Canada, she worked with municipalities in Southwestern Ontario on asset management, risk assessment, infrastructure planning and capital budgeting. Abroad, in the Middle East and North Africa, she worked in international development on high profile and large-scale projects for clients including the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility. Her research focuses on urban infrastructure, sustainable cities, climate change mitigation in global cities, energy and material flows in megacities, and sustainability assessments in megaregions. She is an advocate for engineers as municipal leaders that are equipped to address the challenges of rapid urbanization. She is currently the president of the Canadian Engineering Education Association and chairs the special interest group on the Engineer of 2050. She is an ambassador to How to Change the World and is on the Pan-Canadian advisory committee on the Canadian Engineering Grand Challenges.

Justin Jones has been working to expand mobility choice for people in Ontario for over a decade, bringing his knowledge of best practice to over 100 municipalities in Ontario over the course of his career. He currently leads HDR’s Active Transportation practice in Canada, where he channels his passion for implementing more people-centric public spaces to create more connected, compassionate and thriving communities across Canada and beyond. He lives in Collingwood, where you can often find him on the trails with his bike, his two daughters and his two golden retrievers.

As Bike Windsor Essex executive director, Lori is the leading voice for cycling advocacy in Essex County, Canada’s southernmost and, arguably, flattest region. She vigorously campaigns for social justice on our streets, for complete streets policies in our communities and believes our public spaces should be designed for everyone from 8 to 80 years old.

The plan will provide guidance for future investments in transportation to foster community growth for years to come. It will advocate for a comprehensive, multi-modal approach to the planning, design and execution of transportation infrastructure to support and realize the county’s strategic directions and policies. The plan will set out a framework and strategy for effectively managing the growing traffic volume anticipated in the coming years.

• Resources for infrastructure and services, with a focus on predicted future traffic needs, ensuring alignment with both the regional and provincial long-term objectives.
• Collaboration with neighbouring jurisdictions that offer interconnected transportation services to Essex County.
• The criteria to meet the conditions of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process for prospective transportation projects, facilities and services within Essex County.

The primary emphasis of the plan will be on enhancing Essex County's transportation system. However, there will be evaluations to improve transportation options regionally, including traffic to and from the City of Windsor and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.

No. The plan will comprehensively address the ways people and goods move within Essex County, such as walking, cycling, riding public transit and driving.

Your feedback will help us identify challenges and opportunities that need to be considered in the Essex County Transportation Master Plan. It also help us refine the recommendations in the plan.