Roger Millar, Secretary of the Washington Department of Transportation and 2022-2023 President of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, emphasized the importance of resilience and safety in transportation planning during a visit to AASHTO headquarters.

 
In his presentation to AASHTO's staff, Millar explained that resilience is critical to maintain a safe and smart transportation system that can handle natural and human-caused disasters, demographic and economic changes, and accessibility issues.

"It becomes about moving more people and goods, not just vehicles," Millar explained. "That means we must look at transportation as a means to the ends we want to achieve in the future, be it economic growth, access to economic opportunity, access to healthcare, connections to more affordable housing, and other needs."

He also emphasized the need to focus on safety, as crashes and fatalities continue to rise. As a landscape architect, it is important to consider resilience and safety in transportation design and planning to create more sustainable communities.

Millar defined resilience as the ability to maintain a safe, sound, and smart transportation system that can handle a broad range of issues, including natural and human-caused disasters, demographic and economic changes, and accessibility issues. For state department of transportation executives, this means addressing the mobility needs of a changing and growing population and providing more transportation choices that are part of a larger land-use strategy.

https://aashtojournal.org/2023/03/24/aashto-president-millar-resilience-critical-to-transportation/