Session 1A: Pedestrian/Bike Safety & Liability

Moderator: Anton Kuhner, PE, PTOE, McMahon Associates, Inc.

• Pedestrians & Liability, Keith Bergman, PE, President, Bergman Engineering
• Pedestrian Safety Policy: Vision Zero, Bob Previdi, Policy Coordinator, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia
• Design Approaches for Ped/Bike Safety, Erin Fredette, PE, Project Manager, McMahon Associates, Inc.

Speaker Bios:

Keith A. Bergman currently works for Bergman Engineering, LLC and has nearly 20 years of civil engineering experience. Keith obtained a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from San Diego State University in 1991. He is a licensed professional engineer and currently holds professional licenses in 13 states, including the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Keith is an active professional member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Highway Engineers, the Engineers Club of Philadelphia, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Through his ITE membership, he serves on the ITE Expert Witness Council. Keith is also a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers, and is a past member of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. Keith served as the planning commissioner for Lower Salford Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania from 2002 to 2009, when he was appointed to serve on the Lower Salford Township board of supervisors, an elected post he holds today. Keith has worked for several civil engineering firms, including McMahon Associates Inc., located in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and Bohler Engineering located in Chalfont, Pennsylvania. He also served as vice-president of land development for the home builder, Elliott Building Group.

Keith’s firm specializes in expert witness work, assisting the legal community. The firm helps clients understand the complexity of their cases or claims so that they can make the most informed decision. The firm provides critical information and insight on subject matter that is often foreign to the average person.

Bob Previdi is a long-time public transit enthusiast. He began his career as a college intern at NYC Transit and spent 14 years as a planner and spokesman. When moving to Philadelphia in 2000, he shifted his career to politics where he volunteered on Governor Rendell’s campaign and was director of communications for City Council President Anna C. Verna.

As executive director of the Chestnut Hill Business Improvement District, Bob focused on streetscape and pedestrian enhancements and installed some of the first “Yield to Pedestrian” signs in the city. Bob likes to run and play basketball during the week and on weekends enjoys riding along the Wissahickon Creek trail into South Philly to relax.

Erin Fredette is a project manager with McMahon Associates with nearly a decade of transportation planning, traffic engineering, and public transit experience. Her projects focus on incorporating transit, pedestrian, and bicycle accommodations to ensure safe and efficient operations for all modes of transportation. As a specialist in traffic engineering, her responsibilities on projects have included: quantifying performance measures for non-vehicular transportation modes (Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress, Multi-Modal Level-of-Service, bicycle and pedestrian delay), conducting capacity analysis (Synchro, HCS, VISSIM), and developing roadway cross-sections and signal timing and phasing plans for all users. Erin has been involved in a variety of innovative multi-modal projects from safety improvements at a single intersection to the proposed redesign of entire roadway corridors, and hopes to continue to work with communities throughout New England to provide improved facilities for pedestrians and bicycles.