John N. Dowden
Principal

Mr. Dowden has over 38 years of experience in transportation planning and engineering. He has conducted and managed numerous General Plan, Specific and Master Plan and environmental analyses. He has developed and applied many travel demand forecasting models. Many of his projects have been very controversial. Master Plans such as the expansion of Heavenly Valley or the Update of the City of Half Moon Bay General Plan Circulation Element have been among the most recent controversial projects. He was executive director of a public transit agency and helped to develop coordinated transportation services for the elderly and handicapped members of many communities.

Professional Societies
Institute of Traffic Engineers
American Planning Association

Professional Experience
Public Participation

Over the past 38 years, Mr. Dowden has conducted numerous public participation processes as part of his studies, which achieved consensus within the communities affected by the proposed project or plan. Some of the more controversial of his projects include the General Plan for the City of Salinas, the transportation growth strategy plan for the City of Sausalito (Sausalito Traffic and Transportation Study), the Master Plan for the South Lake Tahoe Airport, and the expansion of the Heavenly Ski Resort redevelopment project in the South Lake Tahoe casino/commercial core area. Each of these projects required close coordination with community groups and the presentation and development of informational materials designed to provide data for gaining consensus within the community.

He was responsible for the public participation program for the update of the City of Monterey traffic, circulation and parking element of the General Plan. His responsibilities included coordinating and facilitating all of the citizen, agency and decision maker workshops and subcommittee meetings. His major goal was the development of a transportation plan which had the highest possible level of consensus among the Cities, regional agencies and community groups on the Monterey Peninsula.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan Studies

Mr. Dowden is principal-in-charge for several of our bicycle and pedestrian Master Plan projects. Recent studies include the Pedestrian Master Plan for Sacramento County and the Bicycle Master Plan for the City of Oakland. In addition, Mr. Dowden is principal-in-charge for the Alameda County Pedestrian Master Plan. Mr. Dowden's role in these projects has been to address policy and implementation issues which normally require consensus between public advocacy groups as well as public agencies and internal public agency departments. He has also addressed basic pedestrian and bicycle circulation issues in the past through his involvement in General Plan updates, most recently for the General Plan update for the City of Walnut Creek.

Traffic Impact Studies

Mr. Dowden served as Project Manager and principal investigator for numerous traffic impacts studies and environmental assessments. Mr. Dowden conducted traffic impact assessments for a wide range of developments including the Diablo Grande Golf and Resort Master Plan near Modesto; the Reuse and Disposal of NAS Alameda and Hamilton Field in Novato, a 3 million square foot office and retail project at San Francisco Executive Park near Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Current environmental assessment projects include: the University District Specific Plan in the City of Rohnert Park and the City of Livermore General Plan Update. Mr. Dowden conducted the traffic assessment and impact studies for the construction of the LAVWMA and Altamont Pass pipeline EIR projects.

Circulation System Studies

Mr. Dowden was Project Manager for the North City Framework Plan traffic assessment in San Diego, California. This project covered a land area of about 12,000 acres. Mr. Dowden evaluated a series of sketch plan options for the plan area including the evalua­tion of the new Route 56 extension and its relationship to the planning area. Mr. Dowden was Project Manager for the City of American Canyon Streets Master Plan. Other circulation plans include the North Livermore Specific Plan, the Bahia Master Plan in Novato, and the Sand Creek Specific Plan project in the City of Antioch.

Transportation Demand Models

Mr. Dowden has 38 years of experience in transportation modeling and forecasting. Former modeling studies include: The Marin Countywide travel model, the Concord Citywide traffic model, and the City of Salinas General Plan model. His experience with modeling software includes TRANPLAN, MINUTP and UTPS. All of these programs are used as standard forecasting tools. As part of the Central District Development Plan, he developed the Oakland Downtown travel model. He was also responsible for the development and baseline calibration of the El Dorado County, the City of Fairfield, and the City of Salinas and County of Marin travel demand models.

Transit Planning and Management

Mr. Dowden was Project Manager for the Solano County Transportation Plan Update. This project was principally an effort directed towards developing countywide consensus concerning future transit development within the county. At issue were the needs of the general public and elderly, and handicapped. He developed management strategies for a new Pleasanton/Dublin Transit, a draft joint powers agreement and by-laws for the formation of new transit properties within the Pleasanton-authority. As part of this work he drafted a joint powers agreement and by-laws for the formation of new transit authority. As Marin County Transit General Manager and Transportation Services Manager, he was responsible for all local transit, para-transit and emergency transportation services within the County.

Airport Access Studies

Mr. Dowden conducted the traffic assessment and airport access study for the Paso Robles Airport and airport area Specific Plan. This project considered the development of the Paso Robles airport and the development of about 8,000,000 square feet of surrounding industrial land. Mr. Dowden was Project Manager for the traffic access studies and access requirements for the AirBART transit shuttle improvement project. The overall project was directed towards enhancing the Oakland International Airport transit shuttle service between the Coliseum BART Station and the Airport. As part of this work, traffic circulation, pedestrian flow, curb loading and roadway geometric parameters for the near and long term expansion of the Airport were evaluated and incorporated into the final transit terminal concepts. He developed the transportation master plan and environmental analysis for the expansion of the South Lake Tahoe Airport.

Light Rail Transit

Mr. Dowden was Project Engineer of the feasibility study conducted for the San Diego MTDB for the extension of the current LRT service from its current terminus to the San Diego International Airport and other destinations.

Recreational Travel Studies

Mr. Dowden was Project Manager for the Regional Recrea­tional Travel Feasibility Study for the Monterey Peninsula. This project evaluated the issue of providing an auto alternative for travel to the Peninsula in the event of another “fuel crisis.” The recommended plan encompassed the development of a transportation brokerage concept which allowed private enterprise to undertake plan implementation. Mr. Dowden served as senior planner on the Golden Gate Recreational Travel Study. This project defined the transportation system and policy plan for transit access to and within the Golden Gate National Recreational Area.

Resort Traffic Assessment

Mr. Dowden served as Project Manager for the traffic impact and Master Plan development of the expansion of the Heavenly Valley Ski resort in South Lake Tahoe. This project included extensive research into ski and non-ski recreational trip generation and traffic distribution patterns. The project required the development of a split model for projecting the use and benefits of developing a new tram between the mountain and the casino core area. The analysis also considered the impacts of secondary non-skier travel and mitigation measures directed at reducing daily vehicle miles traveled within the basin.

Education
California State Polytechnic College, San Luis Obispo B.S. (Architectural Engineering)