New this year, Flex Sessions give attendees more ways to engage with technical content at the ITE Annual Meeting. Offered during two Tuesday time blocks, Flex Sessions run alongside ITE’s traditional 90-minute Concurrent Technical Sessions and feature five topic areas in nearby rooms.

 

Each room includes three 30-minute presentations organized around a shared theme, creating 15 focused learning opportunities in each 90-minute block. Attendees may stay with one topic area from start to finish or move among rooms every 30 minutes to build a customized experience.

 

It is a flexible, fast-moving format designed to help participants explore more ideas, discover practical solutions, and make the most of their time at the meeting. 

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Tuesday, July 21 | 2:15–3:45 p.m. 

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State and Local Lessons Learned on Implementing the Safe System Approach 

Room 140 B/C 

This Flex Session examines how state and local agencies are putting Safe System principles into practice to reduce fatalities and serious injuries. Attendees will explore practical approaches to roadway design, road safety audits, and traffic safety culture that support proactive, systemwide progress toward Vision Zero. 

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30-minute presentations include: 

• Caltrans Integration of the Safe System Approach Into Roadside Design 

• Using RSAs to Step Toward Vision Zero: A Denver Case Study 

• Building a Traffic Safety Culture Transformation Framework for Municipalities 

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Perspectives on Multimodal Planning 

Room 140 D/E

This Flex Session explores how agencies are advancing multimodal planning through active transportation, transit, and roadway strategies that respond to evolving community needs. Attendees will hear how flexible planning, stakeholder collaboration, and targeted investments can improve connectivity, expand mobility options, and deliver long-term value. 

 

30-minute presentations include: 

• Impactful Local Projects—Setting the Wheels in Motion 

• It's Not Too Late ... Embracing Flexibility in Highway Design to Serve All Road Users 

• Restoring Main Street: Walkability Action Institute and MDOT TAP Pilot Program 

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From Data to Decisions: Scaling Analytics for Modern TSMO Decision-Making 

Room 140 F/G 

This Flex Session focuses on how agencies are using data, modeling, and emerging technologies to support more informed Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) decisions. Attendees will learn how predictive analytics, digital tools, and asset management strategies can improve safety, efficiency, investment decisions, and system performance. 

 

30-minute presentations include: 

• Estimating Operational Benefits of TSMO Active Traffic Management: The Perspective from Daily Person Hours of Delay 

• Digital Twin for Optimizing Real-Time Traffic Signal Timing Operations 

• Data-Driven Decision-Making through Asset Management in MDOT’s Ancillary Structures Program 

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Advancing Professional Practice Through Innovation, Collaboration, and Safety Culture 

Room 141 

This Flex Session highlights how transportation professionals can strengthen outcomes through new perspectives, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and intentional safety leadership. Presenters will demonstrate how innovation, organizational structure, and partnerships can move complex transportation initiatives forward. 

 

30-minute presentations include: 

• Gordie Howe International Bridge Between Detroit and Canada 

• Fresh Eyes in Transportation: How a Non-Engineer Helped NYSDOT Bring Structure to Its TSMO Program 

• Oakland County’s Highway Safety Success Story: Creating a Safety Culture ​

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Corridor Analysis and Operations 

Room 142 A–C 

This Flex Session showcases practical strategies for improving freeway and arterial corridor performance through data, technology, and active management. Attendees will learn how agencies are using real-time data, smart work zone tools, and ramp metering strategies to improve reliability, safety, and operations across complex corridors. 

 

30-minute presentations include: 

• Corridor-Wide Smart Work Zone Implementation, Mitigation Efforts, and Evaluation 

• Unlocking Corridor Insights with High-Penetration Probe Data and the Flow Platform 

• Portage Road 360: A Master Class in Storytelling for Reimagining a Corridor 

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Tuesday, July 21 | 4:15–5:45 p.m. 

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Safety of People Walking, Biking, and Rolling 

Room 140 B/C 

This Flex Session explores innovative approaches to improving safety for people walking, biking, and rolling through education, analysis, and design tools. Presenters will highlight how data, technology, and practical resources can support safer, more accessible multimodal networks. 

 

30-minute presentations include: 

• ITE/NC Safe Routes to School Safety Briefing Sheets 

• Multimodal Nighttime Intersection Safety: Integrating Photometric Compliance and AI-Based Near-Miss Analysis Across NJTPA Jurisdictions 

• Using GIS to Streamline Multimodal Safety and Maintenance Design 

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Beyond Engineering: Leadership, Mental Health, and the Impact of Our Work 

Room 140 D/E 

This Flex Session looks beyond technical practice to the human skills and professional realities that shape transportation outcomes. Attendees will consider how communication, well-being, and intentional leadership can strengthen teams, improve public understanding, and help transportation professionals make a more meaningful impact. 

 

30-minute presentations include: 

• Death and Engineering: Practicing Mental Health as Transportation Professionals 

• Impacts of Traffic Planning & Design on ROW 

• The Leadership Journey: Stories to Inspire Your Path 

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Managing Cybersecurity Risk in ITS: Lessons from Threats, AI, and Network Operations 

Room 140 F/G 

This Flex Session addresses the growing cybersecurity, AI, and network resilience challenges facing increasingly connected transportation systems. Attendees will learn how to identify vulnerabilities, strengthen trust in emerging technologies, and apply cyber-informed practices to improve system reliability and resilience. 

 

30-minute presentations include: 

• Testing and Evaluation Framework for Trustworthy AI Systems in ITS 

• An Insider’s View on Common Security Vulnerabilities 

• Enhancing Transportation Network Resilience through Cyber-Informed Network Management 

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Highway Capacity and Application of Traffic Analyses 

Room 142 A–C 

This Flex Session connects research, modeling, and applied engineering practice to support more effective traffic analysis and corridor decision-making. Attendees will gain insight into simulation strategies, work zone operations analysis, and updates to the Highway Capacity Manual that inform modern transportation planning and design. 

30-minute presentations include: 

• Balancing Precision and Pragmatism: Lessons from the I-270 EIS Simulation Strategy 

• Constrained, Not Congested: Innovative Intersections for Space-Limited Environments 

• Methodological Advancements in HCM 7.1