City lists transit experts for panel

The city administration has given the City Council a list of 16 transit engineers and administrators who could advise the city on its new transit system.

The Council is considering forming a technology selection panel that would act as an impartial decision-maker to pick the technology for the city's transit system.

Wayne Yoshioka, acting city transportation director, called the candidates "highly regarded technical experts with excellent reputations in the industry."

"We are confident that these candidates represent the most current and comprehensive knowledge and experience of the fixed guideway technology, and without present or near-term vested interests in any of the transit technology providers," Yoshioka said.

According to the latest version of the draft resolution, the Council would select two of the panelists, the administration would pick two and the four panelists would select the fifth member.

The city's list of potential panel members include:

» Ralph Mason, consultant, principal vice president, Bechtel Corp. He was project manager for the installation of the rubber-tired automated guideway at Seattle-Tacoma Airport.

» Ken Knight, consultant, deputy project manager for the Washington, D.C., Metro system. Recently worked with the World Bank to assess transit projects in Europe and Asia.

» Tom McGean, retired transportation systems engineers and current chairman of the American Society of Civil Engineers Automated People Mover Standards Committee.

» Steve Arrington, director of resource development for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority in Jacksonville, Fla.

» Paul Bay, transportation planner and transit project designer. He was involved with transit planning in Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Vancouver B.C., San Francisco, Sacramento, Denver, Minneapolis, Houston, Newark. N.J., and Norfolk, Va.

» Henry Kolesar, group manager for vehicle engineering with the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District.

» Ron Tober, former general manager of rail transit operating authorities in Cleveland, Seattle and Charlotte, N.C. He is the past chairman of the American Public Transportation Association.

» Frank Martin, a transit consultant and former chief operating officer for the San Jose, Calif., light rail and bus transit system.

» Tom Parkinson, engineering consultant with Vancouver Skytrain who has worked in Beijing; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Auckland, New Zealand.

» Ron Kangas, retired Federal Transportation Administration official. He did research and technical evaluations on automated guideway transit.

» Joe Abbas helped design the Jacksonville, Fla., automated skyway express and served as project manager for the urban maglev systems study of the Federal Transportation Administration.

» Albert Engel, Morgan Stanley financial adviser and former president of SYSTRA Consulting, a New Jersey firm specializing in public transit planning.

» George Swede, retired Parson Brinckerhoff fixed guideway planner.

» Reuben Beebe worked as a senior manager for the Chicago O'Hare Airport automated guideway and the Houston Metro light rail system and was chief project engineer for the Miami Metrorail system.

» Steve Barsony, retired Federal Transportation Administration official. He was director of the FTA office of engineering.

» Jim Talley, senior engineering manager who served as a vice president with Siemans Transportation Systems and Bechtel International.