Study Team Bios

General William Barclay Parsons, PB's founder, served as the chief engineer for the design and construction of New York City's first subway.

PB Americas, Inc. (PB) is one of the largest consulting engineering and planning firms in the world, with over 13,000 employees in 150 offices worldwide. In Florida, the firm has seven offices located in Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville and Tallahassee. The firm is noted as a leader in transit planning and engineering, having been established in 1885 and leading the first major transit project in the U.S. in the development of the New York City subway system. Over the years, PB has expanded its experience to include planning, design, and construction management on all forms of rail transit, bus rapid transit, and local bus systems. PB has more experience in transit corridor and alternatives analysis studies, and rail planning and design than any other firm in the world. PB has conducted over 100 corridor transit alternatives analysis studies nationwide. The firm also has been involved in planning and designing all types of rail transit from streetcar and light rail to heavy commuter rail to monorail and automated people mover systems.

AECOM is a global provider of professional technical and management support services to a broad range of markets, including transportation, facilities, environmental and energy. AECOM has played a major role in supporting transit clients in the planning and initiation of rail transit projects, and is nationally recognized for its success in advancing projects from planning to revenue service. AECOM specializes in navigating the project development process through excellence in completing Alternatives Analyses (AA), environmental reviews under NEPA, preliminary engineering, and final design services. AECOM's expertise is recognized by the Federal Transit Administration, which has tapped the firm to provide project management services as well as to develop guidance and provide technical assistance to project sponsors throughout the country. AECOM specializes in developing, enhancing, and applying travel demand forecasting models to evaluate the effectiveness of new transportation investments. They have a particular focus on analysis of fixed guideway transit projects and are fully versed in the requirements of the FTA New Starts program. Their approach is geared to tuning travel models so that they can be used effectively and efficiently to understand potential markets and develop reliable forecasts of ridership and project benefits.

Key Staff

Leo Auger of PB serves as the project's project manager. He has over 33 years of experience with various transit agencies throughout the U.S. These include the start up of the DART system in Dallas, Texas, the introduction of Virginia Railway Express (VRE), the completion of planning and PE for rail in Orlando, Florida and more recently he serves as the project manager on HART's Strategic Consulting Services - Tampa New Starts Transit Project.

Don Emerson is PB's national expert on federal transit funding programs and requirements. Prior to joining PB, Don was in charge of the New Starts division at FTA. He has subsequently served as an adviser to numerous transit agencies, State DOTs, and others on Federal funding programs for transit, New Starts criteria, planning and environmental procedures, and other grant requirements. He has drafted sections of FTA's Guidance on Alternatives Analysis, and developed and delivers three--day FTA training course on alternatives analysis.

GB Arrington is PB's principal practice leader for PlaceMaking, responsible for providing strategic direction and leading PB's global transit-oriented development (TOD) practice. He is internationally recognized as a leader in TOD and for his skills in linking transit and land use to create livable communities of lasting value. GB specializes in policy, research, planning and design services that assist public and private sector clients in solving politically and technically complex land use and transportation challenges. During his career, he has directed the preparation of over 125 TOD plans.

Diana Mendes is AECOM's National Director of Transit Planning. She has extensive experience in transportation corridor studies, environmental impact assessments, regulatory compliance programs, and policy planning. She is a nationally recognized expert in the development of major transit projects, and specializes in land use and environmental management issues affecting the design and implementation of major transit systems. Ms. Mendes's work also includes risk assessments, alternative analyses, environmental impact statements, and environmental assessments for large-scale, federally funded transit improvements.