Tom Hewitt

Thomas is an accessibility expert and self-described “plangineer” with more than 15 years of experience in the planning and design of transportation operations and infrastructure, predominantly related to transit access, universal design, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance for buildings, facilities, and within the public right-of-way. As the Seattle Department of Transportation’s ADA Coordinator, Thomas has been involved in a multitude of programs, pilot projects, and other initiatives to improve accessibility in Seattle’s public right-of-way. Managing the department’s ADA Program, Thomas and his team work with various internal and external stakeholders to help design accessible elements, review plans, and conduct inspections in order to comply with Federal, State, and local accessibility requirements for the public right-of-way, including curb ramps, Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS), and tactile warning surface indicators. While at the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), he worked within the Facilities Engineering group as an ADA Specialist, conducting accessibility assessments for the agency’s Light Rail and Metro Subway stations as well as coordinating bus stop improvements for the agency’s fixed-route bus service. As Director of Service Development, Thomas initiated and led efforts to published MTA’s Bus Stop Design Guide in 2019 (https://www.mta.maryland.gov/bus-stop-design-guide), paying homage and customizing many aspects of NACTO’s Transit Street Design Guide with examples and scenarios from the Baltimore region. This guide was intended to serve as an internal resource for MTA staff, provide guidance to local governments and developers for best integrating MTA bus stops into their plans, and educating passengers, elected officials, and the public about the planning and design of bus stops. Thomas has also been involved in the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) as a panelist for Synthesis 152: Transit Agency Relationships and Initiatives to Improve Bus Stops and Pedestrian Access, which summarizes the current state of practice for bus stops and pedestrian infrastructure improvement programs and processes in place at transit agencies and other public organizations (https://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/182090.aspx). Thomas holds a Master of City and Regional Planning and Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in Criminology and Sociology with a minor in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.