- One word to describe yourself: Purposeful
- Alma Mater: Northeastern University (bachelor’s), Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (master’s)
- Favorite book: "The High Cost of Free Parking" by Donald Shoup
- Favorite TV show: "Seinfeld"
- Favorite movie: "Alien"
- Favorite hobby(s): Travel, hiking, kayaking and cocktails.
- Fun fact about yourself: "I’m obsessed with my dog Abbott. Also, my husband’s name is also Dan."
- Favorite station or stop that you have ever visited or frequent (and why): "St. Pancras International in London. The renovation of the station is stunning with an incredible mix of the old structure and modern architecture."
- Favorite route you have ever ridden or frequent (and why): "Paris to Geneva on the TGV. My first time on high-speed rail."
Daniel Turner is one of the clear up and comers at WSP USA, not only due to his many contributions to WSP's projects on both the East Coast and in the Northwest (where he relocated more than two-and-a-half years ago), but also because of his many contributions to the field of transportation. His focus has been on transit, non-motorized modes and complete streets. Turner has contributed significantly to access planning to transit stations and service, particularly for bus rapid transit projects for multiple clients in the Central Puget Sound Region, including King County Metro, Community Transit and Sound Transit. Turner led the development of the innovative access to planning methodology and project ranking tool that will help guide King County Metro’s future investment in improving its customers' access to transit.
The New Jersey Complete Streets Design Guide Turner developed has won accolades in New Jersey and he was recently recognized with the Young Professionals in Transportation International Project of the Year 2018 award at the Transportation Research Board's annual conference in Washington, D.C., in January. For this project, he developed a new bicycle facility planning process that is changing how these facilities are planned and implemented in New Jersey.
Turner is an active participant in the local and national transportation planning community. He has written papers and presented at conferences, including the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the American Planning Association's national conference. He is one of WSP's most committed transportation planners; his enthusiasm, ability to develop innovative analysis tools and approaches and his engagement in the industry at large make him one of our outstanding leaders whose career will continue to grow at WSP.
"I’ve always been motivated to create a better community and country through public policy and politics. Since I was a child in the New York suburbs, I have been passionate about conservation and sustainable development. After leaving Long Island for college in Boston, I became very interested in transportation — specifically how people’s transportation options and choices impacted their daily lives. I always enjoyed riding the subway in New York City, but living in Boston was my first time interacting with public transit on an almost daily basis."
"I went to the UK to study abroad while in college and got to travel a bit around Europe. I really loved riding the different transit systems — especially the London Underground and Paris Metro – and came back to Boston with a new perspective on the system there and on transit in the U.S. overall. I started to observe how people travel more closely and examine how travel choices and opportunities can affect their lives. I also became very interested in the specifics of the Boston subway system (“the T”) including fare payment and collection, wayfinding, and the myriad other things that can affect how easy a system is to use. These experiences, and multiple others since then, have contributed to my belief that transit is an integral part of creating a sustainable society, today and in the future. Additionally, where transit is the most successful, it is reliable, frequent, and economically competitive and complementary to other modes of travel."
"I love the opportunity to solve complex problems that affect the lives of residents in my home city, Seattle, the, region, and sometimes around the country. Working with WSP, I have the opportunity to shape projects that have a real impact on how people travel, live their lives, and access opportunity. The Seattle region is experiencing rapid growth and change, and transit is playing catch-up. The local agencies have aggressive goals for transit expansion and I love having the opportunity to help them overcome challenging obstacles in meeting those goals."
"Trying to balance a bold vision and goals with implementation. The various projects I work on – from light rail to bus rapid transit to standard bus — all have constraints that challenge their implementation. Trying to find the perfect path where a project can be bold and transformative while also achieving the necessary consensus, meeting budgetary requirements, and overcoming other physical and institutional constraints is the overarching challenge of most of our projects."
"Leading the development of the New Jersey Complete Streets Design Guide [is one of my proudest accomplishments]. Creating this guide gave me the opportunity to learn from a diverse set of experts in a range of fields — from street design to transit to green infrastructure. I was able to present a vision for what the guide would be to our client and believe the final product reflects that vision. Today the guide is a tool for practitioners and citizens in New Jersey to change how transportation is planned and implemented in their state, and communities and will hopefully contribute to making New Jersey a safer and more mobile place. I’ve heard practitioners in New Jersey who feel the guide is a big step forward for the state and have also heard from practitioners in other states who would like to see their state or city do something similar. I’m very grateful to have received an award from the Young Professionals in Transportation (YPT) International Project of the Year 2018 for the guide."
"Always try to push the envelope. This industry can be very rewarding but can also be full of disappointment. It can be easy to see all the ways a project or endeavor can fail, but the best people to work for or with are those that always try to find the path to success, regardless of the challenges. I try to be one of those people in my career and hope I can continue to be in the future."
"I like working with people who are dedicated to creating a more mobile, equitable and sustainable community. Transit represents opportunity for many people — whether it’s reliance on an existing service, or the potential that will come with a new service/route. This industry has given me the chance to work alongside so many people who are dedicated to those goals and have a sense of purpose in their professions. It’s an exciting field to be a part of."
