18 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018
Serving as VHB’s deputy project manager
and environmental lead for Boston’s
South Station Expansion, she played a key
role in assisting the Massachusetts Department
of Transportation with clearing
the state environmental process and setting
a path for completion of the federal
environmental review process.
As environmental task manager for
the Burlington DTC, she provided environmental
services and planning support
for the alternatives analysis and preparation
of environmental review documents
necessary to satisfy the Federal Transit
Administration’s NEPA guidelines for a
new transit center at the hub of the Green
Mountain Transit’s bus service network.
from Lytx (formerly DriveCam) technology.
Th e evaluation tool identifi es
risky driver behavior and provides individualized
re-training and coaching
sessions to improve performance. As a
result, driver risk for operators who have
completed this intervention have a 95
percent reduction in those risky behaviors.
Th is program was awarded the 2017
American Public Transportation Association
Certifi cate of Merit in recognition
of bus safety program excellence.
Biggar has been recognized
throughout his career at RTA. He has
served as an examiner for The Partnership
for Excellence (TPE) regional
Malcolm Baldridge Organizational Excellence
Award for 2015-2017. During
his time in this role, the RTA was
awarded a Silver Rating for Organizational
Excellence.
KRISTEN BERGASSI SPECIALIZES IN
environmental planning and navigating
the regulatory process for transit and rail
projects. She has prepared Environmental
Impact Statements, Environmental Assessments
and permitting applications for
the region’s most important transportation
projects, including Boston’s South
Station Expansion; the Green Line Extension
in Cambridge, Somerville, and Medford
Massachusetts; the award-winning
Burlington Downtown Transit Center
(DTC) in Vermont; and the West Haven
Commuter Rail Station in Connecticut.
Her environmental permitting strategy
helped to make these projects successful
by improving mobility, connectivity and
accessibility for these communities.
Last fall, Bergassi organized an Advanced
National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) Training course, which
drew more than 40 VHB team members
from across 14 offi ces. Th e course off ered
a platform for an interactive and focused
session to build relationships among
NEPA practitioners, develop more indepth
knowledge of NEPA procedures,
identify best practices, and improve the
quality of NEPA documents.
IN 2001 NICHOLAS BIGGAR STARTED
at the RTA as the district business analyst
and since that time, has held positions
of increasing responsibility at
the RTA, including rail maintenance
planner, budget management analyst,
assistant transportation manager,
acting district director and currently,
Hayden district director.
In his current role as Hayden district
director, he makes a signifi cant
impact on safety initiatives as part of
the leadership team. In his own words,
his position is at the crossroads of the
RTA’s tactical and strategic approach
with work revolving around meeting
service delivery demands and handling
issues or crises as they arise, while
fi nding ways to weave the strategic,
long-term goals into what is done on
a daily basis.
In his position he utilizes data to drive
decisions and modernize management
and accountability structures, which
have enhanced daily accountability
measurement and performance audits.
Biggar created the “Risky Driver
Matrix,” which uses data collected
Fact:
Bergassi is a certified
Envision
Sustainability
Professional, an
NCI Charrette
Planner from the
National Charrette
Institute and certified
in Public
Participation from
the International
Association
for Public
Participation.
MassTransitmag.
com/12424948
“Balancing regulatory requirements with client
and stakeholder expectations can be very challenging. I’ve
learned there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes
to stakeholder management. One strategy, although it works
for one project, may not work for the next. I believe strongly in
engaging interested parties early and often, as well as being
as transparent as possible. These relationships can foster
collaboration and build trust for a successful outcome. We may
not always reach uniform consensus, so it requires us to work
collectively to identify how we can successfully move forward.”
Fact:
Biggar was one
of 25 candidates
selected for
the 2017-
2018 class of
American Public
Transportation
Association’s
Emerging Leaders
Program.
MassTransitmag.
com/12422348
“I love being charged with providing a public good and
the logistics required to deliver quality public transit. It is
challenging work — and I engage with a very complex ecosystem
due to regulations, the workforce, the political environment and
competing public interests — but it is very fun and rewarding.”
Kristen P.
Bergassi, ENV SP,
NCICS
Senior
Environmental
Planner
VHB
Nicholas Biggar
District Director
Greater Cleveland
Regional Transit
Authority (RTA)
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