Sustainable Transportation Planning Intern (Summer & Academic Year)

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT:

The Community Development Department (CDD) is the planning agency for the City of Cambridge.  The Environmental and Transportation Planning division of is responsible for improving quality of life by working to protect and improve the environment, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and planning a sustainable transportation system.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

 The Community Development Department seeks an intern with an interest in sustainable transportation, bicycle/pedestrian planning, Complete Streets design, outreach, and public transit. The Sustainable Transportation Planning Intern will report to a Transportation Planner in the Community Development Department and support the following work on:

• Outreach for major infrastructure design projects such as streetscape re-designs, off-road paths and other efforts related to improving conditions for people biking, walking, and taking transit
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Mobility Program, including support for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committees; outreach and engagement on activities such as community bike rides; assistance with the expansion of the Bluebikes bike share system
• Project Evaluations, including before/after studies of implemented projects; data analysis of traffic counts or Bluebikes
• Other projects as directed and feasible

 The internship provides ample opportunities for exposure to internal planning meetings as well as attending and supporting working group and public meetings.

 Sustainable Transportation Intern Responsibilities could include:

• Organizing meetings and events such as reserving and confirming meeting locations and assisting in preparation of meeting materials
• Administrative support work for citizen committees
• Writing and managing content for webpages and email newsletters; creating “StoryMaps” or similar engagement tools
• Taking notes or entering data and feedback from written surveys, meetings, and workshops
• Designing outreach materials such as meeting flyers, bus routing diagrams, conceptual street, or bus network designs; creating ride maps, brochures, and graphic materials
• Conducting field work such as surveying bus stop locations, distributing public meeting information to businesses and residents, carrying out intercept surveys, conducting counts of people walking and/or bicycling
• Researching, analyzing, and synthesizing transit and demographic data such as Census or American Community Survey data and bus boarding, alighting, and load factor data
• Analyzing and synthesizing bicycle and pedestrian count data and crash data
• Organizing, managing and running community events such as large group bike rides or community walking tours.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

The qualified candidate should be able to demonstrate the following:

• Interest and/or experience in a related field of study, or relevant work experience
• Good writing skills and comfort with public communications
• Creativity and attention to detail
• Ability to remain flexible and thrive in an independent and dynamic environment with good time management skills
• Ability to travel around the city independently and work outdoors
• Ability to organize and present data in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint as well as creating graphs and doing simple statistical analysis
• Ability to do simple manipulation of design documents in Adobe InDesign or a simpler design program, even using Microsoft PowerPoint to display and communicate concepts for an audience of public officials
• Computer skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite including Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint required; willingness to learn or proficiency in Microsoft PowerBI, Adobe Creative Suite products including Photoshop and InDesign, SketchUp, StoryMap and/or ESRI ArcGIS is desirable.
• The City of Cambridge's workforce, like the community it serves, is diverse. Applicants must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Standard office environment. Fluorescent lighting and air conditioning. Moderate noise level with a shared workstation environment. Some field work needed. This position may be eligible for a hybrid work schedule after training under the City’s Telework Policy depending on operational needs.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential function.

START DATE & DURATION: Anticipated start date June 1 (start date in May is possible) with a commitment at least until May 2025.  The schedule for this internship generally is for full-time (37.5 hours/week) during the summer months (planned vacation time is allowed) and part-time (10-12 hours/week) during the academic year (Sept – May), averaging over the year up to 19.5 hours/week.   Some regular evening hours will be required, with occasional weekend hours for special events (e.g., community bike rides or walks).