- One word to describe yourself: Reliable
- Alma Mater: University of Dublin – Trinity College and University College Dublin
- Favorite TV show: "Code Black"
- Favorite movie: "Beaches"
- Favorite hobby(ies): Travelling, going to the beach, aqua zumba, biking and being a foodie
- Fun fact about yourself: Although she doesn't tweet very often, her twitter handle is “busstopqueen”! She has also traveled around the world, and lived in Sydney, Australia for a year.
- What is your favorite transit system (outside of the one you work for or have worked for!) and why?: The transit system in Hong Kong. She was just amazed at the number of buses that operated on the streets, and barely a car to be seen. The MTR train system was extensive, high tech, and easy to get around; an extension to DisneyLand was under construction when she visited in 2005. The city is also served by other transit modes including the “Star Ferry” connecting Hong Kong Island with Kowloon, historic double decker trams, and a (tourist) funicular. Most fascinating is the outdoor escalators that operate downhill for the morning commute and uphill the rest of the day to help move people up and down the hills of Hong Kong Island.
Sandra M. Clarey has worked in the transit field for most of her transportation career, beginning in 2007 as a service planner at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Since joining McMahon Associates nearly 7 years ago, Clarey has demonstrated her commitment to the industry and expansion of McMahon's transit services. She has a passion for improving bus service and facilities, with a focus on accessibility improvements that enhance mobility for everyone.
She has continued to maintain and expand McMahon's transit client base with MBTA, the Massachusetts Regional Transit Authorities, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), as well as with municipal and other clients interested in supporting transit, such as MassDOT, RIDOT, the cities of Boston, Cambridge and Waltham, MA and the Greater Portland Council of Governments in Maine.
Most recently Greg Nordin, assistant director of planning at RIPTA, said: “Sandra Clarey and the whole McMahon team have worked tirelessly to develop a successful Rhode Island Bus Stop Design Guide. Their commitment to sound transit planning principles, coupled with their interest in remaining current with the latest trends in the industry, really allowed RIPTA and RIDOT to develop a guide that will better the built environment for all transportation network users, especially those who choose to ride transit, bicycle, or walk. In addition, the McMahon team really has a strong eye for detail and organization, which made the development of the guide smooth and easy. RIPTA genuinely looks forward to working the Sandra and the McMahon team on future projects.”
Clarey has worked on large capital bus-focused projects, including the MBTA Key Bus Route Improvement Program, MBTA Bus Stop Accessibility Improvements, Providence Downtown Transit Connector and Pawtucket Bus Hub and Transit Emphasis Corridor, as well as a variety of planning studies to identify service and bus stop improvements. In addition, she completed the Rhode Island Bus Stop Design Guide and contributed to the MBTA Bus Stop Planning and Design Guidelines. Much of her focus has been on improving bus stops, particularly ADA accessibility to bus stops, and has now assessed, planned and designed over 1,200 bus stops across New England.
As an innovative technique on a fast-tracked project, Clarey came up with a field data collection process, using McMahon’s in-house software application — Traisr. Taking advantage of this mobile data collection tool to conduct bus stop accessibility audits, we were able to quickly download the data to prioritize stops for improvement, enabling us to deliver results to the client within a very tight time frame. That same approach has now been used on several subsequent projects.
Clarey has been willing and happy to share her knowledge and experience of bus stop planning and design through presentations at the GrowSmart RI and Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association conferences, as well as through own internal training program — McMahon University, and training staff from other firms on joint venture projects.
Clarey has been a member of, and our firm representative for, the NorthEast Passenger Transportation Association (NEPTA) for the last five years and one of her near-term goals is to be appointed to the Board of Directors. One of her other personal goals is to help the Boston area realize more extensive bus priority measures and a true Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in the region.
“I like that the work that I’m doing is on implementable projects and that they are improving access to transit for current and future riders.”
I loved the T and how easy it was to use when I came to Boston. I grew up in Dublin, Ireland and I was always taking the bus, but it was so nice to be able to take the train. When there were jobs posted for transportation I applied. I was also influenced by my geography lecturer who lectured in both transportation courses and North America.”
“I like being part of the movement that is balancing all modes of transportation and finding ways to move more people in a better way. It is environmentally sustainable, reduces congestion, it is healthy for individuals and it has the opportunity to create more social interaction than driving solo.”
“I recently completed the Rhode Island bus stop rider guide. I think it’s not every day that your work is published for use by planners and public engineers for future projects across an entire state.”
