Edward V. "Ted" Barton

Ted is acknowledged within the profession as Australia’s premier Traffic Engineer and is highly regarded for the dedicated service he gave to the traffic engineering profession and the road users of Australia. A tireless worker for safe and consistent traffic engineering standards and practices throughout the Roads Corporation of Victoria (VicRoads), and throughout Australia, Ted is credited with significantly contributing to the reduction of Victoria’s road toll. He has been a mentor for traffic engineers within VicRoads and an enthusiastic leader of professional training for engineers.

Ted retired in 1993 as Principal Traffic Engineer from VicRoads after three decades of outstanding service to the profession. Previous to that position, he held a variety of traffic engineering positions with the Country Roads Board of Victoria (VicRoads’s predecessor). Early in his career, he was a Project Construction Engineer and Survey Crew Supervisor in Canada and became a Registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario.

A measure of success of traffic engineering is that the service is naturally accommodating to users to the point where it becomes unnoticed. Over his period at the core of development and extensive application of traffic engineering in Australia, Ted’s sustained insistence on meaningful and consistent standards created a legacy of quality and predictable service for travel throughout the State of Victoria.

Ted contributed to several Australian standards, namely the Australian Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices; Lighting of Urban Traffic Routes; and Parking Facilities. He was an author of six parts and the technical editor of all other parts of the 14-part AUSTROADS Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice, considered the Australian bible of traffic engineering practice. He gave extensive input in national committees and working groups on uniform traffic control devices, parking facilities, street lighting, traffic engineering training, safe intersection design requirements, speed limits, standard heavy vehicle dimensions and traffic regulations. Of particular significance has been his provision of advice to the Victorian Parliamentary Road Safety Committee throughout the 1980s. Ted also participated in the planning and execution of a large number of short courses and workshops on traffic engineering and road safety at both Monash and Melbourne Universities, insisting that the content of these courses was always rigorous, current and correct.

Ted is a Member of the Institution of Engineers Australia and now an Honorary Member of ITE. He was a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Scientists Australia throughout his career at VicRoads. In a National Honours list he received the Public Service Medal in recognition of his work for the State of Victoria. He also was presented with a special Certificate of Recognition from the Australian Section of ITE in 1994. During the 1970s Ted was involved in the Australian Section of ITE as Secretary/Treasurer and as Newsletter Editor. After a dormant period for the section, he served as President of the reactivated section from 1981 to 1984.

When Ted retired from VicRoads, his contributions to the community has not ended. He has worked in Kuala Lumpur assisting the Malaysian government in developing its road safety practices. One of his results of this project is the Malaysian Road Safety Audit Guidelines. Ted epitomizes the saying, “If you want something done, seek out a busy person.” Ted is never too busy to help—particularly if it involves the passing on of knowledge to others or helping others search for knowledge.

One personal observation is that Ted, like many of the others who have been elected Honorary Members is committed to doing discharging his duties as a professional… his objective has not been to garner honors or to be in the spotlight. The neat thing about our profession is that we have been able to ferret out those that are deserving and overlook those that are self-engrandizing and spotlight hogs. And for those that know Ted realize that he is a wonderful person. Those who toil and dedicate themselves to doing the best job possible can only do so with the support of their mate. I would like to recognize Ted’s wife Mary and acknowledge that she has helped Ted to fulfill his most successful and ongoing career.

It Ted is only the third person from outside the North America and the first from Australia so honored in ITE’s 68 years.