July 11, 2023

Seattle Department of Transportation

Nemani

Seattle Department of Transportation announced the elevation of the city traffic engineer, Venu Nemani, to the department's first ever chief transportation safety officer. This was one of five momentum-building actions to come from the Vision Zero Top-to-Bottom Review, released in February, that was commissioned by Mayor Bruce Harrell and SDOT Director Greg Spotts to better understand why serious injuries and death were on the rise and how the department could identify opportunities to reduce harm for all travelers. The review identified uncertainty within the department on approval processes for safety measures, how they should be incorporated into planning and projects, and how we measured the effectiveness of treatments. The chief transportation safety officer is a new position created by Spotts to be a framework for addressing these issues and for saving lives on Seattle streets. In this role, Nemani will work directly with SDOT's leadership team to provide a clear, consistent voice on behalf of safety in all work throughout the department and across the city. He has been charged with elevating and prioritizing safety in all policies, projects and programs, ensuring that safety is being embedded at all levels of SDOT. Nemani is a professional engineer in the state of Washington with 20 years of experience in transportation planning and traffic engineering in both private and public sectors. He holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a master's degree in transportation engineering.