The Eleven Percent: Meet Gretchen Avilés Piñeiro, Traffic Engineer

This FH series introduces readers to a few of the women who make up 11 percent of the construction workforce in the U.S., spotlighting stories of their careers in the field. Know someone we should feature? Email us here.

Soon after graduating from the University of Puerto Rico, Gretchen Avilés Piñeiro landed her job as a traffic engineer for the City of Madison, Wisconsin.

“I wanted to work with traffic signals, and everything from moving people from point A to point B safely and efficiently,” she says. “I found this job, and I loved the position description.”

During her on-site interview in October 2015, Avilés Piñeiro fell in love with the changing leaves, something Puerto Rico doesn’t have with its year-round hot and humid climate. But by the time she relocated to Madison a month later, the leaves were gone and the cold weather had moved in.

“I was like, wait, where are my trees that I fell in love with?” she says. “But I am getting used to winter, and it’s been a great experience for eight years now.”

We asked Avilés Piñeiro for her thoughts on the state of the traffic engineering world.

Q: What got you interested in traffic?

A: When I was young, I was always interested in construction, whether it was a building going up or people fixing the street. Then when it came time for me to apply for college, my mom gave me a book with everything offered at the University of Puerto Rico. She told me to read it and make my choice.

I looked at all the descriptions and I just knew that civil engineering was it for me. When it comes to traffic, I can see how it works, and know I can improve how people move and travel.

Q: What does a traffic engineer do?

A: I work mainly with streetlights and traffic signals, doing everything from planning how they’re connected underground to choosing fixtures and determining how bright they should be. We also program the timing of signals, determining how long they stay green, yellow and red.

We also integrate public feedback. Especially in the summer, a lot of people are out and about, so they’re noticing things, which is great because that’s often how we know if something’s not working.

I feel like my job is important to the culture of the city. We want to make sure people feel comfortable whenever they’re outside and that their commutes are smooth. Lighting is very important to making people feel safe and like they’re in a fun environment, whether they’re walking, biking, driving or even taking the bus.

Q: What are some of your more memorable projects?

A: We mostly just do signals and standard lighting, but I still walk around and see the lights and think about how we determined the color and the wattage. When I drive down the road, I’m like, “These are my babies, all my lights.”

Every once in a while a project comes up that involves an artist, and I really like those. The last one was a mosaic mural on Monroe Street, with lighting inside that creates a stained-glass effect. It was a challenge to get the LED panels inside and figure out how to provide power to them, but it was rewarding to learn about what the artist wanted and then make it work.

Q: What are people’s biggest traffic complaints?

A: Whenever they’re stuck on a light for more than one cycle, we tend to hear from people. When that happens, we determine what’s causing it. Sometimes, it might be that road construction in another part of the city is detouring more people onto the route than is typical. Other times, it might mean that we need to add a green arrow to a left-hand turn.

For pedestrians, a common complaint is if they feel they don’t have enough time to cross, and when that happens we make changes so they can cross safely. We also try to be preemptive for events that disrupt traffic, like a football game, the Farmer’s Market or the annual Iron Man competition.

Q: What are some challenges of being a woman in your field?

A: When I started, I was the only female engineer in my office. That made it a little uncomfortable, especially because I had just moved here and didn’t know anyone. But once I started working and proved what I could do, it got a lot easier. My coworkers are super nice and very respectful, so my experience has been positive.

And now I’m not the only female engineer anymore. We have another one. So we’re making great steps toward the future, and I’m excited to see what the future is going to look like in those terms.

Q: What changes have you seen since you got into the field?

A: After the pandemic, a big difference has been how we connect with the public.

We do a lot of communication with them before, during and after projects. That used to be mostly with in-person meetings, but once we started doing Zooms and Skype, we found a lot more people participated. It’s great that technology has given them more flexibility to be able to connect and provide feedback.

Then in terms of green technologies, we have a city-wide LED conversion program for all of the streetlights. (Also, learn about 15 minute cities.) Overall, LEDs are using half the wattage while emitting the same amount of lumens. So that not only saves energy, but often also often provides even better lighting and visibility.

Q: Any advice for women wanting to get into traffic engineering?

A: I’d like to see the people who work in our office better resemble the diversity of our community. Part of making that happen is getting a broader diversity of young people interested in these jobs. So if civil engineering, transportation or traffic engineering interest you, don’t be afraid to go for it.

Also, it’s so important to enjoy what you do, because this is something that you’re going to do every day, and your performance is going to show whether you’re enjoying it or not. The more you enjoy it, the better you’re going to do and the more people will notice and respect you.

Q: What are your pro-specific tools?

A: My main tools are my computer and a bunch of software.

I have to have a powerful laptop. For software we use AutoCAD Civil 3D for the design and Centracs for the traffic signals. Then when I go out into the field I have to wear my vest, obviously. I have one for warm weather and a cold-weather vest that fits over my coat.

Gretchen Avilés Piñeiro Bio

Gretchen Avilés Piñeiro earned a civil engineering degree from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez. In 2015, she started working as a traffic engineer for the City of Madison, Wisconsin.

In September 2020 she was awarded a Mayor’s Choice #TeamCity award for her work in racial and economic equity programs and enhancing connectivity and safety for those who walk, run, bike, ride or drive in Madison.

Writer Karuna Eberl Bio

Karuna Eberl is a regular contributor to Family Handyman. She spent the last 25 years as a freelance journalist and filmmaker, telling stories of people, nature, travel, science and history. Eberl has won numerous awards for her writing, her Florida Keys Travel Guide and her documentary, The Guerrero Project.