I love bicycling for the simplicity, the exhilaration, and the style. I suppose, I have just always considered the bicycle to be the perfect vehicle. I’m a subscriber to the Flann O’Brien philosophy of cycling: “People who spent their natural lives riding iron bicycles over the rocky roadsteads of this parish get their personalities mixed up with the personalities of their bicycle as a result of the interchanging of the atoms”. From a young age, I cycled all over Dublin, first to school and then throughout my college years. When I first came to live in Philadelphia, I was taken by surprise as I struggled to cycle to my destinations. As a civil engineer, it became clear to me how the design of the infrastructure played a major role in my limited cycling options. Today, I hop on my bike for many local trips in my community plus I get to work to create the infrastructure to enable those rides. The prefect combination.
Fionnuala Quinn is a licensed civil engineer (PA #PE041396E) with over eleven years of engineering experience on environmental and land development projects and an additional five years advocating on road safety design issues. Her recent work has focused on bicycle engineering design related to bicycling and pedestrian facilities as well as master planning projects.
Recent Projects
Bicycle Master Plans, Multiple Plans
Fionnuala has worked on many master planning projects including Swansboro Bicycle Plan, Holly Springs Bicycle Plan, Aberdeen Bicycle Plan, Boone Bicycle Plan, and Rocky Mount Bicycle Plan. Fionnuala’s involvement has included the analysis of existing plans and policies, implementation of action steps, and the development of project recommendations.
Safe Routes to School, Engineering Consultation, GA
As part of the infrastructure implementation element of the Georgia Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program, Fionnuala has prepared engineering analysis and design recommendations on SRTS plans for multiple different schools. The design plans cover a range of infrastructure and facilities to encourage more children to walk or bike to school in a safer environment.
Richmond Strategic Multi-Modal Transportation Plan, VA
Fionnuala is assisting on planning aspects of the Richmond Strategic Multi-Modal Transportation Plan. The vision for the plan is to transform Richmond from a car-oriented city to a truly multi-modal city. She is working on the bicycle, pedestrian and complete streets aspects of the plan.
Bicycling Advocacy Engineering Guide & Workshops, VA
Fionnuala was the primary author of an engineering guide that explains the design process and covers how to understand engineering plans and comment on road design projects. The Guide has been distributed widely and has also been developed into workshop materials.
Women Cycling Project, Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
Fionnuala was the manager of the Women Cycling Project, which included an on-line survey with 13,000 participants, national webinars, webpages, and reports. The project included survey data analysis and development of a number of reports.
Action 2020 Advisory Team and Guest Presenter
Fionnuala is a member of the national advisory group developing curriculum for Advocacy Advance workshops. The workshops are designed to provide targeted trainings to equip advocates with specific tools. She also served as guest presenter for the Action 202 workshop in Connecticut.
