As summer draws to a close, so does another successful round of Toole Design’s internship program. This year, 12 emerging professionals brought fresh perspectives and engineering, planning, and urban design skills to nine of our offices across the country.
From day one, our 2026 interns immersed themselves in hands-on learning. They learned new tools and software, connected with staff and company leaders, and contributed to projects ranging from Vision Zero and Safe Routes to School planning to bike lane design and bikeshare siting. Engineering intern Robert Nobles even spoke about his internship at the 2026 Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) Annual Meeting and shared a glimpse of his summer in a Day in the Life video.
LEARN FROM OUR INTERNS’ AMAZING RESEARCH
In addition to their local project work, the interns worked together to research three timely topics: analyzing best practices for active transportation plans, planning for the e-bike and micromobility era, and building a social media toolkit for transportation projects. Each team presented its findings to company leadership and developed practical resources for staff to use in future projects.
Informing the next generation of active transportation plans
Project team: Rujie Cheng, Maxly Gasca, Kristie Trinh, Maame Yankah
Many communities are reaching the end of their first active transportation planning cycles, offering an opportunity to evaluate what has worked and what could be improved. This team reviewed 30 plans to identify shared strengths, recurring gaps, and areas for innovation. Their research highlighted five elements of a strong, forward-looking plan: regional connectivity, user-friendly design, coordination across related plans, consideration of emerging technologies, and an accessible planning framework. The team recommended prioritizing these elements to create more dynamic, adaptable, and actionable plans.
Planning for the e-bike and micromobility era
Project team: Anushka Desphande, Will Hataway, Shuya Lam, Cristian Veguilla Rodriguez
E-bikes continue to become a bigger part of the transportation landscape, which raises new questions about infrastructure, safety, regulation, and public perception. This team analyzed how Toole Design’s work on trails and greenways, campus mobility, active transportation plans, and Vision Zero efforts might adapt to best account for e-bikes and other micromobility. Their recommendations ranged from accounting for speed differences among users and establishing micromobility parking standards to using fleet-provider data to help identify safety concerns.
Building a social media toolkit for transportation projects
Project team: KC Martin, Josie Morasch, Robert Nobles, Joseph Womble
Social media can help keep communities informed and involved throughout the life of a project. This team reviewed successful transportation campaigns on social media as well as our own social media presence to find ways to communicate more clearly and consistently with the public. Their recommendations included educational posts, polls and community questions, and short-form videos that aim to make transportation topics accessible and engaging. They also mapped out how social media can support a project from start to finish.
Focusing on the Future
Eight of our interns received housing support through the Chris Kelleher Memorial Intern Housing Fund, established in memory of our valued colleague and first Boston intern. Thanks to the generosity of donors, these interns were able to focus more fully on learning, growing, and contributing meaningfully during their summer at Toole Design.
As we celebrate everything our 2026 interns accomplished this summer, we’re excited to see how their ideas will continue to influence our work and the broader active transportation industry. If you’re inspired by their journey, we encourage you to apply to our internship program in the future and become part of the next generation of changemakers.
