By Pepper Parr
September 29th, 2021
BURLINGTON. ON
When there is a new appointment at city hall the Gazette reports on the newcomer and their experience.
Craig Kummer, newly appointed Director of Transportation.
Craig Kummer was announced as Director of Transportation Department; it is an important job and he brings an impressive record of achievement with him.
But before we get into telling you about the new Director – we would be amiss if we did not say goodbye to the Director who retired.
They called it the New Street Diet. Tolone never got a chance to say what he really thought of the idea. He kept his head down and lived through it – until the then Mayor gave up on the idea.
There will never be another Vito Tolone at city hall. He was more than unique – a pleasure to listen to, even when he got excited when an audience was giving him grief. Vito had to deal with traffic and in Burlington that is a touch point.
With Craig Kummer now signed on and fresh business cards to hand out he may want to get an idea of what Vito had to deal with.
Vito Tolone was not impressed. He had to deal with a city that had too many cars, not enough roads and a public that did not want to give up on their cars.
Vito knew more than anyone else what was needed to keep traffic moving – he was seldom listened to – even though he usually had the answers. We are told that Vito is about to take up carpentry on those occasions when he isn’t chatting with his friends at the Fortinos at Limestone Ridge.
Kummer brings over 20 years of public sector experience in the Transportation Industry to the City of Burlington.
For the past five years, he has served as the Senior Manager of Traffic Services with the City of Brampton and was responsible for the strategic alignment and delivery of programs within the Traffic Services Section.
During this period, he oversaw the implementation of many citywide initiatives including one of the province’s largest Automated Speed Enforcement programs and Brampton’s Active Transportation Master Plan.
He listened, he watched and he made a difference.
Kummer was an active member of the City of Brampton’s Smart City Team and the Hurontario Light Rail Transit Transportation Management Committee where he provided guidance and insight on transportation issues.
Prior to this, Kummer held several roles within the City of Brampton in the areas of Traffic Signals, Street Lighting, and Traffic Operations. In these roles, he was instrumental in the implementation of Transit Signal Priority and Brampton’s traffic management centre.
It was a day Vito Tolone just wanted to forget.
An active participant within the Transportation Industry, he offers support to moderate certificate programs, and currently sits on the board of directors for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Canada.
Kummer is a graduate of the Transportation Engineering Technology Program from Mohawk College and has completed numerous management certificates.
He will join the Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility Service Group on Oct. 13 and report to the Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility.
