Tina Quigley has been the CEO of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada for the last seven years.
But that’s about to change.
Quigley announced on State of Nevada that she will be leaving her job as CEO.
“It’s tough. I’ve loved this job. Every single minute of it,” she told KNPR's State of Nevada, “It’s time.”
Quigley said it was time for some personal growth and time to push herself. She compared her career at RTC to climbing a mountain, getting to the top, enjoying the view but seeing another challenge in the distance.
“I can’t help but see off in the distance some other scrappy mountains that I’m ready to try and go climb,” she said.
She said with her relationships she is hoping she can find another position within the transportation industry.
Her plan is to leave in November.
“I’m hoping I will be passing the baton on to somebody who is equally as passionate and loyal to Southern Nevada has a hope I’ve been,” she said.
Quigley said she has already recommended her deputy CEO M.J. Maynard to be her successor but she notes it is up to the board of directors to decide.
The RTC CEO said there were some disappointments like the decision by the board not to go forward with fixed-track, light rail along Maryland Parkway; however, she is pleased with accomplishments like getting the fuel revenue indexing passed, which pays for maintenance of streets and highways.
Quigley is also pleased that the RTC is the only agency in the country that oversees public transportation, traffic management and metro planning, tying land-use decisions with transportation.
With those accomplishments and much more, including Interstate 11, on her resume, Quigley believes it is a good time to part with the agency.
“We’ve dipped our toe in technology. We’ve dipped our toe in advancing traffic management type systems and technology. We’ve started a micro-transit pilot program called Trip to Strip, connecting the airport to the Strip hotels via an on-demand point-to-point service,” she said.
It is on-demand travel and enhanced public transit that Quigley believes will be the future of transportation in Southern Nevada.
“The next chapter of the RTC I think is really going to be focused on building a sustainable transit network… enhancing what we have and further building public transit,” she said.
Quigley said Americans need to get over this belief that one more lane on a highway or surface street will fix congestion.
“We have this persistent belief that one more lane of traffic will fix my congestion problem and yet we see every single time that is not true,” she said, “So, getting people out of vehicles into higher capacity type services is the best thing that you can do for relieving congestion and speeding up travel times.”
Beyond her accomplishments with transportation, Quigley said the thing she is most proud of is the team of executives she has surrounding her.
“It is going to sound so cliché but you want to know what I’m most proud of? It’s the team of people that I built around me, that I’m surrounded by."
Tina Quigley, CEO, Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada