Al graduated in 1961 from the University of Washington with a B.Sc. in Forestry and continued on at the University of Washington to receive his B.Sc. in Civil Engineering in 1965. Then, he received his M.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1968.

Al joined Reid Crowther in 1993 and provides transportation engineering consulting and advisory services. Prior to joining Reid Crowther, he began his practice in transportation engineering with the cities of Seattle, WA, USA, and Calgary, AB, Canada, where he developed, over a 10-year period, his expertise in transportation planning and traffic engineering. With the City of Calgary, Al held the position of Manager of Transportation Planning and Traffic Operations.  He was responsible for transportation systems research, highway and public transit system planning and assessment of urban development projects. His traffic operations responsibilities included design, installation and maintenance of traffic control devices.

Subsequently, Al was engaged in private practice for eight years, with two consulting engineering firms, involving project administration and business development responsibilities. During this time, his major projects included the Lethbridge Rail Relocation Study, Sunshine Village Parking Lot Expansion, Glenmore Trail and 5th Street S.W. Interchange Functional Design, Calgary, and numerous traffic studies for shopping centers and residential areas. 

In 1984, Al founded Swanson Transportation Consultants Ltd., specializing in transportation planning, traffic engineering and parking systems planning. For a brief period in 1986 and 1987, he was the Regional Manager of the San Francisco office of JHK & Associates. 

In his career, Al has had an opportunity to develop his leader-ship skills by serving as Director of the Alberta Safety Council, Vice President of the Canadian Parking Association, Director of the Calgary Parking Authority, Chair of the International Federation of Transportation Engineering Societies and International President of the Institute of Transportation Engineers in 1988. He also served as the Vice Chair and Chair of ITE’s Canadian District and as International Director. Al was Chair of ITE’s Parking Task Force in 1999. He also has held membership in the following: Alberta Task Force on Motor Vehicle Accidents and Suicides, the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the Calgary Civic Traffic Management and Advisory Board, the Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee (Transportation Committee; 1983 to 1986) and the Expo 2005 Site Planning Committee. He is also a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the Alberta Association of Canadian Institute of Planners. 

Al received several awards, including two Technical Council Awards from ITE. He received the first in 1976 from Committee 6F4 for “Airport User Transportation Characteristics for Ground Transportation” and the second in 1981 from Committee 5F8 for “Pedestrian Malls.” Also, in 1988, the Institutional and Municipal Parking Congress bestowed on Al the Merit Award for Excellence in Parking, Civic Plaza Parkade.