With fifty years of dedicated service to ITE, he was a pioneer in traffic engineering in Canada, serving the citizens of the City of Toronto for more than 30 years. Bob demonstrated a lifelong commitment to his profession, at 100 he was still a regular attendee at Section and District meetings.
In 1962, Bob was elected as the first Canadian District Director on ITE's International Board of Direction. He founded the organization that published the first Canadian Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, was a founding member and Past President of the Ontario Traffic Conference, and President of the Ontario Motor League.
The Canadian District Distinguished Service Award was first awarded in 1992 at our annual meeting in Ottawa. The first recipient was Robert Burton, and at that meeting, we decided to name the award in his honour. The Distinguished Service Award is awarded annually to a member of District 7 who has made a significant contribution to CITE over a period of time.