William Phelps Eno (1858-1945) was an internationally recognized pioneer in traffic control and regulation. Dubbed the "Father of Traffic Safety," Eno developed the first traffic plans for major cities including New York, London, and Paris, and is credited with helping to invent and popularize stop signs, taxi stands, pedestrian safety islands, and other traffic features commonly used throughout the world.

Eno started out in his family's real estate business, but his interest in transportation led him to concentrate his spare time on traffic reform. In 1899, at the age of 40, he left real estate behind and devoted the rest of his life to
implementing his concepts for sane and orderly transportation.
His "rules of the road," adopted by New York City in 1909, became the world's first city traffic plan. He also wrote the first-ever manual of police traffic regulations.

Eno gradually embraced multimodal transportation interests. He developed a plan for subways in New York City long before anyone else seriously considered the concept. He also became interested in maritime activities, supported railroad development, and instigated research in the 1920s on the future impact of aviation.

In 1921, he chartered and endowed the Eno Transportation Foundation to attract the thinking of other transportation experts and specialists and to provide a forum for unbiased discussions that would lead to improvements in the movement of people and goods.

Eno died in 1945 at the age of 86. Ironically, he never drove a car during his lifetime. The Father of Traffic Safety, an avid horseback rider, distrusted automobiles.