Opinion: Celebrating Transport Planning Day
In his column, Nick Ruxton-Boyle, Director of Environment at Martson Holdings, takes a moment to recognise transport planners for their work to decarbonise and transform travel.
Monday 14 November is the fifth national Transport Planning Day, and I would like to take a moment to highlight and thank the great work done by all the Transport Planners out there.
We are a diverse bunch of professionals and the key to decarbonising transport. If the last year following COP26 and COP27 has shown us anything it is that there is a long way to go.
We are scientists, we are engineers, we are geographers, data and technology specialists and we are all passionate about creating the best possible environment for everyone to move and thrive in.
We work for Local and Central Government helping to deliver well thought out, inclusive and sustainable transport projects and we work for consultancies and suppliers providing technology, infrastructure, and professional services to support the public’s insatiable desire and need to travel.
We may not be as well-known as the engineers, architects and town planners that are shaping our towns and cities, but our perspective and passion is no less essential for the success of transport investment.
We are chartered and have two great professional bodies in Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) and The Transport Planning Society (TPS) supporting our continuous and continual learning [I never could work out which one it was :)].
We have learnt a lot over the last few years, during lockdown, and post lockdown, about human nature and spirit and have always known that transport is a derived need [i.e. we travel to get somewhere and do something rather than just travel for the sake of it] and the backbone of our modern lifestyles.
We are embracing change and the digital revolution with new ways of collecting data and assessing and evaluating project benefits, and co-benefits and articulating these for an ever increasingly informed public audience.
I am lucky enough to have worked for both the public and private sector and currently work with some really inspiring transport planners, and other transport and enforcement professionals.
Together we will help to achieve our joint local, regional, national, and global goals. We will design and deliver projects that will reduce our reliance on car travel, clean the air, make our roads safer and beat climate change.
I am a proud transport planner.
Photo by José Martín Ramírez Carrasco