CIHT South West is delighted to host the South West Emerging Professional Presentation Competition to showcase new talent in the sector.
Hear from some of the best emerging talent in the South West as they present on a wide and diverse range of topics to see who can make the final of the presentation competition in March.
In this session, we will hear from five emerging professionals as they present and provide perspectives on an industry topic of their choice.
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Anyone is welcome to join the event and it is free for all.
Elysia Humphreys - Transport Planner, Jacobs
Promoting Active Travel as a Feeder to Metro Rail Transport
Improving city transportation should mean more than just adding a Metro System. As cities face the challenges of meeting net zero goals, there is strong focus to encourage both public transport and ‘active travel’. Active travel programmes complement a wider urban improvement and help produce healthier, more resilient, and enjoyable places to live and work.
This presentation will address: The South Wales Metro, South Wales Metro economic and social impacts, promotion of inclusive active travel, integration of multi-modal travel, encouragement of a sustainable model, and monitoring the ongoing effectiveness of active travel programmes. Successful active travel programmes consist of several elements, ranging from transport, public health, wellbeing, city planning, and the environment. With budgets always under pressure, the overall goal is to develop active travel programmes that are genuinely inclusive, for all age groups, genders, economic backgrounds, and that command real public support and engagement.
Lloyd Cole - Transport Planner, WSP
WECA Future Transport Zone - Parcels as Passengers Coach Trial
Parcels as Passengers (PaP) is a trial initiative delivered through the West of England Combined Authority’s (WECA) Future Transport Zone (FTZ) programme. The trial aims to utilise unoccupied space on coaches to transport parcels between UK cities where a direct coach link already exists. The trial involves the use of coach services as a direct replacement for dedicated courier vans, and e-cargo bike couriers Zedify to undertake zero emission first and last-mile delivery.
This trial has significant potential to provide a cost effective and commercially viable model for all partners. Possible benefits of the PaP approach include carbon savings and improved air quality, as well as diversification of income for commercial coach services at a time where bus patronage figures have been significantly impacted upon. Indicators of trial success include potential quantification of carbon savings, the proof of commercial viability and the number and percentage of parcels delivered on time.
David Fifer - Graduate Transport Modeller, WSP
Speed Flow Curves in Strategic Transport Models
Speed flow curves are used in strategic models to assign speeds to vehicles based on the volume of traffic affecting vehicle routing during the assignment process. There are different methods of estimating speed flow curves and adapting them to fit the formats of modelling packages.
National Highways commissioned research comparing speed flow curves with measured data in the UK. The status of the project following a literature review has shown that the current curves recommended in the UK, have not been updated since the cap on HGV speeds was increased. The project now seeks to use National Highways data and compare it to the curves identified in the literature review to produce new equations if the current equations are shown not fit the data well. This study is the thought to be the first of its kind since National Highways begun compiling more granular speed-flow data through the WebTRIS portal.
Tom Meadows - Assistant Transport Modeller, WSP
Smart Motorways Carbon Appraisal
Working in collaboration with National Highways the purpose of this investigation was to assess the impact of smart motorways on vehicle emissions. The anticipated theory being that if traffic was managed through Smart Motorway operation to travel at a steady speed, then the carbon emissions would reduce because of less braking and acceleration. To check this hypothesis, we built a VISSIM model for the M62 Between J10 and J12 which has been under smart motorway operation since January 2021.
Two model scenarios were developed to include both smart and non-smart motorway operation. The model was validated to a high standard including validation against lane choice. We applied a Passenger car and Heavy duty Emission Model (PHEM), produced by Graz University of Technology, to assess the impact using the outputs from the model. The analysis provided some interesting findings which we would like to present to the CIHT.
Ann-Cathrin Reissmann - Transport Planner, Arup
Pedestrian modelling of mass events – how can static analysis and microsimulations help keep concert-goers safe?
Whilst crowd crushes at events such as Astroworld (2021) or the Seoul Halloween night (2022) are rare, they are devastating and oftentimes deadly. Queuing at mass events is usually inevitable, however the layout and positioning of these queues is critical in maintaining a safe environment for attendees. At the early stages of a design, basic area calculations can provide an initial understanding of the amount of space required, whereas further down the line, microsimulation models are used to dive further into peoples' behaviour and identify potentially dangerous pinch-points.
I will cover both static (area-based) and dynamic (microsimulation-based) assessment methods and will share examples of crowding concerns encountered in my recent work. I will also discuss potential mitigations and how the various forms of analysis have informed design decisions.
CPD is defined as any activity that provides new knowledge or skills that help you to achieve your professional development goals or has otherwise helped you to develop as a highways and transportation professional
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For more information, please contact southwest@ciht.org.uk.
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