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.
Chelsea Randall - Assistant Transport Planning Officer, Devon County Council
A Toolkit for Public Consultations in Transport Planning
Public Consultations and engagement are increasingly seen as one of the most important aspects of Transport Planning. Research was conducted on the key aspects of a public consultation, based on the experiences and opinions of those working in the Transport Planning sector, in a local authority. This highlighted that fundamentally, consultations should be proportional and, disingenuous consultations need to be avoided. Furthermore, a clear structure improves the quality of consultations.
Based on this, a toolkit has been produced which aims to aid in the planning and running of public consultations, as well as the actions which follow. This comprises of a flowchart which identifies which type of consultation should be undertaken, a key information document, and a checklist of all actions and tasks which may be necessary. Beyond this, the research made it clear that staff wellbeing needs to be prioritised, as an urgent matter which goes beyond the toolkit.
Gemma Hall - Integrated Network and Partnerships Manager, Cornwall Council
The Challenges of Public Transport in a Rural Authority
Cornwall is an extremely rural county with a dispersed population that almost doubles through our peak holiday season. Effectively connecting communities and enabling the use of Public Transport for work, health, social and education purposes is our aim with Transport for Cornwall.
TfC is our umbrella brand that has created a partnership between operators and the Local Authority and enabled continual and innovative development with the introduction of an App and Website, integrated ticketing across all operators, tap and cap, our Bus Fares Scheme and unified publicity for customers.
Through true partnership working we have been able to overcome challenges that were we working in silo’s we would not have been able to and my presentation will cover these challenges and subsequent solutions that have enabled network development and for Cornwall to remain an exemplar of Public Transport with the passenger at its core.
Alex McDougall - Assistant Engineer, Bath and North East Somerset Council
Behavioural sciences and sustainable urban mobility - can we nudge our way to a sustainable travel utopia?
Sustainable urban mobility has received significant attention in academic and the public sector over the past decade as the race to reach net zero has become mainstream, and the negative environmental effects of urban mobility have become clearer. In conjunction with this focus on sustainable travel, the use of behavioural sciences has become widespread across local and national governments globally to push for increased levels of sustainable mobility across populations. Evidently there is a growing recognition that supply-side policies need to be complemented by behavioural sciences to benefit the design and implementation of governmental strategies around transport.
In this presentation I will critically evaluate the use of behaviour change initiatives within governmental institutions and the role that theories within behavioural sciences can play in creating integrated sustainable urban mobility services and whether these theories can result in the change that is rapidly required.
Festus Robert, Graduate Transport Planner, Connect Consultants Ltd
Travel Plans (TP): what more can they do?
Travel Plans are essential in the quest for net-zero emissions. Single-occupancy vehicle travel continues to rise despite the dip in travel during the pandemic, and the path to decarbonising the sector would only be viable when the energy sector is entirely carbon-neutral, hence a need to maximise the tools within the transport sector.
Travel Plans set measures to promote and encourage sustainable travel to developments; for Workplace Travel Plans, these measures are geared primarily towards staff members rather than ensuring sustainable travel for all trips attracted to the development.
Given the urgency of climate change and needed actions, Workplace Travel Plans should be further categorised based on several factors, such as staff numbers and net-attracted trips, as the current format is mostly effective for development with high staff numbers.
Aidan Watts - Assistant Carbon Reduction Officer, Devon County Council
From theory to practice: the challenges and opportunities of reducing carbon emissions in highways construction
When I applied to join the A382 Live Labs 2 project, even then I knew that the aim to construct the UK’s first carbon negative highway was ambitious. However, I have since been delighted to discover that there is an ever-growing number of innovations that we can explore to reduce our carbon footprint on schemes of this size. But for each innovation comes a new challenge – the practical implications of calculating carbon savings, interrogating suspected ‘greenwashing’ claims, and navigating the minefield of carbon credits do not reside in the confines of a university textbook, or in the essays of academic literature. They are met individually head-on in the real-world application of a large, ambitious project.
As a recent Geography graduate entering the industry, I believe I can therefore offer a valuable interdisciplinary perspective on the juxtaposition between carbon theory and practice on a major highways scheme like the A382.
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
Plan, record and manage your CPD for free at CIHT Learn.
Need help with getting the most out of your CPD access CIHT’s CPD Guidance here.
For more information, please contact southwest@ciht.org.uk.
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