CIHT Technical Champions met this week to reflect on their accomplishments in 2023, welcome new Technical Champions to the group and to look ahead to 2024.
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This week we welcomed some of our Technical Champions to the CIHT offices for the group’s first ever in-person event.
We took this opportunity to reflect on all the brilliant work the CIHT Technical Champions supported us with in 2023, including (but not limited to!):
Paul Middleton - Sustainable Development Goals - how the small actions play their part
David Knight - Transport is for everyone, we need everyone for transport
Mark Philpotts - Driving vs Active Travel: Changing Our Cultural Perceptions
Dr Elizabeth Box - The co-dependency of road safety and technology
Jon Parker and Mahmood Siddiqi – Sustainable Transport: Challenges and opportunities
Bert Bailie - The importance of mobility rights
Richard Allsop – The history of road safety
Spencer Palmer - CIHT Masterclass - Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Syed Yaseen Afshad – CIHT Masterclass – Road Safety
Lynda Addison – CIHT webinar on Freight, Logistics and the Planning System
We then had the pleasure of enjoying presentations on:
Over the past few years, Midlands Connect have commissioned several studies to investigate how resilience can be improved for the regional transport network.
Some of these key studies include:
• Network Resilience to Climate Change - understanding climatic risks and identifying opportunities to make provisions to mitigate them.
• Technology based solutions for transport corridors – embedding technology in the network to provide right information to the right customers at the right time.
• Multimodal Network Resilience for a Regional Transport Network – by integrating technology, optimizing efficiency during planned disruptions, ensuring diversionary routes are available for every journey and collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders.
Living Streets received funding from the Department for Transport to try to explore the true cost and impact of pedestrian trips and falls.
Their report revealed that:
• Outdoor falls are underreported - there could be as many as a million outdoor falls annually among older adults (over 65 years old).
• Hospital admissions are the only reliable source of national data in England
• Local data is not collected consistently or shared nationally
• It would be useful to be able to cross reference hospital admissions data with Local Authority data
Hence, Living Streets recommended that:
1. There should be standardised and improved data collection across healthcare settings and local authority customer relationship management (CRM) networks.
2. The UK Government should integrate costs to transport and health budgets, to set funding priorities that deliver the best value for money.
3. There is prompt treatment for falls injuries and rehabilitation that helps people back on their feet.
Phil Jones updated the Technical Champions on his involvement in the 20mph Task Force Group, including:
• The evidence for the benefits of 20mph limits – an average speed reduction of 1mph leads to a 6% reduction in collisions and injuries. (Source: Public Health Scotland).
• The exemptions process – 20mph is not appropriate on all restricted roads, the emphasis is on bringing 20mph to minor roads and busier roads where people live and meet.
• Before and after – before 20mph legislative speed limits were brought in 2.5% of roads in Wales were 20mph, and 37.4% were 30mph. This has now been reversed and 36.9% of roads are 20mph and 3% are 20mph.
In 2024 the Policy and Technical Team at CIHT will be working towards publishing three reports on the topics of:
• Creating a public realm for all
• Resilience and adaptation to extreme weather conditions
• Progressing the UK towards Safe System Implementation
If you are interested in these topics and would like to contribute to the Team’s work please email them on technical@ciht.org.uk
Want to get more involved with the work of CIHT's Policy & Technical team?
CIHT Technical Champions are a diverse group of member experts that we can rely on to help guide our policy & technical content, whilst giving our members the opportunity to become more involved with CIHT and demonstrate their expertise to a wide audience.
Register your interest here:
Technical Champions Interest Form
If you would like to find out more please contact us at: technical@ciht.org.uk
For any press enquires please contact communications@ciht.org.uk
For any technical enquiries please contact technical@ciht.org.uk
Join other savvy professionals just like you at CIHT. We are committed to fulfilling your professional development needs throughout your career
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