Greater long term funding for local roads needs to be secured by the next Government to help authorities hit by financial cuts, RAC Foundation director Stephen Glaister told the CIHT Annual Luncheon on Friday.

Professor Glaister pointed out that local authority road maintenance and improvement faces an “impending crisis”, but welcomed Government’s announcement of a Road Investment Strategy earlier this month.

He said reaction to this revealed an emerging cross party consensus on the importance of having more and better maintained roads, which the industry needs to capitalise on.

“We have to persuade the electorate that current plans should be delivered by the next Government and don’t get cut in the way they always have in the past.”

He added: “I think we will have to create a dedicated roads fund to give the sector a long term future, and that is what we should ask of the next Government.”

The 66th CIHT Annual Luncheon, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, also saw President David Gibby address the 1700 strong audience. Mr Gibby said that nationally CIHT is becoming more and more influential and is now at the centre of discussions affecting the industry.

He welcomed that fact that the Institution’s membership continues to grow, with the #Journeys campaign having been a great success, and said he would like to see more members getting involved at Branch level.

“To improve as a sector,” he said, “we need to encourage more people from all parts of our society to start a career in highways and transportation and provide a more diverse and inclusive workforce”.

CIHT Chief Executive Sue Percy added: “It has been another busy and productive year for CIHT. We have run a successful membership campaign and reached 13,000 members for the first time. Looking forward to 2015 we will continue to develop services to members and engage with our membership.”

The Annual Luncheon also saw broadcaster Sandi Toksvig entertain guests with several amusing observations on the transportation industry and on the topic of communication.

To read a full report on the CIHT Annual Luncheon see p30 of the upcoming January issue of Transportation Professional.

(Photo: Scott Ramsey Photography)