Carla Leowe: Active Travel Officer

An Active Travel Officer delivers local authorities political and service delivery objectives on active travel and is responsible for developing and coordinating a programme of works and for monitoring their execution and effectiveness.

We asked CIHT Member, Carla Leowe, about her career as an active travel officer.

Can you tell us about the route or path you took to become a road safety officer, and what it was about this area of work that appealed to you?

I originally started my career in education and youth work. I was working as a youth worker in a secondary school in East London in 2006 when the role was made redundant. I was then job matched through the redeployment process to active travel and road safety where I have stayed and developed my skills ever since in the industry.

What does a typical day look like for you and what parts of it do you find most rewarding?

There is no typical day in active travel road safety! I believe there is a slight misconception that Active Travel Road Safety Officer’s only teach children how to cross the road (which can be true for some officers) but there is much more to the role. 

A day for me could be conducting several Healthy Street Audits as part of Westminster’s School Travel Plan Programme as well as a project finance meeting for highway schemes, chairing the Westminster School Street Working Group, checking and replying to emails, dealing with general enquiries from Cabinet Members, other local authorities and residents with regards to road safety as well as planning my next day/week.

There is a lot more project management involved in active travel road safety that is often not thought about.

Why do you think active travel and road safety education are so important to communities?

Active travel and road safety education are important to communities, especially school-aged children as they are learning about life in general and it is often seen that road safety should be included as well to support their learning, life-skill building and overall health and wellbeing.

When we reach adults, there are often stronger emotions of autonomy. Being safe whilst travelling should be the norm, as an adult you have the skills to do so but recognise there is a need to continue to change road layouts and continue educating yourself.

Community led design of road and spaces, as well as road safety education and active travel initiatives are making sure that communities are informed and have co-ownership of what is best for those utilising/living in an area alongside local authorities and industry professionals for a more holistic approach.

Can you share some details about a project or initiative that you worked on that you’re particularly proud of and explain why?

I am the lead for the School Street Programme in Westminster and am really proud to have been able to install and make permanent our first 13 School Streets in 2023.

The concept was relatively new at the time and required stakeholder assurance throughout the project which was challenging at times but it allowed for a robust foundation and process to be used to support a 3-year programme to install more School Streets across Westminster with a budget of £2.726 million.

Has the growing focus on decarbonisation and healthier lifestyles influenced the way you deliver your work?

Yes. Westminster have recognised a Climate Emergency and are committed to be a net zero council by 2030 and a net zero city by 2040. This element has been built into all of the projects I deliver.

More specifically, the School Streets Programme measures pedestrian and traffic movements to see if there has been a reduction in vehicles and increase and active travel modes such as walking during the installation of any given School Street.

What do you think leaders need to be thinking about or doing today that perhaps wasn’t part of the equation for leaders five or ten years ago?

Climate Resilience and the highway is definitely a consideration that has a key focus for the years moving forward as well as flood management and vehicle automation.

From a road safety perspective, vehicle automation is the unknown factor in capabilities, technology and legislation that needs to be scoped and researched in detail in order to maintain transportation systems, public and personal alike.

What do you wish more people understood about your role?

That it covers project management, communications, events, liaison with multiple departments within my work place and externally. Also, that road safety is much more than ‘teaching children to cross the road’ as it has an array of specialisms within it.

What skills or qualities do you think someone needs to thrive in a role like yours, and what advice would you give to someone thinking of entering the road safety / active travel field?

I would say adaptability is essential for a Road Safety Officer role as the behaviour of road users is always changing due to varying factors and specifics of the locations and the strategies required to support safety have to match but do not have a ‘one model fits all’ approach.

 Analytical skills will also provide a good foundation for this role as there is quite a lot of analysis to do on road safety statistics as well as other data sets that provide wider insight into collisions.

The advice I would give anyone that is entering the field of road safety and active travel is that come with an open mind and no pre-conceptions. Be willing to absorb as much information as possible and talk with other professionals to not only garner your skills by share best practice and ways of working.

Also, there is not one clear employment/educational route into the road safety / active travel industry so do not discount transferable skills as that is how better knowledge and practice is introduced into the industry.