Message from the Chair: Transport planning for a sustainable future

I wrote last month about our upcoming events for the autumn and I am delighted at the response to our first one, the launch of our ‘State of the Nations: Transport planning for a sustainable future’ report on 20 October 2020.

We were honoured to have the Chair of the Transport Select Committee, Huw Merriman MP, plus four other members of the Committee online for our event to welcome the report and give their thoughts on its recommendations, plus over 120 people in attendance. This really does show the profile and esteem in which the transport planning profession is now held in government and with stakeholders. As a Society we will aim to maintain and increase that into the future.

If you haven’t already read the report then I urge you to take a look, it’s a really comprehensive review of the state of transport planning as we entered the pandemic, and should be a useful reference for all transport planners on issues of travel trends, policy, governance, spending and investment, skills and appraisal methods. It also makes some very clear recommendations, which all of the Committee members agreed with. The challenge is now for us as a profession to deliver on those changes. That is something we are considering as a Society, how we can help bring professionals together to effect that change. You can read the report here 

I would like to thank the MPs for giving their time for the event, the University of Hertfordshire’s Smart Mobility Unit for preparing the report, our TP Day campaign managers JFG Communications for arranging the event, our sponsors, and of course everyone who joined the event. We had a lot of great questions and unfortunately we only had time to cover a few, but we do have the list and will consider the points raised in our ongoing engagement.

But there’s no time to stop and take a breath as preparations are in full flow for our second key event of the autumn, our third annual Transport Planning Day on 16 November 2020. This also has a transport celebrity line-up including Rachel Maclean MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, and Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner. We will also be presenting the findings of our joint research project with the Royal College of Art on reimagining community placemaking and transport planning, plus we’ll be announcing the winners of our children’s ‘Inspiring the Transport Planners of the Future’ poster competition, to which we had a great response.

There are also a number of events now planned by our TPS regional branches, of which you can find more details in this Bulletin.

So thanks for all your support so far and, despite the challenging circumstances we find ourselves in at the moment, please do take time this month to celebrate our profession and in particular its important role in tackling climate change, supporting an economic recovery and creating a sustainable, healthy future for everyone.

Stephen Bennett

Chair, Transport Planning Society