FINAL SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR TRANSPORT PLANNING SOCIETY’S PEOPLE’S AWARD

Judges whittle down shortlist to six finalists after receiving entries from across the UK

Details of the six finalists of the inaugural People’s Award have been announced by the Transport Planning Society.

Launched earlier this year, the People’s Award for a local transport planning initiative invited communities to demonstrate how transport planning projects, whatever they might be, had made a positive impact in their area.

The competitive judging process was led by Stephen Joseph OBE, former Chief Executive of the Campaign for Better Transport. The panel looked at community schemes that had made a real difference to people’s access to services, quality of life and wellbeing.

A vintage bus route in Sevenoaks that’s boosted the local economy, an employee cycling club for a major car manufacturer in the West Midlands, a community parklet in Hackney and a shared walking and cycling route in Scotland are all among those included in the final shortlist.  This shows how diverse transport planning can be and how it reaches into every part of people’s lives.

All six finalists have been invited to celebrate reaching the final stages at a special ceremony in the House of Commons on 10 October, hosted by the Chair of the Transport Select Committee, Lilian Greenwood MP. The overall winner will be announced at the Transport Planning Day, on 13 November at the Institution of Civil Engineers in London.

Lynda Addison OBE, Chair of the Transport Planning Society, said:

“We’re delighted with the wide range of quality entries we received from communities across the UK. It was very hard to reach a final shortlist and the calibre of submissions was good. The whole process – from judging to the final winner - sends a positive message to professionals about what is important to communities in terms of transport and best practice in community engagement in transport planning.

“This award recognises the projects and initiatives that have made a genuine contribution to improving people’s accessibility, quality of life and wellbeing and have made such a huge difference to their local communities.”

Lilian Greenwood MP, Chair of the Transport Select Committee, said:

“We all rely on transport to connect us to jobs, schools, family, friends and vital services, but it can be easy to forget about the planning that goes into making transport work.

“These finalists have shown that when communities take centre stage, telling the professionals what good transport looks like, they can deliver real and lasting benefits for local people.

“I congratulate all the projects who have been shortlisted for this important award, and it was great hearing more about them when they visited the House of Commons today.”

Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, and former Chair of the Transport Planning Society, said:

“Congratulations to all the finalists of these awards. The work that transport planners do is vital to ensure the connectivity of communities with essential services and jobs whilst balancing environmental and other issues. 

“I am delighted that these awards recognise the importance of the work of transport planners in the UK. “ 

This year’s finalists are:

• Cycle Centres in Broxtowe
• Hackney Community Parklet
• Jaguar Land Rover Solihull Bicycle User Group
• Loch Earn Railway Path
• Sevenoaks Number 8 Bus
• Sevenoaks Vintage Bus

The People’s Award is part of the programme led by the Transport Planning Society with support fromArup, Aecom, PBA now part of Stantec, Atkins (a member of the SNC-Lavalin group), Meridian, Steer and Systra. It culminates in the Transport Planning Day (13 November) which will bring together transport planners and community groups for a discussion about best practice in community engagement and what transport planners to should look to achieve in developing local schemes.

The Transport Planning Society was launched in 1997 as the professional body for transport planners in the UK. With over 1,000 members and 34 corporate members, the Society promotes best practice in transport planning and gives guidance, training and support to the profession.