The winner of the Transport Planner of the Year 2017 was Nicola Kane for her work leading the production of the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040, published in February 2017. She is Head of Strategic Planning and Research at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and spends most of her time thinking about what the future might hold, as her team works to develop and deliver a new long-term transport strategy for Greater Manchester, covering the period to 2040.    Nicola is a chartered town planner (MRTPI) and qualified transport planning professional (TPP) and joined TfGM in 2014 after 15 years of working in consultancy.  She has wide-ranging experience in transport strategy and policy development, development planning and travel behaviour change and is now enjoying the opportunity to help shape the future of transport in Greater Manchester.  She is also working to develop her team’s skills through active engagement with training and staff development and is already a TPP.  The skills shown were not only in inspiring the team to work on the strategy but clearly to have provided leadership in the spirit of the multi-disciplinary but rigorous approach which underpins the best of transport planning. 

 Simon Warburton, Transport Strategy Director at TfGM, said: “We’re all very proud of Nicola’s achievement in picking up the Transport Planner of the Year award.

“TfGM is keen to maintain our reputation for forward thinking and in challenging transport planning convention; and Nicola has led the way by successfully spearheading our place-based 2040 Transport Strategy.

“Nicola is a valued member of my team and the wider TfGM family; and I’m sure she’ll continue to lead both her team and the profession by example for many years to come.

Lynda Addison, Chair of TPS who presented the Award said that:

 “This was a very well deserved award and an excellent example of the role and contribution transport planning can make to places.

 The strategy is an exemplar of a thoroughly joined up approach between land use and transport and the integration across modes within transport planning.  The programme of public engagement was undertaken with care and understanding of the difficult issues involved in urban transport and in view of the impending changes in governance, how it is funded.  She has since presented the strategy and its approach to a wider audience including the DfT and has won the respect of academics for using “vision and validate” rather than “predict and provide”.  Nicola and her team have brought an outcome driven attitude into a local government context which is fully reflected in the new strategy and in the proposals for monitoring progress. “

Photographs  supplied by Kitty Wheeler Shaw Photography

www.kittywheelershaw.co.uk