Past Events
TPS / CIHT Christmas Social 2011
Following on from the fun and laughter of last year's Christmas Social event, the West Midlands branches of the Transport Planning Society (TPS) and Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) joined forces to celebrate the successes of 2011.
The event was held on Thursday 1st December at the Macdonald Burlington Hotel in Birmingham City Centre. David Bull from Birmingham City Council and Alan Bailes from TPi / Amey hosted the event and it featured the second instalment of "Transport Nudge: Travel Planning and Smart Technology in the West Midlands". (Get the presentation from the night by clicking here)
The event was organised to show the societies appreciation to the members who have supported both the TPS and CIHT making it possible to hold some great events this year. We hope you can join us with the celebrations on the night and mark the end of another successful year!
Best Practice Presentations Evening - 10th November 2011
1. All change? Motorway Interchanges for Public Transport – Simon Bowers (Daventry DC)
Simon argues that more efficient use of motorway capacity would be achieved if greater provision was made for public transport, which of necessity includes provision for bus interchange at motorway junctions. Applying the principles of product design suggests ways in which such interchanges, and the whole journey experience, could be made appealing.
To view this presentation please click here.
2. Economic Recession and Uncertainty: A Platform for LTP3 to be Innovative? – Ben Simm (Coventry City Council)
Ben reviews the impact the current economic forecast is having upon the transport profession and future developments. With funding being squeezed what are the alternative strategies which could be adopted rather than trying to build major schemes?
To view this presentation please click here.
3. Training the Highway Designer to Meet Cyclists' Needs – Phil Jones (Phil Jones Associates Ltd)
Cyclists have historically been relatively marginalised in traffic engineering; if cycling is to become attractive and safe, professions involved in the design of streets need to have a much greater understanding of cyclists’ needs. Transport for London’s (TfL’s) Cycling section has commissioned comprehensive training on designing for cyclists: this will be delivered to engineers drawn from TfL, the London Boroughs and their term consultants. The presentation will give an overview of the transport strategy drivers behind this initiative.
To view this presentation please click here.
TPS Parking Debate: Parking Charges and Levies within Strategic Centres in the West Midlands - 20th September 2011
Howard Potter from Scott Potter Associates (Chairman, the Green Light Group and Consultant to Amey) led a debate on parking issues in the West Midlands. Some of the questions and discussion points were based around the following:
- The dilemma of attracting custom (lowering parking charges) during a recession and needing more revenues;
- The future for a more comprehensive parking levy; and
- Impacts from the new parking charges proposed for Birmingham and wider West Midlands Region.
To view the presentation from this event please click here.
TPP Event - 29th March 2011
To view the presentation from this event please click here.
National TPS Pub Quiz - Thursday 3rd March 2011
The results in our region went as follows:
1 Centro (Sandeep's Getting the Next Round) 61 points
2 Centro (Centroids) 53 points
3= Birmingham City Council (The Studies All Stars) 52 points
3= Mott MacDonald (The Traffic Signal Monkeys) 52 points
3= Royal Haskoning (By Royal Appointment) 52 points
6 TPi (Amey's TPi Tearaways) 50 points
7 PBA (MacBrett with Fries) 49 points
8 Royal Haskoning (Haskoning Highlights) 48 points
9 Mott MacDonald (Bunch of Trannies) 45 points
10 WSP (Win Some Prizes?) 45 points
11 WSP (We Sink Pints!) 38 points and the wooden spoon!
Our winners Centro, are pictured below.
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Our raffle raised a total of £132.50 for Transaid - thank you!
West Midlands TPS & CIHT Christmas Social 2010 - Thursday 2nd December 2010
West Midlands TPS and CIHT celebrated a successful year with an evening full of Christmas cheer. The evening began with a buffet and drinks to get the festive fun and merriness underway.
This was followed by a presentation from David Bull from Birmingham City Council on Birmingham’s Vision for Movement. David valiantly stepped in at the last minute in place of Keith Mitchell, Chairman of Peter Brett Associates LLP, who was unfortunately not able to be there.
To download a copy of the presentation please click here.
TPS Technical Presentations Evening - 7th October 2010
1. Travel Plans: A Developer’s Perspective – Stephen Yeates (WSP Group)
Stephen has recently undertaken research regarding a developer’s perspective of travel plans. This paper aims to provide a new perspective of travel plans through a review of existing literature and policy, and a series of qualitative interviews. This research was conducted as part of an MSc undertaken at Loughborough University.
Travel Plans: A Developer’s Perspective (PDF 1.1Mb)
2. Innovations in GIS: A Key Transport Planning Tool – James Colclough (AECOM)
GIS has been used for a number of years within the field of transport planning. More recently, we have seen a shift in the use of this technology from acting as a support tool, mainly for presentation purposes, to a key analytical system and a means of disseminating spatial information. This paper discusses where we have come from and more importantly where we are going.
Innovations in GIS: A Key Transport Planning Tool (PDF 5.8Mb)
3. New Guidance Paper for Signalised Roundabouts – Colin Ridding (Mott MacDonald)
A Local Transport Note (LTN) 1/09 Signal Controlled Roundabouts, released by the DfT in April 2009, is a much needed and long awaited document that will for the first time provide users with a clear and practical guide to assist with the assessment, design and implementation of signalised roundabouts. The document was developed following a two year research project by Mott MacDonald.
New Local Transport Note: Signal Controlled Roundabouts (PDF 11Mb)
Videos: Signalised | Unsignalised (WMV)
TPS Transport Debate 2010: Transport Policy and the Economy - What it means for the West Midlands
West Midlands TPS hosted a very successful debate on transport policy and the economy and what it means for the West Midlands. The debate was held at Austin Court in Birmingham on 1 July 2010 and chaired by Alan Wenban-Smith from Urban & Regional Policy, who is also a former TPS Board member. Victoria Hills, Chair of the TPS opened the evening providing an overview of the performance of the TPS and feedback from the members survey. Representatives from both private and public sector bodies in the West Midlands made up the debate panel and made for an interesting, and in some cases intense, evening of debate.
Download presentation (PDF 9.3Mb)
TPS West Midlands held the first of three awareness seminars for 2010 on Thursday 8 April.
The three presentations can be downloaded here:
1. Evaluation of the Benefits of Active Traffic Management Schemes using Micro-simulation Programming – Matt Millard (Mott MacDonald)
A key problem on British roads is the high level of traffic demand, which promises a steady increase into the future. A cost effective and intelligent way to ease the problems this causes is to implement Active Traffic Management (ATM) onto the strategic highway network. This presentation looks at the challenges faced, and innovative techniques used, in building a micro-simulation model to evaluate the benefits of ATM.
2. Focusing Smarter Choices Interventions – Needee Myers (Mott MacDonald)
This presentation looks at how behavioural change theory and sustainable travel promotion can be used to define target groups, messages and interventions which can reduce car trips along key radial routes into central Birmingham during the morning peak.
3. Transport Planning Professional Qualification: Refresher Presentation – Martin Richards (TPS Board)
A refresher presentation on the Qualification. The Qualification has been designed to provide professional recognition for Transport Planners and for their particular technical skills and knowledge in the same way that CEng recognises professional engineers.
