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New awards will show how transport planning changes lives

For the first time in the UK, local communities will take centre stage in telling the professionals how transport planning has had a positive impact on their communities.

The Transport Planning Society’s inaugural people’s awards are now open for entries. Communities are invited to tell the professionals how transport planning has improved their lives. This could include enabling the creation of great new places, new opportunities to travel for all, or simply making a small local difference to the journey to school or the shops.  

It’s often not the big projects that are the best solution and the society wants to hear about the ways transport planning has helped protect communities, as well as create new opportunities. The awards will recognise transport-related projects and initiatives that have made a genuine contribution to improving people’s access to services, quality of life and wellbeing.

Lynda Addison, chair of the Transport Planning Society, said: “We all experience the benefits of transport planning all the time, from a child able to walk safely to a friend’s house, to a business able to send a package across the world in a matter of hours. But transport can also have a negative impact on people’s lives, for example through air and noise pollution. Transport planning aims to reduce these impacts and support the delivery of quality places for people.

“Local people know which schemes have made things better for their communities. That’s why our awards will showcase what makes a good scheme from the community’s point of view. The awards will also highlight the people behind the projects, and feature positive role models to inspire more young people to choose  transport planning as a career.”

Stephen Joseph, chief executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Transport affects everyone so it’s vital communities are engaged in shaping transport initiatives. We welcome the Transport Planning Society’s people’s awards as they enable communities to tell the professionals what good looks like, and sharpen focus on the role of transport planners in delivering better transport and improving the quality of life for all.”

The awards are open for entries until Friday 3 August 2018. To qualify for entry, projects or initiatives must have been in operation for at least one year. Entries must be able to show how the outcomes have made a positive contribution to the principles of transport planning. The principles embody the idea that transport planners’ work should always be truly independent; questioning and open minded; honest about uncertainty; focussed on people; and understandable by everyone.

A panel of judges will review the entries and announce a shortlist in the autumn. The winner will be announced at Transport Planning Day, an event to be held on 13 November at the Institution of Civil Engineers in London.

Click here for more information on the awards and how to enter.

If you would like to contact Andy Walker about this, or any other story, please email awalker@infrastructure-intelligence.com.