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October 29, 2014
FTA calls for all party support of roads reform proposals
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has voiced its support of Transport Focus today, whilst responding to the Department for Transport (DfT) announcement of the reform of the Highways Agency (HA) and introduction of a long term vision for improving the UK road network. The Government has set out how a new watchdog and monitor will play a part in helping England’s motorways and major roads run better, whilst the promise from the new voice of the roads, Transport Focus, is to ‘make a difference for ro
October 28, 2014
Independent review says most bus lanes should go
An independent review of Liverpool’s bus lanes is recommending that the majority be removed, but four in the city centre will be retained. On a number of other routes, measures such as bus detector loops are recommended. The city’s 26 bus lanes were suspended in October 2013 to monitor and analyse the effects on congestion and traffic flow. Transport consultant Mott MacDonald has carried out the review and their work was supported by groups of elected members, bus operators and the partners.
October 24, 2014
Washington launches multimodal transportation plan
Mayor Vincent C. Gray and District Department of Transportation (DDOT) director Matt Brown have released the final US$54 million moveDC Transportation Plan. The plan is a comprehensive, multimodal transportation strategy that outlines policies, programs and capital investments to enhance the District’s transportation network and includes detailed elements or master plans for each mode of travel in the District. The moveDC plan is the culmination of an 18-month process that has involved thousands of resid
October 24, 2014
Workzone safety can be economically viable
David Crawford looks how workzone safety can be ‘economically viable’. Highway maintenance is one of the most dangerous construction industry occupations in Europe. Research from The Netherlands on fatal crashes indicates that the risk facing road workzone operatives is ‘significantly higher’ than that for the general construction workforce. A survey carried out by the Highways Agency, which runs the UK’s motorway and trunk road network, has suggested that 20% of road workers have suffered injuries from pa
October 23, 2014
Nairobi set to get metropolitan transport authority
The Governors of Kajiado, Kiambu, Nairobi and Muranga counties in Kenya have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pave the way for the formation of a Nairobi Metropolitan Transport Authority.
October 23, 2014
Finland to help Vietnam develop smart cities
Speaking at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City, Finland's Minister of Economic Affairs Jan Vanpaavuori said that that his country would help Viet Nam achieve ambitious targets for smart and green cities by providing assistance in sustainable urban planning, industrial design, clean technologies and digital services, along with education and training.
October 22, 2014
European CO-GISTICS project launches reference architecture
Approaching the end of its first year of activities, the European CO-GISTICS (Co-Logistics) project has revealed the reference architecture that will be used for all pilot sites and services. The architecture details the standards and policies to be used to ensure interoperability and the ability to replicate the services at a wider European level. CO-GISTICS is the first European project fully dedicated to the deployment of cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) applied to logistics. CO-GI
October 22, 2014
HGV speed limit pilot given the seal of approval
The legislation to allow heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) to travel at 50mph on sections of single carriageway on the A9 between Perth and Inverness in Scotland has been signed and will come into force at the same time as the average speed camera system on the route becomes operational – 28 October. The pilot, which was approved by the Scottish Parliament earlier this year, will help to improve journey times and also driver behaviour, by reducing frustration, queue lengths and journey times for HGVs. Trans
October 22, 2014
Smoothing the path to reducing traffic pollution
David Crawford reviews a new approach to traffic smoothing. A key objective for the Californian city of Bakersfield’s upgraded traffic operations centre (TOC), which opened in June 2014, is to help improve living conditions in a region with one of the worst air quality problems in the US. The TOC is speeding up the smoothing of traffic flows by delivering faster and better-informed traffic signal retiming and synchronisation.
October 22, 2014
New Haven shows small can be beautiful
Connecticut’s new administration is using smart policy and ITS solutions to bridge social divides. Andrew Bardin Williams investigates. With only 130,000 residents, New Haven can hardly be called a metropolis. Measuring less than 502km (18 square miles), the city is huddled against the coast, squeezed between two mountains (appropriately called East Rock and West Rock) that, at 111m and 213m (366ft and 700ft) respectively, can hardly be called mountains. The airport is small and has limited service, and th