STA delivers a Certified Programme on Road Equipment to the Ministry of Public Works of Cameroon

22 July 2016

The training course took place in several locations in France in July 2016 and focused on providing with a broad understanding of the main road equipment safety measures available (road restraint systems, vertical & horizontal signing) in the light of international best practices.

In addition, the participants were invited to visit several manufacturing facilities and reviewed installation practices on-site.

Durability of ports as a key path to their sustainability – Technical Report 1/2016 published

29 July 2016

Most of the decisions taken during planning and design stages of ports are irreversible and, consequently, each decision made during these phases will affect not only to its construction but also its exploitation. Factors such as the size of the port, its room for expansion, its connection to other distribution ‘hubs’ or its capability to adapt to climate change will determine how sustainable the port exploitation could be.

In this context, durability is a key variable that has a great influence on sustainability and, unfortunately, it is sometimes neglected. A more durable infrastructure has fewer impacts directly derived from repair and rehabilitation and, most importantly, it means less ‘disruption’ to exploitation activities.

The purpose of this paper is not comparing the sustainability of ports with other transport infrastructures -or comparing maritime transport with other modes-, but rather providing a specific view on how to increase the sustainability of ports.

International Award on Road Innovation “Juan Antonio Fernández del Campo”. Submit your proposal by 23 September 2016.

15 July 2016

This award, promoted by the Foundation of the Spanish Road Association Foundation (FAEC), was born in 2005 with the aim of contributing to the development of road technology worldwide.

The ‘International Award on Road Innovation Juan Antonio Fernández del Campo’ is open to natural persons and legal entities from any country, researchers, PhD, etc. The original works, written in Spanish, must be innovative and in addition fulfil the criteria of not have been presented to other competitions.

Throughout the five editions celebrated, research works have mainly focused on paving technologies –both techniques and materials- and on tools to improve road safety and traffic management.

Anyone interested in participating in the 2016 edition of the Award must submit its candidacy by e-mail. Please consult the submission requirements (in Spanish) in the following link: www.premioinnovacioncarreterasjafc.org

Registrations open for the 2016 STA Technical Roundtable Programme

18 July 2016

The Preliminary Programme for the 2016 STA Technical Roundtable is available here.

This one-day event will offer a review of the on-going efforts carried out by the STA community to bring to reality the deployment of Smart Transportation Infrastructures connecting people and businesses across the world.

The Roundtable will take place in the heart of Europe –Brussels, Belgium – on Tuesday 25 October 2016, and will provide a unique opportunity to engage with practitioners leading and supporting activities improving the methods, technologies and standards associated to transportationre infrastructures.

Register by email at info@smart-transportation.org.

NEWS OF INTEREST

The New Urban Agenda is not taking transport seriously enough

The global community has made a lot of promises about the importance of clean, safe, accessible transport in our cities. Habitat III is the time to deliver.

Imagine all the people, living in … cities that are accessible, climate resilient and free of congestion and accidents, and enjoying clear, fresh air?

In fact, dramatically improved urban mobility, where everyone has safe, affordable access to all the great opportunities of urban life, is not so hard to imagine. It also could be delivered cost-effectively: We just need to scale up our efforts to transform urban mobility. And the upcoming Habitat IIIconference on urbanization, the U. N.-wide summit taking place in October in Quito, is just the place to start.

Electric Bikes Figure Into California’s Zero Emissions Goals

California wants to get 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025 and the state Environmental Protection Agency is using cap-and-trade revenue to help them get there. Last year, the EPA’s Air Resources Board launched a $2.5 million “Car Share and Mobility Options” pilot project to help disadvantaged California communities access zero-emissions car sharing.

The first round of funding went to projects in Los Angeles and Sacramento. L.A. is using the money for car-share in low-income communities — purchasing vehicles, conducting outreach and education, and subsidizing the program once it’s up and running.