As little as a decade ago, bike-sharing was an afterthought in most cities’ mobility plans – if it was even considered at all.

Transportation networks must satisfy high mobility demands, but at the same time must do it with the lowest possible energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

Steel material presents excellent mechanical characteristics. As well as strength it possesses high deformation capacity, which not only makes it suitable for cold (e.g. by roll forming and stamping) or hot forming, but also allows it to deform and absorb energy, notably in case of impact.

As society moves ‘smarter’ transportation infrastructures should be looking at how they too can develop to increase convenience, speed and reliability in the system.

The EN1317 European standard was developed within the framework of the Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC) and EN1317-5 serves as the basis for the CE marking of road safety systems, including barriers and guardrails, crash cushions, barrier extremities and transitions.

From a user perspective, transportation infrastructures should offer the highest safety and security levels that technological progress to date allows.

In the last few decades several initiatives have had a profound impact on the way road traffic and road safety are managed.

‘Smart Road’, the newly-created blog about road infrastructure safety equipment, features an interview (in French) with the STA Chairman, who discusses the role of safety as the usual driving force for transportation infrastructure innovation.

Low-noise road surfaces: the silent innovation, as evinced by Prof. Dr. Eng. Cédric Vuye, from the University of Antwerp.

Today´s global infrastructure demand is estimated at about €3.4 trillion in annual expenditure with a gap -or missed opportunity- of almost €1 trillion every year. Attracting the private sector will be also fundamental to filling the existing gap.