ITS policy lead at the Department for Transport, Darren Capes, has been elected as the new Junior Vice President of the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE) and will join the Presidential team at the AGM this summer.
As part of its two-year Presidential cycle, the IHE is preparing for the new Presidential Team, which will take effect from the Annual General Meeting due to be held in June.
As part of the process, a ballot among Council members recently elected Mr Capes to the top table.
Martin Polland, senior vice president of the IHE, said: ‘I am delighted to welcome Darren onto the Presidential team and all the team are looking forward to working with him over the coming years. I am sure Darren’s knowledge will be invaluable to the IHE moving forward as intelligent transport systems evolve and become an embedded part of our everyday lives.
‘The speed at which technology progresses is a challenge and I’m certain Darren’s 30 plus years of experience in both Local and Central Government will help steer and guide us as an Institute through the coming years to enable us to be ready for the opportunities and challenges that our fast-paced sector will bring.’
Mr Capes said : ‘I’m really looking forward to helping to shape the Institute that is so central to the sector I’ve spent 35 years working in. In the next few years, we are going see more rapid change to transport and highways than any of us have experienced.
‘The increasing use of technology and the growing expectations of users, combined with ever-mounting pressures on local government resources and staff mean there is no shortage of challenges ahead. I’m relishing the opportunity to ensure the IHE is at the centre of this, supporting and developing its membership and leading the debate about the future of highway engineering.’
