The UK’s leading traffic and transport conference Traffex/Parkex is storming back to the Birmingham NEC from 14-16 June, guided by some of the most senior figures in the sector on its steering group and with ministerial support from Baroness Vere. Highways talks to some of the many sector leaders who made it possible to understand what the conference means to our industry
The keynote address at this year’s Traffex will be delivered by none other than Baroness Vere, minister for roads, buses and places. As we recover from the COVID pandemic, it will be fascinating to hear the Department for Transport’s take on where the sector is going next.
Traffic has already reached pre-COVID levels, but there is no doubt that across other modes the impact of the reduction in commuting has led to a change in travel patterns – resulting in challenges of course but also a chance for reinvention. In some areas, there has been a reduction in travel but in other areas, weekend travel for instance, there has been an increase.
In these times of change, Traffex’s steering committee used the conference’s core pillars to help guide the programme around the sector’s most vital topics and priorities. Hannah Bartram, chief executive officer of council directors’ body ADEPT, explains: ‘ADEPT is delighted to be supporting Traffex again this year. As a member of the 2022 steering committee, I’ve been working with other key stakeholders to align the programme with Traffex’s four core pillars of safety, the environment, sustainability and technology.
'This is a great opportunity for traffic management and transport leaders to come together and share strategies to optimise the running of the UK’s highway network.’
The importance of the broad learning delegates gain from attending Traffex is underlined by Daniel Isichei, director of communications at the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT): ‘Traffex is a vital event in the highways, transport infrastructure services industry sector. CIHT is a strong supporter of this event and it will be a fantastic opportunity for the industry to meet again in person and see the latest outputs from such a comprehensive range of industry-leading organisations. When I am asked why we support Traffex, it is simply because the range of CPD on offer combined with the fantastic networking opportunities make it an event that you cannot afford to miss.
'CIHT are proud to support the development of this CPD programme that is also free for all those that attend and we hope to see you there.’
Highways has long enjoyed a sector-guiding partnership with the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE), as we work together to support all aspects of the roads community. Once again, the IHE’s chief executive, Steve Spender, gave Traffex the benefit of his years of experience and wisdom in selecting the most important topics for our industry.
He highlights the challenges in our sector and the importance of addressing them head-on: ‘As always Traffex is looking to raise the issues that the highway sector faces in the challenging times that we live in, both in terms of the impact our sector has on the environmental agenda and the advances that continue to be developed in the use of new and emerging technology.
‘We need to be far more aware of our responsibilities to be more sustainable in our approach while continuing to identify and embrace the technological advances that are being brought forward to assist us in meeting these challenges now and in the future.’
Paul Boss, chief executive officer of The Road Surface Treatments Association, will be taking part in the conference programme this year, giving his expert insights to a panel discussion focusing on materials for road construction and maintenance.
‘There’s been a great deal of research and testing of different temperature mixes and additives to increase the durability of surfaces and lower the carbon footprint in the highways sector and it will be a great opportunity to explore the economics of laying cost versus longer-term savings on maintenance and interventions,’ he says.
Kealie Franklin, general secretary and administrator at the ARTSM, stressed how much the committee had focused on ‘promoting diversity on the programme to ensure it becomes ever more representative of those using the UK’s road network, with a focus on equality, diversity and inclusion across the 2022 speaker faculty’.
She adds: ‘I’m also excited about participating in an important discussion in the Highways Theatre on long-term collaboration and engagement across all stakeholder groups to enhance delivery. This is something that I am passionate about and that is fostered across ARTSM and TOPAS as best practice for the industry as a whole.’
This year’s programme reflects a sector that is progressing and evolving in every way. No one knows this better perhaps than the group MD of Hemming Group – the publisher of Highways – Bill Butler, who has been working on the event for over 25 years: ‘I can honestly say that I do not remember a more impressive line-up of speakers than those who have come forward for the 2022 event. Furthermore, I am positive that there has never been such a weight of content geared around sustainability issues, which underlines exactly why bringing together the thought-leaders and decision-makers across the traffic and transport sector is such an important goal for the show and the development of the wider industry.’
Of course, the event would not be possible without its amazing exhibitors, who always bring the latest innovations to what has become known as ‘the trading floor of transport’.
Matthew Vincent, head of marketing in the UK at Yunex Traffic, says: ‘We are looking forward to reconnecting with our customers, industry partners and supply chain colleagues at Traffex 2022. We will be showcasing our technology and solutions to assist in the delivery of carbon reduction, air quality and network management duties in a time of changing travel patterns, rising energy costs and limited public sector budgets. We will be launching some exciting new products and holding on-stand presentations detailing our innovative portfolio.’
Another long-standing supporter of the event, SRL Traffic Systems gives a taste of the innovations delegates will see. SRL has become the only mobile ITS (intelligent transport system) hire supplier to provide local authorities with ‘a scalable traffic management software platform which the company will launch to its customers at Traffex’.
A spokesperson highlighted that the platform enables clients using permanent systems, ‘to efficiently integrate compatible mobile equipment within their networks, and also in future, to expand and continually adapt the range of products, between which data may be shared to effectively tackle a number of urban traffic priorities’.
