The Great Debate 11 March 2012 You can watch the 10 minute talk on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHlqgILezMI

1. The Engineering Challenges of Sustainable Transport
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
“What would be the ideal transport mix for Tyne and Wear?”
Katja Leyendecker Eur.Ing CEng C.WEM MCIWEM
Water engineer
Newcastle Cycling Campaign

2. The Engineering Challenges of Sustainable Transport
Infrastructure…what do engineers do all day?
Utilities (gas, water, electricity) - grids and generation
Communication (broadband, television, radio, mobile phone,, landline)
Water and disposal (sewage, landfill, transfer stations)
Flood and water (rivers, streams, canals, dams, reservoirs)
Transport (roads and streets, bridges, rail, ports, airports, freight distribution
centres, bus / light rail / local transport)

3. Stress on society
Big national projects Decentralised community

solutions
Economic growth Sustainability = living in a
finite habitat
Population
Consumption

4. “What would be the ideal transport mix for Tyne and Wear?”
Stress on transport
But also carbon reduction, climate change, health, congestion, air quality
National transport Local transport

(from 25 miles) (up to 25 miles)
Ultra-local transport
(up to 5 miles)
More miles travelled year on
year
modal Reducing the need / desire
to travel, and miles travelled
Short journeys by car shift Short journeys by active,
green and healthy means

5. Transport emissions

6. Modal shift - proposed
“Sustrans calls on UK governments to invest in doubling the number of journeys under five
miles made by foot, bike and public transport to four out of five by 2020.”

7. Do we ‘need’ the car?
What can other countries tell us?

8. Safe
cycleways

12. Integration

19. Older folks

23. Shopping
Friends
Shared
space

27. Transport
Utility
Deliveries

31. Kids

37. Modal shift – how?
If we cycled like the Danes… reduction of 5% UK carbon emissions
National leadership and .. to facilitate local solutions

investment and foster technical
expertise
Behavioural change
Pull Push

Build it and they will come. We must make unfettered
True for motorways, and true car use (hypermobility)
for local transport unacceptable in our society
(investment) (moral dimension)

38. The engineer of the future?
• Moral dimension
• Working at community level
• Leading by example ‘on yer bike or bus’
• Good communicator
Engineering – it’s for girls?

39. Final thoughts
"I may not be an engineer, but as

"We are not going to save the a historian I can say with some
planet by putting our country out confidence that our lame excuses
of business“ will look very weak in their eyes if
we do not"
George Osborne -
- HRH Prince of Wales
"Anyone who believes in indefinite
growth on a physically finite
planet is either mad or an
economist“
- Sir David Attenborough

Loosening the belt to cure Nature doesn’t do bailouts
obesity