Learning from ITEANZ

Three of Melbourne’s most credentialed traffic and transport pioneers were sharing their knowledge at ITEANZ recent event “Learning from history, where to next?”. Several of our traffic engineers and traffic consultants were in attendance hoping to get a clearer understanding of how the transport industry has been shaped in Melbourne over the past 100 years.
Listening to Prof Graeme Davidson, Dr Ray Brindle and Dr Max Lay was enthralling. It was made clear that many of today’s innovations have been in the making for decades, though effective planning and finances are required for any major infrastructure work to be accepted by Government.
“It was most beneficial to listen to the mistakes that have occurred over time and the flow on consequences these have on the general public. We used the Monash Freeway for example, and the public backlash that occurred when upon completion it was very congested and the people were disappointed” – Mr El Haj
Having listened to these speakers, younger engineers should now understand the importance of reading literature on traffic history. Alker Tripp, Longstreth Thompson and Colin Buchanan are three influential authors in the transport field whose names were brought up during the seminar. Although it seems a modern issue, transportation struggles have been prominent throughout recent history with the rapid emergence of vehicles since the end of World War 2.
“Cities are expanding rapidly. We are all on an eternal quest for improved efficiency. It is important that we continue to think broadly about moving people, to ensure the best quality of life for the whole community now and into the future” – Mr Asmanis

Attendees:
Jarrod Wicks
Chris Asmanis
Oussama El Haj
Ruwanmal Palapathwala