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原文传递 Design panel marks Highways England's report card

题名：	Design panel marks Highways England's report card
正文语种：	eng
作者：	Chris Ames
摘要：	The design panel's role is 'to ensure that design excellence in landscape, engineering and built environment is considered in all Highways England projects'. It occupies an interesting position within the government owned-company - half in, half out. Tasked with both 'challenging and supporting' Highways England to improve the quality of the strategic road network (SRN), it is chaired by Mike Wilson, Highways England's chief highways engineer. However, the rest of the membership comprises external stakeholders, such as the Campaign for Better Transport and the Campaign to Protect Rural England, watchdog Transport Focus, the Design Council and Natural England. At the end of March, the panel published its fourth progress and recommendations report, which covers June 2019 to the end of 2020 and makes recommendations to take forward in the second road period (RP2 2020-25). According to the report, Mr Wilson 'has continued to ensure... that Highways England considers and acts on its recommendations'. However, the report and its drafting appear to reflect the tension between the actions the panel has previously called for and Highways England's often limited response. It both rehearses at length its recommendations over three previous reports, providing a long saga of slow and piecemeal implementation, and -being a Highways England publication - puts a professional sheen to what has been done. The report says Highways England has made further progress 'in establishing the context for change over the past year and a half, through continuing to address previous Panel recommendations and aims'. It adds: 'But a more concerted effort is needed in the remaining second road period to achieve a significant shift in design culture, particularly around climate change, carbon and biodiversity.' The report includes three 'key recommendations', beginning with one that suggests that the panel wants to see faster and more comprehensive change: 1. accelerate communication and training to promote and embed its design vision and principles into its processes and culture 2. act on the Panel's recommendations for adapting to climate change, reducing carbon, supporting biodiversity and the design of corridors 3. publish a design strategy to clearly articulate its ambitions for the second road period and beyond.
出版年：	2021
期刊名称：	Highways
卷：	90
期：	4