Traffic planing team to double in size!

Scary news - Wanted Traffic Signals Engineer - Cardiff Penguin recruitment
amazed there is a growing 'transport planning team in Cardiff ' and 'planned expansion' as ' part of an office of circa 100 staff to work on projects for local authorities in addition to private sector clients !'

Working as part of a traffic and transport planning team you will be responsible for carrying out traffic modelling, signals design and maintenance and work with Transport Planners on transport assessments and TA audits.
Note - Excellent career progression prospects in a team planned to double in size in the next 2 years...help!!!!
I dread to think what they will be doing...perhaps planning the traffic lights for Bute Park to allow articulated lorries in! They stick up traffic lights and islands with railings everywhere in Cardiff to suit the traffic and make life difficult for the pedestrian and they have been using the same design since the 60s! How much more clutter and posts can fit in? No imagination required obviously!

Lack of green spaces put kids off waking

'Stranger danger' threat and lack of green spaces put kids off walking

Beulah Road now and 1925!

Relationship between walking levels and perceptions of the local neighborhood environment

Perceived 'stranger danger' and lack of green spaces put off children from walking more, suggests research published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

The research team surveyed six primary schools in Birmingham, UK, located in a cross section of areas in and around the city.

In all, the responses of 473 children between the ages of 9 and 11 were collected on the grounds that lifelong patterns of physical activity are established at around this age.

The survey covered questions about how often the child had walked in the previous week, their perceptions of the local environment, and their individual preferences for modes of travel. A smaller group of parents (191) responded to questions about car ownership and family matters, including ethnicity.

Children who made more than the average 20 trips by foot in the previous week were classified as ‘high’ walkers, and comprised just over 40% of the sample

Those who walked less than this were classified as ‘low’ walkers and comprised well over half of the sample (58%).

There was no difference between the sexes, but higher numbers of children of black and minority ethnicities were classified as ‘low’ walkers. Those whose families owned at least one car also tended to walk less.

Only a third of children felt that heavy traffic made the local roads dangerous. Furthermore, this view did not deter children from walking.

More of those who were classified as high walkers perceived the neighbourhood to be full of traffic.

Almost two thirds of children and over three quarters of parents expressed anxiety about ‘stranger danger.’

And children classified as low walkers were more likely to worry about strangers when out alone, to claim that there were insufficient local parks and sports grounds, and to prefer travelling by bus or car.

"Our findings suggest that perceptions of the local environment are related to walking levels in children," conclude the authors, adding that walking is a convenient way of boosting exercise levels and tackling the rising tide of childhood obesity.

Contact: Emma Dickinson edickinson@bmj.com
44-020-738-36529
BMJ Specialty Journals

Public release date: 6-Dec-2006