When looking at road layouts, traditionally engineers only considered the capacity needed to accommodate vehicles. We challenge this approach because all transport modes need to be considered to ensure that people living and working in an area have travel choices that don’t all necessarily rely on a car. Further to this, streets are places too, where people meet each other and the community prospers. Accordingly, we incorporate all modes of transport into the design of road networks and street layouts, including consideration of bus routes, pedestrian connections, cycle networks and place making.
So that the environmental aspects of street design can be considered at the same time to ensure that an optimal solution can be delivered, we often work with urban designers and landscape architects.
Generally accepted transport design standards cannot predict all factors or foresee issues that may arise by closely following standards.
For this reason, we practice intelligent design (with a reasonable dose of common sense) to ensure that win-win solutions can be achieved for the people ultimately using the facility and the Authorities required to maintain it.
We use a multitude of transport modelling tools to help understand the operation of the transport networks. Our modelling covers area wide assessments through to the assessment of detailed operational issues.
The Safe System approach used in New Zealand aims for a more forgiving road system that take human fallibility and vulnerability into account. We use this philosophy in all our work.