Roundabout 123 Dec 2009 - ipenz

www.ipenz.org.nz/ipenztg 

Issue No. 123 - December 2009 

Issue No. 123 - December 2009 

ISSN 1176-998X

Table of Contents 

CHAIRMAN’S CHAT ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 

EDITORIAL ....................................................................................................................................................................... 4 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .......................................................................................................................................... 5 

MEMBERS INFORMATION ........................................................................................................................................... 6 

NEW MEMBERS .............................................................................................................................................................. 6 

SEASON GREETINGS ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 

A WHEEL ON EACH CORNER ......................................................................................................................................... 7 

SIDE THRUST GAUGES .................................................................................................................................................. 8 

NEW NEWS ON OLD MEMBERS (SNOOPY) ................................................................................................................... 8 

APPLICATION FORM ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 

IPENZ TG CONFERENCE: 14 – 17 MARCH 2010 ................................................................................................. 10 

MEMBERS ARTICLES ................................................................................................................................................. 11 

IPENZ TRANSPORTATION GROUP NATIONAL COMMITTEE – A NEW STRUCTURE? ................................................. 11 

URBAN TRANSPORT CONGESTION REMEDIES ............................................................................................................ 12 

23 NOVEMBER 2009.................................................................................................................................................... 13 

HOW YOU WANT TO RECEIVE ROUNDABOUT ............................................................................................................. 14 

GRAB THE CRAMPONS BOYS – STEEP INCLINE AHEAD.............................................................................................. 15 

INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS SUMMIT 2009 IN MELBOURNE – 18 TO 20 NOVEMBER 2009 ......................... 16 

PROFESSION IN PRINT .............................................................................................................................................. 17 

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND OTHER REASONS TO MIX WITH YOUR PEERS ............................ 20 

FUNDAMENTALS OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERING COURSE ................................................................................................ 23 

SITUATIONS VACANT ................................................................................................................................................ 24 

YOUR REPRESENTATIVES ....................................................................................................................................... 27 

BRANCH CHAIRS AND SECRETARIES .......................................................................................................................... 27 

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE ......................................................................................................................................... 27 

THE FINAL WORD ........................................................................................................................................................ 28 

Roundabout International Standard Serial Number: 1176-998X 

Cover Image: http://www.lifevesting.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/funnychristmas-cartoon.jpg 

2 Roundabout No.123 December 09

Chairman’s Chat 

Chairman’s Chat 

The National Committee is making good progress on developing a draft Strategic Plan for the Group. The 

National Committee and Branch Chairs will be discussing this initial draft in mid December to ensure that it is 

comprehensive and covers all areas of importance to the IPENZ Transportation Group. Following this, the 

National Committee will look to have a final draft forwarded to all members for review and feedback and it is 

imperative that you take the opportunity to do so. The aim is to have final Strategic Plan adopted at the AGM 

during the Transportation Conference in Christchurch in late March 2010. 

The NZMUGS Conference was held in Auckland in mid October where some 52 delegates were provided 

with a range of presentations and discussion sessions. It is positive to see that NZMUGS is working on 

developing Peer Review Guidelines and Micro-simulation Guidelines to better assist those working with 

transportation modelling. I pass on my thanks to the NZMUGS Committee for holding the conference as it is 

invaluable for ensuring knowledge is passed on to the profession. 

I was able to attend the SNUG Workshop (Traffic Signals Workshop) in Nelson in mid November where 

some 60 delegates were provided with interesting presentations on a diverse range of practices, standards, 

and new innovations as well as presentations by key staff from the RTA (NSW) on changes and 

improvements to SCATS. I pass on my thanks to the SNUG Committee holding the workshop as it is 

invaluable for ensuring knowledge is passed on to the profession. 

These events are important as a mechanism for information and knowledge sharing among our profession. 

In addition, they provide opportunities to meet and get to know a wide range of practitioners. 

While I was unable to attend the New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards in Wellington this year, it was 

good to see the number of projects put forward for the Transportation Infrastructure Award which recognises 

exceptional activities associated with the development or operation of any form of land, sea or air transport, 

including infrastructure assets and transportation services. The Northern Busway Project, a project 

comprising a consortium from Opus International Consultants Ltd, Beca Infrastructure Ltd, Aurecon New 

Zealand Ltd, and Fletcher Construction Company Ltd, was the recipient of Transportation Infrastructure 

Award 2009 and I pass on my congratulations to each organisation and to those members of the IPENZ 

Transportation Group who were involved with this project. I also pass on my congratulations for those who 

selected as finalists. 

The Canterbury/West Coast Branch is making very good progress on the forthcoming Transportation 

Conference to be held in Christchurch over the period 14 th to 17 th March. As always, it will be well organised 

and run but its success will be dependent on your attendance and the quality and range of remits, technical 

notes, and papers that will be presented. I have no doubt that all those who will attend will benefit given that 

it is a major opportunity to network and find out what else is happening around New Zealand. 

In closing, I hope that you and your family have a safe, pleasant, relaxing, and well-deserved break over the 

festive season and best wishes for 2010. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 

Bruce Conaghan 

December 2009 

December 09 Roundabout No.123 3

Editorial 

Editorial 

I had the pleasure of catching up with a number of the Auckland branch members at the annual 

Christmas dinner last week. It would appear that the previous issue irked a few people, both in 

terms of the general tone of the edition and some verbal discussion on David Wilmotts paper. For 

the former I apologise for any offence, for the latter I commend David on submitting something in 

writing and for Ross Rutherford for taking the time and effort in responding to the item this month. 

The strength of our membership is when alternate views can be aired and debated. To those of 

you who ―thought of writing something‖, perhaps next year will be your year of action. 

Now on to the good stuff. Well 2009 has all but come and gone. For me I have been on the road 

for much of it – spending just over 6 of the past 12 months living in hotel rooms in various parts of 

the world. While it is nice to know that we work in a truly international profession, I am really 

looking forward to lying around the house for a few weeks over Christmas and doing the family 

things (eating too much, mowing the lawns and sleeping). 

All going to plan, this will be the last issue that will be bulk posted to all of you. Going forward an 

email will be sent to all members (that IPENZ have email details for) advising that the next issue is 

available for download from the IPENZ TG site. At the same time, the electronic version will head 

to the printers and for those that still want a paper version, it should appear on your desk around 

two weeks later. 

I believe that I still have one more edition to complete as editor of Roundabout, before the 

responsibility is handed on to the incoming editor of the Waikato/BOP region. So I will leave my 

summary of the past 3 years until then. 

In the meantime, keep well, feel free to write something for the first issue of 2010 and most 

importantly keep safe and enjoy summer. 

Regards 

Ian 

Dr Ian Greenwood, Editor Roundabout 

Opus International Consultants, PO Box 5848, Wellesley St, Auckland 

Email: ian.greenwood@opus.co.nz. 


Letters to Editor 

Letters to the Editor 

Source: http://everhart.pbworks.com/f/FunnyChristmasWineCartoon.gif 

Source: http://pictures.funnyjunksite.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/funny-christmas-pictures-09.jpg 

Letters to the editor can be emailed to 

Ian.greenwood@opus.co.nz 

Ian Greenwood 

Editor - Roundabout 


Members Information 

New Members 

Welcome to New Members of the IPENZ Transportation Group. 


The management committee of the group have approved the nomination of the following new 

members and affiliate members. 

NAME ORGANISATION BRANCH 

1. James Thomas Dyer Opus International Consultants Ltd. Auckland / Northland 

2. Liguang Zhang NZ Transport Agency Waikato / Bay of Plenty 

3. Fraser Wyllie Hawkins Infrastructure Auckland / Northland 

New Affiliate Members 

NAME ORGANISATION BRANCH 

1. Neil Kenneth Garnett Opus International Consultants Ltd. Canterbury / West Coast 

2. Lorien Tarjoni Beca Canterbury / West Coast 

3. Charlotte Flaherty Dunedin City Council Canterbury / West Coast 

Membership enquiries can be directed to the membership secretary. The application form is 

included on page 9. 

Matt Ensor 

Beca 

PO Box 6345 

Auckland 

Matt.ensor@beca.com 

Source of image: 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rOVSE 

I0eaOM/SUeTeNSxOAI/AAAAAA 

AABCI/0jUROEEHMOM/funny+c 

hristmas+cartoon.jpg 


Season Greetings 


The Waikato / BOP Branch Committee extend warm wishes to its membership. There are a 

number of site visits for major road and transportation related projects, and some key speakers 

planned for events in the new year, and we look forward to seeing you all bright and energised for 

the new year ahead. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

Thanks, 

Mark Apeldoorn 

===== 

On behalf of the National Committee (Bruce, Matt, Michelle, Terry, Roger, David, Tim and myself), 

we wish you all a pleasant Christmas and New Year break. Hopefully you can find some time out 

to freshen up and be ready for the challenges of 2010. 

Ian Greenwood 

A Wheel on Each Corner 

By Malcolm Douglass 

This is a history from 1956 to 2006 of the activities and the members of the Transportation Group of the 

Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand. 

This informative record also considers the changing environment, the political circumstances and the 

evolution of transportation in New Zealand over the past 50 years. With 33 illustrated pages of photographs 

and drawings it will be of interest to those involved in land transport which is so necessary to a modern and 

vibrant community. 

The book contains a wealth of historic and institutional detail of interest to professionals, elected politicians 

and people involved in planning and community development. 

This record fills a gap of value to engineers and the book will provide a ready reference on many aspects of 

the landmarks and development of land transport in New Zealand. 

Copies available by contacting; 

Don McKenzie | Senior Associate 

Traffic Design Group Ltd | PO Box 2592 | 16 Turner Street | Auckland | New Zealand 

| ph 64 9 302 0901 | fax 64 9 373 3539 | www.tdg.co.nz 

Cost $25 incl GST and P&P in NZ. 

All NEW members of the IPENZ Transportation Group will receive a FREE copy of the above book 

until supplies are gone. Prospective members, please complete the form a few pages on. 


Side Thrust Gauges 


The Transportation Group purchased a stock of this essential traffic engineering tool, thanks to the 

initiative of Land Transport NZ (Christchurch office). ViaStrada Ltd, who volunteered to organise 

the distribution and hold the stock on behalf of the Transportation Group, still have approximately 

20 units available. If you haven‘t placed an order yet but would like to, please contact 

helen@viastrada.co.nz. 

Please see http://viastrada.co.nz/story/side-thrust-gauges for more details. 

Costs are $207.10 for the side thrust gauge, and $169.90 for the suction clamp to fasten the device 

to your vehicle. They can be purchased together or separately. Prices are exclusive of GST and 

courier costs, however if you collect the items yourself, the courier cost will be waived. 

New News on Old Members (Snoopy) 

Send your news on through to the address below 

Send your news on members to: 

Dr Ian Greenwood 

Editor Roundabout 

c/o Opus International Consultants 

PO Box 5848 

Wellesley St 

Auckland 

Email: ian.greenwood@opus.co.nz. 


Application Form 



IPENZ TG Conference: 14 – 17 March 2010 

IPENZ TG Conference 


Members Articles 


IPENZ Transportation Group National Committee – A New Structure? 

The current IPENZ Transportation Group National Committee is looking at how the National 

Committee should be structured so that it is better able to represent the Group both internally and 

externally. One key outcome of this would be to improve links and communication between the 

National Committee, Branch Committees, and Technical Sub-groups and in doing so, to better 

provide for issues and concerns to be raised and addressed in a more timely manner by the 

National Committee. 

Many of the Group will be aware that the present system was agreed on some 25 or more years 

ago when traffic management in NZ was in its infancy and was centered primarily on the cities of 

Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Most of the relatively small number of people engaged in 

traffic engineering were employed by the local authorities in and around these three cities and in 

the local offices of the then Ministry of Transport. It was convenient therefore for the national 

committee to be based in one of these three centres and to rotate on a three yearly basis with the 

membership of the committee being locally based in one of the three centres. 

Membership of the group has increased significantly over the past twenty five years (from about 30 

then to about 1,100 today). In the same period, there has been a major shift of employment from 

the public sector to the private sector along with major advances in technology including 

telecommunications technology. 

The present National Committee has reviewed a previous discussion paper prepared by the 

Canterbury/West Coast Branch in 2002/2003 on the National Committee Structure and is currently 

preparing a new discussion paper which will provide a background to the review and provide 

possible options for the structure of the National Committee. 

This discussion paper will be circulated to all Group members so that each member will have the 

opportunity to provide feedback and comment on the options discussed and to identify their 

preferred option for the structure of the National Committee. 

Source: i124.photobucket.com/.../ChristmasCartoon2.jp 


Urban Transport Congestion Remedies 


This paper has been written in response to David Willmott‘s contribution to Roundabout, Issue 122, October 

2009 headed ―Congestion!!! Can we fix it ?? (Affordably ??)‖. 

I have had a fairly long career in transport during which I have been a highway engineer, traffic engineer, 

and transport planner in regional and local government in Auckland and, both initially and now, a consultant. 

I am a Chartered Professional Engineer. I have lived in several countries and travelled fairly widely. I have 

lived in cities which are public transport dominated and cities which are car dominated. I like cities. They are 

the places where large numbers of people meet, interact, develop ideas, create wealth, and bring up 

families. All are different. None are perfect. Some are a lot better than others, but how much so might 

depend on how you measure ―better‖. 

So what, you might well ask? Well, I think have learned enough from my various experiences to know that: 

No one person or one philosophy has all the answers. 

Those cities which plan for the longer term; have clear strategies and apply them consistently over a 

long period; take an incremental approach to change; and are prepared to regularly review and 

adapt plans to changing circumstances tend to do best (A city‘s location, population characteristics, 

economy and history also matter of course). 

Successful cities learn from others but develop their own solutions to their specific issues. 

No single profession has a right to claim the moral or philosophical high ground when it comes to 

urban transport and urban planning. 

Engineers will only be seen as self serving if they argue that decisions should primarily be made by 

engineers. As the transport system can have a profound effect on a city‘s future and that of its citizens, 

decisions on its development should not be primarily determined by any one group of professionals. Rather 

they should be directed towards achieving the strategic goals set by the community they serve. 

Auckland has developed a land use form that relies on and encourages very high, some might say, 

excessive use of the car. Our public transport system is poor in comparison with competing cities. We have 

relegated pedestrians to second class status for too long, forgetting that it people not vehicles that make a 

city great. 

I agree with the point that public transport will struggle to achieve 20% of all trips in a low density city such as 

Auckland. Vancouver has a much denser city centre and a better public transport system but achieves 

around 15% if I remember correctly. However, the overall public transport percentage hides very sharp 

differences. While the proportion of public transport use in outer suburbs may struggle to achieve 5%, it can 

be 50% or higher in the CBD and well over 20% in sub-regional centres well served by public transport. It is 

in these centres where the advantages of proximity really matter. 

I agree that the benefits of new urbanism or smart growth are often exaggerated. But that does not mean 

that we should not adopt and implement the concept where appropriate. 

I totally disagree with a line of argument that says that we should provide more of a particular product simply 

because that satisfies people‘s needs. Society attempts to limit the consumption of many products that meet 

―needs and wants‖ because of their harmful effects. That limitation may be through pricing or legislation. 

Road use is underpriced when the social costs including congestion and environmental costs are taken into 

account. If we are going to argue that supply should meet needs, then that supply should be based on 

proper pricing. Congestion pricing combined with the elimination over time of measures such as the 

excessive supply of free (and therefore subsidised) parking must be in place if we are to know what the true 

demands are. 

The people who advocate more of the same in road building also seem to argue that mankind has little or 

nothing to do with climate change as it is a natural phenomenon. Climate change threatens to have huge 

consequences for humanity. In the coming decades many millions of people may have to move or starve. 

Huge increases in food production are needed to feed the 9 billion or people expected in the future, but 

climate change is expected to make that more difficult. Yet many see the apparently strong evidence that we 

are the prime contributors to climate change as a conspiracy. Surely, common sense tells us to do what we 



can to change our behaviour now and not to wait until a time when things may be much more serious and 

much more expensive to rectify. 

Equally, the difficulties of developing alternative forms of energy for electricity production or vehicle transport 

tend to be played down. Threats to future supplies of conventional oil in an increasingly unstable world 

where demand for oil continues to rise are either ignored or technology is seen as the answer. It may have to 

be, but at what cost to the economy and, particularly, to the less well off and more vulnerable? Surely it 

makes sense to manage demand and to provide alternatives to the car where feasible. 

Arguments for urban expansion and road building that use Brazilia and Canberra as negative examples 

confound me. Both cities are based around the car! Central Canberra is not attractive for pedestrians, but 

there is ample road capacity. Canberra is now looking to invest in a substantial upgrading of its bus system. 

I guess the logic is that you should not plan for anything, just let it happen. Atlanta has not done too well out 

of that approach. 

I agree that ―collectivist central planning‖, a term used as an indirect reference to communism, does not work 

well in a complex modern economy, but can we now argue that capitalism is as good as it was made out to 

be? On the subject of central planning, we now have a government directing investment towards road 

network improvements. Is this acceptable to road building advocates? 

Road construction or expansion should not, however, be rejected on the grounds that it will simply produce 

more traffic, and hence be self defeating. Roads are needed to move people, goods and services in a 

modern city. They have a critical role to play. 

Congestion is an inherent condition in a successful, modern city. It cannot be eliminated and those that 

suggest it can be ―solved‖ through public transport, or road expansion, or land use intensification or any other 

single measure are misleading others or deluding themselves. There is no one single, simple solution to 

urban transport issues. We need to work together to find the best way forward and to have the confidence to 

determine our own responses to our unique issues. 

Decisions made 50 years ago have had a profound effect on Auckland, for better and worse. We need to 

look towards the next 50 years and to develop a transport system with the flexibility and resilience to deal 

with future events and future shocks in what is likely to be a fast changing and increasingly uncertain world. 

To respond to the challenges, we should look to the past to inform, but not to guide us. 

Ross Rutherford 

23 November 2009 


How You Want to Receive Roundabout 


In case you missed the e-mail on how you wish to receive Roundabout in the future, here it is 

below. 

Dear IPENZ TG member, 

Further to the prior surveys on the format of Roundabout going forward, the committee has determined 

that the electronic version will be achieved by producing the issue in PDF and then placing this on the 

group website for you to download. Once on the issue is loading onto the site by us, an email with a 

link to the PDF will be sent to all members that we have email addresses for. 

By default we are assuming that members only wish to receive this electronic notification of 

Roundabout. If you wish to also receive a paper copy, you need to send an email to Fiona McLean ( 

techgroups@ipenz.org.nz) at IPENZ advising her of this. Fiona will then update the database for 

future reference. Your response by 12 December would be most appreciated such that the databases 

can be updated before the New Year. 

This new arrangement will be in place for the first issue of 2010. You can amend your preference in 

the future – either to opt in or out of the paper version. 

Regards 

Ian 

Editor – Roundabout. 

A special thanks to Fiona McLean (the Technical Group Administrator in IPENZ) for her assistance 

in getting the mailing database sorted. 

Now I know the following is not a true story – but it was supplied by a Canadian colleague and fills the space just nicely… 

Recently a routine Police patrol car parked outside a local neighbourhood pub. Late in the evening the officer 

noticed a man leaving the bar so intoxicated that he could barely walk. 

The man stumbled around the car park for a few minutes, with the officer quietly observing. After what seemed 

an eternity and trying his keys on five vehicles, the man managed to find his car, which he fell into. He was there 

for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off. Finally he started the car, switched the 

wipers on and off (it was a fine dry night). Then flicked the indicators on, then off, tooted the horn and then 

switched on the lights. 

He moved the vehicle forward a few metres, reversed a little and then remained stationary for a few more 

minutes as some more vehicles left. At last he pulled out of the car park and started to drive slowly down the 

road. The Police officer, having patiently waited all this time, now started up the patrol car, put on the flashing 

lights, promptly pulled the man over and carried out a random breathalyser test. 

To his amazement the breathalyser indicated no evidence of the man's intoxication. 

The Police officer said "I'll have to ask you to accompany me to the Police station - this breathalyser equipment 

must be broken." 

"I doubt it," said the man, "tonight I'm the designated decoy". 



Grab the Crampons – Steep Incline Ahead! 

According to Bruno Royce of Traffic 

Engineering Solutions Ltd, on Niue Island 

‗steep downgrade‘ permanent warning signs 

are inter-changeable with ‗steep upgrade‘ 

signs, by twisting them 90 degrees, though 

the gradient is scary. 

Once in a black and blue moon... 

A German man mooning at railway staff in a departing train got his trousers caught in a carriage 

door and ended up being dragged half naked along the platform, out of the station and onto the 

tracks. The 22-year-old journalism student shoved his backside against the window of a low-slung 

double-decker train when staff forced him off in Lauenbrueck for travelling without a ticket, a 

spokesman for police in the northern city of Bremen said. Instead, dangling by his trousers, the 

man got pulled along for about 200 meters, all the while managing to keep his legs away from the 

wheels of the train. 

Tough owl wrecks pickup truck, but survives crash 

Talk about one tough owl. Police in southern Indiana said a great horned owl flew through the 

pre-dawn darkness into the front of a moving Ford F-250 pickup truck — and survived even as the 

collision mangled the truck‘s radiator. The bird was left trapped inside the grill of the truck driven by 

James Ellis of Shoals. A Dubois County sheriff‘s deputy called a state Department of Natural 

Resources officer to the scene Thursday on U.S. 231 near Haysville to remove the owl 

Conservation Officer Tony Mann said the bird was conscious and appeared to have a broken or 

dislocated wing and assorted scrapes. He was able to free the owl and sent it to a wildlife 

rehabilitator in Vincennes for treatment. A tow truck was called for the truck. 



Intelligent Transport Systems Summit 2009 in Melbourne – 18 to 20 November 2009 

Article by Roger Dunn, University of Auckland and ITS NZ Board Member 

This was held in the new Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) which is located on the 

Southbank of the Yarra River, in the heart of the city. The centre is now the largest Exhibition Centre in 

Australia. The focus of the Summit was to provide Australia with an ITS Strategy for the next 10 years. 

The 2009 ITS Summit was co-hosted by the Victorian Government and ITS Australia. The Victorian Minister 

for Roads and Ports, Tim Pallas, demonstrated his strong support for the Summit by his personal 

involvement in several sessions. There were about 360 delegates including 10 international speakers (two 

from NZ) and 42 from Australia. NZ had nine attendees as listed at the end. 

The Summit commenced with a Reception on Wednesday evening in a viewing area on the 89 th floor of 

Eureka, also on the Southbank, reputed to be the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. Certainly, it is 

very high!! Dr Norman Pidgeon, President of ITS Australia, who was also a speaker at the recent NZTA / 

NZIHT Conference in Rotorua, welcomed delegates. 

The conference was opened next day by Dr Norman Pidgeon and the Victorian Minister for Roads and Ports, 

Hon. Tim Pallas. Each day commenced with a Plenary Session. This was followed by five concurrent 

sessions each of which explored a different ITS theme, starting with at keynote speaker and working 

throughout the day towards progressively greater detail through a panel discussion with additional 

speakers/panellists and then a facilitated workshop involving delegates. The themes were: 

Improving road and rail safety 

Improving road network management 

Providing better travel and Traveller information 

Improving public transport operation 

Providing better travel and traveller information 

Facilitating a more efficient freight industry 

Reducing environmental impacts 

Improving security, safety and emergency planning 

The outline programme and other details (as at 1 Dec 09) can be viewed on: http://www.itssummit.com.au/. 

I have been advised the presentations will be available on this same web site soon, when permission is 

obtained from the presenters. 

Excluding meeting friends and colleagues from the ‗ITS world‘, the highlights of the Summit for me were, in 

chronological order: 

the Gala Dinner which was held in the Members Dining Room at the Melbourne Cricket Ground – the 

empty but well lit stadium was most impressive with many seagulls flying around and on the grass 

area, 

the fact that electric vehicles are on their way - about 40 models expected within 3 years, while 10 of 

these are expected to be available in Australia, 

realising the neck name tag (or ‗dog-tag‘) comprised a 1Mb flash drive – there is an idea for 

sponsorship! 

The format of having five parallel sessions made session choice ‗most problematic‘. I guess - what I did not 

see or hear, was not missed! (?) Surprisingly (to me!), the format of having workshop sessions where ideas 

were formulated by small groups and then presented to all to determine priority order, proved to be very 

useful and successful. 

The final session of the Summit considered these as inputs to the ITS Australia Strategy which will form the 

basis of national policy for the next 5 to 10 years. ITS Australia Vice President Dean Zabrieszach 

(VicRoads) is leading the action plan team and has invited industry stakeholders to forward any further of 

their ideas to ITS Australia. 

NZ representatives at the ITS Summit were: Blair Monk (GHD, Auckland and ITS NZ Board member), Brent 

Maguire (NZTA, Wellington), Leon Wee (NZTA, Auckland), Shaun Hardcastle (AURECON, Christchurch), 

Cristian Gomez (Ministry of Economic Development, Wellington), Ahmed Hikmet (HMI Technologies, 

Auckland), Brian Michie (EROAD, Auckland), Phil Allen (GeoSmart, Auckland) and myself. 


Profession in Print 

The Profession in Print 

The following was forwarded by Steve Reddish of Traffic Planning Consultants 

Puddle splash prank backfires on driver 

A British motorist will likely face court after deliberately soaking pedestrians by speeding 

through a roadside puddle. The female driver raced down a hill in Plymouth, Devon, while her male 

passenger filmed the act on video camera. The man can be heard giving excited commentary of 

the incident on the YouTube clip. ―Deliberately splashing people by driving through a big puddle 

could mean that the motorist was driving without reasonable consideration for other road users,‖ 

the media source reported a police spokesperson as saying. The driver is facing a possible fine of 

over $4000. 



Hoover Dam by-pass 

THE WIDER VIEW: Taking shape, the new bridge at the Hoover Dam. Creeping closer inch by 

inch, 900 feet above the mighty Colorado River,the two sides of a $160 million bridge at the 

Hoover Dam slowly take shape. The bridge will carry a new section of US Route 93 past the 

bottleneck of the old road which can be seen twisting and winding around and across the dam 

itself. When complete, it will provide a new link between the states of Nevada and Arizona. In an 

incredible feat of engineering, the road will be supported on the two massive concrete arches 

which jut out of the rock face. 

The arches are made up of 53 individual sections each 24 feet long which have been cast on-site 

and are being lifted into place using an improvised high-wire crane strung between temporary steel 

pylons. The arches will eventually measure more than 1,000 feet across. At the moment, the 

structure looks like a traditional suspension bridge but once the arches are complete, the 

suspending cables on each side will be removed. Extra vertical columns will then be installed on 

the arches to carry the road. 

The bridge has become known as the Hoover Dam bypass, although it is officially called the Mike 

O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, after a former governor of Nevada and an American 

Football player from Arizona who joined the US Army and was killed in Afghanistan. Work on the 

bridge started in 2005 and should finish next year. An estimated 17,000 cars and trucks will cross 

it every day. The dam was started in 1931 and used enough concrete to build a road from New 

York to San Francisco. The stretch of water it created, Lake Mead, is 110 miles long and took six 

years to fill. The original road was opened at the same time as the famous dam in 1936. 

An extra note: The top of the white band of rock in Lake Mead is the old waterline prior to the 

drought and development in the Las Vegas area. It is over 100 feet above the current water level.. 




Training and Conferences 

Conferences, Workshops and Other Reasons to Mix with your Peers 

Transportation Engineering 

Postgraduate Courses 2010 

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering University of Auckland 

For Master of Engineering Studies (MEngSt) and Graduate Diploma (GradDipEng), 

with / without Transportation specialisation, or for one-off Certificate of Proficiency (COP). 

COURSE DESCRIPTION 

Semester 1 (Mar-Jun ‘10) 

CIVIL660 - Traffic Engineering 

& Planning 

(Wednesdays, 9AM) 

CIVIL765 – Infrastructure Asset 

Management (block mode) 

CIVIL769 – Highway Geometric 

Design 

(block mode) 

CIVIL770 - Transport Systems 

Economics (extended mode) 

Civil 772 – Public Transport – 

Planning & Operation 

(Mondays, 2PM) 

Semester 2 (Jul-Oct ’10) 

CIVIL661 - Highway & 

Pavement Engineering 

(extended mode) 

CIVIL761 – Planning and 

Design of Transport Facilities 

(extended mode) 

CIVIL763 – Transportation and 

Networks Analysis (extended 

mode – Tues.2PM) 

CIVIL 771 – Planning & 

Managing Transport 

(Wednesdays, 2PM, also mixed 

mode) 

CIVIL 774 – Studies in Tran.1 - 

Pavement and Rehab. Design 

(block mode) 

A range of selected topics in traffic engineering and transportation planning which will 

provide a basis for extension into further studies. (Diploma course) 

The integration of planning and infrastructure asset management, resource 

management, institutional issues and legal requirements. The process of undertaking 

asset management plans and specific asset management techniques across all 

infrastructural assets. 

The geometric design of highways including; user, vehicle, road environment, sight 

distance, vehicle speed, design consistency, horizontal & vertical curve and crosssectional 

design, design plans, signs & marking. 

Fundamentals of transport economics incl. supply, demand, pricing, congestion and 

other externalities; principles of economic evaluation in transport planning. 

PT Data Collection; Frequency and Headway Determination; Alternative Timetables; 

Vehicle and Crew Scheduling; Short-turn Design; PT Network Design; Reliability; 

Design of Shuttle and Feeder lines; Bus priority and BRT. 

A range of selected topics in highway engineering and pavement materials which will 

provide a basis for extension into further studies. (Diploma course) (integrated with 

Civil 461, Mon 11 to 2, and Fri 10 to 12) 

Selected topics from: traffic signal practice/safety audits, two way highway planning, 

arterial traffic management, modelling and simulation and traffic flow. 

Introduction to logistics and scheduling; Definitions of graph and network theory; Max- 

Flow problems; Minimal spanning trees and shortest path; Minimal-cost networks; 

Location problems. 

Integrated planning of transport and land use, Outline of transport planning modelling, 

District Plans, Requirements of the NZTS, LTMA and RMA, Travel, trips and parking. 

Integrated transport assessments with multi-modal transport, Travel demand 

management, Intro to Intelligent transport systems. 

Fundamentals in pavement design and life-cycle cost analysis, Background to 

Materials Characterisation, Local and International Design Methods, Diagnostic 

Approach, Deflection Analysis, The use of FWD in design. 

Other relevant courses at Auckland or Canterbury or elsewhere may also be suitable for credit. 

For more details on the courses, please contact the Course Coordinator: Civil 660 + Civil 762, (Dr Prakash Ranjitkar), Civil 

765 + Civil 774 (Dr Theuns Henning), Civil 661 + Civil 769 (Dr Doug Wilson), Civil 770 (Mr Bevan Clement), Civil 772 + Civil 

763 (Prof. Avi Ceder), Civil 771 (Assoc. Prof. Roger Dunn). 

For Admission / Enrolment inquiries contact: Assoc. Prof. Roger Dunn, Director of Transportation Engineering 

Phone: (09) 373-7599 x87714 Email: rcm.dunn@auckland.ac.nz 

http://www.cee.auckland.ac.nz/transportation/transportation_home09.aspx 







Fundamentals of Traffic Engineering Course 

8-12 February 2010 in Christchurch 

Introduction The University of Canterbury and the University of Auckland are pleased to jointly 

offer a five-day course covering the Fundamentals of Traffic Engineering. This will 

be the 15 th time this course had been offered, with about 480 participants at the 

previous courses. The course will follow the same format as that in Auckland in 

February 2009, and will include new material on Transport Policy, Sustainable 

Transport, and Travel Demand Management. 

Course 

Objectives 

Presenters 

Who Should 

Attend? 

The objectives of the course are to: 

provide participants with a solid grounding in the fundamentals of traffic 

engineering and contextual issues; 

develop participants‘ practical skills and knowledge of how and when they 

should be applied; 

cover the theory of good traffic engineering practice; 

enable participants to recognise and deal effectively with situations where 

standard methods are unlikely to work well. 

The course is to be presented by: 

Alan Nicholson, University of Canterbury; 

Roger Dunn, University of Auckland; 

Glen Koorey and Andre Dantas, University of Canterbury; 

Guests from the Transport Industry. 

The course will benefit practising engineers, 

technicians, planners and designers with little or no 

formal training in traffic engineering and planning. 

Previous participants have been from a range of 

occupations such as: 

Transport Policy Analysts and Traffic Planners; 

Resource Planning and Engineering Consultants; 

Traffic and Road Safety Engineers & Technicians. 

Enquiries to: Alan Nicholson 

Alan.Nicholson@canterbury.ac.nz 

All participants will be given a copy of ―Traffic Engineering & Management‖ (Institute of Transport Studies, 

Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Australia, 2003) plus detailed lecture notes for each 

session. 

Venue College of Engineering, Creyke Road, University of 

Canterbury. 

Fee 

To Register 

Interest 

The course fee will be $2010 (excluding GST). 

Contact: Anna Burns, University of Canterbury 

Post: Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 

Phone: 03 364-2534 Fax: 09 373 7419 

Email: anna.burns@canterbury.ac.nz 


Situations Vacant 

Senior Transport Project Manager / Team Leader 

Palmerston North or Wanganui location – you choose! 


GHD is an international professional services company. Our people work across a wide range of 

multidiscipline projects, and operate as one global network that promotes a friendly and 

collaborative team environment. 

Due to our growing workload and well secured client relationships we now have a new and exciting 

opportunity for you. 

You will fully utilise your client management skills, and enjoy developing new business 

opportunities, focusing on growing our existing NZTA business and our soon to be established 

operation in Wanganui. A typical day will be busy and varied managing key client expectations, 

sub consultants and project teams. 

Strong technical skills are essential to support the development of others and in time grow an 

already well established team in the central region. 

Required Attributes: 

BE or NZCE Civil 

Proven business development skills 

People management/development experience 

Minimum of 10 years experience in investigation, design and delivery of projects. 

Knowledge of Austroads, NZTA standards and guidelines. 

Proven client and project management experience 

GHD will provide you with a supportive environment where you‘ll be encouraged to grow 

technically, personally and professionally to become a key player in our business. If you‘re 

proactive and results-driven with a strong work ethic, and one who enjoys building strong 

relationships then we welcome your application. 

To apply please visit the GHD website www.ghd.com/careers or alternatively for a confidential 

conversation please contact Sophia Taylor on + 64 27 208 9167 






Your Representatives 

Your Representatives and Contacts 

Branch Chairs and Secretaries 

Auckland / Northland 

Chair: Pravin Dayaram Pravin@t2engineers.co.nz 

Secretary: Mairi Joyce Mairi@t2engineers.co.nz 

Waikato / Bay of Plenty 

Chair: Mark Apeldoorn mark.apeldoorn@tdg.co.nz 

Secretary: Bridget Burdett bridget.burdett@beca.com 

Central 

Chair: Glen Prince glen.prince@nz.mwhglobal.com 

Secretary: Eliza Sutton eliza.sutton@tdg.co.nz 

Canterbury / West Coast 

Chair: James Park James.Park@opus.co.nz 

Secretary: Paul Durdin paul@abley.com 

Southern 

Chair: Phil Dowsett phil.dowsett@nzta.govt.nz 

Secretary: Ron Minnema 

ronald.minnema@landtransport.govt.nz 

Management Committee 

Role Who Email Address 

Chairman Bruce Conaghan bruce.conaghan@dcc.govt.nz 

Administrator 

Michelle Harvey 

Michelle Bound 

Michelle.Harvey@maunsell.com 

michelle.bound@gmail.com 

Treasurer Vacant 

Membership Secretary Matt Ensor matthew.ensor@beca.com 

Transportation Conference 

Liaison 

Vacant 

Branch Liaison Michelle Harvey Michelle.Harvey@maunsell.com 

Awards Co-ordinator 

Tim Brown 

Roger Dunn 

Tim.Brown@ghd.co.nz 

rcm.dunn@auckland.ac.nz 

Roundabout Editor Ian Greenwood Ian.greenwood@opus.co.nz 

Submissions Co-ordinator 

Terry Brown 

David Willmott 

Terry.Brown@resolvegroup.co.nz 

davidbwi@ihug.co.nz 

Sub-group Liaison Bruce Conaghan bconagha@dcc.govt.nz 

History Group Liaison Roger Dunn rcm.dunn@auckland.ac.nz 

Branch chairs (as noted above) are also co-opted onto the Management Committee. 


The Final Word 

Holiday driving safety tips 

Vehicle preparation, packing and towing a trailer or caravan 

The Final Word 

• Have your vehicle checked before travelling to ensure that tyre tread and pressure, lights, brakes, 

cooling systems and other components work. 

• Make sure everything is securely stowed when you pack your vehicle. Even small objects can 

become dangerous missiles in the event of a sudden stop or a crash. 

• If towing a trailer or caravan, check all towing attachments and make sure the couplings are 

compatible. Check the safety chain, trailer lights, tyres and brakes. 

• Remember that if you are towing a trailer your maximum speed limit on the open road is 90 km/h. 

Keep left and pull over when it is safe to let other vehicles pass. 

Driver fatigue 

• Get plenty of sleep before your journey, and try to drive at times of the day when you are normally 

awake. 

• Take your time and plan for rest breaks every couple of hours. Get out of your vehicle and take a 

short walk or do some other exercise to get your blood flowing and improve alertness. If you feel 

tired, take a short nap (less than 40 minutes). If possible, share the driving. 

Keep an eye out for kids 

• Watch out for children on the road as they can be unpredictable and are not good judges of vehicle 

speed. Young children may also be learning to ride new bikes over the holidays. 

• Keep an eye out for learner drivers - the holidays are a popular time to learn to drive. 

Keep your cool 

• Be courteous - let others merge into traffic and use your indicators before turning or changing 

lanes. 

• Be patient and don‘t be provoked by other drivers' aggressive behaviour. 

Buckle up 

• Too many family holidays are marred by tragedy when a crash occurs and people aren‘t properly 

restrained. It is the driver‘s responsibility to make sure that all passengers are wearing safety belts 

and the law requires children to be restrained in approved child seats suitable to their size and 

weight. 

Sharing the road 

• Always keep a safe following distance between yourself and the vehicle in front. This gives you a 

safe stopping distance should the vehicle in front of you stop suddenly. 

• Be patient. Trucks and towing vehicles have lower speed limits. If you‘re travelling behind a 

slower vehicle, wait for a passing lane or until you can see clear road ahead of you and enough 

space to overtake safely. 

• After overtaking a larger vehicle, don‘t slow down quickly or cut in too closely. Larger vehicles take 

a longer time to brake and you could end up getting hit from behind. 

• Keep left unless passing. If you‘re a slower driver, pull over when you can to let others pass. 

Passing Lanes 

• The merge at the end of passing lanes is the area of greatest risk. There will always be those that 

see the ―chequered flag‖ and put themselves and others at risk so it is prudent to be more aware of 

motorists as you reach the end of the passing lanes. 

ROAD SAFETY IS ONLY ABOUT COMMON SENSE AFTER ALL

Roundabout 123 Dec 2009 - ipenz

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