APPENDIX 13
Memorandum submitted by TRL
TRL is pleased to submit some comments in response
to the Committees questions relating to the delivery of excellent
transport systems for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. We are
mindful of the wide scope of this exercise and that the Transport
Committee is familiar with the range and content of TRL's capabilities,
a great deal of which is relevant to the present considerations.
Therefore, in this short submission we do not plan to cover all
aspects of the questions raised, but feel there are two particular
areas that it would be useful to bring to the attention of the
Committee for consideration. These relate to security and mobility.
SECURITY
All aspects of security are clearly important
for consideration by the Committee. TRL would like to focus on
a number of topics in this memorandum. We have captured, utilised
our knowledge of traffic calming, vehicle impact testing, accident
investigation and safety barrier design to pioneer and develop
the science behind protective security and hostile vehicle mitigation.
Protection against Vehicle Threats—Site
Assessment & Design
In the light of recent events worldwide involving
vehicles as hostile tools for inflicting terror on innocent people,
protection against vehicle threats is an important consideration.
TRL can offer significant advice in this area.
The Committee should consider:
— The protection of critical infrastructure
TRL's collision reconstruction and barrier experts
have recently been contributing to the protection of critical
infrastructure from both unintended and malicious vehicle-borne
threats, drawing on extensive knowledge of collision investigation
and speed mitigation techniques.
— Assessments of vehicle paths
When considering vehicle-borne threats it is
extremely important that detailed assessments of vehicle paths
on approach to, and throughout, sensitive sites include extensive
knowledge of vehicle dynamics and driver responses. Using specialised
collision reconstruction software TRL can identify vehicle speeds
for both aggressive and regular vehicle approaches.
Computer simulated approach speeds can then
be used to determine collision energies which, in turn, provide
a basis for recommending potential treatments that balance function
and amenity with protection. Vehicle path assessment can also
be used to identify critical locations for detection and alert
management. Visualisation can also be used to assist with training
security personnel to recognise potential threat vehicles.
TRL's assessment methodology can account for
a wide variety of vehicle and human performance factors; complex
vehicle-road interactions associated with different classes of
traffic; and it can be applied to complex site layouts with fluctuations
in road topography.
Providing Site Specific Advice
TRL understands the need for any security measures
to be both functional and in keeping with the surrounding environment.
To this end, TRL has developed and maintained two databases; the
first, a vehicle restraint database, developed from literature
review and testing; the second, a traffic calming database, developed
from TRL's experience and understanding of existing traffic calming
measures.
The Committee should consider:
— The combination of these two databases
and TRL's knowledge of vehicle dynamics to provide a holistic
approach to hostile vehicle management.
— The virtual testing and physical
testing of proposed designs before they are deployed on site.
Providing Vehicle Restraint Expertise
TRL's UK testing facility has an ongoing program
of impact tests to assess the efficacy of barrier systems. This
work is carried out for a range of government and private clients.
The Committee should be aware that:
— To date TRL has tested a broad range
of barriers including:
— Traditional Road Safety Barriers,
— Temporary Vehicle Threat Barriers,
— Road Environment Furniture,
— Ditches and Earthworks,
— Permanent and Semi Permanent Barriers
TRL is not affiliated with any barrier manufacturers
and as such offers an independent source of validated information.
Providing Visualisation of proposed schemes
— The Committee should consider that
security measures may have to be sympathetic to the environment
in which they are placed.
As such TRL can prepare detailed "photo
realistic" visualisations of proposed treatment schemes to
assist in any public consultation, training (device operators),
and Emergency Response Management. Visualisations incorporating
3D virtual models may be viewed from any angle, which can be useful
in developing security camera (CCTV) schemes, and allow real time
walkthroughs.
MOBILITY
Detailed proposals for transport arrangements
for the 2012 Olympics have been planned out to meet a range of
specific requirements. TRL would like to focus on key mobility
and safety issues that may be considered whilst a coherent and
integrated Olympic Transport Plan is refined for implementation.
Ensuring accessibility and free movement for all
The 2012 Olympics will cater for a vast range
of people from around the world, as well as visitors and participants
from the UK. This means that transport arrangements will need
to balance the need to transport many people quickly, safely and
cost-effectively to and from a range of Games sites, with the
practical requirements of particular travelling groups—the
disabled, more elderly travellers, people where English is not
a first language etc.
The Committee should question how:
— accessibility will be ensured for
all in a consistent and effective manner.
New facilities can be designed from the outset
to ensure access for many differing social groups, with an emphasis
on safe and independent travel. TRL has undertaken a range of
mobility projects, ranging from assessment of needs and requirements
to encourage easier access to travel facilities, through to evaluation
of best practice and implementation of specific engineering options.
This work has been carried out on behalf of international organisations,
national and local government and private transport operators.
Our experience shows that a detailed understanding of the requirements
for many travelling groups needs to be linked to knowledge of
best practice, design and engineering solutions that are implemented
consistently across transportation networks and modes. This can
be applied at the initial planning and design phase for new Olympic
facilities.
— existing transportation resources
(both physical—such as buses, rolling stock, stations and
transport interchanges; and human—such as staff, guidance,
advice and information provision) will need to be upgraded to
underpin general and more specific accessibility requirements.
We believe that this will prove an even greater
challenge. The upgrade of existing transport facilities, especially
where a myriad of individual improvements and initiatives have
been introduced in a piecemeal manner already, can prove to be
expensive and, possibly, ineffective. For example, improving accessibility
for the existing London Underground system will require substantial
works to ensure that many different groups can use the tube right
across the network. TRL's experienced guidance and advice has
been sought for review of this type of transport improvement project
from the strategic through to the practical implementation level.
We would recommend that such improvements are targeted in areas
that are identified as delivering greatest benefit for travellers
and are then implemented with consistent and well researched standards
in place. This applies equally to other transport modes and access
points across the country and presents the opportunity for best
practice, established in the design of new Olympic facilities,
to be mirrored with an overall improvement at key transport access
and interchange points in the capital and around the UK.
Transport safety during the development of Olympic
facilities
The Athens Olympics came at a high personal
cost for some of the workers involved with the development of
the project. Lives were lost and injuries sustained during construction
through workplace related incidents. We believe that the London
Olympics should have an overarching goal of being the safest Games
ever—during construction, throughout the event and beyond
(by leaving a legacy of good Health and Safety practice).
The Committee should question how:
— workplace related safety will be
managed during construction of facilities.
TRL has built up particular expertise in this
area, and has worked closely with the Health and Safety Executive
on workplace transport management standards. From the transportation
context a key factor in reducing risk during the construction
phase will be arrangements for the movement of construction materials
to the east of London, as well as "on site" traffic
arrangements. TRL has undertaken a number of projects that have
identified critical issues and then recommended sensible implementation
options. In our experience the earlier these considerations are
addressed in the development life cycle of major facilities, then
the more effective the benefits in terms of best practice and
practical, cost-effective risk reduction.
— general transport safety will be
approached, so that key risks are identified during the design
stage for the development of new facilities and the enhancement
of existing transport services.
Based on our extensive experience of this subject
we would suggest that general transport safety elements of the
plan should be linked to appropriate cost benefit methodologies
that can be established to ensure a sensible balance between risk
reduction, design and operation. TRL has carried out a number
of transport related cost-benefit studies for strategic decision
making and contributes to the spread of good practice and latest
developments in this area. This work is underpinned by our research
into the understanding of why transport accidents happen—from
detailed design evaluations for specific injury reduction measures,
through broader engineering methodologies, to human factors work
that is contributing to the development of understanding of risk
taking and changing attitudes and behaviour.
PUBLISHED ADVICE
TRL has contributed to the production of a number
of published advice documents (in addition to in-house client
specific policies and guidelines) which are relevant to the topics
raised in this memorandum. These documents include:
— Manual for the Assessment of Vehicle-Borne
Threats and the Design of Counter Measures.
— Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Guide
(HVMG).
— Simple site checklists.
— Material for the British Standard
Institute PAS.
TRL is a leading consultant to the UK National
Security Advice Centre on matters relating to hostile vehicle
mitigation, having provided a number of key reference documents,
and undertakes device testing for UK government security agencies.
September 2005
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