Opinion: The smart road to prosperity
In this opinion article, South African National Roads Agency head of engineering Louw Kannemeyer argues that smart transport, cities and infrastructure are intertwined in road construction.
Language is baffling. Engineers refer to “roads” as “pavements”, while the rest of us, in our pedestrian way, call a sidewalk a “pavement” and a road a “road”. Either way, the roads (pavements) the engineers build across the country are as vital to the economy as are clear directions to someone who is lost.
There’s a lot of talk about “smart transport”, as there has been about “smart cities”. At its most mundane level, it’s a catchphrase, meaning there are better (smarter) ways of thinking about transport. But “smart” also implies a consistent and continuous interconnection derived from new technologies that change the transport network at a macro level and impact the way individuals move in that network.
Language is baffling. Engineers refer to “roads” as “pavements”, while the rest of us, in our pedestrian way, call a sidewalk a “pavement” and a road a “road”. Either way, the roads (pavements) the engineers build across the country are as vital to the economy as are clear directions to someone who is lost.
There’s a lot of talk about “smart transport”, as there has been about “smart cities”. At its most mundane level, it’s a catchphrase, meaning there are better (smarter) ways of thinking about transport. But “smart” also implies a consistent and continuous interconnection derived from new technologies that change the transport network at a macro level and impact the way individuals move in that network.
www.engineeringnews.co.za
