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Held for the first time in Turin in 2006, the Ministers’ Session has returned with the same objective: to raise awareness among as many people as possible about winter issues as they are perceived in political circles. This session addressed the following issue: "How to promote winter mobility adapted to the climate?" Knowing of course that with winter comes many complications; the governments must modify their regulations. The topics focused on this issue, and in particular, network accessibility and public transit in winter.
- Moderator, Ms. Christine Fréchette
- Québec Minister of Transport, Ms. Julie Boulet
- World Road Association Vice-President, Mr. Keiichi Inoue
- Deputy minister of Lands, Transport and Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Jang-Hyun Choi
- Canada’s Minister of State for Transport, Mr. Rob Merrifield
- Secretary General for Infrastructure of Spain’s Ministry of Development, Ms. Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero Fernández
- Minister of Territorial Planning, Environment and Agriculture of the Principality of Andorra, Mr. Vicenç Alay Ferrer
- Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mr. Karim Ghellab
- Québec Minister of Transport, Ms. Julie Boulet
- Question period with the moderator and the ministers
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I’m very pleased to be moderating this session where ministers will be sharing their vision on the theme “How to promote winter mobility adapted to the climate”. I shall now introduce our distinguished guests. May I ask you to hold your applause until they have all been introduced. |
I would now call on the following to come forward:
- The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mr. Karim GHELLAB
- Canada’s Minister of State for Transport, Mr. Rob MERRIFIELD
- Québec’s Minister of Transport, Ms. Julie BOULET
- The Secretary General for Infrastructure of Spain’s Ministry of Development, Ms. Inmaculada RODRÍGUEZ-PIÑERO FERNÁNDEZ
- The Minister of Territorial Planning, Environment and Agriculture of the Principality of Andorra, Mr. Vicenç ALAY FERRER.
Thank you all for being here with us. Ladies and gentlemen: our panellists!
I would now like to acknowledge the presence of several dignitaries:
- The Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Burkina Faso, Mr. Seydou KABORÉ
- Yukon’s Minister of Highways and Public Works, Minister responsible for Community Services and Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, Mr. Archie LANG
- Québec’s Ministerial Delegate for Transport, Mr. Norman MACMILLAN
- The Deputy Minister of Lands, Transportation and Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Jang-Hyun CHOI
- The Deputy Minister of Transport of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Mayobanex ESCOTO VASQUEZ
- I would also like to acknowledge the presence of numerous members of the executive committee of the World Road Association, including the President, Ms. Anne-Marie Leclerc.
So, welcome to this session.
Here in brief is how the session will proceed:
After a few words of introduction by Québec’s Minister of Transport, I will call on the World Road Association to tell us about its vision of our main theme, “How to promote winter mobility adapted to the climate”.
I will then ask deputy ministers and ministers to present their views on this theme. Finally, I will ask the ministers some questions.
Before we start, let me present a little background on this morning’s theme.
One thing is clear, wherever we are: road users want more services. They want to be able to drive safely at all times, without any increase in the time required for the trip, and regardless of the weather and Mother Nature’s vagaries.
For countries with ice and snow in winter, meeting this demand is costly, not to mention the impact on the environment—a growing concern among the public.
How can the lowest possible maintenance costs be reconciled with optimal road safety while at the same time reducing environmental impact as much as possible? This is the problem which this ministers’ session will address.
Can governments that seek sustainable development bring about winter mobility adapted to the climate with due consideration to the costs this involves as well as the need to have maximally safe driving conditions? A thought-provoking question.
Without any further ado, let’s start. Can I ask our host, Québec Minister of Transport, Ms. Julie Boulet, to share a few thoughts.
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I would like to welcome you to this working session. I would like to say that we are very pleased that the World Road Association included in its Congress program a session of this scale, which brings together political decision-makers from many countries. It seems very relevant to open this Congress with high level discussions; discussions on the respective strategies of many PIARC member governments in the promotion of sustainable winter mobility. |
How do we promote winter mobility that is adapted to the climate? This is the overall theme of this session.
Today we have a special opportunity to listen to the concerns of various stakeholders and start a discussion on each of our issues and how we do things.
From a sustainable development perspective, what options do we have in the field of winter mobility? What are the expectations of our citizens? What can we do to meet them?
We will discuss various aspects, all equally important, with the goal of identifying, together, common ground and specific characteristics. Also, why not take advantage of this opportunity to identify potential synergies and help lay the foundation for a high degree of cooperation.
On this backdrop, 3 major issues become clear: the improvement of road safety and road safety performance, the importance or highway transportation in our respective economies, and finally, the reduction of the ecological footprint associated with highway transportation.
This is subject matter for frank and lively discussions!
This is also a great opportunity for PIARC to present us with its view of winter issues and to determine the role it will play in the global transportation community.
I wish you an excellent session, which will surely be one of the most interesting. Thank you.
Moderator:
Thank you, Ms. Boulet. I would now call on the Vice-President of the World Road Association, Mr. Keiichi Inoue, to come up and tell us about the Association’s view of the problems related to our theme and the role the Association can play.
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Thank you for kind presentation. My name is Keichii Inoue. I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak here today. Please let me say a few reminds as Vice-President of PIARC and as the strategic theme B Coordinator. First, I’d like to draw up the PIARC’S roles and achievements. Effective transportation is essential to maintain our communities, but it can be difficult to ensure during winter when there are many challenges. To overcome these challenges, PIARC has played a major role as both a venue for member countries to share their accumulated knowledge and as a place to conduct research on related technologies. |
For 100 years, PIARC has aimed to address the question of how roads and traffic systems should handle automobile traffic. We have strived to improve and popularize a “Global Road Community”, and we have developed technologies, shared information and engaged in public relations in the field of roads and transportation. To promote these activities we have held the World Road Congress every 4 years, and in between the World Road Congress, we have also held the Winter Road Congress every 4 years since 1969 to address issues of winter road maintenance.
Let me talk about the PIARC’s Technical Committee Activities on Winter Road Maintenance. PIARC activities for the current term running from 2008 to 2011 are based on 4 strategic themes, and there are currently 18 Technical Committees that are diligently working to solve the issues they have been delegated.
Themes for the PIARC Technical Committees have expanded in line with the changing times. Based on the theme of “Provision of Services”, we have made every effort to improve winter road management—an area, which has grown increasingly diverse over the years. We consider both road users and the community our customers, and with an awareness of the importance of providing services, we have undertaken a range of issues from the technical to the administrative. At PIARC, activities concerning winter maintenance have grown increasingly active over the years, and we have successfully undertaken improvements to Winter Service Management Systems.
Regarding the meaning of the winter road congress, an important issue during the recent global recession has been how to effectively and efficiently undertake road maintenance in the financial burden. Each country has been taking various measures, and together we have accumulated a wealth of experience. Sharing experiences and information will be extremely valuable for decision makers and practitioners going forward.
As each country’s delegates hold presentations on the measures they have undertaken to resolve the issues at hand and as we engage in passionate debates here in Québec, the stakeholders who face winter transportation problems around the world are watching and listening with high expectations.
Given recent discussions on environmental issues and the economic crisis, the minister’s session shall act to provide more guidelines for individuals involved in winter road maintenance. What is important in achieving “Sustainable Winter Service” is how efficiently and effectively we can provide services. Many countries are taking measures to do just this: using fast and accurate information sharing in decision-making support systems, securing traffic through organized snow removal work, and undertaking cost-efficient operations.
It is also extremely important for overall traffic systems to take environmental, social and economic impacts into consideration. Globalization has progressed and multilateral cooperation is now more important than ever. I strongly expect this session to serve as an incredibly invaluable venue for us to debate how the world’s transportation officials will handle the winter road traffic issues that each nation faces.
Finally, I sincerely hope this congress in the City of Québec, a city with a long history and rich natural and architectural asset, is a droving experience for all of you. I would like to conclude my address by expressing my heartfelt thanks to the President of PIARC, Ms. Anne-Marie Leclerc, all the staff at Québec organizing committee and everyone at PIARC General Secretariat for their hard work in preparing for this congress. Thank you very much.Moderator:
Thank you for sharing with us your views on this issue that is so important for the future. I would now ask our dignitaries to share their views on the issues.
First, the Deputy Minister of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Jang-Hyun Choi.
Next is the snowfall statistics by the region of Korea. North-East and South-West areas have relatively much quantity of snowfall. This shows the snowfall in Seoul, our capital city. The average accumulate snowfall in the capital area per year is about 24 centimeters. And the annual snowy days are eleven days, which is not many. However, we have been getting a lot of snowfalls in the recent years, due to the effect of the climate change. Therefore, the winter road management has become more important than ever. I’ll have a movement to our management to our expressways in winter.
We’ve developed a control system to effectively remove snow. Snowfalls status and traffic conditions are being monitored in real time, using automatic weather information and close-circuit television. This allows us to quickly activate devices that automatically spray de-icing liquid and to mobilize snow removal equipment. We are especially managing 168 vulnerable spots that are designated in advance, by installing automatic salt-water sprays.
Snow ploughs and de-icers are prepared at the spot during the winter season. To take immediate action, when around three centimeters of snow is expected, the operators begin to spray calcium chloride even before the snowfalls. When a heavy snowfall is forecasted, we use the media networks and the digital signboard to dissuade people from traveling. And to divert the public towards using public transportation, we extend service hours and increase frequency of buses and subways.
The main expressway control center monitors traffic and snowfalls in real time. The entrance of our expressways is quickly blocked on the traffic jam to remove the snow. And the emergency ramps and median barrier will be open.
Next: our “emergency helping hand” system is to prepare for emergencies when drivers are trapped for a long time due to snow. Emergency supplies such as gasoline, blankets, food and medicine are secured in express rescue areas in advance. To fundamentally dissolve problems related to snowfall, we are striving to develop a snow-melting system that uses geothermal energy. We assure this eco-friendly system operates at a low maintenance cost in the long term.
Last but not least, I would like to take a brief moment to introduce the 17th ITS World Congress to be held in Korea. As you know, ITS World Congress is the largest event in the ITS field. It is also called “the transportation Olympics”. The 17th ITS World Congress will be held in the beautiful marine city of Busan, Korea, from October 25th to 29th this year. In particular, Korea is preparing to provide a tour of the huge traffic mother city. I ask for your keen interest in the congress, and hope to see you all in Busan this October. Thank you for your attention.
Moderator:
Thank you, Mr. Choi, and best wishes for those upcoming transportation Olympics, which I’m sure will be bringing together a multitude of stakeholders and players.
I would now call on Canada’s Minister of State for Transport, Mr. Rob Merrifield, to tell us about Canada’s view of winter mobility.
It’s a pleasure for me to be with you at this round table. As a federal minister, I first of all want to welcome you to Canada.
If there’s one thing that we have learned over this last year it’s just how interconnected we really are as countries, as a world. When you see an economic turmoil in the United States, with the housing collapse and financial markets collapse a year ago, that put us into the worse recession globally since World War 2, you know how connected we really are as a world, and how important it is to get together to be able to look at best practices.
And so, I congratulate you and look forward to the round table here this morning, because of what we can learn from each other. We’ve had a tough time in our economy and we’ve looked forward, this last year, to be able to deal with some of the challenges of what this last year has presented. And so we wanted to stimulate the economy, as most of the G20 countries have done, by putting 2 percent of GDP into economic stimulus. We’ve leveraged that 3 to 1 as much as possible, 2 to 1 for sure; and perhaps, 3 to 1 in most cases, to where we were at over 4 percent of GDP in Canada this last year. We target it, we have to get the money out quickly, so it’s gonna be timely, but also has to be temporary. And so, it’s a great opportunity for us. And who would have thought, a year ago, looking at a massive recession ahead of us, and the instability that was around the sector and around the international community a year ago, that only a year down the road, we cold look back and say, you know, there’s some rainbows in the cloud, there’s some opportunities that we have seized on, and we can create better road systems, better infrastructure to prepare for the 21st century challenges, in all of our countries.
Canada is a very large country; second largest country in the world. We have 24 000 km of road system. And you know, they go all the way from Labrador to Newfoundland, across the plains and the prairies to British Columbia, where we meet the Pacific and host the Olympic Games, starting this Friday. It is a vast country, and I hope to see you there and take in some of the Olympics as our athletes from around the world challenge each other for excellence.
We also have roads that go to the North, that are built strictly on ice, in Canada. And they connect the economies of the North to the markets of the South. And so, we have a very diverse country, with very a diverse road system. And together we connect ourselves because of trade, because of our commerce, and because, ladies and gentlemen, there is no option. We have to be flexible in this, because there are shared jurisdictions. We share jurisdictions with our municipalities, with our provinces; and we each have our roles to play, and so it’s very important, as we go through this past year, that we recognize the opportunity and the privilege to be able to work together with each other at common goals, which is safety, security, environmental innovation and transportation. And it is great to be able to see that we’ll be able to accomplish some of that as we improve our highway systems across this country, Canada. To do that, Canada’s solution is investing in infrastructure, the safety and environment, as I said.
We talked about infrastructure and the importance of that. Last year, we put in our Economic Action Plan 12 billion dollars which would go into stimulus this year. It is very important that we do that, we do not just have to prepare for July and June weather systems: we have to prepare for all year round weather systems, so make sure that our economy thrives, make sure that our goods get through, and make sure that we have ability to be able to compete internationally and nationally.
We had some hang-ups, because we had also introduced a 33-billion-dollar infrastructure program that was sort of bogged down, because we, in this shared jurisdiction, would not recognize environmental improvements, as well as nab water, changes that needed to be made so that we could streamline the process and move these dollars quickly. There’s no point in putting dollars forward; after the recession, after we come out of a recession, we have to seize the opportunity and do it quickly. And we’ve been able to do that. So, it has to get out faster, it’s got to be non-political. As a politician, you say: “Well, what do you mean, non political?” I mean, non political, and the way you do that is to make sure that every shared jurisdiction antes have their fair share of the project. And so, if we have to deepen your pocket to actually fulfill that project to make it happen, you have an investment into it and you have committed to it. And it’s not necessarily one politician’s pet peeve but it’s a shared jurisdiction, a shared opportunity for the people that we all represent, the people of Canada, so it is something that we have done, have done it fairly successful.
In fact, we have 6 700 projects since the budget of 2009, 9 billion dollars that’s leveraged into 25,8 billion dollars, just to give you an idea of leveraging possibilities. And we’re very pleased to be able to do that. It’s an unprecedented investment. I’m happy to say that the result of collaboration and partnership between our governments has accomplished a tremendous amount. We have seen these projects move, we have virtually 100 percent of the stimulus money has already been allocated and it will be used last year, to some degree, but you had to get it off the ground and the bulk of the projects will be making its way through the system and starting and actually hitting the ground in this upcoming spring. Not to say that we haven’t done projects in this last year. And I’ll give you an example of one that has happened in my area – I come for Alberta. A ring road around Edmonton is one project that we are able to invest 100 million dollars into to be able to move the people and the population in that area and congestion around the city. There is one overpass that was tendered for 3 hundred million dollars; it’s what it was projected to cost. Because we did it last year, the tender came in at 168 million dollars. That means that you are able to do a tremendous amount of more overpasses with the same amount of dollars. And that seizes on the opportunity that we have.
I’m directly in charge of the Alberta and Saskatchewan Infrastructure, and we were able to reallocate a significant amount of those dollars in projects that were already tendered. That came in 20, 30, 40, 50 percent less because of the competitive advantage that we have been billing it last year instead of the year before. Those are the opportunities that are there in recession, and we need seize on it, and we have, to a large degree.
Environment and the economy are usually at odds with each other. And so, we don’t believe as a government that they should be; we don’t believe that they are, really. We believe that when you’re stuck in traffic longer, that you spend less time at work, you spend less time with your family, you have less opportunity to be competitive in your businesses. Actually, when you’re stuck in traffic longer, burn more greenhouse gases and produce more greenhouse gases. We believe that a good, solid infrastructure project and good, solid road infrastructure is something that is of value to our society and to the environment and the economy as well. We’ve invested 3.5 billion dollars in transit projects across this country, that majority of that in the last three years. Just to give you an example of one that is really a success, and I hope you’ll visit later this week, is the Canada Line that links Vancouver to the Vancouver International Airport. Just this project alone, 150 000 passengers per day, equivalent to 14 000 tons per year of greenhouse gas emission off the road. But more than that, it even takes the stress off of the roads in the Vancouver area to allow for those roads to be used for other uses and to less amount of congestion. So, it gives us that competitive advantage. As we just invest in those kind of projects.
We’ve invested in transit projects also in Toronto-York-Spadina Subway, as an example of that extension, revitalizing Union Station in Toronto. We’ve put a considerable amount of money, 407 million dollars in the Action Plan, just in Via Rail for passenger rail services across the country. And we do that because it takes the pressure off of our roads. And the less pressure that is on the roads, the better they will stand up and more efficient they will become.
Finally, safety contributes to sustainable winter roads as well. And we do that by innovative technologies that meet those challenges. We have implemented a national road weather information system network, along the national highway systems, that determine when and where to apply the salt, and preventing the icing on pavements. We know that if we can put salt on earlier, then it’s a four times less amount of salt. That’s good for the environment, that’s good for the roads, better for the roads, with less salt. And it’s also better for the pocketbook. So, more efficient use, because of better technologies is where we need to go, is where we are going and I’m sure that’s one of the things that we want to share and to be able to talk to you about as you go through this conference. You know, it helps when deciding whether you make a journey or you don’t make a journey, if you know, if you have this information, not only about the salt but also about accidents, also about the information on the highway, so you can route yourself around those accidents, it helps the emergency people when there is an accident to be able to get to those emergency situations. So, these technology systems that we have on our roadway system are something that is really improving the lifestyle in Canada as well as the environment as well as the economy.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I’m here to give you one message: the economy and the environment do not have to be at odds with each other. They can complement each other, and we try to do that as much as we possibly can, as a federal government. It’s a pleasure for me to be able to be with you, I encourage you to share each other’s experiences and successes, as you go through this conference, and congratulations for hosting it here. You are somewhat like the Olympics: in that you host it every four years; there is a summer and there is a winter; and the winter is a little bit smaller than the summer, and it’s at the same time as the Olympics. Congratulations, I don’t know which came first. Thank you.
Moderator:
Thank you for reminding us about how the economic crisis has had the effect of bringing investment in road infrastructure back onto the political stage. This reminds me of something President Obama’s chief of staff said last year, that you must never waste a crisis, and I think that here in Canada the financial crisis was what made it possible to restore public funding of infrastructure. Thank you again, Minister.
I would now like to ask the Secretary General for Infrastructure of Spain’s Ministry of Development to tell us about Spain’s policy on our theme “How to promote winter mobility adapted to the climate”.
Let me now tell you about what we in the Spanish government are doing with regard to winter maintenance, the improvements we have already made and those which we will be undertaking. Perhaps the first thing to say is that while Spain may well be a country of beaches and sunshine, it is also a very mountainous country. The average altitude is 600 metres, higher than most countries in the European Union. We have major ski trails and mountains which we have to reach with our transportation infrastructure and we have to maintain this infrastructure under very unfavourable climatic conditions.
Spain is a complicated country, and our activities therefore take place within a well defined institutional framework. There is the central government, which is responsible for national policies that affect the country as a whole, but Spain is also divided into 17 regions, 52 provinces and over 80,000 municipalities. Spain’s road system includes infrastructures owned jointly or separately by various levels of government. The central government owns two-thirds of the major highway system and one-tenth of the single-lane roads. The roads administered in the regions by the ministry of development account for just 15% of all roads but over half of total traffic.
Three ministries are involved in matters related to winter mobility. First there is the ministry of the environment, which includes the government weather office. It is vital to have adequate weather information, in particular for winter road work, which calls for timely and reliable forecasts. Then there is the ministry of development, with its roads branch which is responsible for ongoing monitoring of the roads and for preventive and restorative treatments. The roads branch also works with the ministry of the interior to identify any need for traffic restrictions. The ministry of the interior, through its traffic branch, keeps a watch on the roads and, as I mentioned, works with the roads branch to decide on any traffic restrictions. Finally, the ministry of the interior’s emergencies branch supports regional and local governments, and it assists residents who may be affected by prolonged restrictions on traffic.
In addition, representatives of the central government are to be found in each province and region. They coordinate activities with other levels of government in the areas of prevention, winter service, and services to drivers. There is an interministerial coordinating body which calls periodic meetings so that there are ongoing contacts among the various governments, and services are thus delivered effectively and efficiently.
Now, what is our government’s policy on winter road service? The first thing I want to say is that in 2004, the government of José Luis Zapatero clearly identified maintenance and safety as a priority, the former being a sine qua non for maximizing the latter. This had an immediate impact on the budgetary resources made available. Whereas in 2004, we were spending 632 million euros on maintenance and safety, in 2010, Parliament approved almost 1.3 billion (1257 million) euros, representing a doubling over 6 years. And this increase has yielded results. For example, the number of snowploughs has more than doubled, from 561 in 2003-2004 to 1268 in 2009-2010. With regard to prevention, road salt storage capacity has increased from 57 million tonnes in 2003-2004 to over 185 million tonnes this year.
Thus we were not caught short by the major storms that occurred in Europe, as they did in the U.S. and Canada; we were prepared for the worst. One priority on which we continue to work is the construction of parking areas for trucks and buses. When big snowfalls are forecast, the first thing we have to do is get trucks and buses off the road so that they do not interfere with our snow removal equipment or tie up traffic. Over the past 6 years, we have built 25 such parking areas, strategically located near areas where all services are available so the drivers will enjoy the best possible conditions if they have to wait for several hours. A further 11 parking areas are under construction and 19 more are being planned.
Current expenditures on winter road service come to a bit more than 61 million euros. Given that the budget for road infrastructure is 5.1 billion euros, and that 24% of this is devoted to maintenance, the budget for winter road service represents 5% of the total budget for maintenance.
Next, how do we operate? Our main tool for doing a proper job of winter road maintenance is without a doubt timely and complete information. That is why we have been equipping our snowploughs with Global Positioning Systems. In this way we can determine, in real time, what type of preventive or restorative treatment a given work crew should perform. We also get an immediate evaluation of the actions taken, so that we can do even more if need be, or take corrective action.
On January 10, the Madrid area saw one of the heaviest and most memorable snowfalls of recent years. 133 snowploughs went into action on the 800 km of roads. The snow was completely cleared from all national roads, and we were also able to lend a hand to the regional and local governments where a need was felt. Working in such a coordinated fashion, as I said, promotes road safety.
A summary, with a table, of what I have said so far is available for those interested.
What are our plans for the future? First, we can do a better job if we have sufficient warning, and therefore we will be improving our weather forecasting systems. Let me tell you a little story about this. One day in Madrid, no snow was forecast but it began to snow heavily. There had been no warning. At the interministerial body I mentioned, we took to our telephones to call each other and find out if there had been a mistake since the national weather institute had not told us that we were in a state of orange alert. We called the institute and they said there was indeed no orange alert. The snow would be over in less than an hour and there would be no accumulation on the sidewalks or roadways. No reason to take action.
I can tell you that we spent an hour in a state of high emotion, hoping that the forecast was right, and indeed it was, thanks to improvements in forecasting capability. A second thing we see as basic is improved methods of communication, so that we can inform the public and make appropriate recommendations. When a heavy snowfall is forecast, people cannot continue as if nothing has happened; using a private car for travel is not recommended.
We are making a major effort in the area of education, in making recommendations to the public in good time so that everyone will be safe. We have achieved notable improvements by providing useful information in timely fashion on the radio and on television. We have improved channels of communication to coordinate the central and regional governments, though further improvements will be needed. I have mentioned the parking areas for trucks and buses, and we will need to improve information systems for these areas. We are also looking at improved rail transportation during snow events.
We have made great efforts not only with roads, to clear them of snow and maintain them in the best possible condition, but also with railways. Transportation services between suburbs and downtowns in major cities have been improved considerably, and during very heavy snowfalls we have managed a better than 20% reduction in the use of private cars in favour of commuter rail and subway. We are working to improve public transit, keep our roads in good condition and make them even better, and provide the best possible service to the public. Of course we are well aware that in a period of economic crisis, it is our responsibility, as the minister from the Canadian federal government said, to strike a balance between the resources we allocate to carry out our policies, the economic cost, and what is environmentally sustainable. That is what our citizens expect.
This is the spirit which guides us and this is the work we are doing and will continue to do as our contribution to the World Road Association, and I hope we will all continue to move forward. Thank you very much.
Moderator:
Thank you for telling us about the many challenges you face, especially with regard to coordination of activities and effective communications. Your presentation gave us a very good idea of the scope of these challenges.
And now, the host of the next winter road congress, which will take place in 2014, the Minister of Territorial Planning, Environment and Agriculture of the Principality of Andorra, Mr. Vicenç Alay Ferrer. He will be telling us about Andorra’s position on today’s theme.
Minister of Territorial Planning, Environment and Agriculture of the Principality of Andorra, Mr. Vicenç Alay Ferrer
In a document that was provided to us at the Congress during the Ministers' Session, the objectives are listed, of course, the theme, and some of the topics, set out in three components: economy, road safety, and reducing our ecological footprint, which were previously discussed. Colleagues, I want to tell you about a solution to mobility and the environment in Andorra.
To meet the environmental challenges, we need to discuss two key aspects that are essential to make this strategy successful: the social aspect and the political aspect.
Consequently, we have to correctly understand the problems and solutions we have, in our case, to encourage compatibility between economic growth and respect for the environment. On one hand, through technological innovation, we have to have greater social and economic satisfaction by using fewer resources. On the other hand, through social innovation, we have to be able to do things differently, generate less of an environmental impact caused by transportation, the movement of people and goods, water and energy consumption, and through urban and land strategic planning.
Social innovation is probably the most difficult. In fact, we have to be successful in reducing the resistance caused by inactivity and social, economic and political interests, always present in this environment. Consequently, not only do society's values need to absolutely change, but also governments’ ability to lead and, in particular, for our border country, social cooperation between these businesses, especially with our neighbouring states.
Therefore, you have to want to grow, but you also have to want to change, and go from a culture of freedom to a voluntarily agreed upon culture with limits. This new culture must be based on new values, with clear arguments on cost/benefit, and by focusing on training at all levels, with the required social involvement.
We also need to talk about the political aspect structured throughout the restraint of the argument: [translation] “changing everything lacks credibility”. A consistent argument is needed between what is said and what is done; a transparent talk on the information, to explain both the positive and the negative, to explain the costs and the real benefits and, a talk with respect, that calls on reason and the freedom of choice on the citizens’ decision.
This is why me must:
- Quantify before acting. What can be measured can be understood, what we can understand can be controlled and what can be controlled can be improved.
- Do not wait for radical changes in environmental commitment. It is better to ensure good knowledge and understanding of the message than to force one's priority on the scale of values for the receiver.
- Maintain the action unit through positive coallitions. We have to pool the efforts of administrations, businesses, social groups, families and citizens. We have to avoid ideological confrontation and the legacy role of the uniqueness of the solutions (the despotism demonstrated should never be applied to environmental issues).
- Prepare conflict management. It must be done, while still avoiding, the creation of a “no culture”.
- Decide. We must be convinced of the responsibility that we have as of today and for tomorrow.
Moderator:
Thank you, Minister, for bringing out all the different kinds of challenges and demonstrating the need to reconcile economic, environmental and safety matters, to find compromises without upsetting ways of life. This I think is a challenge for all the panellists and indeed for everyone in the room.
Now I invite the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mr. Karim Ghellab, to present Morocco’s position on winter mobility. If you’re surprised to be hearing someone from Morocco speaking on this topic, bear in mind that some parts of the Atlas Mountains in the southern part of that country receive nearly 200 centimetres of snow a year. A very interesting country to visit because of its geographical diversity, not to mention the culinary delights.
It’s always a great pleasure for me to be taking part in a congress of the World Road Association. It has now become a tradition for Morocco to work closely with the Association and to take a great interest in its work.
May I recall that Morocco had the honour of hosting a world road congress almost 20 years ago in Marrakech. I myself have had an opportunity to participate in several congresses in Durban, in Lulea (Sweden) for a winter road congress, in Paris just recently, and so on. As a member of the Association, I want to emphasize its extremely valuable role as a forum for discussion and exchange of expertise, for mutual understanding and collective progress. It’s especially useful because it is an association of governments and thus removed from commercial considerations. It has a certain neutrality on these matters. I want to take this occasion to emphasize the importance of the Association and encourage all those working within it from all the various governments.
May I also congratulate you on the new snowplowing competition, which serves to recognize those who drive these machines under difficult conditions. Of course, they’re not the only ones who work under difficult conditions, but the competition is a nice way of encouraging them and congratulating them.
As has been said before, Morocco is a land of contrasts, environmental and geographical. You’ll find the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal plains, but also the Sahara Desert, and the Rif and Atlas Mountains with their very abundant snowfall. So we are very much affected by the problems of winter roads. Some of our provinces have to deal with road problems arising both from desert sands and from snowfall, though obviously during different seasons.
To give you an overview of our road system and winter road problems, the Moroccan government is responsible for 38 554 kilometres of roads. There are 920 kilometres of highway, with 550 kilometres under construction, to be completed in the next two years. So we will have some 1500 kilometres of highway plus the 38,500 kilometres of paved roads. Traffic growth has followed economic growth, with the volume of traffic increasing by almost 10% a year. There are 5 000 kilometres of road that receive snow, distributed over 15 of the 51 provinces. So a third of the provinces are affected by the problem of winter service. It’s not just a little here and there. In some places snow falls on 74 days a year. That’s a lot, though the average is 20 days a year. Roads are closed for an average of almost 2000 hours per year. In unusual cases like last year, roads were closed for 9660 hours. And the length of roadway covered by snow varies between 3400 and 4900 kilometres depending on the year.
Therefore, to summarize, we are facing this reality within our means and we are making concerted efforts to improve mobility and safety for our citizens. A few words now about the three suggested topics: the conflict between mobility and costs, road safety and winter service, and finally carbon footprint.
Perhaps because of the geographical and climatic contrasts in our country, citizens have very little tolerance for blocked roads. Mobility is the priority for our ministry, but of course within the means available, though we try to increase our resources every year. Still, our priority is mobility, keeping the roads open.
Naturally, there’s the question of costs, but we feel that the costs of keeping the roads clear have to be seen in light of the impact of blocked roads on goods transportation, on the price of raw materials. In some places, blocked roads mean a 25 or 30% increase in the price of everything. So we don’t ask whether we should open the roads or how much this will cost. Instead we take a rational approach.
We have three levels of response on our roads. In each province, the roads are divided into levels S1, S2 and S3. The strategic S1 roads get attention first; we open them within 4 hours of a snow fall. S2 roads, those leading to county towns, are opened within a day and a half on average. S3 roads, the others, may have to wait two and a half to three days on average. Another problem is the unpaved hard-to-navigate tracks in the mountains, which get the third level of priority.
Throughout the summer, we have a period of preparation and we take the equipment to strategic locations so as to reduce our response time. The resources we mobilize include 250 people, about 100 pieces of specialized equipment and about twice that amount of standard equipment. So our policy is to increase our resources and meet the public demand for mobility to the greatest extent possible.
Turning now to road safety, when it’s a question of deciding between mobility and safety, then obviously the decision will be in favour of safety. We take strict measures to ensure safety. For at least seven years, we have had no cases where, for example, people have been stuck on roads during a snowstorm because of a lack of winter service. We are very strict about snow fences, road signage, compliance with rules for convoys, diverting vehicles to alternate routes, road closure announcements, changeable message signs, patrols, watchmen for snowed-in stretches of roadway, etc. And naturally, information for the public plays an ever growing role.
To conclude, I’d like to say something about our carbon footprint. This is of course a concern. Clearly winter service has a cost in terms of overconsumption of fuel and lubricants, and road salts which may pollute the water table and have harmful impacts on ecological balances. We try to reduce these impacts as much as possible during the preparatory phase of our work, and there are a number of things we are doing. For example, instead of using salt, we mainly use pozzolan, a natural substance found in the Atlas Mountains which has the same effect but no impact on biodiversity and on site and landscape quality. We rarely use salt in areas where pozzolan can be found. So, that is what I wanted to say. Once again, congratulations and enjoy the rest of the session.
Moderator:
Thank you, Minister. You’ve shown us the dilemmas that exist, between mobility and the economy, between mobility and safety, between efficiency and environmental footprint. Your response to these dilemmas was particularly clear, so thank you.
I now invite our host, Québec minister of transport, Ms. Julie Boulet, to speak to us about Québec’s policy on winter mobility
Here in the City of Québec, we can say that my country is winter and everyone knows about the snow. The City of Québec receives on average 300 cm of snow per year and I'm not sure if you have visited the Québec stand, in fact, yes, the City of Québec, the Mayor enjoyed showing us the mountain of snow there yesterday, 584 cm. This is the amount of snow the City of Québec saw around 2 years ago. So this was an exceptional year, but we must realize that, 584 cm of snow is a huge mountain! In terms of the mobility of people, this is obviously an issue, we must be innovative and proactive, and we must ensure that we can move all of that snow as fast as possible to facilitate the movement of people and goods. This was a major challenge for the City of Québec and most certainly led to significant budget costs.
Like other citizens of Nordic countries, Quebecers must deal with all the ups and downs of winter to maintain the social and economic development of the City of Québec. Of course, the snow and the movement of people also have an impact on the social and economic life of our businesses. I will discuss 3 topics, in fact, the same 3 topics that were discussed by my colleagues: road safety, the economy and sustainable development, and reducing our ecological footprint.
For road safety, I can tell you that the government has made this a priority. In Québec, 2007 was named Road Safety Year. At that time, we implemented something called, which is still active today, the Québec road safety table, with 70 partners, closely or remotely, involved in road safety discussed road safety issues, which resulted in recommendations to the government, and following these recommendations, there were bills and regulations implemented and today we are very proud because we have concrete results in road safety performance.
The size of our land, the extreme climate and like everywhere else, the growth of the number of vehicles and movements present a constant challenge to staff responsible for the road network's maintenance.
In Québec, over the last 20 years, the number of vehicles on the road has almost doubled. Despite this, 2008, as I said, was a good year in terms of road safety. There were 557 deaths, 64 fewer than the previous year, which represents a decrease of 10.3%.
We are very proud and I think that, the 2009 review will be released shortly, we are still improving, so we will have once again saved people, human lives, and I think this is something we can be proud of. Mission accomplished. There will always still be some way to go, lives to save, but I think that every time we do something that enables us to be more vigilant and thorough, and that also allows people to take responsibility as drivers, I think we can say that we fulfilled one of our missions.
The increase in mobility needs of the Québec population concerns the ministère des Transports du Québec (Québec Ministry of Transport) in one of the components of its mission, which is to ensure safe and efficient transportation systems, regardless of the season and road conditions.
Over the past few years, many measures came into force to improve road safety in winter. For example, the Highway Safety Code now imposes that between December 15 and March 15, passenger vehicles registered in Québec must be equipped with winter tires. It is important to remember that for road safety, this type of tire has already been proven effective.
Information and communication with all road users is critical to the success of road safety. Annually, before and after winter, the ministère des Transports du Québec conducts information and advertising campaigns.
To facilitate access to this information at all times, both on-line and by phone, the Ministry has made available, since 2008, the Québec 511 Info Transports service. Many of you certainly know that, in our country, 911 is the number used for people in an emergency situation who want to phone the police to report something or call for help. This number is for emergency situations, where someone is sick or when someone is attacked. Here, we have implemented Québec 511 Info Transports. At anytime, 24 hours a day, Quebecers can phone this number and obtain information on road conditions all over Québec. This is an information tool that enables people to obtain information because they are responsible for their driving. Before accessing a road network, I think it is our duty, our responsibility to inform them about the particular conditions on that road in any given situation, or when there is a storm, an ice storm or when there is rain in winter. It is important to inform people because if the situation is not ideal and transportation, movement or travel is not necessary, it would be better to stay at home. I think this sends a very strong signal about safety. From October 25, 2008 to April 15, 2009, 762,000 calls were made to the Québec 511 service.
To secure snow removal and deicing operations, the ministère des Transports du Québec changed the signals on the snow removal vehicles, thereby increasing their visibility, particularly when visibility is reduced. These changes also apply to all the service providers working for the Ministry.
In terms of the economy, the ministère des Transports du Québec is responsible for managing the upper road network made up of 30,299 km. The Québec exports to the United States, one of Québec's and Ontario's main economic partners, total $51.3 billion. Over 58% of these exports travel by road in trucks. The road network is one of the key factors in Québec's social and economic development.
In cold weather, road network maintenance is done by teams that are publicly-owned, whether it is private businesses or even municipalities. Overall, the winter maintenance costs are estimated at $273 million for the current fiscal year on a total maintenance budget of $526 million. These are significant amounts, but they are necessary to maintain the mobility of Quebecers and the economic development of Québec.
The quality of the network's winter maintenance reflects Québec's expectations. The ministère des Transports du Québec determines the levels of service needed based on 2 main criteria, the type of road; here we are talking about highways, national roads, regional roads and collector roads, and also the traffic. For example, for a highway with traffic of over 20,000 vehicles a day, the prescribed timeframe for a 'cleared' surface is 3 hours after the end of precipitation.
For sustainable development and the reduction of our ecological footprint, with all of our governments’ actions, the Ministère recently adopted a Sustainable Development Action Plan to more systematically include the three fundamental components, which are the economy, social development, and the protection of the environment in all its products, services and activities. These 3 components must always be considered.
In order to take into account the wide range of weather conditions when making decisions about winter maintenance, the Ministry started to make a major shift towards innovation and new technologies. The Ministère equipped itself with:
- a network of weather stations (fixed and mobile) that help better identify actions to make on the network, particularly ice melter spreading;
- new vehicular telemetry technologies, installations will begin shortly, in the next few months. By 2013, all the Ministry fleet vehicles will be equipped with this new system that will enable the collection, transfer and processing of a wide variety of data captured by these vehicles.
Also, a Québec strategy for the environmental management of road salts to protect the environment, ensure road safety and maintain traffic is in the process of being finalized here.
So that is, in a few words, the Québec experience to promote sustainable development adapted to the climate. Of course, this experience is constantly changing.
In closing, I want to once again point out the importance of winter maintenance in Québec's social and economic activities. I also want to highlight the importance of the role played by all stakeholders and the need for the actions taken to be in line with sustainable development. Clearly, technology and innovation have made a considerable contribution to the improvement of our practices.
Road users must remain at the heart of our concerns and their accountability in terms of their safety must go through an effective communication strategy and high quality information. It is essential to discuss these issues through forums like this one today.
These types of meetings are important because they enable us to share our practices, ways of doing things and our shared goal of improving. I think that the work organized by the Association throughout the year and the Congress, and meetings like this, allow us to make great strides and move forward. Thank you to the Association and I wish you continued success in your Congress. Thank you.
Moderator:
Thank you, Minister. I think the figures you mentioned at the outset, showing improved safety on the road, speak to the success of initiatives taken in recent years by your Ministry. Let’s hope there will be further improvements in the years to come.
Moderator:
We now move on to the second part of this ministers’ session. Here’s how we’ll proceed.
After giving a bit of background, I’ll ask one minister a question designed to delve more deeply into an aspect of the problem which we have just been looking at in general terms. The minister will have 4-5 minutes to respond.
The first question is for Mr. Vicenç Alay Ferrer from Andorra.
Winter is an inescapable reality that reduces people’s mobility and affects the transportation of the goods they need. Maintenance services make it possible to continue with or re-establish social and economic activity, though they sometimes have a negative impact on the environment.
- What transportation-related measures or initiatives are the most effective in reducing the negative impact of winter maintenance services on the environment, based on the experience in Andorra?
Mr. Vicenç Alay Ferrer:
First, I would like to tell you about the particularities of our country. Andorra is a very small country, less than 500 square kilometres, with a population of 75 to 80,000 and over 75,000 vehicles. This means that there is just under one vehicle per citizen. Our economy is based on tourism, which is our primary source of revenues and – more importantly when we are talking about winter road service – the average altitude of our country is 2,000 metres, with a minimum altitude of 800 metres. So you can see how the problem of winter is always a concern here. Often during the winter, all of our 270 kilometres of roads are covered in snow at the same time, which can cause problems.
But, as I mentioned, the economy is based on tourism, and specifically ski resort tourism, it is clearly imperative to resolve the problem of winter road service. In recent years there has been significant progress, as demonstrated by the presence here in the City of Québec of our own speakers. We face many technical difficulties, but I will focus essentially on the environmental aspects. The major challenge in Andorra is not removing snow from roads, but rather finding a solution to the problem of having so many cars on the roads, not to mention having a population that is very widely spread over the territory. We certainly use every technical means available to us, but what we are focusing most specifically on is a change of mentally which, as I described in my presentation, aims to strengthen public transit and rationalize private vehicle use.
On top of this, another problem is that our economy is based on tourism, and tourists arrive in Andorra by road. Even though our Andorrans are used to driving on snow-covered roads, that is not the case for people visiting from places at sea level like Barcelona, whose vehicles are not equipped for the snow. This means we have to make an effort to be imaginative in finding solutions. These imaginative solutions are often very interesting and I can tell you about them during the Congress, but they are also extremely expensive. This is what we are working on, of course making use the advances made in all the countries, and all the experiences of our colleagues, which we incorporate into our everyday work.
Moderator:
Thank you, Minister. The second question is for the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure of Morocco, Mr. Karim Ghellab.
Winter maintenance is a public service. When public resources are limited, the private sector may be called on as an alternative. Is this a solution for all problems?
- Should the private sector do all the work or should those in charge of road maintenance strike a balance between contract work and work done by public employees? Are there benefits to retaining a certain minimum level of snow removal expertise within government?
Mr. Karim Ghellab:
In Morocco, we include the question of winter service within the broader context of maintaining the roads and operating the road system. Roadways, bridges, tunnels, signage and so on are maintained by private companies, except for day-to-day servicing, which is done by teams of ministry employees.
We have also outsourced certain jobs to private companies through a comprehensive maintenance on a certain number of heavily traveled roads, and this has given useful results. So that’s the Moroccan experience regarding use of the private sector for maintenance work. However when it comes to winter service, 100% of the work is done by public employees. We want to be sure we have close control because of the sensitivities involved. That said, we are looking at experience abroad, where quite often the quality of work by the private sector means that a contractual relationship is perfectly reliable.
And to answer your question, I don’t think 100% private-sector will work in the area of winter service. The government needs to have a certain minimum amount of its own resources in order to respond directly in case of problems or if a private company has greater financial limitations or less financial flexibility than the government. The government can then make up for the shortcomings of the private sector.
Moderator:
Thank you. It’s all a matter of how much, of balance.
My next question is for the Spanish Secretary General for Infrastructure, Ms. Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero Fernández.
The problem of aging populations is affecting the Western world in particular. In many spheres of activity, including winter maintenance services, we are seeing, or we will be seeing sooner or later, problems in recruiting and retaining qualified people.
- As someone responsible for roads, or as a client, are you having problems recruiting qualified people to deal with snow and ice?
- What steps are you planning to recruit and retain qualified people?
Ms. Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero Fernández:
I’d like to begin by challenging one of the statements you made in your question. I don’t think aging is a problem. We can now live longer, and under better conditions, and as a result we can contribute more, sharing our experience and knowledge for a longer time. Also, the increase in life expectancy brings with it an obligation to fund the maintenance of a state of well being as people age. From the point of view of employment, we in Spain see no problem. Let me explain.
Our approach is to defend the market as much as possible while relying on the state in case of need. How is that reflected in the field of winter road maintenance? The private sector does the work, while the state sets the conditions and monitors the work. We have 160 areas of activity in which comprehensive maintenance contracts are awarded lasting 4 years. But—and I want to stress this—it is officials from the roads branch of my Ministry who monitor work underway, year after year, month after month, day after day, and we are very satisfied.
The consultants who manage the maintenance work have, for the past three years at least, been giving courses to roads branch officials once a year, with the branch determining the course content. So there is ongoing training, as well as a policy within the companies themselves to ensure that the training leads to better job opportunities. And perhaps the most important factor is that we promote competition, meaning that the contracts with the consultants have to be renewed. Workers who have been trained and have acquired expertise have to be kept on by any new company that receives a contract. This model has been in operation for years. We make needed improvements in it, but always based on the same principle: private management but public control and guaranteed service delivery, our prime objective.
Moderator:
Thank you. Aging is not a problem but rather an opportunity. Seeing things this way opens the door to new solutions.
The next question is for Canada’s Minister of State for Transport, Mr. Rob Merrifield.
Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are currently very evident on the roads. How does this relate to the matter of winter maintenance? How do available technologies change the work of road managers?
- What intelligent transportation systems are in place to support snow-removal and de-icing work on the roads and what are the benefits associated with these technologies?
- Do you think ITS tools which provide road weather information constitute a sufficient contribution in the eyes of decision-makers responsible for winter road maintenance operations, considering the significant investments needed to provide the data for these systems?
Mr. Rob Merrifield:
I will expand on how proud we are as a federal government to be able to invest and help on the information or intelligent transportation system.
Part of that is, the road weather information system that we’ve helped, encouraged research and to be able to put along our major corridors across the country on our Trans-Canada highway systems. And what that really allows for is the intelligence with the little sensors in the pavement. That allows us an opportunity to be able to know the potential of icing, the potential amount of snow, and the actual even the frost dynamic that happens in the thawing in the spring. So, that it allows us to be able to accelerate the maintenance crews, so that they have an opportunity to apply salt, and if it gets there sooner, than after it’s already frozen, it is reduced by a factor of four. That’s very significant. Not only is it safer for the people who are driving on it, because you’re actually not getting into black-ice slippery conditions, you’re much less wear-and-tear on the road because of the salt abrasion.
You also are protecting the environment. But you’re doing it in a more efficient way, so it’s much cheaper in the long run. So, you put all those factors together: this is a great technology, and it is something that we’re very proud and is working well, you know, improvements always can be made, but we’re pleased the way it’s going.
Moderator:
Thank you, Minister.
My final question will be for the Québec Minister of Transport, Ms. Julie Boulet.
Minister, in order to reduce accidents, a great deal of effort is devoted to quickly restoring the roads to a safe driving condition. Yet users are becoming ever more demanding while often ignoring the limitations imposed by the methods and materials that are used to maintain viability. Under the difficult conditions of winter:
- Do you think the responsibility for safety on the road lies mainly with road managers or with drivers?
- How does your department provide information and support to road users to help them plan their trips and drive safely?
Ms. Julie Boulet:
Statistics on road safety tell us that under normal conditions, and here I’m not talking about winter conditions which can be a bit different, but normally 80% of accidents are due to human error. That means it’s you and me, when we’re at the wheel, who are mainly responsible for accidents. It’s 10% the car – is it in good condition? And 30% the roads.
So, 30% the roads, or is it perhaps 40% in winter? Do the roads play a greater role in causing accidents? In my view, even in winter, even if it’s a challenge for my department to maintain the roads, it’s still a responsibility shared between the driver and my Ministry. It may seem obvious to say so, but drivers have a responsibility for the condition of their vehicle. Are the brakes in good condition? Does it have winter tires? Has the driver brushed off the snow so that he or she has a good view? So responsibility for the vehicle lies in the first instance with drivers. They are also responsible for how they drive, how they interact with others users of the road. When driving in winter, we need to slow down. We need to increase the distance from the car in front and the one behind. At all times, we need to comply with the highway safety code.
And we are also responsible for keeping ourselves informed about road conditions. I was talking about this when I spoke to you earlier. If I am taking a certain road, what are the conditions on that road, and is it wise and responsible to go today, or should I put my trip off till tomorrow? So the driver has a responsibility to be informed when going from point A to point B. What are the conditions on the route to be taken? It’s up to the driver who, I repeat, is 80% responsible for accidents. It’s all about how we behave on the road. And in winter, we need to adapt our behaviour to our environment.
Now obviously my Ministry also has a considerable amount of responsibility, for maintenance and service levels. Highways and roads with heavy traffic need to have the snow removed on a priority basis. That is a responsibility of my Ministry. And I can tell you that we are very, very strict about this, whether the work is done by our employees or by outside contractors. I can assure you that we are very strict about monitoring the work done on contract (80% of the work is done by the private sector). There is no laxity and the objectives are clear when it comes to the speed with which the roads must be cleared and the manner of clearing.
The government also has a responsibility to assist road users. Whether it’s my people at Transport, a highly decentralized Ministry with a presence in the regions of Québec, or whether it’s our police force, the Sûreté du Québec, or whether it’s the highway controllers who enforce the road safety legislation, we have to be present at all times, ready to respond swiftly if there’s a problem on the roads. That’s part of our responsibility, as well as keeping residents well informed, and that’s why we established the 511 transportation information line, to provide quick and easy access to information. When people travel in winter, we want them to make it a habit to call in and find out about conditions on the roads.
I think this is a shared responsibility, and we need to talk it up. A few years ago, there were a lot of accidents involving big snow removal trucks. We did a study to try to find out how to improve things, how to do more, how to make these trucks more visible to people. We ran a wonderful awareness campaign on television, which I think reached people. But that sort of thing has to be ongoing. We have to be running advertising campaigns all the time. We have to keep these things in the front of people’s minds throughout the winter. Saving lives and taking responsibility is a priority for my Ministry, but it must also be a concern for each one of us as a driver.
Moderator:
Thank you, Minister. And thanks to all the ministers and dignitaries who took part in this exchange of views. Your participation is highly appreciated. It is to be hoped that this session has pinpointed the major issues which you will be discussing over the coming days.
This morning, you have heard from the mayors and from the ministers. They have set out their views and the issues they face in promoting sustainable winter mobility adapted to the climate. It is now up to you to continue the discussions and turn them into concrete, pragmatic applications, whether in planning, managing and executing winter viability, or in considering the economic, environmental and safety aspects of the matter, or in developing information systems and technologies. There are many challenges for you to debate in the coming days. This morning’s sessions will probably not have sufficed to tie up many of the issues but we can hope that they will facilitate progress on the issues and bring about closer cooperation among you and among the various countries that must deal with very similar problems.
Thanks once again to the ministers. Please join me in a round of applause.
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To facilitate reading of the text, the masculine is used without any discriminatory intent. |