Europe’s political patchwork is getting a low-emission zone overlap, according to Malcolm Kent*
By now, pretty much everybody in the industry will be aware of the Low Emission Zone in London, UK. But awareness of similar European zones about to start or expand might be more patchy.
The background to all of these schemes is the problem of air quality, particularly European Union rules setting limits on acceptable pollution levels. It was found some years ago that several member states’ cities, including
Limited highways maintenance budgets can deliver more with a planned asset management approach - *Will Baron. In recent years, a growing number of local and highways authorities have found themselves trapped in a vicious cycle of reactive road repairs. Several bad winters, floods and years of under-investment have taken their toll on road networks. This has led to political and public pressure to patch up potholes and make emergency repairs, ultimately diverting funds away from planned highways maintenance.
Via Nordica, the road technology conference of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) has changed from the traditional Nordic event to become more international The conference, held every four years, rotates between the five countries, and the 2008 event, held in Helsinki, the Finnish capital, was a clear demonstration of the international trend. An accompanying exhibition attracted more than 70 companies and organisations from 14 countries. Pär-Håkan Appel, the secretary g
