Chris Mercer
I am a civil engineer specialising in transport planning and large-scale multi-sport games Transport Operations. My experience ranges from transport modelling and scheme design through to construction and operations. Within the context of this experience I have delivered projects from multi-disciplinary transport planning studies right through to major civil engineering and large scale transport operations.
A career spent in both the public and private sector, for both client and delivery agent, in locations as disparate as Australia, the Middle East, North America and the UK, has provided extensive exposure to a wide variety of cultural and professional environments.
Since 2007 I have had a decade of involvement with the planning and delivery of transport operations for multi-sport games, most notably the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games and the London 2012 Olympics. During this period I fulfilled roles at host authority, organising committee and as consultant, providing valuable and differing perspectives and experiences on these remarkable events while at the same time developing skills not typically associated with engineering and transport planning.
Transport Planning
We are all transport planners! Everyone has an opinion about what would make their journey better. This is because everybody uses the transport network, not because they want to travel but because they have to be somewhere else.
However, not everybody is trained to see the whole transport network as a highly complex and interconnected system, seeking to satisfy millions of competing demands, all within the context of changing political and economic limitations. This is the work of the Transport Planner.
Transport Operations - Planning & Delivery
A successful transport operation is critical to the success of any major site-based operation, from construction projects to major games and events. Numerous client groups must get to where they need to be in a safe, timely and organised fashion.
Meanwhile, the transport system also needs to ensure that local businesses and residents can continue to move around as they require, and emergency services can maintain access and respond appropriately.
Ensuring all requirements can be met needs high levels of integrated planning and operational delivery between the project team and local host authorities.
