In this presentation, Nikola Floodgate will share some of the lessons learned by a local authority adopting Vision Zero. With a focus on strengthening our partnership, use of education training and publicity - and the challenges in adopting a Safe Systems approach in a time where budgets are reducing.
Nikola Floodgate has more than 25 years’ experience in transport planning, highway engineering and road safety. This started in the 90s when she joined a private consultancy as a technician and gained experience of strategic transport modelling, highway design standards and road safety audits.
Nikola then moved from this consultancy role into a local authority role working for a unitary authority until 2015. In this time Nikola was able to gain a broad range of experience in all manner of highways and transportation areas, but notably gained a solid grounding in traffic engineering, solutions to mitigating road safety or capacity concerns, with a strong focus on project and programme management for the Local Growth Fund programme.
In 2015 Nikola spent a year working for DCLG in one of their ‘arm’s length bodies’, the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, in a role that involved business case development, economic appraisals and project management. A real success in this time was securing over £11million of Central Government funding to commence the construction of the new Springhead Bridge.
Nikola moved to Kent County Council in 2016 to join the Transportation Division. In her current role, Nikola is able to use both her engineering experience and also her education background in order to lead the team that seeks to deliver interventions to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on Kent’s roads. Recently the team have been successful in securing and delivering upon the Governments Safer Road Fund initiatives in addition to Active Travel Funding in order to encourage safer journeys on Kent's highway network.
Nikola Floodgate BA (Hons), Road Safety & Active Travel Group Manager, Kent County Council