Higher mobility and less traffic

The future perspectives in the field of “mobility and traffic” are experienced quite differently at present: while some people expect a continuously growing traffic volume and a gridlock soon, others rather anticipate a fundamental paradigm change caused by a shortage of energy and financial resources. In this context the 7th “Heidelberger Bauforum” held on 18.09.2008 (Fig. 1) asked questions about the limits of mobility, the availability of energy and in general about the required traffic infrastructure in respect of volume and mode. “Transit, transport, mobility – thinking ahead in order to get ahead” read the slogan of the congress, to which more than 250 decision makers involved in various fields of building and construction came at the ­Portland Forum in Leimen (Germany). Fourteen top-class ­specialists analyzed the topic from different points of view, ­giving thought-provoking impulses, presenting new trends as well as political concepts. “Whether by sea, by land or by air, mobility is not just an economic factor – there is even something fascinating in all its aspects,” explained Andreas Kern (Fig. 2), member of the management board of HeidelbergCement, in his opening speech. As a company operating worldwide, ­HeidelbergCement is highly dependent on mobility – whether in connection with the manufacture of products or in the case of customers’ demands for just-in-time delivery. Not least because HeidelbergCement is manufacturing a product which is in high demand for the construction of infrastructure: concrete.
There was a lot of explosive topics in the panel discussion (Fig. 3; Prof. Werner Rothengatter, Ralf Jahncke, host Prof. Hartmut Topp, Michael Cramer, Ulrich Nolting; from the left) entitled “Efficient traffic design: a matter of perspective”. Four specialists from different fields of the industry commented on the current traffic situation and explained their considerations for a possible approach to a solution. Thus, Ulrich Nolting, ­managing director of Betonmarketing Süd GmbH, called for more consideration of how to design a permanent infrastructure for several generations. For this purpose, especially concrete provides a number of advantages. Furthermore, a lot of potential has not been fully utilized such as the capability of streets to store energy. While Michael Cramer, spokesman of the German Green Party in the Committee of Transport and Tourism and member of the European Parliament criticizes
an unequal taxation for transportation by rail and air, ­
Professor Werner ­Rothengatter, ­director of the Institute of ­Economic Policy and ­Economic Research of the University ­Karlsruhe advocated a road charge right from the first kilometer as it is applied in Switzerland and criticized the fact that there is still too much power of decision at state level.
After the congress all participants agreed that in future the question will not be, whether the amount of  mobility will increase, but rather about the kind of mobility. Ralf Jahncke, CEO of Transcare AG located in Wiesbaden and member of the panel of experts of the “Heidelberger Bauforum 2008” put it in a nutshell: “We have to consider traffic and transport as something positive and have to make sure that people also come to the same conclusion.”

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