The Story of a Bryn…

9th September always marks the start of my career in traffic and highways planning. This is my 17th rodeo, then. Shall we have a look back at how we got here?

In 2009, I was a 21 year old that thought they knew everything about the world and could just waltz into a job – so what I did was hassle those who were already in the industry to get me a foot in the door. They did just that, and arguably unleashed a monster (but we’ll park that for now!). After some cajoling the local Job Centre to pay for a three week trial at Calderdale MBC I started to learn how to put my enthusiasm for all things highway related into practice. My first ever task being to upgrade a series of warning signs on Giles Hill Lane near Shelf. A very small start but Rome doesn’t get built in a day.

Now, remember, when you’re 21 you know everything and this brought me into conflict with a few people who were more experienced than I was. One thing you learn in this industry is that everyone acts like they know everything but not all can back it up. This is one of the reasons you see some absolutely alarming examples of design out and about. I managed to ruffle feathers a few times with this, which led to me being tasked with working on the Section 278 for Orange Street Roundabout in Halifax. Prior to 2010 this had one of the worst KSI records in Calderdale. I remember being basically asked to put my money where my mouth is. The road layout that got built was about 95% my doing with technical input from senior staff. This led to me being brought into develop concept plans for projects which is how I became involved with work that – 15 years later – evolved into part of the Calderdale Next Chapter works along the A629 corridor. Many others did much more work after I left CMBC but the foundations came from work I was supervised to deliver – I still have proof in my portfolio if you don’t believe me!

Eventually, the toll of commuting along the M62 every day nailed me and I moved to working in highways at Blackburn with Darwen Council when they were in partnership with Capita. This was a good time to do so as this saw me get involved with the A556 Knutsford to Bowdon project which saw my input towards traffic signs (most of which are still standing, collisions and CAZ debacle aside) and road markings taken seriously and implemented into one of the earliest BIM 2.0 projects in the country. This was big stuff, considering I was still in my early 20s at this point; despite being employed as a technician I was being asked to get involved in major engineering decisions.

Whilst at Blackburn I helped work on major projects such as the M65 Junction 5 Pinch Point scheme (currently being rebuilt as it was only ever intended to have a 10 year lifespan due to limited funding opportunities), the various improvements to the A666 and A678 as part of the Pennine Reach public transport upgrade – this introduced Red Routes to Blackburn at a time when even Greater Manchester didn’t have them), and once again my concept design skills were brought into help shape what was then known as the Fabric Borders Masterplan – much of which was later delivered in various guises as part of THF and NPIF works. Others took the foundations and did the bulk of the work to deliver, so I am not taking their credit! However, I do still have copies of stuff I produced for this too.

As daft as it sounds, my proudest legacy from my days at Blackburn was getting the street name plates revised so they featured the relevant town crests for Blackburn or Darwen. This little act of respect to local identity went down a treat with politicians and the standard detail even now is my design. I smile every time I see a new plate go up.

By 2015 I was a father, and my mental health took somewhat of a nosedive towards the end of the decade as various things in my personal life took hold. In 2016 I had a major bout of illness and was placed on long-term sick leave which I feared would have been a massive block on my career development. Fortunately in the end this worked out as I landed my current job which on 11th September (an ominous date, I know) will have been where I have resided for 9 years. This role has seen me go from that technician level through to Senior Consultant (again because of my concept design skills – I happily allow people to call me the Blue Sky Guru as most of my ideas start off as bonkers and this enables clients to find a realistic ground to work from. Always go in big; clients want ambition and vision, it’s what they’re paying for (I’ve never understood consultants doing the bare minimum for maximum fee, it’s not good business long term). The 2020 pandemic and the effect this had on so many things proved to be a turning point for me and despite how much of a disaster the year itself was, the follow-on has been mostly positive for me even if I am still a mental health basket case behind the scenes with the once hot-headed know-it-all being smacked about by imposter syndrome. I like to take stock and provide more nuanced ideas with a focus on deliverability above all else because I want to see things I design on a screen get built.

So, what does the future hold? Well, I guess we will just have to wait and see. Unfortunately nobody – not even me at my most egotistical – can signpost that. But just think, if you’re enthusiastic enough and can back up that with actual work, you can follow a dream career. They don’t tell you that at high school when the work experience chats happen.