John Wootton remembered: “a mentor, champion, teacher and friend”

by Paul Hutton

More than a hundred highways and transport industry professionals, from their early 20s to their 80s, have met in London to remember the life of industry great, Professor John Wootton CBE, who died last July, aged 88.

The memorial lecture – called “Back to the Future” – remembered the founder of Wootton Jeffreys Consultants, first Chief Executive of the newly-privatised TRL and early Chair of ITS UK as well as a Trustee of the Rees Jefferys Road Fund

John Wootton was remembered as “a mentor, a champion, a teacher with clarity and direction, and a friend.”

His son Ian commented that his Dad “would have been absolutely delighted, as are we” that so many were paying tribute, “And it’s in his spirit that brought this group together for the event, and it’s been wonderful,” while John’s granddaughter Lily said we should “not let ourselves be bound by pre-existing understandings and definitions, but to think differently, as my granddad did.”

Master of Ceremonies David Jeffery, who was a director of Wootton Jeffreys Consultants, and worked for many years with John, reflected on his life discussing his life of ideas, including the development of the Department for Transport’s COBA cost benefit analysis program for assessing new road schemes, and in the successful privatisation of TRL. He led research into transport modelling, early satellite navigation and intelligent transport systems, as well as holding visiting professorships at three universities, chairing the motorway archive trust, contributing expertise to national and international committees, and being a champion for the UK hosting the ITS World Congress in Birmingham, which it will next year.

Event organiser Andy Graham, chair of the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund, who worked for Wootton Jeffreys in his first employment after university remembered how he was once told by John that a boot full of sat nav equipment would one day fit into a mobile phone “the size of a cigarette packet”, and the leading work they did together on modelling motorway queues. John’s leadership in public transport promotion, while not having unrealistic expectations that people will willingly give up using their cars, was also discussed, as was his insistence to avoid “spin over substance”.

The evening was supported by the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund , the Chartered Institution for Highways and Transportation, ITS UK, TRL, Bittern Consulting and White Willow Consulting.

It featured senior industry leaders looking back at John’s pioneering past with projects they worked on in their early careers with John, followed by professionals early in their careers discussing the here and now, and also the future of these projects, hence the “Back to the Future” theme. There was also a panel discussion of early career professionals on how to make the most of John’s legacy and a chance for guests to mingle and share their memories of him.