Grid Smarter Cities founder Neil Herron has won his second personal honour in less than two months, recognising a career spanning campaigning, transport innovation and digital kerbside management.
The Highways Fellowship Award recognition follows his Lifetime Achievement Award at September’s British Parking Awards and adds to a series of accolades for the technology business he founded in 2015.
Mr Herron said: “Receiving the Highways Fellowship Award is a proud moment for me. What has always motivated me is seeing an idea become something that makes a practical difference to people’s lives, whether that means a safer delivery, a more reliable journey or a street that works better for its community.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with people willing to question established approaches and give new ideas a chance. Their support has helped turn ambition into real change, and I’m delighted to share this recognition with them.”
Mr Herron’s work has focused on helping local authorities and transport operators manage competing demands for limited kerbside space. Grid Smarter Cities’ Kerb® platform enables bookable loading locations and digital permissions, with the aim of making deliveries more efficient, improving compliance and supporting safer and more sustainable streets.
The Fellowship was awarded at the Highways Champions Awards, held at the InterContinental London Park Lane yesterday (4 November). The awards are designed to recognise individuals’ contributions to the UK roads sector, from frontline work to innovation and leadership, with the Fellowship recognising sustained and exceptional contribution across a career.
Mr Herron began his working life as a market trader and became nationally known through the Metric Martyrs campaign before focusing on parking regulation and motorists’ rights. He subsequently moved into developing technology intended to make compliance easier, beginning work on the Virtual Loading Bay concept in 2011.
His more recent work has explored how digital kerbside management could support autonomous mobility, accessibility and safer stopping places for delivery drivers, extending the technology’s potential beyond conventional parking and loading.
(Picture shows Neil with award host Vernon Kaye, courtesy Grid Smarter Cities)
