RIP Paul Mees

[ozbob]

Twitter

PTUA ‏@ptua 4h

Word has reached us tonight of the passing of Paul Mees, PTUA Secretary 1987-91, President 1993-2001. A big loss. Paul, you will be missed.

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PTUA ‏@ptua 4h

Here's Paul Mees' last word, from the #TrainsNotTollroads meeting last week ... RIP.

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Clay Lucas ‏@ClayLucas 4h

Remarkable man, Mees. Given his passing tonight, worth repeating this story of mine about his battle w Melb Uni: http://bit.ly/16gdfP4

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Daniel Bowen ‏@danielbowen 4h

Vale Paul Mees. RIP, comrade :-(

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Alan Davies ‏@MelbUrbanist 2h

A 2008 article, Public Provocateur, on the late Dr Paul Mees, published in The Age in 2008 http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/public-provocateur/2008/05/23/1211183108546.html?page=fullpage ...

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Mees dies following battle with cancer

[ozbob]

Twitter

Dr Matthew Burke ‏@drmattburke 4m

We just lost one of the greats. Paul Mees was imperious. Terribly sad day. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/mees-dies-following-battle-with-cancer-20130620-2ojp2.html ...

[ozbob]

Twitter

PTUA ‏@ptua 11m

RIP Paul Mees, PTUA President 1992-2001. Now updated with an older video showing Paul campaigning in the 90s http://www.ptua.org.au/2013/06/19/paul-mees-video/ ...

[ozbob]

Twitter

Daniel Bowen ‏@danielbowen 12m

Blog: Vale Paul Mees, 1961-2013. A great loss. http://www.danielbowen.com/2013/06/20/vale-paul-mees/ ...

[ozbob]

Twitter

greg barber ‏@GregMLC 25m

Paul Mees: a crusader who followed where the facts led & wouldn't stop speaking the truth once he found it. http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/1585202/mees-dies-following-battle-with-cancer/?cs=12 ...

[ozbob]

I never met Paul Mees personally, although I felt I knew him at one level because of his sustained committment to better outcomes for public transport and his considerable work on the subject which I am sure many are familiar with.  A fierce but sensible advocate. 

Sincere condolences to Paul's family and friends.  RIP ...

[ozbob]

Stephen Luntz --> Heaven Getting Better Transport

[ozbob]

Twitter

NTEU National Office ‏@NTEUNational 11m

NTEU mourns death of long-standing member & public transport advocate Associate Professor Paul Mees #nteu http://bit.ly/12WxwvW

Vale Paul Mees

Posted 20 June 2013 by Matthew McGowan (NTEU National Office)

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) notes with sorrow the death of long-standing NTEU member, Associate Professor Paul Mees.

"Paul was a public intellectual with a resolute dedication to calling governments and university administrations to account," Matt McGowan, Assistant National Secretary of the NTEU, said today.

"Well-known as an advocate for public transport, Paul brought intellectual rigour to this important area of public policy. In a field where huge commercial contracts and corporate interests distort the debate, Paul never flinched in speaking truth to power.

"He paid a price for this in his professional career. At the University of Melbourne, he was criticised by senior management for his public denunciation of the Victorian Government's road-building fervour and of their senior transport policy advisors.

"Rather than retracting or modifying his statements in the face of this pressure, Paul stood up for the principles of academic freedom and challenged the university to honour its own policies."

McGowan, who knew Paul personally, said that after moving to RMIT, Paul continued to champion genuine academic freedom, and to advocate strongly for research-based transport policy built on the centrality of public transport."

"The NTEU extends sympathy to Paul's family, friends and colleagues," McGowan said.

[Jonno]

I met him once when we we fighting the Wooloowin Freeway!! Very funny and oh so passionate about Transport.  Much of his work inspired my own passion for the Transport topic.  RIP Paul.

[ozbob]

The Conversation --> Vale Paul Mees, Australia's leading transport & land use researcher

[ozbob]

Twitter

PTUA ‏@ptua 3m

The Age: Praise for transport campaigner Mees http://theage.digitaleditions.com.au/OLIVE/ODE/ONLINE/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=QUdFLzIwMTMvMDYvMjE.&pageno=OA..&entity=QXIwMDgwMg..&view=ZW50aXR5 ... / letters: "We mourn his unscheduled departure" http://www.theage.com.au/national/letters/look-to-track-record-not-book-for-an-insight-20130620-2olyv.html ...

[ozbob]

Twitter

Clay Lucas Clay Lucas ‏@ClayLucas 4m

Praise continues for transport campaigner Paul Mees from colleagues and @MatthewGuyMP: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/praise-for-transport-campaigner-mees-20130620-2olpk.html ...

[ozbob]

Auckland Transport Blog --> Dr Paul Mees 1961 – 2013

[johnnigh]

Paul's fundamental insight is so relevant to us in Brisbane today, as Matt Burke says in his obituary in The Conversation:

Paul drew out these ideas in A Very Public Solution, highlighting the importance of "the network effect". He called for a radical re-design of public transport routes and timetables to create a system of connections and interchanges, timed and pulsed to reduce waiting times. Such systems allow people to forget their timetables and travel in all directions, rather than just into the central business district. And they work.

His concepts were taken up in key European guidance documents and have been influential in many cities. Alas, in his hometown of Melbourne little seemed to change over the years.

And we have to add Brisbane to that list of Australian PT failures.

[Jonno]

Meanwhile in Brisbane our Transport authorities are going "Paul Who?"

[ozbob]

Twitter

Daniel Bowen ‏@danielbowen 22s

Good send-off for Paul Mees. Could hear trams going past outside. Priest noted a miracle may be needed to stop the E-W motorway.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Erica Cervini ‏@thirddegreeblog 27 Jun

Vale Dr Paul Mees - Adjournment speech - http://penny-wright.greensmps.org.au/content/speeches-parliament/vale-dr-paul-mees-adjournment-speech ...

[ozbob]

Twitter

Paul Barter ‏@PaulABarter

Paul Mees (transport academic and activist) obituary in Urban Policy and Research journal: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08111146.2013.850992#.Uo_iQsQSZ8E ...

[ozbob]

Twitter

PTUA ‏@ptua 12m

Late Dr Paul Mees, @ptua President 1992-2001, posthumously awarded OAM. http://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/ad/Media%20Notes%20-%20OAM%20(M-R)%20(final).pdf ... p362 http://t.co/ZMFtstNNaj