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“Tackling the transport (and access) issue” Report of ‘virtual’ Transport Working Group ACTION PLAN. Peter Bungard Executive Director Gloucestershire County Council Dec 2004. Action plan dilemma:. What’s the brief? Just the bits about new partnership action
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“Tackling the transport (and access) issue”Report of ‘virtual’ Transport Working GroupACTION PLAN Peter Bungard Executive Director Gloucestershire County Council Dec 2004
Action plan dilemma: What’s the brief? Just the bits about new partnership action – a rather strange collection of odds and ends Or the whole agenda of “Transport in Gloucestershire” – the community would only engage in this
5 buttons: Nothing to do with us! We Endorse? Support action of one partner Joint partner action Advocacy
Action: Lobby for a solution to safety and congestion problems on A417 Nettleton to Brockworth Bypass. Needs community united behind a solution Gloucestershireconnected: Action: To secure a new “InterCity” station for Gloucestershire: “Gloucestershire Parkway” = GCC lead, but lacks development funding. Private sector will pay for build Support action of one partner We Endorse?
Connected internally: • Action: • Complete Gloucester SW Bypass – 2 year target • Beware A40 - Improve access to Forest of Dean by upgrading Gloucester Northern Bypass junctions – 5 year target • = GCC, but both actions reliant on access to £££s Support action of one partner
Targets for buses • Action: • 200,000 more bus journeys extra every year • Increase customer satisfaction • Double Park-&-Ride users over 10 yrs from 2000 base • Investigate a targetted Free Bus Day • But what factors will encourage ‘real’ people to use buses – topic for Great Glos. Debate? Support action of one partner
Transport VisionCheltenham and Gloucester: • Action: • Develop a Park-&-Ride network with ‘car quality’ buses – “Secure-by-Design” accreditation for parking? • Transform quality of bus network and transport info. • Provide = GCC lead, but reliant on Government funding • Success = usage, requiring community behaviour change Support action of one partner OR Joint partner action? Many are our employees
Joint partner action A safer Gloucestershire • Action: • Halve serious and fatal casualties over 10 year period. • Police and GCC Safety Camera Partnership • New campaign to tackle 2003 60% increase in motor cycle casualties – GCC led. [45 times more likely to be killed on m/c than a car. Cotswold is worst.] • Glos. Constabulary leading nation ‘Bike Safe’ show, Cheltenham, April 2005 • Minor rural safety projects • ‘Serious Organised Crime Prevention Bill’ strengthens ”Road Policing” role [Research proven link between reduction in road policing officers and Killed/serious injury collisions] • Existing initiatives: older driver support; ‘boy racers’; drink driving • Still need an initiative to make speeding socially unacceptable – a Great Glos. Debate issue? How shocking can a campaign be? What would you ‘defend’?
Actions/Outcomes: • (be realistic) • ‘A’ roads in top quartile in England • Other roads to above average condition • Right first time culture • Less congestion caused by roadworks • Increasing public satisfaction • = GCC led, but highly reliant on £££s “The state ofthe roads!” • What do we know? • Recent investment in ‘A’ roads put them at 75 %ile in England • Other roads at 25 %ile in England • Gov’t target to remove local roads backlog by 2011 • Our backlog is £130+M • 2005/06 will see highest ever spend on road maintenance in Gloucestershire, but will barely touch backlog • 54% public satisfaction with roads maintenance Support action of one partner
Action: • Community Transport/Dial-a-Ride real time booking and extend role from mobility to accessibility for all • Increase capacity in rural areas = Taxi-Link fleet and fully accessible minibuses (extend ‘Shuttle’ concept) £116K to Rural Transport Partnership. New fleet also picking up public service routes and access to employment role • Stroud district Night-bus initiative (CDRP), Cheltenham and Gloucester – can we replicate elsewhere? • Community/Rural Transport conference by GRCC on 4 Feb 05 • Consider cost of bringing forward DDA 2016 target for fully accessible buses – estimated at 30% today • All major public sector agencies are well advanced on DDA for public access buildings • New initiative planned of local accessibility planning audits Assisting mobility and social inclusion Joint partner action
The big question: who is responsibility for access to health care? Cost, booking, provision. • GCC support 50,000 journeys per year: equates to 50% of all community transport journeys • Ambulance service role • PCT role • Hospital trust role • Voluntary sector – hospital car clubs • The surgery • The patient Access tohealth-care • Action: • We need a Health Transport group • £600K project proposal to roll out South Cotswold model to whole county – money not secure yet (Future Builders grant), and questions outstanding • Buses to Gloucester Royal = extend Waterwells P&R (15 mins service) • Replicate Newent model of surgery/dial-a-ride link-up • PCTs extending services available locally – community hospital, ‘Primary Care Settings’, and GP surgeries • PCT Travel Plans in development (Hospitals Trust plans in place) Joint partner action
Action: • Mapping exercise by Glos. Learning Partnership • Current ongoing work of 16-19 Education Transport Partnership: • Jump2Ed • Info points in schools • Travel training • Some ideas to replicate for ‘lifelong learning’ • AVOID DUPLICATION FOR NOW • Role of Community Transport, Taxi-Link and Glos Minibus Scheme in improving access to education? Access to Education I’ve taken the course that I could reach, not the one for my career ambitions Joint partner action
Action: • To produce an ‘Accessibility Strategy’ for Gloucestershire by July 2005, developed with partner agencies and endorsed by GSP [Statutory requirement on GCC.] Propose to use Transport Group for this task. • To produce local ‘Accessibility Plans’ for all communities by July 2006 – huge task, but should start to capture all the analysis in Parish Plans, MAIDeN, etc. [Needs a ‘Common Tool’ a.s.a.p.] The potential of Neighbourhood debates on key transport issues: speed humps; safe routes to school; etc Origins: Social Exclusion Unit “Making Connections” report “Accessibility Planning” – what is it? Key Services Centralisation Employment, Education, Health, Leisure Me, you, etc Transport Joint partner action Knowledge & evidence of need: long way to service, poor transport, difficult road to cross, bus misses surgery times, Reduce need to travel
Sharing vehicles • Action: • Increase use of Glos. Minibus Scheme – double usage every 6 months until April 2006 – transfer to community enterprise • Increase the number of car clubs in County – just Stroud at present • Police willing to increase partnership role of mobile police stations, if related to core business • = multi partner Joint partner action
Action: • Current CDRP work • Improve lighting at bus stops • Install Help points at major bus stops • Develop more door to door • transport solutions, e.g. Taxi-Link • More usage = more security • More CCTV on buses – trials planned with school bus behavior problems? • Special late night services • Car crime campaigns – critical to vibrant night-time economy • “Street scene” improvements, mainly by district councils Fear of crime: public transport, walking, car crime • At bus stops… poor street lighting • Safety on buses at night • Drug problems at interchanges • … limited police presence • Vandalism and graffiti affect people’s • confidence • Car crime • Statistically public transport is safe, but • perceptions count. Joint partner action
Driving attitude, road rage and flaunting traffic laws Citizenship issues A declining volunteer base, but a future based on community transport! • Issues (not yet actions): • Volunteer recruitment/retention • strategy developing • Pooling of volunteers needed • Need to recruit from new areas • – younger people • Convince employers of the benefits of • staff engagement – offer training • Behaviour issues – CCTV on buses: trial • planned • Travel training project in November • Driving attitude – not that bad • in Gloucestershire • New Traffic Management Act • more powers to control poor roadworks Volunteering in transport started with hospital cars – but now journeys are too long Misbehaviour on buses; vandalism
Not yet developed further • Pilots of nightclub buses for • Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud • Add a responsibility to venues to tackle • end of night transport issues and the • consequences of alcohol related disorder Night-time Economy • Improved information about existing services • Think community based solutions through • partnerships: car schemes, minibuses, taxis, • even mopeds • Government initiative of “kick start” • for evening and Sundays • Extend Jump Start to urban areas Lack of evening and Sunday bus services • Ongoing debate with bus companies • Some recent growth • A bus quality partnership? • Multi-agency engagement to sell the potential • Review the shape of the network Declining bus use in Stroud!
Action: • Have the Partnership debate! • Too big an issue to cover in initial GSP debate - if every partner/major employer takes ownership, it could make a real difference • New legislation: Traffic Management Act 2004 – mainly relates to congestion Traffic continues to grow …. Car occupancy is falling CONGESTION Kids no longer walk to school – major traffic growth of last 20 years Health … walking and cycling … obesity Health … air pollution … congestion … asthma Joint partner action It will get worse … road building out of fashion … but economy will grow …18,000 houses in Gloucester and Cheltenham area in next 12 years
Future GSP engagement: What have we missed? Cycling actions and targets Transport Task Group Walking Occasional single issue debates Your travel plans As individual bodies and employers …and the benefits of joining-up major employer plans
Additional points made at GSP meeting • Safety – refer to tri-service work with young people • More emphasis on service delivery to where the people are – re-establishing all types of local service provision • Compatibility with other strategies • Propose Transport Consequence Assessments of major decisions by GSP partners, including physical development and major organisational change • How might transport changes be paid for • 3 types of actions: • blue sky objectives or macro-trends • work in progress, but we don’t yet know answers • issues that will hit us in 2005 and we need to manage