Leicestershire Local Transport Plan (LTP)

Leicestershire County Council is developing the draft LTP4 Core Document which can be downloaded from https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-08/local-transport-plan-for-leicestershire-core-document-2026-2040.pdf with a summary available at https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-08/a-local-transport-plan-for-leicestershire-core-document-summary.pdf .

They would welcome comments on the suggested vision for transport and the proposed actions.

You can submit your views by completing the consultation survey by midnight Monday 23 September 2024 at https://surveys.leics.gov.uk/snapwebhost/s.asp?k=171577694501 .

Summary Document

Notable in the summary document is the assessment that, without any changes in policy, motor vehicle mileage will increase by 29% whilst active travel will only increase by 1.2%. As a result, average speeds will drop by 7% with delays increasing by 69% due to congestion. The result of sitting in cars for longer is predicted to increase the prevalence of diabetes by 22.5%.

Core policy 3 reads “Enabling travel choice in all of our communities that reflects their unique needs which ensures their safety whilst promoting health & wellbeing and protecting the environment.”

Enabling travel choice could mean not discouraging car use. Surely it would be better if it read “Encouraging the choice of active travel options that promote health and wellbeing while protecting the environment and providing safe choices for those with unique needs”.

Main Document

In the main document within the list of aims for the LTP is “Benefit all transport users including car drivers, freight, public transport, walking, wheeling, and cycling”. These appear to be listed in alphabetical order apart from cycling. Perhaps cycling is an afterthought or is this the priority order of the planners?

Under the heading “Demand for Road Based Travel” it covers car ownership and freight and states that

• “Looking to the future, the movement by type remains the same in 2045, however it is anticipated that the vehicles Kms travelled across the network will increase by 2.1bn”.
• Based on the 2021 census data, across Leicestershire just under 87% of homes have access to at least one vehicle. 13% of households have access to three vehicles or more, with the highest proportion being in Harborough at 15.5%. Oadby and Wigston has the highest proportion of households with no access to a vehicle at 16.8%.

For the foreseeable future the main routes for cyclists will continue to be roads. Surely cycle ownership and projected use should be included under this heading?

Core Policy 3: Enabling Travel Choice

(see comment under Summary Document)

The “Policy Justification” states -

“A key aspect to provide a resilient transport network is to enable travel choice for users of the transport network, which enables them to utilise the most appropriate form of transport for their unique needs and requirements. To enable travel choice viable, safe and attractive transport alternatives need to be provided to reduce single occupancy vehicles. This not only includes active and sustainable travel. This would also include access to new fuels and innovation which enable users to identify low carbon methods of travel, which will support and provide benefit to the health and wellbeing of our communities and the environment.”

As stated above, enabling travel choice could mean not discouraging car use. Indeed it is difficult to understand how “ access to new fuels and innovation which enable users to identify low carbon methods of travel” will “reduce single occupancy vehicle journeys”.

Perhaps Core Policy 3 justification should be:

A key aspect to a resilient transport network is to encourage users to utilise active travel options when suitable and, where possible, to meet their needs with low carbon methods of travel.

To enable users to choose active travel, viable, safe and attractive transport options need to be provided. When active travel is not a viable choice, users need to identify low carbon methods of travel, with access to new fuels and innovation, that do not utilise single occupancy of multi occupant vehicles. This will benefit the health and wellbeing of our communities and the environment.

Core Policy 5: Embracing Innovation

Under “Enabling Health And Wellbeing” it states - “Work with our communities, key partners and transport infrastructure providers to embrace innovation which seeks to minimise the impact the transport network has on the health and well-being of our communities.”

It would appear that this has nothing to do with “enabling health and wellbeing” since it merely aims to minimise harm rather than enable “health and wellbeing”.

Under “Embracing Innovation” it states - “Work with our communities, key partners and transport infrastructure providers to embrace innovation that provide betterment to the operation of the transport network.”

If health and wellbeing are meant to be promoted, perhaps “and encourage active travel” should have been added to the end of the sentence.