Pedal Power
Issue 172
September 2024
www.ldcuc.org.uk
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.
Labour Active Travel Policy
It is reported in the Guardian that Louise Haigh, the new secretary for transport, has stated that the Labour government will invest “unprecedented levels of funding” in cycling and walking as a critical part of plans to improve health and equality. This will include a national network of safe cycle routes, which could cut GP appointments by helping people incorporate more physical activity into their lives and will be “essential” to tackling the country’s carbon footprint.
Transport is the largest single contributor to the UK’s carbon emissions and she says cycling will be “utterly essential to developing our national integrated transport strategy”.
This strategy will include long-term funding for cycle routes making strategic planning and delivery of cycle networks possible. A bidding system, involving 45 different funds for active travel, has distributed cycling money unevenly and pitted councils against each other.
Haigh said the government would develop a new road safety strategy, the previous strategy lapsed in 2019. In 2023 an estimated 29,643 people were killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads. She also said “Rural poverty is a real blight, and it’s not something that’s really properly considered. Car ownership now is just so expensive, insurance as a young driver is completely out of reach for a lot of people. So having that access to safe cycle routes is a basic element, is a basic tenet of social justice”.
The King’s Speech and Cycling
Based on a Cycling UK article
In this year’s King’s Speech, the government laid out plans to introduce three transport-related pieces of legislation.
- The Automated Vehicles Bill, will create a legal framework for regulating self-driving vehicles. Although the technology undoubtedly poses potential risks, it also has long-term potential to make roads safer – by reducing human error and speeding – and to free up road space for better walking and cycling provision. If regulated well, driverless cars could free people from car ownership altogether, as driverless taxis could function a bit like a car club but without the need to pick up the car.
- The Rail Reform Bill would establish Great British Railways to manage the network and simplifying ticketing systems. It is hoped this will encourage people to take the train rather than drive, thus reducing traffic on our roads. We must campaign to ensure that train companies are required not only to provide more dedicated bike spaces, but also to make them more accessible.
- Legislation to tackle the problems of unregulated pedicabs in London. Until now, pedicabs have been able to operate in London without any regulations due to an odd quirk of the law. The new legislation will provide Transport for London with the power to create licensing and vehicle safety requirements, control fares and prohibit pedicabs in certain areas. The regulations need to be drawn up so that they protect passengers but also allow them to be viable. Currently, pedicabs outside of London face the same requirements as taxis, which makes them nearly impossible to operate. Pedicabs, while clearly needing regulation, can be a force for good by providing people – especially tourists – with a sustainable alternative to taxis.
Cycling Survey
A survey of over 4,000 people, undertaken for Cycling UK, has revealed that 64% of people in the UK support encouraging others to cycle more and 70% of respondents also wanted to see more cycle-friendly routes across the country. The data also revealed that, while the majority of the UK (92%) can ride a bike, less than half do.
The data showed that women were almost twice as likely as men to not know how to ride a bike (11% compared to 6%), with lack of confidence also being twice that of male respondents (41% compared to 19%). Both men and women identified road safety as the main reason they don’t cycle, (50% and 47%, respectively) with 70% of respondents wishing to see more cycle-friendly routes, that separate them from roads where they are more likely to be injured or killed.
The public recognise the benefits cycling has to mental and physical health. The three most important benefits of cycling’ identified by the respondents were.
- improves physical health (60%)
- boosts fitness (50%)
- enhances mental health (38%).
Those aged 45 and over were the most likely to recognise the benefits cycling has to physical health and fitness, with an average of 62% compared to 46% of under-45s. People in this demographic were, however, less likely to see the important impact cycling has on mental health, with an average of 36% of over-45s citing mental health as an important benefit, while the average was 41% for under-45s. Both age groups equally wanted to see more people cycling, and age did not affect respondents’ support for more cycle-friendly routes and the promotion of cycling.
