Archived decisions

Agenda Item 12

Report to the

Transport for South Hampshire Joint Committee

Date: 30 September 2009

Report by: Phil Marshall

tel: 023 8083 2590

email: [email protected]

Subject: Transport for South Hampshire Reduce Strategy

Purpose of the Report

To outline the proposed Transport for South Hampshire (TfSH) Reduce Strategy and seek approval for it to be taken forward to independent peer review and consultation with key stakeholders.

Recommendations

1. That members note the proposed Reduce Strategy as part of the overall Reduce - Manage - Invest approach to addressing transport issues in South Hampshire.

2. That the proposed Reduce Strategy is subject to an independent specialist peer review;

3. That, following any amendments from the peer review, a consultation is undertaken with key stakeholders on the proposed Reduce Strategy; and

4. That, appropriate Land Use Planning elements of the Reduce Strategy should be developed in the short term.

Introduction

1. "Reduce - Manage - Invest" was originally established in the Solent Transport Strategy as the strategic approach to address the transport issues arising from the sub-regional economic growth proposals in the South East Plan for 80,000 new homes and two million square metres of employment land across South Hampshire by 2026. This approach has been adopted in the authorities' Local Transport Plans and the 2008 TfSH Towards Delivery statement. This report covers the proposed Reduce Strategy element of this overall strategy. The overall aims of the Reduce Strategy have been defined as follows:

2. As part of the integrated Reduce - Manage - Invest approach to support sustainable economic growth across South Hampshire, the TfSH Reduce Strategy aims to influence travel behaviour and widen travel choice in order to:

(i) reduce the need to travel;

(ii) maximise the number and proportion of journeys made by alternative modes to the private car; and

(iii) contribute to wider environmental and health benefits, such as reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality.

3. A summary of the Reduce Strategy is attached as an appendix. The main Reduce Strategy report is available as a background document for Members.

Development of the Reduce Strategy

4. In 2008, a multi-disciplinary project team was established to develop the Reduce Strategy. This included colleagues from the three constituent TfSH authorities and District Councils within the sub-region. This provided a wide knowledge base for all the relevant transportation and land use planning issues that would need to be covered by the Reduce Strategy.

5. Initial work identified a wide range of potential measures that could be incorporated into the Reduce Strategy. These were then subjected to a prioritisation process, which assessed their impact, cost and difficulty of implementation. The potential measures were broken down into three key areas.

6. Smarter Choices includes the range of generally "softer" measures that aim to influence travel behaviour and have been defined by ACT Travelwise as "a variety of methods and initiatives which reduce the negative impacts on congestion, carbon emissions, the environment and health". Examples include workplace travel planning, personalised travel planning and promoting car sharing. Land Use Planning includes the range of measures that can be applied to new developments through the land use planning process. This includes strategic spatial land use policies controlling the location, design and layout of development and how these policies are applied on individual planning applications. Finally, Demand Management measures were originally considered by the Reduce Strategy, but it is more appropriate to incorporate these into the Manage Strategy.

What can the Reduce Strategy achieve?

7. A considerable amount of research has been examined to determine what the Reduce Strategy could achieve in terms of travel behaviour. This has concluded that a ten year intensive Smarter Choices programme could reduce urban base peak hour traffic flows by up to 15%, although this would not be evenly spread across the sub-region. It is recommended that a pilot project is implemented, subsequently evaluated, monitored and if appropriate, progressively rolled out across the sub-region. Southampton is developing proposals for a Smarter Travel City project and this would be an ideal pilot project.

8. Much higher reductions could occur for internal trips with large developments, including the Strategic Development Areas. Reductions in traffic flow of over 60% could be achieved compared to traditional suburban layouts, providing the layout is designed to positively promote walking and cycling and the developments are master planned to ensure local facilities are located within easy walking distance of local residents.

Reduce Strategy Financial Implications

9. The main financial implications of the Reduce Strategy would relate to the implementation of an intensive Smarter Choices programme. Based on costs from existing projects, a pilot project in Southampton would cost between £1.6 million and £2.3 million per annum at 2008 prices.

10. The Unitary Authorities have direct access to parking revenues that could potentially provide a funding source, although within the County Council area, such revenue funding is controlled by the District Councils. Other potential funding sources to be considered include:

(i) nationally funded Smarter Choices initiatives, such as the recently completed Smarter Travel Towns project and forthcoming Smarter Travel City project;

(ii) developer contributions; and

(iii) the Demand Management measures that will be considered by the Manage Strategy.

11. Consideration should also be given to investing in associated walking, cycling and Safer Routes to School infrastructure. If existing funding was doubled, this would equate to approximately £10 million annual capital investment across the South Hampshire sub-region.

12. It is accepted that in the current economic climate, the amount of funding available for the Invest part of the overall Reduce - Manage - Invest approach is likely to be reduced significantly and consequently, the Reduce and Manage elements of the strategy are likely to take a more dominant role. The development of the sub-regional transport evidence base will identify in detail the role Reduce needs to take across the sub-region as part of the overall sub-regional transport strategy and what the consequent funding implications are. There then needs to be detailed consideration of how this funding can be secured.

Policy Compliance

13. The Reduce Strategy has been assessed and is compliant with the goals and challenges defined by Delivering a Sustainable Transport System (DaSTS).

Implementation Plan

14. A detailed Implementation Plan has been developed and forms an Appendix to the main Reduce Strategy report. This outlines a number of over-arching recommendations, together with detailed actions for the individual measures identified under the three main themes. The Implementation Plan has taken a pragmatic view of how these measures should be applied. In the short term, there are non-controversial elements of the Land Use Planning area that could be progressed in the shorter term and it is recommended that these are taken forward. This includes, for example, promoting new development designs that minimise the demand for travel by private car and positively encourage walking and cycling.

Peer Review

15. It is important that the proposed Reduce Strategy is independently assessed to ensure that its assumptions and recommendations are robust and deliverable. It is therefore recommended that TfSH commissions an expert in this field to undertake a peer review of the Strategy and if necessary, recommend any changes that should be made. If these changes are significant, the peer review recommendations would be formally reported back to the Joint Committee for approval before undertaking any stakeholder consultation.

Stakeholder Consultation

16. Once the Strategy has been subjected to the independent peer review, it is proposed that it is subjected to a consultation with key and relevant stakeholders across the sub-region. The Strategy would then be amended and finalised in the light of any comments. This final version of the Strategy would be reported back to the Joint Committee for approval.

Summary

17. The Reduce Strategy is an integral and important part of the overall Reduce - Manage - Invest approach for transport. It has the potential to significantly influence travel behaviour and this will be a key requirement to accommodate the increased travel demands created by the significant levels of proposed development across the South Hampshire sub-region.

Rpt/970/APM