Transport

Category Background

To ensure people can reach facilities they need by appropriate transport modes, encouraging walking and public transport use and reducing the use of private cars for shorter journeys.

In a sustainable society, people need to be able to reach employment and facilities, families and friends. However over-reliance on car travel has created local air quality problems, safety issues, and contributes to climate change through the production of greenhouse gases. In addition, it can increase isolation for people without access to cars (disproportionately affecting older people, women, disabled people and the less well-off), particularly where the loss of local facilities occurs where public transport is not available.

There are five key ways to tackle the issue:

  • Reduce the need to travel, ensuring that there are facilities close to where people live and work
  • Locate new homes close to existing facilities, or in areas where public transport can be used to reach appropriate facilities
  • Increase and improve public transport, encouraging a shift away from car use.
  • Reduce the need for personal car ownership or solo journeys, enabling shared car journeys or car clubs.
  • Reduce the dominance of cars in the street scene so that people feel safer when walking or cycling.

Internet commerce (both domestic and commercial) is one way to reduce travel needs whilst increasing convenience and reducing congestion. New developments need to be technically enabled to access the internet efficiently, and community internet facilities will help to reduce disadvantage by providing access facilities for people without personal (or efficient) access to the Internet.

The availability of car parking often means that people opt to use their cars even when an adequate public transport system exists, so the number of parking places provided on a new development is an important issue. The space needed for carparking (often not used at certain times of the day or evening) is expensive and takes up land which could be used for other purposes.

Reduced parking provision, as part of an integrated package of transport measures, plays an important role in encouraging people to use alternatives to the car.

Poorly designed roads and streets, with random on-street parking arrangements can detract significantly from the appearance of a location, be it rural, suburban or urban. Large expanses of car parking are usually unattractive and intrusive. Location choice and design measures can significantly reduce the impact of parking on an area.

Traffic management is a key element to encouraging people to walk or cycle. Home Zones, “quiet lanes” and prioritisation of pedestrians and cyclists on appropriate streets are important in improving perceived and actual safety. Traffic calming at the design stage – so called “psychological traffic calming” reduces the need for subsequent measures such as signage, chicanes and speed humps (DfT guidance forthcoming).

Public transport needs to be accessible, but also reliable and safe. In part this will be affected by wider traffic management, but larger developments present opportunities for improved waiting facilities, information provision and new routes.

With these policy issues in mind, this section of the checklist addresses:

  • Site location
  • ICT infrastructure
  • Availability and access to public transport
  • Car parking – standards and flexible spaces
  • Cycle routes and facilities
  • Access to facilities
  • Traffic calming through design measures
  • Car clubs