FRAMEWORK TRAVEL PLAN June 2011
Hampshire County Council
1
Whitehill Bordon - Framework Travel Plan
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.
Introduction
1.1
Background
1.2
Overarching Travel Plan Development
1.3
Overarching Green Vision
2.
Existing transport provision and travel patterns
2.1
Existing travel patterns
2.2
Existing Transport Provision
2.3
Car parking
3.
Objectives and targets
3.1
Overarching Green Vision and Travel Plan Objectives
3.2
Targets
4.
Town-wide Travel Strategy
4.1
Implementation programme
4.2
Urban Design
4.3
Travel Plan Measures
4.4
Marketing Strategy
4.5
Public Transport Strategy
4.6
Parking Strategy
5
Residential land use travel strategy
6
Employment land use travel strategy
7
Education land use travel strategy
8.
Enforcement and monitoring strategy
9.
Funding
10.
Conclusion
2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Whitehill Bordon Eco-town will be exemplar in design with a highly sophisticated and integrated transport network which will seek to include social neighbourhoods, lower car dependency, reduce CO2 emissions and promote the use of sustainable modes as the first choice for all journeys.
The PPS1 supplement on Eco-towns requires that Eco-towns as a whole are zero carbon. This means that over a year the net carbon dioxide emissions from all energy use within the buildings are zero or below. Whitehill Bordon’s ‘Green Town Vision’ set out an aspiration for the whole town to be carbon neutral by 2036. The vision for Whitehill Bordon is to be a modern 21st Century town that respects the environment while providing the facilities that will make it an attractive and comfortable place to live.
This travel plan sets out the means in which to achieve the challenging mode share targets that have been set and establishes the Framework for the development of future Travel Plans in the town.
The Vision and targets will be achieved though continued and close joint working in all aspects of the development proposals. The continued connectivity between the Whitehill Bordon Travel Plan and the Framework Masterplan is a vital component of success to ensure that the best practice principles of sustainable development and living are embedded into the town from the earliest possible stage.
The proposed car mode share targets that will be achieved are:
Year
Proposed
Existing
Development
Development
2007
0%
80%
2026
60%
60%
2036
50%
50%
This Travel Plan is produced as an Appendix to the Whitehill Bordon Eco-town ‘Emerging Transport Strategy’ and has been developed from the draft Travel Plan produced in 2008 by WSP. The plan takes account of the evidence base derived from the numerous studies that have been carried out in the past three years.
3
1.
Introduction
1.1
Background
Whitehill Bordon, is located in the south east of England, 46 miles from central London. The town currently has a population of around 14,000 residents. For the past twenty years there has been a growing demand from local Whitehill Bordon residents for a town with comparable facilities to their neighbouring market towns, Farnham, Alton and Petersfield. The decision by the MoD to relocate army training following the Defence Training Review offers an excellent opportunity for the redevelopment and regeneration of Whitehill Bordon. The MoD are currently a major economic driver in Whitehill Bordon and their relocation would initially result in a loss of employment opportunity for the area and therefore this provides an ideal opportunity for redevelopment. The release of the MoD land offers the potential for up to 5,500 residential units, up to 7,000 jobs, a new town centre and associated infrastructure. The current Framework Masterplan for Whitehill Bordon seeks to provide for;
up to 4,000 eco-homes
around 5,500 jobs
new shops and a new town centre
green loops to link green infrastructure for use of people and wildlife
enhanced biodiversity
improved public transport including a possible rail-link, cycle routes, car sharing, ecocycle hire
a new secondary school and new primary schools
The aim of the plan is to create a more sustainable future for the town by building a better mix of housing to attract investment for a new town centre, shops and leisure facilities. The results of initial work led the agencies involved (MoD / HCC / EHDC / Whitehill Town Council) to begin consultation with local residents on a Green Vision for the town that is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.
The Whitehill Bordon Eco-town seeks to be an exemplar town for managing and reducing car usage. Proposals to achieve this are set out within the ‘Emerging Transport Strategy’ include making significant improvements to public transport infrastructure and services, construction or modification of local roads to reduce the dominance of the car and manage traffic in a more effective manner, improvements to the pedestrian and cycle network and the implementation of a town wide travel plan under the direction of a Town Transport Manager.
In 2008, WSP produced a draft Travel Plan which set out the Travel Plan Strategy for the proposed Eco-town. The Travel Plan itself contained challenging targets to reduce the car
4
mode share targets from 80% to 25% by 2036. This is a long-term challenging aspiration that would only be reached if the most innovative measures are put in place and the Travel Plan is fully supported and embraced by all members of the community. This Framework Travel Plan for Whitehill Bordon aims to set out a number of strategies for achieving the proposed targets. Therefore the plan needs to cover town wide travel demand as well as encompass individual land use strategies for education, employment and residential land uses.
Figure 1 below shows the proposed overarching structure of the Framework Travel Plan; Figure 1
Structure of Whitehill Bordon Framework Travel Plan
The 2008 draft Travel Plan set out a number of areas that require further consultation and ongoing work towards determining appropriate strategies that ensure the effective implementation and progress of the Travel Plan. These areas are:
Agreeing a definitive set of targets, other than car driver mode share which is already determined;
Approving the definitive travel plan measures for all land uses
Defining the marketing strategy
Defining the monitoring, enforcement and review strategies;
Develop and approve the definitive management strategy;
5

Working with the masterplanners to ensure a joined up approach with the Whitehill Bordon Travel Plan; and

Continued close working with the existing local community to engender support, raise awareness and achieve greater ownership of the proposals from all stakeholders.
This Travel Plan aims to build on and develop the draft Travel Plan for Whitehill Bordon by addressing all of the areas set out above and supports the Emerging Transport Strategy for the Whitehill Bordon Eco town. 1.2
Overarching Travel Plan Management
A Full Travel Plan will be produced at the Outline planning application stage, which will be supplemented by individual travel plans for separate land uses. This Framework Travel Plan is designed to set out the overarching strategies for the individual land uses. The preliminary actions and the progress to date are incorporated into the Action Plans set out in the document.
In terms of the day to day management of the Travel Plan, a Town Transport Manager is currently being recruited to the project. It will be their role to oversee the implementation of the Smarter Choices Strategy for Whitehill Bordon, to work with local residents, businesses and organisations to promote sustainable travel, and to oversee all aspects of travel planning within the town.
The Town Transport Manager will seek additional assistance and guidance from a Four Tier Management System. This Management System will oversee implementation, funding and review and will provide support and advice through a network of Travel Plan Co-ordinators; Figure 2
Whitehill Bordon Management Structure
Delivery Board
Specialist Groups
Land Owners Group
Standing Conference
6
2.
Existing transport provision and travel patterns
The report produced by Atkins in April 2010 ‘Advice on sustainable Travel Component of the Whitehill Bordon Eco Town Development’ sets out the existing public transport provision and travel patterns within the town. 2.1
Existing Travel Patterns
Existing travel within and beyond Whitehill Bordon has been examined through interrogation of the 2001 census data. Travel can be split by journey purpose to help to plan for the travel plan and has been set out in the appropriate sections below. Employment Trips
The 2001 Census Journey to Work data identifies a very high single occupancy car usage rate in Whitehill Bordon with 68 percent car driver and a low 6 percent car passenger mode share. Train and bus modes account for just 4 percent which was equal to the bicycle usage. Although walking accounted for 15 percent of journeys to work, a significant number of these trips are from garrison based staff. 51 percent of employment trips are internal to the town, again reflecting the high number of MoD staff currently in the town.
With regard to trips into Whitehill Bordon for employment purposes, the 2001 Census data showed that 41% of trips originate in Liss, Petersfield and South Hampshire (including Portsmouth). A substantial percentage of work trips also originate from Farnborough, Farnham, Aldershot, North Surrey and East Berkshire (21 percent). For residents of Whitehill Bordon the greatest percentage of trips out of the town for employment are to Farnborough, Farnham, Aldershot, North Surrey and East Berkshire (29 percent). There are also significant numbers of trips to Guildford, Godalming and East Sussex, Alton and Basingstoke. The 2001 Census employment trips by destination data is summarised in Figure 2.1.
7
Figure 2.1
2001 Census Employment Trips by Destination
Information collected during the 2001 census relating to method of travel to work for those living and working within Whitehill Bordon shows the following results: Figure 2.2
2001 Employment Modal Split Data Bus OtherTrain 2% 2% 3% Walk 15%
Bicycle 4% Car Passenger 6% Car Driver 68%
This shows that the use of the private car accounts for a high proportion of overall travel to work from the area- 74% compared to a national average of 67%.
8
Education Trips
The 2007 School Census, carried out by Hampshire County Council, identifies that across Hampshire as a whole, 47 percent of school children surveyed walked to school, whilst 32 percent used a car and 4 percent shared the journey with another pupil travelling by car. 5 percent of pupils cycled, 4 percent used a public bus service and 7 percent a dedicated school bus service. The survey concluded a higher than national average of children travelling by car. Whitehill Bordon is does not differ significantly from the Hampshire average because many parents will drop children off on their usual car journey to work and because many children will live in the more rural areas around the town. There is a slightly higher existing walking rate (50%) than the Hampshire Average for walking for the infant, junior and secondary schools. However the one special school sees a much lower percentage of children walking (less than 10%) with the bulk of the travel being by bus or car.
Other Journey Purposes
However, not all travel is related to journeys to work, travel surveys of people living in East Hampshire were carried out in 2006, residents reasons for preferential use of the car over other modes were as follows;
60% stated it was because of the advantages in journey times
40% mentioned convenience of being able to carry passengers or shopping
37% cited the poor quality of public transport
35% mentioned the lack of alternative transport modes
Total Travel Using the travel survey information and factoring up to be based on current travel patterns, the following existing modal split has been derived for all journeys within Whitehill Bordon:
9
Figure 2.2
2001 Total Modal Split Data
TrainBus Other 1% 4% 2% Walk 20%
Bicycle 2%
Car Driver 58%
Car Passenger 13%
The diagram below summarises the existing overall daily movement created (all modes and journey types) by those living and working in Whitehill Bordon, broken down by journey type and destination (i.e. internal journeys within the town by those living and/or working in the town or external movement created by those living in the town but commuting out, or those working in the town and commuting into Whitehill Bordon). Figure 2.3
Estimated Trips for Whitehill Bordon
10
2.1
Existing public transport provision
All of the transport related literature on Whitehill Bordon reviewed for this Framework Travel Plan indicates that current public transport provision is very limited. A review of published timetable information confirms that this is the case. There are four services which operate to and from Whitehill Bordon, which have been summarised in Table 2.1.1. These services are set out in more detail in Appendix G3. Table 2.1.1 Summary of Existing Bus Services
Mon-Friday Route
Approx
Direction
Saturday AM
Off-Peak
PM
Journey Time
Operates 07:34 to Bordon to
07:31
Liphook
09:09
Hourly at
17:03
17:34
18:09
Every 2 hours (not
34 past the hour
20 mins 11:34)
13 Bordon to Alton
Operates 08:38 to
08:10
Hourly at
08:53
38 past the hour
16:15
18:38
18:00
Every 2 hours (not
20 mins 12:38)
12
Liphook
06:35
Station to
07:35
Bordon
08:25 06:54
Bordon to Haslemere
08:43
18:40 No service
19:15
No service
13 mins
20:15 53 and 23 past each
09:53
hour
07:41
07 and
16:53 17:28
53 and 23 past each hour
34 mins
17:58
18 Bordon to Aldershot
08:27 09:07
73
42 mins
42 past
17:07
07 and 42 past each
(25 mins
each
18:07
hour
to
hour
Petersfield to
Operates at 09:02, 10:28,
Bordon
12:52
Bordon to
Operates at 09:45 and 11:00
Farnham)
Wednesday service
40 mins
only 40 mins
11
Mon-Friday Route
Approx
Direction
Saturday AM
Off-Peak
Journey
PM
Time
Petersfield
The service 73 only operates only on Wednesday. In addition to these services there are a number of limited operation school and college services to Mill Chase School, Alton College, Farnborough College of Technology and Crookham South Downs College. Evening and Sunday services are even more limited. Whitehill Bordon does not have a rail station, the site of the former rail station is now occupied by Bordon Trading Estate meaning that the closest rail stations are as follows:
Closest Liphook 6.4km to the southeast Bentley 7.7km to the northwest Alton 8.4km to the northwest Liss 10km to the south Haslemere 10.4km to the southeast Farnham 12km to the north Petersfield 13km to the south Furthest
The route between the destinations listed above and London Waterloo forms part of the South West Main Line. The current Train Operating Company for this route is South West Trains. Alton, Bentley and Farnham are on the line from Alton to London Waterloo with journey times to London Waterloo being 67, 59 and 54 minutes respectively. From Alton and Farnham there are two trains per hour, with just one per hour from Bentley. Petersfield, Liss, Liphook and Haslemere are on the line from London Waterloo to Portsmouth. Journey times to London are 100, 80 and 55 minutes respectively. Four services per hour operate from Petersfield and Haslemere, with one per hour from Liss and Liphook (3 per hour morning peak). Analysis of a sample of the destinations of employment trips from the 2001 Census Journey to
Work
data,
the
Department
for
Transport’s
Transport
Direct
website
(www.transportdirect.info) has been used to gather car journey time information and the fastest public transport journey for the key destinations in the morning peak. These are summarised in Table 2.4 below.
12
Table 2.1.2
Journey Time Comparison between the Car and the Fastest Public
Transport Route
Destination
Distance (miles)
Car
Public Transport (minutes)
between
Journey (minutes)
Difference
Route description
Journey
car and
time
PT time
67
+31
26
+7
41
+8
89
+26
57
+22
63
+18
35
+3
35
+13
33
+14
23
-7
98
+46
Bus 18 to Farnham then train Farnborough
18.3
36
from Farnham to Farnborough change at Brookwood
Farnham
8.4
19
Aldershot
12.5
33
London Waterloo
Bus 18 direct to Farnham Bus 18 to Farnham then train to Aldershot Bus 18 to Farnham then train
49.9
115
from Farnham to London Waterloo
Guildford
19.2
35
Godalming
19.1
45
Haslemere
13.8
32
Petersfield
9.6
22
Selborne
8.3
19
Alton
7.9
30
Bus 12 to Liphook then train to Guildford Bus 12 to Liphook then train to Godalming Bus 18 direct to Haslemere Bus 737 (South Downs College service) direct Bus 737 (South Downs College service) direct Bus 13 to Alton direct Bus 18 to Farnham then train
Basingstoke
33.7
52
from Farnham to Basingstoke change at Woking
Travelling to Selborne on a public transport service, other than the single South Downs College service, a passenger is unable to arrive in Selborne before 0900. Two alternative journeys are possible later in the morning:
13

From Bordon to Alton on the number 13 bus, changing to the number 72 at Alton to travel to Selborne. The total journey time for this is 96 minutes, or

From Bordon to Liphook on number 13 bus, train from Liphook to Liss, then bus number 72 from Liss to Selborne. The total journey time for this is 103 minutes.
Similarly the journey to Petersfield if not using the South Downs College service requires taking the route 13 to Liphook then the train from Liphook to Petersfield, with a total journey time of 39 minutes. Bordon to London Waterloo is quicker by public transport but this journey accounts for just 4 percent of journeys to work.
Travelling to Alton the direct service on route 13 takes just 23 minutes, though this service is infrequent offering only two services in the AM peak. Alternative routes are possible though these take 45 minutes. The number 13 bus to Alton is faster than the public transport alternative, however the service is infrequent.
The journey time comparison table illustrates why the majority of journeys to work are undertaken by car; 29 percent of residents travel to Farnborough, Farnham, Aldershot, 21 percent travel to Guildford and Godalming, and beyond, all of which are significantly quicker to get to by car. The need in many cases to change from one mode to another make public transport less attractive and with infrequent services, a missed or cancelled service can lead to significant delays.
This assessment does not take into account the time taken to walk or cycle to the nearest bus stop, or the time taken to walk or cycle from where a passenger alights from the bus or train to their place of work. This could add considerably more time to a journey, meaning a car based journeys would be even quicker by comparison.
2.2
Existing walking and cycling provision
There is a good footway network throughout the residential areas of Whitehill Bordon making many areas permeable and accessible; however, the network does not provide a comprehensive and cohesive network throughout the local area. There are gaps in footpath continuity throughout Whitehill Bordon, including on the A325, where there are footpaths along the High Street section of the road but then stop north and south of the town preventing connectivity.
14
Due to the layout of many of the streets as cul-de-sacs, walking routes do not satisfy natural desire lines to key facilities such as the Forest Centre, High Street and local bus stops and often involve walking a much longer distance than initially envisaged. This was reflected in the Accessibility Report undertaken on behalf of Hampshire County Council which used Accession software to analyse journey time and accessibility within Whitehill Bordon. The report found that large percentage of residents currently living in the area experienced no access or poor access to a range of key destinations by walking. The thresholds for what is acceptable in terms of the services that should be accessible by walking within a given time are based on Department for Transport guidelines. The report states, for example, that 2233 households within the town cannot access retail services in under a 15 minute walk.
In addition to the footpaths in the town centre and residential areas, there are also leisure walks including the Deadwater Valley. The secure sites of the MoD create a barrier to movement in the western part of the town, and the proposal presents an opportunity to resolve these issues. The size and compact nature of the town lends itself well to allowing walking to be a popular form of transport, as well as being set within pleasant green landscapes.
Cycle facilities in Whitehill Bordon are very limited with the only dedicated cycle lane provision in the local area located on the A325 south of the junction with Camp Road, Chalet Hill and the High Street. The provision of cycle routes and facilities within the town are sporadic, consisting of short sections of shared cycle and footways and on-road cycle lanes on some streets. There are however various national and local cycle routes linking Whitehill Bordon with surrounding villages and intermittent sections of on and off road cycle routes towards Bentley, Liss and Liphook railway stations. These are primarily leisure routes, and currently do not cater for commuter use.
The A325 has also been identified as a barrier to walking and cycling in the town as it creates severance between the mainly residential areas to the east from the existing employment areas to the west. Walking and cycling are therefore effectively discouraged due to lack of safe and appropriately located crossing points and the level of traffic flow on the A325. In more general terms, although there are some steep sections, the topography of the town and the surrounding area lends itself well to encouraging cycling as a means of transport.
15
2.3
Car Parking
There are three East Hampshire District Council Car Parks in Whitehill Bordon, these are;

Sutton Field Car Park, Sutton Field, Whitehill;

Woolmer Way, Bordon

Guadaloupe Car Park, High Street, Bordon
It is free to park at the above car parks. Additionally the Tesco store located on the A325 provides additional parking for store customers and provides approximately 200 parking spaces including designated parking bays for disabled customers. There are currently no restrictions on parking within the Tesco car park and no car park management or enforcement is in place. Private free parking is also provided at the Forest Community Centre and Somerfield supermarket off Pinefield Road.
There is currently no decriminalised parking within Whitehill Bordon meaning that as the responsibility for monitoring car parking and issuing fines falls to the local police. This results in a large amount of unchecked parking in the area.
In relation to workplace parking, the existing industrial estates and employment centres are traditional B1, B2 and B8 sites which include a generous amount of off street free street car parking. These reflect the parking policies that were in place when the industrial estates were granted planning permission.
With regard to residential car parking, the dominating urban pattern is cul de sacs with large amounts of on curtillage parking including garaging and driveways. This results in a low density urban fabric with relatively low levels of on street parking.
16
3.
Targets and objectives
3.1
Overarching Green Vision and Travel Plan Objectives
The overarching vision for the Whitehill Bordon Eco-town has been defined through close working with a range of stakeholders, including the local community. The vision for the next 20 years is set out below in Figure 3.1. Figure 3.1
Whitehill Bordon Green Vision
Whitehill Bordon will be a “modern 21st Century town that respects the environment while providing the facilities that will make it a comfortable place to live”
The objectives set out within the Green Vision which the Travel Plan will assist in working towards are:
To develop Whitehill Bordon as a thriving, sustainable community with a distinct character within Hampshire and the south east region;
To develop and improve the built environment in the town so that it complements the landscape that surrounds the town;
To create an attractive built environment where people want to live, work, shop and play and with a balanced mix of housing, community facilities, commercial and employment opportunities;
To use innovative, modern environmentally friendly design that will include ecohomes and modern methods of construction; and
To ensure that Whitehill Bordon develops in a way that encourages us to live and work in ways which do not damage the natural resources on which our society and economy depends.
Additional objectives for the Travel Plan have been defined as:
To facilitate and encourage use of sustainable transport in preference to the use of the private car, particularly for local journeys and for journeys to work;
To continually raise sustainable transport awareness of employers, employees, residents and visitors to Whitehill Bordon;
17
To promote a lifestyle to residents, which includes healthy, sustainable living;
To promote community integration;
To provide sustainability in all ways including cost, health and environment
-
reducing the impact of traffic congestion on air quality;
To provide a unique selling tool, promoting the town; and to
Continually develop, implement, monitor, evaluate and review the progress of the Travel Plan towards achieving the targets
3.2
Targets
The DCLG’s ‘Eco-towns Transport Worksheet’ states that in ”exemplar towns no more than 25% of journeys should be by private car, with good practice being 40%”. These targets are substantially more ambitious than targets in a conventional travel plan which on average aim for a 10-15% reduction in single occupancy car use. Eco-towns seek to go beyond conventional development and lead the way in terms of sustainability. The ‘Whitehill Bordon Transport Strategy’ produced by Alan Baxter Associates in March 2010 sets out a number of modal split targets derived from estimated trip rates with the 2001 Census data used as a baseline figure. Targets are set out for business, education, leisure, shopping and residential trips, with one set that includes the provision of rail within the town and another set which does not include rail (should rail not be funded through the town). Whilst it is the aim of the Eco-town to be as pioneering as possible in terms of the use of the private car, it is also important to be realistic with the targets and be flexible when required. Therefore, although the targets set out in the Alan Baxter Study are the long term goal of the travel plan, more achievable targets have been set for modal shift and are detailed in this Chapter. ; The mode share by journey purpose for residents of Whitehill Bordon is shown in Table 5.1 below. The data reveals high car reliance and low public transport usage for all journey purposes, in particular the journey to work where 79 percent travel by car and only 2 percent use public transport.
18
Table 3.1
Existing Modal Share
Purpose/Mode
Walk
Cycle
Car Driver
Car Passenger
Bus
Rail
All trips
20%
2%
58%
13%
4%
1%
Work
15%
4%
72%
7%
2%
0%
Shopping
37%
2%
43%
16%
3%
0%
Leisure
28%
2%
49%
18%
3%
0%
Education
49 %
2%
25%
17%
7%
0%
9%
7%
47%
33%
4%
0%
Others
A summary of the targets for the framework travel plan are set out below; Figure 3.2
Summary of Framework Travel Plan Targets
Year
Proposed
Existing
Development
Development
2007
0%
80%
2026
60%
60%
2036
50%
50%
The identified package of measures which are set out in Chapter 4 have the potential to deliver an optimal mode share and optimum mode shift in the Eco-town based on available best practice and case study data, potentially meeting the 50% car mode share in Whitehill Bordon, i.e a 10% – 15% shift from existing mode share. The report produced to summarise the effects of the Smarter Choice Programmes in the Sustainable Travel Towns suggests that car driver trips by resident fell by 9%, therefore given that this is an Eco-town and it is striving to be as carbon neutral as possible, this level of shift is considered achievable when the package of measures is considered, but will require continued commitment to the Eco-town from residents and local authorities. The table below sets out the proposed modal split targets for the overall trip numbers and compares these to the current travel pattern within the town.
19
Figure 3.3
Proposed targets
Mode
Current Travel Pattern
Future Year Target Modal Split
Future Year Internal
Future Year External
Works from Home (Employment trips only)
2%
3%
3%
0%
Pedestrians
20%
25%
25%
0%
Cyclists
2%
8%
8%
0%
Motorcycle
0%
0%
0%
0%
Car Driver
58%
37%
5%
32%
Car Passenger
13%
13%
3%
10%
Bus
4%
13%
6%
7%
Rail
1%
1%
0%
1%
Total
100%
100%
50%
50%
The individual targets for the three main land uses; education, residential and employment are proposed to be the same as the overall targets. However following the first round of data analysis (personalised journey planning) it may be necessary to amend these targets.
The long term aspiration is to reduce the total number of car trips to 25%. This is obviously a very challenging target and will only be met if a large number of measures are included in the framework and individual travel plans for specific land uses are produced at a later date. In order to reach this target, complete commitment will be required from all interested parties, such as the landowners, EHDC, HCC, current and future residents, current and future employers and the schools. This target is a long term target and would not be met prior to 2036.
20
4.
Town-wide Travel Strategy
4.1
Implementation Programme
There are three overarching themes of the emerging Transport Strategy:
Reducing the need to travel outside Whitehill Bordon by providing all necessary employment and facilities within the town to prevent the need to travel elsewhere;
Managing car demand by management of residual car trips to minimise their impact; and
Enabling sustainable travel for all journey purposes by improving and prioritising public transport, walking and cycling provision to provide a high quality alternative to car travel.
It is recognised that to achieve the vision for Whitehill Bordon and to become exemplary in transportation, sustainable transport measures must be in place and successful from the start of development. Travel demand as a result of the proposed development is expected to be in the region of 80 percent greater than current demand. Expecting to achieve a significant change in travel patterns once the Eco-town is established is unlikely to achieve the desired outcome. Therefore the principles of the Travel Plan need to be in place from the outset.
A very valuable representation of the guiding principles of sustainable transport is given in a DfT guidance note issued in 2005 and shown below in Figure 4.1. Figure 4.1 – Travel Plan Pyramid
21
This highlights the importance of underpinning the Travel Plan with the correct location and access to services and shows the link between location and the design of the built environment. Obviously all of the elements of the pyramid are important but to enable the large scale behavioural change to take place, there needs to be a core base upon which to build. This has been taken account of in the Masterplanning process and will continue to be recognised in the Core Strategy and further planning for Whitehill Bordon. The emerging Transport Strategy clearly reflects these principles.
4.2
Urban Design
To ensure the sustainability of the Eco-town, a number of Urban Design principles will need to be adhered to ensure that sustainability is built in to the town from the outset. Key facilities should be located close to homes within local neighbourhood centres which are easily accessible by sustainable modes, therefore reducing the need for people to travel long distances. A variety of shops should be provided within the town centre and within existing residential areas as district centres. Employment areas should also be well linked to residential areas through the ‘green grid’ concept meaning that it will be easier to walk or cycle to the employment destinations. Quality public transport connections within the town are required. The DfT’s document ‘Building Sustainable Transport into New Developments’ suggests a hierarchical approach to the street design process. This approach is set out below;
Consider 1st Pedestrians Cyclists Public Transport Specialist Vehicle Access (e.g. emergency services) Other motorised materials Consider Last
The physical design of the town will be informed by this Framework Travel Plan and Public Transport Strategy and will comprise;
The application of ‘Manual for Streets’ principles;
The creation of higher density development to encourage walking and cycling within Ped-Sheds (walk in zones of 400m to 800m)
22
All homes to be within 10 minutes walk of frequent public transport and neighbourhood services;
The application of the DCLG Design to Delivery: Eco-towns transport Worksheet
Designing in car-free development; and
Design for pedestrian and cycle routes (discussed further within Section 5.5)
There are a number of other design principles which encourage sustainable transport which will be considered in detail during the ongoing planning and design of the Eco-town. These are set out in the table overleaf.
23
Design features that encourage sustainable transport usage include:
Comprehensive direct networks for walking, cycling and public transport, with routes for private motor traffic taking a lower priority. This may include providing additional routes for sustainable modes. Networks should serve all the key services and trip generators within and beyond the development. Providing sustainable modes with such a ‘permeable’ network can give them an advantage over private car users and so reduce the tendency for people to drive, especially for short journeys
Situating key services such as health centres and schools in central locations within the town.
Traditional compact town layouts. Walking neighbourhoods are typically characterised as having a range of facilities within 10 minutes’ walking distance (around 800 metres). However, the propensity to walk or cycle is not only influenced by distance but also the quality of the experience; people may be willing to walk or cycle further where their surroundings are more attractive, safe and stimulating. Developers should consider the safety of the routes (adequacy of surveillance, sight lines and appropriate lighting) as well as landscaping factors (indigenous planting, habitat creation) in their design
Inclusive street environments that aim to integrate the activities of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. This might include: o
home zones – homes zones are residential areas whose streets are designed as places for people instead of just motor traffic. Their design should encourage drivers to travel at very low speeds;
o
shared space streets and squares – these are intended to reduce the dominance of motor vehicles and so improve conditions for cyclists and pedestrians
Car-Free and Car-Reduced areas within a development. This may be combined with safe and secure parking provision separate from the residential area, perhaps on the development’s periphery
Pedestrianised shopping areas (preferably with cycling access if this can be safely accommodated) which are served by direct cycle routes and public transport
A ‘legible’ development design i.e. it should be easy for people to work out where they are and where they are going in order to navigate easily around the community
Joined-up transport networks, with good well-located interchanges
NB: Cul-de-sacs are not generally recommended but they can be useful in keeping motor traffic levels low in a particular part of a development. Where appropriate, they should be linked to the rest of the network with pedestrian/cycle routes. These links should preferably be short, open and well overlooked, with active frontages. Designing in priority for the pedestrian, cyclist and public transport user over and above the car and designing out features that encourage car use will assist in encouraging sustainable travel.
24
4.3
Travel Plan Measures
It is important to note that, as there are no existing Eco-town developments within the UK, there are no similar examples/case studies of settlements elsewhere in the UK and, therefore, no clear precedent for achieving the higher end targets exists. The numerous studies conducted in preparation for the Eco-town in combination with the case studies of successful sustainable initiatives have however been considered from across the UK and Europe and have been used to inform the package of measures proposed.
In order to ensure the success of the Travel Plan, a number of site wide measures will need to be put in place; these measures are set out below and listed in the site wide Action Plan at the end of this Chapter. Working from Home
It is proposed that 1 in 10 of the new homes in the town could have a home worker, taking into account the existing patterns and the proposal to introduce home worker houses.
High speed broad band connections will be required within the new residential properties to further encourage working from home within the town, and incentivised subscriptions could be offered to ensure good take up of broadband services.
Property designs should incorporate separate offices within residential properties to ensure that there is the flexibility for home working to be easily incorporated into a home.
Information about home working will be provided in both the employer and residential information packs as well as on the Whitehill Bordon website. This will include case studies on where home working has been particularly successful.
Employers will also be invited to join the Whitehill Bordon Home Workers Forum which is aimed at both employers and employees to share information and experiences in relation to home working. Promoting Walking
The aim for the town is to increase the overall modal share of trips on foot from the existing 20% to 25%. This is considered a very reasonable target for the town, particularly with the intention to create new jobs in close proximity to the new homes, but will require the successful implementation of the Economic Development Strategy and the attraction of the inward investment necessary to create the jobs and services within the town.
25
The town is being designed to provide walkable neighbourhoods to make walking a more attractive and safer option for local residents, and ensuring good quality connection between well located land uses. Making walking more easy and attractive than the car where the location of destinations allows is key to creating a shift away from the car. To create this;
All new homes will be situated in close proximity to local employment, shops, schools, community and leisure facilities, connected by the ‘Green Loop and Green Grid’ networks of pedestrian routes
All new homes will be within 400m (5 minute) walking distance from regular and reliable public transport systems.
The quality of pedestrian routes is important; they should be well-lit and safe to ensure that pedestrians feel secure, and clear signage for walking routes should be provided.
Streets will be designed to be slow-speed environments for use by all users, in accordance with Manual for Streets principles. This will include home-zones and shared spaces where priority is afforded to pedestrians, as well as reduced speed roads (including 20mph zones)
The following measures to encourage walking will also be included:
Encourage initiatives such as walking to school initially through ‘Walk to School Week’ then encourage the provision of ‘walking buses’ and WOW initiatives (Walk on a Wednesday) at individual schools .
Promotion of internet shopping and delivery services from local shops to make shopping without a car much easier
Market the health aspects of walking at the ‘transport hub’ and through the web site, residential and employer information packs as well as through staff forums and residents groups
Journeys to education account for 11% of all journeys, therefore a good place to start is by providing alternatives to driving a car. Apart from other obvious health benefits of walking, it makes for a much more interesting and educational route to school to not just be driven. More information is provided within the Education Travel Strategy in Section 5.3.
26
Research from a school in Liverpool shows that introduction of safe routes to school initiative with “Walking buses” which have a driver and conductor, run to time table every day and use a trolley for heavy school bags have cut car use for journeys to school by a third.
Promotion and provision of equipment such as personal attack alarms, umbrellas, provision of pedometers and competitions such as ‘Walk to Win’.
Promoting Cycling
The aim in the town is to increase the modal share of trips by cycle from 2% to 8%. Making the use of bicycles easier is an important way of creating sustainable neighbourhoods. The popularity of cycling as a cheap, healthy and realistic mode of transport is increasing all the time. The topography and location of the town are well suited to encourage cycling, with the whole town being accessible within easy cycle distance. It is imperative that suitable and attractive routes for cyclists are provided and the following measures will be implemented;
All new homes will be situated in close proximity to local employment, shops, schools, community and leisure facilities, connected by the ‘Green Loop and Green Grid’ networks of pedestrian and cycle routes
Improved cycle infrastructure on the road network including good surfaces and safe, well-lit routes
The enhancement and extension of cycle route networks connecting Whitehill Bordon to the National Cycle network and to surrounding railway stations at Bentley, Liphook and Liss
Other key opportunities for promoting cycling in order to achieve the modal share targets are:
Provision of safe and secure cycle parking facilities adjacent to, or at the front door of residential and employment units, and commercial and transport hubs, providing an immediate option to use instead of the car
Facilities for taking cycles on buses and trains
Provision of showers, changing rooms and lockers at work places, delivered through commercial Travel Plan obligations.
27
an Eco-cycle hire scheme will be established where residents can hire standard and electric bikes from the Transport Hub and other strategically located facilities in and around the town.
Roll out of a ‘bikeability’ training programme
Delivery bike loan schemes from local supermarkets to transport goods home without a car
Employers will be encourage to sign up to cycle to work schemes which allow employees to purchase a cycle a tax free price which means that employees can save up to 40% on the purchase cost depending on their original salary
Liaison with local cycle shops and negotiation of discounts for cycle purchases will be sought. Funding will also be set aside for the provision of cycle vouchers for individuals to redeem against the purchase of a bike.
Cycle maintenance workshops will also be provided at regular intervals for all either at employment centres, the central transport hub or other community facilities.
Pool bikes will also be considered for sections of the community or employers within the town. Demand will be assessed as a part of the individual full travel plans and then demand will be provided for.
Cycle information will be provided in the employer and residents packs as well as to parents of the school children in Whitehill Bordon. Information will be designed to be relevant to all potential cyclists and will also include maps of local cycle ways.
A Bicycle Users Group (BUG) will be established to encourage the sharing of information between individual cyclists – and cycle this will be supplemented by events held for cyclists such as cycle to work week promotions and other specific cycling events.
A Walking and Cycling Strategy will be produced in due course to ensure that all aspects of walking and cycling are covered in the future planning of the town. The key actions of the strategy will be added to the respective travel plans.
28
Encouraging Bus Use
The target modal share for use of the bus is 13% from the existing 4%. Clearly this is an aspirational target, but if significant investment in the provision of bus services and infrastructure and promotion of these services can be achieved over the next 20 years, this aspiration can be achieved, as the majority of journeys taking place both to, through and within the town could feasibly be carried out by bus. Investment needed to achieve these targets is significant. It should start immediately through improvements to:
Frequencies of existing services
Provision and simplification of information relating to which services go where and when this information can be provided at the transport hub as well as advertised
Real time information being available at bus stops, via the internet and mobile services (which some already are)
Improved waiting facilities, starting at the transport hub in centre of town, using available technologies to communicate and enhance the public transport experience.
The next stage will be to introduce the three tiers of bus services suggested:
Strategic routes serving longer distance journeys
Local routes serving surrounding villages
Town wide routes serving key facilities around the town
This will involve considerable negotiation with the local bus operators which will need to be involved in planning the town and its bus services from the outset. It is recommended that a Steering Group be set up with a representative from the local bus operator present.
As well as physical changes to bus services, experience can be drawn from other areas, in Worcester, a branding campaign “Choose how you move” was launched in 2003 as part of a 5 year DfT project. This re-branding and marketing exercise was shown to increase bus usage by 20%, taking the overall modal share of bus usage in the town to 19% for all journeys. It is suggested that the bus service improvements in Whitehill Bordon are relaunched with a similar branding approach in order to create a positive image for buses within the town.
29
There is an opportunity in the longer term to upgrade the strategic bus routes to become fast transit routes or guided buses. This would involve creating a dedicated bus only route, potentially via the disused rail corridor or adjacent to the A325. This could improve speed and reliability of the services, encouraging further patronage. The Sub-regional Bus Strategy report drafted in 2010 suggests various corridors through the town that are considered to be suitable for such a system. Further more detailed work to develop this strategy will be required before a planning application is submitted and to form part of the emerging Transport Strategy.
A guided bus or rapid transit corridor is considered to be a desirable aspiration if the modal share targets are to be achieved. Investment in existing bus services should be started now, whilst working towards an improved rapid transit based public transport system in the future.
Other key measures to promote bus use will be encouraged, these measures are set out below;
Smart ticketing will be promoted and developed with the relevant bus operators for Whitehill Bordon.
Discounted season tickets / free taster tickets will be offered to all residents within the town as well as employees in the town to encourage the use of the bus for all journeys
Bus waiting facilities will be much improved and located in the appropriate areas to ensure that bus users feel that the facilities are adequate and are suitable for their needs. These may be combined with the ‘Sub Hub’ concept of providing Real Time Information (RTI) through small information kiosks to ensure that public transport users have as much information as possible about their journey.
The local bus routes and incentives will be strongly promoted through various sources such as website, newsletters, social networking sites and notice boards
Bus priority measures will also be incorporated into the street design of the new parts of town and in any highway remodelling.
Encouraging Rail Use
The long term aspiration for Whitehill Bordon remains for the reintroduction of a railway station. A Rail Feasibility Study has now been completed which has considered the potential
30
for direct rail connection to the Eco-town. The Study has been carried out in close consultation with Network Rail and South West Trains, and meets the Network Rail GRIP Procedures, as well as the DfT Appraisal processes. The Study, which satisfies Stage 2 of the 6 Stage GRIP Process, considered a number of different routing options to Bentley, Alton, Liphook and Liss, along with a combination of route connections between both rail lines, and considered options for
Heavy rail;
Tram/light rail; and
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
The Study found that only one option produced a sufficiently strong socio-economic business case to warrant further study. This route was the Heavy rail ‘through-route’ to Bentley which generated a Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 2.14. This option:
Could generate up to 1 million trips per annum;
Would have a capital construction cost of circa £130 million;
Produced the least environmental impact of the options;
Would be likely to be deliverable in engineering and operational terms; and
Ensured that existing service levels to Alton could be maintained by splitting trains at Farnham or Aldershot.
Options for connections to Liphook and Liss failed to establish a sufficiently positive business case, with BCRs of 0.45 and 0.41 respectively, representing poor value for money. The main reason for this was the lack of train paths in peak hours on the Portsmouth line, the lower levels of daytime off-peak service frequency and the increased environmental constraints to the south east of Whitehill Bordon. Options for connection to Alton would have been the most viable in terms of railway operations, but due to the local topography the engineering costs of this route were substantial, and meant that a BCR of 0.22 was derived.
31
None of the options for Bus Rapid Transit or Light Rail established a sufficiently positive business case to be considered further, each with a BCR of less than 0.2. This was primarily doe to the longer journey time, high infrastructure costs in comparison to demand generated and the need to acquire and maintain fleets of bespoke vehicles. As a result of the GRIP 2 Study, only the Heavy Rail ‘through-route’ option to Bentley will be considered further to GRIP 3 level. Part of this work will also consider potential funding and delivery mechanisms.
The Framework Masterplan has been designed so that the historic rail corridor through the town leading north is safeguarded. This approach allows the town to remain flexible for accommodating rail in the future. The location of a potential station will play a key role in the success of future rail services in Whitehill Bordon and the next stage of Study will consider this matter in greater detail. A balance needs to be struck between ensuring the station would be well located in terms of its proximity to local residents to enable easy access across modes, and to ensure that the routing of a future railway line doesn’t create significant severance.
If a railway becomes viable in the future, it would be beneficial for buses to be able to access the station, to provide good integration between travel modes. A bus only link is suggested through the linear town park, to connect the station with the town’s central transport hub on the High Street, should heavy rail become an option.
Prior to the development of the rail network, it will be important for Whitehill Bordon to provide good bus connections to rail, this will mean that there are a number of areas that will require improvement and these are set out below in turn. There are opportunities to work alongside the bus operators in the area and South West Trains to provide timetable matching for the of integration bus and rail services to ensure that journey times are improved. This may mean that the public transport options become more attractive to those that need to complete journeys outside of Whitehill Bordon. Particularly if combined with marketing techniques which emphasise how public transport travel can result in more productive time.
Should a train station be located within Whitehill Bordon in the future it will be important to develop a station travel plan,. This will be led by the Town Transport Manager and working with the various interested parties, a comprehensive travel plan will be produced. This will include access to the station by all modes, and will also promote walking and cycling facilities at the station such as cycle parking, changing areas and hire bikes.
32
It is important to consider how the potential rail corridor will be safeguarded. The rail corridor has been identified in the Masterplan and will be carried forward into the corestrategy to ensure that it will be available for rail should it be needed in the future. Smart-ticketing is a ticketing solutions for public transport which relies on information contained on a microchip rather than providing paper tickets. It has been associated with a number of advantages such as reducing the need for travellers to understand complicated tickets, new ticket types can be introduced to encourage tourists, support event ticketing, and encourage members of the public to use public transport more frequently. It can also reduce boarding times at transport nodes. It also helps to make the use of public transport easier. Discounted season ticket rail fares will be negotiated with the rail operator and as a part of personalised journey planning, tickets may be offered for discounted fares. Finally, it will be important to attempt to make it easier for rail passengers to take their bicycles onto rail. Negotiations will take place with the rail operator to ensure for greater provision and innovative new schemes will be looked at such as the Brompton Cycle Hire Scheme which is currently being trialled at Guildford Train Station. The scheme involves users paying a £50 annual registration fee then a day usage charge for the hire of a Brompton folding bike. These bikes are relatively easy to carry and to take on trains and can be useful if the end destination is further than walking distance from the station.This scheme would be usefully implemented in the wider Whitehill Bordon area with bike hire points located within Whitehill Bordon and surrounding stations. Providing Car Clubs
For occasional drivers using a car for journeys equating to less than 6,000 miles per year, membership to a car club can reduce bills by around £3,500 a year. Research has also shown that for every car club car, it can be used to replace up to 20 private cars. This could have a significant impact on reducing traffic and freeing up space otherwise required for parking and could allow for the significantly higher housing densities and therefore the more efficient use of land.
Early engagement with a car club company is considered to be essential to the success of the car clubs within new developments and funding should be allocated to a membership of the car club as a part of the purchase of a property within Whitehill Bordon. The timely introduction of a car club is important, ensuring that it is phased with development.
The ‘transport hub’ in the centre of the town should be the sustainable transport ‘information centre’ place where people find out about initiatives such as car clubs and sign up to car
33
sharing schemes. It will be important that dedicated spaces are provided for car club vehicles throughout the town, with the opportunity for residents to be offered reduced membership to car club facilities. Car clubs can also be set up to offer members discounted tickets for public transport, to help further reduce the need to own your own vehicle. Car club research also shows:
More walking and bike use. Car club members showed a 15% increase in use of active travel post joining
More public transport use. Members use public transport three times more than non members (31.8% journeys versus 8.7% for non car club members).
Priority parking for car sharing will be provided in residential areas (both existing and proposed) and new employers will be encouraged to offer convenient free parking for car sharers.
The Car Club should seek to use only the most fuel efficient vehicles, aspiring to be an Ecocar club, with a combination of electric vehicles and environmentally friendly hybrid and alternative fuel cars. As technology advances, fuel efficiency is improving and vehicle emissions are reducing. It will be important that the Car Club ensures high-quality, attractive and environmentally friendly vehicles are used at all times. A range of different vehicle types will also be required, from small to large vehicles, to ensure that the vehicle offer meets resident’s requirements. Promoting Lift Sharing
Lift-sharing can reduce transport CO2 emissions by 40-50% among its members and is also a good way to encourage interaction within the community, if neighbours are making the same journey everyday, why not take it in turns, reduce bills and be eligible for priority parking at many workplace destinations.
Use of technologies to set up a town wide database for Whitehill Bordon will help get people making the same journeys day in day out get in touch with each other to ‘lift share’. Established lift share services should be used (e.g. www.liftshare.com is the national lift sharing database). These opportunities could also be advertised through the interactive bus stop technology community boards.
34
Priority car share parking should be provided at employment areas, to help eradicate sole usage of the private car as a means of commuting to Whitehill Bordon. Residential and work based travel plans will also need to set out specific standards in terms of reducing car use.
Emergency ride home schemes can be offered to staff that liftshare. These schemes are designed to offer peace of mind to employees that liftshare meaning that should there be a problem with their liftshare partner on a particular day the cost of a taxi fare home is paid for by the employer (subject to a number of criteria). This should be considered by all employers in Whitehill Bordon and will be included as a requirement in the employment travel plan charter. Providing Community Information
Community Information and Travel Centres will be located in central zones within newly developed areas and strategic locations sought within the existing community. These centres will have a range of facilities and methods for providing information, education and reducing the need to travel. Travel Plan Co-ordinators will be placed within each centre to provide support and advice. The facilities that will be provided within these centres are:
The ability to hire desk space (satellite offices) on a daily tariff system as an alternative to working from home: the tariff will include the use of copiers, scanners, fax machines, telephones and internet etc. Computers will be provided, although the use of personal laptops is permitted;
Internet café – all members of the local community and visitors will be able to utilise this service. Internet access will be cheap and accessible which will encourage use of these facilities to create a community atmosphere within these centres.
The sale of food and drink;
Art exhibitions to reinforcing the community feel away from traditional image of a community centre and to encourage people in to see the services and facilities available;
Personalised travel planning sessions with the Travel Plan Co-ordinators or ‘Dropins’;
35
Car sharing seminars run by local car sharing organisations;
Cycle maintenance sessions in connection with existing cycle shops; and
Cycle training sessions in connection with existing cycle shops and local schools.
Making Car Travel More Sustainable
New technologies will be incorporated into Whitehill Bordon where possible. This will include the following;
Electronic charging points should be located within Whitehill Bordon. o
The DfT guidance suggests that recharging at home, at night, off-peak, is not only most convenient for drivers, but also maximises the environmental and economic benefits of plug-in vehicles by using cheaper, lower carbon night‑time electricity generation. It also makes the best use of available electricity network capacity. Therefore, developers will be encouraged to provide charging points in the areas of residential development.
o
The Dft’s strategy for the provision of vehicle infrastructure also suggests that an infrastructure network for charging vehicles in public places should be focused on key destinations, where consumers need it, such as supermarkets, retail centres and car parks, with a focused amount of onstreet infrastructure, particularly for residents without off-street parking.
o
The DfT’s strategy also suggests that recharging opportunities for fleet vehicles and employees for whom recharging at home is not practical or sufficient should be provided
Promotion of electronic vehicles. The Dft have a strategy for the use of ultra low carbon cars and the criteria required to qualify as a low carbon vehicle. Government have set aside a large pot of £300 million for the funding of these vehicles, subject to them meeting a number of the eligibility criteria. Electric vehicles will be promoted in Whitehill Bordon and the Government incentives will be highlighted to residents to encourage there usage.
Eco Drive sessions such as those provided by How2EcoDrive.com. The Eco Driving idea is to adopt a driving style that suits modern engine technology. It teaches people to;
36
o
Reduce fuel consumption
o
Increased safety and accident reductions
o
Reduced vehicle maintenance costs
o
Increased fleet operational efficiency
o
Lower driver stress and fatigue
Assisted purchase and incentives for low carbon fuelled engines will be offered to residents and/or employers. During the life of the travel plan, any possible government incentives will also be offered to residents or employers if national or local schemes are launched.
A Freight Strategy will be produced and provided at a later date.The strategy seeks to mitigating the impacts of freight activities on the environment and the community and will examine freight within Whitehill Bordon and discuss ways to make freight movements more sustainable.
Facilities will be provided for those who travel by motorcycle/moped – including secure parking at all sites.
The full travel plan should consider the needs of those with mobility impairments and therefore the Disability Descrimation Act will be adhered to (in addition to the statutory requirements of the Building Regulations).
Reducing the Need to Travel
In order to reduce the need to travel in relation to employment a wide variery of facilities will be incorporated into public areas such a meeting rooms and remote offices
In order to reduce business mileage measures such as teleconferencing will be promoted
remote working
and
with employers within the town and will be
encouraged as a part of the employment charter.
Employers will be encouraged to recruit staff locally by placing job adverts in the local press
Employers will be encourage to C allow staff to do ompressed hours working and work flexi time where appropriate for the business need.
The site wide Action Plan is set out in Section 4.7.
37
4.4
Draft Marketing Strategy
4.4.1
Introduction
The marketing of the Whitehill Bordon Eco-town initiative has been initiated by East Hants District Council to engage the existing local community from the outset. Maintaining the momentum of marketing and the provision of information is essential to ensure that all residents, employers and visitors to Whitehill Bordon are fully advised on all of the transport choices available to them. To date, a number of marketing initiatives have commenced and a brand for the Eco-town has been designed and is detailed below.
The sustainable nature of the Eco-town will be marketed from the outset to encourage like minded residents and employers to live and work in Whitehill Bordon. All sales staff will be fully conversant with the aims and objectives of the Travel Plan, will promote the Travel Plan through the sales phase and will be on hand to answer any queries that potential and existing occupiers of the town might have with regards to potential travel choices.
Marketing campaigns are critical to the success of all Travel Plans and to ensure the success of the sustainable travel aspects of the Eco-town, a comprehensive site-wide marketing strategy has been produced and the main aspects of it are set out below. 4.4.2
Branding
In order to be successful in marketing terms, the sustainable travel aspects of the Whitehill Bordon Eco-town needs a Logo to identify the brand. The creation of a brand is essential to the success of sustainable travel for the town therefore funding needs to be set aside for the creation of the brand. The Eco-town team at EHDC have created the movement brand “Ecogo� to encapsulate the sustainable future movement in the town.
4.4.3
Market Research
To ensure the success of the marketing and communications strategy all outputs should be evidence based and focused on residents and employees needs and interests – such as the results of surveys, focus groups and personalised journey planning of the existing residents. The market research will be required to learn, understand and evaluate the current issues,
38
public awareness, perception of different transport modes and gauge residents acceptance and willingness to change.
The market research in the existing town will commence with the personalised journey planning for existing residents as it will be important not to bombard the residents with too much market research or this can lead to market research fatigue and reduce effectiveness of any future research. Personalised Journey Planning should be implemented within the next 12 months in order to inform the next stage of the Framework Travel Plan. Further market research should be carefully planned in future phases. 4.4.4
Advertising and public relations
Advertising and public relations planning is important to continually reinforce both the brand and the messages that need to be conveyed. The following methods will be useful for the promotion of sustainable travel in the Whitehill Bordon Eco-town; Website
A website has been developed that will help to ensure that the right message is conveyed to existing and potential residents and employers. The website will be accessible to anyone and will contain all relevant information regarding sustainable travel throughout the town, links to other useful sites such as local bus operators and recycling websites, for example.
All information relating to the travel plan including timescales, measures, the targets to achieve and the contact details for the Whitehill Bordon Travel Information Officers will also be provided through this website. Social media marketing
The growth of social media in recent years has had a significant impact on the way that organisations communicate and can be a very powerful tool for engaging with groups of people. The use of social media could be a very effective method for promoting the transport strategy of Whitehill Bordon Eco-town.
Whitehill Bordon already has a Twitter and Facebook account for general promotion about the Eco-town and this could be used for the promotion of sustainable travel. It will be part of the Town Transport Manager’s role to maximise this free promotional source to engage as many people as possible.
39
Creation of a Smart Phone application Smart phone applications are an innovative new way to stay in contact with your target audience, The creation of a Smart Phone application (app) for Whitehill Bordon which uses GPS technology could usefully inform users of information such as the closest bus stop, real time public transport information, cycle hire schemes, the car club and liftsharing information. The development of such an ‘app’ should be investigated further through personalised journey planning in order to gauge the potential market and assess the cost/benefit issues. E-Newsletter
An E-Newsletter should be developed and sent out quarterly for those registered on the Whitehill Bordon website. It should contain information on all aspects of sustainable travel and should include promotions for existing residents or details about national and local sustainable travel events. Online Blog
The Whitehill Bordon Eco-town website already has an online Blog. Links from this Blog to the sustainable travel Blog will be added to the website and repetition will be minimised. A Blog in an excellent way to gain feedback from residents about sustainable travel generally and travel initiatives specifically. The Blog can contain ‘Guest Blogs’ from valuable sustainable travel sources - this could include a local bike workshop, or an organisation such as Sustrans. It will also encourage engagement with other sustainable travellers that are already travelling sustainably and allow stories to be shared, and tips to be passed on. A Blog is a powerful marketing tool which can be used to develop an online sense of community. Press
The use of press releases for marketing is valued tool as a part of an overall marketing strategy. Press releases are invaluable for highlighting interesting and newsworthy news about sustainable travel in Whitehill Bordon.
Part of the strategy is to develop a series of tailored story pitches co-ordinated with a calendar of events to include media visits – tours at key stages of the development and communications material for editors of local and national press.
40
The table below shows both the local and the national press that may be relevant; Local
National
Bordon Post
Local Transport Today
Bordon Herald
Planning Magazine Regeneration and renewal National Press
4.4.5
Promotions and Events
Events
The Whitehill Bordon Eco-town will engage in a number of sustainable travel events such as ‘Liftshare Day’, ‘Bike to Work Week’ and ‘In Town Without My Car Day’, as well as participate in a number of local road shows in the town developed especially for Whitehill Bordon. Sales and Marketing material
The sales and marketing literature for promoting the site to prospective buyers will place clear emphasis on the sustainable nature of the development in terms of its location and the connectivity with the surrounding areas reachable by walking or cycling, and those further a field, reachable by the many rail stations in the local vicinity. In relation to the existing town, the branding and website created at the outset of the marketing strategy will be promoted to local estate agents so that they can make potential new residents of the existing properties aware of the towns Eco-town status.
Welcome Packs will be produced for both existing and residents of Whitehill Bordon. The packs will amalgamate all of the promotional information available and detail all of the relevant measures including information on public transport in the town, walking and cycling and will incorporate a number of maps which show key facilities and services including walking times to key services. The
information packs will also include information on
discounts on cycle purchase and promotional public transport tickets available as well as lists of local facilities and services.
The welcome packs will clearly include the details of the web site and contact details of the Town Transport Manager who can provide further information on any aspects of travel if required.
41
Employers will be encouraged to produce and distribute similar packs to the residential welcome packs to all staff. This will be a requirement of the Employment Travel Plan Charter. Assistance will be available from the Town Transport Team for the collation of the packs and materials for inclusion in the packs such as maps and public transport timetables will be available to employers. Promotional material
A transport hub will be located in the heart of the community, acting as the key interchange for public transport services. An information and ticketing centre will be attached to the hub and will provide all relevant local information in relation to all modes of transport. Smart tickets will be able to be bought and ‘topped up’ here and the Town Transport Manager will have his/her base here.
Other promotional material will include posters, stickers, banners, displays, flyers and notice boards. The provision of such promotional material will help to strengthen brand awareness and remind residents and employers of the overall aims of the Travel Plan, Furthermore, items such as posters and stickers can be very valuable for younger sectors of the community who can collect such items and they could help to raise awareness of there parents in sustainable transport matters.
Until the transport hub has been built and located within the heart of the community, information about sustainable travel will be distributed in local centres such as the Bordon Library and the Forest Centre. This information can be distributed to the existing residents prior to the commencement of the new development and this will be co-ordinated by the Town Transport Manager. Volunteers will be sought for transport themed focus groups. Focus groups are very useful in obtaining opinions of individuals which can be less accessible without interaction found in a group setting. It has been found that listening to others’ experiences stimulates memories, ideas, and experiences in participants and can often result in a much more detailed feedback than an individual interview.
Hampshire County Council has found it useful in the past to set up Travel Plan networks or Transport forums. Transport forums for both the residential aspect and business aspect will be set up. Again, this will be useful in developing an in-depth understanding of the transport issues in Whitehill Bordon and will become richer and more detailed as the Eco-town progresses.
42
4.5
Public Transport Strategy
4.5.1
Introduction
This section of the Whitehill Bordon Eco Town Travel Plan concerns the promotion of public transport as an alternative to car use for the residents and workforce of the Eco Town. There are currently plans to improve the public transport network in the vicinity of Whitehill Bordon including extensions to existing local bus services, the creation of new bus routes and the possible creation of new rail links. These are outlined in more detail below.
Whilst these options are not yet finalised a strategy is still required to promote local public transport options and to encourage people within the Eco Town to consider these options as a sustainable alternative to single occupancy car use. This is a draft strategy which will include details within the following chapter and will look at the provision of relevant information, marketing mechanisms and possible financial incentives for bus and rail use. Further work is required on a more detailed public transport strategy and this should be undertaken to support the core strategy in the near future. 4.5.2
Existing Situation
There are currently 3 main bus routes that serve Whitehill and Bordon connecting the area with Alton, Liphook, Aldershot, Farnham, Liss and Petersfield. Only one of these routes currently has a daytime frequency of more than one bus per hour. There are also limited services in the evenings and on Sundays for all routes.
Operator
No.
Route
Stagecoach
13
Alton – East Worldham – Bordon – Whitehill – Liphook
Stagecoach
18
AMK Minicoaches
73
Aldershot – Farnham – Bordon – Whitehill – Headley – Grayshott – Haslemere Bordon – Whitehill – Liss – Petersfield
Frequency (mins) Daily Evening 60 One service after 19:00 30 60
2 buses (on Wednesday am only)
-
Sunday -
120
-
In terms of rail travel the nearest train stations are located at Liphook (approx. 7km form the town), Alton (8km) and Farnham (11km). Bus routes that link to these stations are detailed below along with the estimated travel time from Bordon to the stations.
Station
Bus route
Travel Time
Liphook
Stagecoach 13
20 mins
43
Alton
Stagecoach 13
20 mins
Farnham
Stagecoach 18
35 mins
Trains to London Waterloo serve Liphook, Alton and Farnham with a frequency of between 30 and 60 minutes. Trains from Liphook also serve stations to the south including Petersfield, Havant and Portsmouth. 4.5.3
Proposed Improvements to Local Infrastructure
Several improvements to the local bus and rail network are proposed as part of the Eco Town project. In terms of bus routes the proposals include extensions to existing services such as:
Divert the existing no.13 service between Alton and Liphook through the Eco Town development (increasing the frequency from once an hour to once every 20 minutes).
Divert the existing no.18 service between Aldershot and Haslemere through the Eco Town development (increasing the frequency from once an hour to once every 20 minutes).
Extend the existing no.37 service from Havant northwards into the Eco Town with a daytime frequency of once every 20 minutes.
In addition to the extension of existing services several new routes are also proposed:
New service between Whitehill Bordon and Guildford including a stop at Guildford Business Park with a suggested daytime frequency of once every 20 minutes.
New service between Whitehill Bordon and Farnborough with a suggested daytime frequency of once every 30 minutes.
New service between Whitehill Bordon and Basingstoke (with Chineham Business Park as a possible destination) with a suggested daytime frequency of once every 30 minutes.
New service between Whitehill Bordon and Petersfield with a suggested daytime frequency of once every 30 minutes.
As well as improvements to the local bus network there are also proposals to develop the rail network in the vicinity of Whitehill Bordon with several options being considered. These options require a much higher level of investment than the above bus improvement options and as such they will be subject to further study before the most realistic options can be considered in more detail. 4.5.4
Encouraging the Use of Public Transport
Regardless of whether any of the above improvements take place this section considers how best to use Smarter Choices measures in order to encourage a greater proportion of
44
residents and employees in the town to use public transport. This is separated into three different areas: provision of information, marketing measures and financial incentives. Provision of information
In order to encourage a greater use of public transport options in the town the residents and the workforce should be made aware of all of the options available to them. This includes generic information such as the maps and timetable booklets already produced by Hampshire County Council through to more specific and targeted information for individual residents and workplaces. There are a variety of ways to disseminate this information and this strategy considers the most effective ways of doing so. Hampshire County Council produces county-wide public transport maps with information on all local bus routes in the County. These maps fold into a leaflet that can be easily distributed either on its own or as part of a pack of information. As well as the maps there are booklets available that provide timetables for all local bus and rail services within a given area. One of these booklets covers Bordon, Whitehill and Liphook and therefore will provide useful information on the local services available in the town. Figure 4.5.1 Area of Hampshire County Council’s map covering Whitehill and Bordon
45
Figure 4.5.2
Front cover of the Bordon, Whitehill and Liphook booklet
In addition to the paper based information outlined above the Eco Town website can also be used to provide residents with accurate and directly applicable public transport information. This can be achieved primarily through the use of the interactive mapping that will be available on the website including identifying local bus stops on the map and indicating which routes serve each stop at which times. This will make it easier for residents to identify how they may be able to undertake their journey by public transport and therefore give them greater confidence in using such modes. To complement this system, real time information also needs to be available both at each bus stop and online. This will provide users of the services with up to date information on when each bus is due and also, if it is being delayed, how late a particular service might be. To ensure that the system is trusted by users the real time information will have to implemented at the same time and be provided at as many bus stops as possible in the town.
46
Marketing options
As well as providing information on the available public transport options in the town, the relevant services and public transport in general needs to be intensively marketed to the residents and employees of the Eco Town. Local bus services in particular suffer from a poor image and this will need to change if large numbers of residents are going to encouraged to use public transport as a viable alternative to the private car.
Measures that can be used to market public transport services in the town include more conventional forms of promotion such as posters and leaflets in public locations (and within any packs of information that are sent out). Any such items along with any Whitehill Bordon specific public transport information should be branded with the Eco Town logo and any other branding styles in use for other Eco Town literature. This literature may also need to be targeted differently depending on the intended recipient, for example the marketing materials for residents may need to underline the variety of destinations on offer in the local bus network whilst those targeting commuters to the town may need to detail any potential journey time and/or cost savings that there may be. Linkages between the local bus services and the national rail network should also be made apparent.
Press releases could also be used to ensure that there will be press coverage of any campaigns that are undertaken as part of promoting public transport and to generate greater awareness of the Eco Town Travel Plan and its measures.
Another option would be to brand local public transport services that run through the Eco Town in order to make the routes appear more attractive to potential users. There may be issues with this option as the services that run through the town also run through other towns, however this may be an option particularly for some of the proposed new routes that will originate from Whitehill Bordon.
Any marketing campaign that takes place will need to be carefully planned and coordinated such that once an intensive campaign starts the bus services on offer will be of a high enough standard that any first time or casual user that tries out a bus service as a result of the promotion is likely to do so again. It is suggested that new or recently commissioned buses are used on such routes whilst the marketing campaign is underway. A more intensive method of marketing public transport to residents would be through one to one personalised journey planning as detailed in Section 4. Whilst resource intensive this face to face approach is likely to be the most effective way of publicising the options available as individual journey plans including local bus and rail options can be presented to directly to residents for their most common journeys.
47
Financial incentives
The most effective method for behaviour change is through the use of financial incentives. There are several measures that could be implemented within this area and these measures can be applied to both residents and employees.
With regards to employees the strategy needs to consider how to involve businesses in travel planning as they will be the ones able to offer incentives to their own workforce.
Such
incentives that can be used in workplace travel plans for encouraging the use of public transport include:
Interest free loans for season ticket purchase
Discounted season tickets
Free ‘taster tickets’ for staff
The last two of these may in part be facilitated by the Eco Town in that the town can negotiate discounted tickets on behalf of the businesses in Whitehill Bordon and may also be able to purchase a number of taster tickets. In terms of negotiating discounts, if this is undertaken by the Town Transport Manager (or other representative of the Eco Town) there is an opportunity to secure a larger discount by virtue of the fact that they will be representing a potentially large pool of employees.
The taster tickets are likely to be most effective if they lasted at least seven days as this would give the recipients of these tickets a chance to create some sort of routine around using public transport to travel to work. Interest free loans would have to be at the discretion of individual workplaces however this is a very simple (and fairly cheap) method of providing an effective incentive to encourage public transport usage as it makes it more affordable for staff to buy, for example, an annual season ticket.
With regards to residents it is not possible to implement interest free loans or overarching discounted season tickets however taster tickets can still be used as an effective measure for encouraging travel by local bus. Due to the size of the population it will may not be possible to offer the same level of discount as that offered to employees however some form of free ticket should be made available as an incentive for residents. To be most effective this measure should be implemented in line with personalised journey planning, for example if certain public transport options were found to be a suitable alternative then a taster ticket could then be offered for the resident to try this journey for free.
48
Smart ticketing
Smart ticketing involves the provision of tickets using a microchip rather than paper ticketing. It has a number of benefits for public transport users and these are highlighted in the DfT’s Study ‘The benefits and costs of national smart ticketing infrastructure’ published in 2009. Whilst this study looks at national smart ticketing options, which would be the ideal solution for the Eco-town, the benefits are just as valuable at the local level, should the national scheme not come forward. Certainly in the shorter term, smart ticketing should be investigated for Whitehill Borodon.
The DfT study highlights the following benefits; 1.
Smart ticketing can reduce the need for travellers to understand complicated tickets, new ticket types can be introduced to encourage tourists, support event ticketing, and encourage members of the public to use public transport more frequently. This has a triple benefit: improving quality of experience for users; increasing revenue for operators, and; supporting authorities managing congestion.
2.
Smart ticketing can also reduce boarding times at transport nodes which improves running times and fuel efficiency. It would also eliminate the need for paper tickets, and potentially opens the market to other ticketing providers (reducing the need for operators to run their own schemes).
3.
Smart ticketing has the potential to provide better information on journeysThis can be used for planning routes and capacity and for improvedpersonal travel planning. This leads to the benefits of more integrated journeys, seamless ticketing, better planning and more modal shift away from cars. It also creates new and improved opportunities for ‘bundled’ event and transport ticketing, and cross-selling.
4.
Smart ticketing potentially provides the data for more accurate reimbursement of concessionary fares. For instance Nottingham CityCouncil found there was a 17% saving in concessionary fare reimbursements after the introduction of smart cards.
5.
Separately, one Nottinghamshire bus operator reported a 15% increase in revenue from non-concessionary fares, due to a combination of anincrease in patronage and a reduction in fraud.
6.
Smart cards can promote safety by inhibiting unruly behaviour amongst schoolchildren, reducing accidents, reducing the likelihood of muggings by eliminating the need to carry cash, and facilitating the monitoring of children’s travel
49
4.5.5
Action Plan
Measure
Responsibility
Priority
Provision of HCC Public Transport
TTM
High
TTM/Eco Town
High
Eco Town
Medium
Distribution of posters and leaflets
TTM
High
Branding of local bus services
TTM
Medium
Encourage businesses to consider
TTM
Medium
TTM
Medium
TTM/Eco Town
Medium
Investigate options for Smart
TTM/Bus and Rail
Medium
Ticketing
Operators
Map and Timetables Provision of information on the Eco Town web pages Set up real-time information system
interest free loans for season ticket purchase Negotiate discounts with local public transport providers Purchase ‘taster tickets’ for local businesses and residents
4.5.6
Conclusion
This Chapter sets out a draft strategy for public transport within Whitehill Bordon, this strategy should be developed in the future to provide a more detailed and comprehensive strategy. The actions set out in this strategy have also been incorporated into the main site wide action plan, some of which are being pursued as a part of the early wins strategy.
50
4.6
Parking Strategy
4.6.1
Background
The provision and management of car parking in the town will be a crucial element of the town’s Transport Strategy and will have a direct impact on the future travel patterns of residents, businesses and residents.
In order to inform the Emerging Transport Strategy and the Framework Masterplan as it develops, a Parking Strategy is therefore required and will shortly be produced. 4.6.2
Emerging Transport Strategy Parking Proposals
The Emerging Transport Strategy notes the need for a ‘Car Parking Strategy’ to be developed for the town that will deliver a mechanism for managing future car demand at the home, workplace and within the town centre.
The strategy will focus on parking restraint within the town centre, where high-quality public transport and sustainable travel opportunities provide a suitable alternative. It will also need to recognise the role that car parking plays in ensuring a viable and attractive town centre is created, and will acknowledge the needs of the mobility-impaired.
A series of ‘car-free’ and ‘car-reduced zones’ within the town are proposed and innovative approaches to residential car parking will be introduced to maximise efficiency of parking provision and minimise land requirements. Car parking will be provided in visible central locations for the Eco-Car Club, and opportunities to share parking between land uses will be investigated. Limiting car parking at the workplace will be considered and a balanced strategy which takes account of viability and the sustainability agenda will be developed, giving priority to car sharers and environmentally friendly vehicles in parking allocation.
An initial assessment of the potential that ‘Park and Ride’ may play within the town has been undertaken, and this should be considered further within the Parking strategy.
In order to deliver a Sustainable Development, the level of parking provision and management must be carefully balanced against the need to encourage and attract inward investment for both the Commercial and Retail uses within the town. Without attracting commercial and retail development, existing out-bound travel movements will continue and the potential for trip containment would be reduced. A careful balance needs to be struck between viability and parking restraint.
51
4.6.3
Strategy considerations
This is the strategy to define the car parking provision and control within the town, both at the origin and destination, to include assessment of potential for Park and Ride, town centre parking, residential parking provision and type, parking barns and the workplace parking levies
The Parking Strategy will provide guidance on parking within the town across all proposed use classes. In developing this Strategy, the Strategy will consider;
The level of parking required for the Town Centre Uses, including identifying potential locations for provision and phasing for delivery.
The level of parking provided for the residential aspects of the Masterplan, including the feasibility of providing car reduced and car-free areas of development as set out in the Masterplan
The level of parking required for the commercial aspects of the Masterplan, paying particular attention to the link between parking provision and economic development
The type of parking provision (allocated, unallocated, parking barns, garages etc), including considering different ways of managing parking drawing on examples and case studies.
Consider the potential application of Controlled Parking Zones, parking charging and Parking Enforcement
Consider the potential for Park and Ride as part of the Transport Strategy, taking account of the findings of the HCC Study
Consider possible solutions to school parking for the new and existing schools in the town
Consider the potential for shared use of parking facilities between complimentary land uses.
Consider the potential for Workplace Parking Levies
The Strategy will consider relevant adopted standards, policy and guidance on car parking standards, and should draw upon case study examples from the UK and Europe.
The Transport Strategy (Alan Baxter 2010) proposed a 50% reduced parking provision from existing standards within the town. The Parking Strategy will need to test the viability of this in achieving the Sustainability Standards balanced against the need to attract investment.
52
4.7
Town Wide Travel Strategy – Action Plan
Activity Site Design
Measure Masterplanning to ensure well connected land uses Provision of a Transport Hub Provision of District Centers and Ped Sheds Higher density development along key transport routes Central hub of facilities and services Good quality Street Design (MfS, shared spaces, home zones) Areas of ‘Car-Free’ and ‘Car-Reduced’ development
Walking
Pedestrian and cycle network improvements (implementation of ‘Green Grid’ and ‘Green Loop’ concept) along with interconnecting network of streets, in accordance with the Walking and Cycling Strategy Reduced vehicle speeds to walking speed Locate public transport facilities within 400m of residential homes Promote safe local walking routes including provision of route maps Improvements to the walking network and its maintenance Improvements to signing for pedestrians
Provision of equipment such as personal attack alarms, umbrellas, provision of pedometers and competitions such as ‘Walk to Win’
Cycling
Improvements to cycle network and its maintenance, including the development of the Green Grid and Green Loop, in accordance with the Walking and Cycling Strategy Establish an Eco-cycle hire scheme
Provide improved cycle parking facilities at residences, employment areas and in the town centr
Streets designed with adequate cycle facilitates and with reduced vehicle speeds to make cyclin accessible and safe Provision of cycle route maps and improvements to signage Promotion of the Cycle to Work Scheme Negotiation and promotion of discounted cycle purchase Establishment of cycle maintenance facilities, workshops and road shows Promotion of pool-bike schemes for employment areas Establishment of a BUG
53
Public transport
Implementation of significantly improved bus services in accordance with the Public Transport Strategy, including providing excellent connections to the rail network All homes to be located within 10 minutes walk of public transport services Provision of bus priority measures on the A325 and other local roads Improvements to bus waiting facilities, with the provision of Eco-shelters Investigation into the re-connection of Whitehill Bordon to the Rail Network Safeguarding of the rail corridor Promotion of Station Travel Plans Where rail bus links are used, co-ordination of timetables and fares incentives Promote easier rail access for cyclists, improving station parking and working with operators to enable cycle access to trains Provision of clear public transport information, including Real Time Information Marketing campaign for public transport usage, including a re-branding and re-launch of local public transport services Collaboration with local public transport providers to improve services, negotiate discounts and trial initiatives (e.g. Taster Tickets)
Investigate and establish Smart Ticketing for Eco Car Club, Eco Cycle Hire, bus system and rail network
Reduce the need to travel
Ensuring that the development provides adequate employment, retail and local services Design the development to provide facilities close to places of work or home Provision of home working facilities (Broadband / office space / administrative support centre) Provide educational information on the benefits and mechanics of Working from Home Establish a ‘Home Workers Forum’ Provision of ‘Satellite Office’ facilities, including teleconferencing and remote working space Promote local recruitment through recruitment policies Promote flexible working practices for employers, including compressed hours and peak spreading Provide residents and occupiers with access to information and services through the web Promotion of internet shopping and local delivery services
Managing and reducing car use
Promote and incentivise electric and low carbon vehicle purchase and use Develop a network of electric charging infrastructure
54
Promote Eco-driving techniques Promotion and incentives associated with low carbon technologies Introduction of a car sharing scheme Introduction of an Eco-car club Develop and Implement a Parking Strategy Preferential parking provision for Eco-car club users and for Car-sharers Establishing an ‘Emergency Ride Home’ scheme
Develop and implement a Freight Strategy to manage deliveries and heavy vehicle access to th town
Motorcycles
Provide facilities for those who travel by motorcycle/moped – including secure parking
Taxis
Consideration of the use of taxis by visitors.
Promotion and Marketing
Develop and Implement a Town-wide Transport Marketing Strategy Establish Community Information and Travel Centres Establish and market a town travel Brand
Provision of information to all occupants, residents, visitors and staff on how to travel sustainabl and access the local facilities;
Notice Boards E-Newsletters E-Blog Social Marketing Welcome Packs Web-site Press
Implement a Personalised Journey Planning Programme Establish and manage focus groups, transport Forums, Business Travel Forums Creation of a smart phone application for sustainable transport within the town
Partnerships/ Support
Creation of a Town-wide Framework Travel Plan and Town Transport Team Recruitment of a Town Transport Manager Creation of user groups / staff forums Consideration to joining a local commuter forum Engagement with the local authority and public transport operators
Mobility
The travel plan should consider the needs of those with mobility impairments
55
impairment
56
6
Residential land use travel strategy
6.1
Introduction
The residential land use travel strategy is designed to cover all of the residential elements of Whitehill Bordon. This includes both the existing housing at Whitehill Bordon and the proposed new elements of the town. A number of measures are proposed and are set out in the residential land use travel strategy to enable travel within the town and to the employment destinations to be as sustainable as possible.
The current Framework Masterplan is aligned with the South East Plan policy which sets out the provision of up to 5,500 homes. It is therefore estimated that an additional 14,000 people could live in Whitehill Bordon, which would make the town the largest in the East Hampshire district. 6.2
Current situation
As set out in Section 2 of this Travel Plan, there is currently limited public transport from Whitehill Bordon to the surrounding towns and villages, meaning that the private car is currently the preferred mode of transport for most residents with 67% of trips being taken by car (Alan Baxter, 2010). The Alan Baxter study estimates that (as of 2010) there are 54,000 (two way) trips related to residential movement.
The Alan Baxter Study estimates that the additional 5,500 homes could increase the number of residential trips from 53,500 to 96,500. It is therefore essential that residential travel is undertaken in a sustainable manner. 6.3
Measures
There are a number of measures that will be required to encourage sustainable travel. A number of these initiatives will be intrinsically linked to the development and therefore will be unable to commence prior to the commencement of the development.
There is a strong link between the Town Wide measures and the residential measures with many of them overlapping and being relevant to employers as well as residents, However there are some measures which are relevant exclusively for residents and these are set out below; 
Vouchers for free/discounted products and services
57
Secure cycle parking facilities should be provided within the design of the development
Collaboration with local public transport providers to improve services, negotiate discounts and trial initiatives
Free broadband internet connections
Promotion of home delivery services/ free vouchers for the service
Dedicated parking for car club vehicles
Trial Smart Points (30 houses)
Whilst with some of the measures, it will not be appropriate to bring these forward until the additional residential elements of the Eco-town are delivered, there are also some early wins, which have already been identified in the early wins study document and these measures are set out separately below;
Commence personalised Journey planning for existing residents.
Encourage existing residents to sign up to the Residential Sustainable Travel Charter
Continue to liaise with the PT operators to negotiate season ticket discounts and PT improvements.
Appoint a Town Transport Manager to implement the Travel Plan and encourage Sustainable Travel
Prepare and launch a travel website for the town to promote sustainable transport
Bring forward a series of early improvements to bus services and bus waiting facilities
The other proposed measures are set out in the residential Action Plan overleaf.
58
Table 6.1
Residential Specific Action Plan
Mode Walking Cycling
Measure Vouchers for free/discounted products and services Secure cycle parking facilities should be provided within the design of the development
Public transport Collaboration with local public transport providers to improve services, negotiate discounts and trial initiatives Smart ticketing for Eco Car Club, Eco Cycle Hire, bus system and rail network
Reduce the need to travel Managing and reducing car use
Vouchers for free/ discounted public transport measures Free broadband internet connections Promotion of home delivery services/ free vouchers for the service Dedicated parking for car club vehicles
Promotion and marketing
Community Travel website
Miscellaneous
Trial Smart Points (30 houses)
6.4
Residential Travel Plan Charter
A sustainable Travel Charter has been produced for the existing and future residents of Whitehill Bordon, which would be optional for existing residents to sign up to it. It would be expected that any new resident moving to the development area would sign the Travel Charter as a pre-requisite of their purchase or tenancy agreement.
The charter will help residents to recognise the importance of sustainable travel measures in an Eco-town and will encourage an overall level of commitment from them. It will help residents to develop an overall sense of ownership of the aims of the Travel Plan The draft layout and the principles of the charter are set out in Appendix R1. 6.5
Targets and monitoring
The preliminary targets have been set for the total mode share for the whole town (set out in Table 6.1 below), they have not been broken down at this stage into residential only targets. Obviously there will need to be further work on the targets, this will be informed by the results of the personalised journey planning.
59
Table 6.1
6.6
Overall Targets
Mode
Current Travel Pattern
Future Year Target Modal Split
Future Year Internal
Future Year External
Works from Home (Employment trips only)
2%
3%
3%
0%
Pedestrians
20%
25%
25%
0%
Cyclists
2%
8%
8%
0%
Motorcycle
0%
0%
0%
0%
Car Driver
58%
37%
5%
32%
Car Passenger
13%
13%
3%
10%
Bus
4%
13%
6%
7%
Rail
1%
1%
0%
1%
Total
100%
100%
50%
50%
Consultation
Consultation is an important part of the Travel Plan and it will be important for the Town Transport Manager to begin engaging the existing residents to help get the residents on board with the sustainable travel options.
It will be important to have a number of consultation sessions with the existing community at key phases of the development of the Eco town. These consultation sessions will need to be agreed with all parties involved in the Eco-town to insure that all of those that have contributed to date are kept involved. 6.7
Evaluation and monitoring
The residential element of the TP will be monitored in accordance with the overall monitoring strategy set out in Chapter 8 of the Travel Plan. The majority of the monitoring techniques will be the same for all elements of the travel plan however, the residential census is obviously specific to the residential travel plan and will provide detailed information about residents travel behaviour. It is proposed to carry out a town-wide travel census, similar to the 10 yearly national census. It is proposed to conduct this census on a 5 yearly basis. The use of a Census style survey will provide a much wider survey sample than other techniques and would enable more detailed questions to be asked.
60
7.
Employment Travel Strategy
7.1
Introduction
The Employment Travel Strategy provides a framework for employment related development in Whitehill Bordon. It is designed to incorporate all employers in the town, including existing employers, and guide the development of individual occupier travel plans for the towns employment development.
A number of employment specific measures have been identified and are included in the Action Plan. 7.2
Current situation
There are currently limited opportunities within the Whitehill Bordon area for access to professional/ skilled employment types such as B1 business parks and office uses. There are however three industrial estates;
-
Bordon Trading Estate
-
Woolmer Trading Estate
-
Highview Industrial Estate
Bordon trading estate is located to the northwest of Whitehill Bordon on Old Station Way, accessible from Oakhanger Road. The estate accommodates a number of industrial and logistics based businesses. Bus service number 18 serves Oakhanger Road and Hogmoor Road to the south east of the estate with stops within an acceptable walking distance. Woolmer Trading Estate is located in the centre of Whitehill Bordon and is directly accessible from the A325. The estate comprises a number of manufacturing and industrial operations. A comprehensive network of continious and well lit footways connect the estate with the surrounding residential neighbourhoods. In addition, an on road and shared cycle facility extends south of the estate along parts of the A325. Bus services 13 and 18 run along the A325 with stops within an acceptable distance of the site. In addition, the South West Trains Rail link connects with services to and from Liphook railway station and serves the same stops as buses 13 and 18. Highview Trading Estate is located in the centre of Whitehill Bordon adjacent to the Woolmer Trading Estate and is directly accessible from the A325. The Estate contains a mix of industrial and commercial businesses including a GP and dental surgery. Again a comprehensive network of footways connect the estate with surrounding residential
61
neighbourhoods. Bus services 13 and 18 route along the A325 with stops within a desirable walking distance of the site. The rail link bus also serves the same stop.
Currently the Highview Trading Estate is the only significant area of B1 use as the majority of other employment are industrial (B2) and storage/ warehousing (B8) which generate a much lower level of demand than B1 uses and this may be why information collected from the 2001 census shows that the private car accounts for a high proportion of trips to work (70% compared to a National average of 67%).
The remaining modal share is split between
walking with 10%, 9% by cycle, 8% by rail and 3% by bus.
The re-location of the MOD facilities to outside of Whitehill Bordon will create a more significant employment deficit and therefore it is of considerable importance that significant levels of B1 land use is allocated through the Masterplan process to encourage both existing and future Whitehill Bordon residents to live and work in the town. 7.3
Proposed Employment
The Masterplan for Whitehill Bordon has identified a number employment sites and initiatives.
In the initial years of the measterplan, a low cost employment space will be important for attracting new business requiring smaller workshop units, start up units and larger light industrial units. The MoD will leave a number of buildings vacant many of which are currently used for engineering, training, accommodation or office use which could be put to use in the short to medium term. In the longer term, these buildings are likely to be re-developed and used for housing and community uses while employment is provided in other areas.
Around 2480 new jobs would be created though the development of the new Eco- business paqrks and office accommodation totalling approximately 70, 250 square metres of floorspace (B1a, b, c).
The Masterplan states that it is important to provide a flexible and aspirational approach to providing employment in the town. In the short term, the reuse of existing buildings will play a key role in delivering employment in the town. The Masterplan suggests that the higher end environmental technologies and contemporary high tech businesses could provide significant local employment opportunities, reflecting the local employment base and potential growth sectors. This will include a significant element of small business space to support indigenous growth as well as facilities for high tech business. It is intended that much of the employment associated with the eco town will be based within the high technology and sustainable sectors, with the town attracting ‘over-spill’ from the nearby Blackwater Valley.
62
The provision of employment land within the Eco-town will be flexible enough to provide for the relocation of larger workforces in response to specific opportunities, however it is likely that provision will be focused on small-medium units providing a mixture of general and hightech industrial units. Around 18.4 hectares of land is allocated in the Masterplan for employment uses in four main locations dispersed around the town and these locations benefit from good access via public transport and road networks;
Development to the eastern part of Louisburg Barracks
Viking Park and around Woolmer Trading Estate
To the west of the town centre core
Quebec Barracks – this will be a mixed use scheme
The proposed site at Quebec Barracks will be developed as a first phase project.
With regards to Town Centre Employment, it is considered that the Town Centre offers considerable employment potential. It is estimated that around 2070 jobs could be provided as a result of the following town centre uses;
Retail (A1)
Restaurants, takeaways, pubs (A3/A5)
Financial / Professional Services
Office (incorporating managed business space). A range of flexible office space will be provided within and close to the town centre. Office space must meet the needs of the start up and small growing businesses and adequate grow on space should be phased appropriately to support the growth of the local businesses.
Hotel/ tourism – to support the development of tourism in the town, the Masterplan suggests the possible conversion of the Segeant Mess into a hotel.
Commercial and leisure is proposed to be developed at the edge of the town within Viking Park
It is proposed that around 10% of the new jobs could be based in the public sector and would be associated with the administration of the growing town in relation to the provision of social infrastructure. This is consistent with the existing level of employment in this sector. Finally, home working has been considered and it is estimated that around 1 in 10 new homes should contain a home-worker.
63
In total 5500 new jobs are proposed, in the longer term a more intensive mix of jobs may be appropriate with a greater emphasis on office and high-tech industry which could push the total close to 7000 jobs. 7.4
Measures
There is a strong link between the Town Wide measures and the employment measures with many of them overlapping and being relevant to employers as well as residents, However there are some measures which are relevant exclusively for employees and employers and these are set out in the Action Plan overleaf.
64
Mode Design Measures Walking
Measure Showers, changing facilities and lockers for storing clothes (also see cycling); On site security. Provision of umbrellas for staff for the journey home
Cycling
Showers, changing facilities and lockers Assistance to staff in accessing information about safe cycling, appropriate clothing, local cycle routes etc Pool bikes and mileage allowances for Formation of a bicycle users group (BUG); cycle use. Employers can consider provision of interest free loans for the purchase of bicycles (up to £5000 can be provided without tax implications)
Public Transport
Works buses / shuttle buses. Provision of interest free loans to purchase season tickets (up to £5000 can be provided without tax implications); Guaranteed ride home for staff in emergency situations Introduce “collection from station” service for visitors
Reduce the need to
Flexible working practices, teleworking, home working, ‘compressed’ week (e.g. 9
travel
day fortnights) and incentives to locate close to work as part of any relocation package; The travel plan will be highlighted at recruitment stage;
Managing and
Join Hantscarshare.com
reducing car use
Provision of emergency ride home facility for car sharers and all people who travel by a sustainable mode Review of the use of fleet cars – fuels, engine size, availability to use, number of cars retained; Review of car parking policy and introduce a management strategy Review of the issuing of car park permits to ensure a fair system, based on agreed criteria e.g. operational need Introduction of charging for parking Allocate priority parking space to car sharers and car club Use of pooled company vehicles and bikes Introduce targets to reduce business mileage
Miscellaneous 7.5
Provision of working space within the town
Sustainable Employment Travel Charter
A sustainable Travel Charter has been produced for the empoyers within Whitehill Bordon, which would be optional for existing employers to sign up to it. It would be expected that any new employer locating to Whitehill Bordon would sign the Travel Charter as a pre-requisite of their purchase or tenancy agreement.
65
The charter will help the employers to recognise the importance of sustainable travel measures in an Eco-town and will encourage an overall level of commitment from them. It will help residents to develop an overall sense of ownership of the aims of the Travel Plan The draft layout and the principles of the charter are set out in Appendix E1.
7.6
Targets
The preliminary targets have been set for the total mode share for the whole town (set out in Table 6.1 below), they have not been broken down at this stage into employment only targets. Obviously there will need to be further work on the targets, this will be informed by the results of survey data. Table 7.1
7.7
Overall Targets
Mode
Current Travel Pattern
Future Year Target Modal Split
Future Year Internal
Future Year External
Works from Home (Employment trips only)
2%
3%
3%
0%
Pedestrians
20%
25%
25%
0%
Cyclists
2%
8%
8%
0%
Motorcycle
0%
0%
0%
0%
Car Driver
58%
37%
5%
32%
Car Passenger
13%
13%
3%
10%
Bus
4%
13%
6%
7%
Rail
1%
1%
0%
1%
Total
100%
100%
50%
50%
Consultation
Consultation is an important part of the Travel Plan and it will be important for the Town Transport Manager to begin engaging the employers and employees to help get them on board with the sustainable travel options.
66
It will be important to have a number of consultation sessions with the existing community at key phases of the development of the Eco town. These consultation sessions will need to be agreed with all parties involved in the Eco-town to insure that all of those that have contributed to date are kept involved. 7.8
Evaluation and monitoring
In relation to the monitoring of data for individual employers, a standard questionnaire will be produced which will be distributed to all employers. This will enable the data obtained from each business to be comparable and will allow for robust monitoring of the changes in transport mode for all employees in Whitehill Bordon. Employers will be advised to monitor staff travel every two years.
The employment element of the TP will be monitored in accordance with the overall monitoring strategy set out in Chapter 9 of the Travel Plan.
67
8
Education Travel Strategy
8.1
Introduction
All schools within the town, existing and proposed, will be expected to submit and implement individual school travel plans that aim to work towards the overarching vision and objectives of the Town-wide Framework Travel Plan.
The Framework Masterplan sets out three indicative locations serving the proposed new schools which will be developed in line with the population growth of Whitehill Bordon.
The location of the proposed schools will be a vital component in the success of the education travel plan. The Framework Masterplan has set out the potential primary school locations based on the principle of a ‘walkable’ community, with school locations relating to a residential catchment of within 5-10 minutes walk. The locations are linked into the green space network and are proposed to form local community hubs in conjunction with other local businesses.
It is proposed that the existing Mill Chase Technology College is rebuilt on a new site with later expansion in line with population growth. The current locations under consideration are Budds Lane and Mill Chase Road. An extended schools model is proposed for the re-built college, this could provide extra curricular activities including adult education, internet learning, study support, play/recreation, music, arts and crafts, other special interest clubs, volunteering and business and enterprise activities. The school will have sports facilities and a hall that will be available out of hours for community use. Other more detailed design measures for the new schools will ensure that sustainable travel objectives such as cycle parking and restricted parking at the school gates are present from day one.
School travel plans will be extremely important within Whitehill Bordon, as educating children whilst they are still young about sustainable travel is considered to be of primary importance. A number of measures included in School Travel Plans also include important lessons for road safety and not just sustainable travel.
68
Each school within Whitehill Bordon will be requested to set up a School Travel steering group in order to oversee and direct the school travel plan work. The steering groups will consist of staff, parents, governors and local residents. A representative from the Whitehill Bordon Transport Team should be included on the steering group.
8.2
Current Situation
There are currently seven schools located within the wider Whitehill Bordon area all of which have a Travel Plan, as required by Government. The table below sets out names of the schools, the date the School Travel Plans were produced and the date of review;
School
School Travel Plan Date
Bordon Inf &Jnr
2006
Weyford Inf & Jnr
2004
Mill Chase School
2005
Hollywater School
2007
The Holme
2007
Woodlea Primary
2008 and review in 2009
St Matthew's primary
2004
It can be seen that the School Travel Plans were produced some time ago and therefore it is an ideal time to produce a strategy for the review of the plans. The Town Transport Manager will allocate Travel Plan Co-ordinators to work with the existing schools to ensure that they continue to implement their approved travel plans. They will provide advice and support the existing schools to ensure that these travel plans conform with the vision and objectives for Whitehill Bordon and will work with the Local Schools Partnership to break down barriers to sustainable travel and access to education. 8.3
Aims
The aim of this Education Travel Strategy is to put into place the tools that are necessary to enable the staff of the existing and new schools in Whitehill Bordon along with the parents and children to make informed decisions about their travel to and from school. It is also intended that by putting these tools in place it will minimise any adverse impact on the environment that the school run will cause for both the existing schools in Whitehill Bordon.
69
Aims of the Education Travel Strategy:
To encourage use of more sustainable modes of travel for journeys to and from school
To reduce the impact of travel to school on the local community
To increase awareness of the importance of safe travel to school
Encourage alternative transport to car use
To promote and enable sustainable travel for staff
To contribute towards Government and Hampshire County Council targets related to educational attainment and the healthy schools initiative.
Objectives of the individual school travel plans
To introduce walking as an option to those who have not considered it by encouraging them to walk all or part of their journey to school and back
Encourage pupils that have bicycles and scooters to consider cycling or scootering to school and back with parents
To encourage car sharing or car pooling between parents of the school.
To promote and enable staff to walk and cycle to school, where possible, and decrease those coming on their own by car where opportunities are available.
8.4
Consultation
School Travel Surveys
When the new schools in the town open the children will participate in a ‘Hands Up’ survey to gauge the initial modes of travel to the school. The schools already located in Whitehill Bordon have participated in ‘Hands Up’ surveys for a number of years and the results of these surveys are set out in Section 6.5.
After the ‘Hands Up’ survey has been conducted for the new schools, the Schools will set up a School Travel Plan Steering Committee consisting of a number interested parties (including local residents). The School Travel Plan Steering Committee at each individual school will then conduct a full school survey which involves surveying parents, pupils, governors and staff as to how they travel to and from school. Survey forms will also be sent to the local residents to ask for their feedback on the impact of the school journey on the local environment. The school will be encouraged to have a “Comments/Suggestions” box in the reception office for anyone to comment on school travel.
70
Key Partners
Local residents will be asked to participate in a travel survey to assess the impact on the local environment and they will also be invited to join the steering committee. It is envisaged that the Town Transport Manager will include a number of individuals in the wider School Travel Plan Steering Committee including representatives from the existing schools in the town to ensure that all of the schools within the town are striving to achieve the same aims.
It is hope that the local Police or Police Community Support Officers will also be involved in the School Travel Planning process and that they may have some input into the “Keeping Safe” element of the curriculum. 8.5
Sustainable travel embedded in the curriculum
The curriculum leaders for the school will ensure that the importance of sustainable travel will be embedded in the newly developed curriculum within several topics, including:
Local area studies
Units on developing global awareness
Units on our Rights and Responsibilities
Units on transport
Keeping Healthy- role that walking or cycling to school can play in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Keeping Safe – road safety training.
Promoting “Walk to School Week” is a key activity which can assist with the aims of the travel plan, and it ties in with the elements of “keeping safe and healthy” which are part of the government’s Every Child Matters Agenda. 8.6
School Travel Plan Curriculum Work
It will be the responsibility of the newly appointed curriculum leaders to incorporate putting the Travel Plan into the curriculum and placing it on the agenda for the school council meetings, discussing future actions and reviewing these actions with classes. Activities that could be considered for development are:
Think Safe Event
Bike Safe training (‘Bikeability’)
Cycle training for families
71
Children helping to write a “Cycling to School Policy and Permit”
Curriculum locality studies such as traffic surveys around the school vicinity
Arranging visits from the local PCSO, Town Transport Manager and school crossing patrol.
8.7
Survey Information
Once the new schools are open a full school survey of parents, pupils and staff will be carried out. For the purpose of this Education Travel Strategy the local travel patterns have been grouped together. Study of Local Schools Travel Data
The graph below shows the modal split by school type for all of the schools in Whitehill Bordon. This has been obtained from the Local School Census data obtained from 2007 to 2011. Modal Split By School Type 100%
90%
80%
70% Other
60%
Car share Car alo ne Train
50%
B us/Taxi Cycle
40%
Walk
30%
20%
10%
0% Infant/Primary
Junior
Secondary
Special
It can be seen that a large proportion of the pupils and students at infant/primary, junior and secondary school walk to school, with more than 50% walking. It can be seen that the one existing special school has a much lower percentage of children walking (below 10%) this is
72
due to the nature of school. Being a special school it draws more pupils from further afield meaning that a larger number are unable to walk.
It is expected the trend of high levels of walking will be mirrored at any new schools provided in Whitehill Bordon, particularly with the introduction of the Green Loop and Green Grid which will provide appropriate cycle and footways lining the residential areas to the schools, and with the pro-active establishment of School Travel Planning.
It is likely, that a higher proportion of teachers at the schools will travel by car compared to the parents and pupils, which is reflected in the recent staff surveys at Mill Chase and Holywater Schools. It was found that 80% of staff travel in a car alone to work at Mill Chase School and 82% at Hollywater School, with only 8% walking to school at Mill Chase and 15% at Hollywater. The reason that more staff than pupils come by car is due to the greater catchment area for staff. Staff modal split 100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
Other Car share
50%
Car alone Train Bus/Taxi
40%
Cycle Walk
30%
20%
10%
0% Mill Chase School
Hollywater School
National and Hampshire Travel Data Statistics
As can be seen from the graph overleaf if the walking rate of 50% could be achieved in Whitehill Bordon this would, mirror the National and Hampshire average. However, Whitehill Bordon is striving to improve on the national average and therefore would be looking at achieving a target of 55%.
73
50 40 30 20 National
10
Hampshire
8.8
National Cycling
Public Transport
Car
0
Action Plan
An action plan will be drawn up that details that the School Travel plans aim to support safer, sustainable and healthy journeys to and from school. The proposed school will strongly encourage pupils to walk, cycle or scooter to school and provide the necessary training and facilities to encourage these activities. The action plan will draw on the aims and objectives already set out in Section 5.3.3. 8.9
Measures and Targets
Measurable targets will be set, so the progress of the travel plan can be monitored. Targets will be “SMART” – specific, measurable, achievable realistic and time-related, and they will be set for staff and pupils alike. A series of measures will be used to achieve the targets and these are demonstrated in the draft action plan, more measures can be added in the future years depending on the outcome of the initial targets and the monitoring of them. Further measures will be added to the action plan once the school is up and running to cover transition of the primary school children to secondary school once the feeder school is established.
The design of the new schools sites will be critical in the success of the use of non car modes for the site. Entrances should be accessible and well located for access for pedestrians and cyclists and cycle parking should be located conveniently for access to these entrances. As well as cycle parking being provided to the Hampshire County Council standards, at infant, junior and primary schools where parents drop children off there should be convenient provision for the parking of cycle trailers.
74
A draft action plan can be seen in Appendix S3. 8.10
Evaluation and Monitoring
Ongoing Monitoring
As Travel Plans are a living document, both the individual documents for the schools and the overall educational strategy will need reviewing and updating regularly, in accordance with the County Council’s School Travel Planning Policy to ensure full commitment to the Travel Plan from the individual Head Teacher’s and the Governing Bodies of the individual schools.
The schools will be asked to carry out a full travel survey and a full review of the whole document every two years to find out if anything has changed or requires action. The date of the full travel survey will be determined in the first term by the Head Teacher and then the first full review will be carried out two years after the date of the first full survey by Head Teacher and the School Travel Plan Committee.
There will be an interim review of the Travel Plan one year after the first full survey to monitor progress and achievements, and also to take into account any changes in education or transport provision that will alter the travel needs of our staff and pupils. This will be undertaken by the Head Teacher and the School Travel Plan Committee
In addition to this, the school will participate in the annual submission of mode of travel data for all pupils as part of the school census, which we understand is compulsory for all schools with travel plans. The census data will be kept and used by us in subsequent reviews to measure progress against our targets. As this Travel Plan deals with all of the schools in Whitehill Bordon, an overall annual monitoring summary for all of the schools within the town will need to be produced. This should set out the collated information for modal split for staff, visitors and pupils. This overall monitoring summary will be produced by the Town Transport Manager with assistance from Hampshire County Council. 8.11
Long Term Sustainability
The individual school travel plans will be incorporated into the School Development Plan, once the schools are up and running.
75
8.12
Promotion of School Travel Plans
The new schools will encouraged to write a full travel plan once it is up and running and it will be encouraged to put a copy of the travel plan on the website. Information about the travel plan and travelling to school will be incorporated into the school prospectus.
With regards to the existing school, these schools will also be encouraged to update their existing travel plans 8.13
Formal Approval of the Plan
Once the new schools are in existence the framework travel plan will be updated to become full school travel plans and a formal approval form will be signed by the Headteacher and the Chair of Governors and external partners where relevant to ensure that all parties are committed to the actions outlined in the action plan.
76
9.
Enforcement and Monitoring Strategy
9.1
Introduction
Monitoring of the Town-wide Framework Travel Plan is essential in the understanding of the changing nature of pupil, employee, resident and visitor travel behaviour and to measure the success and effectiveness of the strategies implemented throughout the town. It is also essential to enable a full evaluation as to whether the targets are being met.
Close
monitoring and review of the Framework Travel Plan allows alternative measures to be identified and introduced where necessary in order to achieve progress towards selected targets which includes modal shift and CO2 emission reductions. It also enables unsuccessful strategies to be reviewed and refined.
As this Framework Travel Plan covers a considerably larger area than a standard travel plan, and seeks to achieve exemplary travel behaviour, the methods for monitoring town travel will need to be more rigorous. A simple residents survey will not be sufficient to monitor the various elements of the travel plan, the data collected needs to relate not only to mode shares but also to car ownership and carbon emissions. Therefore this Monitoring Strategy has been informed by the 2010 Atkins Report ‘Advice on Sustainable Travel Component of the Whitehill Bordon Eco Town’.
In order to establish the accuracy to which measurement of change can be made it is necessary to estimate the likely change. A small but subtle change will require a larger evaluation effort than a major shift. There is some consistency in estimates of what a Smarter Choices package can do, with Cairns et al (2008) finding a range of estimates of reductions from 4 percent to 20 percent. More recently the careful monitoring of the Sustainable Travel Demonstration Towns has shown a range of reduction in car use of between 7 to 9 percent. The level of expected reduction does mean that there will be challenges in measuring the change that can be attributed to Smarter Choices alone and these challenges are addressed in this strategy. 9.2
Evaluating Behaviour Change
The relative novelty of ‘behaviour change’ as a policy delivery tool means that attempts to design in methods for monitoring and evaluation are at an early stage. For many schemes measuring behaviour change is one of the hardest parts of the project, though it is also essential to their success.
77
Reasons for the difficulty of measurement include behaviour change being hard to define. It is necessary to distinguish between ‘hard’ impacts, such as demonstrable change in levels of cycling, energy use etc, and ‘soft’ impacts in terms of changes in underlying attitudes and motivations. The checklist below can help in planning a monitoring campaign.
Checklist for Monitoring Behaviour Change
Does it include hard and soft impacts? (E.g. does it count cyclists and seek to establish was a cycling increase because of the cycle lane, associated publicity or demographic changes). Does it establish whether participants’ behaviour change is likely to be enduring, or whether it could be replicated with other audiences who have entirely different sets of motivations or practical barriers?
Does it rely on self-reporting and does it include socially desirable factors (such as not being seen to be lazy) that might be over-reported?
Can behaviour change be linked to a specific project, or could it be because of other local authority initiatives or a national campaign?
Is the full impact likely to be felt after the project has ended?
Might there be unforeseen positive spin-offs, for example on community, social capital or community cohesion? Will it cost too much to do full ‘triangulated’ techniques to measure both hard and soft indicators?
The more general issues common to evaluation: whether the project has provided anything additional (i.e. the behaviour change would not have occurred without the project happening) and whether or not it has diverted activity from elsewhere (e.g. if participants are already using a sustainable mode and merely switch to an alternative sustainable option) also need to be considered. The advice produced by Atkins in April 2010 sets out a clear strategy for travel plan monitoring and suggests that there are three main objectives for the Whitehill Bordon monitoring package to address. These can be summarised as follows:
78
To what extent have actual changes in travel behaviour been made;
What attitudinal changes are associated with the project; and
How well has the project established itself in the local setting
9.3
Measuring Actual Behaviour Change
Actual behavioural change can be measured using the following forms of monitoring;
TRICS Standard Assessment Methodology (SAM)
Actual vehicle flows o
Number plate recognition technology
o
Actual vehicle counts
Ticketing (smart) information from Whitehill Bordon bus services
Residential, Employer and School Travel surveys o
A standard methodology will be applied to ensure that comparable data is achieved. It is understood that the NTS has developed guidance for town wide travel surveys.
A Whitehill Bordon Census similar to the 10 yearly national census
Personalised Travel Planning Measures
9.3.1
o
Results of follow up face to face interviews
o
Travel diaries
Carbon emissions monitoring TRICS Standard Assessment Methodology (SAM)
The TRICS Standard Assessment Methodology is designed to be an independent way to collect data and assess the effectiveness of travel plans. It uses long established TRICS methods of multi-modal data collection enhanced with comprehensive information on travel plan details to produce travel plan survey results.
SAM surveys are undertaken by approved TRICS data collection contractors, following the TRICS technical guidelines. This survey data is collected in a consistent manner using the established TRICS multi-modal data collection methodology. The transport count data is supplemented by detailed information on each development’s local environment and surroundings, and on its operations, parking facilities and travel plan initiatives. This information enables monitoring of the travel plan initiatives and measures in a manner that will facilitate future statistical analysis of the relative effectiveness of travel plan measures.
79
To ensure consistency and reliability, SAM re-surveys should be carried out during a similar period of the year and on the same day of the week as the original survey. It is recommended that SAM surveys are undertaken in years 1, 3 and 5 of the life of a conventional travel plan, preferably along with additional survey data collected before the travel plan was implemented. In this instance, it is suggested that SAM surveys are undertaken every 2 years throughout the life of the Whitehill Bordon Travel Plan.
Once SAM surveys have been validated, it is then possible to undertake a study of travel plan effectiveness over time. From this analysis it will be possible to determine transfers between modes and any significant reductions in trip rate. The trip rates can be calculated and analysed according to the targets set, for example per person, or per floor area. An independent summary report can be produced by TRICS detailing the analysis of SAM surveys over time, and the degree to which the targets have been met. 9.3.2
Actual vehicle flows
Number Plate Recognition
Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology will be investigated as a monitoring tool and weighed up against the more tried and tested method of automatic vehicle counts. Where ANPR is potentially useful in Whitehill Bordon is to establish trip distribution patterns accurately, and to consider changes in ‘through traffic’ profiles.
Whilst it is cutting edge technology and if used correctly could be a very powerful tool, the benefits will need to be weighed up with the risks after talking to the industry experts and a conclusion be drawn as to how effective the process is considered to be. Automatic Vehicle Counts
Given that an objective of a travel plan is to minimise the amount of road traffic a development generates, the number of vehicles that enter and leave the site is a good indicator of how successful the travel plan is working. The use of automatic vehicle counts could be a useful tool in evaluating vehicle flows within the Whitehill Eco-town and is a useful long term evaluation tool. Aside from the initial set up fees and money for evaluating the data, this technique is relatively inexpensive. It is also a tried and tested methodology rather than automatic number plate recognition which is less tested. It is proposed to establish additional permanent Automatic Vehicle Count sites strategically positioned within the town.
The promotion of cycling is integral to the Whitehill Bordon Transport Strategy, and as such is proposed to install cycle counters on key cycle routes within the town.
80
9.3.3
Ticketing (smart) information from Whitehill Bordon bus services
Information will be obtained from the bus operators within Whitehill Bordon, which will be used to detail the exact numbers of passengers using the services in and around Whitehill Bordon to understand the effectiveness of the Public Transport Strategy and inform any necessary service changes. 9.3.4
Residential, Employer and School Travel surveys
Each Travel Plan will include a process of Travel Surveys and will apply a standard methodology to ensure that comparable data is achieved for all of the surveys. This will be informed by the guidance developed by the National Travel Survey.
With regard to the data obtained from schools, the standard Hampshire County Council approach to collecting data will be applied. More detail can be found in Chapter 5.3 and Appendix S1 which details the type of information to be collected on a regular basis. 9.3.5
Whitehill Bordon Census
It is proposed to carry out a town-wide travel census, similar to the 10 yearly national census. It is proposed to conduct this census on a 5 yearly basis. The use of a Census style survey will provide a much wider survey sample than other techniques and would enable more detailed questions to be asked. 9.3.6
Personalised Travel Planning Measures
Personalised travel planning will be undertaken from an early stage in Whitehill Bordon, whilst obviously personal data will not be released, many aspects of the personalised travel planning will be reported on, particularly changes in an individual’s travel behaviour.
For those residents that have been asked to keep travel diaries, the results of the collated data can be collected and reported upon on an annual basis. 9.3.7
Carbon emissions monitoring
Transport currently makes up 21% of all United Kingdom’s domestic carbon emissions. The government is committed to reducing emissions from transport as part of the UK’s carbon reduction strategy. Before organisations can begin to set about reducing carbon emissions, it is important to understand the existing baseline situation. The DfT report ‘Measuring and
81
Reporting Greenhouse Gas Emissions – A Department for Transport Guide to Work-Related Travel’ published in 2011 sets out a methodology for reporting carbon emissions. The exact process for carbons emissions monitoring needs to be determined after further research on a strategy for this. A full methodology will be identified in the full travel plan. At the most basic level, three types of information are required to calculate emissions;
The mode of travel;
Activity data (either fuel consumption or distance travelled); and
An appropriate conversion factor.
The diagram below shows how emissions are calculated.
Therefore it is important to ensure that the monitoring data for Whitehill Bordon contains information on the travelling distance of the target audience. It is envisaged that the two main groups that be relevant for the monitoring of carbon emissions would be residential and employees. Residential
It is suggested that the most appropriate collection methodology for this information for the residential side would be the Whitehill Bordon census where individuals can be asked their total car mileage for the year for the household. A total household carbon consumption can then be estimated. Employment
Employers within Whitehill Bordon will be asked to collect data on the total number of business miles travelled by staff on work matters. The standardised survey that is to be sent to staff will ask staff where they live and the number of times a week they travel by car (single occupancy). The data can then be interrogated to find out an approximate number of total miles travelled by staff per annum.
82
9.4
Measuring Attitudinal change
9.4.1
Background
Measuring attitudinal change in relation to sustainable travel is a very difficult thing to do and attribute directly to the marketing or measures provided as a part of any travel plan. Therefore the following strategy sets out a number of techniques which will assist in obtaining data that is as relevant as possible.
The need for monitoring in the specific case of the Whitehill - Bordon Eco-town will be to address two specific issues;
-
To what extent have interventions aimed at reducing car use been successful?
-
But also what research insights can we gain from our target audience?
The latter being a form of market research that can be used to develop a more effective campaign. In order to measure the behavioural components of the impact of Smarter Choices a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research will be appropriate. 9.4.2
Qualitative Surveys
These would include focus groups, in-depth interviews and more esoteric ideas derived from fields such as social anthropology.
Tracking of progress is much harder with qualitative surveys as it is hard to get consistency. However they should be an important part of the overall programme as they can provide the kind of insight that can feed into the design of interventions.
Running a focus group is a particular skill and this would normally be contracted out to a specialist agency. Some informal groupwork may be useful during the but it should be clear that this is not scientific measurement. 9.4.3
Quantitative Attitudinal Surveys
These will typically include ‘closed’ questions and measure attitudes along a scale such as the Likert scale. They can be used in categorising and segmentation and also monitoring changes in attitude. One possible mechanism for the Eco-town to consider is an Omnibus Survey. These are run by commercial specialists such as MORI and IPSOS. Interviewers visit random homes every day with a laptop loaded with a standard set of demographic questions and extra questions bought by any interested party. A question about baked beans set by Heinz can thus be
83
followed by a question from SKY TV. The Eco-town team could purchase some questions for around ÂŁ600 per question. The coverage is broadly based rather than targeted by ward, but the data is clean and professionally administered so can be a reliable monitoring tool. The sustainable travel demonstration towns all used the same questionnaire survey before during and after the project. This was administered by the same company and although sent out by post a series of reminders ensured a very high (around 60 percent) response rate. 9.4.4
Output and Outcome Indicators
The overall aim for the whole programme will be based on the outcome of reduced car use. However, there are many aspects of Smarter Choices programmes that are intended to achieve longer lasting change and their immediate impact may not be easily measurable without spending inordinately large amounts on monitoring.
It will therefore in some cases be desirable to break down the progress monitoring into outputs and outcomes with each stage having different implications for monitoring. An example of this for monitoring progress towards increasing cycling is shown below in the table.
Figure 9.1 Monitoring Progress towards Increasing Cycling
Type of Indicator
Action
Output
Number of Cycle Maps Distributed
Output
Number of Column Inches of Advertising
Output
Number of training places offered
Leads to Outcome
More people cycling
Similar groupings of outputs leading to outcomes could be produced for all of the Smarter Choices measures contained in the transport strategy. For example the output of Workplace Travel Plans supported can be linked to counts of discount tickets offered leading to the outcome of reduced car use to work. 9.5
Enforcement
There are a number of options available for enforcement, these include the harder measures, i.e.car parking charges and speed restrictions. The planning of the town will be carried out in
84
such a way as to discourage illegal parking, speeding and turning front lawns into driveways without enforcement per se.
There will also be a requirement for the full travel plan for Whitehill Bordon to be secured by a S106 Legal Agreement. The legal agreement will also secure the provision of certain ‘hard’ measures’ such as offsite highway improvement measures and will ensure the implementation of the Action Plan of measures identified in this Framework Travel Plan. 9.6
Conclusion
Putting together the components mentioned in this strategy would therefore lead to:
A monitoring programme that links the transport planning model to automatic traffic count data at key points in order to establish the overall level of traffic change
A mixture of qualitative and quantitative attitudinal data administered by questionnaire and focus groups
As a unique situation in which an existing town and new Eco town are both included it would be appropriate to develop a more detailed tailored monitoring strategy as a part of the full travel plan. In any event, it is clear that the overall travel plan monitoring will need to be carried out over a 15-20 year period to enable a full picture of the success of the sustainable travel elements of the development to be assessed. There is a lot of research on evaluation studies and it would be desirable to keep in touch with latest developments. The measurement and monitoring of traffic associated with the Eco-town will be an integral part of the travel plan. This will use industry-standard traffic measurement devices to measure and to compare with modelled values.
The monitoring of the Smarter Choices component of the transport package is different in that it additionally needs to consider how to measure knowledge and attitudes alongside behaviour. This needs to be done so as to help determine whether changes that have occurred are because of project interventions or due to other reasons. They can also track the essential precursors to actual behaviour change and help intervention design.
Transport choice is very closely related to distance travelled and the availability of alternative modes to the car. It is sensible therefore to measure transport in bands of journey distance and to combine this with considerations of attitudes to change.
85
The measurement of attitudes to transport is still in its infancy and a variety of possible techniques exist. The most important requirement is to be structured and logical. The difference between one technique and another is less than the variation that would occur if combining incompatible elements. Figure 9.2
Draft Monitoring programme
Monitoring technique
Frequency
When implemented
TRICS Standard Assessment
Every 5 years
Five years after first
Methodology (SAM) Actual vehicle flows
development Annually
After occupation of 100th dwelling or 10% of proposed employment
Number plate recognition
TBC
TBC
Annually
2014
Annually
Individual timescales
technology Ticketing (smart) information from Whitehill Bordon bus services Residential, Employer and School Travel surveys
determined by Full Travel Plans
A standard methodology will be
N/A
applied to ensure that comparable
Strategy set out in Full Travel Plan
data is achieved. It is understood that the NTS has developed guidance for town wide travel surveys. A Whitehill Bordon Census similar
Every 5 years
to the 10 yearly national census Personalised Travel Planning
th
After occupation of 100
new
dwelling Every two years
ASAP- early win
Measures
86
9.
Funding
The funding for the Travel Plan needs to be clearly allocated and defined in order to ensure that enough funding is allocated for the required measures. Without adequate investment in the Travel Plan, it will not be possible to meet the Eco-town targets.
The majority of funding for the measures identified in this Framework Travel Plan will be required to come from the development itself, and through the ongoing investment by future occupiers of employment space in the town. It will be a planning requirement that all major travel generators prepare and implement a Travel Plan, and it will need to be demonstrated at the application stage how this will be funded and secured. In addition to development funding, there are a number of other funding sources and mechanisms available that can be considered to bring forward elements of the Framework Travel Plan;
Within existing local and regional funding streams (including the Regional Funding Allocation and LTP funding);
Through Growth Area Funding from central Government;
Through funding instruments such as the Community Infrastructure Levy;
Through government and EU funding, such as the Local Suitable Transport Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and other sources as they become available.
A community charge for all residents of the new development and potentially those that move house within the existing community. The money collected from this would be used to fund sustainable transport measures.
The Travel Plan that accompanies the Outline Planning Application for the Eco-town development will provide detail on the range of likely costs associated with the indicative measures.
87
10
Conclusion
This Framework Travel Plan builds upon the Travel Plan produced by WSP in April 2008 for Whitehill Bordon as well as a number of transport studies undertaken for Whitehill Bordon. The Travel Plan sets out the main strategies for town-wide transport issues as well as residential, employment and education travel strategies. The travel plan also sets out some preliminary challenging mode share targets. The numerous strategies are then followed up by a comprehensive approach to enforcement and monitoring which sets out a clear framework for monitoring the travel plan over the life of the development.
The full travel plan will be written at a later stage when there is more progress to report from the outcome of the measures. The travel plan can then be informed by the results of the personalised journey planning as there will be much more specific data about existing journey patterns which will be very useful for the targeting of any additional measures.
88
Appendix List
General
G1 Relevant Studies and Papers G2 Bus Routes and Stops in Whitehill Bordon
89
Appendix G1 Relevant Studies and Papers Alan Baxter ,Whitehill Bordon Transport Study, March 2010,
Atkins, Advice on Sustainable Travel Component of the Whitehill Bordon Eco-town Development, Draft, April 2010.
Communities and Local Government, Eco-towns prospectus, 2007 http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/ecotowns
Department for Education and Skills and Department for Transport, Travelling to School: a good practice guide, 2003 http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/schooltravel/travelling/travellingtoschoolagoodpract5762
Department for Transport, Home Zones. Challenging the future of our streets, 2006 http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/homezones/cfos/homezoneschallengingthefutur5739
Department for Transport, Making Car Sharing and Car Clubs Work, 2005 http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/roads/planning/makingcarsharingandcarclubsw
Department for Transport, Making Personal Travel Planning Work Research Report, 2007 http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/travelplans/ptp/makingptpworkresearch
Department for Transport, Making Smarter Choices Work, 2004 http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/smarterchoices/makingwork/makingsmarterchoiceswork full5770
Department for Transport, Making Residential Travel Plans work: Good Practice Guidelines for New Development, 2005 http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/travelplans/rpt/mrtpw
Department for Transport, Smarter Choices: Changing the way we travel, 2004 http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/smarterchoices/makingwork/makingsmarterchoiceswork full5770
90
Department for Transport, The Essential Guide to Travel Planning, 2007 http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/travelplans/work/essentialguide.pdf
Department for Transport, Using the Planning Process to Secure Travel Plans: Best Practice Guide, 2002 (update due January 2008) http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/travelplans/work/publications/usingtheplanningprocesst osec5787
Department for Transport, Communities and Local Government & the Welsh Assembly Government, Manual for Streets, 2007 http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/manforstreets/pdfmanforstreets.pdf Department for Transport ‘Measuring and Reporting Greenhouse Gas Emissions – A
Department for Transport Guide to Work-Related Travel’ ,2011 Department for Transport , The Effects of Smarter Choice Programmes in the Sustainable Travel Towns: Summary Report, 2010
Hampshire County Council, A Guide to Development Related Travel Planning, 2009 Mott Gifford, Whitehill Bordon Eco-town Pre Feasibility Study of Rail Route Options –Report 1, 2010
Mott Gifford, Whitehill Bordon Eco-town Proposed Sub Regional Bus Strategty, 2010
Transport Energy, A Guide on Travel Plans for Developers, 2004
WSP, Whitehill Bordon Transport Assessment Volumes 1 and 2, Final Draft, August 2008
91
Appendix G2 Bus Routes and Stops in Whitehill Bordon Bus Service Stagecoach 13
Route Alton – Bordon - Liphook
Stops Bordon Camp Fire Station – 0613, 0648, 0731, 0909, 0934, 1034, 1134, 1234, 1334, 1434, 1604, 1703, 1809, 0734, 0934, 1234, 1534, 1734, 0648, 0729, 0810, 0814, 0814, 0817, 0953, 0957, 1038, 1138, 1238, 1338, 1438, 1515, 1615, 1800, 1853, 1933, 0838, 1038, 1438, 1638, 1838 Bordon Holybrook Park – 0616, 0651, 0734, 0912, 0937, 1037, 1137, 1237, 13,37, 1537, 1607, 1706, 1706, 1812, 0737, 0937, 1237, 1537, 1737, 0651, 0725, 0809, 0948, 1033, 113, 1233, 1433, 1511, 1611, 1756, 1856, 1936, 0833, 1033, 1433, 1633, 1833 Whitehill Prince of Wales – 0619, 0654, 0737, 0915, 0940, 1040, 1140, 1240, 1340, 1440, 1540, 1610, 1709, 1709, 1815, 0740, 0940, 1240, 1540, 1740, 0654, 0722, 0804, 0804, 0943, 1028, 1128, 1228, 1328, 1428, 1508, 1608, 1753, 1854, 1939, 0828, 1028, 1428, 1628, 1828
Stagecoach 18
Haslemere to Aldershot via Headley, Whitehill, Bordon and Farnham
Passfield Oak - 0624, 0659, 0742, 0920, 0945,1045, 1145, 1245, 1345, 1445, 1545, 1706, 1714, 1714, 1820, 0745, 0945, 1245, 1545, 1745, 0642, 0717, 0802, 0759, 0938, 1023, 1123, 1223, 1333, 1423, 1503, 1603, 1747, 1847, 1927, 0823, 1023, 1423, 1623, 1823 Bordon Camp Fie Station – 0651, 0654, 0703, 0705, 0751, 0843, 0853, 0858, 0908, 0923, 0953, 1008, 1023, every hour at 53, 23 and 08 until 1653, 1708, 1723, 1728, 1753, 1758, 1807, 1813, 1819, 1828, 1849, 1850, 1901, 1902, 1947, 2047, 2147, 2247, 2347, 0711, 0741, 0819, 0827, 0907, 1007 every hour at 07 until 1707, 0634, 0659, 0700, 0727, 0757, 0756, 0833, 0843, 0923, 0953, 1023, every hour at 53 and 23 until 1723, 1753, 1807, 1807, 1821, 1821, 1905, 1905, 1917, 1917, 2006, 2106, 2206, 2306, 0844, 0854, 1054, 1254, 1454, 1654, 1854, 1947, 2047, 2147, 2247, 1106, 1306, 1506, 1706, 1209, 1409, 1609, 1809, 0806, 0906, 1022, 1222, 1422, 1622, 1822, 1912, 2006, 2106, 2206 Whitehill Prince of Wales – 0659, 0701, 0801, 0853, 0903, 0933, 1003, 1033, every hour at 03 and 33 until 1703, 1733, 1738, 1803, 1808, 1828, 1838, 1858, 1859, 1955, 2055, 2155, 2255, 2355, 0626, 0650, 0652, 0715, 0745, 0748, 0823, 0832, 0912, 0942, 1012, every hour at 42 and 12 until 1712, 1742, 1812, 1812, 1909, 1909, 1958, 2058, 2158, 2258, 0852, 1002, 1102, 1302, 1502, 1702, 1902,1955, 2055, 2155, 2255, 0758, 0858, 1013, 1213, 1413, 1613, 1813, 1903, 1958, 2058, 2158
92
Bordon Pindhill Road Forest Centre – 0654, 0657, 0756, 0848, 0928, 0958, 1028, every hour until 23 and 23, 1658, 1728, 1733, 1758, 1803, 1823, 1833, 1853, 1854, 1951, 2051, 2151, 2251, 2351, 0630, 0654, 0656, 0720, 0750, 0752, 0828, 0837, 0917, 0947, 1017, every hour at 47 and 17 until 1717, 1747, 1817, 1817, 1913, 1913, 2002, 2102, 2202, 2302, 0848, 0957, 1057, 1257, 1457, 1657, 1857, 1951, 2051, 2151, 2251, 0802, 0902, 1016, 1218, 1418, 1618, 1818, 1908, 2002, 2102, 2202 Wrecclesham Royal Oak – 0644, 0709, 0710, 0739, 0809, 0806, 0843, 0853, 0933, 1003, 1033, every hour at 03 and 33 until 1733, 1803, 1830, 1832, 1926, 1927, 2016, 2116, 2216, 2316, 0833, 0942, 1042, 1242, 1442, 1642, 1842, 1937, 2037, 2137, 2237, 0816, 0916, 1032, 1232, 1432, 1632, 1831, 1921, 2016, 2116, 2216
National Express 031
Portsmouth – Bordon London
Bordon Camp Road – 0900, 0910, 1950, 1935
Wheel Drive 73 (Wednesdays only)
Petersfield – Liss – Whitehill - Bordon
Whitehill Drift Road - 0928, 1046, 1331, 0955, 1112 Whitehill Prince of Wales PH - 0930, 1048, 1333, 0953, 1110 Bordon Conde Way/Forest Road - 1335, 0951, 1107 Bordon Jubilee Park - 1337, 0949 Bordon Tesco – 0932, 1050, 1100 Bordon Forest Centre - 0935, 1105 Bordon A325/Top of Chalet Hill – 1339, 0947
Stagecoach 737
Bordon Camp – Liss – Sheet - Petersfield
Bordon Farnham Road A325 – 1340, 0945 Bordon Camp Fire Station – 0725, 1820 Whitehill Prince of Wales - 0730, 1815
Stagecoach 423 (College Days only)
Whitehill – Bordon – Farnham - Farnborough
Stagecoach 227 (schooldays only)
Oakhanger – Whitehill – Bordon – Mill Chase Community School
Whitehill Prince of Wales - 0805, 1739 Holybrook Park – 0810, 1734 Bordon Camp Fire Station – 0816, 1728 Mill Chase School – 0822, 1455 Bordon Infant School – 0846, 1520 Oakhanger Red Lion – 0806, 1522 Hogmoor Road/Oakhanger Road – 0808, 0829, 1524
93
Hogmoor Road Caravan Site – 0810, 0830, 1504, 1526 Whitehill Prince of Wales – 0814, 0834, 1500, 1530 Forest Road/Liphook Road – 0836, 1532 Forest Centre - 1537 Mill Chase School – 0819, 0841 Bordon Infant School - 0846
94
Appendix R1 Sustainable Residential Travel Charter Principles
This charter is based around the following principles;
To contribute to the development of Whitehill Bordon as a thriving, sustainable community
To ensure that Whitehill Bordon develops in a way that encourages us to live and work in ways that will not damage the natural resources on which society and economy depend
The commitment
Charter signatories agree to;
Use alternative means to the private car whenever possible in order to attempt to achieve the Travel Plan Targets
To raise awareness to all members of the household about healthy, sustainable living
Signing up to the Charter means that you will;
Promote and Encourage sustainable travel choices whenever possible
95
Employment Strategy Appendices E1
Draft Employment Charter
96
E1
Draft Employment Charter
Sustainable Employment Travel Charter
Each employer within the town would be expected to sign up to the Sustainable Employment Travel Plan Charter which sets out the principles by which employers in the Eco-town are expected to abide by. This shows real commitment on the part of the employers and will aim to encourage staff to be sustainable in their choice of transport mode. Sustainable Travel Charter for Employers based in Whitehill Bordon Principles
This charter is based around the following principles;
That businesses can collectively help Whitehill Bordon to meet it’s challenging targets for car mode share reduction
To help to meet the targets for the Whitehill Bordon Eco-town
The Commitment
Charter signatories agree to;
Encourage staff to use alternative means to the private car whenever possible in order to attempt to achieve the Whitehill Bordon Travel Plan Targets
Survey staff travel behaviour on a yearly basis
Use the results of the travel survey to identify realistic car share reduction targets (in consultation with the Town Transport Manager)
Set aside a fund for the implementation for sustainable transport measures.
Signing up to the Charter means that you will;
Promote and Encourage sustainable travel choices
Highlight the commitments of the charter at the recruitment stage
Implement all of the measures set out in the employment land use travel survey
Encourage staff to embrace the commitments of the charter
Produce a mini-charter for staff to sign up to
97
Provide incentives for staff to use sustainable means (competitions, bike to work breakfasts etc)
Reduce the number of work based trips
Give staff the opportunity to reduce their need to travel within the working day by the use of flexible working practices, teleworking, home working, ‘compressed’ week (e.g. 9 day fortnights) and incentives to locate close to work as part of any relocation package
Advertise locally for new staff when a new position is available, advertise locally as well as nationally in the recruitment process
98
School Travel Strategy Appendices S1
Draft Survey for Staff
S2
Draft Resident Letter
S3
Draft Action Plan
99
Appendix S1
Draft Survey for School Staff
School Travel Survey for Staff Name of School: _________________________________________________________ Postcode: __________ 1. How do you travel to and from school on most days? (please circle only one). Walk Cycle
Car (alone) Car Share* * Traveling with others to and from school
who do not live in the same house
Bus Other (please state)
Train _____________________________ _____________________
2. Why do you choose that particular method of travel? (please circle) Easier for you Cheap
Distance from school – near No suitable walking/cycling facilities or
routes
Distance from school – far Personal Safety No bus or train available Too much to carry Other reasons (please state below)____________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 3. How would you like to travel to and from school? (Please circle only one)
Walk Cycle
Car (alone) Car Share* * Traveling with others to and from school
who do not live on the same house
Bus Other (please
Train state) _________________________________________________
100
4. If you do already walk or cycle, or wish to start, is there anything that would help make your journey easier or safer? For example, cycle storage, improved footpaths, crossing facilities or cycle training.
__________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 5. Is there anything about your current journey you dislike? If so, please provide details of what and where below
__________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 6. Are there any other comments you would like to make about the things that influence the way you travel to school?
__________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Please return this survey to the school
Issued by The School Travel Planning Team, Environment Department, Hampshire County Council, The Castle, Winchester SO23 8UD
101
Appendix S2
Letter to residents near Schools
Dear resident, Our school is currently looking at the travel trends and travel issues for those who visit our school site, and we would be very interested to hear if you have been affected by the journeys made to and from our school. We have sent out questionnaires to our staff and parents/pupils and, as neighbours to the school, we would appreciate your comments as well. Please complete the survey below and return to the school. If there are any other comments you would like to make, please feel free to use the reverse of this letter. Yours faithfully,
………………………………. Residential survey: (Please circle Yes/No responses as appropriate) Which road do you live on? Are you affected by those travelling to the school Yes/No If yes, please detail below…
_______ Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the current situation?
Thank you very much for your time.
102
103
Appendix S3
Draft School Travel Plan Action Plan
Aim: To encourage use of more sustainable modes of travel for journeys to and from school, and reduce the impact of travel to school on the local community. Objective 1: Upon appointment of the Head Teacher ensure that all staff and pupils are provided with the necessary information and tools to travel to and from school in a safe and sustainable way. Objective 2: Introduce walking as an option to those that have not considered it encouraging them to walk all or part of their journey to school and back SMART Target
Measure / Initiative
Achieve 50% of pupils choosing to walk to school on a regular when the schools open and maintain this rate or improve it by December 2036
1)To contact the School travel Planning Team to discuss the full production of the travel plan and use of local school journey planning tools. 2) Take part in Walk to School Week on an annual basis.
3)Follow on from the success of the Walk to School Week by setting up a WOW initiative ( Walk on Wednesday, Walk Once a Week) Starting in June 2014 Continued‌..
Priority of Measure (High, Med or Low) High
Responsibility (Specify role)
High
School Travel Plan Co-ordinator
High High
Head Teacher / School Council Deputy Head/ Admin Officer
High
PSHE or Healthy Schools Coordinator/ School Council
Medium
STP Co-ordinator / School Council
Medium
Head Teacher/ Deputy and Admin Officer
Head Teacher
104
Continued‌.. 4)Investigate the possibility of setting up walking buses
5)Investigate the possibility of setting up a park and stride scheme to encourage more pupils & parents to walk part of their journey.
Medium Low
Walking Bus Co-Ordinator STP Co-Ordinator
Low
Walking bus Co-ordinator & Head Teacher.
Medium
STP Working Party
Low
Head Teacher/Admin Officer
Low
Head Teacher/School Council
105
Aim : Encourage alternative transport to car use Objective 1) : Encourage more pupils that have bicycles or scooters to consider cycling/scootering to school and back with parents Objective 2) : Encourage car sharing between parents of the school SMART Target
Measure / Initiative and Completion Date
Achieve 2% of pupils choosing to cycle with parents or scooter to school on a regular basis by 2036
Provide basic cycle training on the playground as part of the PE curriculum for infants and provide Bikeability training for juniors. Promote use of safety clothing and cycle helmets
Make Car Sharing available to all those who would like to by 2036
Priority of Measure (High, Med or Low) Medium
Responsibility (Specify role)
Medium
STP Working Group/School council
Hold a “Cycling Day/Event” to promote cycle routes to school, introduce Bike Maintenance and “Cycle Coding” to ensure bike safety
Medium
Take part in National Bike to School Week.
Low
Display a map in the reception area showing the areas from which pupils travel
Low
STP Co-coordinator/PE Coordinator
STP Champion
106
Aim: To increase awareness of the importance of safe travel to school and contribute towards Government and Hampshire County Council’s targets relating to educational attainment and healthy schools initiative. Objective: Educate pupils in safety on the school journey SMART Target
Measure / Initiative and Completion Date
To contribute towards Hampshire County council’s target of 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured when compared to the average 1994-98, level by 2036
Incorporate Road Safety pedestrian training into the curriculum. Advertise to parents that road safety training is to be taught to all pupils and request volunteers to be trained to assist with this.
Priority of Measure (High, Med or Low) High
Responsibility (Specify role)
High
Head Teacher/Admin Officer
Priority of Measure (High, Med or Low) High
Responsibility (Specify role)
Medium
Head Teacher/Teaching Staff
Head Teacher
Ensure that 100% of pupils are taught Road Safety by 2036 Aim : : Raise travel awareness in school travel Objective: : Promote the travel plan and sustainable travel options to pupils and parents SMART Target
Measure / Initiative and Completion Date
Ensure that 100% of pupils and parents are aware of the School Travel Plan and it’s objectives and their role in supporting them when the new schools are open and onwards to keep all new pupils and parents informed and involved on an annual basis
Promote the travel plan to the whole school community
Include in the curriculum work on sustainable travel linking in with the Healthy Schools.
School Admin Officer
107
Create the School Improvement Plan to include the School travel plan.
High
Head Teacher
Aim: To promote and enable sustainable travel for staff Objective: To promote and enable staff to walk and cycle to school, where possible, and decrease those coming on their own by car where opportunities are available. SMART Target
Measure / Initiative and Completion Date
Ensure that the number of staff travelling by car alone is reduced to a minimum level. Within 1 year of the new school(s) being open and annually thereafter
Provide details to staff, at staff meetings of staff home locations September 2013 Have information available for staff of public transport, walking and cycling routes by March 2014
Priority of Measure (High, Med or Low) Low
Responsibility (Specify role)
Medium
STP Co-Ordinator School Admin Officer
Head Teacher
108
Modal Split Figures All Trips - 50% Car Mode Share + 50% Trip Containment Alan Baxter Transort Strategy Existing Modal Split (Alan Baxter Transport Strategy)
2007 Internal
2007 External
Works from Home (Employment trips only)
2%
2%
Pedestrians
20%
Cyclists
Smarter Choices/Modal Shift Interventions
Amey Transport Assessment
2036 Target Modal Split
2036 Internal
2036 External
Future Year Target Modal Split
Future Year Internal
Future Year External
0%
3%
3%
0%
3%
3%
0%
20%
0%
25%
25%
0%
25%
25%
0%
2%
2%
0%
12%
7%
5%
8%
8%
0%
Motorcycle
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
Car Driver
58%
13%
45%
29%
4%
25%
37%
5%
32%
Car Passenger
13%
4%
9%
13%
3%
10%
13%
3%
10%
Bus
4%
1%
3%
17%
9%
8%
13%
6%
7%
Rail
1%
0%
1%
1%
0%
1%
1%
0%
1%
Total
100%
42%
58%
100%
51%
49%
100%
50%
50%
109