8.7 More Trips on Foot and by Cycle

We will create an environment that promotes walking and cycling.

Also see Delivering Accessibility Taking Clients to Services; Active Travel to Increase Accessibility

Active Travel - Walking and Cycling

For many journeys, and particularly those at peak hours, walking and cycling can offer a real alternative to the car. By increasing the number of journeys using active travel, we can reduce the number of journeys by car, reducing in turn traffic flows and congestion. This will contribute to our objectives to improve accessibility, set out in the Delivering Accessibility chapter, air quality and quality of life too.

We will provide the physical facilities, and maintain them in good order, so that walkers and cyclists may travel safely and easily on their journeys to work and education, healthcare and shopping, and sport and leisure. We will also improve walking and cycling routes to bus stops, taxi stands and bus and railway stations, and increase the comfort and safety for passengers waiting there. Where there are conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles, we will analyse the movements and model the traffic flows to produce an equitable solution.

The annual programmes of pedestrian and cycling schemes are complemented by Local Safety Schemes and additional programmes. The Functional Road Hierarchy sets out appropriate levels of infrastructure according to the role and importance of each route, whilst the Vulnerable Road Users Audit ensures that the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and people with limited mobility are considered in every scheme. Through Community Safety Partnerships we will improve street lighting to reduce crime and the fear of crime. Enforcement of traffic regulations by ParkWise will prevent parking on footways and unnecessary obstruction on the highway.

A well-maintained network is a valuable asset to the community and is fundamental to achieving the strategic objectives of the County Council for people to travel easily and safely, feel safe, live healthy lives and enjoy a high quality environment. The CiVITAS project will bring improvements to the public realm by establishing a Clear Zone in Preston city centre and through works to Hough Lane in the centre of Leyland.

The County Council will promote the transfer of journeys made by car to walking and cycling. The National Travel Survey reveals that 42% of all journeys are under 3.2 km (2 miles) in length. In Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen, 48.5% of journeys to work are under 5km (3 miles). Many of these journeys can be made on foot or by bicycle. We will offer people a choice of travel so that they are not dependent upon their cars for all their journeys. We will offer personalised travel plans in Lancashire, initially through the CiVITAS project in Preston, and will work with schools, colleges and employers to draw up School and Work Travel Plans in which walking and cycling play a prominent role. Where car parking is a constraint on an organisation, we will encourage it to draw up a travel plan to reduce the number of parking spaces required by staff and customers.

We will integrate routes for pedestrians and cyclists with vehicle movements, improving safety and minimising delays for all road users. To do this, we will build on the experience gained from the improvement at the busy Adelphi Junction in the student quarter of Preston, prepared in partnership with the City Council and the University of Central Lancashire. We will look for opportunities to integrate the footway and cycle network with Links to School and School Travel Plans. We will take the opportunity to introduce walking and cycling measures into major programmes and new developments. We will mount travel awareness campaigns under the TravelWise banner to provide travellers with the information to make a better informed choice on their mode of transport. These will also promote understanding of the needs of different highway users and tolerance between them on their journeys.

We will encourage walking and cycling as active travel for their benefits to health. Modal shift away from cars will reduce levels of pollution with further health gains. Fewer cars entering urban centres and seeking a limited number of parking places will improve the environment and the public realm. Towns will be more pleasant for residents and more attractive to employers and visitors.

8.7.1 School Travel Plans

For most pupils, schools are within walking or cycling distance. The DfT survey of 2002 revealed that the average journey to primary school was 1.6 miles and to secondary school 3.6 miles. School trips transferred from car travel will all reduce traffic congestion at peak hours and those transferred to walking and cycling will allow children to introduce exercise into their daily routine.

School Travel Plans offer several benefits to children and to schools and can;

• encourage walking, cycling and use of public transport
• improve health and fitness
• cut traffic pollution and congestion
• help develop road safety skills
• help develop social skills and prepare for independent travel.

They can also provide valuable links to the;

• National Curriculum
• DfES programme of School Travel Plans
• DfT programme of Links to Schools
• Healthy Schools Accreditation and Eco Schools awards
• Every Child Matters: Change for Children reform agenda.

To promote sustainable travel to school, we aim to have a School Travel Plan in every school in Lancashire by 2010. We have a team of School Travel Advisers, funded by the DfES, to work with schools and guide them through the Travel Plan process. A Development Grant is available to help schools prepare their plans. Further funds, School Travel Capital Grants, are payable to schools who receive approval for their plans. These amount to £3,750 + £5 per pupil for Primary Schools and £5,000 + £5 per pupil for Secondary Schools.

We are working with Primary Care Trusts towards the Healthy Schools and wider objectives. A School Travel Plan can also contribute to the self-evaluation at the heart of the Ofsted inspection process by showing commitment to the five outcomes for children and young people set out in the Green Paper Every Child Matters;

• Being healthy
• Staying safe
• Enjoying and achieving
• Making a productive contribution
• Enjoying economic well-being.

8.7.2 Walking

The function of streets and the needs of pedestrians have both been the subject of recent studies, with a number of pilot schemes being carried out in towns across the country. Publications from English Heritage, CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) and Living Streets complement the DfT Action Plan for Walking and Cycling. Improved streetscapes offer more convenient routes to pedestrians; well-planned open spaces provide an attractive focus where people can pause and enjoy the atmosphere. The benefit is increased social activity and less antisocial behaviour. Together, they can make a vital contribution to the prosperity of commercial areas. We will work with District Councils to improve streetscapes and open spaces, and will consider which new proposals can be introduced successfully to Lancashire. The Rights of Way Improvement Plan also identifies types of routes that should receive priority for improvement and the management of information about such routes is important.

Increased pedestrian safety is essential to encourage pedestrian movements. We have been successful in reducing pedestrian accidents and will continue and develop our construction and training programmes to maintain the downward trend. The annual programme of Local Safety Schemes includes a variety of measures to provide safe crossing places for pedestrians, from build outs and refuges to pedestrian phases at traffic signals. Area traffic calming schemes, including 20mph zones and Home Zones, new lengths of footway and Safer Routes to School in conjunction with School Travel Plans are all designed to provide safer conditions for pedestrians.

The annual programme of pedestrian schemes will deliver new footways, pedestrian refuges and pedestrian phases at signal controlled junctions. The Code of Practice on the Coordination of Streetworks currently under consultation proposes that the disruption to pedestrian journeys should be assessed as minor, moderate or severe and the appropriate actions taken. We will follow the advice of the DfT to afford pedestrians both safety and convenience where roadworks take place.

8.7.3 Cycling

Cities in Holland, Germany and Switzerland have shown how cycling can be integrated successfully with other modes of transport, and we are steadily increasing the provision for cyclists in Lancashire's cities and towns.

Our progress is best displayed in Lancaster which has a network of local routes that provides a model for other conurbations. Cycling has built up a momentum in Lancaster. The National Census 2001 reveals that 4.2% of the workforce cycles to work there compared to an average of 2.6% for the whole of Lancashire. The number of staff who cycle to the University is even greater at 11%. The Cycling Demonstration Town project has set the demanding target of doubling cycling in Lancaster. We will work closely with Lancaster to achieve the target. One specific area will be the University and its Travel Plan. We will work together to increase the number of students who cycle to the campus.

Surveys, set out in the Delivering Accessibility chapter, provide the basis for future improvements using the new guidelines Lancashire, the Cyclists' County - Safer Cycling by Design. The annual programme will deliver new routes both on and off road, concentrating on access to employment areas, schools and colleges and essential services. Our CycleAid programme will fund the provision of secure cycle storage at destinations, and facilities for the cyclists too. We will launch new schemes with a ceremony and a leaflet to give them wide publicity. Leaflets on existing routes and area networks will be updated to incorporate new additions. Our demand-responsive bus services are equipped to carry cycles and we will encourage train operators to carry them too.

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