2.4 Linking our Objectives to our Actions

This LTP is set out under the headings of the shared transport priorities of national and Local Government, together with a list of Other Quality of Life Issues. Lancashire has therefore set seven key objectives for the LTP which will enable us to meet both the shared transport priorities and the wider social and economic objectives of the County Council. How our seven objectives are mapped onto the four national objectives can be seen here in Table 2.4;

Table 2.4

Lancashire LTP Objectives	Shared Transport Priorities
	Delivering Accessibility	Better Air Quality	Tackling Congestion	Safer Roads
Reduce road casualties
Improve access to jobs and services
Improve air quality
Improve the condition of transport infrastructure
Reduce delays on journeys
Increase journeys by bus and rail
Increase active travel

Congestion and air quality issues are more prominent in our urban areas, while accessibility, especially in relation to distance to key services, is particularly of concern in peripheral urban and rural areas. Road safety is a universal concern, although specific road safety problems can vary markedly by area.

2.4.1 Through consultation on the LTP2 and individual projects and schemes, we have identified the main problems experienced by our local communities. We have been able to ascertain the key opportunities available to solve the problems to deliver a better quality of life to local communities.

Figure 2.4.1

2.4.2 Economic Issues and Social Inclusion

A key element of accessibility is to improve social inclusion by ensuring that people can get to key services at a reasonable cost, in reasonable time and with reasonable ease. Problems of time and distance mainly occur in our extensive rural areas where the time taken to reach key services is a concern for those without access to a car. Public transport is not affordable to many for the following reasons;

• over 10% of the Lancashire population earn less than £210 a week
• Lancashire has several Super Output Areas (SOAs) that are among the most deprived in the UK
• economic activity is lower in East Lancashire than in the rest of the county.

From a transport perspective, the residents of areas suffering from economic decline experience poor access to services and difficulties getting to;

• places of employment
• education and skills training
• healthcare
• retail and commercial services.

2.4.3 Access to Employment

A recent Government survey carried out as part of the New Deal initiative showed that the single biggest obstacle to finding a new job among the young unemployed was transport. A recent study showed that employers in the Preston & South Ribble districts are having problems recruiting and retaining staff where accessibility is poor. Recruitment problems are particularly acute in key service areas, including health and transport services. For example, bus companies in Lancashire are reporting difficulties in recruiting and retaining bus drivers.

• New routes in the Preston bus network will serve deprived areas such as Ribbleton, providing direct links to services - Preston College, Royal Preston Hospital, shopping centres and the new employment areas in North East Preston.
• The Blackpool-Fleetwood Tramway is an important public transport corridor along the Fylde Coast as well as being a vital asset to the local tourism economy. The infrastructure and rolling stock now need replacement and Lancashire and Blackpool Councils have submitted a joint Major Scheme bid to upgrade it as the Fylde Coast Rapid Transit.
• Fleetwood will have improved accessibility to essential services as a result of the new Fleetwood-St Annes Quality Bus Corridor. Easy access low floor buses will take passengers to all essential services, including healthcare at the recently extended Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
• The Chorley Connect Kickstart bus network will increase accessibility to employment, healthcare and essential services in Chorley. It will provide better links to disadvantaged areas of Chorley, joining them to Chorley Interchange and the town centre, the Regional Investment Site at Buckshaw and Chorley Hospital.
• The extensive Personalised Travel Planning in Lancaster is designed to increase use of the pedestrian, cycling and public transport infrastructure now in place. It will demonstrate that sustainable transport options can enhance personal mobility and improve accessibility, particularly on the congested corridor that serves the employment area of White Lund.
• Nelson Interchange will be a multi-modal interchange with a difference. Not only is it bringing together local bus and rail services, but an innovative manned cycle store will provide around-the-clock security for public transport users and cyclists and their property.

2.4.4 Access to Health Care

Our LTP1 provided the best possible start for us and LTP2 shows how we are aiming even higher to improve the quality of life for people in Lancashire. Accessibility to a full range of services is vital and is a priority for Lancashire. Problems occur not only in our rural areas but also in our urban areas, and particularly for those without a car, when services are concentrated at larger but fewer sites. Through our analysis of accessibility planning data, public consultation and work with partners, we have identified areas requiring improvement and these have been prioritised in this LTP2. We have begun working in partnership with our NHS Trusts to ensure better access to their wide range of facilities, and are working particularly closely with the NHS Hospital and Primary Care Trusts which serve the County. Because of the nature of healthcare we have already begun liaison with NHS Trusts to set up cross boundary services.

• Skelmersdale will benefit from the new Quality Bus Route linking the town to Wigan, Ormskirk and Southport. This will improve access to hospitals in Ormskirk and Southport, extend the opportunities for employment and link the town to the West Coast Mainline at Wigan.
• We are working with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to improve access to Preston and Chorley Hospitals. This work is our contribution to the European transport project Optimum 2.
• Our LTP1 tested methods to improve accessibility to health services including Wyldefyre, a Dial-a-Ride bus service linking rural areas to local health centres and hospital facilities. Our LTP2 goes further and extends those services.

2.4.5 Education

Lancashire has a well educated population. However analysis carried out as part of our accessibility planning has identified several areas where we have chosen to target transport improvements at accessibility to educational facilities. Working in partnership with bus operators, educational establishments, careers advisory services and employment agencies, we have designed a range of measures to bring people closer to the range of educational facilities they need. We have prioritised our long list of improvements to select those which provide the greatest benefits.

• To complement the Government programme ‘Building Schools for the Future’, an extensive range of transport improvements has been planned for the new schools to be built in Burnley. We have been working in partnership with Burnley Borough Council, ELEVATE and education authorities to ensure maximum benefit. The measures will link the new schools to the ELEVATE housing renewal areas which are currently being developed across Burnley.
• New bus services in Preston, Chorley, Fylde and Wyre will provide new connections between residential areas and schools and colleges, as well healthcare and other services.

2.4.6 Air Quality

In areas where road traffic contributes to poor air quality, local transport improvement will be targeted at measures to improve air quality.

• The Clayton le Moors Area Package is an innovative mix of measures designed to reduce traffic through a severely capacity-restrained junction which has extremely poor air quality and is in the immediate vicinity of three schools. Improvements to the existing Quality Bus corridor, footpaths and road junction, and a joint school travel planfor the three schools, will improve air quality as well as accessibility to local education facilities.
• Tardy Gate (Lostock Hall) is a pedestrianised local retail and service centre which suffers from poor air quality. This is caused predominantly by traffic on the adjacent road travelling to Preston City Centre and queuing at traffic signals at peak times. It was designated an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in 2005 following consultation. The centre is served by local bus and rail routes and has limited highway capacity. A package of public transport improvements will enhance the use of Tardy Gate's assets and improve accessibility and air quality.

Other schemes which have benefited from this methodology are identified in the individual District chapters and programmes.

2.4.7 Climate Change

Average temperatures have risen by approximately 1.3 Celsius degrees since the Industrial Revolution, with six of the seven warmest years since 1772 occurring since 1990. Emissions of greenhouse gases are accepted as the cause of this increase. While changing techniques, increased efficiency and a decline in manufacturing have decreased emissions from other major sources, road transport emissions have increased by over 10%. This is despite technological changes that have increased fuel efficiency, and reflects the increased volume of road transport. In Lancashire, transport contributes over 15% of the total emissions.

In the future, climate change could potentially cause problems in terms of highway and footway maintenance. The hot dry weather experienced during the ‘extraordinary’ summer of 2003 caused an increased amount of damage to road surfaces in Lancashire, particularly the moss roads of Wyre, Fylde and West Lancashire which required significant additional expenditure to repair. Rising temperatures will further accelerate the deterioration of the county’s roads, resulting in poorer quality surfaces for all users of highways and footways.

2.4.8 Noise

Transport-related noise is an increasingly important quality of life issue for many communities. The number of complaints about noise has been rising since records began in the 1970s. It is the most frequently cited irritant and is a major source of disturbance to numerous people.

Vehicle tyres are a source of traffic noise and the nature of the wearing course of the road greatly affects the level of noise produced. Where roads are resurfaced, the wearing course will be selected to reduce noise levels. Lancashire has employed thin bituminous layers in many resurfacing schemes to reduce noise.

• Pendle Environmental Improvements; The M65 motorway terminates in Pendle giving rise to significant levels of traffic on local roads. Noise and air quality monitoring is required in Colne to assess the impact of traffic on the local population and environment. Resurfacing of the M65 with appropriate surfaces to reduce local noise is seen as a priority.

2.4.9 Congestion and the Rise in Car Use

Left unchecked, traffic levels in Lancashire are likely to increase as new developments planned for the area are completed, potentially leading to increased congestion. Two contributing factors are the high level of economic growth around central Lancashire and the increase in through-traffic on the M6 North-South Corridor. This economic growth has resulted in increased prosperity and an increase in car ownership, with a corresponding increase in the number of journeys by car and distance travelled to work. Congestion is having a significant impact in Lancashire, as shown by the following;

• 65% of Lancashire residents travel to work by car, compared to 61% nationally
• traffic congestion increases journey times for all road users
• traffic congestion delays buses, making them less reliable and less attractive.
• traffic congestion can lead to lower air quality
• increasing levels of traffic can lead to an increased risk of accidents for pedestrians and cyclists
• increased traffic flows and the presence of goods vehicles deter cycling and walking.

These factors can, in turn, lead to more people travelling by car and result in increased congestion, creating a vicious circle. Future traffic growth and congestion are of equal concern; the plans for a significant number of  additional dwellings in Lancashire over the next decade will put increased pressure on the County’s transport network. Our integrated transport programme will help us to manage future traffic growth and congestion. Measures in the LTP include;

• the Congestion Targets and Urban Centre Targets set in this LTP2, which will be rigorously monitored to help us manage traffic growth and congestion associated with it
• a greater emphasis on promoting more sustainable forms of transport, particularly for journeys to work and to school, and ambitious targets for public transport and trips by cycle. These will be coupled with the extensive plans under CIVITAS in Preston and South Ribble to discourage unnecessary car journeys and encourage walking, cycling and public transport use.
• a re-examination of policies on demand management including management of decriminalised parking through Parkwise. This is being carried out in collaboration with the District Councils to achieve shared strategies and common standards, and ensure that they fully contribute to the achievement of our targets.

2.4.10 Road Safety

Through its broad programme of schemes, Lancashire has successfully established a downward trend in casualties, whilst traffic has increased by over 25% over the same period. We achieved the national target reduction for slightly injured casualties in 2003 and will continue current programmes to maintain the downward trend and to achieve the targets for fatal and serious injury accidents in advance of 2010.

Lancashire committed itself to a more demanding target for reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured. The Local Public Service Agreement set an extended target of saving a further 89 killed or seriously injured casualties per year over the period from 2003 to 2005 which we have now achieved.

Table 2.4.10 Lytham Town Centre

Personal Injury Accidents	1999 from July	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004 to June	Total
Fatal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Serious	1	0	0	1	2	0	4
Slight	1	6	6	8	3	4	28
Total	2	6	6	9	5	4	32

Lancashire has an annual programme of Local Safety Schemes prioritised to prevent Personal Injury Accidents. The schemes meet the objectives of the LTP2 to reduce road casualties and improve access to jobs and services. A scheme has been developed to meet problems in Lytham, where an accident study revealed a cluster of Personal Injury Accidents on Church Road and Park Street in Lytham town centre; see above table. Five accidents involved cyclists and four involved pedestrians. The nature of the accidents has been analysed and a scheme has been drawn up reduce the speed of vehicles, to make turning movements safer and to improve street crossings for pedestrians. The works will save an estimated 1.5 Personal Injury Accidents per year, equivalent to 2.3 casualties per year. Based on the estimated cost of £25,000 at June 2003 prices, this represents a first year rate of return of 503%.

2.4.11 Perception of safety

There is a growing fear among parents regarding the safety of children on the journey to school. Nationally, up to 20% of morning peak hour traffic consists of such journeys; in most cases a distance of less than two miles. As the number of children travelling to school without adult supervision has declined from 80% 20 years ago to less than 10% today, so the proportion of morning peak hour traffic made up of parents taking their children to school has risen. This has contributed to increased traffic congestion, pollution, reduced fitness of children and the lack of opportunity for children to acquire road sense or cycling skills.

One aspect of this is the fear for personal safety. Crime and the fear of crime within the transport network act as barriers to increased levels of public transport, walking and cycling. Addressing crime and the fear of crime around sustainable transport can also help to improve accessibility and reduce congestion. Aspects of personal safety  which concern people include;

• security on buses and trains
• car security
• cycle security and
• pedestrian safety.

The British Crime Survey reveals that fear of crime is particularly pronounced in women, especially those over the age of 60; nearly one in three feel ‘very unsafe’ compared with less that one in five women of all ages. Through continual collection and analysis of data and communication with our partners, we have identified a large number of improvements we can make to improve perceptions of safety. The following are examples of planned improvements;

• the Safer Travel Unit will offer greater coverage and partnership support for bus operators to tackle anti-social behaviour on their vehicles.
• Leyland Railway Station improvements include both access and safety measures including better access for disabled passengers to the platforms and CCTV for greater personal security
• a package of improvements in West Lancashire including;
  • improved links between Ormskirk railway and bus station
  • refurbishment of Parbold station Phase 2
  • improvements at Upholland station
  • new Public Address systems at Burscough, Croston and Rufford stations
  • a train reporting system, TRUST, based at at Rufford

2.4.12 Managing our Transport Assets

Lancashire has a large network of highways and a corresponding inventory of structures, street lighting and highway furniture. We will improve the management of our highway assets by establishing Area Offices. This will place our teams closer to the communities and allow greater local engagement.

Lancashire County Council is responsible for more than 6,000 kilometres of roads in the county. Lancashire has a proven excellent record of long-term stewardship of the network and the Transport Asset Management Plan will provide a framework to plan expenditure effectively in the future. Over the last ten years, with the growth of the Central Lancashire Sub-Region, there has been significant growth in the number of Large Goods Vehicles (LGVs). The proportion of LGV traffic on roads in the county is above the national average and development planned for the county is likely to result in rising traffic levels. In recent years it has become increasingly difficult to prevent a deterioration in the condition of much of the network despite support for the highway maintenance allocation from our own resources.

Lancashire also maintains a large inventory of structures - 1449 bridges and 324 kilometres of retaining wall - and we monitor the Bridge Stock Condition Indicator carefully. We have been instrumental in drawing up the Code of Practice for Management of Highway Structures issued in 2005 and are already working to many of the principles it lays down. Using the system of Value Management developed by the Highways Agency, our aim is to raise the value of the Bridge Stock Condition Indicator to the range defined as Good, However, the recent allocations for bridge maintenance have not been sufficient to arrest the downward trend of the condition of bridges.

The quality of roads, cycleways and footpaths is extremely important in promoting cycling and walking. Roads and footpaths that are difficult to negotiate make it more difficult for people to access key services. We have been working with our local partners to identify areas of the network which would benefit most from improvement and we will implement schemes to improve access for pedestrians, cyclists and vulnerable road users;

• Accrington Town Centre; Footway improvements and signing will encourage trips into the town centre on foot and by cycle. Extensive signing as part of the BikeAid local programme will increase awareness and confidence.

• Whitefield and Bradley Housing Market Renewal Area (Pendle); The HMR area is in a deprived neighbourhood and better pedestrian links to the newly extended Quality Bus corridor are seen as a local priority. Highway works will improve footways and create low speed zones around the residential areas, improving local connections, safety and the public realm.

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