Sustainable Transport Blueprint for Canterbury Lynn Sloman 01654 781358 lynn@transportforqualityoflife.com www.transportforqualityoflife.com
Travel to work by walk, bus, bike, carshare, train: 34% of workers Drive <5km: 24% of drivers People working in five central wards: Westgate, Wincheap, St Stephens, Northgate, Barton Drive to work: 59% of workers Work at home: 4% of workers Drive >5km, start in C bury district: 32% of drivers Drive from outside Canterbury district: 45% of drivers From Dover: 11% of drivers From Thanet: 10% of drivers From Swale: 8% of drivers From Shepway: 6% of drivers From Ashford: 5% of drivers Source: Census 2001 From elsewhere: 5% of drivers
Four priority areas for action: Make Canterbury a cyclefriendly city Make buses normal choice for for trips to to city centre Become a car-share demonstration city + Design in in sustainable travel for for all all new development
Buses: Canterbury s big success story From this (2003): Stagecoach do not see significant potential to improve the network the area is unlikely to provide return on investment (consultants report) To this (2012): It s difficult to separate the contribution of higher frequencies, quality, marketing and information. But if you do all of these properly, you get full buses, and that enables you to put more buses on, and then they fill up too. We haven t reached the point where that stops yet (Stagecoach Commercial Director)
Growth in bus travel in Canterbury (people boarding in city centre) 300% 250% 200% Rapid growth compared to to other British cities 150% 100% 50% 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 bus ticket sales population
To get more motorists to switch, all the barriers to bus travel must be tackled
OBJECTIVE BARRIERS KNOWLEDGE BARRIERS Bus services infrequent Traffic delays = late buses & unpredictable journey Out-of-centre retail parks require change of buses Driving seems cheaper Don t know when / how often buses run Timetables hard to understand 10-minute frequency on more routes Bus lanes where traffic is congested No more retail development in cardependent locations Peg parking charges to cost of bus travel Promote buses with easy timetables + free taster tickets SOCIAL NORM HABIT BARRIER Driving seen as normal Buses have 2nd class image Established routines for driving BARRIERS Senior Canterbury opinion-formers pledge to use the bus Improve quality of vehicles and bus stops 16-19 Freedom Pass for young people who delay driving test SOLUTIONS
Cambridgeshire guided bus Opened Summer 2011 Frequent: 17 buses between 7.30 & 8.30am Reliable Fast High quality buses (leather seats, wifi)
Cambridgeshire guided bus Easy-to-understand Hugely popular with users (2.5 million passengers in first year, 43% above forecast) Attracting former car-drivers
Canterbury could be the perfect Cycling City Compact Mostly flat Eastern side of Britain, so low rainfall Several universities Lots of short trips Some good cycle routes Strong cycling advocacy group
Cycling Demonstration Towns project shows that if you invest in cycling, more people do it 150% Any city that invests to encourage cycling will succeed 140% 130% 120% 110% Exeter Lancaster 100% 90% 80% 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
OBJECTIVE BARRIER No safe quiet route for the journey I make SOLUTION: High quality continuous signature routes for all main radial corridors Aylesbury Seville(!) Brighton
OBJECTIVE BARRIER The cycle route gives out and dumps me just when I need it most SOLUTION: Advanced stop lines and cycle crossings at main roads Edinburgh. Credit: Tony Russell The AA Edinburgh: Tony Russell
OBJECTIVE BARRIER There s nowhere secure to park at my destination SOLUTION: Cycle parking at key destinations including employers and shops Cleary Stevens Consulting London: TfL
OBJECTIVE BARRIER I don t own a bike! SOLUTION: Bike loan scheme so you can try before you buy
KNOWLEDGE BARRIER I don t know where the cycle routes go! SOLUTION: Widely distributed cycle maps + comprehensive cycle route signage
SOCIAL NORM BARRIER All my colleagues drive to work cycling is a bit weird isn t it?! SOLUTION: Workplace Cycle Challenge encourage everyone to give cycling a go
Canterbury: Britain s first Car-Share Demonstration City? Driving from Dover to Canterbury costs 1500 a year in petrol and maintenance Sharers could make significant savings 17 car commuting hotspots around Canterbury (wards outside the district from which over 100 commuters drive into Canterbury) Intensive promotion of Kent Journey Share in these places could cut car use
Encourage efficient car use for commuting Charge and Reward incentive for car-sharing and sustainable modes Travel for Work Partnership to help Canterbury employers reduce car commuting
Five principles for the Local Plan to cut traffic Avoid development in car-dependent locations Compact development = less car use Local shops and services = less car use Public transport-centred development = less car use Put major employment sites (and high skill knowledge economy employers) at public transport hubs
How location influences car use Bicester Bicester Witney Witney Didcot Didcot Botley Botley Kidlington Kidlington 0 50 100 150 200 weekly car driver mileage per resident (work and other trips) 50 70 90 % trips to work by car estate close to motorway junction not near Oxford or convenient for train travel estate near train station estates with frequent bus services to Oxford Source: Curtis 1996
Compact development increases public transport use source: Cervero 2004
Households with: No car: 40% 1 car: 48% 2+ cars: 12% 2001 Census Canterbury Super- Output Area 015D (Best Lane area) Households with: No car: 15% 1 car: 45% 2+ cars: 41% 2001 Census Canterbury Super- Output Area 012A (Blean)
Local facilities reduce need to travel People living near a local centre will (sometimes!) use local shops / services rather than travelling further The closer the local centre, the more likely that people will walk: <1km, 82% of trips by foot / bike 1-1.6km, 47% of trips by foot / bike Key facilities: food shops, newsagents, post office / cash point, childcare, primary school, health centre, chemist, cafés / restaurants, open space / play area Cold Bath Road, Harrogate. Photo credit: Gordon Hatton www.geograph.org.uk
Public transport-centred development in Freiburg Vauban, new 38 ha suburb of Freiburg Housing at 90-100 dwellings per hectare 600 jobs District of short distances with local shops / services Tram to city centre every 5 minutes 16% of trips made by car VAUBAN
Major employment sites at public transport hubs Employers needing many highly-skilled people (e.g. in knowledge economy ) draw from large area Professional occupations travel twice as far to work as those in unskilled jobs (Scottish Household Survey) Wincheap Industrial Estate Ideal knowledge economy Business & Technology Hub? Next to Canterbury East station Low land-take for parking, as next to P&R Guided busway through the site to bypass Wincheap congestion? (not A2 off slip)
Summary There is terrific potential to make Canterbury a city of sustainable travel This would build on what has already been achieved for bus services but go much further It would re-focus all Canterbury s efforts on buses, bikes and car-sharing The Local Plan can greatly help Everyone has a role to play (the councils, bus operators, C4B, Canterbury Society, C4CA, Spokes, universities, employers) It is possible to cut Canterbury s car-induced pollution and congestion and make it work better Creating a delightful, healthful, economically efficient, environmentally-friendly city
Questions What needs to happen next to carry these ideas forwards? What needs to happen to obtain funds to realise these measures? What needs to happen to build support for this Blueprint?