Durham Sustainable Transport Plan
ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES REPORT
Final Report
04/11/2015
JMP Consultants Ltd
Durham Sustainable Transport Plan
ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES REPORT
Final Report
04/11/2015
Report Record JMP Consultants Ltd 100 Wellington Street Job No. Report No. Issue No. Prepared Verified Approved Status Date Leeds NEA6139 1 2 AL/OH/EA EA MJR Final 04/11/2015 LS1 1BA
Contents Amendments Record T 0113 397 9740 E [email protected] Issue No. Revision description Approved Status Date www.jmp.co.uk 1 Draft Report MJR Draft 22/10/2015 [email protected] 2 Final report incorporating minor amendments MJR Final 04/11/2015 facebook.com/jmp.consultants twitter.com/#!/_jmp linkedin.com/company/jmp consulting
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Contents Durham City strategic cycle routes – STAKEHOLDER VIEWS 61 Transport Initiatives 2015 ...... 16 Introduction ...... 61 INTRODUCTION 6 Cycling for health and active travel – Helme Stakeholder perspectives ...... 61 Park 2014 ...... 18 Durham Sustainable Transport Strategy ...... 6 This report ...... 6 A LEGACY IN IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT Stakeholder involvement ...... 6 MEASURES 19 Tables Structure of the report ...... 6 Background ...... 19 LSTF South Durham Local Motion to work . 19 Table 1 City visitor attractions and visitors POLICY CONTEXT 7 (2012)...... 22 Introduction ...... 7 lstf living streets ‘walk to’ programme ...... 20 Table 2 Key employment sites...... 23 The planning context for this strategy ...... 8 Bus improvements ...... 20 Table 3 Mode share of method of travel to work 26 County Durham Sustainable community Shared space and vehicle restrictions ...... 21 strategy 2014-2030 ...... 8 Table 4 East-west movements...... 26 JOURNEY PURPOSE ANALYSIS 22 County DurhaM Regeneration Statement Table 5 Key education sites in Durham City...... 26 Tourism ...... 22 2012-30 ...... 8 Table 6 Approximate bus flows per direction on Employment and education ...... 23 Growth and transport plans in the key city centre roads...... 43 Regeneration Statement ...... 9 Resident profiling ...... 28 Table 7 Bus frequencies per hour to key destinations per hour (one way)...... 44 Local transport Plan 3 (ltp3) 2011 ...... 10 ANALYSIS OF TRAVEL BY MODE 30 Table 8 Bus services to Belmont Business Park 44 Durham city integrated transport Approch .. 11 Walking ...... 30 Table 9 Cathedral bus routes...... 45 Durham cycle strategy and Action Plan 2012- Cycling ...... 35 2015 ...... 14 Table 10 Park and Ride sites...... 45 Bus ...... 41 Air quality strategies ...... 14 Table 11 Park and Ride journey time to city Rail ...... 51 centre...... 45 county durham Joint Health and Wellbeing Cars and Car Parking ...... 53 strategy ...... 15 Table 12 Cathedral bus journeys in 2014...... 50 Taxis and car club ...... 58 Annual report of public health for county Table 13 Park and Ride occupancy (2014)...... 50 durham 2012/13 ...... 15 Disabled users ...... 59 Table 14 Durham Railway Station services...... 51 Tourism policy ...... 16 Table 15 Direct key rail destinations...... 51
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Table 16 City centre car parking...... 55 Figure 6 Durham Strategic Cycle Routes by Figure 24 Serious accidents and clusters of classification...... 17 accidents...... 40 Table 17 City centre car parking charges...... 56 Figure 7 Local Motion to work Scheme area...... 20 Figure 25 Arriva bus map...... 41 Table 18 Railway station parking charges...... 56 Figure 8 Key tourist attractions...... 23 Figure 26 GNE bus route map...... 42 Table 19 Historic city car parking benchmarking...... 56 Figure 9 Employment and education sites...... 24 Figure 27 City centre bus frequencies (both directions combined)...... 43 Table 20 Parking at key employment sites...... 57 Figure 10 Incoming and outgoing commuters to Durham City...... 25 Figure 28 Sniperley Park and Ride...... 45 Table 21 Weekday coach parking accumulation...... 58 Figure 11 Durham City student population by Figure 29 Park and Ride route and stops...... 46 MSOA...... 27 Table 22 Locations and operating times of taxi Figure 30 Durham Park and Ride routes...... 47 ranks...... 58 Figure 12 Percentage of none car ownership in Durham City...... 28 Figure 31 Durham Bus Station...... 48 Table 23 Disabled bays in city centre car parks...... 58 Figure 13 Percentage of poor or very poor Figure 32 Eastbound Leazes Road stop...... 49 health in Durham City...... 28 Table 24 Walking SWOT analysis...... 71 Figure 33 County Durham bus journeys...... 49 Figure 14 Environmental awareness in Durham 29 Table 25 Cycling SWOT analysis...... 72 Figure 34 2014 monthly passenger variation...... 50 Figure 15 Walking journey times to the Market Table 26 Public transport SWOT analysis...... 73 Place...... 30 Figure 35 Approximate morning peak vehicle flows across Durham City...... 54 Table 27 Roads and traffic SWOT analysis...... 74 Figure 16 Pedestrian infrastructure in Durham.... 31 Figure 36 City centre car parking...... 55 Figure 17 Leazes Bowl junction...... 32 Figure 37 Locations of car club cars...... 59 Figure 18 Aykley Heads and Arnison Centre Figures walking routes...... 33 Figure 38 Signage showing accessible routes, Station Approach...... 59 Figure 19 Pedestrian accidents...... 34 Figure 1 Transport infrastructure in Durham City 10 Figure 39 Shared space area, Saddler Street...... 60 Figure 20 Cycling journey times to Figure 2 County Durham Proposed Super Cycle Market Place...... 35 Routes...... 12 Figure 21 Cycle infrastructure in Durham...... 36 Figure 3 Durham City UTC schemes...... 13 Figure 22 New Elvet and Framwellgate Bridge.... 37 Figure 4 Durham City 2014 AQMA...... 14 Figure 23 Unsheltered cycle parking at Claypath 39 Figure 5 Site audit locations...... 17
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Introduction
the City as it develops its transport provision over The legacy of previous investment in DURHAM SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT the next 15 years. sustainable transport in Durham City; STRATEGY A review of evidence on demographics, and the composition of people travelling into and The Durham Sustainable Transport Strategy STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT within the City; seeks to address the City’s transport challenges In seeking to understand the issues and A review of evidence of existing transport and support the City’s local economic needs over opportunities to be addressed within the patterns by mode; the next 15 years. County Durham has a strong Sustainable Transport Strategy for Durham City, A narrative on the views and perspectives of ambition for the future of its communities, JMP met with a broad range of stakeholders. This stakeholders; including Durham City, encapsulated in the engagement included one-to-one meetings with Sustainable Community Strategy for County selected stakeholders representing a broad range Analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, Durham . The sustainable transport strategy will of employers and businesses, transport providers, opportunities and threats presented for help deliver this ambition for Durham City, as it retail interests, transport operators, and sustainable transport in Durham. seeks to develop a transport system that helps campaigners. A half-day stakeholder workshop people become more active, walking and cycling involved a wider constituency representing a more often; that promotes more use of cleaner, similar range of interests, with around thirty greener public transport; and that provides a participants. Finally, some on-street interviews catalyst for reducing the impact of motor vehicles sought views from a broad range of people on the on people’s lives in Durham; on road safety, on streets of Durham, including residents, workers, local air quality, and on the built environment of students, and visitors. the City. The outcomes of this engagement process form a
chapter within this report. THIS REPORT This report presents the background and context STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT to the development of the strategy, and complements the Strategy report. The report In the sections that follow, JMP will outline: outlines the evidence that supports the strategy The policy context and background that development, and distils the pertinent strengths informs the development of the Sustainable and weaknesses of Durham’s transport networks; Transport Strategy; and identifies opportunities and threats that face
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Policy Context
INTRODUCTION The following policy documents have been reviewed in detail to provide background information to provide the context in which the Sustainable Transport Strategy has been formulated: Sustainable community strategy for County Durham 2014-30 Durham County Council Regeneration Statement 2012-30 Durham City Regeneration Masterplan
County Durham Local Transport Plan 3 Durham City Integrated Transport Approach Durham Cycle Strategy and Action Plan
2012-2015 County Durham Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy Annual Report of Public Health for County Durham 2012/2013 Durham City Strategic Cycle Routes Cycling for health and active travel report Key findings from each are presented in the following section.
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THE PLANNING CONTEXT FOR THIS Altogether greener STRATEGY Within the ‘altogether wealthier’ theme, there is the Paramount within these aims with respect to this aspiration for a ‘thriving Durham City’ (exploiting Sustainable Transport Strategy is the aim that Taken together, the Sustainable Community the city’s potential as a major visitor destination); directly supports the growth of the Durham City Strategy and the Regeneration Statement form the creating ‘vibrant and successful towns’ throughout economy: basis for key plans in the future of Durham. These County Durham and developing County Durham include strategies such as the Local Transport as a ‘top location for business’. Plan, the Housing Strategy, and Business, Thriving Durham City Enterprise and Skills Strategy, as well as future Transport is central to achieving many of these Exploit the City’s potential as a major statutory plans such as the Durham Local Plan, objectives. Indeed the Sustainable Community retail, business and residential centre, and provide the overarching context within which Strategy identifies that investment in housing, academic hub and visitor destination; this Sustainable Transport Strategy is being infrastructure, employment, retail, leisure, Deliver the cultural and tourism ambitions developed. education and health will be supported by for the City which will benefit the entire investment in transport to improve access to County. COUNTY DURHAM SUSTAINABLE employment sites. Transport also has a vital role to play in delivering COMMUNITY STRATEGY 2014-2030 COUNTY DURHAM REGENERATION a number of the other aims, in particular: The Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) is the STATEMENT 2012-30 overarching plan providing a vision for the future of Sustainable Neighbourhoods and Rural County Durham. The SCS focuses on the Alongside the Sustainable Community Strategy, Communities realisation of two principal aims for County the County Durham Regeneration Statement, Establish communities where people live, Durham: which underpins the ‘altogether wealthier’ strand can live and want to live; of the SCS, provides useful context to the An altogether better place economic development of Durham City. The five Improve the housing offer, narrowing the Altogether better for people aims of the Regeneration Statement are to create: deprivation and inequalities gap between communities; The SCS proposes that these aims are met Vibrant and successful towns; through realising the following five priority themes: Improve equality of access to Sustainable neighbourhoods and rural employment and services. Altogether wealthier communities; Altogether better for children and young Competitive and successful people; people Altogether healthier A top location for business; Altogether safer A thriving Durham City.
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A Top Location for Business Local Plan, but this ambition within the the congested A167 whilst also providing Regeneration Statement outlines the potential for relief to the junction at Neville’s Cross. Create the right environment for growth, and underscores the need for investment The Regeneration Statement notes that this new innovation and growth; in transport to cater for the movement needs that infrastructure ‘will be developed in conjunction with will emerge. Promote County Durham as an attractive significant investment in public transport, park and economic location for investment. The Regeneration Statement explicitly ride, cycleways and pedestrian links.’ acknowledges this need to ‘improve efficiency of To complement the economic growth of Durham transport services and traffic management within GROWTH AND TRANSPORT PLANS IN City outlined, the Regeneration Statement also and around Durham City’ and to ‘develop the THE REGENERATION STATEMENT identifies that complementary improvements to the transport infrastructure required to support the overall retail offer in the City need to be The Regeneration Statement identifies that additional jobs and homes in and around the City’. encouraged. Some of the actions in the Durham City is itself an economic asset and the In terms of the wider transport needs of Durham Regeneration Statement have already been World Heritage Site is at the centre of its City, the Regeneration Statement notes that delivered in this respect, with a Business distinctiveness. However, the limited scale and ‘current transport modelling shows that the Improvement District having already been offer of the City as an employment and population existing road network in Durham City is nearing established in Durham City. centre prevents it from playing a much bigger role capacity. Traffic growth will inevitably make this in the County’s economy. It is identified that the situation significantly worse.’ The Regeneration City needs a critical mass of employment, Statement acknowledges that ‘public transport and population and visitors to build on opportunities other improvements would partially alleviate the and become a City of regional, national and congestion problems’ but concludes that ‘a major international significance. infrastructure solution is required’. Key deliverables to facilitate this role include core Two new relief road proposals are consequently business developments within Durham City (at identified within the Regeneration Statement: Aykley Heads, Freemans Reach former ice rink site, Millburngate House, and North Road), a a Northern Relief Road to provide an housing offer that complements economic growth, alternative route from the A1 corridor to a visitor offer that encourages visitors to stay the north and west of the City Centre, longer, together with the associated infrastructure and a measure of relief to the already needed to support this growth. This will include congested section of the A690 crossing sustainable transport infrastructure. the River Wear at Milburngate; How these economic growth and housing a Western Relief Road to provide an proposals are taken forward, and the details on alternative route from the A690 and the location and scale will be the subject of a future A691 on the west of Durham and relieve
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Figure 1 Transport infrastructure in Durham City LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN 3 (LTP3) 2011 The Durham Local Transport Plan 3 (LTP3) provides further detail on policies to encourage more journeys by sustainable modes across County Durham. The structure of the plan reflects five strategic transport goals which were developed by the DfT, plus an additional sixth goal relating to maintenance: Support economic growth; Reduce carbon emissions;
Promote equality of opportunity; Contribute to better safety, security and health;
Improve quality of life and a healthy natural environment;
Maintenance of the transport asset.
The LTP3 identifies five key economic and transport corridors, three of which travel through Durham City. These follow existing links and patterns of employment. These routes include the A167 route to the north of the city and the A690 which travels east to west through the centre of
the city over Milburngate Bridge.
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Strategy and interventions Reducing the need to travel through change travel habits, as begun in the ‘ Local focusing growth in the most sustainable Motion’ project; The LTP3 strategy includes several policies which and accessible locations; are targeted towards reduced car use, through Improving Travel Information both before and both incentivising sustainable modes and Providing alternatives to the private car during the journey; discouraging car travel including: through behaviour change and Incorporating bus, pedestrian and cycle links infrastructure projects; into Strategic Development Sites. Corridor-based improvements; Managing traffic to mitigate traffic growth Demand management through parking- around the city. Walking and cycling infrastructure related measures; The DITA identifies that Durham City will build on Promoting active and sustainable school Reducing the need to travel its foundations as a compact location which results travel; The DITA recognises that by focusing a large in a high demand for walking. It is recognised that Workplace travel plans; proportion of County Durham’s housing growth in the city has low levels of cycling. However it is anticipated that new development and Bus travel improvements; Durham City, the need to travel by car will be reduced compared with a pattern of dispersed infrastructure will provide a basis for a growth in Improved public transport information; development sites. cycling. The DITA identifies the following Transport interchange improvements. schemes will serve to improve the walking and Providing alternatives to the private car cycling offer in County Durham: DURHAM CITY INTEGRATED The DITA addresses changing travel behaviour Cycling Super Routes are to link the county’s key towns. The location of these proposed TRANSPORT APPROCH through continuing and improving existing measures and the implementation of new links are displayed in Figure; Increased space for walkers and cyclists on Background measures. Key behaviour change programmes referenced in the DITA are as follows: Milburngate Bridge; The Durham Integrated Transport Approach Promoting Smarter Choices through Opening up the Riverside to create a more (DITA) was created in 2013 with the purpose of behaviour change schemes such as the pedestrian-friendly environment; demonstrating ‘Transport mobility by all modes is ‘Local Motion’ package of sustainable Addressing severance issues for walkers and a credible option for the residents travelling in, out measures; cyclists on the A690 and A167. and across Durham City.’ The document was prepared as part of the evidence base for the Workplace Travel Planning; emerging Local Plan at that time. The DITA is School Travel Planning; structured around three aims: Individualised Travel Marketing (ITM) providing personalised travel information to
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Figure 2 County Durham Proposed Super Cycle Bus services and infrastructure
Routes Durham has delivered multiple bus improvement projects in recent years, including bus stop improvements and investment in Real Time Information. Services have been enhanced or introduced including the three park and ride site and the cathedral bus. The DITA also outlines a number of further improvements which are either underway or proposed for implementation in the near future: Further bus stop improvements;
Durham Bus Station relocation; Bus priority as part of UTC improvements;
Transit 15 bus priority improvements; Locating future development in close proximity to bus services and infrastructure. The Transit 15 scheme will make highway improvements to reduce the impact of congestion on bus journey times.
Private hire and coaches Private Hire services reduce the need for car ownership and provide onward connections from public transport services. Coaches are also important given their importance to tourism in the City. The DITA therefore commits to supporting these modes and to invest in facilities as necessary.
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Rail services and infrastructure DITA. These include the two proposed relief roads and various junction improvements. Durham station provides important inter-regional links. Recent investment has improved the waiting environment and also delivered improved bus links Figure 3 Durham City UTC schemes and cycle parking. Future improvements to the station and rail network will include: Improved links to the station from Aykley Heads and enhanced cycle connectivity between the rail station and city centre; Extended platforms to cater for the new intercity express trains; Durham County Council will continue to explore options for reopening the Leamside Line from Durham City to Gateshead to relieve pressure on main line capacity.
Managing traffic
Urban Traffic Control
Urban Traffic Control (UTC) schemes will improve flows for all vehicles throughout the city and provide more reliable journey times for bus passengers. Current proposals will enhance nine critical junctions across the network. This includes key city centre junctions at Gilesgate and Leazes Bowl. The UTC schemes within the city are displayed in Figure 3. Highway improvements
The DITA recognises that improvements to encourage active travel and bus use will have only a limited impact on long-term car use. Highway improvements are therefore also included in the
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DURHAM CYCLE STRATEGY AND AIR QUALITY STRATEGIES Development of cycle-ways across Durham ACTION PLAN 2012-2015 city that link to national and county cycle An Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) was routes; declared in Durham City in 2011. This covers Promotion of Smarter Choices with Strategy approximately 1.8 miles of road and extends from businesses to encourage large employers to east to west through the city, from Sunderland The Durham Cycle Strategy provides the change their travel behaviour; Road in Gilesgate through to the A690 Leazes background to enable Durham to become a Road and Milburngate Bridge. Establishment of variable message and car ‘Cycling County’. Best practice evidence on cycle park direction signing system to direct traffic infrastructure design such as LTN 2/08 and other The 2013 Air Quality Progress Report for Durham to available parking. documents relating to cycling and behaviour County Council identifies further areas of Figure 4 Durham City 2014 AQMA change are referenced in its development. The excessive levels of Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) in strategy and action plan is also informed by Durham City following extensive monitoring. feedback from stakeholder consultation. Following this further monitoring, the AQMA was Amongst other things, it is intended that the extended in 2014 to cover approximately three strategy will help County Durham to: miles of road through the city. The area now extends a further 1.2 miles to the west along the Become more widely recognised as a ‘cycling A690 to Lowes Barn. The central area of the friendly’ county; Durham AQMA along the A690 and Milburngate Provide a high quality cycling network that’s Bridge is displayed in Figure 4. safer, accessible, well maintained, signed, recorded and promoted; A draft air quality action plan has been prepared; an appraisal of several options was carried out Increase opportunities for sustainable travel and twelve actions were set to improve air quality to work, school and key services and reduce in Durham City, those specific to transport are: reliance on cars; Introduction of a UTMC or SCOOT system to The strategy identifies three main building blocks coordinate traffic through a network of which are required to create a ‘Cycling County’: junctions and reduce congestion; Audit, assess, plan, design and build; The County Durham LTP3 has an objective Retrofit emissions abatement systems on relating specifically to air quality impacts as Operate, maintain, improve, refine and diesel engines on buses travelling through follows: enforce; the AQMA; Educate, promote, inspire, motivate, Operation of hybrid buses within the AQMA; encourage and engage. Ensure park and ride buses are compliant with the Euro VI emission standard;
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Support people to die in the place of their Integrated planning ‘Reduce social and economic costs of choice with the care and support they need. The report outlines the importance of partnership transport to public health, including air In relation to health inequalities and early deaths it working between organisations in improving public quality impacts in line with the UK’s is recognised that more adults are an unhealthy health in the long term. European obligations’ weight in County Durham compared to the England average. Increasing the proportion of The report highlights that ‘integrated planning for LTP3 Objective - p45 physically active adults is a measure of success in transport, housing, environment and health is key this area. to tackling the social determinants of health in This emphasises the need to address this road Regarding improving the physical wellbeing of the County Durham.’ based issue which is evident through Durham City. population, increasing physical activity and This builds on recommendations from the local encouraging more active lifestyles is recognised health impact assessment of the County Durham COUNTY DURHAM JOINT HEALTH as a strategic action for stakeholders. Plan in June 2013 and highlights the importance of AND WELLBEING STRATEGY A sustainable transport strategy that promotes the taking an integrated approach towards improving walking and cycling ambitions of Durham will also health and tackling health inequalities. In relation support these health objectives through increasing to transport specifically, the report states: Overview the attractiveness of active travel.
The Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy for ‘Planners can encourage community County Durham outlines a vision for health and ANNUAL REPORT OF PUBLIC participation and cohesion by providing wellbeing as well as addressing health inequalities accessible transport and well located services. in County Durham. The strategy sets priorities for HEALTH FOR COUNTY DURHAM 2012/13 They can ensure that services are better joint action between health services, public health integrated and accessible. These changes can and social care services. The strategic objectives make it easier for people to pursue healthy are: Background lifestyles, in effect “making the healthier choice, Children and young people make healthy The annual report of public health reports on the the easier choice” by promoting green space choices and have the best start in life; health trends for County Durham and identifies use and active travel.’ Reduce health inequalities and early deaths; actions for improving health in the short, medium Annual Report of the Director of Public Health and long term. Of particular relevance to the Improve the quality of life, independence and for County Durham 2012/2013 – p89 sustainable transport strategy are the actions care and support for people with long term which can be taken to improve health in the long- conditions; term and how transport can play a role in these Improve the mental and physical wellbeing of strategies. the population; Protect vulnerable people from harm;
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TOURISM POLICY Day extending – There is a need to Improving connections around the city and improve links between products to between attractions. This might include The Durham City Tourism Management Plan and encourage visitors to extend their time in giving the city bus a higher profile and the Durham City Destination Development Plan Durham; increasing the number of destinations it (DCDDP) set out a vision and action plan for serves; enhancing the tourism offer of County Durham. Walking and cycling – There is a need to improve the standard of existing trails; Improving pedestrian signage to attractions Vision and priorities outside of the city centre and improving Access to nearby facilities – customer information points; The vision for County Durham is to ‘offer a visitor Competing high quality cultural and Introducing better public transport routes to experience that matches its outstanding natural commercial facilities in Newcastle, connect with visitor attractions close to landscapes and internationally famous built Gateshead and the MetroCentre are Durham City to facilitate additional day visits heritage.’ within easy reach. from these attractions into the city and vice A specific priority identified in the plan is to versa. ‘optimise the potential of Durham City.’ It is intended that this will increase the number of ‘Connectivity continues to be a challenge. overnight visitors and develop Durham as a viable The Durham City offer is disparate and DURHAM CITY STRATEGIC CYCLE destination for a 48 hour stay. confusing for visitors. Existing services need ROUTES – TRANSPORT INITIATIVES to be engineered and branded to link assets Gaps and challenges 2015 and provide a welcoming visitor-facing Gaps and challenges are identified as follows: service.’ Background Transport – The layout of the city is Durham Tourism Management Plan – p12 confusing for visitors with key attractions In 2014 Transport Initiatives was commissioned to such as Crook Hall, Durham Light provide advice to Durham County Council on the Infantry and the Oriental Museum slightly proposed network of Strategic Cycle routes within Recommendations outside of the main city area. It identifies the Durham City area. This document provides further technical detail on the routes outlined in the that transport links could also be To address the shortcomings in Durham’s tourism DITA. improved to attractions beyond the city; offer, the DCDDP outlines a range of recommendations for improving the tourism offer Providing a critical mass of attractions in the city. Several of these relate specifically to Approach and methodology in Durham City – Durham must provide transport and accessibility, particularly in relation more than one nationally recognised The review focused on specific sites where advice to the ‘ Making More of the City’s attractions ’ attraction in-line with other ‘premier and design solutions were sought. This includes theme: league cities’; the Milburngate Bridge in Durham City Centre and also a number of sites to the north and west of the
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city. The locations audited are displayed in Figure Primary Safeguarded Route: Feeder routes Other recommendations 5. to the Super Routes and between town The study also recommends that footpaths are centres, residential areas and major Figure 5 Site audit locations converted to shared use where appropriate. The employment locations; study also identifies that there is already Secondary Safeguarded Route: Linking considerable cycle infrastructure in Durham but routes to smaller settlements and other cycle that this is not clearly signed. As such it is routes. recommended that a clear signing strategy should The proposed network of these routes is displayed be undertaken and implemented. in Figure 6.
Figure 6 Durham Strategic Cycle Routes by classification
Recommendations
Route Categorisation
The study recommends that the cycle routes should be better categorised based on their status and the extent of the proposed intervention. The following three categories of route are suggested: Super Route: A high-quality route that will be an off-road or well defined and protected on- road route. These will be on inter-urban corridors and will link major new developments;
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Route-specific recommendations sessions to elite races also raise the profile of Recommendations cycling and encourage people to try cycling. The strategy outlines specific issues and potential Based on the above findings, the report makes interventions at each of the audited sites. These Issues and barriers to progress four recommendations to encourage cycling in range from low cost solutions, such as County Durham: implementing shared use paths to engineering The report identifies barriers to increasing cycling Focus on the short term and maintaining the solutions such as new dedicated cycle lanes and in County Durham. These are summarised as current level of provision until further funding redesigned roundabouts. follows: is available; County Durham does not have a county-wide Pursue collective efforts between CYCLING FOR HEALTH AND ACTIVE cycle training programme to encourage organisations to encourage progression and TRAVEL – HELME PARK 2014 cycling and make it safer. The access to and pathways towards cycling; affordability of cycling equipment is an issue. Maximise value of current opportunities This Helme Park report outlines the barriers and Training volunteers is also challenging with through better marketing and promotion; opportunities for cycling in County Durham. The regards to recruitment and training; report summarises feedback provided to the Establish a single tier County Durham The local cycle network could be improved Public Health Cycling and Active Travel Group. Cycling Group. This group should play a role with regards to its extent and condition. The The core members of this group include Durham in developing future cycling strategy. marketing of the cycle network is also an County Council, Public Health, Leisureworks, issue, with new and potential cyclists Health Improvement Service, British Cycling and unaware of the extent and condition of the County Durham Sport. network. Some on-road areas continue to have design and safety issues which need Success and opportunities addressing; In County Durham there are a number of off-road The current arrangement involves a number cycle trails to be exploited. The transference of of individuals with no single lead. It is public health responsibility to the Local Authority believed that organisations operate in ‘silos’ also provides a push for encouraging physical and that there are no clear pathways from activity as part of the health agenda. some programmes to encourage people to The existing Get Active Get Cycling and Local cycle for life; Motion projects have already begun to influence Durham currently has no links with British travel behaviour and have provided a number of Cycling, and the cycling clubs in the county trained volunteers. The County also has a large are focused on competitive cycling. stock of bikes available for use to support such programmes. Cycle events ranging from taster
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A legacy in implementing sustainable transport measures
Change the culture of car use by reduction in car trips to work and over 4,000 more encouraging people to think about their own houses have adopted sustainable travel habits. BACKGROUND behaviour and switch to low carbon travel The 2015 to 2016 project is anticipated to deliver County Durham has implemented a variety of modes. benefits of £5,700,000 over five years, with a innovative sustainable transport measures over The scheme specifically targets communities Benefit Cost Ratio of 2.62. the past 15 years, and continues to do so. These identified as ‘hot spots’ of unemployment, projects include investment in three Park and Ride deprivation, carbon emissions, health problems, 2015-2016 schemes sites; and bus network improvements as part of and air quality. the Transit 15 scheme. Other ongoing schemes A package of schemes is being delivered in the are encouraging behaviour change throughout Scheme coverage 2015 to 2016 period as part of the project. These County Durham. are a mix of new schemes and successful The project area to date has included communities schemes continued from previous Local Motion in South Durham. These are: areas. The schemes included in the 2015 to 2016 LSTF SOUTH DURHAM LOCAL Local Motion package include: MOTION TO WORK Darlington: 2011-2015; Bishop Auckland, Shildon and Newton Encouraging cycling to work through Overview Aycliffe: 2011-2015; improved physical infrastructure and providing refurbished bicycles to new cyclists. Crook, Willington, Spennymoor, Cornforth The South Durham Local Motion to Work project Training is also being provided as part of ‘Get and Ferryhill: 2015-2016. has been run within County Durham since 2011. Active, Get Cycling’ to improve cycling skills The project focuses on promoting and providing There is an aspiration to extend the project to and build confidence. Cycle safety and low carbon travel options to employment and Durham City between 2016 and 2021. The security is being improved through training training. The three goals of the scheme are to: communities included at each stage of the scheme and security marking; are displayed in Figure 7. Expand travel choice by ensuring residents Encouraging walking to work through street have access to reliable and appropriate audits and infrastructure improvements. The Existing and future successes sustainable transport infrastructure; ‘Get Active, Get Walking’ campaign is also giving people the knowledge and confidence Widen travel horizons to give residents a The current Local Motion project has achieved to walk for everyday journeys; better understanding of available travel significant success in encouraging modal shift and options and the skills and confidence to use improving productivity for Durham residents. In them; South Durham the programme has delivered a 13% reduction in car trips to school, a 6%
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Encouraging travel to work by bus through LSTF LIVING STREETS ‘WALK TO’ pupils to develop their own walk to school bus service improvements in partnership with PROGRAMME campaign; bus operators. Free tickets are being General marketing and promotion to raise provided to jobseekers. Overview awareness. Figure 7 Local Motion to work Scheme area The Living Streets ‘ Walk To’ programme aims to Scheme coverage increase levels of walking to primary and The scheme as a whole covers 11 local authority secondary schools in target locations. It is a three areas, with Durham County Council acting as the year project running from 2012 to 2015. lead authority. The ‘Walk once a Week’ initiative The project aims to reduce the negative economic will target 854 primary schools and the ‘Free your impacts of congestion in the morning peak, Feet’ campaign 182 secondary schools across all improve journey time reliability and reduce carbon participating authorities. emissions. Existing and future successes
Scheme Evaluation of the ‘Walk once a Week’ programme The ‘ Walk To’ programme entails a package of has shown that a fifth of pupils reported that they interventions to increase walking in the target started walking to school because of the initiative. areas: In schools involved in the programme an average of 59% of children walk to school, higher than the Providing outreach workers and programme national average of 48%. The ‘Free your Feet’ management, including the provision of a campaign has shown that it generates an average Walk to School Coordinator; of 4.9% sustained modal shift beyond the end of Identifying and tackling barriers to walking the challenge. through improvements to schools and other physical improvements; BUS IMPROVEMENTS Promoting ‘Walk once a Week’ to serve as a year round incentive scheme in primary schools; Transit 15 Promoting other campaigns aimed at The Transit 15 project is a major scheme to secondary school pupils such as the ‘Free provide infrastructure improvements on seven key your Feet’ walking challenge and ‘Campaign corridors into Durham City to improve bus journey in a Box’ initiative which supports school time reliability. This includes the construction of bus lanes and alterations to road layouts. Further
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detail of the project is provided in the bus section reducing congestion and pollution in this area. of this report. The scheme has been highly successful in reducing traffic volumes and improving the Park and ride environment for pedestrians in the area. Monitoring has shown that the scheme has Three Park and Ride sites provide frequent links reduced traffic volumes in the area by 85%. from outlying areas of the city in to the city centre. Further detail in the scheme is provided in the These are located at Sniperley (north-west of the road and traffic section of this report. city centre near to the A691 and A167), Belmont (north east of the city centre near the A690), and Howlands (south of the city centre on South Road). Approximately 1.1m people per year use the services and the service has recently received new investment in 10 new vehicles.
Expansion of one park and ride site was gained via a Section 106 agreement. Developers of Mount Oswald, a mixed use development, agreed to increase the capacity of Howlands Park and Ride by 70 spaces and finance a more frequent bus service. This benefits both the existing community and can accommodate for longer term increases in demand. Further detail and analysis of the Park and Ride is provided in the bus section of the report.
SHARED SPACE AND VEHICLE RESTRICTIONS
Durham Road User Charge
Durham was the first city in the United Kingdom to implement a road user charge in 2002. The scheme charges users £2 to access the peninsula area during the hours of operation, with the aim of
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Journey purpose analysis
For County Durham as a whole, 84% of In addition to the key attractions, Durham City is TOURISM visitors travelled to Durham in their car while host to a number of festivals and events, including: 6% arrived by train. ‘Streets of’ Festival; Background Attractions Durham Brass Festival; Tourism is a key component of the Durham Durham Regatta; Durham County offers a range of attractions for economy, providing a large economic benefit to Durham Christmas Festival; visitors, a large number of which are located within the city and wider county. The Durham Tourist Durham City. The key city visitor attractions and Lumiere; Management Plan (DTMaP) and 2013 tourism visitor numbers are displayed in Table . Durham Miners’ Gala. factsheet provide an overview of key statistics for the county, namely: Table 1 City visitor attractions and visitors (2012) Durham City also provides the county’s most sizeable retail offer which contributes to its The visitor economy is worth £659m annually Attractions Visitors attraction as a destination. to County Durham; Durham Cathedral 621,000 Conference and meeting facilities are also Visitors support 10,682 full time equivalent Durham World Heritage Site 108,000 jobs in County Durham; Visitor Centre provided in hotels and Durham University, which hosts meetings of between 15 and 400 people. 16.1m day visits and 4.2m nights were spent Durham Light Infantry (DLI) 36,000 in County Durham in 2011. museum Botanic Garden 25,000 (2011) The 2010 visitor survey provides tourism statistics specifically relating to Durham City and general Oriental Museum 21,000 travel habits: Durham Tourism Management Plan/Durham tourism factsheet 2013 58% of visitors stay overnight; The location of the attractions is displayed in 40% of visitors are from the North East, 13% Figure 8. from the city itself and 8% overseas; 95% of visitors have visited or intend to visit the cathedral, 85% the city centre shops and 62% the castle;
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Figure 8 Key tourist attractions
EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION
Employment
The Durham City Regeneration Masterplan identifies that the economic base of Durham City is highly dependent on public sector employment, including the NHS, Civil Service and local government. Together, these represent approximately 45% of all employment in the area.
Table 2 Key Employment sites
Organisation Employees Durham University 3,874 (FTE) Identity and Passport 700 Service Durham Police 600 Headquarters University Hospital of circa 4,000 North Durham County Hall 1,600 National Savings and 425 Investments Land Registry 400
Figure 9 displays the location of key employment and education sites in Durham City.
Employment by area
Aykley Heads The Aykley Heads area is approximately half a
mile north west of the city centre, to the east of the
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Figure 9 Employment and education sites B6532. Aykley Heads includes key employment sites such as County Hall, Police Headquarters and other office employment. Other nearby employers and trip attractors include the University Hospital of North Durham to the west of the B6532 and New College Durham approximately half a mile to the north-west.
Arnison District Centre
The Arnison District Centre is located approximately 2.5 miles to the north west of Durham City. The Abbey Road Business Park is also located adjacent to the retail site. The Arnison Centre includes a supermarket and a range of non-food retail outlets. The Abbey Road Business Park has a mix of employment, particularly offices. Northumbrian Water is a key employer at this site.
Dragonville District Centre The Dragonville District Centre is located approximately two miles to the east of Durham City Centre. The site is bounded by the A1(M), A181 and Sunderland Road. The site comprises of mixed retail units, including supermarkets and consumer goods. Various industrial units and business premises are located in close proximity to the retail development, including warehousing and distribution. Durham University Centre. This is a major mixed employment site Belmont Business Park which includes offices and distribution. The site is The majority of the university buildings are located bounded by the A1 (M), A690 and Belmont Link approximately 1 mile south of the city centre, Belmont Business Park is located approximately Road. slightly south of the peninsula. The remaining 2.5 miles to the north west of Durham City Centre parts of the university are located on the peninsula and half a mile north of the Dragonville District itself.
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City Centre Travel to work
The city centre has one key employment site Most people who commute to Durham City from clarity, only neighbouring areas with more than which includes the Identity and Passport Service County Durham already live in the city area. The 100 ‘in’ commuters were included. and National Savings and Investments. Apart from remaining County Durham commuters are fairly this site there is very little office based evenly split between the other areas (Figure 10). employment in the centre. The majority of other From outside of the county, the highest numbers employment in the centre is retail based. of commuters originate from Sunderland, followed
by Gateshead, then Darlington (Figure 10). For
Figure 10 Incoming and outgoing commuters to Durham City from County Durham (top), incoming and outgoing commuters to Durham City from areas bordering
County Durham (right)
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the east for the purposes of this analysis. The Table 3 Mode share of method of travel to work to Durham City results are displayed in Table . Origin Location UK Average Table 4 AM east-west movements Mode Durham City County Durham Neighbouring United Kingdom Driving a (%) (%)* Areas (%) (%) All trips car or van Driving a car or van 44 74 83 60 East to west 2,056 960 Passenger in a car or van 6 9 5 6 West to east 1,011 610 On foot 36 3 2 12
Bus, minibus or coach 9 12 5 9 Bicycle 3 1 1 3 The analysis demonstrates a significant movement Taxi 0 0 0 0 from east to west across the city, which reflects the large quantum of employment around the Motorcycle, scooter or moped 0 1 1 1 Aykley Heads area. Train 0 0 3 5 Underground, metro, light rail 0 0 1 4 Education and tram *Not including Durham City Durham is home to a historic university which has Cross-river flows approximately 17,000 students. There are also Figure 10 shows that commuter inflows are several schools and two further education colleges greater than outflows, therefore Table 3 examines Travel patterns of residents within Durham City in the city. The breakdown of students at the two method of travel to work to Durham City. The have been analysed to assess how people move key education sites is provided in Table 5. majority of people employed in Durham City travel within and across the city. Understanding these by car. This includes a majority of those who live movements is important because of the Table 5 Key education sites in Durham City in the city (Table 3). Far fewer people opt to use considerable flows through the city centre and the Institution Students more sustainable modes of travel. The most number of cross-city movements over Milburngate common sustainable mode is walking, which still Bridge. Durham University 15,945 full-time (2014/15) 1,235 part-time has around 10% lower more share than car in This has used Travel to work data from the six Durham City. A very small proportion of people New College Durham 3,365 full-time MSOAs most central to Durham City. (2012/13) from neighbouring areas travel by train, despite 12,111 part-time short journey times from Darlington, Newcastle To assess the number of east-west movements The Durham City Masterplan recognises that and Gateshead. Bus mode share is highest across the city, the combined trips from the three Durham University is a major driver of investment amongst people living in other parts of County MSOAs to the east of the city area have been in the area, with £115m invested in property Durham (12%) but is significantly less than the compared with the three MSOAs to the west of the between 2005 and 2010. 74% of the population who drive to work. city. The city centre and University are included in
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The distribution of the student population in Figure 11 Durham City student population by Durham City is displayed in Figure 1. The student MSOA population is strongly concentrated towards the south of the city, with over 40% of residents in the peninsula and university area being students.
Students are encouraged to travel to the Durham University sites by sustainable modes. Information is provided through several means to encourage this: The Greenspace Facebook page provides a weekly ‘did you know’, this is often about travel; Promotion of travel information on plasma screens in entrances to buildings; 150 champions across the colleges who send out a weekly email; A termly environmental meeting at each college; An environment week which includes a bike sale and Dr Bike sessions.
There are also mode specific incentives, particularly for buses. Students and staff can travel on the A12 between Stockton and Durham for free; they can also obtain heavily discounted tickets to Newcastle on this service. On Arriva services, from 2015 autumn term, staff and students can also get a £1 ticket for unlimited travel within Durham for the day or £5 for the week with additional options for term and academic year length tickets. In addition students can hire bikes for £10 per term with a £30 refundable deposit.
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RESIDENT PROFILING Figure 12 Percentage of none car ownership in map shows, there is overlap between areas of Durham City high none car ownership and poor health in the In order to understand areas where there may be Sherburn Road, north Gilesgate and Finchale a greater appetite, requirement or onus to adopt Road areas, with further areas of poor health in more sustainable travel habits, a number of maps Carrville and north Durham. have been produced from the 2011 Census data and MOSAIC data for Durham City (which is a Figure 13 Percentage of poor or very poor health dataset compiled by Experian which provides in Durham City socio-demographic segmentation).
Car ownership
The map shows the percentage of households with no access to a car or van from the 2011 Census data at lower super output area level, with the red and orange areas showing communities with higher levels of none car ownership. As the maps shows, there is a large area to the east of the city, around the Gilesgate and Sherburn Road areas, where none car ownership is between 45% and 55%. This illustrates the importance of alternative modes to the private car in the east of the city. There is also an area to the north of the city, around the Finchale Road area, where none car ownership is relatively high at 37%.
Health
The map shows the percentage of people who stated that they are in poor or very poor health as part of the 2011 Census, with red areas illustrating communities where prevalence of bad or very bad health is highest at approximately 10%. As the
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Environmental awareness Figure 14 Environmental awareness in Durham As part of the MOSAIC data there is an element of the dataset which identifies how environmentally aware households are. This data has therefore been mapped, with high environmental awareness graded as ‘1’ and low environmental awareness graded as ‘9’. As the map shows, areas around the university and in the more central areas of the city are considered to be most environmentally aware, whilst those in some of the closer outlining villages and in the areas with lower levels of car ownership and poor health (namely the Sherburn Road area and the Finchale Road area) have lower environmental awareness. Large parts of the suburban areas to the east and north are classified within the middle of the range (with grades of 4, 5 and 6), meaning that they may be areas with most potential for an increased take up of sustainable modes, on the assumption that areas with highest environmental awareness are already to likely to choose more sustainable modes and those with lower environmental awareness may be difficult to persuade of the benefits of alternatives.
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Analysis of travel by mode
Identity and Passport Office
WALKING University Hospital of North Durham
The majority of tourist attractions.
Overview Figure 15 Walking journey times to the Market Place Durham is a very ‘walk-able’ city. There is a good network of footpaths both for leisure and utility which is well signposted and there are safety measures such as road user charging in high footfall areas to deter car use. These factors, combined with the compact nature of the city, have resulted in high levels of walking within the city.
Supply
The city centre is compact. The city’s main employers, the university, tourist attractions and the shopping area are all within walking distance of each other. Figure 15 shows the extent of the city which is within a 20 minute walk of the Market Place.
Access to key areas Signposted walking routes are present throughout the city centre. Key locations include: City centre Rail station Bus station
County Hall
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The signposts are easy to follow and are often Figure 16 Pedestrian infrastructure in Durham complemented by additional signage on walls. Information boards with maps are also present in areas of high footfall including the market place and the pedestrian zone next to Claypath. However, some signposts within the city are old and, as a result, are more difficult to read. Footpaths
In Durham City Centre there is a good network of pedestrian footpaths, particularly around the main shopping district, along river banks and on the peninsula around tourist attractions. There is also a good provision of pedestrian zones in the city centre which are located at Prince Bishops and the southern part of Silver Street. Four of the eight bridges across the Wear in Durham are pedestrian only. Figure 16 shows provision of pedestrian infrastructure and safety measures within the city centre. Generally, within the city, sufficient footpaths are provided alongside the road. However, during a site visit, desire lines were identified alongside the A690 next to the westbound carriageway near to Leazes Bowl. In this area pedestrians had chosen to walk on top of a grassy verge alongside the road instead of following the footpath downhill to meet an underpass. The underpass itself is also problematic for pedestrians due to perceived safety issues.
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There are a number of shared use paths around street make crossing elsewhere potentially Arnison District Centre the city which are wide enough for both hazardous due to poor visibility. Immediate pedestrian access to the Arnison pedestrians and cyclists and appear well surfaced. Pedestrian provision around the university is also Centre is good with most roads having a 30mph In addition, there are two shared use bridges problematic in places, particularly around the speed limit and non-signalised crossing facilities. across the river, namely Prebends Bridge (to the University Hill colleges. The New Inn junction A series of alleys in the surrounding residential south of the cathedral) and Pennyferry Bridge (to (South Road, Quarryheads Lane, Stockton Road, streets reduce the walking times to residential the north of the A690). Church Street Head) is very car-dominated. On a areas to the south. A traffic free-pedestrian route The pedestrian environment around key junctions visit to Durham it was identified that the pedestrian is available which links the Arnison Centre with the is poor in places; this is especially prevalent islands are an inadequate size for the level of Newton Hall residential area. The route then around Leazes Bowl (Figure 17). The area is footfall experienced. The footpaths on South connects to the off-road route which runs to Aykley dominated by car traffic with no designated Road, which runs through the hill colleges, are of Heads and the city centre. However, it is secluded pedestrian crossings or signage on the footpaths. inadequate width for the pedestrian footfall. It has in sections and lacks designated crossings where Guard railing is present around the majority of the been observed that often pedestrians have to walk it crosses roads. The present network of off-road junction to offer protection to pedestrians. on the road in order to get by. pedestrian and shared-use routes around Aykley Heads and the Arnison Centre is displayed in Figure 17 Leazes Bowl junction Pedestrian accessibility to key city Figure . destinations
Aykley Heads
The Aykley Heads site has good pedestrian accessibility from the city centre and railway station along Framwelgate Peth, though pedestrian accessibility is limited by the roundabout junctions at the B6532/Southfield Way junction and the B6532/Dryburn Road junction which do not have signalised crossing facilities. An off-road walking route is available between Aykley Heads and Pit Lane to the north. This can
be accessed from the A691 via the Durham Light Claypath is also car-dominated; it has two way Infantry Museum and the police headquarters. traffic and on-street parking. Pedestrian crossings This connects to Pit Lane and other residential are only present at the junction with Providence streets in the Newton Hall area, removing the Row. Parked cars on the northern side of the need to walk along busy roads such as the B6532.
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Figure 18 Aykley Heads and Arnison Centre Dragonville District Centre walking routes Pedestrian access to the site from surrounding areas is good with footpaths and pedestrian crossings provided at most junctions. However, the severance caused by the A1(M) restricts access to residential areas to the east. A pedestrian and cycle underpass running below the A1(M) which provides access to south Carrville is available, however the route is hidden and secluded making it an unattractive option for walkers and cyclists.
Belmont Business Park
Pedestrian access to the site is limited to the main entrance onto Belmont Link Road. A signalised pedestrian crossing facility is provided adjacent to the entrance. Severance caused by the A1(M) and Belmont Link Road is a significant issue for pedestrian accessibility in the area and necessitates long detours to access neighbouring residential areas to the east and south.
Demand
Walking demand is high in Durham especially as much of the peninsula is pedestrian only or restricted for other modes. Just over 4,000 people
travel to work into the city centre on foot, with a third of people that commute from within the city itself travelling by this mode.
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reports noted that the road speed for each of Serious and fatal accidents these incidents was 30mph. Accident analysis Figure 19 shows the serious and fatal accidents Overview The most common cause of accidents elsewhere which occurred between 2010 and 2015. Many of in the city was due to pedestrians crossing the these are clustered on two roads: A690 (Leazes Accident data between June 2010 and May 2015 road without using a designated crossing point. Road) and A181 (Sherburn Road). The majority of was provided by Durham County Council. However, in some cases, drivers did show serious and fatal accidents affected vulnerable Information was provided regarding the location, disregard for designated crossings, including two members of the population, namely, children and road condition, visibility and severity of each instances involving school crossing patrols at the elderly. accident. Comments are provided concerning Neville’s Cross intersection where drivers had pedestrian casualties. As with the clusters of accidents, a large decided not to stop causing slight injuries to proportion of the serious casualties occurred due Key areas pedestrians. to a pedestrians stepping into the carriageway when they were not at a designated crossing. Some areas of the city had clusters where three or more accidents occurred during the time period, Figure 19 Pedestrian accidents these were: City Centre – Claypath City Centre – Silver Street Neville’s Cross/Crossgate Peth Sherburn Road (A181) Front Street (north west of the city centre between Framwellgate Moor and Pity Me) Pedestrian accidents in the city are concentrated along major roads, particularly the A181 and A167; and in the city centre. The majority of accidents on Silver Street were related to the shared use between pedestrians and cars. The accidents largely involved cars which hit pedestrians as they were walking alongside the road due to their close proximity to each other, as the carriageway is narrow. The
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Figure 20 Cycling journey times to Market Place
There were two fatalities in the time period, both occurred in darkness.
CYCLING
Overview
Demand for cycling is low in Durham at present. Where cycle infrastructure is present, it can be disjointed. Durham is hilly, so topography is also likely to be a factor which prevents higher cycling uptake.
Provision for cyclists
Cycling provision in the city can be disjointed and confusing. In parts of the city cycle paths and lanes tend to exist for short distances and then stop abruptly such as Milburngate Bridge. Many pedestrian zones and bridges which are wide enough to accommodate cyclists too, such as the southern part of Silver Street, ban cyclists at all times despite allowing loading vehicles between 6pm and 10am. In terms of the time it takes to cycle, the city is theoretically easy to cycle around. However, some steep hills and lack of infrastructure are off- Cycle routes in Durham are concentrated in the Paths specific to cyclists tend to be short, such as putting. Figure 20 shows cycling journey times west along the A167. Other cycle paths in the city in the case of Pelaw Leazes Lane, or are from the Market Place. Most key areas, such as are largely aimed at leisure cyclists and are disconnected and force cyclists to dismount, such the university, Aykley Heads, and several outlying concentrated along the banks of the River Wear as the A690/Claypath junction. Figure 21shows settlements, are within a 30 minute cycle of the which form part of NCN 14. County Durham as a cycle infrastructure in Durham in more detail. Market Place. whole has more provision for leisure cycling rather than for utility cycling.
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Figure 21 Cycle infrastructure in Durham NCN 14 National Cycle Route 14 (NCN 14) runs through Durham City on an east-west axis. Whilst the
route does avoid the busiest and most congested roads it does suffer from several issues: The route is indirect, forcing cyclists to detour from the city centre to Pennyferry Bridge;
Cyclists are required to frequently dismount
such as at the A690/Milburngate junction; The route takes cyclists down a one-way road on Freeman’s Place requiring the cyclist to dismount for approximately 220m when travelling south; Cyclists are required to travel through an underpass on Leazes Road which may put
off potential users due to personal security concerns.
Cycle paths and lanes In Durham, the cycle infrastructure present is largely in the form of wide, asphalt surfaced paths
which are shared use with pedestrians. The provision of these paths is largely focussed on the banks of the river and alongside some of the busiest roads in the city: the A691 (Framewelgate Peth) and Leazes Road.
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Many roads in the city are inappropriate or off- Bridge are indirect. The most direct alternative is Cycle accessibility to key city destinations putting to cyclists. In some cases this is because via Framwellgate Bridge where cyclists are they are very busy with no specific provision for banned (Figure 22), though cyclists have been City centre attractions cyclists, for example: observed cycling on this bridge with no conflict Due to the lack of cycle infrastructure in the city with pedestrians at certain times A167 centre, access to key destinations such as Crook Hall and Gardens, the Cathedral, and the Oriental A181 Figure 22 New Elvet (top) and Framwellgate Bridge (bottom) Museum can be complicated due to a lack of cycle A690 paths or requirements for cyclists to use a longer Claypath route as they are not allowed to use pedestrianised areas. This also applies to key junctions, for example: Aykley Heads Leazes Bowl Leazes Road/A181/Gilesgate Aykley Heads is accessible by bicycle from the city centre to County Hall by using the shared use path In other cases it is because the road surface is along Framwelgate Peth. However, the traffic unsuitable for cycling. Several streets and bridges conditions and roundabouts along the B6532, in the city are cobbled, particularly around the Dryburn Road and Southfield Way make cycling peninsula, such as: on the roads unattractive and potentially South Bailey hazardous. The review of Durham City strategic cycle routes by Transport Initiatives made the Dun Cow Lane following comments and recommendations Bridges regarding roundabout junctions in the area: Four of the eight bridges in the city centre can be The B6532/Durham Road roundabout (to the accessed by cyclists, namely: east of the hospital) was regarded as Milburngate Bridge hazardous and intimidating for cyclists. This is because of the fast entry speeds for New Elvet vehicles. It was recommended that a ‘’Dutch Prebends Bridge style’ cycle-friendly roundabout be installed at Pennyferry Bridge this location; However, both Milburngate Bridge and New Elvet The B6532 Dryburn Road/Finchale Road require the cyclist to travel beside high volumes of roundabout to the north of the hospital was traffic where no dedicated cycle infrastructure is also regarded as hazardous and intimidating provided. The safer alternatives to Milburngate for cyclists due to fast vehicle approach
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speeds. It was also recommended that a cycle infrastructure, which may make cycling cycle underpass running below the A1(M) which ‘Dutch style’’ roundabout be installed at this unappealing for inexperienced cyclists. provides access to south Carrville is available; location; Nevertheless, the area around the Arrnison Centre however, the route is hidden and secluded making The Sniperley Roundabout at the A167/A691 and Newton Hall benefits from being relatively flat it an unattractive option for walkers and cyclists. compared to the rest of Durham City. The review junction was considered hazardous and Belmont Business Park intimidating for cyclists. This was a result of of Durham City strategic cycle routes by Transport the large traffic flows along the converging Initiatives made the following comments and The site is only accessible for cyclists through the trunk routes and fast traffic speeds. It was recommendations regarding roundabout junctions main entrance onto Belmont Link Road. Cyclists recommended that a signalised roundabout in the area: must therefore travel along Belmont Link Road which has a 60mph speed limit and no segregated with splitter islands be installed at this The Pity Me roundabout to the west of the cycle facilities making it hazardous for cyclists. location. Arnison Centre was regarded as hazardous The junctions in the area, which are mostly priority and intimidating for cyclists due to the fast An off-road cycle and walking route is available junctions, do not have cycle infrastructure such as vehicle speeds and because the existing between Aykley Heads and Pit Lane (on the advance stop lines. A wider issue in the area is cycle route converges on the junction. It was northern periphery of the Newton Hall area). This the severance caused by the A1(M) which results recommended that speed limits be reduced can be accessed from the A691 via the Durham in a significant detour along busy roads being to 40mph together with signalisation of the Light Infantry Museum and the Police required to access residential areas to the east. roundabout; Headquarters. This connects to Pit Lane and The review of Durham City strategic cycle routes other residential streets in the Newton Hall area, Providing a toucan crossing to the north of by Transport Initiatives recommended a removing the need to cycle or walk along busy the Arnison Centre; segregated cycle route along any future bypass to roads such as the B6532 and through hazardous Upgrading the roundabout to the north of the the north of Durham City together with roundabouts and junctions to access residential site on Rotary Way to a ‘Dutch-style’ improvements for cyclists at the A690/A1(M) areas to the north. The off-road route is well roundabout. junction. These proposals would enhance signposted in the area, however is secluded and connectivity between the east and west of the city Dragonville District Centre unlit in areas which may be deter some potential and reduce the current lack of connectivity over users. The busy roads around the area, such as the the River Wear. A181 and Sunderland Road, which have only Arnison District Centre University limited cycle infrastructure, are likely to limit those The roads in the area surrounding the site have cycling to the site to confident and experienced Around the university there is little space or 30mph speed limits and there are opportunities to cyclists. The majority of junctions and provision for cyclists. South Road, which runs cycle along quiet residential streets. However, the roundabouts around and within the site operate on through the centre of the main university area, has busier roads surrounding the Arnison Centre do a priority basis without cycle infrastructure such as no dedicated cycle infrastructure which could be not have cycle lanes or shared use paths and advance stop lines. Severance due to the A1(M) off-putting to new cyclists. Additionally, further there is a series of priority roundabout junctions is also an issue for cyclists. A pedestrian and hazards are presented by pedestrians walking on which are not signalised and do not provide other
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the road, potentially into the path of cyclists, due to In addition to these, a few smaller sets of stands For the city itself there is only one cycling club: insufficient footpath width. Cycle infrastructure is are dispersed around the city. The majority of Durham University Cycling Club. However, there also missing from key junctions around the these, however, are unsheltered (Figure 23). are eight other clubs in County Durham which university such as the New Inn junction. cover a range of disciplines. Figure 23 Unsheltered cycle parking at Claypath Infrastructure that does exist around the university is inadequate in places. There is a cycle lane on Census data the A177 for approximately 250m before the Only 3% of people who live in the city cycle to A177/Hallgarth Street/Stockton Road roundabout. work to jobs inside the city. For those who travel The lane occupies half of the carriageway in one from the wider County Durham areas this figure is direction and drivers must enter the lane in order only 1.6%. 47% of cyclists travel to a destination in to stay on the correct side of the road. The other the university area. side of the cycle lane is blocked by a high wall meaning that cyclists cannot leave the Accident data carriageway. The cycle lane ends abruptly at the roundabout. Overview There is the potential to use university land to Accident data between June 2010 and May 2015 produce ‘Trust Pathways’. This will offer cyclists was provided by Durham County Council. off road routes and could provide better cycling Information was given regarding the location, road links through the city and to the north from the hill Other resources condition, visibility and severity of each accident. colleges. Comments are provided below concerning Other resources are available in Durham to pedestrian and cyclist casualties and Cycle parking improve cycling supply. A bike hire scheme operates from Durham University where students Key areas Cycle parking in the city is also shown on the can hire a bike from £10 per term with a £30 infrastructure map. The largest concentration of The areas below are clusters of accidents, where refundable deposit which includes safety and parking is south east of the peninsula on the three or more occurred: security equipment. Recyke y’bike is a social university site. In the city centre, there are four enterprise and charity with a shop located near to Leazes Bowl cycle parking areas which provide 130 spaces in the bus station. It sells recycled bikes and parts. Claypath total, namely: People can also pay to hire a work bench with the Aykley Heads Rail station (60) option to pay extra for the help of a mechanic in Sniperley Bus station (20) order to repair their own bikes. Conventional cycle A177 Leazes Road/Claypath (20) shops are also available in Durham including MTS Cycle Sport and Halfords. The location of these clusters is shown in Figure New Elvet/Court Lane (30) 24.
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Figure 24 Serious accidents and clusters of accidents The majority of accidents within these areas
occurred because drivers were not aware of the presence of a cyclist, mostly at a roundabout or junction. This is despite the fact that most of these accidents occurred in daylight. In the majority of cases, a driver pulled out onto the roundabout believing it was clear when a cyclist was passing.
Others involved car drivers preventing the cyclist from exiting the roundabout. Poor awareness caused accidents in other areas. In one case a car moved off at the same time as a cyclist but hit them due to misjudgement of speed. Another opened their car door directly into the path of a cyclist. Serious casualties Only four serious cycling accidents occurred in the time period, these are shown in Figure 24. As before, the majority (75%) were caused by the car user being unaware of the cyclist’s presence. Again, most of these occurred in daylight.
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BUS Figure 25 Arriva bus map
Overview
Bus services form the key part of the local public transport network in Durham City. Bus services provide access to local areas on the outskirts of the city and also provide regional links to key towns in County Durham and Tyne and Wear. In terms of public transport, in the period 2014/15, 90% of passengers boarding in County Durham were on standard bus services, 4% Park and Ride services and 6% rail.
The key bus operators in County Durham as of 2013 are Go North East (GNE) with 41% market share and Arriva with 39% market share. Local operator Scarlet Band operates 12% of services, with the remaining 8% operated by various smaller companies 1.
There are also three Park and Ride services and a Cathedral Bus service which connects key city centre sites in Durham.
Bus routes
Arriva provides a number of high frequency local connections and also links to destinations to the south of Durham towards Darlington. A map of Arriva bus routes is displayed in Figure 25.
1 DfT (2013) BUS1001b Operator market share, October 2013
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GNE also provides links to several local Figure 26 GNE bus route map destinations, with most services operating towards the north east towards Sunderland and Newcastle. Figure shows GNE services in the Durham City area.
The two maps highlight the four key bus corridors into Durham City. These are: North Road and Framwelgate towards the Hospital and Aykley Heads; A690 southbound towards Neville’s Cross; New Elvet towards Durham University; Leazes Road and Claypath.
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Most bus routes operate through Durham city Figure 27 City centre bus frequencies (both centre, resulting in a large number of bus directions combined) movements through the city, particularly on a Monday to Saturday daytime. The flows in these areas are displayed in Table 6.
Table 6 Approximate bus flows per direction on key city centre roads
Approximate buses Road per hour (Monday- Saturday) Milburngate 73 (northbound)
Milburngate Bridge 46 (eastbound) North Road 47 (southbound)
New Elvet 18 (southbound Claypath 15 (eastbound)
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Bus connectivity to key city destinations city link to the Arnison Centre, Dragonville District X20 only run close to the site during the peak Centre and Sherburn. Other services such as the periods. The bus services running into or past the The bus frequencies to key employment and 6, 7 and 265 extend to Aykley Heads and site are displayed in Table . The bus stops on educational institutions are displayed in Table . All Framwelgate Moor in peak times and provide Belmont Link Road are some distance from the areas with the exception of Belmont Business cross-city links to areas to the east. The Park and site entrance, with the eastbound stop being 200m Park have a frequent service on Monday to Ride service can also be used to access the area, from the entrance and the westbound stop being Saturday during the daytime, however the service with PR1 operating to the Sniperley and Belmont 250m. This results in the furthest business units on evenings and Sundays is more limited, sites. at the business park being over 1km from the bus particularly to the university and Belmont Business stops on Belmont Link Road. An additional issue Arnison District Centre Park. The service on Sunday evenings also differs is that there is no cross-city bus service to from services on other evenings. The Arnison Centre is well served by bus Belmont Business Park, meaning that interchange Table 7 Bus frequencies per hour to key transport, with several services directly entering in Durham City will be required for trips from the destinations per hour (one way) the shopping centre. Bus services are also south and west of the city. available on Abbey Road and Pit Lane adjacent to Evenings Table 8 Bus services to Belmont Business Park Monday to employment sites. Arriva service 64 provides a and Saturday cross-city link to Aykley Heads, Gilesgate, Route Frequency Sundays Dragonville District Centre and Sherburn. 204 Durham City Centre – 1 bus/hour University 31 8 Gilesgate – Belmont Hospital, and Dragonville District Centre Business Park – Belmont – Aykley Heads High Pittington -Sherburn A frequent bus service operates along Dragon Arnison District 10 4 208 Durham City Centre – 2 buses/day Centre Lane through the site and also along Front Street (peak Gilesgate – Belmont – entering site Dragonville District 15 (8 stopping 5 (1 stopping on and Sunderland Road which run adjacent to the only) Peterlee Centre on Dragon dragon lane) site. This provides a good bus service for both the X20 Durham City Centre – 4 buses/day Lane) retail and employment elements of the (peak Belmont Business Park – Belmont Business 1 (increased Last weekday development. Service 64 provides a cross-city link only) Belmont – Carrville – Park peak service) service 19:40, Sunderland – South Shields no Sunday to Aykley Heads, the Arnison Centre and service. Sherburn. Night services Durham University 17 4 Belmont Business Park Two night services operate in Durham City. Service N21 operates from North Road to A detailed description of bus connectivity to key A limited peak-only bus service operates into the Newcastle via University Hospital of North employment sites is provided below. business park site which provides links to Durham Durham. The N20 operates from North Road to City Centre and areas to the east. Service 204 Aykley Heads Carville in the east of Durham City. Both services provides a route past the site along Belmont Link operate hourly between midnight and 04:00. Aykley Heads is served by frequent local and Road throughout the day; however, the 208 and inter-urban buses. Service 64 provides a cross-
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Table 10 Park and Ride sites Claypath have shelters. The Milburngate and Claypath stops have real time information. None Cathedral Bus Distance Route to city Spaces of the stops have any distinguishing features to served The Cathedral Bus operates three routes between centre easily identify them as having Park and Ride key locations in the city centre. The services services. Sniperley 1.6 miles A167/A691 294 collectively link key transport interchanges, tourist Services sites and employment sites. Details of the Belmont 2.4 miles A1 (M)/A690 533 (east) services are provided in Table . Two services serve the Park and Ride sites. PR1 Howlands 1.6 miles A167 330 operates from Sniperley to Belmont via Durham Table 9 Cathedral bus routes City Centre. PR2 operates from Howlands Park First/last and Ride and runs a city centre loop via Route Number Frequency service Facilities at Park and Ride sites Milburngate. Cathedral- 40 3 per hour 08:30/17:20 All sites are covered by CCTV and have a security Railway Services run Monday to Saturday, with a Station or customer service member of staff present. All frequency of six per hour throughout the day. The sites have a fully enclosed and heated waiting Cathedral- 40A 2 per hour 10:03/16:03 first departures from the Park and Ride sites are at Coach Park area which includes toilets and a ticket machine. approximately 07:00 and the last departures from Railway 40B Peak times 08:05/17:33 The sites also have cycle lockers. The Sniperley the city centre to the Park and Ride sites are at Station- only Park and Ride building is displayed in Figure 28. approximately 18:45. A summary of the journey University Figure 28 Sniperley Park and Ride times from the sites to the city centre is displayed in Table 1. Park and ride Table 1 Park and Ride journey time to city centre Durham Park and Ride operates from three sites Services Journey time to Milburngate across the city. These provide a combined parking capacity of 1,157 spaces. The sites serve PR1 Sniperley to 9 minutes Belmont three key radial routes into Durham City. Sniperley provides a link to the north-west, PR1 Belmont to 12 minutes Sniperley Belmont to the north east and Howlands to the south of the city. A breakdown of each of the sites PR2 Howlands 13 minutes is provided in Table 10. City centre stops Park and Ride services call at a number of city centre stops, as displayed in Figure . The key
stops located on Milburngate, Leazes Road and
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The Park and Ride services also stop at several key commercial, educational and tourist Figure 29 Park and Ride route and stops destinations. PR1 University Hospital of North Durham Aykley Heads New College Durham Claypath PR2 Durham University Oriental Museum and Botanic Garden The Park and Ride routes are displayed in Figure 29.
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Figure 30 Durham Park and Ride routes
Park and Ride service capacity
The service is operated by 32 seat midibuses, which were new in 2015 and meet the latest Euro 6 emissions regulations. With six buses per hour, this equates to a seating capacity of 192 seats per hour in each direction.
Park and Ride survey
In 2013 a survey of 105 park and ride users was undertaken to understand their views on the service. Of these, 45% were commuting, 32% were shopping and 23% were travelling for other purposes. 100% of respondents rated the service ‘good’ or ‘very good.’ With regards to improving the service, the following responses and comments were made: 22% were not happy with the hours of operation. 58% of these believed that it should open later and 37% believed it should open on Sundays and bank holidays; 8% disagreed that the stops in the city centre were easy to find.
Fares and ticketing
Operator tickets GNE offers a Durham Daysaver for £3.10 which provides unlimited travel in Durham City. GNE also offers a range of other fares based on specific
routes and fare zones, such as the ‘buzzfare’
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zonal ticket which can be purchased as a weekly, Park and Ride entrance. The bus station entrance is displayed in monthly, annual or carnet ticket. Figure 31. A day ticket for the Park and Ride costs £2.00. Arriva offers a range of ‘County Durham Saver’ This gives unlimited use of the Park and Ride and Figure 31 Durham Bus Station tickets. These begin at £3.60 for unlimited travel Cathedral Bus services. Tickets can be within the city boundary. Other options are purchased at ticket machines at the Park and Ride available for countywide travel. Weekly, monthly sites and also on the buses. and annual tickets are also available. Arriva also Frequent users can obtain a Park and Ride smart offer a ‘North East All Zones Saver’ which allows card which can be topped up at payment the holder to travel across the North East region. machines at the Park and Ride sites. These Multi-operator and integrated tickets entitle the user to 20 days of travel for £34, equating to £1.70 per day. Travel is free for those There is no dedicated multi-operator ticket for with concessionary passes in the off-peak. County Durham or Durham City. The Explorer North East Ticket allows travellers to use all buses across Tyne and Wear and also the Tyne and Bus station and interchanges Wear Metro. The daily ticket costs £9.70 for Bus station adults. Durham Bus Station is the key interchange There are proposals to replace the current bus Rail passengers travelling to or from Durham can location in Durham City. The station handles station with a new location. This is detailed in the purchase ‘Plusbus’ as part of their rail ticket. This approximately 70 vehicles an hour at peak times. improvement schemes section later in this allows those travelling by rail to add unlimited bus The bus station is located approximately 250m chapter. travel in Durham City to their ticket for £2.80. south of Durham Railway Station and 500m west Milburngate Weekly, monthly and annual options are also of Durham Market Place. available. Milburngate has three bus stops which are served The bus station has 12 stands and includes an by approximately 70 services per hour. The Plans for a multi-operator ticket in County Durham indoor waiting concourse with seating and real stopping area is a key hub in the Park and Ride are currently under development. time information. The location of the bus station network as it is the only stop at which all three on the west side of the River Wear means that Cathedral bus services call. The stops at this location have there is a need to cross the river to access key city shelters, seating and real time information. During The cathedral bus is operated by a low floor centre locations such as the Cathedral and the the site visit it was observed that these stops were electric vehicle. A day ticket costs £1 (£1.50 for a Market place. Therefore it can feel relatively busy throughout the day with much of the seating university return). Those with a Park and Ride distant from the heart of the city. The bus station taken. ticket or North East Explorer can travel for free. entrance is not easily identifiable and does not stand out from other shops alongside the station
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Leazes Road North Road Figure 33 County Durham bus journeys Three bus stops are also located on Leazes Road Two bus stops are located on North Road to the east of Milburngate Bridge. These serve immediately outside the bus station entrance. approximately 20 bus routes including some Park These serve approximately 15 bus routes which 30 and Ride services and the Cathedral Bus. These do not call at the bus station. The stops are also 25 are the closest major bus stops to the tourist and used by evening and night services when the bus 20 commercial area on the peninsula and at station is closed. Approximately 25 buses per Claypath. As such these play an important role in hour call at these stops during the day. 15 P&R providing access to bus services at this area. Bus Real time information and a small timetable are 10 The stops at this location have shelters and provided at these stops. They do not have a 5 seating provided. However, they are of an old dedicated shelter, with shelter provided by the Passengers(millions) 0 design and are unattractive for users. The stops canopy from an adjacent shop. The lack of a also do not have real time information. An dedicated waiting area results in conflicts between example of a stop in this location is displayed in pedestrians and those waiting for buses at busy Figure 32. times. Punctuality Figure 32 Eastbound Leazes Road stop Bus usage Bus punctuality in County Durham for the period Standard services 2014/15 stands at 90%. A punctual bus is defined as arriving between one minute early and five Bus passenger journeys throughout County minutes late. Punctuality between 2009 and 2015 Durham for the 2013/14 period stand at 23m per has varied between 86% (2013/14) and 96% year, with an additional 1.2m journeys on the Park (2010/11). and Ride. Between 2008/09 to 2012/13 bus patronage declined by 2.6m passengers. There Discussions with bus operators have revealed that has been a slight recovery in 2013/14 with a slight they are generally satisfied that existing bus rise in passenger numbers. It is estimated that priority measures have been delivered where they 22.9m journeys will be made in 2014/15, which are practical. One exception to this is Gilesgate suggests passenger numbers have remained (to the east of the river) where there is a practical broadly stable since 2013/14. A graph of bus and proposal for further priority measures.
Park and Ride patronage is displayed in Figure 33. Cathedral bus
In 2014, it is reported that 87,299 journeys were made on the Cathedral Bus. The majority of these journeys were on the number 40 service which
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represents 64% of all travel on the Cathedral Bus. Table 12 Park and Ride occupancy (2014) this suggests that there is capacity for growth in The bus usage by service in 2014 is displayed in the service, particularly outside of peak periods. Site Typical occupancy Table 12. Sniperley 75% Table 12 Cathedral bus journeys in 2014 Improvement schemes Belmont 60% Transit 15 40 40A 40B Total Howlands 60% 55,909 22,590 8,800 87,299 The Transit 15 project is delivering various
improvements to reduce the impact of congestion Figure 34 2014 monthly passenger variation on bus journey times. The project includes the Usage of the Cathedral Bus services 40 and 40A implementation of approximately 20 individual vary significantly by month, with usage in summer 7000 schemes across seven bus corridors leading into months being much higher. This illustrates the 6000 Durham City. Improvements include road layout seasonal value of the usage of the services to the 5000 modifications, new and improved bus stops and cathedral. The usage profile by month for 2014 is 4000 bus lanes. displayed graphically in Figure 34. 3000 2000 Transit 15 has received £5m of regional funding. Park and Ride usage 1000 However, further funding may be required to 4% of all passenger boardings in County Durham 0 complete the project. Eight schemes have been in 2014 were on the Park and Ride service. There completed to date with consultations completed at has been a gradual increase in the use of the Park 11 other sites. and Ride service, with 0.9m passengers using it in Bus station redevelopment 2008/09, growing to 1.1m in 2013/14. 40 40A 40B It is proposed that a new bus station will be During the site audit it was observed that the Park constructed at the top of North Road adjacent to and Ride services were particularly busy from North Road roundabout. It is planned that the 16:00 onwards, with passengers standing on Park and ride operating costs and revenue station will consist of 10 ‘drive in reverse out’ Sniperley services. stands and three standard bus bays (to replace The annual cost of operating the Park and Ride is Car park occupancy the North Road bus stops). It is envisaged that approximately £1.2m. The services generate the bus station redevelopment will be part of a The 2014 parking data suggests that there is income of £840,000 meaning there is an annual large-scale redesign of the area, which includes spare capacity at the Park and Ride sites, with subsidy requirement of £360,000. Based upon the pedestrianisation of North Road around the bus occupancy ranging between 60 and 70%. The fact that the service still requires additional station and new commercial and retail typical occupancy is displayed in Table 12. subsidy in order to operate and the fact that there developments. is spare parking capacity at Park and Ride sites,
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However, the timescales for the implementation of Table 13 Durham Railway Station services Table 14 Direct key rail destinations the scheme and the funding to deliver it are Service Operator Frequency Frequency unavailable at the time of this report. Approximate Destination (weekday Newcastle-London Virgin Trains 1 per hour journey time Park and ride Kings Cross East Coast daytime) The Durham Integrated Transport Approach Newcastle- CrossCountry 1 per hour Chester-le-Street Approx. one train 5 min Reading via per two hours outlines the following schemes to enhance the Doncaster Newcastle 4 per hour 15 min capacity of the Park and Ride: Edinburgh- CrossCountry 1 per hour Darlington 4 per hour 15 min Howlands is to be extended by 70 spaces Plymouth via Leeds York 4 per hour 50 min which is to be funded by developer Newcastle- First 1 per hour contributions; Sunderland 4 per hour 60 min Liverpool Transpennine (interchange There are proposals to add 150 extra spaces Express required at Newcastle) at Sniperley. Newcastle- Northern Rail 3 per day Darlington Middlesbrough 2 per hour 60 min (interchange The majority of services to Durham Station are required at RAIL Darlington) longer distance express services operated by Leeds 2 per hour 75 min Overview Virgin Trains East Coast, CrossCountry and First TransPennine Express. Rail connections to local Despite a typical frequency of four trains per hour, Durham is served by Durham Railway Station settlements are limited, with few stations in the the stopping pattern at Durham does not have which is located on the East Coast Mainline. local area. Where stations are present, services even time gaps between services. This can result Durham Station is located between Chester-le- can be infrequent. For example, despite its in long gaps between services in the off-peak. For Street Railway Station (which is 6 miles to the proximity to Durham, there is only a two-hourly example, in the current timetable three northbound north), and Darlington Railway Station (which is service operating between Durham and Chester- services call in the 14 minutes between 10:18 and located 22 miles to the south). le-Street. As shown in figure 9, this is a key 10:32, followed by a 25 minute gap until the next commuting movement into Durham City from the service at 10:57. Services wider County Durham area. Durham Railway Station is served by several long Interchange is required to travel to some key local Station access distance services and a limited local service. destinations, such as Sunderland and A Station Travel Plan (STP) was undertaken for Table 14 displays the services from Durham. Middlesbrough. This inconvenience is likely to Durham Station in 2008 which provides useful limit demand for travelling to these destinations by insights into station access. This included an audit rail. The frequency and journey time to key of the surrounding area and a survey of those destinations are displayed in Table 14.
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using the station. The following key findings were There is no connection between the Rail Regional Urban Market Study 3 provides some made: northbound and southbound platforms within insight into the Durham to Newcastle market. the station; 1,032,000 journeys were made from Durham to The topography of the area results in steep Newcastle in the year to March 2012, which roads and paths leading to the station from The footpath to Wharton Park was closed. represents 45% of all journeys from Durham the city centre to the south. This makes the Access to the station for cyclists is more limited Railway Station. routes via steps suitable only for the able- than for pedestrians. The city centre can only be bodied and those without luggage. accessed via Station Approach which leads to Future developments The topography of the area is likely to limit North Road. However, when returning to the rail cycling to the station, particularly to the south. station from the city centre parts of this route are East Coast franchise one-way which means cycles are required to Links to surrounding cycle paths including The East Coast franchise was awarded to Virgin dismount. To access Aykley Heads, County Hall NCN 14 are disjointed. Trans East Coast (VTEC) in November 2014 and and University Hospital of North Durham, cyclists The quality of cycle parking at the station commenced operating in March 2015. The can dismount and use the footpath leading to the could be improved, with better signage, cover Franchise Agreement includes a commitment to A691 and then join the shared use path alongside. and cycle lockers all being desirable implementing a range measures to improve improvements. Cycle parking is present at both platforms; it is access to the station as part of improvements to The station was visited during the site visit in sheltered, well lit and well positioned. On the day the ‘Door to Door Experience’ for passengers. 2015. Walking routes to and from the station of the visit both areas were busy. The smaller The commitments at Durham Railway Station were generally good, footpaths were present with cycle park on the southbound platform was over include installation of additional cycle parking dedicated signage. Pedestrians can access the capacity with bicycles attached to nearby fences. spaces and cycle hire facilities. city from the southbound platform via a footpath Installation of cycle hire facilities at Durham and footbridge over the A690 to North Road. This Station usage station route is unsuitable for those with limited mobility 2,415,400 people used Durham Railway Station in Installation of additional cycle parking spaces however, as stairs are present. From the 2 2013-14 . Station usage has grown significantly in northbound platform there is a footpath to The Franchise Agreement includes a number of recent years, with 46% growth since 2004-05. Framwellgate Peth which is signed for County Hall other commitments to improving station access Whilst passenger figures between individual and University Hospital of North Durham. across the network, including: stations are generally not available, the Network Pedestrian priorities were present on the station site with a zebra crossing leading to each platform along with speed bumps to slow traffic. Within the station area there were stairs, lifts, ramps and smooth surfaces making it fully accessible. However, some issues were identified: 2 ORR (2015) Estimates of station usage 1997- 3 Network Rail Regional Urban Market Study 98-2013-14 2013
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Entering into a Station Travel Plan A 2009 report by the Association of Train an understanding of current vehicular flows on the Partnership at all stations where VTEC is the Operating Companies (ATOC) 4 examined the road network in Durham City. The data used is facility owner (including Durham). These reopening of the Leamside Line to serve weekday flows between March and June 2015, partnerships will develop tailored measures Washington. This suggested a capital cost of though different days have been used for different for each station and will include minimum £86m to reopen the whole line as single track with sites due to the fact that not all counters were spending commitments to support the a Benefit Cost Ratio of 1.4. active at all times. implementation, promotion and review of the Local Growth Fund station access schemes Flows across Durham City Station Travel Plans; Providing a dedicated taxi booking website Two Local Growth Fund (LGF) schemes to Approximate flows along key roads across for customers through a website with the improve station access are due to be delivered Durham City in the morning peak are displayed in operators branding; between 2015 and 2017. The schemes include: Figure 35. Flows over 1,000 vehicles per hour are highlighted in red. The map shows particularly Providing a car sharing website for Durham Railway Station Strategic Cycle high flows travelling from the north-west to the customers; Scheme – Improved cycle links between Durham Railway Station and Framwelgate north east through the city centre. Leazes Road Providing facilities to ensure that car club Peth; has the highest vehicle flow, with 1,700 vehicles vehicles can be booked through a website travelling westbound. Flows from east to west are Durham Railway Station Gateway with the operators branding. generally greater than west to east, which Improvements – Provision of real time supports the analysis displayed in Table . A large Northern Rail and TransPennine franchises information, including an interactive journey number of vehicles also enter the city from the planner at the rail station. A journey planner The TransPennine Express franchise Invitation to south and travel southbound on the A167 (a and rail departure board will also be provided Tender provides the opportunity for bidders to movement which is more orbital in nature). increase the frequency of the service between at the bus station. York and Newcastle. This would provide an Flows into the city are generally greater than those additional call at Durham each hour. leaving the city in the morning peak across all CARS AND CAR PARKING approaches. However, in many areas there is not Leamside Line a large difference between inbound and outbound Vehicle flows The Leamside Line runs to the east of Durham trips. This suggests that through traffic and City (approximately 2.5 miles from Durham City Data from Durham County Council’s network of commuters heading to destinations outside of the Centre). The line is no longer in operation and automatic traffic count sites has been used to gain city centre are current issues. This through traffic was mothballed in 1991. means that Durham’s main road, the A690 which is an AQMA, is used heavily by people simply
passing through, with 48,000 vehicles per day crossing within 1 mile of Durham’s World Heritage Site. 4 ATOC (2009) Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network.
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Figure 35 Approximate morning peak vehicle flows across Durham City Road user charging
The Durham Road User Charge (RUC) was introduced in 2002 to reduce congestion and pollution around the pedestrianised streets of Durham peninsula.
The RUC operates from 10:00 to 16:00 Monday to Saturday. The charge for entering the area is £2 and is payable by phone. A penalty charge of £50 is payable if the charge is not paid by 6pm of the day of entering the area. There are a number of exemptions to the scheme, including: Blue badge holders; Peninsula residents; Motorcycles and bicycles. The scheme is complemented by the Cathedral Bus which provides a frequent and accessible service into the peninsula.
Impact The scheme is highly successful, with monitoring revealing the following impacts of the scheme: An 85% reduction in traffic volumes; An increase in pedestrian activity by 10%; A 50% reduction in HGV and LGV activity in the restricted period.
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Car parking Figure 36 City centre car parking Car park locations
Approximately 2,000 spaces are available in off- street car parks. The breakdown of car parks is displayed in Table . The majority (70%) of publicly available spaces in Durham City centre are in privately owned multi-storey car parks. The location of the city centre car parks is displayed in Figure 36. Table 16 City centre car parking
Car park Spaces Providence Row 19
Council car Sidegate 107 parks The Sands 136 Subtotal 262 Prince Bishops 400 Riverside 265 Private multi- storey car The Gates 204 parks Walkergate 500 Subtotal 1,369 Private Railway Station 358 Total 1,989
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Parking charges Table 16 Railway station parking charges Table 15 City centre car parking charges Parking charges vary between car parks. The Duration parking costs for the car parks are displayed in Car park Time Charge Table 15. Durham Railway Station operates a 0-2 hours £1.40 Short stay £2.00/hour different charging regime which is split between 2-3 hours £2.00 Monday-Friday peak £11.50/day long and short stay customers. The charges for Providence 3-4 hours 2.60 Monday-Friday off peak (09:30 £7.00/day this car park are displayed in Table 16. Row and onwards) and weekends The Sands 4-5 hours £3.20 Weekly £52.00 5-6 hours £3.80 Monthly £182.00 6+ hours £6.00 Annual £1,405.00 Monday-Saturday £3.20 08:00-18:00 Sidegate The cost of car parking in Durham has been All other times £1.40 benchmarked against six other historic towns. Per hour £0.90 These towns are similar in that they have Lovegreen All day (06:00- £3.00 constrained space for roads and car parking and 23:59) are also popular tourist destinations. The exercise 0-2 hours £2.10 compares the average cost of central car parks at Prince 2-4 hours £3.30 each of the locations. The results of this Bishops/ 4-6 hours £6.20 comparison are displayed in Table 17. The Gates 6+ hours £11.50 (Prince Bishops), Table 17 Historic city car parking benchmarking £10.00 (The Gates) 1 2 4 8 0-2 hour £1.60 hour hours hours hours 2-3 hours £2.20 Durham £1.94 £2.11 £3.43 £8.24 Riverside Up to 6 hours £6.00 Cambridge £2.98 £5.80 £12.10 £30.46 Up to 12 hours £12.00 Canterbury Week £15.00 £1.65 £2.78 £5.05 £9.58 0-2 hours £1.80 Chester £3.94 £4.44 £6.58 £9.33 2-4 hours £3.00 Lincoln £1.45 £2.58 £5.13 £6.21 Walkergate 4-6 hours £5.00 Oxford £2.40 £3.85 £11.07 £24.43 6-24 hours £9.00 York £2.35 £4.07 £7.17 £9.74 Average £2.39 £3.66 £7.22 £14.00
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The analysis shows Durham to have car parking Table 20 Parking at key employment sites create more space for residents, short stay visitors costs below the average for these selected historic and tourists. cities. For shorter stays of up to an hour Durham Approximate Employment There are 52 permit holder only streets in Durham is comparable to Lincoln and Canterbury, though a number of Time Charge Site City. There are also an additional 61 streets little more expensive. For stays of between one spaces which are pay and display or permit holder only. and four hours Durham is the cheapest of the County Hall 900 All day Free Residents are allocated a permit for their zone and benchmarked destinations by some margin. For Durham are then able to park in any permit holder or pay eight hour stays Durham is the second cheapest 245 20 Free and display bay within that zone. behind Lincoln, and slightly cheaper than minutes Canterbury, Chester and York which are similarly University 2 hours £2.50 The permit holder and pay and display bays are priced. Hospital of operational from 08:00 to 16:00, Monday to North Durham 2-3 hours £3.00 Saturday. The bays are free outside of these The analysis shows that current car parking Up to 24 £4.00 times. Two resident permits may be issued per charges within the city centre are relatively low hours household. It is a policy that any new when compared with similar historic centres, at New College 850 All day Free developments or conversions within the zone will least in terms of character. Durham is however Durham not be eligible for parking permits. In 2013/14 a considerably smaller in size than a number of 1,400 All day Free Arnison total of 23,171 Penalty Charge Notices were these comparable centres. Shopping Centre issued, 18,023 of which were for on-street offences and 5,148 for off-street offices. Other key parking locations Durham 2600 All day Free – parking University permit required On-street parking Coach parking Aykley Heads 280 All day £2 per day There are numerous on-street parking areas Milbungate 150 All day £60 per Coach parking is located at The Sands Car Park available throughout Durham. The demand for House (Passport month on Freeman’s Place, though this is expected to parking in these areas varies significantly. The Office) change in the near future. This is approximately system for managing demand in these areas is The Rivergreen 170 All day Free for staff 700m to the north of Durham Market Place. The Centre and visitors outlined in the parking control section below. coach park has space for 11 coaches. Occupancy counts were undertaken at the coach park during Parking at large employment sites Parking control the first two weeks of 2015. These were The number of car parking spaces at key undertaken three times a day at approximately Durham City Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) employment sites and the charges for these are 10am, 1pm and 4pm. The results of this survey shown in Table 20. Much of the car parking at The CPZ in Durham City exists to control the are shown in Table . these sites is free which acts as a considerable problems caused by long-stay parking by disincentive to change mode. commuters in on-street areas. This helps to
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Table 21 Weekday coach parking accumulation have been controversial in places: the North Road many incoming taxi drivers tend to ignore marked taxi rank is closed between 6am and 10am to bays and tout for business anywhere. 10am 1pm 4pm allow loading; taxi drivers are dissatisfied with this. Average 4 5 3 The rank on the Milburngate Bridge 2-way slip accumulation Taxi demand road has issues with its operation in the evenings, Taxi use is highest on Friday and Saturday nights Maximum 7 10 6 as taxi drivers often disregard the rank and accumulation as well as Sunday night on bank holiday obstruct roads in the city centre. This means taxi weekends. However supply appears to far outstrip drivers who obey the rules and park in the rank demand. In the daytime most of the demand is Only two weekend days (Saturdays) were lose business, whilst the other drivers cause focussed on the 1-way slip road off Milburngate surveyed, one of which was a special event day serious congestion issues which have, on one Bridge whilst at night it is concentrated on the 2- with 35 mini coaches in the coach park. On the reported occasion, disrupted the emergency way slip road. other Saturday eight coaches were present. services. The results of the surveys demonstrate that the Table 22 Locations and operating times of taxi Car club coach park generally operates within capacity. ranks However, any significant increase in visitors There are two car clubs in Durham, Figure 37 Location Operating times travelling by coach may result in the coach park shows the location of these cars. Station Approach 24/7 being over capacity. The survey also Co-Wheels have two cars based at County Hall demonstrates that the coach park can approach or North Road 10am-6am which cannot be used by the public during office exceed capacity on event days. Old Elvet 8pm-6am hours (8am to 6pm). They also operate a fleet of The coach park can be accessed by pedestrians Milburngate Bridge (1-way 8am-6pm 9 additional pool cars on behalf of Durham County slip road) by travelling along Freeman’s Place. Alternatively Council. In addition there are two cars at the rail the Cathedral Bus service number 40A travels MIlburngate Bridge (2-way 6pm-8am station: one operated by Co-Wheels and one by slip road) from the coach park to the cathedral via the City Car Club. Market Place. Prior to the creation of a single authority in County Durham, there were only around 76 taxi licences
TAXIS AND CAR CLUB in the city of Durham. However, due to administrative and boundary amendments, and the corresponding deregulation of taxi licensing, Taxi supply this number increased to 1,500. A lot of these There are five taxi ranks in Durham City, the taxis have been drawn in by the night time operating times of which are shown in Table 22. economy (especially Friday night) which causes a All have operating restrictions apart from the rank large oversupply of taxis and severe congestion in at the rail station. These operating restrictions the city centre. Further issues have arisen as
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Figure 37 Locations of car club cars Table 23 Disabled bays in city centre car parks topography of the city. Signage is present in key areas to direct people to accessible routes and Approximate Number Car Park of Disabled Bays advises which routes involve stairs (Figure 38). However, as has been mentioned in the walking Prince Bishops 10+ bays section, signage in the city is inconsistent and not Riverside and The Gates 70 family and disability all of the signs display directions for accessible badge holder spaces routes. Sidegate No disabled spaces Figure 38 Signage showing accessible routes, Providence Row No disabled spaces Station Approach The Sands Car Park 5 disabled spaces Railway Station 8 disabled spaces Walkergate No information available
On street parking is also available across the city. There are spaces for approximately three cars on the peninsula on North Bailey and South Bailey. The two spaces on North Bailey are convenient for access to the Cathedral and Durham Museum and Heritage Centre. Further bays are present on Milburngate, Claypath and at the rear of the Market Hall which provide good access to DISABLED USERS Durham’s retail and tourism offers. It was also noted on the Durham County Council website that Parking Blue Badge holders are permitted to park in permit holder only areas without charge or time limit. The city centre itself can also be problematic, Disabled parking is available at the majority of city particularly for people who are visually impaired. However, abuse of disabled bays is an issue in centre car parks. Details regarding the number of Through the Market Place and Saddler Street is a Durham. It is noted in the Parking Enforcement spaces available at each are presented in Table shared space area between pedestrians and road Report 2013-14 that 3,996 Penalty Charge Notices 23. traffic. In this space there is only a visual cue to for this offence were issued in this time period. indicate where the path ends and the road begins
(Figure 39), there is no tactile surface which Access to key areas means the area is potentially hazardous for Access to key areas around Durham can be visually impaired people. This is particularly difficult for those with limited mobility due to the concerning as delivery vehicles and buses
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regularly use this space. The problem is further Link2 bus service – door-to-door service if exacerbated by café seating and signage along you do not live within 10 minutes walk of a Saddler Street which creates a further obstacle. bus stop, there is no bus within an hour or if interchange was required. The fares for this Figure 39 Shared space area, Saddler Street. service are the same as regular bus services. Bridge Card – when shown to a bus driver or member of bus station staff they will provide extra help. Park and Ride – all of the park and ride buses are fully accessible and free for concessionary pass holders after 9:30am on weekdays and all day on Saturdays.
Road and path surfaces in the historic centre are also a problem. Cobbled streets and paths can be difficult to negotiate in a mobility scooter or wheelchair especially if the gradient is steep such as along Dun Cow Lane (where the footpath is not viable). There are also few benches around the city, particularly on the peninsula, thus there is little opportunity for those with limited mobility to rest. Public transport There is plenty of public transport help for disabled travellers in Durham. These include: Access Bus service – door-to-door transport with a return fare ranging from £1.50 to £2.50.
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Stakeholder views
interviewed included residents of Durham, would like to see progress towards a ‘car-free’ or INTRODUCTION students, workers, and visitors. ‘near car-free’ City, with significant reductions in nd traffic in the centre. The scale or extent of the In seeking to understand the issues and Finally, on 2 October 2015, a half-day parts of the City that stakeholders perceive should opportunities to be addressed within the stakeholder event was conducted to allow be ‘car-free’ varies. Counter to this, some retail Sustainable Transport Strategy for Durham City, stakeholders from a range of organisations to interests are wary of a fully pedestrianised or ‘car- JMP met with a broad range of stakeholders. participate in the development of this Plan. free’ area, particularly with reference to deliveries Engagement with these stakeholders took three Stakeholders were provided with some and servicing. forms. Firstly, a number of one-to-one discussions background context to the work and some were conducted with eight individual stakeholders. information on the findings of JMP’s work to that Some stakeholders would ideally like to make it These stakeholders represented a broad range of date, and were able to participate in small group less easy to travel by car and encourage use of interests and perspectives across the City, and facilitated discussions with fellow stakeholders. other modes through behaviour change provided a broad representation of views on The event was attended by around 30 programmes. Some stakeholders would like to transport provision, use, and wider perspectives stakeholders, together with observers from the see progress towards Durham being a ‘Green on the economy and life of the City. Meetings County Council, and facilitators from JMP. City’. Most were in agreement that to achieve were held with representatives of: these goals improvements need to be made for all modes of travel. University Hospital of North Durham STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES Access to Durham City from its hinterland and Durham Markets Co. Stakeholder views are, naturally, diverse. The from outlying areas is a strong theme within views Durham Business Improvement District (BID) following distillation of views and perspectives is expressed. The role of Durham City as an therefore broadly themed by transport mode, or Durham (University) Bicycle Users Group economic and cultural centre for a wide area with respect to specific, distinct, issues. Arriva therefore needs to be reflected in the transport Go North East vision. There is a perception from stakeholders Vision for transport in Durham that many people who work in Durham City cannot Durham University Some stakeholders reflected upon the fact that afford to live there, and thus tend to reside in Federation of Small Businesses Durham is a great place to live, visit, or otherwise outlying areas where there are few options other Secondly, a number of informal on-street spend time. than the car. Consequently, it was felt that interviews were held with members of the public. infrastructure needed to be put in place to Some stakeholders expressed views on an These interviews sought to obtain the views of the encourage active travel from further afield, as well overarching vision for transport in Durham. One of wider public, and were conducted at random, on as improvements to public transport from these the main themes is that a number of stakeholders the basis of a self-selecting constituency. People areas.
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In general, people would like to see quality of life Connectivity across the city for people walking and Street has also been identified as a problem. The improved in Durham. There was a general cycling as a whole was felt to be poor, especially road and the footpath are on the same level with consensus that in order for Durham to have a concerning cross-city travel. This reflects the only a visual separation. Stakeholders suggested successful future both economic performance and dearth of facilities and space in the city centre and that this area is problematic for partially sighted quality of place must be enhanced, and go hand- on river crossings. people who find it difficult to determine where the in-hand. Stakeholders identified that path ends and the road begins, and parents are A problem that has been identified that is common improvements that promote opportunities for nervous with small children in this space. The to both walking and cycling is the perception of active travel, and a good public realm, are area is also cited as confusing for some tourists or safety issues on the school run, leading to people fundamental to achieving this. visitors who may not realise the shared use nature tending to drive their children to school due to of the area, and don’t appreciate that it is a ‘live’ Stakeholders have identified that advancement those safety concerns. Having enough time for road. The stepped areas can be a problem in the towards this goal cannot simply be achieved active travel was also identified as a barrier for market place too, and it is felt a visual distinction is through infrastructure and public transport service those with family commitments. needed. It has also been noted that the electric improvements. Work must also be done to However, the issue mentioned most is shared buses which use the street are very quiet. People change perceptions towards sustainable modes. spaces between the two modes which were are concerned with the safety issues that this Investment in programmes to change perceptions considered to cause multiple problems. Some creates, especially in the shared space area of the as opposed to big infrastructure schemes was people are generally happy for shared spaces Market Place. advocated. This could include more programmes where it is not busy, but in crowded areas the in schools to encourage active travel at the concept becomes more problematical. There beginning of lives, initiatives such as car-free days Active travel – issues for people with mobility appears often to be confusion about where shared or education for both cyclists and pedestrians on impairments spaces exist. It is felt the white line in many how to use shared spaces. shared spaces does not work. Accessibility around the city for those people that are less mobile is perceived to be difficult in As an illustration, Milburngate Bridge is identified Active travel – shared issues for walking and places. Particular issues relate to the cobbles and as a shared space which does not work well. In cycling hills, and it is felt if there was more seating around this instance, cyclists feel pedestrians tend to the city those that were less mobile would find it Stakeholders identified that a number of issues dominate, making its use as a shared space easier. The cobbles are highlighted as a problem. are shared by both cyclists and pedestrians. difficult. Counter to this, at least one stakeholder accepted Firstly, for outlying settlements it was felt that were Better provision is needed for both cyclists and the cobbles as part of the historic nature of the city was little option for travel other than the car due to pedestrians. Interest groups representing and did not appear to mind that this made access an absence of infrastructure; an issue that also pedestrians and cyclists each advocate separation to certain areas more difficult. The narrow paths affects the large out-of-town employment site at of spaces. in the central areas, combined with café seating Belmont Business Park. and on-street signage (A-boards) are highlighted The shared use area for pedestrians and road as problematic for partially sighted people. traffic around the Market Place and on Saddler
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Another stakeholder stated access from the inconsistent terminology. Another specific issue pavement which can force pedestrians onto the station is difficult, identifying that there are a lot of mentioned is that while the most frequently used road and potentially into conflict with moving steps from the station to the city, but not route to the cathedral for pedestrians is via Silver traffic. An example of this conflict can often be necessarily signs to tell you so, nor a sign for an Street and is signed as such, the quickest route is seen on South Road. Some stakeholders also accessible route. This may however be an issue ‘from a path to the west’. perceive these large volumes of students as a of perception or signage, as both the steps and an major barrier to walking through the city at certain In terms of provision, some people are generally accessible route are signposted at the station. times, with high pedestrian volumes in central satisfied with the number of footpaths provided in areas making walking difficult. the city. Conversely others feel not enough Walking infrastructure is provided for the level of active In view of the potential danger to pedestrians Stakeholders have mixed opinions regarding travel in the city or to encourage increased uptake. created by this situation some stakeholders suggested a speed limit reduction to 20 mph on walking in Durham although many recount that While some stakeholders perceive the number of affected streets. they enjoy walking around the city and find it very footpaths to be good, the quality of these can be easy to do so. Indeed, it is suggested that those poor. Consequently, while many people are Furthermore, there is some dissatisfaction with who have the opportunities to walk already do so. happy to walk, they feel that narrow paths already narrow footpaths being converted for The geography of distance is cited as a factor. combined with large amounts of pedestrian traffic shared use. Those who live more centrally do walk, but that should warrant more pedestrian space. There was also an observation that lots of people that live further away from the city centre Pedestrians also feel more crossings are needed pedestrian journeys are longer than they need to cannot walk into the city. Affordability of housing in the centre to improve safety. in Durham was cited as a factor affecting the be due to severance by major roads. This acts as ability to walk for many people, with many people The issue of narrow footways in some places has a barrier to walking and makes switching to unable to afford to live in very central areas of the been identified as a safety concern for walking unattractive for some people. These city. Some stakeholders believe that a limited pedestrians. In some parts of the City, including barriers to walking include the crossing points of number of people live in areas and have lifestyles some where traffic speeds are perceived to be major road junctions in the city, where pedestrians which make walking viable. fast, walking can be quite unpleasant especially spend a lot of time waiting and their routes can where the footway width is inadequate for the sometimes be indirect. The Milburngate/A690 Good signage around the city is identified to be a volumes of pedestrian traffic. Margery Lane was four-arm junction is cited as an example, with two- positive aid to walking by some people. cited as a specific example. stage crossing points on three of its arms, and no Conversely, others felt the city could be crossing point on the fourth. disorientating for visitors due to the peninsula and This issue of pedestrian safety is a particular river bends and that better signage was needed. concern in and around routes approaching the Maintenance of footways and pedestrian areas The lack of a walking map for the city was also University campus ‘up the hill’, and elsewhere. was brought up frequently during discussions with mentioned. Volumes of both pedestrian and road traffic pose stakeholders. For those walking through the city it safety concerns to pedestrians. During term time, is felt maintenance issues were not fixed very There is a specific issue with the signage for large flows of students occupy the majority of the quickly including: University Hospital of North Durham, which uses
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Streetlights that cycling was more stressful than it need be due Stakeholders identified that a widespread problem Undergrowth to lack of infrastructure. across the city that discourages cycling is that route quality is inconsistent, and discontinuous. Broken cobbles This view reflects stakeholders concerns around Provision can move from fairly quiet shared use the safety of cycling. People feel that the city is paths to dual carriageways with no cycle unsafe to cycle, particularly on major roads and at infrastructure whatsoever. One stakeholder Perception of physical conditions is an issue for junctions. Many people are of the opinion that identified that even where there is cycle walking specifically. This includes concerns over cycling is dangerous in the city, including because infrastructure it ‘gives up’ at the junctions and weather and the effects of seasonality, which are cycle lanes are not wide enough. Sniperley other points where it is most needed. off-putting to walking. roundabout was cited as a major concern to some, as was the A690. One stakeholder felt that cycle infrastructure Cycling supply is aimed at two types of polar opposite Road surfaces are also viewed as hazardous as cyclists: those who are not at all confident and There are strong views on cycling, and provision cobbled surfaces make cycling difficult. Similarly, where therefore ‘shared use’ paths are for cyclists, in Durham City. Durham was some stakeholders felt maintenance of some road appropriate; and those who are very confident and described by one stakeholder as having ‘a no bike surfaces was poor, which added to risks on their should be able to use the road with ease; with no culture’ with little encouragement for people to journeys by bike. provision in-between these extremes. cycle. Consequently, levels of cycling are A major barrier to cycling has been identified as perceived to be low for a university town. Furthermore, stakeholders cited that there are the city centre itself. People on bikes struggle to very few examples of dedicated infrastructure for Stakeholders have identified the principal barrier understand how they can cycle through it. This is cyclists, with for example only one advanced stop to the encouragement of cycling to be the absence echoed in criticisms of national cycle route (NCN) line (at the top of Margery Lane). Most actions to of a coherent and continuous cycling route 14 which passes through the centre on an create cycle infrastructure are perceived to be infrastructure. Views indicate that there are no east-west axis and is generally viewed negatively directed towards turning footpaths into shared use continuous cycle routes in Durham and due to the indirect nature of the route. This route paths, which create problems for both pedestrians infrastructure tends to be disjointed. One views is seen as a major flaw in the city’s cycle network and people on bikes. suggested that measures are needed to prevent by stakeholders. The route, to some, does not cyclists from having to stop-start constantly. One make sense and is particularly difficult when Several specific areas have been identified as stakeholder suggested that there needs to be travelling across the city centre. problematic for cyclists by stakeholders. These dedicated infrastructure for cyclists with ‘a physical Crossing the river by bike is viewed to be a major include: separation in time or space’ in order for cycling to challenge in the city centre, particularly via South Road – where there are huge numbers work effectively in Durham. Milburngate Bridge which offers no dedicated of pedestrians, and issues with traffic speeds; cycle infrastructure. Shared use bridges in the Many stakeholders feel that insufficient Shincliffe Peth – which has a cycle lane but centre are also problematic as these routes are infrastructure is provided to encourage increased where there is insufficient space to allow cycling levels, and at least one stakeholder felt indirect.
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vehicles to pass a cyclist without crossing Stakeholders believe that more recognition of the provision. One stakeholder reported that he no into the oncoming traffic lane; needs of cyclists is required in the transport and longer needed a car, in part due to the quality of Crossing of A167 (including Neville’s Cross); land use planning process, and that infrastructure service and the accessibility and affordability for cyclists is appropriately incorporated into new provided by his bus pass and railcard. On the Margery Lane; developments, and into highway improvement debit side, some stakeholders felt that awareness Potters Bank; schemes. Examples cited include new of the availability of public transport services and Carrville; development at Mount Oswald, South Road; and options is poor. the introduction of the SCOOT system in which it Passing through the City Centre in general; Bus services Roundabouts to the north of the city is felt cycling was largely ignored despite there being significant issues for cyclists crossing these While much of the stakeholder comment was (including Sniperley). roundabouts. positive, or acknowledged that bus services in the
Specific measures recommended by the city are generally good, one or two specific Some issues affected by perceptions of physical stakeholders to improve cycling in the city include: problems have been identified. Access to the city conditions are seen as barriers to uptake of centre by bus is seen as being good, but to other Silver Street open to cyclists before 10am; cycling in Durham. The topography of the city is areas it is viewed more negatively. Specific gaps Elvet Bridge open to cyclists at all times; frequently mentioned as an issue, though in service identified are: The development of a cycle hire scheme; conversely other stakeholders believe it is not as East Durham; much of a barrier as people tend to think. The development of ‘Trust pathways’; Neville’s Cross to Arnison. Seasonality is mentioned too, and some people Setting aside specific streets that will be for feel there is a barrier to cycling associated with cycling and support this by building poor weather. appropriate infrastructure; The absence of cross-city routes has been identified more generally, with out of town Cycle parking was mentioned frequently, Improved maintenance of the current locations being more difficult to access than the specifically the provision of more parking at the infrastructure; City Centre. Market Place. More generally, cycle parking is felt Enhancement of walking/cycling routes along Improvement of bus services to reduce the need to be inadequate across the city. river; to use two different buses on a journey would be Better cycle integration with public transport was Removal of on-street parking on New Elvet welcomed. Generally it was felt that many also suggested, for example by improving facilities and creation of cycle paths; journeys could not be made without taking multiple to take bicycles onto buses and trains. This buses. This is a particular problem for people integration should extend to the park and ride Public transport working in edge-of-centre or out-of-town locations, which could offer hire bikes. Bike hire was also such as Aykley Heads, and Belmont. It is Generally, stakeholders had positive things to say proposed through introduction of ‘cycle hubs’ in perceived that there are few cross-city bus about public transport in Durham City. There are, the city. movements and those that do exist are unreliable naturally, exceptions to this, but overall, there is or have poor connections. The suggestion of a much positive feedback on the bus and rail
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shuttle bus between the university and the city Friday afternoon was identified as a particularly and there are concerns with safety when crossing centre and rail station has been made to help problematic time for bus service punctuality and the road at the bus station. Additionally, people reduce the need for car trips (this already exists at reliability. feel that the bus station is an unattractive gateway peak hours). to tourists, worsened by the prevalence of In general stakeholders want to see an smoking in the doorway and its distance from the The 40A/40B service is also believed to be improvement in the consistency of journey times. city centre. confusing for visitors. Measures suggested to help achieve this including more yellow boxes at junctions, and bus lanes However, while the plans for an improved bus Some stakeholders are dissatisfied with the along Crossgate Peth. station are welcomed, some stakeholders feel it is frequency and timing of bus services, specifically being done for the ‘wrong reasons’, with the bus the availability of early morning work journeys, and Bus infrastructure station being used as a catalyst for regeneration, the reduction of service to an hourly service at the Some concerns were expressed that existing bus as opposed to being located in an area where it end of the school day. Specifically for the lanes on Gilesgate, and on the A690, are would better serve users of all types, including University Hospital of North Durham many have a inadequate. visitors, businesses and residents. 7am start or 7pm finish and find there is no, or very limited, service. Several additional congestion points which could Concerns also exist about the adequacy of the potentially be targeted for new bus priority proposed new bus station to cater for the level of The issue of the link between the day and night- infrastructure were identified by stakeholders, and service and number of buses likely to use the bus time economies also arose; the day ends at 5pm include: station. Concerns exist around the queuing of but the night does not start until 8pm, and public buses out on to the highway on the A690. transport provision was seen as having a role in New Inn junction (Quarryheads Lane, South this, with service availability dropping in evenings. Road, Stockton Road, Church Street Head); Furthermore the location concerns some stakeholders as customers will be further from the Speed, punctuality and reliability One-way loop on Milburngate; Neville’s Cross. city centre and will have to walk further. It is Journey times of buses are a recurring issue, and suggested this will increase use of the already are perceived to be a problem, with one account Bus station and stopping arrangements busy Milburngate stops, which are already describing a service taking twice as long as a car There are many views on the proposals for a new inadequate for current use. journey, which can be off-putting to potential bus station. While high quality passenger facilities Another view suggests that many bus stops in the users. Further dissatisfaction was caused by a and waiting areas are welcomed, there are city centre are too crowded, with little space for perceived lack of reliability of services. Often, as concerns over the practicalities and suitability of passengers or for pedestrians to get by. there are few bus lanes, issues and delays outside existing proposals. The present bus station is of the city centre negatively influence services The absence of information at many bus stops is seen as a disincentive for many users. It tends to leading to poorer perception of public transport as seen as a barrier to public transport use. be overcrowded at school leaving times, there is buses are seen as frequently late running. confusion associated with any service disruptions, and it is difficult to see bus numbers from the
stands. There is also only one poor quality toilet
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On-bus experience One source of dissatisfaction with the bus services opening hours of the car park, as the sites are in the city is the fact that there are two operators. unsuitable for those who work late and could use The experience of the passenger whilst on the bus It was repeatedly mentioned by stakeholders that the service in only one direction. is important. Some stakeholders felt more could there was no integrated ticketing system in be done to improve access to the buses and Gaps in the service were also felt to be an issue. Durham which means customers perceive that experience on board for disabled users. It is also Stakeholders believed that more of the buses they have to ‘pay twice’ when using different important to roll out additional features such as should serve the university. It was also suggested operators. Stakeholders would like to see a multi- Wi-Fi to more buses as one stakeholder recounted that they should serve outer areas such as operator ticket for Durham, smartcards, and a that often people will wait specifically for a bus Arnison and Dragonville to complement the city cashless system on the buses. Conversely, with Wi-Fi. Additional on-bus facilities on bus centre retail offer. people do notice, and appreciate, cheaper fares services such as Wi-Fi will lead to better on competitive routes. Capacity of the car parks is viewed as insufficient perceptions, which in turn may increase views on at Sniperley. Both Howlands and Belmont are felt overall value for money. High fares are seen as especially problematic for to be adequate in terms of spaces, but their routes families, who can find it cheaper to drive even Comfort inside the bus should also be addressed into the city are impacted by congestion. when including the price of parking. This is a as often the buses are too busy and people need particular perception for the park and ride Stakeholders are generally happy with the park to stand up, and for some people the handrails are services. and ride but feel its success warrants expansion of too high to reach. existing sites. Durham University offers its staff and students a Information wide range of public transport incentives, including Stakeholders feel that the fare structure penalises Real-time information is popular, and stakeholders free buses between the campuses, cheap say and family groups. suggested that real-time information should be week tickets on Arriva services, and salary Perception to non-users provided at more stops. This information must sacrifice deals for a range of rail and bus also be updated more accurately and more operators for season tickets. Perception of public transport may also be a frequently to inform of delays. significant issue, divorced from reality. At least Some stakeholders believe that more employers one stakeholder said that they didn’t really think Fares and ticketing should also be encouraged to offer salary sacrifice about using buses when choosing how to travel. schemes for season tickets. A recurring issue with public transport was the Others, despite admitting to walking most places price of fares, with many stakeholders believing Park and Ride and not using the bus, had the perception that that fares are too expensive and poor value for buses were unreliable. Issues with the operational hours of the park and money. Even cheaper weekly and monthly tickets ride were raised. Stakeholders would like to see a Stakeholders identified that improving the are regarded as expensive. Allied with some Sunday service and both earlier and later opening understanding and image of public transport is reliability issues, this means that some times in order to better serve those who work in vital to increasing public transport patronage in stakeholders see the fares as poor value. the city. Even if extended service hours are not Durham. Education is needed such as through possible, stakeholders would like to see extended demonstration of how buses cut pollution in order
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to encourage people to think about their travel Highways Traffic congestion choices. Personal travel planning programmes Congestion was a common theme raised by with free bus tickets as incentives and should be Historic centre stakeholders. Some believed it wasn’t a major rolled out across a wider area. The city’s historic centre is seen, by some, as an problem, and many identified any issues were Rail economic barrier in transport terms. Servicing is a associated with peak hours only. Congestion is particular issue in the centre and high street seen to be a problem in the morning and evening Stakeholders are generally happy with the long retailers tend to be drawn to places where modern peaks. Those with the flexibility to do so identify distance north-south services but feel that trains units are available that are bigger, more flexible that they avoid rush hours, both school and work, travelling east-west are poor. The main line trains and offer greater ease of delivery. The HGVs that whenever they possibly could and consequently are seen as high quality, punctual and reliable for already travel into the city often cause issues if had no issues with congestion. the most part. Local services were a particular they park awkwardly which makes it difficult for issue including lack of late night services between pedestrians to travel past them. Saddler Street is Areas mentioned to have severe congestion were: Durham and Newcastle. More late trains a particular problem as delivery vehicles have A690; southwards to and from Yorkshire and the Humber occasionally blocked building access or struck A691; are also desirable. buildings. A691/A167/Southfield Way roundabout; Poor integration between trains and buses was It is felt that Durham may not be of sufficient size Exit from Providence Row; noted. Connections between modes are difficult to influence the patterns of larger retailers in terms as buses have not been timed to train arrivals. of servicing and deliveries, and this may hinder the Roundabouts near the hospital; It was felt by a number of stakeholders that the potential for more restrictive delivery regimes that The historic centre. would enable greater pedestrian priority. Leamside Line should re-open in order to improve Stakeholders are concerned about local air quality local rail service provision, including a connection People do feel however that the Market Place will issues associated with peak hour congestion. to park and ride at Belmont. There was a general be more appealing and safer if it was Some concerns were raised about driver consensus that more local stopping train services pedestrianised throughout the day. behaviour, and its affect on congestion, are needed. The current road user charging system on the particularly at roundabouts. Additionally storage facilities for luggage were peninsula was generally viewed positively, though Congestion issues in accessing the city centre seen to be important and should be provided. It it was felt by some that it could be made clearer, make travelling to out-of-town retail offers in was also felt that additional customer services and more expensive. Arnison or Dragonville more attractive to many such as Wi-Fi should be provided on all trains. It was also suggested that more shared use areas people. should be created, which changes behaviour and Some people admit that they usually drive to the makes drivers more cautious. city, even from as little as a mile away or less, and would not consider any other forms of transport.
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New road infrastructure particular problem: one stakeholder stated that as particularly around schools. Overall, it is a visitor you are drawn to this car park right in the perceived that it is relatively easy to drive and park Past proposals for relief roads to help resolve centre of Durham. in the centre of Durham. Some stakeholders congestion issues are not seen positively by all believe the number of parking spaces in the city stakeholders. Conversely some stakeholders feel There are seen to be around 2,500 spaces in the centre should be reduced. very positive about the proposed northern relief city centre which are under different ownerships road which could prevent some city centre through and charge different rates which cause further Parking congestion was said to be most traffic. issues in managing the car parking stock. problematic at Christmas market time. One comment suggested that any new road One stakeholder suggested that a staggered scale Students are also perceived to be a major cause infrastructure could be supported, but only on the of charges dependent upon time of day might be of on-street parking problems in residential areas. condition that there was a complementary useful to encourage greater retail spend in the city, More broadly, some stakeholders feel that reduction in road space for general traffic in the especially to solve the disconnect between the allowing students to bring cars to University is an city centre and on Milburngate Bridge, and that daytime and night-time economies, similar to issue in itself; it is believed by some that the this space be re-used for the benefit of people Newcastle’s ‘Alive After Five’. University should do more to restrict this. walking, cycling, and to improve the urban realm The parking policies of the main employers in the Taxis of the city. city are seen as inconsistent. At the University Deregulation of taxi licensing has created an Another suggested that new bypasses would parking is essentially unlimited and anyone can oversupply in Durham City at certain times of day. discourage visits to the city centre and would apply for a permit. The only limitation is the This especially causes queuing at ranks on Friday ultimately be of detriment to the city. physical number of spaces which are allocated on and Saturday nights, and congestion on the basis of ‘first come first served’. At County Parking surrounding roads as the ranks are unable to Hall a similar policy is in place with free parking for cope. There is seen to be an absence of There are a range of views on the parking charges staff. Conversely, at the University Hospital of appropriate taxi infrastructure to cope with in the city centre. Some stakeholders, including North Durham, staff are charged for parking on a demand, especially around Claypath. within the retail sector, see charges as a critical sliding scale based on salary, from about Enforcement of taxi operations is also seen as an factor in attracting shoppers, and favour lower £20/month upwards. Again, the system is ‘first issue. pricing. Some views expressed a belief that a come first served’. At the Passport Office staff decline in shops and a reduction in footfall could must pay £60/month. These taxis are seen as causing issues for other be explained by car park charging. Conversely, modes and disrupted bus services, particularly in Some stakeholders believe charging should be some view charges as too low to be a potential the Claypath area. Stakeholders also claim that implemented across all employers following this demand management tool, and that plentiful taxi use of bus lanes has caused disruption to bus regime where charges are based on salary levels, parking exacerbated by relatively cheap parking services. Conversely taxi drivers are happy that and accounting for accessibility requirements. charges, designed to maintain turnover to assist they are now able to use the bus lanes. retail spend, is encouraging people to drive. There was the perception from some stakeholders Prince Bishop’s car park was highlighted as a that there is too much parking in Durham,
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It is perceived that at certain times the majority of the taxis look to be near the theatre (Claypath), or on North Road, which has led to poor taxi service from other areas of the city centre, including the rail station.
Tackling traffic in the city
Some stakeholders proposed a number of ideas to ease congestion throughout the city. Many of these focus on reducing car use and its impact on the city centre. All emphasised the need for appropriate provision for all modes. These ideas include: A focus on reducing traffic on Milburngate Bridge, either through a congestion charge; or by reducing traffic speeds and reallocating some space to other modes; An increase in the £2 congestion charge on the peninsula, as it is currently not seen as a deterrent; Create a one way triangle around Church Street, Hallgarth Street and Stockton Road, reallocating space to active modes; Reduce the speed limit on South Road; Completely removing road traffic from certain areas particularly around the university; Extension of the city centre pedestrian zone extended along Claypath; Increase pedestrianisation in the city with complementary bus access only.
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Table 24 Walking SWOT analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
Compact nature means walking to key locations is simple and convenient Shared use paths (pedestrians and cyclists) can be intimidating for pedestrians Footpaths are generally good Layout of the city can be confusing for visitors with key attractions such as Pedestrian only areas in centre Crook Hall, Durham Light Infantry Museum and the Oriental Museum outside of the city area Key areas such as tourist attractions are well signposted Some signage is inconsistent Congestion charge in the city centre reduces traffic to produce a more pedestrian friendly environment Pedestrian severance is created by the A690 including between the Market Place and Claypath There are not enough crossing points particularly at Claypath, A690 Leazes Road and A181 Sherburn Road Shared use areas of Saddler Street and the northern part of Silver Street show pedestrian conflicts with cars due to close proximity Some footways are inadequate for demands such as South Road to the University and hill colleges.
Opportunities Threats
Further footpaths may be converted to shared use paths which could reduce Redevelopment opportunities on the riverside open up access to create a more pedestrian safety pedestrian-friendly environment Affordability of house prices in the city prevent people from settling within walking distance
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Table 25 Cycling SWOT analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
There are a number of off-road cycle trails Cycle routes are often discontinuous Get Active Get Cycling and Local Motion have begun to influence travel NCN 14 has several issues: it is indirect, cyclists must dismount multiple times behaviour and increase cycling uptake and they must travel via routes that have potential security issues National Cycle Route 14 runs through the city Poor infrastructure provision in the city centre and to the north east – many Good supply of shared use paths to the west of the city roads and junctions are very busy with no allowance for cyclists (particularly: A167, A181, A690 and Claypath) Good supply of cycle parking in the city centre The peninsula area is unattractive for cyclists due to the pedestrian area of Silver Street, cobbled roads and the contraflow along Saddler StreetHilly topography is offputting to cyclists Current cycle infrastructure is not clearly signposted County Durham does not have a county wide cycle training programme Marketing of network is an issue, many new and potential cyclists unaware of extent and condition No links with British Cycling, clubs in the county are focussed on competitive cycling
Opportunities Threats
‘Cycling Super Routes’ are proposed to link 12 major towns in the county Negative perception of safety associated with cycling
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Table 26 Public transport SWOT analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
High frequency local bus connections Bus station is distant from Durham’s main attractions and is not easily Two night bus services identifiable Bus station has good facilities, real time information and is enclosed Bus stops at Milburngate and Leazes Road are very busy and over capacity Three well used park and ride sites which serve three key radial routes into the Leazes Road bus stops are closer to tourist attractions and the main retail area city. The sits have good facilities including an enclosed and heated waiting than the bus station. These stops are old with no real time information room, toilets and a ticket machine There are stops outside the bus station, there is no dedicated waiting area and Passenger satisfaction with the park and ride is high during the day this causes conflicts with pedestrians. These stops are used when the bus station is closed at night, they offer no shelter Real time information present at bus stops Park and ride bus stops are not specifically signed. Durham Railway Station is on the East Coast Mainline and is served by several long distance services Park and ride services do not operate late enough for some potential users and others would like them to operate on Sundays Rail connections to local settlements are limited and some require interchange such as Sunderland and Middlesbrough Access to the rail station is steep and only suitable for the able-bodied and those without luggage There is no dedicated multi-operator ticket for County Durham or Durham City
Opportunities Threats
New bus station to be provided as part of a regeneration scheme Bus station is distant from city centre destinations Bus journeys declined in It is envisaged that redevelopment of Claypath will promote sustainable access County Durham from 2008/09 to 2012/13, they are currently stable at this as the site is in close proximity to bus services, including the park and ride. lower level New bus priority measures At the evening peak the park and ride service was observed to be busy with many people standing, this could deter future passengers Investment in and around rail station to improve gateway to the city (2015-17) Operating cost of park and ride is higher than revenue Protection of Leamside Line to allow for future reinstatement
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Table 27 Roads and traffic SWOT analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
Good provision of permit holder only/ permit holder or pay and display on- There are large numbers of workplace parking spaces street parking to deter car use Historic nature of the city results in constrained space for roads and car Road user charging is in place on the peninsula parking and makes servicing of business premises difficult Durham car parking prices are below average for similar historic towns The majority of visitors travel into Durham by car There is a good provision of car parks in the city centre Congestion is present in a number of areas, particularly around the centre. Hot Taxi supply is plentiful spots are: Milburngate Bridge, Leazes Roundabout, approaches to the city from the east and the west, and roads in the outer areas including Finchale Car club exists in two key locations Road and Neville’s Cross Air Quality Management Area in place from Sunderland Road to the A690 and Milburngate Bridge. 2013 Air Quality Progress Report identified further areas
with excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) Taxi rank operating restrictions are controversial with drivers Taxis cause severe congestion in the city centre, especially on Friday/Saturday nights Many taxi drivers do not use taxi ranks Car club supply is insufficient
Opportunities Threats
Western Relief Road proposed to reduce congestion on the A167 Growth of the city threatens to cause more congestion The Northern Relief Road will open up an alternative east-west crossing of the Restrictions placed on car access may result in negative public perception River Wear Road network unable to cope with increased pressure from taxis if not properly Plans for the introduction of the SCOOT urban traffic control system to enforced alleviate traffic problems on the existing local network
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