Environment Kirklees (Kirklees Environment Partnership)

Environment Kirklees (Kirklees Environment Partnership): Draft West Yorkshire (WYCA) transport strategy Response to public consultation 2016

Introduction Environment Kirklees is an umbrella body that works closely with community and voluntary organisations in Kirklees, civil society and Kirklees Council on sustainability issues.

This submission to the consultation is from the environmental voluntary sector in Kirklees. This paper was adopted at an EGM of the Environment Partnership (KEP) held in Huddersfield in October.

How strongly do you agree or disagree with our proposed policies described in each of the core themes and the cross-cutting theme? Roads and planning 1. The delivery of the Draft Strategy is very dependent on new or improved roads. The strong emphasis on new or upgraded road schemes would lead to increased capacity on major routes.

2. However there is compelling evidence that the accommodation of demand for new road space can only be temporary in nature. Delivering road improvements to alleviate local congestion hot spots is frequently self-defeating as demand for the additional road space increases. This diminishes the questionable benefit of the investment.

3. Road surfaces need improvements for all road users, especially cyclists who are at most personal risk from potholed roads. We recognise that budgets imposed by central Government on our local councils have lead to the deterioration of the road network.

Demand reduction 4. We support policies that limit or reduce the necessity to have vehicles. Demand reduction needs to be a clear aim of the WYCA Strategy. There are a number of ways that demand reduction can be addressed

5. Spatial planning that links existing transport hubs with new development (TOD - transit orientated development) is an effective way of addressing demand using the planning process.

Environment Kirklees c/o Environmental Alliance, 6-7a Lion Chambers, John William Street, Huddersfield HD1 1ES [Contact: Chas Ball 07970 666146 [email protected]] 6. In the Draft Strategy Consultation questionnaire we are asked whether we should “Provide new roads to improve access to development sites”. We think this is an inappropriate question. We need to develop the majority of new housing and employment around existing transport hubs and within easy reach of established communities rather than creating separate new developments with limited access to services and which require road transport for access. For example urban areas like Batley and Dewsbury are distinct centres, which could be the basis of development that made better use of existing building stock.

7. Support for the localisation of the economy would have an important bearing on transport generation. For example, supporting more local food growing and processing can avoid “food miles.”

8. Our rural communities should not be treated as dormitories. Increasing employment opportunities in locations such as Slaithwaite, Marsden, Meltham, Honley, Holmfirth and Denby Dale would help to avoid too many of these communities becoming overwhelmed by housing that is increasingly occupied by people who commute to work.

Cycling and walking 9. We need a much stronger emphasis on the value of cycling and walking as a component of demand management as well as healthy living but it needs to operate within a safer environment. We believe resources need to be allocated to a cycling strategy that can introduce safe sustainable cycle travel to work routes into Huddersfield along our valleys and disused railway routes (e.g. Colne Valley; from Meltham; and Holme Valley from Holmfirth) and into Leeds (from North Kirklees).

10. For improved walking, we need informative direction signs for pedestrians on footpaths as we have on roads with more commitment to maintaining rights of way on public footpaths for travel and leisure purposes. We also need stronger deterrents to eradicate illegal car parking on pedestrian footways and in bus stops.

Rail and light rail 11. We strongly believe that local and community rail improvements should be prioritised ahead of new road schemes, with greater emphasis on improving and expanding the regional rail network. Environment Kirklees (Kirklees Environment Partnership): Draft West Yorkshire (WYCA) transport strategy Response to public consultation 2016

12. HS2 is largely irrelevant to our local transport needs. Investment of this scale is needed to improve our public transport infrastructure, especially rail, light rail and tram. In particular we need more capacity on the Transpennine (York – Manchester) route, which needs additional tracks and electrification.

13. Increased frequency of services is essential on the Leeds – Marsden route and the Huddersfield – Penistone route but to operate a minimum of two trains per hour requires infrastructure investment. This simple upgrading of service would ensure many more people could avoid driving into our major urban centres. To make it work effectively would require some attention to transport links and parking facilities at selected stations.

Safety 14. We support “involving communities in making improvements to their neighbourhoods to create safer and healthier places” (a survey question) but we need to empower local communities with resources to tackle the effects of speeding traffic, all-day commuter parking and poor air quality.

15. We commend the approach of Gloucestershire’s Speed Reduction Partnership, which, for example, provides communities with the tools to tackle safety issues and loans communities their own speed guns to survey traffic.

Air Pollution & Health 16. We want to see the introduction of urban Clean Air Zones in all areas of west Yorkshire, not only Leeds. Local authorities should begin to levy a charge on diesel vehicles from our town and city centres from 2020, and to phase out all but essential vehicles by 2025

What do you think we should measure to show our progress in delivering transport improvements in each of the core themes and the cross-cutting theme? Measuring progress 18. The Strategy should be set against the context of the Paris Climate Agreement. An integral part of the Strategy should be to show how it is

Environment Kirklees c/o Environmental Alliance, 6-7a Lion Chambers, John William Street, Huddersfield HD1 1ES [Contact: Chas Ball 07970 666146 [email protected]] contributing to the carbon emissions reduction targets set in the Nationally Determined Contributions agreed in Paris last year.

19. The automatic assumption that all growth is good is a fundamental problem with the strategy. Growth can negatively impact on quality of life. One significant example is the level of air pollution from transport and its impact on public health.

20. We want to see decrease in harmful emissions NOX/SOX particulates as well as measuring improvements in carbon emissions and noise.

21. Measuring modal shift from private car to Public Transport and cycling for all trips within West Yorkshire would help to focus on the overall mix of modes in the way that Vienna has done.

22. “Road deaths” are not just about traffic accidents but the premature deaths caused each year as a result of harmful emissions and poor air quality.

Have we missed anything you feel should be included in the strategy? 23. There are jobs in a ‘green approach’ to transport policies – e.g. cycle logistics firms taking over from van delivery in the city centres.

24. The benefits new technology would provide for all of us. We recognize the value that autonomous and connected vehicles will bring to our society in the next decade and beyond. But who will benefit?

25. It would be unacceptable if we support and fund the development of individual “autonomous” vehicles that are only accessible to an elite and adapt our streets to accommodate them. Connected and autonomous vehicle technologies should be developed for the common good and provide community benefit through improved community and public transport and mobility services. We should see the benefits in our cities and towns, at airports and in our rural communities.