South Lakeland District Council Travel Plan Has Not Been Prepared in Isolation but Is Part of a Wider “Kendal Work Travel Plan” Approach
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Item 14 (1) SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL TRAVEL PLAN Consultation Draft - November 2003 CONTENTS Page 1. INTRODUCTION Travel Plan Background – What is a Travel Plan Why Prepare a Travel Plan Kendal Work Travel Plan 2. SOUTH LAKELAND TRAVEL PLAN Scope Consultation and Awareness Raising South Lakeland Travel Plan – corporate arrangements Data Collection 3. QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY AND RESULTS A profile of Respondents Current Travel to Work Patterns Attitudes to Alternatives to Travelling to Work by Car Business Travel and Essential/Casual Car Users Parking and Car Park Permits Working Practices Additional Comments 4. ASSESSMENT OF MAIN WORK SITES AND ORGANISATIONAL POLICY Assessment of Main Work Sites Organisational Policy 5. OBJECTIVES, MEASURES, TARGETS AND INDICATORS Objectives The Measures – making it happen Local Authority Commitment Education, Awareness and Promotion Improved Accessibility to Work Sites and Provision of Work Facilities Car Sharing Bus and Train Travel Walking and Cycling Business Travel Flexible Working Practices Cars and Car Parking 6. IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING and REVIEW APPENDICES A - Objectives of Kendal Travel Plan Steering Group B - Staff and Members Questionnaire-Initial Analysis C - Detailed Work Site Assessment and Organisational Policy Review. D – Car Parking and Permits for Staff and Members in Kendal and South Lakeland House Car Park Detail E – Train and Bus Services F – Travel Allowances and Essential/Casual Car users FIGURES 1. Location of Staff Work Sites 2. Kendal – Main Work Sites and District Council Car Parks 3. South Lakeland House Area 4. Canal Head Depot and Aynam Mills 5. Kendal Leisure Centre TRAVEL PLAN SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL Mission Statement: The South Lakeland Travel Plan aims to promote greener, cleaner travel choices and reducing reliance on the car. 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 South Lakeland District Council has committed itself to preparing a Travel Plan for its staff and elected members:- a decision first made by the Policy and Resources Committee in July 2001 which was endorsed by Cabinet in March 2002. 1.2 This Consultation Draft Report (November 2003) presents outline proposals for consultation and discussion with staff, members, union and management. The outline proposals are based on findings from the staff and member questionnaire survey undertaken in Summer 2002 and a recent review of how travel choice is influenced by the Council’s current policies, as well as the facilities and management of the principle work sites and car parks. 1.3 The Travel Plan aims to increase travel choice through better travel awareness and the exchange of travel information. The Plan seeks to identify alternatives that will lead to a less congested and polluted Kendal Town Centre and a healthier workforce. The District Council would like to encourage staff and members to use more environmentally friendly alternatives than driving alone, at least for some of their journeys. To do this the Travel Plan will enable employees to see alternatives as viable, which may require upgrading the quality of alternatives and the way we organise work practice at South Lakeland. 1.4 The 3 essential ingredients for a successful South Lakeland Travel Plan are: 1. Visible commitment to the Travel Plan, and implementing it at all levels in the organisation; including leading by example and providing minimum resources required. 2. An emphasis on education and awareness of the benefits of the Travel Plan to staff and members-winning hearts and minds through persuasion and appropriate inducement and incentives. 3. An emphasis on implementation and monitoring -agreeing and putting in place practical measures, rather than preparing weighty reports. What is a Travel Plan? 1.5 A Travel Plan is a means whereby an organisation agrees a package of measures aimed at reducing reliance on car travel and promoting alternative travel choices. Travel Plans are not about banning cars, saving money or restricting individual freedom, but taking steps to promote realistic alternatives, where they exist. Important components of the Travel Plan will include: • A set of objectives identifying what South Lakeland District Council is trying to achieve from the Travel Plan • Actions/measures for achieving the objectives • Targets to determine whether the objectives are being achieved • Steps to ensure on-going implementation and periodic review as the organisational and external conditions change. • On-going monitoring of The Plan Why Prepare a Travel Plan? 1.6 Travel Plans are a key element of National Transport Strategy (White Paper, 1998), which recognises the benefits of Travel Plans and their important contribution to traffic management in towns and cities. South Lakeland District Council is a significant employer in Kendal and it is hoped that the Travel Plan, when implemented, will change employee and member travel behaviour. Although significant, the District Council is not a large employer. To overcome the issue of size, in Kendal several larger public and private employers are preparing Travel Plans so that the combined effort can make a real impact on travel patterns. It is important that the Council is an active participant in this town-wide initiative. The District Council as Local Planning Authority requires that Travel Plans are submitted alongside applications for major developments. Such requests carry more weight when the Council has itself prepared and adopted its own Travel plan. The South Lakeland Local Plan includes a policy on Travel Plans which stems from the White Paper and National Planning Policy Guidance Note 13 on transport. Kendal Work Travel Plan 1.7 Travel Plans are usually prepared by large single organisations, often with several thousand employees. The Government’s Energy Efficiency Best Practise Programme (EEBPP) is providing free consultancy advice for an innovative approach in Kendal, where several medium sized employers are working together preparing their own Travel Plans as part of a town wide `Kendal Work Travel Plan’, see Appendix A. 1.8 The exercise arose from Cumbria County Council’s commitment in its Local Transport Plan (July 2000) to prepare a Travel Plan for its own site in Kendal and to encourage the co-ordinated preparation of Travel Plans by other larger employers (on a voluntary basis). The Kendal Travel Plan Steering Group, whose objectives are set out at Appendix A, oversees this process. Kendal organisations preparing a Travel Plan include: • Cumbria County Council (County Offices Complex, including Police, Fire, Ambulance) • South Lakeland District Council • Lake District National Park Authority • Westmorland General Hospital • K. Village Outlet Centre • Westmorland Shopping Centre • Booths • ASDA • Stricklandgate House 1.9 The aim is to have the Travel Plans completed for all of these organisations by the Spring 2004. The South Lakeland District Council Travel Plan has not been prepared in isolation but is part of a wider “Kendal Work Travel Plan” approach. These (and other) collective measures to “manage traffic demand” are intended to complement the physical traffic measures already introduced and those still proposed for Kendal. Working jointly to introduce measures, or working in partnership with transport providers, will be more effective than working in isolation. 2. SOUTH LAKELAND TRAVEL PLAN Policy Context 2.1 South Lakeland District Council is responsible for the environmental, social and economic well being of the District. The District Council has set 6 objectives in its strategic plan to develop and improve services throughout the District. Those strategic objectives relevant to the Travel Plan are: • A high quality environment • Good transport facilities • Healthy and safe communities • Homes which meet need • Opportunities for enjoyment • Quality jobs in a diverse economy 2.2 The District Council’s objectives link with the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). The LSP is a diverse group of organisations pulled together to provide a starting point for developing the community strategy. The community strategy is based on the needs and aspirations of local people. Consultation on these needs and aspirations has raised the issues of transport and environment as being important. The community plan, when finished, will be the overall strategy that drives the priorities of the District Council. Other key documents and initiatives feeding into the community plan are: • The Improvement and Modernisation Programme undertaken by The Morecambe Bay Health Trust • Statutory Planning documents prepared by District and County Councils • The Promotion of Economic, Social or Environmental Well-being. Recent legislation empowers local authorities to undertake activities that promote or improve the economic, social or environmental well being of their area. 2.3 The Travel Plan picks up elements of all of the strategies and plans and provides a manageable tool for identifying and implementing travel choice measures Scope 2.4 The Travel Plan will establish travel patterns with its questionnaire survey. Having established a baseline of data a thorough investigation was undertaken to assess the needs of employees and Members in terms of their travelling and working requirements. Those Kendal offices will be South Lakeland House, Canal Head and the Leisure Centre, but measures and benefits will apply across both the Council and the District as far as possible in the interest of inclusion and equity. The Travel Plan will seek to encourage and enable staff and members to use alternatives