A COMPREHENSIVE MOBILITY PLAN FOR COUNTY KILKENNY A Comprehensive Mobility Plan for County Kilkenny “If our lives are dominated by a search for happiness, then perhaps few activities reveal as much about the dynamics of this quest – in all its ardour and paradoxes – than our travels.” The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton alternatively… “Transport, motorways and tramlines starting and then stopping taking off and landing the emptiest of feelings Disappointed People…” Let Down, Radiohead 1 A Comprehensive Mobility Plan for County Kilkenny This plan was commissioned by Kilkenny LEADER Partnership CLG on behalf of a number of stakeholders comprising the Kilkenny Integrated Transport Action Group. The plan was authored by Ian Dempsey, Prescience, between January and May 2018. Prescience wishes to acknowledge the contribution of many organisations and individuals who gave willingly of their time, information, perspective and ambition. www.prescience.eu This project was part funded by Kilkenny LEADER Partnership through the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in Rural areas” 2 A Comprehensive Mobility Plan for County Kilkenny Table of Contents Chapter Page 1. Executive Summary 4 2. Defining the Scope of a Mobility Plan 6 3. Context and Rationale 11 4. A Socio-economic profile of Kilkenny 38 5. Transport Infrastructure & Metrics in Kilkenny 55 6. Travel Dynamics, Mode and Metrics 71 7. Provision of and Access to Key Services 83 8. Public Realm and Streetscape 97 9. Transit Design, Integration & Connectivity 102 10. Licensed Public Transport Provision 113 11. Deprivation, Disadvantage and Access to Transport 133 12. Recommendations 149 Appendices 164 3 A Comprehensive Mobility Plan for County Kilkenny 1. Executive Summary 4 A Comprehensive Mobility Plan for County Kilkenny This Comprehensive Mobility Plan envisages the development of Kilkenny - City and County - as a progressive and vibrant region of inclusive and engaged communities, where guided by the principles of sustainability, its social, cultural environmental and economic assets are harnessed and aligned to achieve an improved quality of life for all. An Efficient and accessible mobility and transport system is a key enabler of this vision. Achieving a mobility and transport system that can adapt and evolve to better serve local citizens remains an ambitious but attainable target. This system should be based on reliability, connectivity and accessibility and deliver a multi-modal system with seamless, integrated and accessible public transport at its core. Modal shift achieved through shared mobility as well as walking and cycling can also be achieved and with it a host of social, health, economic and environmental benefits. Reflecting ambitions set out in UN Sustainable Development Goals and in the EU Pillar of Social Rights, the plan asserts as a right that each citizen in the County be assured of a minimum level of access and service provision in order to best meet their individual needs and wellbeing. Respecting and resourcing such a right goes to the heart of rural viability and the sustainability of essential services. Globally, progressive regions driven by profound political, environmental, demographic, technological and cultural changes are redefining the transport and mobility landscape. They are utilising existing assets and resources to optimal effect and by innovating they are creating a vision for a socially diverse, economically vibrant and sustainable future. Moreover, they are staking out clear competitive positions to attract mobile global talent and investment. As has been proven so often in the past, Kilkenny can do all of this and more. But Kilkenny has problem. It stands at a crossroads, literally; car dependent, socially and environmentally unsustainable. Change is inevitable but whether this change will be planned, managed and resourced remains unclear. How Kilkenny chooses to proceed in these matters will tell us much about its ambition and its capacity to demonstrate thought leadership and ambition in social, economic and environmental development. The Future is now, but it’s a future that must be earned. To this end, the Plan concludes with a series of recommendations on the development of the optimal structure to plan and manage mobility and transport planning; defining a representation and advocacy role for this structure; suggesting some ways in which provision, integration and connectivity could be enhanced; offering recommendations to facilitate modal shift; and finally suggesting some funding options by which these might be achieved. 5 A Comprehensive Mobility Plan for County Kilkenny 2. Defining the Scope of a Mobility Plan 6 A Comprehensive Mobility Plan for County Kilkenny 1.1 Introduction A sustainable mobility plan provides the policy foundation for achieving a transportation system that balances the needs of all users. It takes a comprehensive and holistic view and addresses all modes and forms of transport including public and private, passenger and freight, motorised and non-motorised. Furthermore it considers all aspects of how, why and to where a society travels; their diverse needs, the means to reconcile these as well as consideration of the appropriate enabling dynamic or static infrastructure for all transit modes. It has as its objective the development of a transport system which: Is accessible and meets the basic mobility needs of all users by offering transport options that enable access to key destinations and services. Balances and responds to the diverse demands for mobility and transport services by citizens, businesses and industry. Guides a balanced development and better integration of the different transport modes. Meets the requirements of sustainability, balancing the need for economic viability, social equity, health and environmental quality. Improves the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the transportation of people and goods. Makes better use of urban space and of existing transport infrastructure and services. Enhances to the attractiveness and quality of the environment and public realm for the benefits of citizens, the economy and society as a whole. Improves traffic safety and security. Reduces air and noise pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy consumption. Contributes to a better overall performance of the trans-European transport network and the Europe's transport system as a whole. 1.2 Process & Policy A sustainable mobility plan should be linked to an existing, long-term strategy for the future development of a given area and for its future development of transport and mobility infrastructure and services. In the context of this plan long term strategies will be those of national Government, State and semi state agencies, local authorities and other agencies 7 A Comprehensive Mobility Plan for County Kilkenny and stakeholders. The development and management of a mobility plan is a structured process that comprises analysis, vision building, objective and target setting, policy and measure selection, active communication, monitoring and evaluation – and the identification of lessons learnt. Building on existing practices and regulatory frameworks, its basic characteristics are: A long-term vision and a clear implementation plan. Participatory approach to achieve public acceptance & support. Balanced and integrated development of all transport modes. Horizontal and vertical integration for consistency & complementarity. Assessment of current and future performance. Regular monitoring, review and reporting. Consideration of external and wider societal costs for all transport modes. 1.3 Definition & Structure Eltis – the main observatory on mobility and transport funded by the European Union Directorate General for Mobility and Transport – has developed and refined a working model for a sustainable mobility plan in its guidance document ‘Developing and implementing a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan’. This presents a logic model and outlines the main steps in defining mobility policies in the context of a clear vision and measurable targets to address the long-term challenges of mobility and transportation (See Appendix 1). This is a valuable template in considering how best mobility and transportation challenges might be addressed. However, a notable feature of the model is its urban focus and orientation. Notwithstanding the relevance of key principles and objectives, the development of a mobility plan for a rural region with a dispersed settlement pattern and a compact urban area at its core requires a substantially different approach. Furthermore, consideration must also be given to the substantially different policy context that exists at national and local level in Ireland where transport planning and investment is centralised and there is little autonomy in such matters at local level. 1.4 Plan Objectives In such a context this plan is best seen as an initial building block in the planning and implementation of an effective county-wide mobility and transportation strategy. It has as its core objective the development of a sustainable countywide and near region transport system for County Kilkenny. The development of such a system will serve to: 8 A Comprehensive Mobility Plan for County Kilkenny • Improve regional and local connectivity and access. • Promote social equity, inclusion and active citizenship. • Address gaps and limitations in service provision. • Enhance economic competitiveness, productivity and efficiency. • Ensure the accessibility