Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan
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North County Secondary Schools Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan Contract Number: (WSP | PB 62103021-013) Final APRIL 2016 Ysgol Bro Gwaun Travel Plan Prepared for Pembrokeshire County Council County Hall Freemans Way Haverfordwest Pembrokeshire SA61 1TP Prepared by WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff 1 Capital Quarter Tyndall Street Cardiff CF10 4BZ 02920 769200 www.wspgroup.com www.pbworld.com Report Title : Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan PIMS Number : Report Status : Final Job No : 62103021-013 Date : April 2016 DOCUMENT HISTORY AND STATUS Document control Checked by Prepared by Gwyn Jones (technical) Neil Taylor Checked by Approved by Nick Heard Neil Taylor (quality assurance) Revision details Pages Version Date Comments affected 1.0 March 2016 All Draft 2.0 April 2016 All Updated Draft 3.0 April 2016 All Final AUTHORISATION SHEET Client: Pembrokeshire County Council Project: Ysgol Bro Gwaun Address: Pembrokeshire County Council, County Hall, Freemans Way, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, SA61 1TP PREPARED BY Name: Gwyn Jones Position: Assistant Transport Planner Date: March 2016 AGREED BY Name: Position: Date: AUTHORISED FOR ISSUE Name: Position: Date: DISTRIBUTION ACCEPTED BY Name: Position: Date: ACCEPTED BY Name: Position: Date: Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan CONTENTS Page 1 Introduction 9 2 Policy Context 10 3 Existing Conditions 12 4 Consultation Analysis 20 5 Development Proposal 29 6 School Travel Plan Initiatives 30 7 Implementation and Monitoring 34 Appendix A - Collision Analysis Appendix B - Pupil and Staff Questionnaires Appendix C - Development Phasing Plan Appendix D - Pupil Cluster Areas Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan Prepared by WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff for Pembrokeshire County Council -7 - Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Commission 1.1.1 WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff (WSP | PB) has been appointed by Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) to prepare a School Travel Plan (STP) for the Ysgol Bro Gwaun Secondary School in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. The school does not currently have a STP, nor are there any travel initiatives in place. 1.1.2 The STP will be submitted as part of the planning application to PCC in support of the school redevelopment. 1.2 Development Context 1.2.1 The proposed redevelopment at Ysgol Bro Gwaun comprises a new classroom block to the north east of the existing school buildings. This block is intended to link with the existing hall/kitchen wing. The existing dining hall, main hall and kitchen facilities will be retained and refurbished. The school will also retain its current site access arrangements. 1.2.2 Following the completion of the new classroom wing, the redundant sections of the old school will be demolished. As a result, the school will be of comparable gross floor space as the existing. 1.2.3 Following the completion of the redevelopment, it is intended that the sixth form facilities currently provided at the site will be relocated elsewhere within the county. Consequently, the number of pupil attending the school is projected to fall from 557 (August 2015) to 525, with the school age intended to be between 11 – 16. 1.3 Structure of the School Travel Plan 1.3.1 This document will draw on questionnaire data from the existing school in order to establish existing travel mode characteristics. This will guide the development of the STP, which will be implemented at the school. It comprises the following chapters: Section 2 – Brief summary of national and local policies relating to TPs Section 3 – Baseline Conditions Section 4 – Consultation Analysis Section 5 – Development Proposal Section 6 - Travel Plan Initiatives Section 7 – Implementation and Monitoring Strategy Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan Prepared by WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff for Pembrokeshire County Council -9 - Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan 2 POLICY CONTEXT 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 A School Travel Plan is a document that aims to: Identify the issues surrounding journeys to and from school Provide practical targeted measures to reduce car use and increase the use of sustainable modes of transport 2.1.2 These two objectives will be completed within the context of national and local policy. This section provides a brief overview of the relevant policies that affect the production of the TP. National Transport Plan (2015) Wales Transport Strategy (2008) The National Transport Plan is a The Wales Transport Strategy One draft transport plan based on the Wales: Connecting the Nation was Wales Transport Strategy published published in April 2008 by the WG. The in 2008. It explains in more detail main goal of this legislation is to “promote how the policies and objectives in sustainable transport networks that the Strategy will be delivered. safeguard the environment while The National Transport Plan focuses strengthening our country’s economic and on different key areas, with the social life”. following most relevant to this The following elements of the strategy scheme: sustainable travel and have been identified as key points of safety, and access to services. relevance to the proposed development: Integrate local public transport with any new developments Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 Improve access to education, training, and lifelong learning This Act places a legal requirement Improve access to shops and leisure on Local Authorities to map and plan facilities for active travel modes. It compels Improve the impact of transport on the Highway Authorities to consider the local environment while reducing the needs of walkers and cyclists contribution of transport to air pollution through the development and and other harmful emissions implementation of a strategy for Improve the efficient, reliable and improvement to infrastructure for sustainable movement of people these modes. around and within the new development. Assessment of Walked Routes to Safe Routes to Communities (SRC) School This Welsh Government programme has provided £47m to Local Authorities in The Learner Travel (Wales) grant funding since 2008. It allows them to Measure 2008 currently sets a bid for funding to implement capital works framework for Local Authorities to such as cycle path and footpath risk assess walking routes to school. improvements, traffic calming, pedestrian The Welsh Government recently crossing improvements and secure cycle undertook a consultation exercise on facilities. These interventions are aimed at extending the criteria by which changing how people travel, resulting in routes are assessed and the greater social inclusion and improved outcomes are expected shortly. safety. Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan Prepared by WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff for Pembrokeshire County Council -10 - Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan 2.2 Summary 2.2.1 This section outlined the national and local policies and how management of transport needs and sustainable transport is presented at both levels. In summary, there are two clear transport objectives that need to be considered: At a national and regional level, the role of transport is to ensure that the road network is efficient, providing an easier movement of people and traffic through the towns At a local level, all modes of transport should be easy accessible and available to all users 2.2.2 This document will ensure that these guiding principles are embedded into the ethos of the school following completion of the redevelopment. Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan Prepared by WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff for Pembrokeshire County Council -11 - Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan 3 EXISTING CONDITIONS 3.1 Introduction 3.1.1 This section of the STP provides an overview of the existing conditions at the site, presenting an overview of the site location and local highway system. It will also identify existing sustainable transport provision, operational characteristics of the school, and a review of the collision data. 3.2 Site Location and Local Highway 3.2.1 The school site is located on the outskirts of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, approximately 800m north-west of the High Street. The school is predominantly surrounded by greenfield land. Fishguard Leisure Centre is located adjacent the school, utilising the same access road as the school. 3.2.2 Vehicles access the school via the designated access road from the A487 Vergam Terrace, which also accesses the leisure centre. This road has a speed limit of 10 mph, and several speed bumps are present. The road is well lit, and has a wide footway running along its eastern side (approximately 2.5m in width), as seen in Figure 1. Figure 1: School Access Road 3.2.3 The A487 intersects with the A40 west of the site, which is the arterial highway through Pembrokeshire. To the east, the A487 forms the Fishguard High Street. The road layout is shown in Figure 2. Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan Prepared by WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff for Pembrokeshire County Council -12 - Ysgol Bro Gwaun School Travel Plan A40 A487 Heol Dyfed A487: Vergam Terrace Leisure Centre Existing School Site Imagery © 2016 Bluesky, Infoterra Ltd & COWI A/S, DigitalGlobe, Getmapping plc, Landsat Map data © 2016 Google Figure 2: Site Location 3.3 Walking and Cycling 3.3.1 The A487 has a wide pedestrian footpath on both sides of the carriageway, approximately 2.5m wide, leading towards the school. Currently, there are no controlled crossing points along the A487 for pupils to access Heol Dyfed. As part of the Active Travel consultation with the police service, a controlled pedestrian crossing point has been suggested along Heol Dyfed, allowing pupils to cross from Pen-yr- Aber. A detailed feasibility study and consultation with the South Wales Trunk Road Agent (SWTRA) will have to be carried out to assess the siting of the suggested controlled crossing. 3.3.2 A crossing patrol is present during the morning and afternoon school gate periods at the Holy Name School junction. Site observations suggest that the patrol has to cross the road between parked cars; raising safety concerns (see section 3.6).