Uckfield Local Area Transport Strategy Has Been Prepared by East Sussex County Council Working in Partnership with the Town and District Councils
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UCKFIELD LOCAL AREA TRANSPORT STRATEGY Prepared by EAST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL In partnership with UCKFIELD TOWN COUNCIL and WEALDEN DISTRICT COUNCIL MARCH 2002 Final Draft for Approval EXECUTIVE SUMMARY page 1 1. INTRODUCTION 2 1.1. What is a Local Area Transport Strategy? 2 1.2. A Vision for Uckfield 2 1.3. The Key Principles 2 1.4. The Background to the Strategy 3 1.5. Structure and Local Plans 3 1.6. Uckfield & Surrounding Area 4 1.7. Principal Transport Links 4 1.8. Funding Opportunities for Transport Measures 4 2. EXISTING SITUATION 7 2.1 Population 7 2.2 Car Ownership 7 2.3 Employment 7 2.4 Reasons for Travel 8 2.4.1 Journey to Work 8 2.4.2 External Work Trips To Uckfield 8 2.4.3 Internal Work Trips To Uckfield 8 2.4.4 Work Trips made by Uckfield Residents 9 2.4.5 Journeys To School 9 2.4.6 Shopping, leisure and Essential Journeys 10 2.4.7 Summary 10 2.5 Transport Provision and Use 10 2.5.1 Walking 10 2.5.2 Access for People With Reduced Mobility 10 2.5.3 Cycling 11 2.5.4 School Transport 12 2.5.5 Bus Services 13 2.5.6 Rail Services 14 2.5.7 Road Network 18 2.6 Parking 19 2.7 Signing 19 2.8 Safety 21 2.9 Air Quality 21 i 3. STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT page 23 3.1 Local Community Involvement 23 3.2 Alternative Approaches Identified 23 3.3 The Preferred Approach 23 3.4 Core Objectives 24 3.5 Detailed Objectives 24 3.5.1 Walking 24 3.5.2 Access for People With Reduced Mobility 25 3.5.3 Cycling 25 3.5.4 Public Transport 26 3.5.5 School Transport 28 3.5.6 Car Travel 28 3.5.7 Parking 28 3.5.8 Signing 29 3.5.9 Air Quality 29 3.5.10 New Development 30 3.5.11 Safety 30 3. PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS 31 4.1 Background to Programme of Schemes and Measures 31 4.2 Improvements and Intended Outcomes 31 4.2.1 Road and Junction Improvements 32 4.2.2 Major Road Schemes 32 4.2.3 Safety Schemes 32 4.2.4 Walking 32 4.2.5 Access for People With Reduced Mobility 32 4.2.6 Cycling 33 4.2.7 Bus Facilities and Encouraging their Use 33 4.2.8 Rail Facilities and Encouraging their Use 34 4.2.9 School Transport 34 4.2.10 Parking 34 4.2.11 Signing 35 5. PROGRAMME OF WORKS 36 5.1 Short-Term Measures 36 5.2 Medium-Term Measures 37 5.3 Long-Term Measures 38 6. INTENDED OUTCOMES - ACHIEVEMENT OF THE VISION 39 6.1 Working Together 39 6.2 Monitoring Report 39 ii List of Tables Table 1 Age and Distribution of Local Population page 7 Table 2 Local Bus Services (2001) 16 Table 3 Rail Services (2001) 14 Table 4 Traffic Flows 18 Table 5 Crashes Involving Personal Injury 21 List of Figures Figure 1 The Transport Plan Area 5 Figure 2 The Road Network 6 Figure 3 Workforce Travel to Work 8 Figure 4 Residents Travel to Work 9 Figure 5 Bus Routes and Frequencies 15 Figure 6 Rail Network and Service Frequencies 17 Figure 7 Traffic Flows on Main Roads 20 Figure 8 Distribution of Crashes and Casualties 22 iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Uckfield Local Area Transport Strategy has been prepared by East Sussex County Council working in partnership with the Town and District Councils. The Strategy has been accepted by Uckfield Town Council and has received the support of Wealden District Council. The framework for future transport investment in the town for the next ten years is set out in this document. A vision is proposed based on the sort of place the people of Uckfield want the town to be, and a set of objectives is developed, from which transport improvements for the town are identified. Of key importance is the aim of enhancing Uckfield’s economic vitality. Schemes devolving from the Strategy will be delivered within the Small Towns Package of the County Council’s Local Transport Plan. The Strategy will also act as a bidding document for potential additional money to be secured from other sources. Currently there is a high level of car dependency for school, work and social uses and a large proportion of the working population travel into or out of Uckfield to work. The need for improved public transport and facilities for people with mobility impairment is identified. Existing road safety, traffic management and car parking are shown to be unsatisfactory. The core of the Strategy addresses the problems and proposes a way forward that reflects local views, the town’s economic and social role, and which is compatible with Government guidelines on transportation. Different approaches to addressing the problems are discussed and the preferred rationale is identified. This seeks to establish a more suitable balance between use of the private car and other more sustainable modes of transport. The Strategy’s objectives are stated and measurable targets set. Highest priority will be given to improvements for pedestrians, people with mobility impairment, and users of public transport. Importance is attached to delivery of some School Travel Plans, a key target being a major reduction in private car use for school travel. Traffic and car parking can be managed better, and an improvement in signing will seek to reduce through traffic in the town centre. Safety enhancement is an over-arching objective, and rail service improvements to be provided by other bodies will be encouraged. Schemes and measures for delivery over the first five years of the Strategy have been identified for implementation in the short, medium and long term. Agreed priorities will be tackled in accordance with the level of resources available. The Strategy’s success will be measured against the targets through on-going monitoring reported in East Sussex County Council’s Annual Progress Report. As a first step in this process, a baseline survey will be undertaken prior to any works being implemented. 1 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 What is a Local Area Transport Strategy? A Local Area Transport Strategy is a set of policies and proposals for transport related issues in a particular geographical area, which have sustainability as a core objective and which balance economic, social and environmental considerations. The Strategy aims to reconcile all modes of travel and competing demands for the movement of people and goods, in a way that best meets the needs of local people. This document is being developed to facilitate work under the ‘Small Towns Package’ in the East Sussex Local Transport Plan (LTP) over a ten-year period to 2011. It aims to improve transport for the people of Uckfield and enable the town’s economy to flourish. The Strategy takes a realistic approach in its objectives, and aims not to give rise to unachievable expectations of what can be accomplished. The Strategy’s purpose is to help identify transport improvements in Uckfield, which complement local planning policies, support future developments in the town and which have widespread local support. This will be achieved through a vision, key principles and detailed objectives that help to focus attention on what sort of place the people of Uckfield want the town to be. The Strategy will be a means of securing funding for prioritised measures intended to achieve the vision for the town. 1.2 A Vision for Uckfield For the purposes of the Strategy, the vision can be stated as being ‘ to make Uckfield a safer, healthier, pleasanter and more vibrant place to live, work in and visit, now and in the future’. 1.3 The Key Principles The Strategy will identify measures that will achieve the vision and enhance the vitality of the town as a place to shop and work, and as a business and service centre. It will increase Uckfield’s importance as a gateway for residents and visitors to access the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the High Weald, and will embrace the concept of encouraging a change in modes of transport (modal change) to more sustainable means through providing more travel choices. The key principles may be stated as: • To enhance Uckfield’s economic vitality • To encourage greater transport choice • To improve the health of the local community • To improve sustainable travel choices for the whole community • To enable everyone to participate in the life of the town • To improve transport-related safety round the clock • To provide transport measures in the following priority order: 2 1st Pedestrians 2nd People with reduced mobility 3rd Cyclists 4th Bus, train and taxi users 5th Shop, office and factory deliveries 6th Car-borne shoppers 7th Car commuters and long-stay day visitors 1.4 The Background to the Strategy The Uckfield transport forum and associated working groups set up by the Town Council during 1999 identified local concerns and possible improvements to the transport network. Subsequently, the Strategy has been developed in conjunction with local elected Members representing the Town, District and County Councils, and it includes the outcome of the earlier work. East Sussex County Council became a Transport Authority as a result of the Government’s Transport Act 2000. This means that the Council has to produce an LTP every five years, the aim of which is to propose measures to improve transport in East Sussex. The proposals are required to meet European and national commitments to protect the environment, and must incorporate up-to-date thinking on transport matters.