Cambridgeshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2031 Policies and Strategy July 2015 Graham Hughes Executive Director, Economy, Transport and Environment Cambridgeshire County Council Shire Hall Castle Hill Cambridge CB3 0AP www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk Third Cambridgeshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2031 LTP: Policies and Strategy document version 1.2.1, July 2015 For information on the review and update of this document since it was first adopted in March 2011, see the LTP: Change Log at http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/ltp. Third Cambridgeshire LTP 2011-2031: Policies and Strategy July 2015 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY III 1. INTRODUCTION 1-1 THE SCOPE OF THE LTP 1-2 THE ISSUES 1-7 THE STRATEGY 1-11 THE LTP SUITE OF DOCUMENTS 1-11 2. OBJECTIVES, INDICATORS AND TARGETS 2-1 CAMBRIDGESHIRE LTP OBJECTIVES 2-1 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN INDICATORS 2-4 ROAD SAFETY INDICATORS 2-6 TRENDS IN TRAVEL INDICATORS 2-9 ENVIRONMENT INDICATORS 2-15 ROAD AND FOOTWAY CONDITION INDICATORS 2-18 3. PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES 3-1 INTRODUCTION 3-1 LTP OBJECTIVES 1 AND 4 3-2 LTP OBJECTIVE 2 3-7 LTP OBJECTIVE 3 3-10 LTP OBJECTIVE 5 3-13 CONCLUSION 3-18 4. STRATEGY – MEETING THE CHALLENGES 4-1 INTRODUCTION 4-1 OUR OVERARCHING STRATEGY 4-1 CHALLENGE 1: IMPROVING THE RELIABILITY OF JOURNEY TIMES BY MANAGING DEMAND FOR ROAD SPACE, WHERE APPROPRIATE AND MAXIMISING CAPACITY AND EFFICIENCY OF THE EXISTING NETWORK 4-7 CHALLENGE 2: REDUCING THE LENGTH OF THE COMMUTE AND THE NEED TO TRAVEL BY PRIVATE CAR 4-22 CHALLENGE 3: MAKING SUSTAINABLE MODES OF TRANSPORT A VIABLE AND ATTRACTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO THE PRIVATE CAR 4-29 CHALLENGE 4: FUTURE-PROOFING OUR MAINTENANCE STRATEGY AND NEW TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE TO COPE WITH THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE 4-57 CHALLENGE 5: ENSURING PEOPLE – ESPECIALLY THOSE AT RISK OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION – CAN ACCESS THE SERVICES THEY NEED WITHIN REASONABLE TIME, COST AND EFFORT 4-60 CHALLENGE 6: ADDRESSING THE MAIN CAUSES OF ROAD ACCIDENTS IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE 4-69 CHALLENGE 7: PROTECTING AND ENHANCING THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT BY MINIMISING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF TRANSPORT 4-86 CHALLENGE 8: INFLUENCING NATIONAL AND LOCAL DECISIONS ON LAND-USE AND TRANSPORT PLANNING THAT IMPACT ON ROUTES THROUGH CAMBRIDGESHIRE 4-104 i Third Cambridgeshire LTP 2011-2031: Policies and Strategy July 2015 5. MAJOR SCHEMES 5-1 COMMITTED SCHEMES IN THE PERIOD TO 2020 5-1 THE LONG TERM TRANSPORT STRATEGY: MAJOR SCHEMES BEYOND 2020 5-3 CAMBRIDGE SCIENCE PARK STATION AND BUSWAY ACCESS 5-4 A142 ELY SOUTHERN BYPASS 5-8 WHITTLESEY ACCESS PHASE 1: A605 KINGS DYKE LEVEL CROSSING 5-12 A10 FOXTON LEVEL CROSSING 5-15 SOHAM STATION 5-17 CHISHOLM TRAIL CYCLE ROUTE, CAMBRIDGE 5-20 6. PROGRAMME AND FUNDING 6-1 CORE FUNDING OF TRANSPORT FUNCTIONS 6-1 OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR LOCAL TRANSPORT 6-3 DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN 6-6 7. CONCLUSION 7-1 ii Third Cambridgeshire LTP 2011-2031: Policies and Strategy July 2015 Executive Summary This is Cambridgeshire’s Third Local Transport Plan (also referred to as the LTP, LTP3 and the Plan) and covers the period 2011-2031. The Plan is split in to three main parts: This Policies and Strategy document sets out the Plan’s objectives, problems and challenges and the strategy to meet the challenges. The Long Term Transport Strategy provides a high level view of the more substantial transport infrastructure and service enhancements that are needed across the county. The Transport Delivery Plan is essentially a business plan detailing how we will deliver the LTP3 Strategy. It details our programmes for the delivery of improvements to the transport networks managed by the County Council, and also for the day-to-day management and maintenance of the network. Opportunities The LTP demonstrates how our policies and plans for transport will contribute towards the County Council’s vision – Creating communities where people want to live and work: now and in the future. While we must have a vision for the future, we must also be realistic and recognise that we do not have the resources to deliver all of the measures we would wish to over the lifetime of the Plan, particularly given the current economic climate. However, a City Deal for the Greater Cambridge area will provide up to £500 Million to invest in transport infrastructure in the next 15-20 years. We are therefore well placed to deliver improvements for the Cambridge area identified in the LTP Long Term Transport Strategy (and in Major housing and economic growth sites across Cambridgeshire the Transport Strategy for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire that sits under it) that will supports economic and housing growth. Even with the opportunity that City Deal funding brings, there are many other challenges we face across the county, and it is vitally important that the LTP sets a robust policy framework that leaves us well prepared to take advantage of further opportunities that may occur to bring in additional or alternative funding and resources. iii Third Cambridgeshire LTP 2011-2031: Policies and Strategy July 2015 As a flexible and dynamic document, the LTP Policies and Strategy document will be updated to reflect changes in the wider local and national policy context, council priorities and local consultation as and when needed. The Transport Delivery Plan will be updated on an annual basis. Partnership and involvement As with our previous Plans, this LTP3 has been produced in partnership with Cambridge City Council and the district councils of East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdonshire and South Cambridgeshire. We have had a strong working relationship for many years and have been very successful in bringing together the planning and transport responsibilities of these authorities, to ensure an integrated approach to the challenges. LTP3 seeks to address existing transport challenges as well as setting out the policies and strategies to ensure that planned large-scale development can take place in the county in a sustainable way. In addition to working with Cambridge City and the District Councils, our Policies and Strategy and Transport Delivery Plan documents have also been informed by public and stakeholder consultation, so that these documents reflect local people’s views and concerns. Vision This LTP was produced during a period of significant change, particularly in terms of the regional planning framework and the tough financial climate. However, the County Council is committed to its overarching vision: “Creating communities where people want to live and work: now and in the future” Funding In the LTP3 period to date, our ability to deliver transport improvements in Cambridgeshire from traditional sources has been relatively limited compared to LTP1 and LTP2. However, other funding opportunities have allowed us to maintain levels of expenditure on new infrastructure and on Broad Street March, looking south into the High Street road maintenance. City Deal will allow us to address many of the transport challenges we face in the Greater Cambridge area. Measures in this LTP have also fed into the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership’s (GCGPEP) Strategic Economic Plan. The GCGPEP is seeking funding for a Growth Deal with government that will allow delivery of many of the transport schemes that are necessary to support growth in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Rutland and the other GCGPEP areas. iv Third Cambridgeshire LTP 2011-2031: Policies and Strategy July 2015 We are also seeking further Local Sustainable Transport Funding from government to continue our successful programmes of behaviour change measures in 2015/16, and hopefully beyond. Monitoring and performance Monitoring the effectiveness of our Policies and Strategy document and Transport Delivery Plan is a key part of our LTP. We want to ensure that the delivery of our Plan is as effective as possible and is providing value for money, and therefore have a robust monitoring framework of indicators and targets to check our progress towards delivering our strategy and achieving our objectives. The indicators we have chosen reflect the issues which are most important to Cambridgeshire while at the same time enabling us to compare our progress against other local authorities in the country. Objectives and challenges The LTP3 document addresses the County Councils priorities. These are: Supporting and protecting people when they need it most Helping people to live Cyclists, pedestrians, buses and cars crossing the Hills independent and healthy lives in Road railway bridge in Cambridge in the morning peak hour their communities (Creative Commons licensed image, Klaas Brumann; Developing our local economy for CycleStreets #4882) the benefit of all However, given that the plan was an evolution of LTP2, it also took forward that plans focussed strategic objectives: 1. Enabling people to thrive, achieve their potential and improve quality of life 2. Supporting and protecting vulnerable people 3. Managing and delivering the growth and development of sustainable communities 4. Promoting improved skills levels and economic prosperity across the county, helping people into jobs and encouraging enterprise 5. Meeting the challenges of climate change and enhancing the natural environment Key among the issues affecting Cambridgeshire is the large-scale growth planned across the county, with the associated pressure on the transport network and the environment, and the risks of increased congestion and carbon dioxide emissions and worsening air quality. In parallel, many rural areas