Council House Travel Plan 2012 – 2015 August 2012 1 Contents Page Foreword 3 1. Introduction 4 2. Policy Context 5 3. Aims, Objectives and Targets 7 4. Site Facilities 8 5. Accessibility and Travel Surveys 12 6. Modal Shift Targets 15 7 Promoting Sustainable Travel Choices 16 8. Travel Plan Actions 20 9. Travel Plan Delivery 24 10. Travel Plan Monitoring and Review 27 11. Appendices 29 For more information contact: Rikki Roche 01332 643450 [email protected] Noel Peart 01332 642133 [email protected] Background Papers: Employee Travel Survey Analysis – Spring 2012 (available on request) Car Park Management Proposal Travel Plan 2008 List of appendices: Appendix 1 – Transport Network Appendix 2 – Derby City Cycle Routes Appendix 3 – Derby City Bus Routes, Services and Journey Times Appendix 4 – Train Network Foreword 2 Derby City Council is entering an exciting but challenging period – exciting because we are moving over 1800 employees and Councillors into the refurbished Council House – our city centre headquarters, challenging because of the continuing pressures on our budgets while at the same time addressing key issues such as congestion, reducing our impact on climate change and promoting healthier lifestyles for our staff and Members. The staff and Councillors moving into the Council House already work in the city centre but we want through this Travel Plan to demonstrate our commitment to minimising the impact of our travel on those who work in or visit the city centre while also improving accessibility for customers and visitors to our offices. Managing the way we travel to work will have a positive impact on the city and our environment and this Travel Plan aims to guide and support our organisation in doing this. The plan promotes alternative ways of travelling to work such as walking, cycling and the use of bus services. It also outlines how we will manage our use of car parks within the city centre to minimise the impact we have on other car park users. As a Council we are committed to enabling our staff, Members and those visiting our offices to make informed travel decisions that promote effective and flexible working, healthier lifestyles and the reduction of our travel related carbon footprint. Cllr Paul Bayliss Adam Wilkinson Leader of the Council Chief Executive 3 Section 1 Introduction The Travel Plan This is the Council’s second Travel Plan (the Plan). The first plan was published in 2008. This plan builds on the work started in the first plan as well as addressing issues specific to the move of many of our staff into the redeveloped Council House. The Travel Plan for the Council House will deliver some specific benefits including… • Assisting in managing the relocation of 1,800 employees to the Council House, including administration of staff parking permits and development of a parking management plan. • Creating opportunities to review long term travel needs and identify possible resource efficiencies. • Helping the Council to achieve its carbon reduction target of 25% by 2014. • Demonstrating corporate responsibility and leadership in tackling climate change and improving the environment. A robust Council House Travel Plan would show other organisations that the authority is prepared to lead by example. Travel is essential to all of us and is key to enabling a good quality of life. It is also vital to the economy of Derby, as well as the way the Council operates as a key organisation in the city. As one of Derby’s largest employers, we need to make sure our staff have a range of travel options to enable them to work both effectively and flexibly while minimising the impact their travel has both on the city and its environment. Our Travel Plan looks at how travel is currently made and the ways in which our Departments can work together and with other organisations to reduce impact while increasing travel choices. The Plan has been developed by a representative group of professionals, working with a range of colleagues across the authority. The Plan relates to travel made by the following groups of people… 1. Employees - travel to work and business travel made by Council employees working from the Council House. 2. Councillors - travel to Council sites and on Council business made by Councillors. 3. Visitors - travel made by external people visiting Council sites, including for business meetings and customer service. 4. Customers - travel made to access Council services. 5. Contractors - travel made by employees of organisations as part of contracts to the Council. 6. Suppliers - travel made by organisations making deliveries to Council sites. The Plan aims to address the travel needs and issues of all of the above groups. It does not include employees working at other sites although we plan to look at these sites once the key actions in this Plan have been delivered. 4 Section 2 Policy Context The Travel Plan has been developed in the context of National, Local and Council policy and activity. National Context Planning Policy In March 2012, the National Planning Policy Framework was published. This document sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied. The policy refers to transport considerations that need to be made as part of the planning process. This includes… “Transport policies have an important role to play in facilitating sustainable development but also in contributing to wider sustainability and health objectives. Smarter use of technologies can reduce the need to travel. The transport system needs to be balanced in favour of sustainable transport modes, giving people a real choice about how they travel.” Local Context The Derby Plan 2011-2026 Derby City Partnership was established in 1995 as an alliance of organisations from the public, private, voluntary and community sectors. The Derby Plan is our new long-term plan to improve the quality of life for everyone in Derby both now and for future generations. The Plan sets out our overall vision for the city – ‘Derby – passionate about progress’ and looks at what we want to achieve for Derby over the next 15 years, based on what we know about the city’s needs and what people have told us. The plan has six outcomes, these are… All people in Derby will enjoy… …a thriving sustainable economy. ...achieving their learning potential. …good health and well-being. …being safe and feeling safe. …a strong community. …an active cultural life. The Council Plan 2011-2014 The Council Plan support ‘The Derby Plan’ and focuses on the areas where we, as a local authority, can make improvements. It is important to us that our customers and employees are satisfied with the services they receive. For this reason, we have worked with our Councillors to develop two extra outcomes, which will be supported by our transformation programme... • Good-quality services that meet local needs. • A skilled and motivated workforce. 5 Local Transport Plan This Travel Plan seeks to contribute to the delivery of the Derby Local Transport Plan 3 (2011 – 2026) or LTP3. There are five overarching goals of Derby’s LTP3, and these represent the longer term targets for travel and transport in the city. The three goals that are most relevant to this Plan are… • To support growth and economic competitiveness of Derby, by delivering reliable and efficient transport networks. • To contribute to tackling climate change by developing and promoting low-carbon travel choices. • To provide and promote greater choice and equality of opportunity for all through the delivery and promotion of accessible walking, cycling and public transport networks, whilst maintaining appropriate access for car users. Health and Wellbeing Strategy Good health and wellbeing is a key building block for happy and fulfilling lives. Good physical and mental health is about effectively managing and supporting people’s health and social care needs but it is also about maintaining good health and preventing of ill health. The purpose of Derby’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy is to set out: • a vision of health and wellbeing for the city (incorporating our public health vision) • the health and wellbeing ambitions and priorities for Derby • the priority actions we are going to take to meet our ambitions. Primarily, however, the purpose of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy is to demonstrate the shared commitment and accountability of key stakeholders in delivering improved health and wellbeing for our local population. Council’s Climate Change Strategy As a Council, we are committed to improving the local environment and helping to protect it for the future. We recognise that our wide range of activities and services has both positive and negative impacts upon the environment, and that we have a leading role to play in creating a sustainable city. We have had an Environmental Policy since 1998. As one of the largest employers and service providers in the city, we recognise we have an important role in helping the environment. Our Environmental Policy outlines how we will improve our activities and work together with our partners to improve the City’s environment. We are committed to reducing our carbon emissions by 25% by 2013/14 from the baseline year 2008/09. To outline how we will achieve this ambitious target, we have produced a Climate Change Strategy. This strategy includes projects to reduce our carbon emissions across all our services. 6 Section 3 Aims, Objectives and Targets Our Travel Plan Aims… We want our Plan to achieve many things and become a success story that other organisations will view as a ‘best practice’ approach. Our move to the Council House and the associated changes that it brings such as more flexible working patterns and better cycling facilities, have put us in the ideal position to write and promote a new Travel Plan.