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THE TYNE AND WEAR LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Sunderland City Council plans transport strategically with the four other local authorities in the Tyne and Wear conurbation (, Newcastle, North and ). The Tyne and Wear Local Transport Plan (LTP) is in its 3rd iteration covering the period 2011 to 2021 with a detailed delivery plan covering 2011 to 2014.

The LTP 10 year strategy document sets out the key transport issues for Tyne and Wear and identifies the key challenges and objectives to achieving the broader economic and social policies of the districts. The vision for transport in Tyne and Wear is that: • Tyne and Wear will have a fully integrated and sustainable transport network, allowing everyone the opportunity to achieve their full potential and have a high quality of life. • Our strategic networks will support the efficient movement of people and goods within and beyond Tyne and Wear, and a comprehensive network of pedestrian, cycle and passenger transport links will ensure that everyone has access to employment, training, community services and facilities.

Key objectives of the LTP include promoting increased use of public transport by developing a bus strategy and reinvigorating the Metro light-rail system. Sustainable travel campaigns assist with reducing single car occupancy by promoting car-sharing, walking and cycling. These objectives support air quality, climate change, health and wellbeing, with additional benefits of reducing traffic congestion and improving road safety. has also focussed onthe development of low carbon transport economy to support the introduction of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.

FINANCING

The production and ongoing development of the LTP is financed through equal annual contributions from each of the five local authorities in Tyne and Wear. Sunderland’s funding level is agreed on an annual basis.

The LTP has an established Monitoring Group, which is set up to review projects and initiatives to ensure targeted improvements are met.. Two sustainable travel projects funded through the government’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund are ‘Go Smarter to Schools’ and ‘Go Smarter to Work’. Both projects include local contributions from the LTP. Since 2012, the Go Smarter to Work campaign in Washington has targeted over 15,000 employees, to raise awareness of sustainable travel options and promote cooperation between businesses. The Go Smarter to School programme encourages behaviour change in parents and school pupils to increase the use of sustainable modes of travel for the ‘school run’. The main benefits are the health and wellbeing of residents through increased walking and cycling, and decongestion benefits resulting from modal shift from car use. A detailed analysis of the results is currently in progress. During 2012/2013, the reinvigoration of the system had over 8.5km of track repaired or replaced. Significant progress has also been made with Smart Ticketing with Smartcard validators and 225 new ticket machines installed in Metro stations across Tyne and Wear.

Sunderland City Council has installed 50 electric car charging posts part funded by government grants, with a contribution from the LTP. The overall programme ensures that 99% of all residents within Sunderland will be within a 1.5 mile (approx 2.5km) radius of a charging point with 90% being within 1.0 mile (approx 1.5km).

LESSONS LEARNT

The following have been identified as key issues to address when preparing future priorities for the LTP: • The importance of extensive consultation whilst making it clear that not every idea can be incorporated. • Developing a strategy that is ambitious yet achievable. • Sustainable travel measures (such as walking and cycling) are low cost yet can produce very high rates of return. • Need for adequate time and staffing resources – producing a full LTP, especially for a large metropolitan area, is a major undertaking.

The need to review current indicators included within the LTP3 Delivery Plan has been identified, and also the need to update on current transport and travel trends which influence air quality and climate change.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

• The development of a conurbation-level transport plan and vision, in cooperation with four other local authorities and the passenger transport executive for the Tyne and Wear region. • Combining a 10-year strategy with three-year detailed deliver plans (i.e. long & short term planning). This flexibility allows options for readdressing delivery targets or changing priorities during the course of the 10 year strategy. • Each plan partner has the possibility to set its local objectives and priorities in the three-year delivery plan. This allows greater flexibility to use local knowledge to identify projects aimed at helping improve connectivity, reduce traffic congestion and improve road safety generally across the city. • A Monitoring Group review projects and initiatives to ensure targeted improvements across Tyne and Wear. This will be supported through the development of the Tyne and Wear Urban Traffic Management Control centre. • The LTP is a core policy document as transport is key tool in supporting the economic objectives for Sunderland.

THE CASCADE EXPERIENCE

Experts and local stakeholders from Burgas, Stockholm, Nantes, Terrassa, Amaroussion and Warsaw visited Sunderland on 23-25 May 2012 to ‘peer-review’ its transport policies. The peers interviewed more than 20 people. This allowed them to get a clear insight into Sunderland work and come up with recommendations for improvements. The CASCADE peer review helped Sunderland improve its transport policy and strategies, and to refresh its Climate Change Action Plan.

MORE INFO Sunderland City Council, Transportation Strategy: Paul Muir: [email protected] Climate Change Action Plan for Sunderland: http://bit.ly/1xOpK36 The Tyne and Wear Local Transport Plan: http://bit.ly/1pMVhOp