Somerset County Council’s Second Local Transport Plan 2006-2011 Year 1: Annual Progress Report Making a difference August 2007 Somerset County Council Second Local Transport Plan Year 1: Annual Progress Report Contacts and obtaining information Somerset County Council positively values diversity, and celebrates cultural and social differences. Our Equal Opportunities Promise is to provide all services of equal quality, which meet your needs and fulfil your rights. You can expect to be treated fairly, with respect, dignity and understanding, whoever you are, whatever your background. The LTP2 Year 1 Annual Progress Report can be viewed at: ● www.somerset.gov.uk/ltp ● All libraries in the County ● All County and District Council offices. A CD-Rom containing the document is available upon request. This document is also available on request in Braille, large print, tape and discs and can be translated into different languages; or we can provide a member of staff to discuss the details. To obtain this document in an alternative format please contact: Margaret Turner on 01823 355924 or e-mail: [email protected] If you would like to discuss Transport Policy issues in more detail, please contact: Transport Policy Manager: Stephen Walford on 01823 358244 or e-mail: [email protected] Alternatively you may write to: Strategic Planning Environment Department, 8 County Hall, Taunton Recycle Me Somerset Printed on Environmentally TA1 4DY friendly paper Contents Page No Foreword from Portfolio Holder 1 1 Introduction 2 2 Overview of Progress 2-11 2.1 Finance 2 2.2 Performance in delivering our Objectives 3 2.2.1 Improve safety for all who travel 3-4 2.2.2 Reduce social exclusion and improve access 4-5 to everyday facilities 2.2.3 Reduce the growth of congestion and pollution 6-7 and improve health 2.2.4 Support sustainable economic growth in 7-9 appropriate locations 2.2.5 Protect and enhance the built and natural environment 9 2.3 Major Schemes progress 10-11 3 Monitoring and Managing our Performance 12 4 Looking Forward 13 Appendix 1 - Progress in delivering Second Local 14-18 Transport Plan Targets Appendix 2 - LTP2 Programme Management 19 Feedback form 20-21 Somerset County Council Second Local Transport Plan Year 1: Annual Progress Report Foreword from Portfolio Holder Our second Local Transport Plan has been assessed by the Government This annual progress report sets out the progress made in Year 1 of the as ‘Good’ representing a positive move for Somerset’s Transport. Local Transport Plan together with some of the ongoing proposals for the future delivery of our five year Second Local Transport Plan. The second Local Transport Plan is being delivered by a focussed selection of schemes using prescribed selection criteria. Good work Hazel Prior-Sankey: Portfolio – Holder has been achieved in the first year of the plan to develop robust (Planning, Transport and Waste) management processes that will help with scheme, programme and Local Transport Plan delivery. Performance Management processes are becoming embedded with a strong Performance Team now recruited. Particular successes include the accelerated delivery of Demand Responsive Transport, with the result that 58% of Somerset parishes are now covered by ‘slinky’ buses. Key road safety targets are currently on track to be achieved and the establishment of the Somerset Road Safety Partnership is viewed as a key enabler to continue to improve the safety of Somerset’s community. The County’s first innovative route safety programme on the A37 was started and it was encouraging to see the level of contribution and participation towards this scheme from the community. Passenger Transport has exceeded original patronage targets set due to greater than anticipated impact of the Concessionary Fares Scheme and we are now able to set more challenging targets. There do remain challenges due to the rural nature of the county and dependency on cars. Efforts are however being made to address the issues that affect the use of Passenger Transport. Great work has been achieved over the last year enabling the launch of the Moving Forward programme to help reduce traffic congestion and pollution in Somerset. 1 Somerset County Council Second Local Transport Plan Year 1: Annual Progress Report 1. Introduction This report sets out our progress in delivering transport improvements over the 2006/07 financial year, the first year of our five year Local Transport Plan. The short report provides several highlights from the first year and a brief look forward. 2. Overview of Progress 2.1 Finance Financial performance in Year 1 of the second Local Transport Plan (LTP2) was excellent, continuing our track record of delivering the transport programme within the available funding and minimising over or under spends as shown in fig 2.1. Fig 2.1 LTP2 year 1 spend Summary Allocation £000’s Outturn Spend £000’s Under (-)/ Over£000’s %Spend (outturn/revised%) Integrated Transport 4,175 4,143 -32 99.2 Structural maintenance 13,301 13,279 -22 99.8 Bridges 2,298 2,389 91 103 Minor traffic management 228 191 -37 84 Street lighting 250 250 0 100 Total 20,252 20,252 0 100 2 Somerset County Council Second Local Transport Plan Year 1: Annual Progress Report 2.2 Performance in delivering our 2.2.1 - Improve safety for all who travel Objectives Progress in delivering targets Our Local Transport Plan has the following objectives: Somerset County Council are currently on track to meet targets for ● Improve safety for all who travel; reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our ● Reduce social exclusion and improve access to everyday facilities; roads, including specific targets for child casualties. The target for ● Reduce the growth of congestion and pollution and improve health; reducing slight injuries is currently not being met, with a slight ● Support sustainable economic growth in appropriate locations; and increase against the base figure. This small increase mirrors the ● Protect and enhance the built and natural environment. general situation for this target within the southwest. Appendix 1 sets out in detail the indicators we are using to measure Road Safety Partnership delivery against the objectives and our progress to date. A new multi-agency Road Safety Partnership has been The graph below shows that performance against LTP2 Indicators in established; including the County Council, Avon and year 1 has been mixed. Somerset Constabulary, fire and rescue service, NHS, Year 1 Position on LTP2 Indicators magistrate courts and other partners with a shared priority of reducing road collisions and casualties. A detailed programme of training and awareness activity is being delivered. A new branding has been agreed for the Partnership and 9 7 7 2 has been introduced on our first range of new publications. The Partnership has a new web site available at www.road safetysomerset.org.uk. 0 5 10 15 20 25 The first of a series of innovative route safety programmes is well Ahead Below underway, coordinating enforcement and education On-Track Need more info activity on the A37, including a stakeholder workshop that generated comprehensive media There are two targets where data is awaited before an assessment of interest. Driver awareness courses will be offered as Year 1 performance can be made: an alternative to prosecution. ● Change in area wide road traffic mileage –value from Government anticipated in Autumn 07. ● Modal share of journeys to work – data to be collated in questionnaire in Autumn 07. Our progress in delivering each LTP2 objective follows. 3 Somerset County Council Second Local Transport Plan Year 1: Annual Progress Report Urban Safety Management Studies To achieve a new focus in improving road safety in urban areas a programme of urban safety management studies for key Somerset towns has commenced. These studies consider the road safety problems in urban areas by assessing recorded injury accidents, looking at future developments and proposing strategies to reduce accident numbers across the urban areas, rather than looking at isolated sites. The studies for Taunton and Yeovil have recently been completed and the Bridgwater study is approaching completion. Working with the Road Safety Partnership, these studies are expected to lead to the development of safety improvement schemes as well as road safety education and publicity strategies in the coming years. These will particularly focus on reducing vulnerable road user casualties. 2.2.2 - Reduce social exclusion and improve access to everyday facilities Progress in delivering targets Somerset County Council have accelerated our Demand Responsive Transport implementation programme. Progress towards our 5 year target will be swifter than originally profiled in the first three years of LTP2 with 67% of parishes being covered by a Demand Responsive Transport service. Bus patronage is now increasing following the countywide introduction of the concessionary fares schemes and improved driver availability and reliability from First Group. More challenging target trajectories are to be proposed to the Government to reflect the changes attributable to the concessionary fare scheme. Bus satisfaction targets are currently not being met – this target is largely in the hands of bus operators although planned expenditure on improvements to some bus services in Year 2 of LTP2 is predicted to have an impact on this target. 4 Somerset County Council Second Local Transport Plan Year 1: Annual Progress Report Somerset County Council and the bus operators, are not on track to Local bus services have also been improved with “Quality Bus meet bus punctuality targets. We are working with the bus operators to Corridors” being established with First and South-west Coaches. ensure that performance increases as traffic priority measures, other Services 234 - Frome – Chippenham, 267 - Frome – Bath, 375 - Bristol – highway interventions and parking enforcement speed up bus journeys. Bridgwater have been completed and work commenced on provision of buses for Services 54 - Yeovil – Taunton “Fast Bus”, 126 - Weston- Transporting Somerset Super-Mare – Wells and 30 Chard – Taunton.