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This is Lancashire’s second Local Transport Plan. It sets out our plans for transport in the County for the years 2006 to 2010. The plan has been developed to contribute to achievement of our long term vision set out in the Community Strategy Ambition Lancashire. Equally, the plans must meet the needs of local communities.
We have worked closely with Local Strategic Partnerships and District Councils to develop local programmes that will bring improvements to the problems which have been identified locally.Our plans must contribute to national and regional strategies and we have placed them in the context of the emerging Northwest Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies. There are four Regional Investment Sites whose development will be vital to the economy of Lancashire and the North West. Our plans will improve access for workers, residents and businesses to support the sustainable growth of these sites.
The Plan must meet the wider social and economic objectives of the County Council, and in particular the aim to make Lancashire a place where people can travel safely and easily. The Plan therefore has seven key objectives. These are to;
The plan has been developed to make a significant contribution to our corporate aims and objectives, particularly through the development of our accessibility strategy. Good accessibility plays a crucial role in modern society. It is essential to the quality of life and prosperity of a community and makes sure that everyone in society can get to work, good education, quality healthcare and affordable healthy food, the four essential services identified by the Social Exclusion Unit. It can broaden travel horizons for individuals, opening up new opportunities for training and employment and allowing people to achieve their full potential. It enables sustainable economic growth that brings increasing prosperity to communities. We will also contribute to the health of communities. Safer routes for active travel - walking and cycling - will give more people the opportunity to take daily exercise and improve their fitness and health.
Performance Management
We made good progress in our first LTP and are determined to maintain and improve this momentum. We will monitor the delivery of our programmes to ensure that they achieve the greatest possible benefits and offer the best value for money. Our performance is underwritten by our Risk Management Plan which identifies areas of risk and categorises them so that we may effectively minimise them.
To ensure that our Plan delivers its stated objectives, we must set targets and monitor progress towards them. The Performance Management chapter sets out a framework of risk management and targets which we and our partners will use to evaluate the progress of the Plan and the methods and techniques we will use to monitor them.
We have set our Performance Indicators so that we can determine how much progress we are making towards our stated aims and objectives and the four shared transport priorities. The targets indicate what we are trying to achieve and we will use the Performance Indicators to measure the progress we are making toward the targets. Lancashire has followed Government guidance for targets to be;
The Government considered that all local authorities should monitor certain outcomes and has set mandatory indicators that focus on improving accessibility, road safety, congestion, air quality and the environment, other quality of life issues and effective asset management. The use of mandatory indicators will assist the Government in assessing our progress at a national level.
We have also identified a number of local indicators that are non-mandatory. These reflect local priorities within Lancashire and are directly related to the outcomes that are most important to the area and specific projects like the CIVITAS initiative.
Five Year Programme
We have set out out a balanced programme of works spread across the following blocks;To guide the preparation of the Capital Programme, we have developed a a system of scheme appraisal through the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Local Transport Plan. This assesses the contribution that each proposal will make to the Local Transport Plan objectives. The five year Capital Programme has been prepared to be deliverable within the forecast formula-based allocations together with contributions from other sources. We have included options for additional work if increased resources are made available.
Major Schemes
Where a problem can be effectively remedied only through major investment, we have proposed a Major Scheme. Three schemes in Lancashire are included in the top quartile of the draft priorities of the Regional Spatial Strategy. These are;
Major Scheme business cases have been submitted for the first two and development of the East Lancashire Rapid Transit will continue with a view to submitting a business case during this Local Transport Plan period. Other potential Major Schemes will be reviewed in the light of the Regional Priorities following consultation on the Regional Spatial Strategy.
Shared Priorities
This Plan is set out under the headings of the four shared transport priorities of National and Local Government;
Tackling Congestion
The convenience of car travel has attracted increasing numbers of travellers away from walking, cycling and public transport. In many places the growing number of cars is approaching the capacity of the road network, causing congestion over extended peak periods. We will work to manage the network more efficiently using the latest technology to gather and transmit information on traffic conditions. We will identify the causes of congestion on the network and investigate ways to overcome them. We will also coordinate our maintenance activities and the work of Statutory Undertakers so that they cause the minimum delay to traffic.
We must also reduce dependence upon the car. We will work with transport operators to improve bus and train services. We are extending our network of Quality Bus services which have been successful in increasing patronage on buses. We are continuing to develop ways to meet the needs of people without a car who must rely on public transport. We have introduced innovative services across the county and will continue to focus our efforts where they are most effective.
Heavy traffic on our is threatening to vulnerable road users and deters pedestrians and cyclists. About half of the journeys to work in Lancashire are shorter than 5km and many of these could be made on foot or by bicycle. Many school trips, especially to primary schools, could also be made by active travel. We will build a network of footways and cycleways that provides an environment where walking and cycling is a safe and enjoyable experience. We will work with schools, the Department for Education and Skills and Primary Care Trusts to set up School Travel Plans and safer routes to school.
Personalise travel planning will promote the transfer of car journeys to walking, cycling and bus. It will be an important part of the CIVITAS sustainable transport project in Preston and South Ribble and will support the Cycling Demonstration Project in Lancaster. People have less physical activity in their daily routines today, leading to lower levels of health that are now a cause of concern. Daily exercise through active travel will help to arrest the decline in the levels of health.
Delivering Accessibility
An efficient and coordinated transport system is fundamental to good accessibility. We have looked at the challenges of accessibility in Lancashire to services of all kinds. Participation with service providers, district and neighbouring councils and community and voluntary groups has been the cornerstone of our strategy.
With their help, we have established partnerships to overcome the problems of poor accessibility. The way services are delivered will be reviewed and different ways of working will be examined. Where transport is identified as the problem, we will look for a solution that can satisfy the needs of the clients and the service.
We were amongst the first authorities to complete our Rights of Way Improvement Plan. We published it in June 2005, identifying seven inter-related themes that make positive contributions to the key objectives of the Local Transport Plan and the wider objectives of the County Council. We will provide paths which are open to riders, cyclists, walkers and people of all mobilities. We will improve access from urban areas to the countryside to give town dwellers greater opportunities for healthy exercise and to offer country dwellers better access to town centre services. We will promote walking, cycling and riding to support the Rural Futures programme of the Lancashire Rural Partnership and to strengthen the rural economy.
Safer Roads
Road safety is important for all road users; cars and lorries, motorcycles and especially vulnerable road users. Our efforts are aimed at reducing the number of all classes of road casualties and in particular at meeting the National Targets for 2010 set by the Department for Transport. Safe roads also bring good accessibility.
Road casualties impose a heavy cost on communities in suffering, disruption to business and the cost of medical care. We will continue to offer training schemes designed to improve the skills of different classes of road user and to make drivers and riders aware of the dangers of inappropriate speeds. As new safety problems arise, we will develop new solutions to meet them. We will implement schemes to make the roads themselves safer and will prioritise the programme of Local Safety Schemes to save the greatest possible number of road casualties.
Better Air Quality
Congestion in urban areas is accompanied by poor air quality. We will work with District Councils to monitor the level of pollutants and to reduce them where they exceed recommended levels.
We will take remedial action in Air Quality Management Areas to reduce the degree of pollutants. Broader measures will reduce dependence upon cars generally. Improved Public Transport and new Park & Ride operations will reduce the number of car journeys into the centre of towns. Personalised travel planning will promote the use of the improvements that we have already made to public transport and the networks of safe paths for pedestrians and cyclists.
Quality of Life
Our work to improve air quality will bring local improvements and contribute to national targets to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
In many cases it will be possible to design our highway schemes to bring environmental improvements to their neighbourhood too. In the CIVITAS programme we will work with Preston City and South Ribble Borough Councils to introduce traffic management measures accompanied by improvements to the public realm which provide an environment more welcoming to pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users. We will also work to conserve and enhance landscape character and quality.
Many of our schemes, particularly those that improve safety and accessibility, will bring economic and social benefits to local communities. We will work with our partners to take full advantage of the opportunities to improve access to essential services and to business centres. We will target our safety schemes in the areas of high deprivation where child casualties are most common.
Transport Asset Management
The transport infrastructure is a valuable and essential public asset which is open to use by all. In Managing our Transport Assets we set out our proposals for a Transport Asset Management Plan which will enable us to devote our funds to actions which will give us the greatest benefit in maintaining the condition of our roads and bridges. Printer Friendly Version | About our website | Top of page | Environment Directorate Copyright © 2008, Lancashire County Council | Site Terms What's New | Site Map | (External) Tell us what you think about our site...