York Local Transport Strategy Consultation Open

York’s Local Transport Strategy Consultation is open, and residents can respond until Sunday 4th February 2024.

The rather childish title is Our Big Transport Conversation.

In keeping with the title, it begins by explaining what ‘transport’ might mean to you. This reminds me of an early episode of The Thick of It, when Malcolm Tucker says that transport is important, it’s buses and trains, and Hugh Abbot replies ‘I know what f’ing transport entails, you don’t have to explain it to me’.

In fact York’s consultation is detailed and serious.

The preamble explains that York needs to prepare a Local Transport Plan/Strategy by Summer 2024, and that the council wants to reduce emissions from transport by 71% by 2030.

The consultation asks questions about the ten policy areas.

You can choose to respond to some or all of them. You’re then invited to comment on the detailed policy ideas that fall under the policy area which you’ve commented on.

So for example it’s possible to focus on policy area 2, Improve Walking, Wheeling and Cycling, and the detailed policy ideas that fall under that policy area.

Improve Walking, Wheeling and Cycling

The high-level Vision for the policy area Walking, Wheeling and Cycling includes creating a continuous network of safe and high-quality cycle routes.

This policy area includes several policy ideas, starting with the Transport User Hierarchy.

Transport User Hierarchy

The hierarchy is not new, but currently it is not applied – private motor vehicles are prioritised in most situations.

Will this change?

Walking & Wheeling Network

Respondents are invited to point out gaps in the walking and wheeling network, and to suggest new pedestrian crossings.

Cycle Network

There’s the opportunity to say which outlying villages need to be connected to other destinations or to York; and you’re asked to rank cycle improvements (such as physically protected cycle tracks and cycle parking) in order of importance.

The consultation as a whole is incredibly detailed, and you could spend a couple of days filling all of it in, but the cycle network questions are rather brief and unsatisfactory.

The Environment and Cutting Emissions

Policy focus area 5 is the Environment and Cutting Emissions.

The consultation asks whether the council should take account of carbon impacts in planning infrastructure projects, and of course it should.

York acknowledges that it needs to reduce vehicle miles travelled, but the council has not yet moved from words to action.

If you were sincere about reducing car travel very significantly by 2030, would you be planning a major expansion in capacity for car travel by dualling York Outer Ring Road? Of course you would not.

Reducing Car Dependency

Reducing Car Dependency is policy focus area 7.

It includes providing safe and comprehensive networks for alternatives to the car, and planning new developments so that active travel and public transport are the obvious choices.

From the questions, it appears that York is focused mainly on carrot, with very little stick. Parking arrangements are expected to do most of the work of discouraging driving.

I suggest that if the council does not make driving less convenient, there is no chance they will meet their goal of reducing car travel by 20% by 2030.

Drop-In Events

As well as the online consultation, there are drop-in events at Friargate Meeting House.

There are further drop-in sessions in York’s villages.

There is also an email address for comments – ourbigconversation@york.gov.uk.