Avoid, Shift, Improve in Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) put forward an excellent Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP) on 31st May 2023.

The mantra in the plan is Avoid, Shift and Improve, in order to meet the Combined Authority’s goals including net zero by 2050.

Mayor Dr Nik Johnson

The LTCP was put forward by Mayor Dr Nik Johnson, who is a Labour Cooperative politician and paediatrician and who was elected in 2021. He cancelled complicated and expensive plans for an autonomous metro.

In the Foreword, he says:

‘…we need to fundamentally reconsider how people move around and through our region. In order to address [the challenges of congestion, pollution and public health] we have to reduce the need for some to travel and discourage individual private car use. We plan to do this by making active travel, public and shared transport the natural first choice.’

dr nik johnson, foreword to ltcp

Plan Blocked by Conservative Peterborough Council Leader

At the meeting on 31st May 2023 CPCA agreed to defer adoption of the LTCP, largely because of the objections of Conservative Leader of Peterborough Council Wayne Fitzgerald.

He objects to 20-minute neigbourhoods, workplace car parking levies, and congestion charging.

These policies will not be forced on Peterborough, but are in the Combined Authority Strategy document.

Introduction

The LTCP is an updated version of the region’s Local Transport Plan, and sets a strategic framework. A Delivery Plan setting out spending priorities will follow.

The long-delayed government guidance for LTPs still has not been published.

I speculate that there is disagreement between those who wish to follow the evidence and stick to our climate commitments, and Rishi ‘helicopter ride’ Sunak and his high-carbon Transport Secretary Mark Harper. I expect to be deeply disappointed when the guidance materialises.

Meanwhile, local authorities are left guessing. When the guidance is finally published, the LTCP may have to be revised.

The LTCP aligns with the government’s Gear Change strategy, and its Transport Decarbonisation Plan.

Priorities, Vision, Mission Statement and Goals

The LTCP identifies CPCA’s priorities, including doubling the size of the local economy in 25 years – but via Good Growth.

The Vision is:

‘A transport network which secures a future in which the region and its people can thrive.’

Vision

So far so bland.

The Mission Statement is more inspiring and is based on health, fairness and climate change targets as well as sustainable economic growth. It includes these words:

‘…investing in a properly joined-up, net zero carbon transport system, which is high quality, reliable, convenient, affordable, safe and accessible to everyone. Better, cleaner public transport will reduce private car use, and more cycling and walking will support both healthier lives and a greener region.’

mission statement

There are six goals:

• productivity
• connectivity
• climate
• environment
• health and
• safety

The Strategy

The Strategy is designed to meet the six goals.

A key part of this involves reducing car mileage by 15% by 2030. To do this, the principles to be applied are Avoid, Shift, Improve.

Avoid

Avoid includes more homeworking and online activity.

Shift

Active travel plays a big role in Shift.

The LTCP notes that in Cambridge 29% of trips to work are by bike, but the challenge in rural areas is greater and currently little road space is allocated to active travel.

The LTCP envisages investment in world-class Dutch quality walking and cycling infrastructure.

Other measures include Healthy Streets, 20mph limits and modal filters – to reduce motor traffic on residential streets.

It will be necessary to actively discourage private car use to meet the 15% target. This is done through Travel Demand Management which means:

• congestion charging
• workplace parking charges/levy
• higher general parking costs
• modal filters

Such measures have already been proposed in Greater Cambridge.

Improve

Electric vehicles, School Streets and road safety all come under Improve – which means improve the operational efficiency and journey experience of the transport network.

There is a tantalising reference to a government review of the Network Management Duty to better reflect health and decarbonisation goals (p42).

The LTCP has a relatively sensible approach to widened or new roads (p43):

‘We are responsible for overseeing the delivery of new highway infrastructure. There are situations where new roads, widening roads and junction improvements…may be necessary, but this is not a sustainable long-term solution because we have found that road schemes often generate new demand and quickly reach capacity again.

There is substantial national and international evidence of motor traffic ‘disappearance’ when road capacity is reduced, particularly where there are viable alternatives provided and in areas of excessive demand for road space.’

p43 of the LTCP

The CPCA says it will take a ‘decide and provide’ approach not the traditional ‘predict and provide’.