Local authority transport policy to pay more attention to pedestrians, cyclists, and good urban street environments

The DfT this week urged urban local authorities to reform their transport governance, give greater attention to the needs of pedestrians and cyclists, and recognise the importance of good urban street environments. The calls came in a new policy paper, The future of urban transport, launched by transport minister Sadiq Khan at the Core Cities Summit in Liverpool.

The paper builds on an in-depth  review of urban transport led by the Cabinet Office and with input from a number of Government departments. The review was prompted by last December’s resounding referendum defeat for Greater Manchester’s Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) plans for a congestion charge and transport investment package.

The DfT paper and the Cabinet Office report signal a shift away from the fixation on congestion that characterised the DfT’s TIF programme. The Department has put a monetary value on the ‘costs’ of different facets of the ‘urban transport problem’ and suggests that excess delays amount to £10.9bn, accidents £8.7bn, poor air quality £4.5m-£10.6bn, physical inactivity £9.8bn, greenhouse gas emissions £1.2bn-£3.7bn and noise £3bn-£5bn.

'New policy will need to consider the broad finding that congestion is not the only, or most important, transport cost in urban areas,' says the Cabinet Office.

Overall, the DfT says not enough has been done to improve urban transport systems in recent years. 'This is not primarily a matter of money,' it says. 'Funding for local transport has been at an all time high in recent years.

'Nor has the analysis identified any serious deficiencies in the policy framework or the tools available to authorities,' it goes on. Instead, the Department says the barriers to better urban transport are 'more subtle'.

Although local authorities have been good at forging new partnerships to deliver transport improvements, the DfT says 'few have yet provided sufficient incentivisation or drive to overcome fragmentation of responsibilities and the different perspectives of the various professional groups who are involved in delivery'.

'Nor has championship within authorities of the needs of walkers and cyclists been strong,' it adds.
The Cabinet Office says skills shortages in local transport are 'most notable in traffic engineering and modelling and capacity to manage and procure bus services'. But in another part of the report it says the 'two areas of most concern with regards skills shortages are traffic management and active travel'.

On roads and streets the Cabinet Office expresses concern that 'no ‘local transport profession’ exists to drive improvements in skills'.

The reports emphasise the Government’s desire to see authorities reform transport governance using the powers in the Local Transport Act 2008.

'Evidence suggests that an upward devolution (sic) by the metropolitan district councils to Integrated Transport Authorities of control of highways and traffic responsibilities would have major benefits,' says the Cabinet Office. The DfT paper lists five criteria that proposed governance reforms should satisfy.

Turning to policy matters, the DfT talks about achieving a 'triple win' of a transport system that improves the economy, health and the urban environment simultaneously. 

Policies to increase walking and cycling will be contained in a new ‘active travel’ strategy to be published by the DfT in December.

'Active transport is not embedded as a priority in decision-making,' says the Cabinet Office, adding that 'walking and cycling are not usually high priority of senior officers.' Furthermore, it says the  'impacts on pedestrians are not routinely modelled and monetised as part of [scheme] appraisals'.

The Cabinet Office gives extensive and generally favourable consideration to ‘smarter choice’ travel behaviour change measures. But it says there is  'still a limited evidence base and ... more evidence on [their] long-term effects is required'. 'Further investigation of the case for significantly increasing funding for these measures is required,' it adds.
Both the DfT paper and the Cabinet Office report give extensive consideration to the urban street environment. English cities have been slow to progress streetscape improvements, says the DfT. 'There are still too many places where a lack of attention to the competing demands for roadspace has led to both continuing high congestion and also unattractive public spaces,' it says.

The reports point out that a companion document to Manual for Streets, to be called Manual for Streets 2: wider application of the principles, is being prepared under the management of the Institution of Highways and Transportation (and part-funded by the DfT).

This will provide guidance on street types such as high streets and town and city centres, bridging the gap between Manual for Streets and the Highways Agency’s Design manual for roads and bridges.