Issue - meetings

Local Transport Plan process and invitation for comments

Meeting: 19/06/2019 - Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee (Item 21)

21 Local Transport Plan process and invitation for comments pdf icon PDF 147 KB

To consider the process for developing the new Local Transport Plan.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 51 to 56, which gave details of proposals to develop the next Local Transport Plan (LTP4).

 

Pauline Jorgensen (Executive Member for Highways and Transport), Sarah Hollamby (Director of Customer and Locality Services) and Robert Curtis (Transport Planning Team Manager) attended the meeting to answer Member questions.

 

The report stated that, for LTP4 to be a success, a wide range of stakeholders should be consulted. This included Members and Town and Parish Councils.

 

The report set out the proposed process for developing LTP4 and requested feedback from Members on the priorities for transport in the Borough for the plan period (up to 2036). As a starting point, the report set out the five goals included in the current LTP3, viz:

 

·           Highways Goal – delivering a safe, resilient highways network;

·           Active Travel Goal – working with partners to promote walking and cycling;

·           Public Transport Goal – promoting an integrated and inclusive public travel network;

·           Smarter Choices and Demand Management Goal – enabling people to make informed, safe and sustainable travel decisions;

·           Strategic Projects Goal – managing demand to ensure access to different destinations whilst minimising the adverse effects of congestion.

 

Members were requested to submit their views and suggestions via the Council’s Transportplanning@wokingham.gov.uk email inbox.

 

In the ensuing discussion, Members made the following points:

 

In relation to the proposed timeframe for Member and Town and Parish Council responses, it was felt that the 31 July deadline was too short and should be extended to the end of September 2019. It was confirmed that the deadline would be extended in line with this request.

 

Would LTP4 include success factors to enable Members to consider progress? It was confirmed that success factors would be included in LTP4. Members requested that data on the outcomes arising from delivery of LTP3 be circulated to Overview and Scrutiny Members in order to provide context for future discussions on LTP4. It was also requested that the data be shared with Town and Parish Councils.

 

As the Council was due to consider a Motion on Climate Emergency, Members highlighted the need to engage with neighbouring authorities on measures such as improvements to public transport and the reduction of congestion. It was confirmed that engagement with neighbouring authorities would be part of the process for developing LTP4.

 

Members stressed the importance of ensuring that Climate Emergency measures were central to LTP4. These included walking and cycling infrastructure for example through the development of cycleways which provided links to schools, villages and transport hubs.

 

The Council had agreed previously to establish a group aimed at generating feedback from local cyclists on cycling provision across the Borough, were there plans to set up such a group? It was confirmed that further consideration would be given to this suggestion.

 

How did LTP4 link to the Local Plan Update? It was confirmed that the two plans were separate but must have linkages on key issues.

 

The Wokingham Borough Wellbeing Board had looked at the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21