8.1 Introduction
8.1.1 Transport is fundamental to both national and
local life: it provides the vital links between homes and workplaces,
shops, educational and leisure
facilities. The private motor car has become the principal motorised form
of transport for most of the population, nationally and locally. However,
there are still significant numbers of people who do not have access to
a car and this raises issues of disadvantage and social equity where facilities
are provided that are only easily accessible by those with cars.
8.1.2
It has become increasingly clear over the last twenty-five years that
continued provision for the growth in use of motor vehicles, and the
car in particular, is not a practical possibility. Traffic levels have
grown dramatically since 1945 and are projected to continue to grow. With
increasing congestion, safety, pollution and parking problems, it is becoming
manifest that the present unsatisfactory situation on the roads is not
going to improve (if anything, it will further deteriorate) without intervention
to regulate the situation.
8.1.3 There is a new emphasis on creating and
encouraging sustainable forms of development, which comes from international
concern at increasing
levels
of pollution and the impact of this on global climate change as well
as other, more local, micro-level concerns. The series of Earth Summits
held
in the 1990s agreed to promote change in the way that industrialised
economies address these concerns. In the U.K. this has been carried forward
through
the publication in 1994 of “Sustainable Development: the U.K. Strategy”,
which has been followed by revised government guidance to Local Planning
Authorities, such as that contained within PPG1 and PPG13. The aim now
is to create new patterns of development that reduce the need to travel
and the length of journeys. It is intended to transfer freight, where
practicable, from road to rail or water and to reduce reliance on the
private motor
car where realistic alternatives, such as cycling, walking and public
transport, are available. The government recognises that this is a long-term
project
and that the public will take time to reconsider their journey patterns,
but this is vital if the economic and physical well-being of the U.K.
is not to suffer.
8.1.4 There is, equally, a recognition that in some
circumstances, improved transport infrastructure is essential to other
important policy aims,
such as economic regeneration. This is the case in Medway, where, in
order to
address physical and economic problems, and to remedy social inequality,
new roads have been constructed to open up areas for redevelopment purposes.
These new roads also have the benefit of affording relief to residential
areas and town centres which are congested with through traffic, and
of releasing road space for forms of transport, such as buses and cycles,
which could help reduce atmospheric pollution. This new transport infrastructure
is vital for the movement of freight between ports, industrial and commercial
premises and retail outlets.
8.1.5 However, managing the existing highway
network to achieve the best, balanced use of it is also important. The
environment of Medway, and
thereby its attractiveness to inward investment, will be improved by
addressing
problems of deteriorating air quality, increased congestion and road
safety. There is a need to reduce the dependence on the private car,
promote public
transport and provide better facilities for cyclists and pedestrians.
There is also a need to reduce the impact of vehicles, particularly HGVs,
on
unsuitable roads. To address social equity issues, it is also important
to ensure that those without private transport are not disadvantaged
because of their lack of accessibility to facilities and places of work.
8.1.6 The development strategy of the plan aims to achieve the physical
and economic regeneration of Medway by re-cycling previously used brown
land, whilst protecting open areas and environmental quality within the
urban area. The strategy also seeks to achieve a better relationship between
land uses to reduce the length and number of journeys and to enable multi-purpose
trips to take place.
8.2 The Current Position
8.2.1 Medway is well located in relation
to the strategic road and rail network of Kent. It has good road and
rail links with central London,
deep water (and other) port facilities and is within easy reach of Heathrow,
Gatwick and Stansted Airports via the motorway network. The completion
of the M20, and its widening north of Maidstone, have improved access
to
both the Channel Tunnel and the ports, with the M2/A2 providing an alternative
route. The Channel Tunnel and Ashford International Station have improved
freight and passenger access to continental Europe by rail.
8.2.2 The
main responsibility for highways in the local plan area lies with Medway
Council although the Department for Transport is responsible
for the M2 motorway.
8.2.3 As part of its role as Local Highway Authority,
the council is responsible for the preparation of a Local Transport Plan
for the area.
The Local Transport
Plan sets out the Authority’s transport policies and programme,
including its capital programme aspirations including local transport
schemes and
initiatives, highway and bridge maintenance and local safety and environmental
schemes.
8.2.4 The council is responsible for the provision and management
of public off-street car parks and has acquired Special Parking Area
status
enabling
it to enforce on-street parking regulations and charging regimes with
effect from the year 2000.
8.2.5 Rail infrastructure, including track,
signalling and stations, is the responsibility of Network Rail while
the operation of passenger
train
services in Medway is undertaken by Connex South Eastern. Freight services
are operated by a number of companies owned by Wisconsin Railways. Public
Transport
8.2.6 Public transport will have an increasing role to
play in the overall transport strategy to reduce dependence on the
car in the interests of
improving the environment
of Medway. This will mean encouraging less reliance on car use where other
alternatives are available, and reshaping car parking provision to
encourage this change in
travel behaviour.
8.2.7 Medway is well provided with passenger rail services
offering a number of destinations. Rochester, Gillingham, Chatham and
Rainham are situated on
the line from London Victoria/Cannon Street to Thanet and Dover. Gillingham
is also
the terminus of the service from London Charing Cross/Cannon Street via Dartford
and Gravesend that serves Strood, Rochester and Chatham. Strood is also the
northern terminus of the Medway Valley Line, along which services run, via
Cuxton and
Halling, to Maidstone, with some services extended to Paddock Wood and Gatwick
Airport.
8.2.8 In recent years new rolling stock (“Networkers”)
has replaced forty year old trains on the Gillingham-Charing Cross service,
but higher levels
of investment are required in both signalling and rolling stock to bring the
network up to the standard of other lines in the South East. Networkers are
being introduced on the Victoria service at present. More modern trains were
also introduced
onto the Medway Valley Line in 1998.
8.2.9 The first phase of the Channel Tunnel
Rail Link (CTRL) is currently being built parallel to the M2. This will link
central London to the Tunnel portal
by a purpose-built high-speed line. No stations are planned within Medway,
but the proposed station at Ebbsfleet (between Northfleet and the A2) will
be very
accessible from Medway, when it is completed in Phase II of the project.
Significantly, Phase II of the CTRL project involves a new junction with
the North Kent line
at Northfleet, which will enable faster services to be offered - via the
CTRL - to St. Pancras from Medway’s railway stations.
8.2.10 In the past, there
were a number of rail-served sidings in Medway but several have now closed.
There remain significant sidings at Grain, Thamesport
and at Cliffe, served by the freight only branch from Hoo junction. This
line uses Victorian technology, and has capacity restrictions that inhibit
long
term expansion. A branch from Gillingham to the commercial port at Chatham
was rebuilt
as part of the Northern Relief Road, and this could carry freight from the
Docks.
8.2.11 At the time of the 1991 Census, 27% of households in Medway did
not have the use of a car. For those without access to a car, including school
children
and elderly people, buses are an important means of travel. There is an extensive
urban network linking the various town centres to one another and to the
suburbs. There are also services out to the rural area on the Hoo peninsula,
and inter-urban
routes to major nearby towns. The council supports many of the socially necessary
services in the area which are not economic for bus operators to provide
commercially, but resources to fund these services are strictly limited.
8.2.12 The improvement
of the quality and convenience of bus services will help to provide a realistic
alternative to the car and contribute to successfully
sustaining the prosperity of town centres. Many services focus on the purpose
built Pentagon Bus Station, situated in the centre of Chatham, which is directly
linked to the conurbation’s only major town centre indoor shopping mall.
This provides one of the few purpose-built bus stations in Medway, although
there are on-street facilities in Gillingham, Strood and Rainham centres. There
are
relatively poor bus facilities at Rochester, whilst those at Hempstead Valley
are in need of improvement. There is good rail to bus interchange available
at Chatham railway station, but the level of facilities is poor and the layout
cramped,
creating passenger/vehicular conflicts.
8.2.13 Over the last decade, the use
of bus services has declined for a variety of reasons. The pattern of development
permitted in the conurbation since the
1950s has made the private car a more convenient mode as centres of employment,
shopping and leisure have become separated from residential areas, and ever
more dispersed throughout the conurbation. In turn, the reliability and speed
of bus
services have suffered from the congestion brought about by increased car
use and the lack of bus priority measures. The council is seeking to
address these
issues in the preparation of this plan and the Local Transport Plan and by
entering into Quality Bus Partnerships with the major local bus operators.
8.2.14
Commuter coaches provide an alternative means of commuting to London for
many people. In comparison to the train, they can offer almost a door-to-door
service at lower cost and are more convenient for those living in the southern
suburbs of Medway. One problem however is the on-street parking by commuters
making part of their journey by car, which occurs close to some of the coach
pick-up points.
8.2.15 Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre is an important location
in the National Coach Network and the council will take steps to ensure the
provision of information
and ticketing (at the centre and elsewhere within the Towns) to facilitate
this role. It will also ensure that there are direct bus services linking
the Centre
with other parts of Medway.
8.2.16 Coaches are also important to tourism in
the area. Many visitors to Rochester and the Historic Dockyard arrive by
coach, particularly school groups.
Coach
parking and ancillary facilities have recently been improved in connection
with the new Visitors’ Centre in the High Street, Rochester. River and
Sea
8.2.17 The River Medway is a working river that is a valuable
asset to the area. Although its commercial use has declined in recent decades,
as manufacturing
industries which made use of the river (e.g. cement) have closed, many wharves
are still active on the Frindsbury Peninsula, at Cliffe (on the Thames) and
at
the cement works at Halling. The growth in commercial river traffic in recent
years has been at Chatham Dock and the major new container port at Thamesport.
Coal and oil are still imported for the power stations at Kingsnorth and
Grain.
8.2.18
Chatham Port caters for a wide variety of cargoes and handling facilities,
including roll-on roll-off, and promotes transhipment using the port as a
distribution hub for sea-going vessels. Further expansion of facilities
is required by the
operators, allowing wharfage at Rochester Riverside to be released.
8.2.19
Thamesport has also developed very rapidly over a very short period and continues
to increase its volume of business, both import and transhipment.
It
is rapidly becoming one of Britain’s major container ports and is one
of the few that has the physical capacity to expand its deep water facilities.
However,
significant further development on the Isle of Grain is currently restricted
by poor road and rail access.
8.2.20 The river is also an important leisure
facility and a number of marinas and moorings exist along much of its length
within the urban area. Air
8.2.21 Medway has good motorway links to the major South East airports
at Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted, although rail links are poor. Rochester
Airfield,
which
is owned by the council, is situated approximately four miles south of Rochester
town centre, between the M2 and the A229. It has two grass runways of approximately
850 metres in length and is operated by Rochester Airport plc. It is used
primarily for general aviation, particularly for recreational flying
and for pilot training.
Its open days and special events are popular with the general public, it
is in a good location for supplying aviation fuel and its climate and
topography
are
suited for aviation activities. The current lease expires in 2004 and the
local plan is proposing that it should continue to operate after that
date using
only a single runway. Cycling
8.2.22 As the need to reduce reliance on the use of the car has become
apparent, the importance of encouraging cycling as an alternative means of
transport,
especially for short trips, has grown. Although local topography is not everywhere
conducive
to cycling, there is much that has and can be done to encourage cycling for
short journeys. Cycle lanes, shared use surfaces and advisory routes have
been provided
in a number of locations and further works are planned as part of a review
of the Strategic Cycle Network. Cycleways are also being provided in conjunction
with major development schemes, such as at Chatham Maritime.
8.2.23 Sustrans,
the charity which designs and builds traffic free routes for cyclists, walkers
and people with disabilities, is working to develop the National
Cycle Network. One of the routes is the Inverness to Dover route. Route 101,
between London and Dover, passes through Medway and will form part of the
council’s
Strategic Cycle Network. A further part of the National Cycle Network is the
route from Chatham to Maidstone. Roads 8.2.24 The M2 motorway skirts the southern boundary of the conurbation
and allows east-west traffic to bypass Medway. It also performs an important
function
for
the conurbation itself by providing an alternative route to the A2 and relieving
inadequate roads within the urban area from east-west movements.
8.2.25 The
Medway Towns Northern Relief Road was completed in 1999 and provides
a northern by-pass to the urban area, connecting the M2/A2 (Junction
1) in
the west, to the A2 and onwards to the M2 at Junction 4 in the east. The
new road
provides improved access to Chatham, Gillingham and Strood, whilst also
opening up redevelopment areas to the north, including Chatham Maritime.
The new
road has relieved the considerable congestion that occurred through the
urban area,
in particular on Rochester Bridge, and has enabled proposals for a network
of public transport priority routes to be developed.
8.2.26 However, the urban
area still experiences congestion during the peak hours, particularly due
to the “school run” and the high level
of single occupancy cars, with 77% of vehicles in the peak hours only carrying
the driver.
Congestion occurs on the A2 spine road through the centres of Strood, Rochester,
Chatham and Rainham. Measures are being developed to favour public transport
rather than the private car on these congested routes. Congestion also occurs
during the peak hours at junctions 3 and 4 of the M2 motorway.
8.2.27 From the
Medway Towns Northern Relief Road, the A228 carries large volumes of commercial
traffic north towards Thamesport, Grain and other locations on
the Hoo peninsula, north-east of Chattenden. The road suffers from poor vertical
and horizontal alignment in a number of locations and has a poor accident
record. Measures are being developed to remedy this situation. Parking
8.2.28 The growth in car ownership and use has consequences for on-street
and off-street parking space. Close to the town centres, competition for
spaces from residents, shoppers or commuters has led to the introduction
of residents’ parking
schemes. A major scheme has also been introduced around Medway Maritime Hospital.
8.2.29
In the town centres, especially Chatham, the principal centre, the provision
of short stay parking for customers is vital if they are to compete with
out-of-centre retail facilities, including Bluewater. Historic Rochester
has its own particular
car and coach parking problems because of the conflicting needs of residents,
traders and visitors. In 1996 the former City Council introduced a permit
scheme for residents living in Rochester High Street who do not have
off-street parking,
in order to address some of the problems they experience.
8.2.30 Uncontrolled lorry and coach parking can cause problems to residents
and businesses alike and the council continues to monitor the situation
closely to minimise disturbance to amenity and safety.
8.3 Policy Context
Central Government Guidance
8.3.1 PPG12: Development Plans, states that
the transport strategy set out in local transport plans and decisions
on priorities for transport
investment
will
have implications for development plans. Similarly, planning decisions on land
use (both individual applications and in development plans) will impact on
the strategy in the local transport plan. It is therefore vital that the strategy
which supports decisions taken in developing and implementing a local transport
plan takes full account of, and complements, the land use strategy in the relevant
development plan. Equally, the development plan strategy should underpin the
land use issues arising from the implementation of a local transport plan.
The
Medway Local Plan conforms fully with this advice.
8.3.2 In March 2001, the
Government issued PPG13 “Transport”, which
provides advice to local authorities on how they should integrate transport
and land use planning. It emphasises the need for the planning system to encourage
patterns of development and influence the location, scale, density, design
and
mix of land uses in order to reduce the need to travel, reduce the length of
journeys and make it safer and easier for people to access jobs, shopping,
leisure facilities and services by public transport, walking and cycling. This
will help
to reduce congestion and pollution, improve access, promote sustainable distribution
and improve the quality of life.
8.3.3 The Road Traffic Reduction Act 1995 places
upon Local Highway Authorities the duty to publish a report on traffic
flows on their roads, with targets
for future traffic restraint. It indicates that in the future the supply of
road
space cannot be increased to meet all forecast demands, but that the demand
for car travel must be managed and reduced. The council is to introduce measures
to reduce the dependence on the private car, widening the choice of travel
options
and so establish road traffic reduction targets which are sensible and achievable.
However, the LTP recognises that at the start of the plan period it is difficult
to set meaningful road traffic reduction targets because of the emphasis on
economic regeneration in Medway (as part of Thames Gateway) and the inevitable
dispersal
of traffic that is likely to occur with the roadworks associated with widening
of the M2 around the south of the urban area.
8.3.4 The Highways Agency is
the Department for Transport agency charged with responsibility for managing
the trunk road network. Direct access to trunk
roads should be rigorously controlled, with no direct access to motorways permitted
other than for service areas, maintenance compounds and at junctions. There
should
be a strong presumption against the creation of new accesses to high standard
all purpose trunk roads and to trunk roads with a clear strategic importance.
On the less important trunk roads and the majority of trunk roads in urban
areas, this policy may be relaxed if road safety is not compromised.
8.3.5 The
Highways Agency will ensure that development proposals take account of
their impact on the trunk road network, considering traffic conditions
15
years from either the time of the assessment or the first year of the plan
period (whichever is the later). The general aim of the Highways Agency is
to seek a
solution which leaves the trunk road network no worse off than had the development
not proceeded. In other words, where the developer agrees to fund an improvement
to the highway which, taken together with the impact of the development, would
leave expected conditions on the trunk road much the same as those anticipated
without the development.
Regional Policy
8.3.6 “Regional Planning Guidance for the South
East” (RPG9) 1994,
contained a number of objectives in relation to transport which were:
• To provide for safe and efficient movement and to facilitate
accessibility in order to serve the existing and future pattern of
development in the region;
• To reconcile the demand for travel with environmental concerns;
• To reduce the growth in reliance on the motor vehicle;
• To increase the opportunity to choose modes of travel with less environmental
impact, particularly walking, cycling, public transport, and rail and
water for freight;
• To take account of the interaction between transport and land use; and
• To take into account fully the high and rising economic and environmental
costs of transport in the South East.
Because of the high cost of transport
infrastructure it is important to make the most efficient and effective use
of the existing highway network.
8.3.7 RPG9 was reviewed in 2001 and for
the first time, some parking standards have been set at a regional level.
The proposals represent a reduction
in the levels of acceptable vehicle parking related to development that are
set out
in the Kent Standards previously used by the council. They also represent
a shift from minimum to maximum levels of parking requirements.
Thames Gateway
Planning Framework
8.3.8 Subsequent to the issuing of RPG9, the Government
issued an addendum relating to the potential to redirect development
pressures in the South
East away from
the pressured western side of London to the redevelopment opportunities
available in the Thames Gateway. The potential arose partly a result of
the transport
infrastructure improvements which were planned, principally the Channel
Tunnel Rail Link and
the widening of the M2.
8.3.9 One of the five principles in the “Thames
Gateway Planning Framework” (RPG9a)
is the need to create a clear pattern of sustainable development based
on a reduced need to travel and reliance on the motor car. The strategy
identified
that some
improvements to the road network were needed, as:
“additions to capacity may be the best means of supporting development
in certain locations and addressing congestion, especially where it affects
the economic health and quality of life in the community”.
8.3.10
More detailed guidance for Medway in the Planning Framework stresses
the need to consider the wider effects of increased traffic on the natural
and built
heritage. In the longer term, the emphasis should shift to improving
public transport including Park and Ride, and examining the potential
for Light
Rail Transit.
Kent Structure Plan 1996
8.3.11 The adopted Kent Structure Plan 1996
encompasses all of the principles of sustainable development and sustainable
transport as set out in RPG9,
PPG13 and RPG9a. Policy S7 is the strategic policy for transport, which
emphasises the need to provide for travel by a variety of means, especially
in town
centres.
It also recognises that movement to/from and through Kent and between
major centres of traffic generation will be assisted by improvements
to the capacity
and quality
of the rail network and primary and secondary roads. The policy for Thames
Gateway (S5) stresses the importance of improvements to transport, including
public transport,
to the regeneration of the area.
8.3.12 The Channel Tunnel Rail Link is
covered by policy P4 and this also encompasses Ebbsfleet Station and
the junction with the North Kent
Line.
The policy recognises
the regeneration benefits that will flow from the Ebbsfleet Station in
relation to Thames Gateway. Policy P8 encourages development proposals
for the expansion
of the deep water berths at Thamesport, together with improvements to
the A228. Policy P10 provides encouragement to the establishment or expansion
of small
ports and wharves subject to adequate access provision.
8.3.13 The Transport chapter of the structure plan contains a number
of policies that help to frame the context for the transport policies
of this plan. Policy T1 places emphasis on the need to provide facilities
to assist pedestrians, cyclists and the use of buses and trains as an
alternative to reliance on the private car. The highway programme for
the primary and secondary road network is set out in policy T2, although
this has subsequently been substantially reduced in a 1997 review. Improvements
to the secondary network, such as village by-passes, will be assessed
under the provisions of policy T7. The transfer of freight from road to
rail is promoted through policy T9, whilst traffic management is provided
for within policies T12 and T16. Vehicle parking is dealt with in policies
T13, T14 and T17, although these policies need to be read within the context
of the revised regional parking guidance referred to above.
8.4. Objectives
8.4.1
The following objectives form the basis of the integrated transportation
strategy which follows, and which will be pursued by the council in its
role as Highway Authority and Planning Authority throughout the period
to 2006:
(i) develop strategies which encourage more sustainable transport choices
for journeys, in particular home to school and home to work, by the encouragement
of new, and the protection and improvement of existing, public transport
provision and the provision of increased opportunities for cyclists and
pedestrians;
(ii) traffic management measures to optimise management of the road network,
reduce unnecessary use of the private car, increase road safety, and improve
opportunities for public transport, cycling and/or walking;
(iii) a co-ordinated vehicle parking strategy for the urban area which
encourages a reduction in the unnecessary use of the private car;
(iv) action to assist easy, safe and dignified access by people with disabilities;
(v) promoting new development that reduces the need to travel and offers
transport choices (particularly to move freight by rail or river), is
well related to the planned future transport network, does not impair
highway safety and is phased to the provision of any transport works or
facilities necessary to enable the development to proceed;
(vi) limited new highway construction, where there are demonstrable benefits
to cycling, walking and/or public transport and where there are proven
and clear economic development, highway safety and/or environmental benefits
which accrue;
(vii) to achieve all of the above while, at the same time, protecting
the economic competitiveness of the area.
8.5 Policies and Reasoned
Justification
Impact of Development
8.5.1 The council is committed to the principle of sustainable development
(in order to avoid congestion, reduce energy use and pollution and tackle
social exclusion). In this context, it is important that as many trips
as practicable should be made by public transport or other alternatives,
and that new developments are designed to offer realistic alternatives
to travel by the private car. Public transport is likely to provide a
genuine alternative to the car when a site is within 400m of a bus stop
with a minimum 20 minute service frequency during peak hours, or is within
1 km of a passenger rail station. It is particularly important that development
that will attract a significant proportion of heavy goods vehicles, or
traffic movements at unsociable hours, is well related to the primary
route network and avoids residential areas.
POLICY T1: IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENT
In assessing the highways impact of
development, proposals will be permitted provided that:
(i) the highway
network has adequate capacity to cater for the traffic which will
be generated by the development, taking into account alternative
modes
to the private car; and
(ii) the development will not significantly
add to the risk of road traffic accidents; and
(iii) the development
will not generate significant H.G.V. movements on residential roads;
and
(iv) the development will not result in traffic movements
at unsociable hours in residential roads that would be likely
to cause loss of residential
amenity.
Access to the Highway Network
8.5.2 It is important for road safety that all development has adequate
access to the highway. On primary, district and local distributor roads
the number of new accesses should be kept to a minimum. In all cases,
adequate visibility splays must be provided in the interest of road safety.
The council will provide standards for all new accesses in its role as
Highway Authority.
POLICY
T2: ACCESS TO
THE HIGHWAY
Proposals which involve the formation of a new access, or
an intensification in the use of an existing access, will only be permitted
where:
(i) the
access is not detrimental to the safety of vehicle occupants, cyclists
and pedestrians; or
(ii) can, alternatively, be improved to a standard
acceptable to the council as Highway Authority.
Provision for Pedestrians
8.5.3 A large
proportion of the journeys that people make is already made on foot.
Indeed, all journeys start on foot, whatever mode is used
for
the remainder
of the journey. It is also noteworthy that a high proportion of all journeys
made by all means of travel is very short. There is particular potential
to encourage greater use of walking as the mode for the whole length
of these shortest trips.
Better conditions for pedestrians, linked to locational policies which
promote the provision of facilities and activities (such as district
and local centres)
close to people’s homes, could lead to a significant change in
travel choices, as PPG13 recognises.
8.5.4 But, there is also the potential
to influence attitudes towards walking as the first part of longer journeys,
and to use this as a springboard
to encourage the consideration of even greater modal choice. For instance,
attractive
and
safe routes to public transport access points can aid considerably in
the
take-up and use of public transport.
8.5.5 The impact of proposed developments
on pedestrian movements should be carefully analysed by developers, and
will be examined by the council
in its
assessments
of proposals. New or enhanced pedestrian routes should closely follow
pedestrians’ preferred
routes (or “desire lines”) whilst allowing them to cross
busy roads easily and safely. Pedestrian routes should not be segregated
by a significant
distance from the carriageway or from other activity as isolated routes
are not attractive to pedestrians and can engender fears about personal
safety. The council
will produce supplementary planning guidance on this issue in a “Planning
Out Crime” booklet.
8.5.6 The council is also implementing a programme
of “Safer Routes to
Schools” projects in conjunction with both primary and secondary
schools. The aim of this initiative is to break the car dependency culture
which has
developed over the last twenty years and engender amongst children an
attitude that the
car is not always the best or most attractive means of travel. Parents
and others taking children to and from school add considerably to both
congestion
and pollution.
The initiative aims to reassure parents that there are other, safe, ways
of their children making these journeys, including cycling and walking.
Children
cycling
and walking to school has an important role to play in reducing car dependency
in adult life, and it encourages social interaction beyond the school
gate.
8.5.7 The council will seek to ensure, where practicable, that development
adjacent
to the Medway riverfront provides a riverside walk suitable for pedestrians,
cyclists and people with disabilities.
8.5.8 As part of its walking strategy,
the council will:-
(i) identify the network of routes and locations (including the links
between key uses such as schools, town centres and transport interchanges)
where the needs and safety of pedestrians will be given priority, and
the measures that will be taken to support this objective;
(ii) pay particular attention to the design, location and access arrangement
of new development to help promote walking as a prime means of access;
(iii) promote high density, mixed use development in and around town
centres and near to major transport interchanges;
(iv) promote and protect local day to day shops and services which are
within easy walking distance of housing;
(v) create more direct, safe and secure walking routes, particularly
in and around town centres and local neighbourhoods, and to schools
and stations, to reduce the actual walking distance between land uses,
and to public transport; and
(vi) ensure that the personal security concerns of pedestrians are addressed.
POLICY
T3: PROVISION FOR PEDESTRIANS
Medway Council will develop a network of
safe and convenient footpaths, to link houses, schools, town centres,
work places, recreation areas
and public
transport
routes.
Development proposals shall provide attractive and safe pedestrian
access. In all cases, they should maintain or improve pedestrian routes
related
to the site.
New pedestrian routes should closely follow pedestrians’ preferred
routes, should be designed to provide an attractive and safe pedestrian
environment,
and ensure they are accessible by people with disabilities wherever
possible.
Provision
for Cyclists 8.5.9 The level of cycling in the U.K. is significantly
lower than in a number of neighbouring countries, which have taken steps
to make cycle
use attractive
as a day to day means of travel. Cycling is a viable alternative to the
use of the car for many short journeys and has the advantage of being
a
pollution
free
form of transport as well as providing health benefits. PPG13 advises
that local plans should include policies that encourage the implementation
of
specific measures
to encourage people to use bicycles. The Local Plan seeks to encourage
and make provision for cycling, not only as a means of transport but
also as
a recreational
pursuit and as a means of access to the countryside.
8.5.10 The council
has already started work on creating an effective cycle network across
the urban area, and it intends to continue to improve
provision
for cyclists
to make cycling both safer and more attractive. A primary network affording
routes that parallel the principal arterial roads in the towns and that
link the suburbs
to Chatham town centre, the principal district and local centres and
other major trip attractors (such as leisure facilities, schools, colleges,
health
facilities,
major employment areas, etc..) will be implemented during the Plan period.
There will be continuing consultation with interested parties in the
development of
the Cycling Strategy and as each phase of the Strategic Cycle Network
is brought forward.
8.5.11 Particular consideration needs to be given
to facilities to enable cyclists to cross roads carrying a heavy traffic
flow (especially at
junctions) and
to put in place measures to restrict on-street parking and reduce vehicle
speeds where segregation of motor vehicles and cyclists is impossible.
The council
will
seek to ensure that proper planning and construction of cycle and pedestrian
routes will continue across adjacent administrative boundaries. As with
pedestrian routes, care needs to be taken to ensure that all cycle routes
are not isolated
from other activity on personal safety grounds. The use of shared pedestrian/cycle
routes raises particular safety issues, which need to be carefully considered.
The council will only consider the use of such shared space as a last
resort, when all other solutions have been explored and dismissed. Unsegregated
shared use will be avoided, particularly in well-used urban situations.
This is
in line with the latest government guidance.
8.5.12 The council’s
developing programme of “Safer Routes to School” projects
has an important role to play in reducing the car dependency culture
amongst children and young people, encouraging cycling and reducing peak
hour congestion.
8.5.13 Consideration of the provision of cycle routes
and cycle priority measures will be required in new development. The
council may seek contributions
towards
the development of the Strategic Cycle Network where appropriate, or
it may seek to encourage developers to initiate local networks that integrate
with
the primary
cycle network. There are a number of possible environmental impacts that
new cycle routes may have. In proposing new cycle facilities, developers
should
have regard to the policies of the Built and Natural Environment chapter.
In particular,
any new riverside cycle facility should be designed and routed to minimise
the impact on ecology, nature conservation and landscape and take into
account the
integrity and operational requirements of flood defences.
8.5.14 The council will also encourage, through its own actions and through
negotiations connected with development proposals, the provision of secure
cycle parking at public transport interchanges, including railway stations
and Park and Ride facilities, to increase the opportunities to use cycles
in combination with public transport and car sharing. Provision of secure
cycle parking facilities will also be sought at all major new trip attracting
developments; Chatham town centre, District Centres and Local Centres
(as defined in the Retailing chapter); and at publicly available facilities.
Shower, changing and secure clothing storage facilities are also an important
consideration for cyclists, and would be particularly welcomed at major
trip attracting developments.
POLICY T4: CYCLE FACILITIES
The council is implementing a network of strategic
cycle routes, and the development of this and local routes will be actioned
through the
Highways
Programme and
the development process.
Major trip attracting development proposals should
make provision for cycle facilities related to the site. This may
include, where appropriate,
the
Strategic Cycle
Network, cycle priority measures and new or enhanced cycle routes
that relate to cyclists’ preferred routes.
Secure cycle parking and associated
facilities will be sought in accordance with the council’s
adopted cycle parking standards. Provision at public transport interchanges,
buildings open to the general public (especially
public
institutions,
leisure, educational and health facilities) and in Chatham town centre,
District Centres and Local Centres will be particularly sought.
Public
Transport
Infrastructure
8.5.15 The bus is ideally suited to perform the role of
providing local transport and, for the future, the increasing role of
the bus will be
crucial. However,
due to congestion there is a need to aid bus access and service reliability
as well as to reduce bus journey times by bus priority measures. These
can be achieved
by a number of means, such as dedicated bus lanes, bus activated traffic
signals or bus gates, etc. These measures can be enhanced by improved
passenger access
and waiting facilities (such as bus boarders to discourage illegal parking
and enhance access for people with disabilities, and increased numbers
of shelters) and real-time travel information systems at stops and in
the principal
retail
centres. Through public/private sector Quality Bus Partnerships, co-operative
working to integrate infrastructure with the bus operators’ incoming
generation of low floor easy access buses can be achieved.
8.5.16 Policy T5 identifies the routes that it considers to be key in
the process of bus service enhancement. Particular priority will be afforded
to Park and Ride corridors, as experience elsewhere suggests that it is
easier to coax car drivers onto buses for part of, rather than all of,
their journey. It may, in the future, be appropriate to offer such facilities
to suitably liveried hackney carriages as they are also a potentially
important part of the public transport network. There is also a need in
the Local Transport Plan, to address the upgrading of longer distance
bus links as a way of reducing car use.
POLICY
T5: BUS PREFERENCE
MEASURES
Within the bus corridors identified on the Proposals Map, preference
measures to aid bus access, particularly on Park and Ride routes, will
be developed.
Such measures may include:
(i) dedicated bus lanes, including contra-flow
lanes where appropriate;
(ii) priority to buses at junctions;
(iii) priority
within traffic management schemes;
(iv) enhanced waiting and access
facilities and information systems for passengers, including people
with disabilities.
8.5.17 Substantial new
development schemes
have the opportunity to make a contribution towards offering sustainable
transport choices in line with PPG13. Major schemes will inevitably
be traffic attractors
or generators. Attractors should be designed to allow users to make
realistic transport choices by offering high quality facilities for
public transport.
These might include public transport accessibility points (e.g. bus
stops and railway
stations) with safe and attractive waiting areas/shelters (and routes
to them), seating, information systems on the time and availability
of public
transport
services and facilities for people with disabilities to gain access
to public transport.
8.5.18 Substantial new housing sites will be major traffic generators.
As such they should make provision for access and priority by bus (or
rail or light rail in appropriate circumstances), taking into account
road layout, widths, geometry, design and the need for stopping and turning
areas of sufficient length and width to accommodate modern full-size buses.
The council will wish to see new housing areas offer full access to buses,
and easier and more direct access and egress to/from nearby major roads
for buses than is offered to the private car.
POLICY
T6: PROVISION FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Where of sufficient scale, new developments
will be expected to make provision for access by public transport (for
example, bus, rail or light
rail).
The provision of facilities, such as safe and attractive passenger
waiting areas,
seating,
information systems, signed safe and attractive pedestrian access routes
and facilities for people with disabilities, related to the scale of
the development
will be sought by negotiation.
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