WINNER 2010 - Good Practice Guidelines: Delivering Travel Plans through the Planning Process

The winner of the RTPI-TPS Transport Planning Network Award 2010 "Excellence in Delivery – Recognising Good Practice" has been announced as Lynda Addison of Addison and Associates for Good Practice Guidelines: Delivering Travel Plans through the Planning Process.

 Winner Lynda Addison for 'Good Practice Guidelines: Delivering Travel Plans through the Planning Process'

A quote from the winner....

Lynda Addison, Director of Addison & Associates, who led the multi-disciplinary team that wrote the good practice guidelines said:

 “We could not be more delighted to receive this award from the Network.  We have long believed in the importance of integrated working between planning and transport, as reflected by the Network, and to now have our work on the Guidelines for travel plans recognised as best practice is excellent.  We hope that their implementation across the country will contribute to improving the provision of sustainable transport, reducing the poverty of access and support carbon reduction.”

About the project

Following the success of the original 2002 guide “Delivering travel plans through the planning process,” and Making residential travel plans work, the DfT invited Addison & Associates to update the former document with the key aims of producing enhanced guidelines, further developing current best practice, and aligning it with changes in government legislation. 

The outcome is a new publication building on best practice and addressing the issues identified through the research (click here). These Guidelines also incorporate best practice and learning from “Making Residential Travel Plans work” published in 2005. 

The project was funded by the Department for Transport and supported by the Department for Community and Local Government given the increasing importance of integrating planning and transport to achieve wider objectives, the publication is wholly integrated.

The Guidelines are innovative, breaking new ground in relation to the status of travel planning, how it should be perceived as well as demonstrating how travel plans can be delivered more effectively through planning. They highlight the importance of considering the short and long term management responsibilities for the travel plan and how this can be achieved.

Practical guidance is provided to planners – both development management and policy – transport planners, and engineers as to how to initiate work on travel planning. Templates in relation to planning conditions and section 106 clauses are included for the first time in such a publication to support lawyers and planners.

The Guidelines provide details on what to include in a travel plan as well as how to fund the work within the authority and the importance of establishing effective systems for monitoring and review. Engaging central and local government, developers, planning and transportation consultancies, planning and transportation representatives from local government and other bodies, and land owners, enabled a complete picture of the issues and options for travel planning to be understood. This ensured that the Guidelines published could address them and support a more effective and successful travel planning system. 

The requirement for travel plans through planning has in many instances created friction between local authorities and developers, for example, due to the variety of requirements from different authorities. By involving a wide range of stakeholders from all sectors in the process of developing the new guidelines a clear and consistent document was produced enabling clarity for all parties involved.

The Executive Summary of the Guidelines has been specifically drafted to be accessible to members and chief or senior officers. Their support is crucial for effective travel planning so it was important to provide clear information to enable them to appreciate the role and importance of travel planning.

The Guidelines produced make clear the need to understand and integrate climate change and sustainable development within the preparation of a travel plan. Tackling the provision of sustainable transport is one of the most difficult aspects of delivering sustainable development. It involves behavioural change, changes in practice, multi-disciplinary work, cross-agency work and a requirement to integrate strategy, policy and practice. The Guidelines explicitly address these issues, how the work can be funded, and travel planning’s role in delivering sustainable development and adapting to and mitigating climate change. 

Travel planning and its supporting policy context can, if effectively monitored and reviewed, bring about incremental improvements in travel choice, practice and outcomes, and thereby work towards the reduction in climate change gases. Re-development of existing sites and new developments need to ‘design in’ adaptation to climate change. Through travel plan measures, both hard and soft, the sites can be designed to deal with its future requirements and changes in climatic conditions e.g. site layout, provision of services etc.

However, as made clear in the Guidelines, the location of the site is critically important as travel planning cannot compensate for locating development where it is not accessible. This consideration highlights the need for consideration of this whole issue as part of the LDF core strategy and LTP and not just at site/planning application stage.

The Guidelines highlight the importance of engaging the community and using the travel planning process to address concerns about for example congestion, safety, access etc. They demonstrate the importance of developing a travel plan at pre-application stage on a iterative basis with the TA and obtaining community input into this. Similarly the importance of monitoring, review and building up knowledge via this process as to the impact of travel planning, what works and what doesn't, is underlined given the need to prepare evidence on the benefits to allow for informed debate.

RTPI Managing Director Sara Drake said:

“These awards, which celebrate two innovative projects, highlight best practice within the planning profession. The two outstanding individuals who are this year’s award winners have demonstrated real collaboration and interdisciplinary work, enriching their fellow members in the networks, and the wider planning profession. They serve as an exemplar for others to follow and deserve our warm congratulations.”

For information on the 2010 Regeneration Network Award winner, click here

The original criteria

For the RTPI-TPS Transport Planning Network Award 2010: Excellence in Delivery – Recognising Good Practice, projects needed to be distinctive, innovative, informative and inspiring.

Entrants were asked to indicate how the project had made an outstanding contribution to promoting sustainable transport by demonstrating how it:

• Had worked collaboratively to improve integration between land use and transport planning;
• Had advanced public participation, understanding and support for transport actions, particularly where there has been controversy; and
• Adapts to, or mitigates the threats posed by, climate change (please refer to the RTPI’s seven commitments on climate change – see http://www.rtpi.org.uk/download/6440/Sevencommitments.pdf)

The closing date for entries was 30 April 2010.

Entries were judged by members of the RTPI-TPS Transport Planning Network Advisory Group and the Network Manager.

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Author:

Nicola Gough

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

15-Jun-10

Categories:

 

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