Here is the link to the Active Travel Masterplan
Transition Bath has a dedicated specialism in Transport and is principally interested in improving transport access in the Bath region to achieve a fair and just transition toward a more sustainable society.
The review of the B&NES Active Travel Masterplan has gone through the Transport sub-group committee, with input and discussion from 4 members of the group. Here are the findings:
What we support:
• We support ambitious plans to enable walking, wheeling and cycling;
• We agree that an integrated and wides ranging review of the region is needed;
• We support the ‘cross modal’ approach to enable walking, wheeling and cycling and the decision to design for all journey types and purposes;
• We support a more connected and joined-up network of routes, because a fragmented network of infrastructure can be ineffective and inefficient at improving journeys and driving modal shift from cars (Wardlaw, 2014).
• We advocate for walking schemes that fully account for the needs of people with more limited mobility – this includes fixing existing poor quality footways, paths and obstructions, as well as installing new scheme
What we think the Masterplan needs to add:
1. A measurement and evaluation plan that includes SMART objectives.
Why is this?
On page 6 there are 5 objectives, but the plan does not say how they will be measured, although it says a monitoring and evaluation plan will be established at a later stage (page 122). On page 4 it says: “The 2021 census data shows that 13% of trips to work made by residents of BANES are made by active travel, 4% by public transport, and 43% by car or other private vehicle”.
It does not say what the other 40% of trips are made by and the graph on page 10 appears to give different figures from the same census. National and local targets are shown on pages 34 and 35 of the plan, with the 2036 vision still showing car journeys as the main form of transport. Are these the BANES targets? Or are BANES targets going to consider, for example, elderly active travel realities (page 53)? I.e., does BANES have a greater than average percentage of over 65s? BANES say “The issue is the need to make active travel the natural choice for a lot more of our journeys” (notes for Agenda Item 10 on 11/7/24). How many more?
Furthermore, before setting ATMP targets:
• What research has been done or data collected to indicate the percentage of existing car journeys that could realistically be done by active travel? For example, on page 7 it says we should emulate cities and regions in Europe. What percentage of journeys done by active travel do these success stories achieve?
• Does such research include analysis of the increase in active travel, if any, due to recent Improvements in active travel. For example, the new cycle lane on the upper Bristol Rd?
2. Clear links showing the ATMP contribution to the wider BathNES J2NZ sustainable transport system.
Why is this?
Addressing the climate emergency by moving to a more sustainable transport system requires a comprehensive and coherent solution across all transport modes. Once targets are set for Active Travel, the degree to which the ATMP will provide the required modal shift to sustainable forms of transport will influence the targets for other forms of sustainable transport.
Furthermore:
Page 73. The proposed Movement Strategy for Bath is welcomed, but it would be more coherent to produce this before the ATMP is finalised. Otherwise, the optimal movement plan will be constrained and/or the ATMP will need to be revisited.
Page 14 highlights climate change: “We must now act with greater urgency to confront this challenge”. The Masterplan needs to be clearer about the timescales involved and the urgency to act. BANES declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 with the aspiration to become carbon neutral by 2030. It is nearly 2025, halfway along the timeline, and this plan will take several years to implement and only appears to move the dial marginally. Although this plan claims that active travel measures are consistently good value for money (page 25), this needs to be tested within an overall strategy for sustainable transport in BANES. In other words, has it been established which future modes of transport will be most effective in achieving net 0?
Page 118. “The active travel master plan is deliberately aspirational”. This implies that some or much might not be achieved, which is concerning as it will undermine the achievement of objectives.