Good day my good friend.
This last weekend has been a very good one. I have said many times that when the entire world is noisy, busy, and full of people being angry and frustrated, taking some time away from it is a very good thing. I spent the weekend away from my phone and in my garden and shed. I never thought I would ever see the value of spending lots of time gardening and tinkering, but that shows what I know about how life will change.
Oh, and it helps that something like this happens to the football team you support.
If you like this newsletter, please share it with someone else who you think will love it. The main way my audience grows is through your recommendations. I will love you forever if you do. 😍
❎ We love democracy
Just yesterday, the UK Government dropped it updated guidance on delivering low traffic neighbourhoods. The opening statement of the Secretary of State for Transport makes it clear that the rationale for doing this is because there was a concerted opposition to the schemes from many quarters.
“The research shows that, while they can work, in the right place, and, crucially, where they are supported, too often local people don’t know enough about them and haven’t been able to have a say. Increasingly and frustratingly, we see larger and larger low traffic schemes being proposed by some councils despite concerted opposition by local residents and by local businesses, and in some cases being removed again. This guidance makes it clear that should not happen.”
Mark Harpur, Secretary of State for Transport
Even the most passionate of supporters of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods cannot disagree that in some instances their delivery has not exactly been great. As well as, in many instances, public engagement in such schemes has been poor or non-existent.
Much of the guidance simply states what current laws and current guidance says about low traffic neighbourhoods. But ultimately, this guidance is perhaps the strongest validation of the idea of LTNs that it is possible to have. Much comment has been made about this specific paragraph.
Good engagement will give the whole community the opportunity to be involved and be representative of that community. A wide range of views should be sought but especially from those directly impacted or with particular requirements. Via its engagement and consultations an authority should be confident that a scheme is capable of carrying the support of a majority of the community before introducing it.
This raises several questions. Firstly, who is the community? Those within the LTN boundary? The wider village, town, or city? Anyone who tweets about it?
Also, the wording “capable of carrying the support of a majority of the community” is very interesting. No doubt highways legal minds will pore over this, but to me this means being able to maintain support on its own. So what in the case of schemes which are unpopular before they are implemented, but there is good evidence that support could increase post-scheme implementation? As often happens in such schemes. There is a case to be argued there.
Another word in that paragraph is how an authority should be confident. Not must be confident. This is not a stipulation (i.e. thou shalt have over 50% of local supporting the scheme), but advice to be considered.
The consequence of this is that nothing is likely to change. Pro-active councils are likely to continue delivering LTNs. Less confident ones were likely to stay away regardless.
The other interesting paragraph within the guidance is a somewhat veiled threat.
The Traffic Management Act 2004 provides that where the Secretary of State considers that an authority is not meeting its network management duty the Secretary of State may give the authority an intervention notice or make an intervention order. An intervention order would see the Secretary of State appoint a transport director for the authority to ensure the network management duty is fulfilled. The extent to which an authority has had regard for the network management duty guidance in performing their network management duties would form part of any decision making process as set out in the guidance on intervention criteria.
But this fundmentally misunderstands what the Network Management Duty on local authorities is all about. It is not just about reducing congestion. It is about having due regard to the plans in the Local Transport Plan, having a traffic manager in place, and actions to make more efficient use the network. This is further complicated by the fact that previous guidance from government has clearly indicated that walking and cycling schemes are consistent with this duty. This is because, as shown in guidance on the Network Management Duty, undertaking this duty involves:
- Considering the needs of all road users;
- Coordinating and planning works and known events;
- Gathering information and providing information needs;
- Incident management and contingency planning;
- Dealing with traffic growth;
- Working with all stakeholders – internal and external;
- Ensuring parity with others; and
- Providing evidence to demonstrate network management.
All of this is possible with LTNs in place, and also the presence of an LTN does not preclude these duties being delivered. So this threatening of using the Traffic Management Act 2004 to take powers away from local councils is an empty threat.
So there we have it. This new guidance is mostly bark with little bite. It restates the obvious as well as existing rules and laws, says that consultation should be done better and that schemes should have the support of communities, and then makes an empty threat.
The culture war in transport is over, and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods seem to have won. This is a victory for sound evidence and policy making, as well as doing the right thing in the right circumstances. That is something that should be welcomed.
What you should do: Read the research report accompanying the guidance. It sets the case for LTNs far better than any report I have seen, and also highlights its flaws as well. For a disability-focussed report, I always recommend reading this report by Transport for All.
👩🎓 From academia
The clever clogs at our universities have published the following excellent research. Where you are unable to access the research, email the author – they may give you a copy of the research paper for free.
TL:DR – Walkability is looked at from a social science perspective, and traffic safety was still seen as important.
Transit monitoring capacity expansion: Analytics for combating human trafficking
TL:DR – This article shows how public transport can play a big role in tackling human trafficking. A really interesting read.
TL:DR – Turns out that managing Public-Private Partnerships is really hard, no matter where its done.
TL:DR – New mass transit projects lead to variable impacts in terms of reducing inequalities. Think about the data.
✊ Amazing people doing amazing things
This one goes out to a Mayor. Specifically, Mayor Tracy Brabin of West Yorkshire. Last Thursday, the results of her work came together in a packed Combined Authority meeting. Not only was it agreed to go for bus franchising across West Yorkshire, but also she is pressing ahead with plans to build a new mass transit system between Leeds and Bradford, and approved significant investment in rail across West Yorkshire. Sometimes, a little vision is all it takes.
📺 On the (You)Tube
The Panama Canal and the Red Sea are currently making the news. But did you know about a short canal that is now rapidly becoming very important in Poland? The Vistula Split Canal provides a direct connection between the Baltic Sea and the port of Elbag, saving ships the trouble of having to sail a further 62 miles and through Russian territorial waters to access the same port. Which is useful considering the current ‘unpleasantness’ between Poland and Russia.
🖼 Graphic Design
Airlines with the most plane crashes (Source: Visual Capitalist)
This should probably read “airlines that fly the most miles as well as those with a slightly dodgy safety record.” Despite their known recent issues with Boeing, I doubt American Airlines are that bad of an airline really.
📚 Random Things
These links are meant to make you think about the things that affect our world in transport, and not just think about transport itself. I hope that you enjoy them.
- The ‘insane’ plan to save the Arctic’s sea-ice (BBC News)
- The Phoenix, Lewes: a new riverside neighbourhood that sounds almost too good to be true (The Guardian)
- Undersea cable failures cause Internet disruptions for multiple African countries (Cloudfare)
- Why We Search for Silver Linings (Nautilus)
- The forest economy: Supporting economic inclusion of rural communities in Zambia (World Bank)
📰 The bottom of the news
One of the things that you learn when learning to drive through the country lanes of Devon is that around the next bend, there is a non-zero chance that you will suddenly have a herd of cows, sheep, pigs, or any other farmyard animal in the road. The usual tactic is to try and pull over and hope that the animals walk past quickly, and don’t decide that your existence annoys them. Those memories came rushing back with this story of police trying to wrangle a goat herd in Arlington, Texas.
👍 Your feedback is essential
I want to make the calls to actions better. To do this, I need your feedback. Just fill in the 3 question survey form by clicking on the below button to provide me with quick feedback, that I can put into action. Thank you so much.
Mobility Matters 