HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORT CABINET PANEL
TUESDAY, 19 MARCH 2013 AT 10.00AM
Agenda Item
No.
ACTIVE TRAVEL STRATEGY
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Report of the Chief Executive and Director of Environment
Author: Andy Summers, Senior Engineer, Transportation Policy Team
(Tel: 01992 556193)
Executive Member: Stuart Pile, Highways & Transport
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Purpose of report
1.1
To present the outcome of the public consultation on the draft Active
Travel Strategy and seek the Panel’s endorsement of the final version
of the strategy.
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Summary
2.1
The Active Travel Strategy is a daughter document to the Local
Transport Plan that combines and supersedes the previous Walking
and Cycling Strategies.
2.2
The strategy places an emphasis on Active Travel participation for
health purposes in view of the County Council’s adoption in April 2013
of responsibilities for public health.
2.3
The Strategy is a high-level document that identifies the supporting
evidence for, and barriers to participation in, Active Travel. The
strategy provides a toolkit of Active Travel interventions that could be
applied in Hertfordshire to support the goals of the LTP3 and health
strategies. It also sets out the funding and implementation process for
Active Travel interventions, and an Action Plan for delivery next year
and beyond.
2.4
The Panel reviewed a draft version of the strategy in November 2012.
A public consultation on the draft strategy was then held between 19
November 2012 and 18 January 2013. The public comments have
been taken into account in producing the final version of the Strategy.
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Recommendations
3.1
The Panel is invited to:

Endorse the changes to the draft strategy arising from the public
consultation (see Section 7)

Note the public consultation comments received and the proposed
County Council response to these (see summary in Section 6.3, full
consultation report available as Appendix C in the Members Room)

Endorse the final Strategy (See Appendix A, available in the
Members Room) and Action Plan (See Appendix B, attached).
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Background
4.1
The Local Transport Plan is a statutory requirement aimed at enabling
local authorities to plan strategically in their areas. Hertfordshire’s
LTP3, which covers the period 2011 to 2031, was adopted by the
County Council in April 2011.
4.2
To support the core LTP3, the County Council holds a suite of
daughter documents which outline how specific modes of transport can
be implemented.
4.3
The Active Travel Strategy is the daughter document covering walking
and cycling. Participation in these modes are moving up the agenda for
a variety of reasons due to their potentially significant contribution to
the County’s objectives of economic growth, congestion reduction,
improved air quality, reduced carbon emissions and improved health.
4.4
Whilst the goals to reduce congestion and improve the environment
have been long-held County Council transport priorities, the
requirement to improve public health has recently become more
important for the Council. From April 2013, public health
responsibilities will transfer from the NHS into the County Council. This
transition is part of the national health reforms and will be happening
across the Country.
4.5
The County Council has already begun to incorporate public health into
the work it does. Even though public health responsibilities will not be
formally transferred until 1 April 2013, staff from the NHS moved into
HCC premises from September 2012.
4.6
The draft strategy has been developed by officers from across the
County Council, including officers representing public health.
4.7
Active Travel is seen as one of the key areas in which the County
Council can implement an ‘early win’ with regard to the integration of
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public health responsibilities with its existing activities (e.g. transport
and school provision).
4.8
National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance on
Active Travel published in November 2012 suggested that physical
inactivity was costing lives and directly recommended local authorities
to promote walking and cycling wherever possible as an alternative to
the car. The guidance described how active travel was important for
maintaining a healthy lifestyle (reducing the risk of heart disease,
strokes, cancers, obesity, mental illness and diabetes), alongside
reducing congestion, air pollution, carbon emissions, road danger and
noise.
4.9
European, national and local bidding opportunities for Active Travel
often arise on an ad-hoc basis. One of the key reasons for developing
this strategy is to provide the County Council with a ‘hook’ for
responding rapidly to any future funding opportunities.
4.10 This Active Travel Strategy will combine and supersede the existing
walking and cycling strategies (the existing cycling strategy was due for
renewal this year) to integrate the County’s approach to walking and
cycling.
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The Active Travel Strategy
5.1
The Strategy contains no new or revised transport policies. The
document is intended to be a guide and action plan for the County
Council, partners, special interest groups, and local communities to
help identify Active Travel issues and deliver solutions.
5.2
The main contents of the strategy are as follows:
 Policy Context and Evidence – This section sets out the local and
national policy imperatives for implementing Active Travel,
supported by data and evidence.
 ‘Toolbox’ of Active Travel measures – This section identifies the
barriers to participation in Active Travel in Hertfordshire, and sets
out a range of transport interventions that could be applied to
address these barriers, including some case studies. This section
draws on interventions proposed in other daughter documents or
that have been implemented successfully elsewhere in the County
or the UK. It is intended to be a toolbox of interventions that could
be utilised by the County Council, partners and local communities
when developing Active Travel solutions.
 Funding and Implementation - This section provides details of how
Active Travel delivery is currently funded and implemented in
Hertfordshire. It is important to note that there are no new funding
sources or policies identified in this section; however it does provide
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partners and local communities with greater clarity on the County
Council’s processes for funding and implementing Active Travel
interventions, and the processes that local communities can follow
to seek delivery of transport interventions.
 Action Plan – Following feedback received at the previous
Highways and Transport Panel that the draft version was not clear
on the new initiatives that the County Council is looking to
implement, we have developed an Action Plan for Active Travel to
identify those measures that have been agreed for delivery in
2013/14.
5.3
The Active Travel Strategy has undergone a preliminary Strategic
Environmental Assessment (SEA) screening, however, as it is
comprised of interventions and delivery processes that have been
subject to SEA assessment previously (in the LTP or other daughter
documents), there are no issues to report.
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Consultation
6.1
The public consultation on the Active Travel Strategy received 265
individual comments from 61 respondents. A full consultation report,
outlining the individual comments and the County Council’s proposed
responses has been placed in the Members Room (as Appendix C to
this paper).
6.2
To maximise the public comments received, the following consultation
methods were used:





6.3
A range of methods for receiving public responses, including an online questionnaire, email address and postal address.
Proactive circulation of the consultation details (via letter and/or
email as appropriate) to all contacts on the County Council’s LTP
database
Placement of the draft strategy in all 53 public libraries in
Hertfordshire
Production of an ‘easy-read’ consultation document for citizens with
learning difficulties
An officer consultation workshop for key partners held on 9 January
2013. This workshop was attended by 42 partners from a diverse
range of sectors.
Whilst a wide variety of comments were received, several key themes
emerged. These are summarised as follows:
Support for Active Travel

There was unanimous support amongst consultees for increasing
participation in Active Travel Strategy. The vast majority of
respondents agreed that Active Travel could support the four key
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objectives (i.e. economy, carbon, health and quality of life),
although a minority were sceptical about its contribution to
economy and reducing carbon emissions.

Furthermore, a number of consultees outlined their intention to
help the County Council deliver the Active Travel Strategy. This
support (from district authorities, cycle forums and community
groups) would be in the form of Active Travel promotion and
publicity, leading on delivery of interventions, leading on local cycle
rides, walks and training. This support is strongly welcomed and
will be included in the Action Plan.
Targets

Some consultees requested that we extend the existing LTP3
targets for walking and cycling to make these more ambitious,
whilst others suggested they may be too ambitious. It is
proposed to retain the existing targets, as adopted in 2011.
Barriers to Active Travel

When asked to describe the key barriers to Active Travel in
Hertfordshire, 37% of consultees stated ‘lack of physical
infrastructure’, whilst 30% stated ‘lack of safety and security’. A
further 22% said that all barriers were equal (i.e. the two barriers
stated above plus ‘education’ and ‘cultural barriers’)
Specific points






The need for safety schemes emerged as a key priority for
consultees.
There were many comments calling for the strategy to use “plain
English”. The Strategy has been amended in line with the
specific suggestions received.
Some requested that Roads in Hertfordshire be updated with
ATS principles and promote the Route User Hierachy, alongside
more training for highway engineers.
Some respondents wanted to see more emphasis and
promotion of the personal savings that could be made if more
journeys were walked or cycled.
There were some comments regarding the need for improved
interaction/collaboration with user groups in project designs.
Identification of the need to tackle locations where on-street
cycling is perceived too dangerous and forces cyclists onto the
footways, giving rise to conflicts with pedestrians.
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Changes to the draft Strategy
7.1
The full list of amendments made to the draft strategy following the
public consultation can be viewed in Appendix C (in the Members
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Room). However the key changes that should be noted by Panel
Members are outlined in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Key changes made to Active Travel Strategy
Section of
Active Travel
Strategy
Executive
Summary and
Section 1.1
Key Change
Changed the wording of the aim to be more specific in its
benefits:
‘To increase the proportion of journeys made by walking or
cycling to benefit individual health, quality of life, the
environment and the economy’.
Executive
Added the following bullet point to highlight economic benefits
Summary and to individuals :
Section 2.4.1 ‘Rising petrol and diesel prices have a detrimental effect on
personal finances; individuals can save money by walking or
cycling.
Section 1.2
Defined “physical” active travel networks by adding the
sentence:
‘the physical active travel network is a term which defines a
variety of routes including on road and off road cycle routes,
footpaths, footways as well as the Rights of Way definitions.’
Section 1.3
Figure 1.1, Role of the Active Travel Strategy:
This figure has been revised to show Urban Transport Plans
as LTP daughter documents.
Section 1.4
Table 1.2: Local Plans, Strategies & Guidance Documents
Which Could be Supported by Increased Active Travel in
Hertfordshire.
Added:
- District Air Quality Action Plans.
- Bus Strategy, Rail Strategy, Intalink Strategy and
Rural Transport Strategy.
Section 2.3.1 National Policy Context:
Replaced the third sentence around air quality action plans
with the following text:
‘Air Quality Action Plans are put together by the Districts with
input from HCC Transport Planners, to ensure consistency
with LTP3’.
Section 2.5.3 Key Evidence: Local Health
First bullet after Figure 2.4, deleted the words: ‘…..as seen in
Waltham Cross Ward, which is the most deprived ward in the
county.’ As this information is now out of date, and it was
deemed unfair to highlight this one ward.
Section 2.6.2 Journeys to School:
Added a table to show the progress of National Indicator 198
(Mode Share of Sustainable School Journeys 5-10 yrs and
11-16 yrs).
Chapter 3
Policy Objective 3:
The wording of the policy ‘To reduce the levels of road
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Section of
Active Travel
Strategy
Key Change
casualties’ has been changed to ‘Levels of road casualties
should not increase’, to reflect the LTP3 KSI target.
Section 4.2
Section 4.2.1
Section 4.2.1
Section 4.2.2
Section 4.2.2
The reallocation of road space was seen as a fundamental
intervention and is mentioned in the executive summary but
not in the main body of the document. This has been
highlighted in this section by specifying the hierarchy of
measures as a core principle in cycle infrastructure provision
(as detailed in Roads in Hertfordshire following current DFT
guidelines).
Safety & Security, The evidence:
Removed 4th and 5th bullet points about contributory factors
associated with pedestrian casualties, and replaced with:
A research report undertaken in 2009 by the Transport
Research Laboratory for the Department of Transport1,
reports that:
 With regard to reported cyclist KSI casualties in 2005-07,
Where contributory factors were assigned to the driver,
‘failed to look properly’ was by far the most common
(56%), followed by ‘poor turn or manoeuvre (17%), and
‘careless, reckless in a hurry,’ (17%).
Safety & Security, Key Toolkit Interventions:
Added following new bullet points:
 Investigate running further ‘Greenways type’ projects
(similar to those being developed by TfL and the
developing Green Ring in St Albans).
 Enforcement of verge parking.
Key Priorities:
- Changed the text to bullet point 2, so that it reads:
‘Develop a network of Active Travel routes (including Rights
of Way) that encourage cycling and walking as a utility and
recreational activity to improve health and reduce the carbon
emission from transport.’
- Added another bullet point after 2nd, bullet:
‘Support the implementation of the Rights of Way
Improvement Plan’.
Key Toolkit Interventions:
Added 3 new bullet points.
 Develop and promote use of off road recreation/parkland
routes.
 Provide cycle hire facilities where they are likely to be
used.
 More promotion of canal towpaths.
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Section of
Active Travel
Strategy
Section 4.2.3
Section 4.2.3
Section 4.2.4
Key Change
Key Priorities:
Replaced – ‘Dissemination of Active Travel information to
give individuals a perceived option for travelling by walking or
cycling’;
With:
‘Provide information on active travel so that individuals can
make informed choices on walking and cycling’.
Replaced - ‘Ensure both adults and children are fully trained
and competent at using Active Travel modes’;
With:
‘Encourage adults and children to use the active travel
network safely with tuition if necessary’.
Education & Information, Key Toolkit Interventions:
- Removed 3rd bullet point ‘Active Travel educational
programmes’.
- Replace 5th bullet point ‘Agreements with local shops
for discounts on walking and cycling equipment’;
with
‘Agreements with outdoor and cycling retailers for
discounts on goods that will encourage more walking
and cycling.’
- 6th bullet point, ‘Bicycle loan, purchase and recycling
schemes’, - added the word ‘maintenance’ after the
word ‘purchase’.
- 8th bullet point, reworded ‘Driver awareness training’
To:
‘Training drivers to be aware of cyclists on the roads’
- 9th bullet point, replace ‘Improving signage on a given
route raises awareness of the active travel options
available’
With:
‘Improving signing’.
- 10th bullet point, reworded to say:
‘School Travel Buddy Support including appropriate
travel training for physically disabled and learning
disabled.’
Changing Attitudes, Key Toolkit Interventions:
- 3rd bullet point, added some text to show social
benefits, the bullet now reads:
‘Publication of local positive experiences including the
social benefits to be gained from walking and cycling
with others’
- 6th bullet point – added the words ‘which would be
particularly advantageous for hilly areas’, so the bullet
reads: ‘Advertise the availability of electric bikes, which
would be particularly advantageous for hilly areas’.
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Section of
Active Travel
Strategy
Section 4.2.4
Section 5.6
Section 5.6
Appendix
Appendices &
Action Plan
Key Change
Changing Attitudes, Key Priorities:
Replaced 3rd bullet point ‘Encourage the use of pre-existing
infrastructure within the county to facilitate active travel.
Encourage groups to use these spaces as places to “get fit”.’
with:
‘Encourage the use of existing infrastructure within the county
to facilitate active travel. As well as the transport,
environmental and economic benefits encourage groups to
use the transport network as a place to “get fit”.
Table 5.2 – Active Travel Delivery Partners
Revised the wording of the role for the Special Interest
Groups to:
Identification of potential schemes, and promotion and
lobbying of Active Travel interventions.
Table 5.2 – Active Travel Delivery Partners
- Added Hertfordshire Police Authority, with the role
‘Strategic support and expertise in delivery of the
ATS’.
- Added Developers to this table, with the role ‘provide
active travel infrastructure in accordance with active
travel strategy, local plan and UTP recommendations.’
- Added Lea Valley Regional Park, with the role ‘local
Support for intervention delivery.’
- Cycling and walking shops, with the role
‘Encouragement of cycling and walking.’
- Added Neighbouring Authorities, with the role ‘local
support for intervention delivery and connectivity of
routes.’
- Added the following partners: Groundwork,
landowners, Canal and River Trust, Sustrans,
Community Groups and Societies, travel plan coordinators (at employment sites), Natural England,
Residents Associations, Ramblers Association.
Developed an Action Plan for Active Travel containing
initiatives/interventions for delivery.
A link has been added for the World Health Organisation
Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT). This tool
enables an economic assessment of the health benefits of
walking or cycling schemes by estimating the value of
reduced mortality that results from specified amounts of
walking or cycling.
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8
Next Steps
8.1
The Active Travel Strategy will become an adopted daughter document
of the LTP3.
8.2
The Action Plan sets out how the County Council and its partners will
deliver Active Travel in 2013/14, and will be updated annually.
9.
Financial Implications
9.1
The Action Plan sets out schemes that have already been confirmed
for delivery next year, so there are no additional financial implications
arising from this paper.
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Appendices:
Appendix A: Active Travel Strategy*
Appendix B: Active Travel Strategy Action Plan
Appendix C: Active Travel Strategy Consultation Report*
*Located as a hard copy in the Members Room
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