Environment Kirklees (Kirklees Environment Partnership):
Draft West Yorkshire (WYCA) transport strategy
Response to public consultation 2016
Introduction
Environment Kirklees is an umbrella body that works closely with
community and voluntary organisations in Kirklees, civil society and
Kirklees Council on sustainability issues.
This submission to the consultation is from the environmental voluntary
sector in Kirklees. This paper was adopted at an EGM of the
Environment Partnership (KEP) held in Huddersfield in October.
How strongly do you agree or disagree with our proposed policies
described in each of the core themes and the cross-cutting theme?
Roads and planning
1. The delivery of the Draft Strategy is very dependent on new or
improved roads. The strong emphasis on new or upgraded road schemes
would lead to increased capacity on major routes.
2. However there is compelling evidence that the accommodation of
demand for new road space can only be temporary in nature. Delivering
road improvements to alleviate local congestion hot spots is frequently
self-defeating as demand for the additional road space increases. This
diminishes the questionable benefit of the investment.
3. Road surfaces need improvements for all road users, especially
cyclists who are at most personal risk from potholed roads. We
recognise that budgets imposed by central Government on our local
councils have lead to the deterioration of the road network.
Demand reduction
4. We support policies that limit or reduce the necessity to have
vehicles. Demand reduction needs to be a clear aim of the WYCA
Strategy. There are a number of ways that demand reduction can be
addressed
5. Spatial planning that links existing transport hubs with new
development (TOD - transit orientated development) is an effective way
of addressing demand using the planning process.
Environment Kirklees c/o Environmental Alliance, 6-7a Lion Chambers, John William Street,
Huddersfield HD1 1ES [Contact: Chas Ball 07970 666146 [email protected]]
Environment Kirklees (Kirklees Environment Partnership):
Draft West Yorkshire (WYCA) transport strategy
Response to public consultation 2016
6. In the Draft Strategy Consultation questionnaire we are asked
whether we should “Provide new roads to improve access to
development sites”. We think this is an inappropriate question. We need
to develop the majority of new housing and employment around
existing transport hubs and within easy reach of established
communities rather than creating separate new developments with
limited access to services and which require road transport for access.
For example urban areas like Batley and Dewsbury are distinct centres,
which could be the basis of development that made better use of
existing building stock.
7. Support for the localisation of the economy would have an
important bearing on transport generation. For example, supporting
more local food growing and processing can avoid “food miles.”
8. Our rural communities should not be treated as dormitories.
Increasing employment opportunities in locations such as Slaithwaite,
Marsden, Meltham, Honley, Holmfirth and Denby Dale would help to
avoid too many of these communities becoming overwhelmed by
housing that is increasingly occupied by people who commute to work.
Cycling and walking
9. We need a much stronger emphasis on the value of cycling and
walking as a component of demand management as well as healthy
living but it needs to operate within a safer environment. We believe
resources need to be allocated to a cycling strategy that can introduce
safe sustainable cycle travel to work routes into Huddersfield along our
valleys and disused railway routes (e.g. Colne Valley; from Meltham; and
Holme Valley from Holmfirth) and into Leeds (from North Kirklees).
10. For improved walking, we need informative direction signs for
pedestrians on footpaths as we have on roads with more commitment
to maintaining rights of way on public footpaths for travel and leisure
purposes. We also need stronger deterrents to eradicate illegal car
parking on pedestrian footways and in bus stops.
Rail and light rail
11. We strongly believe that local and community rail improvements
should be prioritised ahead of new road schemes, with greater emphasis
Environment Kirklees c/o Environmental Alliance, 6-7a Lion Chambers, John William Street,
Huddersfield HD1 1ES [Contact: Chas Ball 07970 666146 [email protected]]
Environment Kirklees (Kirklees Environment Partnership):
Draft West Yorkshire (WYCA) transport strategy
Response to public consultation 2016
on improving and expanding the regional rail network.
12. HS2 is largely irrelevant to our local transport needs. Investment of
this scale is needed to improve our public transport infrastructure,
especially rail, light rail and tram. In particular we need more capacity on
the Transpennine (York – Manchester) route, which needs additional
tracks and electrification.
13. Increased frequency of services is essential on the Leeds – Marsden
route and the Huddersfield – Penistone route but to operate a minimum
of two trains per hour requires infrastructure investment. This simple
upgrading of service would ensure many more people could avoid
driving into our major urban centres. To make it work effectively would
require some attention to transport links and parking facilities at
selected stations.
Safety
14. We support “involving communities in making improvements to
their neighbourhoods to create safer and healthier places” (a survey
question) but we need to empower local communities with resources to
tackle the effects of speeding traffic, all-day commuter parking and poor
air quality.
15. We commend the approach of Gloucestershire’s Speed Reduction
Partnership, which, for example, provides communities with the tools to
tackle safety issues and loans communities their own speed guns to
survey traffic.
Air Pollution & Health
16. We want to see the introduction of urban Clean Air Zones in all areas
of west Yorkshire, not only Leeds. Local authorities should begin to levy
a charge on diesel vehicles from our town and city centres from 2020,
and to phase out all but essential vehicles by 2025
What do you think we should measure to show our progress in
delivering transport improvements in each of the core themes and the
cross-cutting theme?
Measuring progress
18. The Strategy should be set against the context of the Paris Climate
Environment Kirklees c/o Environmental Alliance, 6-7a Lion Chambers, John William Street,
Huddersfield HD1 1ES [Contact: Chas Ball 07970 666146 [email protected]]
Environment Kirklees (Kirklees Environment Partnership):
Draft West Yorkshire (WYCA) transport strategy
Response to public consultation 2016
Agreement. An integral part of the Strategy should be to show how it is
contributing to the carbon emissions reduction targets set in the
Nationally Determined Contributions agreed in Paris last year.
19. The automatic assumption that all growth is good is a fundamental
problem with the strategy. Growth can negatively impact on quality of
life. One significant example is the level of air pollution from transport
and its impact on public health.
20. We want to see decrease in harmful emissions NOX/SOX
particulates as well as measuring improvements in carbon emissions and
noise.
21. Measuring modal shift from private car to Public Transport and
cycling for all trips within West Yorkshire would help to focus on the
overall mix of modes in the way that Vienna has done.
22. “Road deaths” are not just about traffic accidents but the
premature deaths caused each year as a result of harmful emissions and
poor air quality.
Have we missed anything you feel should be included in the strategy?
23. There are jobs in a ‘green approach’ to transport policies – e.g.
cycle logistics firms taking over from van delivery in the city centres.
24. The benefits new technology would provide for all of us. We
recognize the value that autonomous and connected vehicles will bring
to our society in the next decade and beyond. But who will benefit?
25. It would be unacceptable if we support and fund the development of
individual “autonomous” vehicles that are only accessible to an elite and
adapt our streets to accommodate them. Connected and autonomous
vehicle technologies should be developed for the common good and
provide community benefit through improved community and public
transport and mobility services. We should see the benefits in our cities
and towns, at airports and in our rural communities.
Environment Kirklees c/o Environmental Alliance, 6-7a Lion Chambers, John William Street,
Huddersfield HD1 1ES [Contact: Chas Ball 07970 666146 [email protected]]