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The New Plymouth District Council
as part of the Let’s Go Project want
to work with organisations, schools,
neighbourhoods and community
groups throughout New Plymouth
to encourage, support and educate
around travel planning.
NEIGHBOURHOOD
What is a travel plan?
It is a tool for managing the travel generated by an organisation or community
with the aim of reducing environmental impacts, improving health outcomes,
saving money for individual, organisations and reducing traffic congestion.
It looks at how to reduce the number of vehicles coming into an area, in particular by utilising walking, cycling,
bussing & ride sharing. It is not anti car but is about how to encourage people to look at their car use and
choose healthier cheaper alternatives when available.
What are the benefits of a travel plan?
•Cost savings for individuals and families.
•A greater sense of community within your neighbourhood.
•Improved safety in your street as more people are out of their cars and walking and cycling.
•Improved health for your neighbourhood.
What does our neighbourhood need to do to have a travel plan?
A commitment to reduce the number of car journeys to and from your neighbourhood
Look at how your neighbourhood can support its community to utilise other forms of transport such as
walking, cycling, using the bus and ride sharing.
What does a travel plan look like?
A travel plan will vary from group to group; there is no hard or fast rule. For some it will be a written
document signed off while for others it will be a statement of intent. It is important to note that a travel plan
is an active process which will change over time and needs to be flexible to accommodate our changing
environments. The Let’s Go team will work with you to decide what will work best for you.
The key components to a successful travel plan are:
•Commitment to reducing car usage, in particular single occupancy vehicles.
•Community involvement and buy in.
What support will the Let’s Go team give?
•Provision of a starter pack with tips and suggestions.
•Support from the Let’s Go Travel Planner every step of the way, and potential financial support with
infrastructure and incentive schemes.
•Links to cycling skill training programmes and other health & safety links.
•Improved public infrastructure for safer/easier walking and cycling throughout the district.
Your organisation may already have the bones of a travel plan in place and just need a bit of support to bring
it together, or you may need to start from scratch either way contact the Let’s Go Travel Planner Liz Beck to
discuss, 759 6060 x 8780 / [email protected]. Or visit www.letsgo.org.nz to register your interest and
receive your starter pack.
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The neighbourhood travel plan
process
NEIGHBOURHOOD
The neighbourhood travel plan process
Initiate
Step one
•Get a team together that is a representative of your neighbourhood.
•Identify a key influential person to champion the travel plan.
•Identify a key person to coordinate the process.
Step two – neighbourhood engagement
For your travel plan to be successful you need to understand what is currently happening, what your
neighbours think about how they currently travel to and from their neighbourhood and ask them what
they think could be done to improve transport options. The Let’s Go team can assist you with online and
paper surveys and travel reports.
Complete a site audit, what facilities do you have to support walking and cycling, bussing in your street?
Activate
Step three – objectives and scope
Once you have the data from your survey you can develop some key objectives, identify actions that can
be taken and pull together a plan. It can help to write down you aims, objectives, targets, planned actions
and budget requirements (if any).
Step four – implementation
This is the true action stage where you bring the plan to fruition. Ensure that you communicate with all
your neighbours what you are doing and why.
Evaluate
Step five – evolution
Now that the travel plan is in action you need to take regular evaluations to monitor what is happening,
what has worked well and perhaps not so well. How is travel changing (organise quarterly spot counts),
what savings are being made, is your neighbourhood more engaged?
Continue to run annual spot counts, what else can you do to keep the momentum going? How else can
you further reduce your communities’ car usage?
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Communicating and engaging
your neighbourhood
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Communicating and engaging your neighbourhood
Messages for your neighbourhood travel plan
We are making a commitment to reduce the number of car journeys that come to and from our street
every day. We are looking at ways that we currently travel to and from our street and looking at ways that
we can encourage each other to use more active forms of transport such as cycling, walking, bussing and
ridesharing.
•Petrol is now over $2 per litre so there is potential for cost saving for all of us.
•Opportunity to build exercise into our busy days, encouraging healthy activity.
•To reduce our environmental footprint.
•To improve safety and communication on our street.
Introduction for your neighbourhood travel survey
We want your involvement! If you can please complete the survey so that your suggestions for ways to
improve travel choices to our street can be investigated and we can make plans for travel improvements.
(Include a prize draw for completing the survey that is not cycle/walking orientated so that you get a wide
response).
Incentive ideas for your Neighbourhood Travel Plan
•Competitions for the home that uses their car the least in a specific time period.
•Discounted bus tickets (speak with the Let’s Go team on this).
•Street parties to engage everyone in your street community.
What New Plymouth District Council will provide
•Support from the Let’s Go Travel Planner every step of the way in the development and implementation
of your Travel Plan.
•Provision of an online survey that asks people how they currently travel and what would encourage them
to consider more sustainable travel options.
•Travel report from the online survey.
•Potential financial support with infrastructure and incentive schemes.
•Improved public infrastructure for safer/easier walking, cycling and bussing.
•Links to cycle training programmes.
•The Let’s Go Website, with regular challenges, carbon counts and much more.
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Potential barriers to active
and shared travel and tools
to overcome them.
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Potential barriers to active and shared travel
and tools to over come them
I would cycle except I don’t feel safe on the roads
Provide maps showing routes to and from your street which keep cycles off the main roads as much as
possible.
New Plymouth District Council has done a lot of work on infrastructure and improved signage to make
cycling on our roads safer.
Organise cycle skills training and advise on where high visibility cycle wear can be purchased so that people
have increased confidence on the roads.
I don’t trust the weather
Provide a daily weather report to your neighbours via email.
I would cycle/walk but I need somewhere to store my clothes and freshen up
before I start work
Talk to your workplace about developing their own travel plan and installing good facilities. Is there a
workplace near by who has facilities that you can use? Where is the nearest gym, perhaps for a small cost
you could use their facilities?
My work/school is too far away from town so cycling and walking won’t work
for me
Is there a possibility to drive to a certain point and then cycle? Ride sharing is another great option.
The bus schedule doesn’t support my schedule
Talk with the Let’s Go Travel Planner and we can look at times and demand and discuss it with the
bus company.
I’m too lazy
You won’t get everyone on board, but perhaps once they see that many other people are travelling using
different means and the camaraderie around this they may give it a try.
I have a bike and think about it but just don’t have time in the mornings
Fantastic, this person is almost there it’s just a matter of convincing them to trial it one morning a week
to start.
I like the flexibility of having my car at work so I can leave earlier or do errands
on the way home
For many people the idea of leaving their car’s at home is quite challenging. What you can do is encourage
them to trial it one day a week for a month, and see how that goes with encouragement for them to increase
it by a day when they are ready.