Agenda item

Tom Finnegan-Smith, Transportation Highways and Project Manager, presented the draft Rotherham Transport Strategy which outlined the proposed strategic approach to the provision and management of transport and transport infrastructure in Rotherham.

 

The following powerpoint presentation as given:-

 

Why do we need a Transport Strategy

-          Lots of policy documents both national and regional

-          Need to know how Policy relates to Rotherham

-          The Strategy captures interaction with other disciplines such as land use planning, air quality, health and regeneration

-          Within this framework, a Strategy is needed to prevent a piecemeal approach to projects

-          Based on the evidence of the need and challenges faced, it sets out priorities and informs decisions

 

The Role of Transportation in supporting Rotherham’s Economic Growth

-          Government have reinforced the key role that effective and efficient Transportation and Highway networks have on Economic Growth

 

How Transportation has fed into the development of the growth plan for City Region and Rotherham’s Growth Plan

-          International, national transport and land planning policy and law

-          Sheffield City Region Transport Strategy (2011-2026) and Local Transport Plan

-          Local Plan Core Strategy (local planning and land use)

-          Sheffield City Regional Strategic Economic Plan (Growth Plan)

-          Rotherham Corporate Plan and Health and Wellbeing Strategy

-          Rotherham Growth Plan

-          Transport and highways projects in Rotherham

 

Rotherham’s Transport Strategy 2015-2026

By 2028 Rotherham will

-          Enjoy sustainable growth – new development will be based on compact mixed use centres focussed on high quality public transport

-          Be a connected place – people and places are connected by an integrated, safe and efficient transport network

-          Make sustainable travel choices – walking, cycling and public transport are a normal part of daily travel

 

Challenges

-          Economic growth

-          Car dependency

-          Physical inactivity

-          Energy and climate change

-          Traffic congestion

-          Less funding

 

Objectives

-          Integrated transport and land use – to support well designed new development that reduces the need to travel and is accessible to everyone by frequent public transport, walking and cycling

-          Public transport (bus, tram and train) – to improve the public transport network so it provides an alternative to the private car

-          Active transport network – to make the transport network safe and attractive for walking and cycling

-          Travel behaviour change – to reduce car dependency and increase levels of walking, cycling, car share and public transport use

-          Roads and freight – to develop and manage an efficient road network for the movement of people and goods that can be shared by everyone

-          Safer roads – to make the transport network safe for everyone

 

Themes and Actions

-          To focus new development along key public transport corridors and in places adjacent to existing shops and services

-          To develop high quality accessible public places (centres)

-          To improve rail services and access to stations and to ensure SCR is served by high speed rail

-          To improve connectivity between major settlements

-          To develop public transport that connects people to jobs and training

-          To improve safety on public transport

-          To work with operators to keep fares affordable

-          To develop high quality, connected cycling and walking networks

-          Connecting and completing the existing active transport network

-          Connecting with public transport

-          Connecting colleges and schools

-          Connecting our urban centres

-          To encourage active travel especially to address local obesity and inactivity problems, encourage schools to adopt active travel projects and create a lasting legacy from LSTF projects

-          To provide information and travel advice for the users of all modes of transport

-          To improve surface access to international gateways

-          To reduce the amount of productive time lost on the strategic and local road network and to improve its resilience and reliability

-          To ensure networks are well maintained

-          To promote efficient and sustainable means of freight distribution

-          To work to improve the efficiency of vehicles and reduce carbon emissions and to improve air quality especially in designated areas

-          To apply parking policies to promote efficient car use, while remaining sensitive to the vulnerability of local economics

-          To encourage safe road use and reduce casualties on our roads

-          To focus safety efforts on vulnerable groups

-          To work with the Police to enforce traffic laws

 

Outcomes

-          To support economic growth and develop a resilient transport system

-          Reduce emissions and protect our natural environment

-          To maximise safety on a more ‘active’ transport network

-          To enhance a social inclusion and health through a more equitable transport system

 

Changing face of funding

-          Sheffield City Regional Growth Plan

This is a strategic bidding document to the Local Growth Fund

-          Rotherham Transport Strategy and Growth Plan

-          Local Growth Fund (2015-16)

Major scheme funding

40% top-slice LTP IT block

LSTF

DfT are providing £1.1b of the £1.3b Capital element of LGF for 2015/16

-          Local Funding (with SY influence)

CIL and S106

S278

Residual LTP IT Block

LTP Maintenance

DfT Competitive funds

DfT Partnering funds

Capital investment

-          The Strategy will no longer be delivered solely through an annual programme of Transportation and Highways grant funded schemes and initiatives.  The influence of Devolution on our future funding and transport infrastructure is likely to be significant

 

Discussion ensued on the presentation with the following issues raised/clarified;-

 

·           The Council had 4/5 designated Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs), areas defined as having a reading over a certain threshold in terms of air quality emissions.  Such issues were monitored across South Yorkshire with an external provider doing some of the work and an Environmental Officer.  The reasons for having poor air quality would be considered together with potential mitigations to bring the areas out of being an AQMA some of which included public transport providers and bus operators around cleaner technology for their vehicles.  There was no one solution but making public transport attractive would help.  Work was taking place with Highways England regarding the poor air quality near to the M1 motorway in Brinsworth, Tinsley and Blackburn particularly given the development of the smart motorway

 

·           A review of the bus network had been undertaken last Summer in the run up to the launch of the Rotherham Voluntary Bus Partnership.  At that time work had taken place with SYPTE and the main bus operators that were engaged in the Partnership to review the network and try and agree a network that effectively tried to link to communities as best it could given that the operators were commercial operators and would take business decisions based on whether they thought a route could be sustained.  For those routes/communities that the operators did not wish to serve there was a secondary criteria for the PTE and their bus tendered services i.e. the ones that filled in the gaps either in total or for periods of the day where a private operator did not want to run a route.  There may well be smaller communities that did not meet the criteria for the provision of a tendered service.  Whilst certain communities have seen the overall number of services reduced and therefore the range of destinations reduced the aim of the network review was to ensure that communities were still provided with a service, from which passengers could interchange between services to get them to their ultimate destination.

 

·           It had been in the media about a possible new railway station in the Parkgate area of Rotherham.  This had come from a recent study undertaken by the SYPTE which had looked at the rail service that was provided at Rotherham Central Station and whether that service provision could be improved with better links to a wider range of destinations and more frequent service.  Although the Station itself had been refurbished recently the services that served the Station remained as they were before.  Tram train was a key part of that provision but the study had effectively highlighted the constraints of additional services serving Rotherham Central Station were as a result of the Station not being on the mainline.  Due to this, there were issues around the delays that train companies would experience by travelling off and onto the mainline and due to the alignment of the track serving Rotherham Central the slow line speeds.   A range of options had been considered to find a solution but they were not considered to be value for money and would mean re-aligning the main line through the Central Station which was not cost effective.  For Rotherham to have an enhanced connection and higher quality destinations would require a new mainline station

 

·           The Tram Train project has been delayed until early 2017.  The tram train vehicles themselves were on their way to South Yorkshire with the first ones arriving in December, 2015.  The delay was as a result of programming/project management of the scheme; Network Rail had been challenged to come back from a position of delay and the revised timescale now stated 2017.  Colleagues from the PTE were working predominantly on that project and had had a number of issues and discussions with Network Rail.  The vehicles would be used along the Yellow tram route between Sheffield and Meadowhall but would not connect with the heavy rail route until 2017.  An order under the Transport and Rail Act 1992 was required and Network Rail had  submitted this to the Secretary of State for Transport on the 13 March 2015.

 

·           Funding for work around sustainable travel, including the promotion of the car sharing initiative, came from the current Local Sustainable Travel Fund which would finish on 31^st March, 2016.  The cessation of funding would leave a gap and a problem in terms of continuing much of that activity.  One of the benefits of the Fund, and South Yorkshire was very successful being the only metropolitan area that received the total funding sought (approximately £35M), was that it was not all Capital funding but Revenue funding to promote other forms of transport and the car club was not a capital scheme.  Although it was accepted that the scheme in its own right could be more successful than it was there without funding it would not go ahead at all

 

·           There were a number of charging points for electric vehicles.  There was a free rapid charging point in the Drummond Street car park and on the Waverley AMP.  The funding for such facilities was via the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, however, the vehicles were still expensive to purchase/lease.  The Authority was keen to do more in terms of electric vehicles as it was with other emerging technologies i.e. the recent launch of hydrogen refuelling station at Waverley AMP

 

·           Acknowledgement that it was an opportunity to look at wider rail provision and integration in terms of bus and rail particularly in the southern part of the Borough where the rail service was extremely well used.  Car parking should also be included in any consultation

 

Resolved:-  (1)  That the draft Transport Strategy 2015-2026 be noted.

 

(2)  That a report be submitted on air quality in the Borough.