Agenda item

The Strategic Director – Regeneration and Culture, submits a report that presents Leicester’s Third Local Transport Plan (LTP3) before submission to Full Council on 24^th March 2011. The statute requires LTP3 to be operational on 1^st April 2011.

Due to the large size of the full set of papers, the appendices have been e-mailed to Members and a copy has also been placed in each group room.

Further copies of the appendices are available on the Council’s Web Site at:  http:www.cabinet.Leicester.gov.uk or by phoning Committee Services on 0116 229 8818. 

The Chair agreed to consider the two following items together:

(i)                 Leicester’s Third Local Transport Plan (LTP)

(ii)               Leicester’s Local Transport Plan 2011 to 2026 Capital Programme 2011/12/13

The Team Leader, Transport Strategy introduced both of the above items in the form of a PowerPoint presentation.

Members were informed that the Council had to produce an LTP by law.  This plan aligned with Leicester’s ambitions to become Britain’s first sustainable city.  The previous plan (LTP2) had aided the injection of £50m from Central Government into the local economy.

In terms of passenger flow, it was stated that on a typical day, 240,000 accessed the outer ring road with 120,000 using the inner ring road.  Further to this, 80,000 pedestrians walked passed the Clock Tower each day.  Members heard that 41% of people entered the city by bus, with 36% by car, 21% walked and 1.5% cycled.

With regard to carbon emissions, officers explained that nationally, transportation was responsible for 21% of co2 emissions, and that this figure stood at 17% for Leicester. 

The Team Leader, Transport Strategy explained that there was a strong emphasis on increasing bus travel within both documents in light of the existing congestion problems, and the need to reduce co2 emissions and improve air quality.  It was also pointed out that 30% of residents in Leicester did not have access to a car.  Concerns were expressed by members with regards to the cost of bus travel, and that it was cheaper for families to often access the city centre via car rather than bus.  Officers explained that Park and Ride operators had offered a number of pricing incentives, but it was acknowledged that this would not benefit all bus users.  The Board were also informed that a Quality Bus Partnership had been formed, which looked at strengthening the quality of bus provision in Leicester.  Officers acknowledged that the cost of bus travel was expensive for families, and stated that given the current economic climate, the Council would be reducing the subsidies that it provided to bus companies.

A further point with regard to buses was raised around the reasons for not continuing with a circle bus services which served the outer ring road.  Officers confirmed that such a service had been withdrawn as it was not commercially successful, but acknowledged the frustrations of those who accessed the service previously. 

The Chair questioned why the Council was looking at the possibility of a tram network given the associated costs, and queried why the provision of new roads had not been alternatively proposed.  The Team Leader, Transport Strategy, reported that it would be no cheaper to construct a network of new roads compared to installing a tram network.  The Chair was of the view that other options including lower carbon solutions for buses should be considered.

The Team Leader, Transport Strategy, stated that the key goals of the strategy were to increase economic growth and reduce co2 emissions.  Members generally felt that it was important to ensure that the goals set could realistically be delivered. 

There were mixed views from Members in respect of the mechanisms used for consulting on LTP3.  Some members felt that the consultation event days were particularly useful and well attended.  The Chair referred to the questionnaire exercise which was carried out and was of the view that the response rate was especially low.  He was also concerned that the LTP3 goals of reducing co2 emissions and increasing economic growth did not reflect the priorities of local people, and that road safety was by far the biggest issue that was presented to him by constituents, and that the Council received a significant number of petitions, often with a considerable number of signatures, on road safety measures.  He felt that more of a strategic link to improving road safety was required within LTP3.  Officers responded by stating that a programme of safety schemes were proposed within the Capital Programme.

Members were informed that Leicester currently had 11,500 off-street parking spaces and 1,300 on street spaces.  It was made clear that Nottingham had roughly one-third of this level of parking.  The Chair enquired whether strategies within LTP3 had been modelled on a projected decrease in the flow of traffic as a result of less people working in the City Centre due to the economic crisis, and initiatives by organisations such as the Council to increase practises such as home working.  Officers responded by stating that such changes were not statistically significant, and were likely to bear little change on overall traffic flow.  The Chair stated that he was concerned that the strategy did not reflect overall trends within the economy. 

In respect of the Capital Programme, it was explained that this covered large projects that would take place over several years as well as the continuation of existing projects.  Such projects referred to included the works on Sanvey Gate, the Granby Street Gateway and improvements to City Centre bus stops.  For 2011/12, members heard that £2.8m would be supplied from the Integrated Transport Block and £2.1m from the Highways Capital Maintenance Block.

The decision to progress wit the Welford Road Bus Corridor was questioned.  The Chair was of the view that the pilot study did not support extensive implementation.  Officers stated that the study referred to took place a number of years ago and confirmed that the first phase of this programme had been successful, and were therefore progressing with the second stage. 

RESOLVED:

(1)               That Cabinet be asked to consider the comments made by the Board on Leicester’s Third Local Transport Plan; and

(2)               That Cabinet be asked to consider the comments made by the Board on Leicester’s Local Transport Plan 2011 to 2026 Capital Programme 2011/12/13