|
Joined up thinking
The government introduced local transport plans in 2000 as a way of making sure councils had in place strategic long-term plans for developing the local transport network and for allowing progress to be measured. Under the Transport Act of the same year, most local authorities in England (but not London) were required to submit a five-year plan outlining a full transport strategy, detailed policies and an implementation programme.
For the transport authorities involved, the plans encourage a joined-up approach to improving the network across the councils in the district, and a formal commitment to allocating funding and implementing new initiatives. For the Department for Transport, they provide valuable information that helps determine government policy, and how much central funding is allocated to the local transport coffers. Evidence from the plans also feeds into the local authority comprehensive performance assessments.
The first five-year plans were completed in 2005 and the proposals for the 2006 to 2011 period have now been laid out. Northamptonshire County Council, for example, has put forward a wide-ranging plan aimed at ensuring the smooth flow of traffic on its roads. As a predominantly rural council with limited rail services, the authority is specifically tasked with discouraging car use and helping people in the more remote rural areas to get about more easily.
Under its transport plan, the council has secured £19.4m of targeted funding over the next year, with £1.3m going towards the ‘Getting Northampton to work’ scheme – a major project to improve cycleways, walkways, bus routes and some of the major junctions in Northampton, to enhance traffic flow in the town.
A further £6.3m is being spent on improvements to public transport, work to tackle congestion, and moves to improve accessibility.
Northamptonshire’s congestion strategy aims to make the most of the existing public transport capacity, while managing demand for private vehicle travel by providing high-quality alternatives to the car. And where necessary, it seeks to provide high-quality roads between and around major settlements to ease the blockages on the county’s key arteries.
The development of an accessibility strategy for Northamptonshire is another key initiative which aims to ensure better transport links to people’s places of work, and to key services such as health centres and schools.
|
|
 |
|
|
