The ever-expanding transport policy

A lot of people ask me - what is the Council’s policy on transport then? Well, the basic answer is: huge! We have an awful lot of transport policies and plans. And perhaps that’s part of the problem.

1. Local Transport Strategy 2007 – 2012 (171 pages) It needs urgent replacement – and probably shortening!

2 Transport 2030 Vision. This states that by 2030, Edinburgh’s Transport System will be the greenest, healthiest and most accessible in northern Europe. In the plan, “Greenest” means reducing the impacts of transport thus playing its full part in reducing greenhouse gas emission. “Healthiest” means promoting Active Travel with streets appropriately designed for their functions and an emphasis on encouraging walking, cycling and public transport, supported by a high quality public realm; it also means improving local air quality. “Most accessible” means supporting the economy by providing access to employment, amenities and services; it means being smart and efficient with reliable journey times for people, goods and services; it means being part of a well planned, physically accessible, sustainable city that reduces dependency on car travel; it means having a public transport system and walking and cycling conditions that are safe, secure and comfortable, inclusive, integrated, customer focused, innovative and effectively maintained.

3 Active Travel Plan. This says that walking and cycling meet so many objectives that they deserve to be strongly promoted. They have minimal environmental impact, they are good for health, and they are affordable and sociable. The Active Travel Action Plan (ATAP) sets out to deliver these benefits by enabling more people in Edinburgh to cycle and walk, more safely and more often.

4 The Road Safety Plan for Edinburgh This was launched in May 2010 as a focus for all road safety activity in the city.  The Council is working in partnership with Lothian & Borders Police, NHS Lothian and Lothian & Borders Fire & Rescue Service to encourage safer travel in our city for everyone. At the core of the Road Safety Plan is the vision that the Council and its partners will work towards what’s called “Vision Zero” - the provision of a modern road network where all users are safe from the risk of being killed or seriously injured.

It is therefore not that we do not have enough plans and strategies. But the questions have to be: how well (or badly) does the Council involve the public in having ownership of the plans and strategies? And how well (or badly) does it deliver them?