TTR Newsletter - Winter 2007/2008

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Since June 2007, TTR has been working with the British Retail Consortium to help retailers talk to local councils about transport issues. Every retailer knows that good transport links are vital to the success of their business. The recent decline in retail footfall has been attributed in part to problems with transport – in particular, insufficient parking, too much congestion and subsequent delays to deliveries. Retailers feel that poor access to town centres is threatening their profitability, and are keen that something should be done about it.

Chris Humphrey, TTR's Project Manager for this work, explains how the project unfolded:
‘The BRC approached TTR with a view to developing a practical resource for local business leaders, such as shop owners and Town Centre Managers. The objective was to produce a short, “bare bones” guide, or “Toolkit”, to get business leaders involved in improving local transport.'

The key achievement of the project has been to develop a view of what an accessible town centre looks like in retail terms, as Chris explains:
‘We listened to retailers' complaints about transport. They feel that their customers are fed up with being stuck in traffic on the way into town, and so prefer to shop at out-of-town sites. Deliveries are hampered by curfews, a lack of loading bays and the unreliability caused by congestion. Retailers are also worried by the potential impact of additional costs such as congestion charging schemes, which are being considered for a number of cities and regions in the UK '.

Rather than focusing on the negatives, TTR's project team turned these issues around and asked a focus group of retailers about the features of an attractive and accessible town centre. In retail terms there are four complementary dimensions to easy access:

1. 1. High quality public transport;
2. 2. An efficient road network;
3. 3. An attractive town centre for pedestrians;
4. 4. Good facilities for deliveries.

The Toolkit is a guide that provides business leaders with information and questions for engaging with their local councils and ultimately improving these four aspects of town centre retail. The Toolkit will be published early in 2008 and circulated to all BRC members and local authorities in the UK .

In a wider context, gaining business community buy-in is absolutely vital for making progress with major demand-management schemes such as road pricing and travel plans in the UK . Through this project TTR has shown that by listening to business concerns, and encouraging a positive dialogue with public sector stakeholders, the business community can become a willing partner in the resolution of transport and quality of life issues.

More information on this topic is available on the BRC web-site.

Pdf of this article is available to download here

An exciting new activity for TTR is assisting French local authorities with the creation and implementation of plans to make their public transport network accessible to disabled people. The French “Loi Handicap 2005” decreed that every local authority in France should, by 2008, produce a “Schéma Directeur d'Accessibilité” (SDA) – this is a detailed plan of all the measures they are going to put in place in order to ensure that all aspects of the public transport network can be freely and easily used by disabled people.

From January 2008, TTR will be providing such assistance to the Département of l'Aisne, which is situated in the Picardie region, to the North of Paris. Because the need to produce such an accessibility plan is very analogous to the duties that UK public bodies have in relation to the Disability Equality Duty (DED), the work will begin with a review of the experiences of UK local authorities. This review will help to define the features of a good accessibility plan, and good practice in relation to involving disabled people in this process.

There will then be a detailed review of the current level of accessibility of the Aisne public transport system, a phase of consultation with disabled people (which will involve both discussions with local organisations representing the interests of disabled people, and focus groups with disabled people themselves), and the creation of a prioritised plan for the implementation of the SDA.

The work will, of course, be resourced from the TTR France Office, in Nantes , but with support from Phil Barham, who leads our activities in the field of accessibility and equality in transport, and Philip Oxley, who is TTR's Special Adviser in this subject area.

Pdf of this article is available to download here

TTR's office in Edinburgh has been active in a number of projects recently, including a study of the economic and environmental benefits of a scheme to transport timber by coastal shipping in the West of Scotland, an investigation of the enforcement options available to safeguard reserved car parking facilities for disabled people, and a review of the relocation of Ayr bus station.

TTR and EKOS (a specialist economic impact consultant), were commissioned by Forestry Commission Scotland to undertake an economic benefit study of the subsidised TimberLINK coastal shipping service. TimberLINK transports timber from piers and harbours in Argyll to the Port of Troon , Ayrshire. Operated by Associated British Ports and subsidised by the Scottish Government, TimberLINK is a practical working example of an environmentally driven modal shift initiative, resulting in the transfer of freight from road transport to a more sustainable mode - in this case, short-sea coastal shipping on the west coast of Scotland.

TTR managed this project and carried out key stakeholder consultation with harbour and port operators, timber processors and paper mills. TTR also carried out evaluation of the environmental benefits of the service, in terms of removing sensitive lorry miles from local roads and compatibility with the national freight strategy for Scotland . EKOS was employed as a subconsultant to carry out detailed economic appraisal.

The study has shown some economic benefits from the operation of TimberLINK in the form of employment and investment in port facilities to accommodate the TimberLINK service. The operation has undoubtedly led to reduced HGV mileage on the routes between Argyll and Ayrshire (a reduction of approximately a million lorry miles per year), with significant environmental savings (approximately 1,000 tonnes of CO 2 saved, compared to road freight transport).

With growth in timber harvesting projected for the coming 10-15 years, as well as significant demand for new markets, including biofuels, sustainable transport of timber will become ever more of a challenge in coming years. TimberLINK, with its key environmental credentials, may have an important role to play in the future of timber transport between regions.

TTR Scotland recently completed a review of the possibility to relocate the bus station in Ayr , for architects erz Ltd, as part of a master planning exercise. The work arose from the Ayr Town Centre Study, commissioned by Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire and South Ayrshire Council in June 2006, which is concerned with the development of a major strategy for the renaissance of Ayr Town Centre.

Research undertaken by TTR into tackling the abuse of off-street parking for disabled people in Scotland has recently been published by the Scottish Government. The research investigated the reasons why people misuse reserved parking bays and reviewed different measures to combat the problem. These included advisory methods, barrier systems, patrols, fines and charging. The research suggests that there is no single method to tackle the abuse of reserved parking which is appropriate and effective in all situations. The approach used should be relevant to the type of facility, design of the car park and the resources available to carry out monitoring and enforcement.

Copies of the Good Practice Guide produced from this work, and the published research report, are available through the following links,

Good Practice Guide
Research Report
Summary of Findings

photos reproduced by kind permission of the Highways Agency

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On the 25th October 2007 , Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, announced that, following a successful trial on the M42, new ways of managing motorway traffic - including hard shoulder running - will be implemented. This will be part of a £150m scheme on the motorway box around Birmingham . The Transport Secretary also stated that a feasibility study will be undertaken to consider if similar schemes could help to beat congestion on other parts of the motorway network.

TTR supported the Highways Agency in the evaluation of the successful trial of the Active Traffic Management (ATM) systems between Junctions 3a and 7 of the M42 that led to this announcement.

TTR's role was to obtain the initial reaction of drivers to this new form of traffic management on the motorway. The work involved organising a large scale survey of drivers who had driven through the ATM section of the M42 during the first few weeks of operation of each of the major pilot implementation stages. The surveys were completed at nearby service areas and in Solihull town centre.

The project complemented the Highways Agency's long-term monitoring programme by providing some quick and early feedback in terms of the initial reaction of road users. This highlighted any potential areas of concern that could be mitigated by changes to the system or by improvements to the communication campaign. This work will also inform the future deployment of ATM on other areas of the motorway network, and provide valuable information for associated communication campaigns.

The results of the study showed that drivers quickly learnt and adapted to ATM on the M42. The main conclusions of the study showed that:

• a good understanding of the ATM signs and signals had been achieved.
• high customer satisfaction levels were achieved. Users expressed a preference for driving with ATM in operation on the M42, for reasons of;
• improved journeys - reduced congestion
• traffic information provision
• the ability to plan and time journeys
• greater control over their journeys
• feeling safer, and less stressed, when traveling.
• regular users of the ATM section provided more positive responses with regards to ATM than non-regular users. Respondents who made regular peak time trips and/or lived in the West Midlands demonstrated the most positive perception of, and willingness to use, ATM, and had noticed a positive impact on the quality of their journeys.
• drivers who had used the hard shoulder as a running lane were positive about their experience.
• there was strong support for the extension of Active Traffic Management to other parts of the network.

The research completed by TTR has been well received by the Highways Agency. Furthermore, the project final report has been published in the House of Commons Library and can be downloaded from the Highways Agency web site:

For further information on this study, please contact Kieran Holmes

Pdf of this article is available to download here

TTR is currently working on Travel Plans for a wide range of clients, including Colleges of Further Education, retailers, consultancy panels and residents groups.

An example of the work we are doing with FE colleges is a Travel Plan for eight sites of Blackpool and Fylde College . Surveys of staff and students current travel habits have already taken place and clearly indicate the need for the positive promotion of sustainable modal choices in all areas of the college community. TTR is working with the college to establish actual physical measures that can be implemented to encourage more sustainable choices, and on a Travel Plan marketing campaign in line with the Smarter Choices agenda.

TTR continues to work with B&Q, providing assistance in the whole Travel Plan process from conception to implementation. This includes the review and monitoring of Travel Plans at 45 stores throughout the UK , as well as the Head Office in Hampshire. The B&Q Travel Plans team has received awards from the Association for Commuter Transport in recognition of its achievements.

Several staff based in TTR's Nottingham Office are all approved Travel Plan consultants for the Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County Council Scheme TransACT. Specialist Travel Plan advice is currently being provided by this team to Nottingham City Primary Care Trust, Cattles Financial Services, and the Driving Standards Agency as part of this grant scheme which provides funds to small and medium-sized businesses to support the introduction of Travel Plans.

To date, over 40 organisations in the City and County have engaged in TransACT , resulting in a wide variety of solutions such as electric pool vehicles and bikes, the provision of I.T. homeworking equipment, cycle storage and showers, innovative car park management solutions, marketing campaigns and materials to promote public transport usage. TTR has been involved in developing 15 of the 40 travel plans developed so far. Through its travel survey, Cattles plc identified a major gap in the provision of facilities for cyclists, and the company is using its funding to install a new shower and changing block next to some new cycle stands. The Driving Standards Agency is benefiting from the TransACT process in a different way; it is being guided by TTR consultants in the development of a Travel Plan for one site, and is using this advice to develop Travel Plans at other sites, which has helped to ensure real ownership of the plans.

TTR consultants are also involved in the consultation phase of a ‘Streets for People' scheme in the London Borough of Brent. This work involves the development of a residential Travel Plan for the area combined with proposed urban design improvements. In London , TTR is working in conjunction with Momenta on a project to ensure that Travel Plans in the West London area are up to date and recorded correctly in the London-wide Travel Plan-tracking system, “ibase”. As part of this project, TTR Travel Plan consultants are providing employment sites in the area with ongoing Travel Plan consultancy support.

Staff from the TTR Scotland Office, in Edinburgh , have been working on Staff Travel Plans for B&Q stores, both in Scotland and in northern England . This work has involved initiating travel plans for new stores and assisting established stores with the implementation of activities to encourage staff to travel in a more sustainable manner.

TTR has a core team of Travel Plan specialists with a combined total of more than 30 years' Transport Planning experience. This team is supported by staff with skills in market research, travel awareness, mapping and consultation techniques.

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Work has recently started on a major new project that will address the issues of biofuel supply and use in transport, specifically from the perspective of Local Authorities and will promote developments in the regional production and use of transport biofuels. The BIOfuels Networks In the Community project, known as BIONIC, is part funded under the European Commission's Intelligent Energy Europe programme, and will run for three years. Five regional communities are involved, including North West England, Cantabria in Spain , Varmland in Sweden , Prahova in Romania and Pazardjik in Bulgaria . In the UK this will support the ongoing work of the North West Regional Biofuels Forum. BIONIC will provide an overview of biofuels opportunities and user needs in each community and will establish regional biofuels networks to run during and after the end of the project. Case studies will be developed in each region and evaluation of these case studies will feed into the development of best practice guidance on how to stimulate the local biofuels market in practical terms.

TTR's role in BIONIC is to be responsible for the day-to-day management of the project, and to provide support to the project Co-ordinator, Merseytravel. Our technical input will begin with a state of the art review of existing biofuels activity, which will consider current projects, networks and policies throughout Europe . In due course, TTR will carry out a project evaluation, and provide feedback on the effectiveness of the project's approach.

More information is available on the project website www.bionic-project.eu