Part One: Spatial Strategy and Policies
Demand for Travel and Travel Choices
16.41 The management of the demand for road space and car parking, together with influencing travel choices, is a significant component to achieving sustainable communities, environmental transformation and economic prosperity.
Policy DLP72 Demand for Travel and Travel Choices
- The Council is committed to considering all aspects of traffic management in the centres and wider area. The priorities for traffic management in the wider West Midlands region are:
- identifying appropriate strategic and local Park and Ride sites on current public transport routes to ease traffic flows into centres.
- working together with the rest of the region to manage region-wide traffic flows through the West Midlands Metropolitan Area Urban Traffic Control (UTC) scheme and further joint working.
- promoting and implementing Smarter Choices measures that will help to reduce the need to travel and facilitate a shift towards using sustainable modes of transport (walking, cycling, public transport, car sharing).
- supporting the emerging Carbon Management Plan.
- the use of innovation to promote behaviour change in the deployment of policy related interventions.
Justification
16.42 Spatial planning objectives aim at making the network of town and city centres as attractive and accessible as possible to encourage use the most sustainable modes.
16.43 Other important aspects of demand management are the prioritisation of allocation of road space towards sustainable methods of travel such as walking, cycling and buses by using schemes such as appropriate traffic calming measures and full or time limited pedestrianisation so making these modes more attractive to people visiting the centres.
16.44 Other important elements include the promotion and marketing of sustainable transport through travel plans (refer to Policy DLP69), planning conditions / obligations and other associated sustainable mobility initiatives, including the promotion of schemes and opportunities for walking, cycling, micro-mobility, public transport and car sharing. These policies seek to reduce vehicular borne traffic congestion and pollution, improve road safety, promote social inclusion and accessibility, therefore encouraging consumers to access sustainable transport.
Evidence
- West Midlands Congestion Management Plan (TfWM 2018)
- West Midlands Park & Ride Strategy (TfWM 2020)
Delivery
- The policy will be delivered under the Traffic Management Act 2004, which places network management duties on local highway authorities. The main duty is to secure the expeditious movement of people and goods, inclusive of cyclists and pedestrians, on the road network and on adjacent road networks for which another authority is the traffic authority.
