Consultation and Engagement

Extensive consultation and engagement has been carried out with stakeholders to underpin the wider vision of our transport strategy. This included a conference in November 2004 to initiate the work; meetings of the LTP External Liaison Group, extensive work with key agencies such as the Chamber of Commerce, consultation with neighbouring authorities and the use of the LTP website. The Greater Manchester Forum, a group made up of the voluntary sector, higher and further education representatives, Trade Unions, the Private Sector and the 10 District Council Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) chairs, has also been involved in the development of the Provisional Local Transport Plan, from the early vision work through to development of the key elements of the strategy. This has informed the policy framework within which the GMITS was developed. We have ensured that the policy framework reflects the key themes of the 2004 White Paper and the Shared Priorities for transport developed between central Government and the Local Government Association. A copy of the Transport 2020 Vision can be found on the Greater Manchester LTP website www.gmltp.co.uk. In addition, an advertorial was placed in a wide range of local newspapers, together with leaflets at Council offices and other public buildings to encourage the general public to get involved in the process.

Consultation on the Plan since the submission of the provisional document has consisted of a number of initiatives

  • Gaining detailed feedback from an extensive list of stakeholder. This method has greatly aided the formulation of our strategies. For example, Manchester University's atmospheric research group became a consultee during our extensive consultation throughout 2005. They have given advice and assisted in the formulation of our air quality strategy.
  • Signing of a concordat by bus operators to deliver the objectives of corridor partnerships
  • Consultation with the public through the 'Transport Matters' exercise
  • Officer discussion with neighbouring authorities on how linkages can be improved between neighbouring plans
  • Cross departmental consultation such as Local Transport Plan Steering Group and Strategy Co-ordinating group. This also involved gauging opinions from the other network operators, specifically the Highways Agency, the rail industry and Manchester Airport.
  • Local Authority consultation on draft programmes.
 

Policy

Key messages from the consultation exercises are:

  • Both the public and stakeholders agree with the public transport led approach proposed by the Greater Manchester Authorities.  In short, a range of improvements to public transport were suggested, including support for Metrolink expansion and other major schemes, punctuality, integration, more comprehensive routes and services, investigations into new approaches to ticketing, developments and improvements to stations and interchanges; and improved cleanliness of vehicles.
  • In terms of people’s aspirations, both ‘carrot’ and ‘stick’ approaches were proposed.  Consultees made reference to the importance of aligning land use and regeneration policy with any emerging transport agenda and the awareness of changing lifestyle choices which impact on the transport requirements of the travelling public in Greater Manchester.
  • Links with major employers, schools and health facilities were seen as vital. These destinations are major trip generators that will increasingly require innovative approaches to relieve localised congestion and car parking shortages. Representatives from these organisations expressed support for Travel Plans, safe walking routes and high quality bus services. 
  • Problems with traffic flow were raised for certain routes at certain times. Improving traffic flow by better traffic signaling was a popular suggestion. There is also a belief that more emphasis needs to be placed on integration of different modes of transport.  There was support for improvements to Interchange facilities, and increased parking near public transport links (e.g. park and ride). 
  • The public and stakeholders cited traffic as the major contributor to air and noise pollution in Greater Manchester. This was complemented by support for sustainable modes such as improvements to routes and facilities to encourage walking and cycling.
  • The issue of safe and secure public transport was a recurrent theme, particularly from young people. Respondents believe that public concerns regarding safety and antisocial behaviour are discouraging use. Although this may only be a perception, stakeholders are supportive of improving safety at interchanges, and extending the use of CCTV and real-time information.
  • Stakeholders believe that there are areas in Greater Manchester where accessibility to key facilities is a problem. The accessibility planning work, using the Accession software, has been used to identify specific areas where problems exist. Solutions being investigated include assessment of different transport options including demand responsive transport for areas with relatively low demand. Consultation also highlighted concerns that some housing and retail developments have been built on sites without consideration of access by public transport, walking or cycling.

Examples of how consultation has influenced our approach

Consultation has helped shape and improve Greater Manchester's transport policy and programmes. The examples below show how the engagement process has guided LTP development, and demonstrates how views have been expressed both in specific LTP consultations and in on-going continuous consultation.

 

(1) Directors of Public Health

When assessing the provisional LTP2 the directors of public health strongly recommended that LTP2 included a clear commitment to complete the Greater Manchester Cycle Network by the end of the plan period and identified at least two orbital corridor partnerships perhaps as a first step towards the high quality express orbital network previously proposed by the Directors. Whilst we consider that we will not be able to complete the cycle network during the lifetime of LTP2, as we are focusing resources to achieve value for money, our long-term aim will remain the development of a comprehensive network. A number of other organisations also raised the issue of orbital partnerships, therefore, we will investigate areas where these may be suitable and aim to have at least one operational during LTP2. The Directors of Public Health also expressed concern at the provisional walking target (halting the decline in walking by the end of the plan period). A number of other stakeholders raised concerns about this (see consultation annex). Due to these concerns, further modelling and analysis has been carried out, resulting in a modification to the target.

(2) Cycle England

Cycle England were provided with the provisional LTP and the cycling strategy and asked to comment.  They gave broad support for the document, and thought that whilst our revised targets were ambitious, they were not unrealistic. Cycle England also supported our policy of targeting funding for cycle improvements at key areas around Greater Manchester in a bid to increase cycling numbers in these particular potential hot spots. Because of this endorsement the overall approach in final LTP2 remains unchanged from the provisional plan.

(3) Quality Bus Corridors

All QBCs undergo a two-stage consultation process. The first stage is a ‘whole route’ consultation which identifies issues. The results are used as the basis for developing detailed proposals which are then consulted upon. This ensures that local concerns are incorporated where possible in the development of a strategic scheme. Chorlton is a good example of this approach. Local traders were concerned about having sufficient parking and loading facilities. The proposals, therefore, made the best use of the existing limited space by introducing several formalised parking and loading bays, which also helped to prevent parked cars blocking the road or parking in the cycle lanes. In addition, some bus stops were relocated to create more on street parking for local shops and businesses.

(4) Bus Strategy

Results from both GMPTE’s regular ‘Tracking Survey’ and a survey of bus passengers have shown that reliability/punctuality is the issue of greatest concern to passengers. As a result, a major study was commissioned into the causes of unreliability. The Bus Strategy was  revised to include measures aimed at tackling the issues identified. It now places far greater emphasis on improving the monitoring and management of punctuality (including operator specific monitoring, with trigger points for call in meetings and production of Performance Improvement Plans), developing a cashless/changeless fare strategy and on tackling the ‘school run’ (through the introduction of dedicated Yellow School Buses) rather than introducing bus priority measures alone.

Specific proposals for Park and Ride sites were put forward by bus operator Stagecoach in their response to consultation on the bus strategy. GMPTE is working with Stagecoach to look at the economic and commercial case for Park and Ride. If that proves positive GMPTE will work with them to identify suitable sites

More details of consultation, including methodologies, results, Greater Manchester responses to the points raised and information as to how they have shaped the document can be found in the consultation report in the LTP2 Technical Annex.

     

 

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