CPRE GLOUCESTERSHIRE BRANCH Policy Statement Transport

Background

In Gloucestershire the M5, the A417 and the A40 have seen greatly increased traffic and congestion is fast becoming an issue. Accessibility has created problems:

• minor improvements to country lanes have destroyed their rural character
• vehicle pollutants and traffic noise extend far into rural areas
• speeding traffic has changed the feel of country villages and fatal car crashes occur most frequently on rural roads
• life has become more isolated for rural households without a car

County Council funding of rural buses has seen an increase in rural services but such policies cannot turn the tide of growing car dependency, and long term funding is not assured.

CPRE Gloucestershire Approach

The overall aim is to reduce traffic in the long term and the need for new and widened roads by ensuring that new development – such as housing and employment – is located in places that reduce the need to travel altogether. Development should be accessible by foot, bike and public transport with traffic management policies to ensure that travel costs reflect the impact of different travel options on the environment.

CPRE Gloucestershire should encourage Local Authorities to:

1. reduce the need to travel in rural areas by ensuring that new development is focussed on urban areas as a priority. These areas are more likely to provide employment and services in close proximity to where people live;
2. provide high quality public transport services including improved rail timetables and stopping at rural stations e.g. Lydney;
3. open new rail stations close to areas of high population;
4. introduce fast frequent long distance public transport services over a wide period of the day;
5. support existing services in rural areas (such as shops, schools and Post Offices) in order to improve the accessibility of these services and reduce the need to travel;
6. improve opportunities for people to walk and cycle in rural areas in safety. 14% of journeys in the countryside are still less than a mile in distance and half are less than 5 miles. More of these trips could be done on foot or bike if rural routes were safer;
7. continue to improve the frequency cost, quality and responsiveness of rural public bus services;
8. introduce measures to improve road safety for residents and all road users by reducing the intimidation and danger caused by speeding traffic. This should include introducing lower speed limits where necessary (e.g. 30 mph as a national default limit for villages), the use of sensitively designed traffic calming and the designation of Quiet Lanes;
9. ensure measures to manage traffic are sensitive in their design to the surrounding countryside. This should include clutter audits to remove unnecessary street signs and other furniture which are urbanising the countryside;
10. encourage more use of quieter road surfaces;
11. ensure the environmental impact of moving freight is minimised. This can be done by signposting and redirecting lorries on to the “County Advisory Freight Routes” and encouraging greater use of rail transport where possible;
12. stop building major roads or improvements in rural areas which are likely to encourage traffic growth and further damage the landscape;
13. minimise further development at Gloucestershire Airport that will lead to noise and pollution locally;
14. consider the use of canals and rivers as a means of transport for freight and people, e.g. a waterbus between Quedgeley and The Docks in Gloucester.

CPRE Gloucestershire believes a combination of some or all of these measures will be necessary to improve public transport and reduce car dependency in the future thereby reducing damage to the Gloucestershire countryside. CPRE will work with other transport organisations, e.g. Transport 2000 and Friends of the Earth, to influence Government policy on transport policy.

November 2006