SHARING RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRANSPORT

5.17 Everyone must be responsible for helping to reduce travel, especially by car. One role for local authorities and other organisations such as the health authorities is to raise awareness of the impacts and solutions to transport problems. This is a key role of Local Transport Strategies. Green commuter plans and transport assessments can lead to reduced impacts and ensure that there is an adequate choice of alternatives to the car, to destinations such as retail, office and health developments. Local plans will provide the framework for transport (and environmental impact) assessments, maximum parking standards, green commuter plans and developer contributions, to identify and then mitigate any adverse impacts that a proposed development will create. The framework will also ensure that new developments will be served by an effective choice of transport and are not reliant on journeys by car.

5.18 A corporate approach and one which involves working with local communities and other organisations is required to ensure that many transport issues are resolved effectively. For instance road safety has improved in the North East in recent years, but more remains to be done by installing traffic management measures, and also by raising public awareness of the reasons for accidents in the first place. Measures must be taken to improve the perception (or reality) that personal security is increasingly at risk whilst using public transport or making journeys on foot. It is often the most vulnerable members of society who feel strongly about this, and who are further disadvantaged by not having access to a private vehicle. It also tends to be the poorer areas that feel the effects of severance and noise caused by growing levels of traffic passing through their communities. People with mobility problems – the physically disabled and others with temporary impairments – must also be adequately catered for by the transport system.