LTP3 Vision and Issues Consultation
The West Midlands Metropolitan Area Local Transport Plan (LTP3) will be a statutory document setting out the transport strategy and policies for the Metropolitan Area to 2026. LTP3 will supersede the current LTP2, which expires on 31 March 2011.
A key part of any LTP is its Vision. This describes the overall context within which challenges can be addressed and establishes, with our partners and stakeholders, an agreed direction for the development of LTP3 and its delivery programmes.
We undertook consultation on our proposed Vision for LTP3 in November /December 2009, and, as part of this consultation, sought views on the transport issues that LTP3 will need to address.
The LTP3 Vision and Issues Document Feedback Report can be downloaded using the link below.
Headline findings:
- Two thirds of respondents agreed with the Vision
- The key areas of concern for those who did not agree were regarding environmental issues, the state of the current transport system and the need to broaden Centro’s area of influence
- The five most important issues respondents felt the LTP should address were:
- Environmental issues including emissions and the need for carbon reduction
- The need to improve safety and security on public transport
- The need to improve the ‘hard measures’ of bus services including the frequency, routes, reliability and fares
- Road based public transport issues including looking at road capacity, the need to reduce congestion and potential bus priority measures
- The need to improve accessibility of public transport for less able users, including issues around social inclusion
- This top five aligns well with the DfT’s ‘Delivering a Sustainable Transport System’ (DaSTS) strategy agenda
- Specific issues were also highlighted by respondents. These included the need to ensure that the road network and the importance of it is not overlooked; the importance of social inclusion both in terms of disability and cultural differences; and reference to individual modes of transport including the importance of the Metro extension
- Overall, the majority of issues arising from both the comments and the issues section closely match the current trend in transport policy thinking. Indeed, all of these issues are those which normally should be addressed by a robust LTP.