Best practice for local authorities
In this chapter we highlight some lessons for local authorities seeking to make the case for sustainable travel options.
Making the case for change
Many of the recommendations in this report are not new. In many cases, this is because it is hard to persuade people of the advantages that come with change – especially for interventions that make it harder for people to use their cars.
Every debate is different, but below we outline some steps that decision makers and campaigners have found helpful when making arguments for more sustainable transport. We know that these are already in use in many places.
Structuring the intervention
Replace transport options: Wherever possible, interventions that make it harder or more expensive for people to drive should also make it easier for them to use public or active transport. For example, when the London Congestion Charge was introduced in 2003, it was accompanied by a major increase in bus routes.
Review equality impacts: All interventions need a detailed, site-specific equality impact assessment. Some traffic-calming measures have inadvertently blocked access to dropped kerbs for wheelchair users needing to cross the road – this could have been avoided with a slightly different design.
Making the case for change
Focus on one reason for change: The creation of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in London was made more difficult because councils gave multiple reasons for introducing them – pollution, road safety, climate change and congestion – which undermined their case.
Focus on the benefits to local children and families: School streets and play streets, which are explicitly aimed at making children safer and happier, have been much less controversial than LTNs.
Refer to benefits of walking: The majority of Londoners in all social groups walk for at least some journeys every week, making it our most inclusive mode of transport.
Emphasise local precedents: In many cases, LTNs were treated as a new intervention. But there are thousands of long-established modal filters (which stop certain vehicles going down certain roads) in London – many of which are popular locally for making streets quiet and safe.
Communicating the intervention
Encourage people to think about all the ways they travel: Some consultation questionnaires start by asking people about when they walk in their local area, before asking about when they drive. They also avoid categorising anyone as a “driver”, “cyclist”, etc.
Use trusted communicators: For example, some local authorities have asked local doctors or nurses to talk about the benefits of reducing air pollution. Others have asked headteachers to talk about safer streets outside schools. Working with independent charities can be effective too, especially if they have local branches. By joining up communication efforts with these and other bodies – such as Transport for London, the Met Police, and others – local authorities could amplify their messages about the work they are already doing and the changes they are considering.
Acknowledge that some people will lose out: If some people are going to face longer journeys or pay more, it is better to acknowledge this than to undermine trust by insisting that their concerns are groundless.
Improving the active travel environment
Lighting
High-quality lighting has the potential to create a more liveable, sustainable, and visually appealing urban environment for Londoners. There is evidence that a substantial proportion of Londoners, particularly women, feel unsafe in some parts of their neighbourhood at night. 89 Improving lighting at and around transport hubs – along walkways, cycle ways, and places where people park their micromobility vehicles – would encourage more people to use them.
Safety
The number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents has fallen substantially over the past two decades. But cyclists and pedestrians still make up more than half of all casualties, with cars and other vehicles being involved in the vast majority of cases. 90 People are more likely to cycle or ride an e-scooter when they perceive it to be safe – safety being considered particularly important by women and those cycling with children. 91
Per journey, the risk of being killed or seriously injured while walking or cycling has fallen – but the total number of people killed or seriously injured while cycling was higher in 2020 than a decade earlier. This increase is likely driven by higher rates of cycling. 92 The Mayor has committed to reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads to zero.
Introducing low-traffic neighbourhoods – which prevent people from driving through a given road or set of roads – can be an effective way of improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists. However, they are only one part of the solution. 93 Traffic-calming measures such as lower speed limits and speed humps can also contribute to making streets safer for people who walk or use micromobility modes of travel.
Clear passage
Relatively small steps, such as ensuring residential waste bins are kept off the footway where possible and ensuring the maintenance of street trees and privately owned trees and bushes that may take up space on the footway, can play an important role too. Centre for London’s ongoing project Reducing Street Clutter in Central London will look at this in more detail.
Storage space
For people who cycle or use an e-scooter (or other small vehicle), the availability of easy-to-use parking at home and at their destination points is important. Parking near public transport hubs such as bus stops and train stations enables more people to access the public transport network – so long as there are good cycle lanes between these hubs and their homes.
Reallocating space from private car parking to more sustainable uses
Cars parked on London roads take up approximately 5,000 kilometres of road space, equivalent to the distance from the UK to the US. 94
To offer more sustainable travel options, local authorities will need to reallocate some space currently given to parked cars. This will be transferred to other uses such as on-street space for cycle hangars, shared micromobility schemes, and car club vehicles.
Develop a clear policy
In line with our earlier report on this topic, Reclaiming the Kerb, we recommend that boroughs commit to reallocating a certain portion of parking space every year – even if only one per cent. 95 This can involve introducing a cap on the number of parking permits issued, using waiting lists for new applications, or limiting eligibility for new residents. Strategies should establish a clear hierarchy of uses and commit to allocating kerbside space on that basis.
Reallocating road space could start with a small trial. Some temporary alternatives (such as parklets) can also be implemented quickly, allowing residents to see the benefits before more permanent measures are installed.
Join up work across teams
Parking has been treated in some local authorities as an amenity for residents, and its enforcement has been considered separately from wider policy decisions about transport (such as reducing car dependency). Many local authorities are moving away from this model, integrating parking enforcement with strategic transport planning.
Evaluate the costs
In 2019-20, about one-quarter of the £3.7 billion that local authorities spent on transport projects was raised from parking revenue. 96
An alternative or additional source of funding can come from shared vehicle schemes such as shared bikes, e-bikes, and shared cars. Shared operators often pay more than the typical cost of a parking permit for access to these spaces – just £50 per year for a diesel car. 97 However, any charge ought to be proportionate to the demand for spaces from operators of shared schemes – and local authorities should be aware of the risk that higher charges are passed on to consumers.
There is also a case for increasing the charges on remaining residential parking permits, as existing permits often do not cover the costs associated with administering them. 94