Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies received from Paul Bumstead & Adam Coffman.

A member with a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered must disclose to that meeting the existence and nature of that interest at the commencement of that consideration, or when the interest becomes apparent.

A member with a personal interest in a matter also has a prejudicial interest in that matter if the interest is one which a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice the member's judgment of the public interest and if this interest affects their financial position or the financial position of a person or body as described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct and/or if it relates to the determining of any approval, consent, licence, permission or registration in relation to them or any person or body described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct.

It was noted that Cllr Mallett was a member of the London Cycling Campaign and Cllr Beacham worked for Transport for London.  Neither member felt that these declared interests would be prejudicial to the review.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business.  Late items will be considered under the agenda items where they appear.  New items will be dealt with at item X below.

None received.

To note the minutes of the last meeting and discuss any matters arising.

These were approved.

Matters arising

It was requested that the evaluation of Stop and Shop (which has been running in both Crouch End and Muswell Hill) should be presented to the panel when available.

Agreed: The results of Stop and Shop to be presented at the next meeting (15^th December 2009).

The panel noted that the Sustainable Transport service will present a report at the next meeting where it is anticipated that representatives from the School Travel team will be in attendance. 

In relation to the maintenance of footways and highways, the panel were unclear about the reporting process (and subsequent repair) for Homes for Haringey managed surfaces.  It was reported that at present Homes for Haringey operate their own reporting and maintenance system, separate from Haringey Council.

The panel felt that this was an unsatisfactory arrangement as it would not be obvious to pedestrians, cyclists or other pavement/highway users which parts of the network were managed by Homes for Haringey and those by Haringey Council.  The panel felt that this would make it problematic for residents and road/pavement users to report repairs appropriately.

Agreed: The panel indicated that a recommendation would be considered in relation to the maintenance and repair of footways and highways for those parts of the network managed by Homes for Haringey.

The panel further discussed the selection of situating of car club bays.  Currently, car clubs were placed in areas with good transport links to ensure connectivity of different modes. The panel felt however, that car club spaces should also be situated in areas where public transport was poor to extend people’s travel choices.  The panel felt that this was important to help address local inequalities.

Agreed: That the selection of sites for car club spaces should include those areas of the borough where public transport links are currently under developed.

The panel will hear evidence from David Rowe, Head of Core Delivery, Smarter Travel Transport for London.

David Rowe (Head of Core Programmes, Smarter Travel Unit at Transport for London) gave a presentation to the panel.  Highlights of the main points raised in this presentation are summarised below.

The new Mayors Transport Strategy highlighted a number of themes to improve transport provision including increasing capacity, changed land use and demand management.  Whilst the former is exclusively the responsibility of Transport for London (TfL), changed land use (planning) and demand management were identified to be the responsibility of both Local Authorities and TfL and where local work should be focussed.

The development of the sustainable transport message borrows from other social marketing campaigns from other sectors such as the need to conserve water, to reduce energy consumption and numerous public health campaigns.  Such social marketing techniques are both politically acceptable and cost effective.

Developing sustainable travel initiatives such as travel plans and individual travel marketing should be focussed on those organisations or events where there is the largest travel footprint such as large companies, colleges, schools and large entertainment venues.  Targeting these organisations is  most cost effective way in delivering successful sustainable transport programmes.

Work based travel planning is particularly important as 1/3 of all travel trips undertaken are work related.  It should be noted that a reduction in operating costs will be a prime motivator for businesses to become involved in work based travel planning and this should frame engagement and subsequent sustainable travel initiatives.

Trip indicators underline the drop in the level of walking and cycling the further journeys start from the centre of London.  This is understandable given the density of the travel network in central and inner London. What this does indicate however, is that there is a need to focus on delivering initiatives which encourage walking and cycling in outer London areas.  This would be pertinent to Haringey being on the border of inner/outer London borough.

Schools and colleges are also significant trip generators and therefore an important target for dedicated travel planning (school travel plans). It was noted that Haringey has performed well in this areas where all schools have a travel plan and uptake is well above national targets.  In particular, Moselle School was often highlighted as exemplar.   The panel noted (in relation to previous discussions) that there are better rewards for schools that continue with the school travel plan (British Gas Green Leaves) where schools can receive rewards for continuing engagement (i.e. a PC).  It was noted that some local schools are continuing (i.e. Moselle).

Car clubs have seen a rapid growth across London where there are approxianmltey 1,600 vehicles and 89,000 members across 23 boroughs.  Car club audits have shown real benefits for sustainable transport as it is estimated that 20% of members will sell their car and an even higher proportion will decide not to buy a new vehicle as a result of joining a car club.  Having the option of using the car club makes people think about transport options rather than instinctively  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

The panel will hear evidence from Joanne McCartney, Greater London Assembly member for Haringey & Enfield, member of the Transport Committee and lead for GLA report: Stand & Deliver: cylce parking in London.

Joanne McCartney gave a presentation to the panel.  Ms McCartney is a member of the Greater London Assembly (Enfield & Haringey) and the rapporteur for the transport committee investigating cycle stand provision across London. 

The transport committee operates as a scrutiny function, and therefore has a role in holding the mayor to account and in policy development.  The committee has undertaken a number of reviews in the past 2 years including 20mph speed limits and Home Zones, upgrading the underground, performance of dial-a-ride and traffic congestion.

The committee has also recently completed an investigation in to the provision of cycle parking across the capital.  The panel noted that there has been a big upsurge in cycling across the capital; the proportion of trips undertaken by bike has increased by more than 100% in the past 10 years.  The availability of safe, secure and appropriately located cycle parking however, remains a significant barrier to potential cyclists.  The following is a summary of the main points from the presentation and subsequent panel discussions.

The scale of the challenge facing authorities aiming to improve cycling provision was underlined to the panel, these being:

§         18,000 bicycles are reported stolen each year, yet only ¼ of bike thefts are reported which would suggest well in excess of 70,000 bikes are stolen each year.

§         An audit of cycle parking undertaken by the GLA found that a majority (71%) of respondents indicated that cycle parking in the capital was poor.

§         The planned 53,000 additional cycle stands planned by the Mayors (past and present) is probably insufficient; London Cycling Campaign indicate that a further 100,000 spaces are probably needed.

The investigation by the transport committee in to bike stand provision came to a number of significant conclusions and recommendations:

§         There is currently no overarching strategy in place for the development of cycle parking in London.

§         There needs to be more work to develop minimum standards for cycle stand design, security and location.

§         There is more local freedom within the LIP funding process to prioritise local schemes, such as cycle parking.

§         Closer examination of the land available at main transport nodes (mainline stations and tube station) for the development of cycle parking should be undertaken.

§         Local ward audits should be undertaken to assess the scale and location of cycle stand provision – few authorities have a record of where cycle stands are currently placed.  (It was noted that Wandsworth have undertaken ward audits to help build a database of cycle stands).  This process is vital to help plan appropriate cycle stand provision.

There were a number of ways in which the provision of cycle stands could be developed in Haringey, these were identified as:

§         Haringey as a major local employer should set an example to others in the locality by ensuring that it provides a full range of cycle facilities (parking, showers, lockers and cycling mileage allowance).

§         Retro fitting of cycle stands in the boroughs housing estates (such  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

The panel will hear evidence from Matt Winfield, Greenways Manager, Sustrans.

Sustrans is a civil engineering charity which has been running for over 30 years. Matt Winfield, Greenways Manager for Sustrans provided a presentation to the panel.  An outline of the main sustainable transport project was provided to the panel namely, TravelSmart, Bike It, DIY Streets and Greenways for the London Olympics (GOAL).    A summary of the main points of the presentation and subsequent panel discussions are provided below.

TravelSmart was introduced to the UK in 2001 from the continent. This approach is based on Individual Travel Marketing, which target particular segments of a population who may be most likely to change their travel behaviour.  This approach has been successfully employed in some of the sustainable travel demonstration towns (i.e. Peterborough).  The approach  aims to save time and money of participants as well as improve their health and well being (via active travel methods).

TravelSmart has been fully evaluated (through SocialData) and has been shown to improve uptake of walking and cycling as well as decrease the reliance on the private car for travel.  For example, in Peterborough walking trips were increased by 9%, cycling trips by 36% and car usage reduced by 11%.  Similar results have been seen in Watford, Worcester and Doncaster.  Of interest to the panel was that Sustrans are working with the Oceans Estate in Tower Hamlets and is aiming for a 10% increase in sustainable transport.

 ‘Bike It’ is a cycle promotion project focussed on primary schools.  This project has worked in 4 primary schools in Haringey including Devonshire Hill, Weston Park, Chestnuts & Seven Sisters.  Regular cycling at these schools rose to between 11-14% (from 2-3%).  There is a plan to expand this project to secondary schools and colleges.

The Panel were interested to hear about DIY Streets.  DIY Streets helps residents to re-design their own streets affordably, putting people at their heart, and making them safer and more attractive places to live.  The project works with local communities to help residents develop low-cost capital solutions to making their streets safer and more attractive, aiming to find simple interventions and materials which can be both effective and durable.  These have an approximate £20k budget per annum.

The Panel noted that the Council had signed up with Sustrans for a DIY Streets project here in Haringey.  It was planned to develop a DIY Streets project around collection of 6 or 7 streets in the borough (implementation 2011), though the actual location could not be confirmed until the local residents association had formally agreed to support it and participate in the programme.  If the residents association did not support it, all local residents associations would be invited.  The panel requested further information about this project when available.

            Agreed: Further information on the DIY Streets project to be provided to the panel when this becomes available.

Home Zones are an attempt to strike a balance between vehicular traffic and everyone else who uses the street, the pedestrians, cyclists, business people and residents.  Home Zones  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

To receive a performance report on the Greenest Borough Strategy (as requested by the panel).

This item was deferred until the next meeting.

None.

15^th December 2009 6.30pm at Haringey Civic Centre.