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Responses to Consultations
Disabled Persons Parking (Scotland) Bill
The consequence of our actions in unthinkingly occupying a disabled parking space
can be very distressing for a disabled person with acute mobility problems. However,
the majority of bays are not legally enforceable,
in other words, you are not penalised for parking in them if you do not have a disability.
The reason for this is often cited as being the long, complex and costly process which a
Council has to go through to designate a legally enforceable disabled parking bay.
The purpose therefore this proposed bill is to simplify the process and ensure
that any disabled parking bay, whether it is on-street, in a private car park, or
in a residential area, is capable of being enforced.
Living Streets Scotland welcomes the proposals in this draft Bill for an improved
regime of decriminalised enforcement by local authorities to protect disabled persons
parking bays. It is not only as car drivers however, but also as pedestrians that the
disabled need protection from parking abuses.
(And there are many more disabled pedestrians than there are blue badge holders.)
We would therefore wish to see the scope of the Bill extended to cover other parking
offences that affect disabled pedestrians and especially those in wheelchairs; in particular
parking on pavements and parking that obstructs designated pedestrian crossing points of
any kind.
West Edinburgh Planning Framework 2006
Whilst still pitched at a strategic level, the West Edinburgh Planning Framework 2006
provides more detail about the location of additional investment planned for the area.
However, Living Streets Scotland is extremely concerned at the absence of any references
to the contributions that active travel modes such as walking and cycling can make to the
solution of travel and transport problems in West Edinburgh.
Nor are any links made pointing out the significance of these local contributions for the
Scottish Executive's wider traffic reduction, environmental sustainability, health and social
inclusion policies.
Regional Transport Strategies
Regional Transport Partnerships were established by the Scottish Executive in 2005
to prepare transport strategies to strengthen the planning and delivery of regional
transport so that it better serves the needs of people and businesses.
The seven Regional Transport Partnerships are:
- Shetland Transport Partnership
- Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS)
- North-East of Scotland Transport Partnership (NESTRANS)
- Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership (TACTRAN)
- South-East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SESTRAN)
- Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT)
- South-West of Scotland Transport Partnership
You can view a map of the regions on the Scottish Executive's Website.
Living Streets Scotland regrets that does not have the resources to make detailed analyses
of all of the transport strategies, but has submitted reponses in the areas where we have
most active members.
TACTRAN Regional Transport Strategy
The Tayside and Central Scotland Region has three thriving and increasingly
prosperous cities and a range of smaller towns, villages
and rural areas. It also includes some of the most scenic rural areas of Scotland, and a number of
major attractions are located across the region, making tourism an important and
growing contributor to the local economy.
Living Streets Scotland feels that the TACTRAN Regional Transport Strategy should
give greater emphasis to
the role of active travel, and particularly walking in contributing to economic prosperity,
communities, health and well-being and sustainability. Walking is continuing to decline within the
region, and the strategy needs to recognise the contribution that better quality local walking
environments can make in promoting and facilitating more walking and local community development.
An out-dated and simplistic view of transport in relation to economic development is taken in
the draft Regional Transport Strategy, and is the basis for the inclusion of a series
of very expensive road
building proposals. Many of these will merely promote further longer distance trip making
and car travel, and decentralising activities rather than contributing to regional economic
development. They provide very poor value for money compared with the multiple smaller
investments needed to improve the pedestrian environment.
SESTRAN Regional Transport Strategy
This addresses transport issues in the South-East Scotland region over the next
10-15 years. The councils covered by the strategy are
City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders
and West Lothian.
Living Streets Scotland is concerned that the priorities of the SESTRAN Regional Transport Strategy are
skewed to the disadvantage of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users,
and to the disadvantage of disabled users in particular. There are also some
important gaps in terms of policies, including policies in regard to disabled access.
Living Streets Scotland support all of the excellent points points made
in response to the strategy by SPOKES, the Lothian Cycle Campaign.
HITRANS Regional Transport Strategy
The Highlands and Islands is a diverse region, with a mixture of remote, rural, and urban
areas. Remote and rural areas account for large proportions of households in the islands and
the west and north mainland. Urban households are generally located in the main towns and
particularly around the Inner Moray Firth. Islands and remote rural areas face constraints in
limited transport choice and high travel costs to reach mainland service centres.
Living Streets Scotland welcomes the clear policy to promote active travel as part of the
planning process. The proposed "Active Travel Infrastructure Audits" are welcomed for existing
streets and public spaces. In our view they should be undertaken in all areas where pedestrians
congregate in numbers, e.g. town, village and city centres; on routes to key facilities
(health, social, shopping, community); at and around transport interchanges; around key venues
(sport, entertainment, out of town shopping); along key long distance pedestrian routes;
and where there are no pavements.
Scotland's National Transport Strategy
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The National Transport Strategy is the Scottish government's long-term vision over
the next 20 years and beyond. It sets out priorities to improve journey times
and connections, reduce emissions, and improve quality, accessibility and affordability of
transport.
The Living Streets agenda is addressed through the following
proposals and priorities: |
- Local Authorities encouraged to take forward decriminalised parking enforcement
- Investment in the next two years to tackle congestion from the school run and to improve the health and safety of children
- Review of speed limits on all A and B class roads by 2011 and introduction of 20m.p.h. zones around all schools by 2008
- Develop initiatives targeting children from disadvantaged areas who are at greater risk of injury in road accidents
- Promote links between transport and land use planning to maximize opportunities for people to undertake physical activity as part of their everyday travel
- Support travel awareness and marketing campaigns
- Explore with key partners sustainable travel demonstration towns and villages to promote walking and cycling and reduce car use
- Encourage Local Authorities to undertake street audits to promote walking for short journeys
- Promote improvement of the overall accessibility of the transport network for older and disabled people and those with limited mobility
The Strategy acknowledges the role walking plays in developing a more sustainable
transport system, but is short on initiatives and funding to deliver good quality streets and
public spaces. There are also sufficient positive references to walking for Living Streets
members to follow up locally and nationally and also to seek action through the forthcoming
Living Streets
Scotland Manifesto for the Scottish elections in May of 2007.
Proposals for a Public Transport Users' Committee for Scotland
The Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 placed a duty on Scottish Ministers to establish a
Public Transport Users' Committee for Scotland.
This consultation is about the structure, remit and membership of that Committee.
Planning (Scotland) Bill 2005
The Bill follows
a series of consultations carried out since 1999 on various aspects of the
Planning system and how it operates. It is intended to modernise
existing practices, to improve efficiency and give local people better
opportunities to influence the decisions that affect them.
Transport (Scotland) Bill 2004
The Transport (Scotland) Bill 2004 was passed as an Act of the Scottish Parliament in 2005
Scottish Executive Policy on Planning and Transport 2004
SE consulted on a draft of Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 17, which amended
and updated policy on Transport and Planning as set out in the NPPG 17, together
with an update of the related Planning Advice Note 57.
LSS made a joint submission
together with Transform Scotland. Our response acknowledged some sensible
rationalisations of the existing policy documents, to combine policy guidance on
maximum parking standards and on trunk roads with that on more general transport
issues. But it was critical of the weakening of the transport policy context within
the new draft SPP 17, and was particularly critical of deletions made concerning
policies on walking and cycling and their links with health and social
inclusion policies.
Walking Strategy for Scotland 2003
The Draft Walking Strategy for Scotland was prepared by the Scottish Walking Forum.
Ministers intend to use it to develop a walking
strategy on behalf of the Scottish Executive.
The draft Strategy has still to be finalised. A joint launch with both
Scottish Health and Transport represented is planned. The continuing delay stems
from the failure of the Scottish Executive to devote adequate staff and
time resources to walking or to give it priority. Whilst this is very disappointing
the existence of the Strategy in draft has meant that some local authorities have
been taking account of it in updating their own Local Transport Strategies.
LSS's comments supporting early confirmation of the Strategy, and advocating
the shifts in SE's funding and staffing priorities necessary for successful
implementation, have yet to bear any fruit!
Regulation of Utility Companies' Roadworks
LSS responded to a SE Consultation on the regulation of utilities companies
roadworks, supporting tighter monitoring and controls over the quality of works and
the times taken to implement them, including support for 'lane rental' style
charges for occupying road and pavement space. We also deplored the lack of
progress on these issues since a similar consultation in 2000 and by comparison
with the wider regulatory proposals for England and Wales now before Parliament.
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