Agenda item

The LSTF is a £4.6m pot of money awarded to City of York Council to improve sustainable transport in the city, and particularly the northern quadrant, over the next four years. Graham Titchener will be present to explain it in more detail.

4.1    Graham Titchener, spoke about Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF). The LSTF will focus on more than just cycling and allow individuals to choose how to plan their journey in a more sustainable way (i-plan, i-walk, i-cycle, i-bus, i-share).

          The LSTF will focus on all methods of travel in the Northern Quadrant of the city.

We hope to learn from this project, so that this intelligence can be used in the future in other areas, when other funds become available.

The Northern Quadrant has a good mixture of residential and business estates. The hospital and part of the city centre are within the boundaries of the Northern Quadrant.

4.2    The project will involve marketing and campaigns to encourage and make it easier to travel more sustainably, improve the local economy and reduce air pollution.

          Real time information applications will be available on the buses, at local schools and businesses to enable good sustainable choices on any particular day. 

          A targeted door knocking exercise will be carried out to promote personalised travel and help residents make sustainable choices.

          All residents, elected members and businesses will have to work together to make improvements.

4.3    The next step is to allocate funds to organisations that are able to deliver projects that fit within overall plan.

·        We have approached managers of Tesco’s and Dunelm and hope to work with them.

·        Clifton Backies Management Board was approached in relation to improvements to walking and cycling routes across the area.

4.4    More information about the project can be found on the City of York Council website http://www.york.gov.uk/transport/lstf/

Residents were given opportunity to raise questions.

Q       Residents raised concerns regarding the bus services running in the ward. The main concerns are that the current service is only hourly and does not run in the evenings. The Park & Ride service does not operate on new year’s day. The routes that receive subsidies appear to target shopping areas but not other, more mundane activities that residents need to carry out.

A       LSTF funding will not fund bus services, it costs a lot to subsidise.

A       Cllr. Merrett and ward councillors are putting a pressure on bus companies to improve their services to residents.

Q       Buses are a long standing issues and residents views don’t seem to be heard. Who is responsible for the Quality Bus Partnership?

A       Andrew Bradley, Principal Transport Planner is the responsible officer.

Q       Is there a consultation coming? If so, Parish Councils should be consulted as well as ward councillors.

A       Neighbourhood Management Unit have mechanisms to ensure this happens.

Q       Could that funding be used to improve gaps in cycle routes between Poppleton and Rawcliffe?

A       Cllr. Merrett is looking at how to address gaps. Some resurfacing improvements are taking place at Wetherby Road.

Q       Have any recommendations from the Fairness Commission report been used to target resources to enable all residents to access the arts etc.?

A       All service deliverers are making hard decisions on where to cut.

Q       Transport should have a priority to ensure inclusion.

A       We are experiencing funding difficulties and have limited monetary incentive to offer to bus companies. Cllr. Merrett is looking how to address this through other avenues.