Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance in writing or by email indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case Thursday 18 June 2020). Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email address below.
Minutes:
9 members of the public addressed the Panel about the COVID-19 Emergency Active Travel Fund (Agenda Item 5 - COVID-19 Response Approach for Economy and Environmental Services). The Chairman explained that all submissions and questions had been provided to the Panel.
A summary of the main discussion points from the participants were:
Chris Haynes (Chair of Transition Evesham Vale):
· The recent measures announced by MP Grant Shapps in respect of the emergency programme of re-allocating road space to people walking and cycling should be taken as swiftly as possible.
· On 20 May, Cycle Evesham Vale and Transition Evesham Vale had jointly submitted to the Council suggestions for Phase 1 safety improvement activity, which met the Government’s criteria. It was questioned why there was no evidence of any activity having taken place in Evesham, when the high street restart had taken place on 15 June?
· The Agenda report stated an indicative amount to be allocated to the Council of £271,000 (Phase 1 emergency response), however then showed that no action had been taken under the emergency phase and that funds would be redirected into existing longer-term plans. It was suggested that this was a process or policy failure which was putting cyclists and pedestrians at risk. the Panel was urged to get to the root of the problem before the return to schools in September.
Chris Cooke
· MP Grant Shapp describe air pollution as a silent killer. The latest research showed 40,000 deaths a year in this country, therefore there was a respiratory pandemic in the background which linked to many illnesses such as cancer, cardiac conditions and stroke.
· Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands (who was a conservative) said that ‘Air pollution was such a significant factor in the climate emergency we are facing and we are only going to be able to tackle this in the longer term if we get people out of their cars and onto public transport, two wheels and out using their feet’.
· The Council should declare a climate emergency and to show the leadership the public expected.
· journeys within towns were often shorter than in cities, therefore safe walking and cycle routes were needed to transform the way people moved.
· The Council should accelerate the infrastructure by concentrating on certain towns first, followed by requesting the Government for more funds.
Danny Brothwell
· Mr Brothwell was a member of Bike Worcester and had set up SHIFT scheme at his employer, which had seen a 5-fold increase in cycling and encouraged thousands of bicycle commutes.
· The accuracy of the statistic that mentioned by Cllr Amos at the last Cabinet meeting that 1% of commuters cycled to work was questioned. Although Cllr Amos had advised Mr Brothwell (in direct correspondence) that the source of the 1% figure was the recent Passenger Transport Survey Analysis Report, Mr Brothell advised that the Worcestershire Local Transport Plan (LTP) stated that 8% walked or cycled to work.
· National statistics on cycling for Worcestershire, notably Table CW302 2017-18 stated 0.9 to 5.7% of adults cycled for transport, depending on frequency, and 1.8 to 13.8% for any reason. This increased further within Worcester City.
· Clarification on the correct statistic was requested from Cllr Amos.
Dr Clive Prince (Chair of Wyre Forest Cycle Forum)
· Post COVID-19 recovery was an opportunity, through investment in safer walking and cycling, to promote the long-term economic and health benefits.
· Participation at a recent event ‘Reinventing the high street for COVID recovery’, had highlighted evidence about active travel and how successful it could be.
· Cabinet Members should be modifying their views on active travel but had not done so – an example was the recently proposed Churchfields development at Kidderminster, despite advice of Council Officers that there could be high quality cycle and footpaths, they were not included. COVID-19 provided the opportunity to rectify this, without the need for lengthy consultation. Air quality, childhood obesity, saving the NHS, and ‘shop local’, was an opportunity to be taken for the benefit of people not just vehicles.
Stefan Steinkopfs
· Bike shops across the country, were empty, showing a clear appetite for cycling. Cities across the country were changing and adapting to what residents wanted. When were the Council and Cabinet Member for Highways going to wake up to what the people of Worcester wanted?
· Although a Worcester resident for 25 years, Mr Steinkopfs was originally from Germany’s number one town for cycling. There were many cost-effective ways to improve cycling, but required a can-do attitude.
Peter Measham
· Whether the new active travel funding would address congestion between Bromsgrove Railway Station and the town centre. The Bromsgrove Local Plan (BDP17.3a) highlighted this area as a key site for improving the sustainable travel across the town.
· Anecdotal feedback was that the region’s congestion affected commuters, journey times often doubled, exacerbating air pollution.
· It was suggested in light of COVID-19, alongside tackling climate change, the Local Plan should be updated to include a focus for modernising current road infrastructure for sustainable travel.
John Davis (Co-ordinator of Wyre Forest Green Party)
· Social distancing was impossible on Bewdley Bridge and shouldn’t be allowed to continue. The Wyre Forest Green Party suggested using funds from phase 1 of the Emergency Active Travel Fund to make the bridge one-way, in doing so, widening the walk ways and incorporating a two-way cycle lane. This should then be monitored by CCTV.
· Traffic in Bewdley had created illegal levels of air pollution for over 20 years, which had caused illnesses and increased people’s susceptibility to COVID-19 and increased health service costs.
Claire Davies
· Redditch was a new town, built for cars, therefore travel by bike was very different. A significant number of people pre-COVID-19 were reliant on buses and were now reliant on bicycles and walking.
· The Redditch Plan highlighted that ‘the Borough had a network of footpaths and cycleways’ but there were deficiencies and in some areas, they were considered threatening and uninviting as they offered refuge for antisocial behaviour’.
· There was little focus on making existing provisions fit for purpose, rather the focus was on travel between towns and the ‘quiet lanes’ initiative between Redditch and Bromsgrove. Improving connectivity between towns was good but if people were not safe to move around within towns in the first place, this seemed to be a missed opportunity to meet local need.
· Funding should be used to make the biggest impact for the largest number of people by making existing infrastructure safe and durable, both for times during COVID-19 and the larger crisis of the climate emergency.
Karen Lewing
· The LTP stated that car usage particularly for short trips was at its highest level in history and a key opportunity to tackle congestion was to encourage other modes of transport including cycling. This conflicted with the lack of action and actual objection to change from county councillors who had said they were not planning any modal shift in cycling in Worcestershire as it was just a phase. Furthermore, the Council’s bid for Government cycling funds was inadequate.
· the County Council needed to address congestion in Worcester and focus on making cycling easier and safer for residents as stated in the LTP.
· If people gained confidence in cycling, a lot more would cycle.
The Chairman thanked all of the members of public for their time and contribution and drew the Panel’s attention to questions submitted from three other members of the public (Carol Small, Dan Martyr and Tom Piotrowski) who were not in attendance.