APPENDIX 1

Merseyside

LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN

2001/2 – 2005/6

MTEG – 15th JULY 2002

ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT JULY 2002

CONTENTS

1 Executive Summary / Introduction

2 Progress Towards Objectives and Strategies

Major Scheme ProgressSingle Integrated Public Transport NetworkTravelWise / Safer Routes to SchoolAirport Surface Access StrategyIntegrated Solutions

3 Inclusive Sustainable Regeneration

ERDF Objective One ProgrammeSocial InclusionNeighbourhood Renewal / Objective One ProgrammeVibrant and Prosperous Town CentresAddressing the Needs of Disabled PeopleAccess to Rural AreasIntegrating Land UseCommunity StrategiesClimate Change, Air Quality and Noise

4 Hitting the Targets

Are We Making Progress?• Headline Targets• Core Performance Indicators• Progress Against 00 / 02 Targets

Action Where We Are Not on Course

5 Delivering the Programme

Summary of the 2001 / 2002 Programme• Output vs Objectives Summary• Case Studies

Supplementary SpendBarriers to ImplementationDivergences from Spend

6 Progress Through Partnership

Satisfaction With Delivery / StrategyCentre of Excellence and Dissemination of Best PracticeExamples of Scheme / Programme Consultation

SchedulesA Examples of Schemes Completed

B Progress Towards Local Performance Indicators and Targets

C APR Checklist

D Recommended indicators correlated against LTP indicators

List of Contacts

AnnexesFinance Forms

Summary Implementation Programme

Road and Bridge Maintenance

(a) road lengths for principal roads, non-principal classified roads, and unclassified roads;

(b) condition of principal roads (using BVPI 96), non-principal classified roads (using BVPI97a), and unclassified roads (using BVPI 97b). Authorities should supply the BVPI resultsfor 2001/02, which we recognise will not have been audited. (For BVPI 96, bothdeflectograph and CVI results should be supplied, and identified, if available. If not, thetype of survey should be indicated);

(c) numbers of bridges on principal, non principal classified, and unclassified routes, and foreach category the number in need of assessment for 40 tonne capacity, strengthening for40 tonne capacity, and non-strengthening structural maintenance. It would help ifauthorities would also identify the total number of highway bridges divided into categoriesof bridge owner (eg local authority, Railtrack, British Waterways Board etc);

(d) latest figures for the outstanding assessment or strengthening work to structures on theprimary route network.

Street Lighting Inventory

FiguresThe Single Integrated Public Transport Network

Output / Objectives Summary diagramPhoto-montage (within map of Merseyside) of 01 / 02 output examples and casestudy information

TablesHeadline targets

Core Performance Indicators

Supporting Documents (available on request)

• Merseyside Park and Ride Strategy• Breakthrough Pathways Transport Action Plan• Merseyrail Core Proposition Stakeholder Briefing for Merseyrail

Electrics Franchise• Merseyside Walking Strategy• City Centre Living Forum – Report to Liverpool Vision

CONTACTS

Liverpool Highways Management

Liverpool City Council, Millennium House, 60 Victoria Street, Liverpool

L1 6JF

0151 233 4151

St Helens Development Plans

Roads and Transportation, Urban Regeneration and Housing

Department, St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council, Victoria Square,

St Helens WA10 1HP

01744 456188

Sefton Strategic Transport Planning Unit

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, Balliol House, Balliol Road, Bootle

L20 3NJ

0151 934 4228

Wirral Forward Planning and Transport Policy Section,

Highway and Engineering Services Department, Wirral Metropolitan

Borough Council, Town Hall, Civic Way, Bebington, Wirral, CH63 7PT

0151 643 7296

Knowsley Department of Planning and Development

Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, PO Box 26, Yorkon Building,

Archway Road, Huyton L36 9FB

0151 443 2235

Merseytravel Corporate Strategy Department

Merseytravel, 24 Hatton Garden, Liverpool L3 2AN

0151 227 5181

CORPORATE LOGOS HERE

SECTION 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY / INTRODUCTION

Introduction

The full Local Transport Plan is now in its second year of delivery and continuesto identify, fund and deliver integrated transport solutions to tackle social,economic and environmental issues across Merseyside.

This Annual Progress Report builds on the success of last year’s report, whichwas received favourably by the government; work has continued on deliveringthe strategy, including work on the major schemes. In December 2001, GONWawarded the Merseyside districts a block allocation of £47.3M for integratedtransport schemes in 2002/03.

In addition to this allocation, £6.930M was awarded to support the SIAprogramme of works. However, the main £47.3M allocation includes a £540Kallocation, to enable work to begin on the delivery of the Objective 1 measures.

In the settlement letter, GONW acknowledged the sterling work that has takenplace in the districts and the strong partnerships that exist.

Consultation continues to be a major element of the delivery strategy, which hasshaped the delivery programme and detailed schemes. Promotion and publicitythrough Merseyside’s strengthened TravelWise team complements this work, byencouraging change in people’s travel habits.

Merseyside remains committed to work in partnership to achieve inclusive,sustainable regeneration and to provide opportunities for all. This year’s APRshows how this has been achieved during 2001/2, drawing heavily on casestudies from across the county.

Additional references: City of Culture Bid, King’s Dock, Mersey Waterfront, PSDA City centre

PLAN OF MERSEYSIDE?

Key corridors?

SECTION 2: PROGRESS TOWARDS OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES /OVERVIEW OF PROGRESS

• Good progress with development of the Single Integrated Public TransportNetwork, including improvements to buses, trains, Liverpool John LennonAirport and the Mersey Ferries

• Allerton Interchange progressing well, and is scheduled to open ahead oftarget date

• Extensive consultation carried out as part of Hall Lane improvements, and aplanning application is expected to be submitted in 2003

• Good progress with the development of ‘integrated solutions’• Business case for Merseytram submitted in August 2001

PROGRESS WITH THE MAJOR SCHEMES

Merseytram

Merseytram is the No 1 Major Scheme in the LTP. During the last 12 months thefollowing activities have been progressed:

• Line 1 Investment Appraisal submitted to DTLR• Independent Audit of Investment Case completed• Full Topographical Survey completed for Line1• Statutory Utilities & Emergency Services Forums established• Digitised mapping of all Statutory Utilities' equipment on whole Line 1 route• Merseytram Urban Design Guide and draft Line 1,2 & 3 corridor guides• Research into Merseytram conductors ( now adopted as the central case for

the project)• Servicing & Access Survey of all properties on Line 1 route• Continuation of comprehensive Stakeholder Strategy, with over 60

stakeholder/interest groups contacted• Line 1 Environmental Scoping Report• Detailed reports on power supply, overhead line equipment, Operations &

Control Centre and Park & Ride• Merseytram Line 1, Design Frieze No 3 approved by Liverpool City Council,

Liverpool Vision and Merseytravel for purposes of public consultation• Draft Code of Construction Practice• Detailed design inputs to major developments in Liverpool City Council and

on Line 1 route: - King's Waterfront - PSDA - Chavasse Park - Lime Street Gateway

- Royal Liverpool University Hospital ( former Blakes Garage Site) - Norris Green Urban Village - Stonebridge Cross development brief - Approach 580 SIA - Kirkby Town Centre

• Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance for Merseytram for Liverpool CityCouncil and Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council

• Stray current & corrosion report• Merseytram Transport Assessment• SATURN model development• Merseytram Lines 2&3 - full 1:1000 scale CAD alignment designs• Merseytram Lines 2&3 - initial urban design context reports• Merseytram Line 2 - initial Investment Appraisal

Merseytravel and its partners are now awaiting a decision from the Department forTransport on 'in principle' approval for Merseytram

Allerton Interchange

Allerton Interchange forms a key element in the regeneration of Speke /Halewood Objective 1 SIA and will provide a vital high quality public transportgateway to Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The scheme will also provide astrategic hub and links to the local and national rail network. The fast andfrequent services to the Airport together with the easy to use and high qualityfacilities will give the passengers an efficient and seamless transport solution.The interchange will be operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The scheme includes the following elements:

§ Relocation of Garston station, to provide a seamless connection from theMain / City lines to the Northern Line

§ Refurbishment of Allerton Station (Main/City Line).• The provision of a dedicated high frequency shuttle bus service to Liverpool

John Lennon Airport• High quality interchange facilities (car, bus and long distance coaches)• a new highway connection off Woolton Road providing access to the bus

interchange, car park, taxi rank and dropping off point.• Improved bus / rail connections between Liverpool and Manchester Airports;

and• Improved Park and Ride facilities.

Progress to date

♦ The scheme has prequalified for Rail Passenger Partnership funding, which,together with Objective One and other private sector additional bids, confirmscommitment to deliver the project

♦ The tender evaluation process has been completed and Halcrow will beappointed shortly as lead consultant. Detailed design is scheduled tocommence shortly.

♦ The SRA has confirmed that it will specify in through the refranchising process thatTranspennine Express services will stop at Allerton Interchange.

Next stepsA planning application for the work is expected to be submitted in September2002. Further consultation and approvals from all relevant parties will berequired before this is progressed.

Overall the scheme is expected to be completed by May 2005, with constructionwork commencing in October 2003. It is therefore intended that the scheme willbe completed ahead of schedule.

Liverpool Central Station

To identify the extent of the problems at the station, a full “Access & CapacityStudy” has been commissioned. Surveys, interviews and modelling have beencompleted identifying that the major deficiencies are poor passenger facilitiesand inadequate lift provision. Annual patronage of the Northern and Wirral Line isnow forecast to increase to 50.0 million (70%) by 2010/11 and this has beenallowed for in the modelling and the design options.

There has been some delay to the programme whilst the impact of the recentlyapproved retail and leisure development, located over part of the station site, hasbeen assessed. The study is close to completion and outline design has alreadycommenced on a number of improvements, not only addressing access andcapacity issues, but also upgrading passenger facilities. An evaluation of theoverall scheme will then quickly follow.

Enhancement to passenger facilities at the station is scheduled to commenceearly in 2003 with completion before the end of 2004.

In the LTP, construction is programmed for the years 2004/5 & 2005/6 and this isstill achievable.

PICTURES

Hall Lane Improvements

The Hall Lane Improvement scheme involves the provision of a new link tobypass the congested Hall Lane in Liverpool, which forms one of the maingateways to the city centre. Traffic at present suffers from delays and extensivequeuing, which has a detrimental effect upon the Kensington ‘New Deal’ area.

Work is progressing with the development of the scheme, following extensivepublic consultation, which revealed general widespread support for the scheme,although there was inevitably some opposition. No significantly differentproposals emerged although a number of changes will be made to the detaileddesign.

Since the consultation new possibilities have emerged for the generaldevelopment of the area surrounding the proposed scheme. The area has beenidentified by the North West Development Agency as a possible site for adispersed science park. This proposal builds upon part of the nearby universitycampus, and may open up new opportunities for development in the vicinity. Atpresent, the scheme is progressing steadily and consultants will be appointed toprepare a detailed design as soon as these different options have been clarified.As a result, there has been some slippage in the development of the scheme andthe programme has been amended accordingly.

• July 2002 - Appoint consultants• September 2003 - Submit planning application and publish necessary road

traffic orders• June 2004 - Public Inquiry• Mar 2005 - Decision - Assume that outline design and (design and build)

contract preparation continues whilst decision is awaited• June 2005 - Invite tenders• October 2005 - Award contract• Jan 2006 - Start of works• July 2007 - Open to traffic

ILLUSTRATIONS/PLANS TO SUPPORT MAJORSCHEMES

The single integrated public transport network

1.

Corridor A (Liverpool to Southport)• CCTV introduced at significant junctions to support bus priory

measures• Programme of highway improvements and bus bays commenced• Improvements to Copy Lane at Old Roan Interchange, involving

short lengths of bus lanes and a new puffin crossing• Access improvements to Seaforth and Litherland station• 93 new bus shelters installed and 21 conventional displays

installed• programme of dropped kerbs within 100m of every bus stop

commenced• progressing provision of Real Time Passenger

Corridor Q (St Helens)• access kerb works have been completed at 20 sites• ongoing programme for introduction of SVD at signal

junctions at 4 of the 10 sites initially identified• Design work completed for 4 new traffic signal

junctions• Bus marking enhancements ongoing at 150 locations• 63 new bus shelters installed & 53 Conventional

Displays installed

Liverpool John Lennon Airport• Significant improvements to public

and private transport infrastructure,including a new set down area,dedicated bus stops and access,improved car parking facilities andthe provision of cycle storage units

• off-site junction improvements (in theSpeke Boulevard corridor)

• A special needs pick-up / drop-offlocated close to the terminal andergonomically designed check-indesks specifically cater for wheelchair passengers.

• Continuing working withMerseytravel on the AllertonInterchange project

•

Mersey Ferries : Key Achievements for 2001/2002

• Increases of 8.1% commuter and 9.9% leisure cruise patronage• Overall patronage for the year was 710,173 an increase of 9.4%.• Achieved a 31% increase in revenue for vessel charter hire.• Visitor numbers for Seacombe Aquarium increased by 25%.• Complete refurbishment of the ‘Royal Iris of the Mersey’• Progressing the redevelopment of the Seacombe Ferry Terminal

Annexe, including new children’s playzone

• A new leisure cruise was introduced for Easter 2002.

Public transport information

• Local information maps provided at all railway stations,[20% at year end with completion expected in 2002/03]

• network map prepared, based on consultation with focusgroups, to present the key public transport networks &interchanges (include plan)

• Work has been underway on improving the availabilityof printed timetable information at bus stops and 75%coverage has now been achieved.

Lime St Gateway• feasibility and outline design is currently

being developed and is due for completionby October 2002.

• This work will encompass both the stationand the wider scheme being developed byLiverpool Vision.

Corridor E (City Centre to Netherley)• Attitudinal surveys completed and workshop held with stakeholders• Shelter installation works commenced April 2002• Initial bus priority works involves provision of access kerbs at 12 sites

along the routes• Extra Government funding secured to extend real time passenger

information in the corridor cross boundary into Halton (Widnes andRuncorn).

General issues• Of the existing 9 km of bus lanes, an additional 0.8 km has

been added during the last year. However, over the comingyear, the projected total is set to increase to 39.3 km.

• Selective Vehicle Detection has been introduced at 33junctions, bringing the total to around 60.

• 381 SMART shelters have been installed, together with 200conventional display units.

• In line with commitments to improve the accessibility of busservices, 90 access kerbs have been installed

• Work has progressed on outline and detailed designs forseveral interchange improvements identified in theInterchange Strategy.

Images:Network plan / bus stops / markings/ real time displays / local infomaps

2. Rail issues

In recognition of the key role the Merseyrail system plays in providing fast and efficientlocal and regional links between the main centres in Merseyside and the wider NorthWest region, Merseytravel continues to work closely with the LTP Partners, toprogressively upgrade the quality and attractiveness of all elements of the service. Thenumber of passengers using Merseyrail services has grown on average by 4.9% a yearsince 1997/98. This figure includes 2001/2002 data, which revealed a return tosignificant levels of growth after the dampened rate exhibited in 2000/2001.

Merseyrail Refranchising

Agreement has now been reached for Merseytravel to manage the Merseyrail Electricsservices under a long term concession. The Merseyrail Electrics franchise covers thoseservices operating on the Merseyrail Northern and Wirral Lines. The consultation periodfor the order has now been completed and consideration is being given to itscommencement date. (A copy of the Core Preposition Key Stakeholder ConsultationStatement is shown in the Technical Appendix to the APR). The transfer ofresponsibilities does not remove Merseyrail Electrics from the national rail network, andthe benefits of through tickets, railcards etc. remain.

The SRA and Merseytravel are jointly processing the replacement franchise and fourcompanies are currently bidding and consultation with stakeholders is progressing.

The Merseyrail City Line will be affected by changes to the franchise map. The presentoperator of Merseytravel supported services on the City Line, First North Western, willbe split. The majority of its services (including all Merseytravel supported services on theCity Line, will become part of a wider Northern Franchise.

Both new franchises are envisaged to commence in 2003. Under the new arrangements,the ownership of the infrastructure - stations, track and signalling - would remain withRailtrack. Merseytravel will continue to invest in the improvement and refurbishment ofthe whole the Merseyrail Network through Railtrack in respect of larger improvementsand in partnership with the new Train Operating Companies in respect of smaller works.

Other key achievements over the last twelve months include:-

• Feasibility study completed for the reconstruction of St. Helens CentralStation. This scheme forms a key foundation of the St. Helens EastsideRegeneration Project in the town centre, which also includes improvedpedestrian linkages between the station and the recently constructed St.Helens Bus Station. This scheme has attracted matched funding support fromSt. Helens SRB5 and ERDF Objective One.

• The Market Study has been completed on the proposed new Carr Mill Station.This station will provide improved access for communities in north St. Helensand will feature a Park and Ride facility with access off the East LancashireRoad (A580).

• Feasibility studies have been initiated on major station refurbishments atSandhills, Fazakerley, Bidston and Newton-le-Willows.

• Provision of 92 additional park and ride spaces (Hunts Cross and WallaseyGrove Road stations)

• Design works are underway for the construction of a new footbridge and therefurbishment of Garswood Station.

• The contract for the feasibility and outline design works for the Lime StreetGateway scheme in Liverpool city centre has been let and is currently beingdeveloped.

• To complement the major refurbishment scheme planned for LiverpoolCentral Station, complementary improvements are also planned for the otherunderground stations on the Merseyrail network in Liverpool city centre(James Street, Moorfields and Lime Street) and at Birkenhead HamiltonSquare.

• Local information maps have now been provided at over half the stations onthe Merseyrail network and we expect to achieve 100% coverage by the endof 2002. These maps show the location of local bus stops and connectingservices and local amenities and places of interest in the vicinity of thestation.

3. Bus Services

The provision of high quality and attractive bus services forms the core element of thedrive towards a single integrated public transport network in Merseyside. Over the lasttwelve months, the bus operators and the LTP Partners have progressed a number ofschemes and initiatives to meet this goal, including: -

• The total number of bus passenger journeys increased from 169.2m to170.6m;

• Increasing the number of passenger journeys on Merseytravel supportedservices from 16.8m to 18.2m. Passenger miles increased from 40.8m to44.1m;

• The introduction of 52 new low floor fully accessible buses, raising the totalnumber of low floor buses in operation from 215 to 267;

• The average age of bus fleet in Merseyside was 8 years. The quality ofvehicles used on Merseytravel supported services, was even higher, with theaverage vehicle age falling from 4.51 years to 3.36 due to recent investmentfrom operators;

• The number of Merseylink trips increased from 104,893 to 112,134• new “Job Link” bus services (see section 4)• Euro 3 engines are standard on all new buses and the majority of operators

use low sulphur diesel;• There was major consolidation in bus routes in Liverpool and Wirral resulting

from the Arriva takeover of MTL. A new operator GTL has since purchasedthe former MTL Gillmoss operations from Arriva, and this new operator is nowcompeting with Arriva on a number of key routes;

• Merseytravel has been working closely with the North Western Area TrafficOffice and the Vehicle Inspectorate to improve the reliability of commercialbus services.

SCHOOL TRAVEL

A unique project is being progressed to address the problem of school transport. Ratherthan spend money on general bus network tickets for a network that was inadequate,the Sefton LEA has entered into a joint arrangement with Maghull High School andMerseytravel and now contributes this funding directly to Merseytravel. In return,Merseytravel, in consultation with the school, has been able to provide extra busservices to the school and re-pattern those existing bus services to meet pupils needs. Atthe same time, a late morning sweeper bus is provided to ensure the safety of thosechildren who might miss the intended service. Following school, sweeper buses arealso provided at 16:10 PM and 17:00 PM to facilitate extra curricula activities. Suchprovision has been achieved without any extra charge to Merseytravel or the SeftonLEA.

The school has conducted an in house survey and pupils rate the service pattern to beextremely good (90% plus satisfaction ratings). Following this survey, school pupils arebeing involved in addressing environmental and safety initiatives in addition to thecontinuous route refinement process.

SMART Bus CorridorsWork has also continued over the last twelve months to upgrade bus services in thefollowing 3 corridors to SMART quality standards.

• Corridor A: Liverpool city centre – Bootle town centre – Netherton – Seaforth- Crosby – Formby and Southport;

• Corridor Q: St. Helens – Sherdley Park – Clinkham Wood;• Corridor J: Page Moss to Fazakerley.

Figure x gives examples of the works completed.

4. Park and Ride Strategy

As a key element within the public transport strategy, a revised Park and Ride Strategyhas been formally adopted by the partners.

The strategy outlines the delivery process of the initial 5 year target of 5,000 spaces by aprocess of providing Park and Ride locally at Merseytravel stations and strategically,including a third site in Southport. The strategy defines the requirements for local andstrategic sites, and outlines how these are to be delivered and what needs to be takeninto account in order to assess fully each site’s impact and avoid any detrimental effects.

The overall programme of works is now in preparation and this identifies sites, whichcould be used to provide Park and Ride facilities in the next 10 years. The strategy isshown in the annex.

5. High quality public transport information

Since Merseytravel’s Information Strategy was adopted in July 2000, work has continuedon improving access to public transport information both at point of use and for intendingpassengers. Some key developments over the last twelve months include:-

• The development of a new public transport “network map” showing Merseyrail and allkey bus corridors in Merseyside with key interchange points. These new “system”maps will be displayed at all key public transport interchanges across the networkduring 2002/2003 (see Figure x)

Insert new “Network Map” here or in figure x

• improving the availability of printed timetable information at bus stops, and 75%coverage has now been achieved (4,585 stops across Merseyside – total??).

• installation of 48 new Real Time information displays, bringing the total to 150.• Improved computerised bus service information displays have been installed at

Queens Square Bus Station in Liverpool city centre, showing scheduled bus servicedeparture information;

• a new Travel Centre in Southport town centre, bringing the total number of TravelCentres across Merseyside to seven. During 2001/2002 the Travel Centres handledover 1.7m customers, providing a wide range of face to face advice on bus, rail andferry timetables and selling the range of pre-paid ticketing;

• the Merseytravel Traveline is now answering 90% of calls received and has achievedits target of answering these calls within 30 seconds. Traveline Merseyside is theleading public transport information call centre in terms of customer care and qualityof service, as determined by the DfT Mystery Shopper Survey.

“The areas where you wait for the bus have improved, with covered stops”.Focus group member, May 2002

6. TravelSafe

As part of the TravelSafe initiative, a pilot funded by the Home Office’s ReassuranceFund was undertaken on three problematic bus corridors. This initiative, entitledOperation Bream, comprised a high profile police operation, supported by revenueprotection staff, security response and traffic wardens as well as buses fitted with hi-techdigital CCTV. This initiative resulted in:

♦ 151 arrests♦ the collection of excess fares.♦ Improved staff confidence♦ Reassurance for the travelling public

The initiative is being evaluated for its extension across Merseyside on a permanentbasis.

“The trains themselves over the last couple of years seem to be a lot better than theyused to be. They seem to be cleaned a lot more, and look a lot better”.

Focus group member, May 2002

Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Over the past 12 months works has continued on the development of the Airport’s new£32.5 million passenger terminal, which started in late 2000. This includes:• A new 36 desk check-in hall• A second floor food and retail area openedIn addition, passenger throughput increased from 1.98 million in 2000 to 2.3 million in2001.

The second issue of the ASAS was completed in August 2001, with the aim ofmaximising the opportunities for sustainable and inclusive transport access forpassengers and staff at the airport. This is in accordance with government planning andtransportation policy. It also includes the setting of public transport modal share targetsand will be reviewed and updated over time. Initiatives implemented from the ASAS areshown in figure X.

To monitor the ASAS, passenger and staff travel surveys are planned in the Summer of2002 to quantify modal shift since 2000.

The strong links that exist between the ASAS, the LTP and land use planning arehighlighted by the recent dismissal of an appeal against the refusal of planningpermission for a 350 space off-site car park to serve the airport. It was successfullyargued that the proposal would prejudice progress towards achieving a more sustainablepattern of access to and from the airport.

Freight StrategyWithin the last twelve months the following elements of the Frieght Strategy have beenachieved:

• Knowsley’s Rail Freight Terminal has beencompleted and is now fully operational

• Completion of Highway improvements from the M62at junction 7 and the A5300 at Ditton have beencompleted.

• Route signing has been reviewed and a programmeof improvements has been substantially completedproviding co-ordinated signage within Merseysideand Halton to key freight destinations, including aprogramme of upgrading low bridge signage torevised standards

• Consultation meetings ongoing with the FreightSection of the Strategic Rail Authority with positivefeedback regarding the Olive Mount Chord scheme and upgrading freight routesto and within the North of England.

• Support received from industry for developing Freight Quality Partnerships fromthe initial Freight Seminar and the circulation of the ‘Frieghtlines’ newsletter

• Reviews of UDP's progressing and taking account of the freight developmentoptions identified within the Freight Strategy

• Implementation of CCTV to monitor impacts of additional freight traffic fromIreland accessing the strategic network from the newly completed Twelve QuaysRo-Ro terminal in Birkenhead.

• A major multi-modal study for access to the Port of Liverpool in Sefton and NorthLiverpool was commenced in June 2002. The objective is to produce a 30 year

Photo: Freight terminal /newsletter / Ditton

strategy to accommodate freight movements to and from the Port that issustainable and is supported by the communities affected by freight movements.

“You go to work and see the bus shelter all smashed, and you come home and it isrepaired. You would be surprised in some of the areas where they are damaged, but itshows that the effort is being made”.

Focus group member, May 2002

Encouraging change – Merseyside TravelWise

Workplace Travel Plans

The appointment of two additional officers to the TravelWise team in July 2001, as aresult of the bursary award to promote travel plans, has assisted greatly with progress inMerseyside. Many organisations are still in the early phases of plan development andthe team offer support from the very beginning with promotion, presentations and advice.

Progress with the key target organisations has been strong. Among the 35 currentlydeveloping plans are five of the largest hospital Trusts, with one Travel Plan already atapproval stage. Seven colleges are also at various stages of travel plan developmentand links are being developed to other local organisations and schools nearby. Anumber of other organisations have expressed interest in the approach and arepreparing the way for developing a travel plan.

Progress on the partners’ travel plans is reported in section 4 and in Annex A.

Resources have been prepared to promote and facilitate development of travelplans including a revised Merseyside Employers Pack, and site-based accessguides for Arrowe Park Hospital and Bootle (schematic map shown).

A number of travel plan forums and networks have also been established in Wirral(involving Cheshire County Council), Knowsley/St.Helens and Sefton, whilst jointworking is being implemented amongst employers along the Liverpool waterfront.

The partners have also been promoting Travel Plans to tourism and leisure sites, inconjunction with the National Trust and English Nature, further expansion of thisapproach planned for the coming year.

Case Study: Sefton Council Travel Plan (INSTEP)Progress in 2001/02 has included:• Provision of specific timetable information and ‘how to get to’ leaflets for

Bootle• Employees public transport telephone and fax lines.• Audit of cycle facilities and improved secure cycle storage at Sefton Council’s

main buildings.• Improved shower and changing facilities at Balliol House.• Pool bikes available in several Council departments.• Car sharing database set up.

Msideemployerspack

Or schematicmap

• Successful Pilot teleworking scheme• Tele-conferencing scheme successfully piloted, to provide facilities in 5

Council buildings

School Travel Plans (STPs)

In July 2001 three new School Travel officers were appointed as a result of the bursaryaward from DTLR and this has increased the level of activity relating to School TravelPlans (STP). A great deal of input and support has also been received fromMerseyside’s Road Safety Officers and Merseytravel’s Community Links team. Thepartnership approach has enabled good practice and experience to be shared acrossthe Authorities and the new members of the TravelWise team have made a significantcontribution.

Across Merseyside 55 schools are now working to prepare travel plans. The approach isworking well as schools in all authorities have already:

• made a strong commitment to STPs and generated support and commitment fromwithin the school community, including the establishment of action teams

• gathered and analysed data and begun to outline their goals• drafted a STP and put early initiatives in place

The practical implementation of plans is progressing well, and achievements include:

• 14 Walking Bus initiatives up and running on a regular basis.• parents and children now promoting “Walk on Wednesday” events each week,

holding demonstration walking days and expanding the annual Walk to SchoolWeek event.

• 4 converging walking buses launched in the Stockbridge Village area for fourschools, with support from the Neighbourhood Wardens. This is one of thelargest such schemes in the country.

• delivery of walking assemblies to over 35 schools during Walk to SchoolWeek in October 2001 involving a role-play written and performed by theTravelWise team.

• The appointment of specialist consultants to develop model STPs in twoareas of Liverpool, as basis for expansion

At a number of Merseyside schools, STPs have been complemented by other measures,including cycle storage, 20mph zones, new paths for pedestrians and cyclists, togetherwith pedestrian and cyclists’ training schemes. Strong links have also been establishedwith Healthy School schemes across Merseyside.

Inclusion of School Travel issues within the curriculum is considered essential to theprogramme. The response from schools has been encouraging with schools involvingchildren in plan development and promotion to the wider community.

CASE STUDY – Heswall Primary School, WirralIn October 2001 Heswall Primary School was the first school in Wirral to introduce a‘Walking Bus’ to tackle the ‘school run’, building upon the work which had beenundertaken within the Safer Routes to School programme. Subsequently, a second

‘walking bus’ has been set up to offer children an alternative route to the school, and athird is being considered.

TravelWise Awareness Programme

In Spring 2001, the partners teamed up with Merseyside Cycle Campaign andHealthstart to deliver a programme of beginners bike rides throughout the summer.Designed to attract new and inexperienced cyclists back into the saddle, the rides wereso successful they continued throughout the winter and an expanded programme hasbeen put together for 2002. The series was also successful as runner up in the North-West Health Challenge Awards.

Healthy transport events and news stories are some of the features on the MerseysideTravelWise website ( www.gotravelwise.com ) which also includes key TravelWisemessages, a health quiz, feedback form and an electronic newsletter facility.

In December 2001, a successful Walk for Health morning was organised to bringtogether different parties, leading to joint working on a number of new initiatives.

Progress with integrated solutions during 2001/2002New integrated solutionSpeke/Halewood

Speke Halewood is one of 8 SIA’s in Merseyside and includes a significantpart of Liverpool’s industrial and commercial economic base, much enhancedover the last 6 years by the Speke Garston Development Company and SRBPartnership. The SIA includes two important economic clusters – automotivemanufacturing (Jaguar) and component supply, together with pharmaceuticalR&D and manufacture (e.g. Eli Lilly and Evans Vaccines). It alsoaccommodates the rapidly expanding Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

Core projects within the Speke Halewood SIA IDP are the development ofsites with strategic employment potential such as Estuary Commerce ParkPhase 2 (100 hectares), supporting the further expansion of the Airport;enhanced business support; expanded Jobs Education Training (JET)services to serve Pathways areas and radical improvements to the publictransport network.

Transport-oriented projects proposed within the SIA include:

q Allerton Interchange major schemeq A561 Corridor Improvements to the Speke Road/Speke

Boulevard strategic route corridor to accommodate furtherdevelopment expansion in the area

q ‘Job-Link’ shuttle bus services between Pathways areas and theSIA

q Quality pedestrian and cycle network improvementsq Airport-related public transport facilities in support of the

implementation of the Airport’s Surface Access Strategy.q SMART bus improvements to the general bus network

The “Southern Corridor Transport Assessment” has been undertaken byconsultants to assess the impact of the expected development growth on thestrategic highway capacity. The work to date has involved the development ofa model to test different development scenarios and their resultant impact onthe highway network.

Progress with existing Integrated Solutions

LiverpoolCityCentre

Along with the Merseytram project, featuring the City Centre Loop, the CCMSis considered essential to the delivery of the regeneration, development andenvironment objectives for the City Centre. In particular, theCCMS/Merseytram proposals form the basis of the transport infrastructureimprovements to support the Paradise Street Development Area, King’sWaterfront and Commercial District developments.

During the last 12 months the CCMS has continued its detailed developmentthrough the Liverpool Vision Movement and Public Realm Forum, whichreports to the City Centre Implementation Group comprising senior executivesof Liverpool Vision, English Partnerships, Liverpool City Council, Merseytraveland North West Development.

Through the Movement and Public Realm Forum/City Centre ImplementationGroup the following items have been progressed:• further development of Implementation Programme including definition of

seven city centre sub-areas for detailed design work and localstakeholder programme

• completion of first sub-area Implementation Plan for Lime Street Gateway• detailed feasibility works for major Lime Street Station upgrade project;• comprehensive survey of servicing and delivery requirements of premises• further development of the Merseytram City Centre Loop proposals

including detailed discussions with major developers on track layout/stoplocations

• further detailed design and public realm Masterplanning studies for:− Pedestrian Priority Area No. 1 (City Centre Core)− Pier Head− Williamson Square

• initial work on James Street rail/bus interchange with the removal ofredundant concrete walkway

• detailed development work with Paradise Street Development Areadevelopers on pedestrian, public transport, traffic, car parking and servicerequirements

• as above, for the King’s Waterfront development. A detailed planningapplication is now programmed for October 2002

There has also been progress with 'on the ground' Public Realm works withinthe city centre; these include Phase 2 of Sweeting Street and Old Haymarket,the adoption of the Lighting Strategy, and the completion of various 'landmark'

lighting initiatives including the St John's Beacon, St John's Gardens and StGeorge's Plateau.

BootleTownCentre

• Bootle ‘ Better Places’ Public Consultation exercise• Derby Park area traffic calming• Bootle Linkages Project, providing access improvements between the

office quarter and Oriel Road and Kirkdale Stations• Car parking study• Bus route enhancements including new shelters and bus markings• Commencement of Kerbwise child pedestrian training• Car sharing database, showers and cycle parking provided as part of the

Sefton Council commuter planCorridorA

John P – Phil H

OldSwan

Improvements to Prescot Road/St Oswald Street junction are beingprogressed but detailed design awaits confirmation of the Merseytram routethrough the junction.

A new junction giving access to Tesco has been designed and is now beingconstucted.

WirralWaterfront

• The major development throughout the period has been the completion ofthe Birkenhead Roll-on Roll-off terminal at 12 Quays for the Irish Seatrade, with the first ferry sailing in June 2002. The ferry service caters forcars and passengers, but is primarily aimed at lorry traffic, eitheraccompanied or unaccompanied trailers.

• Industrial units have been developed at Maritime Park, Dock Road;Woodside Business Park Phase 3 ; Apex Court Phase 2, BassendaleRoad; and the Meyer Building, also in Wirral International Business Park.

• Construction has commenced on the Seacombe Ferry Terminal, whichwill be an international astronomy facility. Public transport improvementsare programmed.

• Significant progress has been made in investigating potential developmentfor key sites adjacent to Birkenhead Town Centre; options will beimproved later in 2002, to facilitate the start of transport infrastructureworks

Southport TownCentre

• Progress in developing major schemes Marine Parade Bridge (design andpublic consultation); Chapel Street (design options and stakeholderconsultation); Park and Ride (submission of planning application anddetailed design)

• Eastbank Street pedestrian and environmental improvements• London Street cycle lanes• Extensive residential privileged parking scheme around “Central 12” retail

parkApproac • Consultants have been employed by Liverpool City Council and Knowsley

h 580(Kirkby/Gilmoss)

Council to provide a strategic level transport impact assessment for thelength of the A580 between Walton Hall Avenue and Coopers Lane.

• The Study has identified a number of junction improvements required toensure the highway network can cope with traffic generated by newdevelopments and background growth. The most costly elements arelikely to be in the vicinity of Stonebridge lane and will be funded throughthe Stonebridge Cross Development Scheme.

• The priority for this year in Liverpool will be the Lower Lane/A580 junctionto provide the main access to the Aintree industrial estate.

• Other schemes are now being developed for future years including cyclingand walking schemes and public transport schemes. The plans are beingdeveloped through work with urban design consultants.

Earlestown/NewtonleWillows

• Demolition of a pair of houses provided the opportunity for the constructionof a new cycle link between the market square and a large housing areaeast of the centre.

• Additional work proposed concentrates on improvements to the railwaystation site including the addition of further park and ride facilities.

StHelensTownCentre

• Completion of the Eastside Regeneration Masterplan and design works startedon the reconstruction of St. Helens Central station;

• To allow the removal of all traffic from the eastern side of Victoria Square, a newroad link was constructed for buses and servicing traffic with associatedpedestrian facilities.

• The traffic management and pedestrianisation work in this part of the town is nowcomplete

• For the next financial year, the re-alignment of Chalon Way and provision of abus gate on a previously closed route is proposed.

• -Improvement of the Chalon Way/Linkway junction (improving access to theTown Centre from the ring road) due to start in October 2002

Road Safety

The partners are on course to meet their road safety targets of the core performanceindicators. The total number of casualties recorded as killed or seriously injured is closeto the median target for 2001and the number of child casualties killed or seriously injuredis at the lower end of the target range for that year.

There has been an unexpectedly large reduction in the number of casualties recorded asslightly injured (9%). Most classes of casualties have reduced compared with the 1994-1998 base period. The significant exception is in those involving two-wheeled motorvehicles, which have shown increases of around 25-30%. Many of these additionalinjuries are occurring in the 16-25 age group. Pedestrian and cycling casualties arereducing in line with the relevant targets.

The partners have built upon their established strategies for road safety during the pastyear:

The Training of Children as Pedestrians: ‘Kerbcraft’

In addition to their own child pedestrian skills training programmes, all 5 local authoritypartners were able to appoint Child Pedestrian Training Co-ordinators as part of a

nationally evaluated pilot training initiative, following successful bids to CentralGovernment. The scheme targets areas where young pedestrians are at greater risk ofinjury. It is anticipated that this pilot scheme will assist in further reducing the number ofchild pedestrian casualties. In the second round of such schemes, the local authoritiesare pleased to have been invited to bid to expand this initiative.

Joint Working with the Health Action Zone

The partners value the contribution made by the Merseyside Health Action Zone team,and have worked together to target accident prevention through the formation of theMerseyside Accident Strategy Co-ordinating Group. Two sub-groups of this relate toroad casualties:-

• Young Persons• Trauma and Injury Intelligence

The young persons group (aimed at 16 to 25 year olds) recognises that road accidentsare one of the key causes of morbidity for young people. Hard-hitting local publicity andpre-driver awareness programmes are being targeted specifically at this audience. As aresult of the findings of recent analysis there is to be a focus on the dangers of two-wheeled motor vehicles.

The Trauma and Injury Intelligence Group is working with 6 hospitals in Merseyside togather additional information on all accidents, including those road accident casualtiesnot reported to the Police. It is anticipated that this additional information will assist indeveloping new local interventions.

‘Netting Off’ Automatic Enforcement Fines

The local authorities, Merseyside Police and the Merseyside Magistrates Courts havenow formed a partnership investigating the potential of the latest enforcementtechnology and legislation to assist in delivering additional casualty reductions – basedprimarily around those areas with high Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) casualties. It ishoped that Government will expand the remit of such initiatives to permit some incomefrom these penalties to be re-invested into local safety schemes and programmes.

Public Service Agreements

As part of their commitment to drive down road casualties, a number of the partners arenegotiating or have adopted challenging Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets forcasualty reduction

• Examples of schemes delivered

Woolton Hill Road/Church RoadImprovement SchemeProblem : Confusion regardingjunction priority at the former multipleroad junctions.Solution: The provision of a miniroundabout with additional speedcushions on approachesResult: The scheme is proving to bea success, as driver awareness hasimproved and a vehicle movementshave been eased

Photo?

Traffic calming and 20 mph areas PHOTO?Problem : Vehicle speeds, related accidents and environmentaldamage.Solution: A key aim is to reduce accidents and provide anenvironment where people feel safe, with vehicles being driven in amanner appropriate to the surroundings. As part of its successfultraffic calming programme Knowsley is making increasing use of 20mph areas. Currently, out of 15 traffic calming areas, 13 have 20mph limits.Result: substantial reductions in accidents, including pedestriansand cyclists. An average reduction of 64% of all accidents has beenobserved in estates where measures have been in place for threeyears or more, with even better results for KSIs:

Killed/seriously injured Down 82%Pedestrians Killed/seriously injured Down 86%Cyclists Down 86%

Jubilee Cycle Route, Wirral PHOTO?Problem : low cycle usageSolution: The Jubilee Cycle Route is a 3km pedestrian, equestrian and cycle route between Upton bypassand Arrowe Park Hospital• The route is multi-functional, serving as a commuter route and as a leisure route, complementing

Arrowe Park Hospital’s travel plan• Recycled materials were used in the construction• the route includes 3 toucan crosiings• Future proposals include additional links with the Borough wide cycle network.Result: It is hoped that the route will help address the existing traffic congestion and car parking problemsassociated with the hospital.

Freight StrategyProblem: Ensuring quick and efficient freight access, whilst minimising the adverse impactsSolutions:• Co-ordinated signage is provided within Merseyside and Halton to key destinations.• Implementation of CCTV to monitor impacts of additional freight traffic from Twelve Quays

Ro-ro terminal• improvements from the M62 at junction 7 and the A5300 at Ditton.• Knowsley’s Rail Freight Terminal has been completed and is now fully operational.• A major multi-modal study for access to the Port of Liverpool in Sefton and North LiverpoolResult: MIS . . . Journey time results etc.Photos – yellow train (from Freightlines newsletter) and signage

Allanson Street County Primary School, St Helens PHOTO?The school formed a Travel Team comprising the headteacher, parent governor, eight childrenand TravelWise. The members have made tremendous progress and carried out a number ofprojects. Firstly, the children undertook a travel survey. The children in the team then producedtheir own activity book for infants and juniors which includes information on their STP, asentence maker, journey planner, road safety sheets and a colouring competition for theinfants. The competition was judged by the junior members of the Travel Team.. A travel planhas now been drafted and early initiatives will include walking schemes.

Fingerpost Local Centre, St Helens PHOTO?

A programme of integrated access, safety and security initiatives funded by LTP andSRB, have been completed to enhance this local centre, including:• a 20mph zone with associated signing and entry treatments• Traffic calming table introduced at an existing pelican crossing to enforce the

20mph limit and provide a level crossing point for pedestrians.• Formalisation of on -street parking spaces by the construction of lay-bys and

accompanying improvements to pedestrian facilities• the widening of footways, the narrowing of pedestrian road crossing points and

the installation of drop crossings.• improved street lighting• Tree planting to enhance the environment• Installation of CCTV as a Local Authority/Police initiative.

'A' BRIDGE RESURFACING, WIRRALThe 'A' Bridge is a working, rolling Bascule bridge which is part of the primary link between Birkenhead andWallasey across the Docks. Traffic usage has increased as a result of the new Twelve Quays Irish Sea FerryTerminal.

The bridge was constructed in 1930 and was last resurfaced in 1988. Resurfacing was carried out during May2002, following consultation with the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company and Twelve Quays ferry operator,Norse Merchant, in an attempt to complete the works before commencement of ferry operations.

The replacement deck surfacing comprised over 200 square metres of 24mm thick high-specification plywoodpanels, impregnated with epoxy resin and incorporating anti-skid surface aggregate, all screwed into theexisting timber deck. This form of surfacing is required in order to maintain a lightweight deck to achieve correctbalance during bridge lifting operations, and has an expected minimum design life of 12 years.

The works were completed ahead of programme in just 10 days for a total cost of around £50,000.

The Stockbridge Walking Bus PHOTO?Knowsley MBC launched its innovative walking bus service, which operates along four schoolruns. The ‘bus service’ is run by two adults who walk to and from school from residential areasalong a route that is specific and has been safety checked. The initiative is the largest walkingbus in Europe and a first in the UK to have bus stations. Tony McNulty MP officially launchedthe service, acknowledging the project’s importance in demonstrating good practice. “Working with neighbourhood wardens, the walking bus is an imaginative and healthy answer toreducing traffic congestion in Knowsley, and as importantly is an idea that came from local people.Today’s launch of Britain’s biggest walking school bus will help to improve the environment and qualityof life for everyone in the community. I hope to see many communities across the country setting upsimilar schemes.”

Tony McNulty MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Seaforth and Litherland Station and Local Centre AccessImprovements PHOTO?A joint project between Sefton, Merseytravel and Railtrack has resulted inaccess improvements to and at the station and between the station andthe adjacent local centre, including:• raising the station platform flush to train doors;• pedestrian improvements including new puffin crossing immediately

outside station entrance, traffic calming and table crossings betweenstation and local centre;

• environmental and security enhancements including CCTV, planting,refurbishment of rail bridge

• extension of park and ride facilities and new bus stops;• improvement of cycle network through traffic calming, and provision

of cycle lockers; and• murals in the station entrance painted by local school children.New station waiting and toilet facilities are also to be provided in 2002.

SECTION 3: INCLUSIVE SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION

The delivery of the LTP remains inextricably linked with achieving wider economic, socialand environmental objectives in Merseyside. For example:

• Tackling social inclusion by improving access to jobs, services and training, throughthe improvement and expansion of the single integrated public transport network;improving safety and security for vulnerable usess; the Community Transport sectorand an extensive range of exercises to enable public participation in strategy andscheme development. In addition there are particular initiatives such as one of themost extensive concessionary travel scheme outside London, ‘Joblink’ bus servicesand ‘Breakthrough’ the Pathways Transport Action Plan

• Addressing the needs of disabled people by ensuring the design of all schemes is inaccord with the ‘Merseyside Code of Practice on Access and Mobility’, a programmeof access improvements to bus stops and rail stations, identifying and addressingexisting barriers in the street environment, and increasing the number of low floorbuses

• Creating vibrant and prosperous town centres by reducing air and noise pollution,improving the pedestrian environment and undertaking environmental and securityenhancements

• Reducing the environmental impacts of transport through the promotion ofsustainable transport, the piloting of new technology designed to reduce emissionsand the monitoring of emissions to identify potential need for air qualityimprovement areas

• Maintaining access from Merseyside’s rural areas by ensuring access to the singleintegrated public transport network

The widest delivery of these objectives is achieved through the co-ordination of processessuch as the ERDF Objective One programme and other economic and socialregenerationinitiatives (e.g. New Deal for Communities, Neighbourhood Renewal Fund ,SRB); through Community Strategies and Local Strategic Partnerships; and through theintegration of land use and transport planning.

This chapter includes examples of how the LTP is working towards these wider objectivesfor social, inclusive regeneration.

Linking transport with economic development and regeneration/ Synergy with theObjective 1 programme

The LTP programme remains closely integrated with the second Merseyside Objective 1programme, which is now in its third year.The identification of additional schemes within Integrated Development Plans for theStrategic Investment Areas revealed a need for greater match funding from the LTPtransport base. The first APR in August 2001 identified a need for additional LTPfunding to support these works, with projected supplementary bids amounting to £37Mover the remainder of the LTP’s life.

For 2002/03, a bid of £9.39M was submitted and which was met with an allocation of£6.93M from central government. To highlight and co-ordinate these vital fundingstreams, an informal Objective 1 Transport Action Plan was submitted to GONW inJanuary 2002, setting out the projected levels of Objective 1 funding that will be required

during 2002, to match with the LTP base allocation. Examples of projects which thepartners hope to be supported include:

• 5 SMART bus corridors across Merseyside• Major redevelopment of St Helens Central Railway Station• Construction of new railway station and Park and Ride at Carr Mill• City Centre Movement Strategy• Upgrading A565 Atlantic Boulevard to provide access improvements to the Port

of Liverpool• Junction and highway improvements to key industrial areas• Improvements to pedestrian and cycle networks, in particular, from Pathways

Areas

ERDF has recently been secured for several schemes, including SMART corridors A, Qand E, the Chalon Way Bus Gate and the Port of Liverpool Strategic Access Study. Allsources of match funding are identified in the financial tables in Annex xxxxxxx

Community Strategy LinkagesLocal Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) have progressed the development of draft localcommunity strategies over the last year, drawing together the plans and strategies whichcurrently exist to improve quality of life across Merseyside.

The links between the LTP and the community strategies are highlighted by the aimsincluded within each of the strategies:

Transport Aims of Community StrategiesKnowsley ♦ Create environments which are safe

♦ Reduce the impact of trafficLiverpool ♦ Ensure Liverpool’s transport system offers a fully integrated service and, in

particular, enables people living in deprived neighbourhoods to travel easilyand safely to work

Sefton ♦ Develop a transport system that contributes to opportunities for all, bypromoting economic development and maximising access for all, whilstprotecting the environment.

♦ ensure safety and security on the transport network and developsustainable transport policies.

St Helens ♦ More transport choice and safer, more efficient public transport♦ More walking and cycling, less need to travel, cleaner vehicles and fuel

Wirral ♦ Promote safer, more efficient integrated public transport♦ More walking and cycling with less need to travel♦ Continue to develop and improve the transport infrastructure and public

transport

In addition, LTP indicators have been incorporated within several Community Strategies.This enables the community strategy and LTP processes to work together to achievecommon goals. It also provides further proof that the LTP strategy is being implementedby a wide range of stakeholders.

Promoting social inclusionBy operating one of the most comprehensive concessionary schemes outside London,Merseyside tackles social inclusion with:

• Free travel for all of Merseyside’s elderly and disabled population• children travel at half fare.

In addition, recent work to promote social inclusion has included:

Measuring Accessibility and the‘Breakthrough’ Action PlanA key aim of the Objective OneProgramme is to ensure thatresidents living in the most needyPathways areas are linked to newemployment and trainingopportunities. To assess the levels ofaccessibility in these areas, a wideranging review has been undertakento:-• assess the existing public

transport network serving each ofthe 38 Pathways areas and theeight Strategic Investment Areas;and,

• quantify the current and futuredemand for travel as well asidentify barriers preventingPathways residents accessingnew training and employmentopportunities

The findings of this research wereused to help frame the developmentof the new Pathways TransportAction Plan, "Breakthrough".

"Breakthrough" is designed to provide a framework for developing new and innovativeschemes to improve transport choice and accessibility, including public transport, cyclingand walking, for Pathways residents.

Proposed initiatives seek to -• Enable employers to recruit and retain a higher proportion of their workforce from

Pathways areas;• Enable post 16 year old students to have access to the right training

opportunities;• Enable the unemployed and those wishing to re-enter the labour market with

ease; and• Ensure that employees have good access to high quality sustainable travel

choices once in employment.

INCLUDE insert from ACCESSIBILITY MAP (DavidHall)

PROMOTING SOCIAL INCLUSION: New “Job Link” Services

£1.6m in new Urban Bus Challenge funding will support a major network of new “Job Link” busservices linking Pathways areas to key employment sites within each of the StrategicInvestment Areas.

Two main types of service are operated under "Job Link":-

Ø New bus services providing links not already provided for by the conventional bus and railnetworks; and

Ø New demand responsive "door to door" services providing transport for clients referred tothe scheme from the Employment Service, Action Teams and other key agencies such asthe Jobs, Enterprise and Training Centres, to employment and training opportunities.

The service will be operated by fully accessible minibuses .

In order to maximise the effectiveness of the new “Job Link” services, "matched funding"applications have been submitted to Objective One, and bids will be made for further UBCrounds

diagram showing the extent of the initial UBC network

PROMOTING SOCIAL INCLUSION Netherley andValley Local Initiative for Transport (LIfT)

LifTs Travel Unit is located in Belle Vale ShoppingCentre and has been open since October 2001. It providesa range of transport information services targeted mainlyat the residents of the Netherley Valley partnership,although services are available to all users of the centre.

The unit has sold 14,000 Merseytravel discounted traveltickets, and handled in excess of 1,200 travel enquiries.These enquiries have ranged from simple bus timetables,bus connections, fares, and route planning. The unit hasalso received a number of complaints about withdrawnbus services. The unit is also used to promote the widerrange of services offered by LIfT and other regenerationagencies, including cycling, scooters, and Dial-a-LIfT.

Potential further expansion includes the introduction of aLIFTSHARE programme and journey brokerage scheme.

ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OFDISABLED PEOPLE Ensuring Accessfor All in SeftonBeing able to use the streetenvironment to gain access to servicesand facilities is one of the mostfundamental aspects of socialinclusion. Recognising this and therequirements of the DisabilityDiscrimination Act, Sefton Council havecommenced a 4 year programme ofaccess audits which will assess theentire urban street environment forbarriers to accessibility, informing:• the programme of access improvements

during the first LTP period• the bid for resources to

comprehensively address accessthroughout the borough.

IMPROVING ACCESS TO SERVICES IN RURALAREAS

The LTP Partners note the recently publishedguidance on “Rural Proofing” by the CountrysideAgency and acknowledge the importance of ensuringthat policies take account of specific ruralcircumstances and needs.

The decline in many rural services, such as postoffices and general stores has undoubtedly created aneed to travel to larger centres for everyday services.However, public transport through the LTP has acrucial role to play in enabling sustainable access tomain centres.

The development of a county-wide public transport networkensures that high quality links are available, complementedby a network of safer cycle routes. Importantly, subsidisedpublic transport services ensure that Merseyside’s moremarginal areas are able to access this network,complemented further by the county-wide Solo, Saveawayand Trio multi-modal ticketing benefits.

Analysis using computerised mapping software hasshown that 73% of Merseyside’s rural population livewithin 400m of a regular bus service, indicating thatMerseyside’s rural areas are well served by publictransport services.

Rural accessibility map – include in appendix??

PROMOTING SOCIAL INCLUSION:“Here to There” – an education pack tohelp people use public transportIn the last 12 months, Merseytravel hasproduced an education pack to promote accessto public transport, particularly for people whodo not feel confident to use public transport,due to a range of factors, including learningdifficulties and physical disabilities. Theteaching pack covers a range of topics,including using access facilities, buying ticketsand planning a journey.

Include picture . . . .

ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF DISABLED PEOPLEThe LTP partners are striving to ensure that the services provided are fully accessible, and thatdisabled access is designed into all new transport schemes as a matter of course. To assist withthis, all authorities employ specialist Access Officers and apply the Merseyside Code of Practiceon Access and Mobility. Examples include:• new low-floor buses are bring introduced by the bus operators, with the total increasing from

172 to 215• bus station staff are now trained in disability awareness, health and safety, first aid, dealing

with conflict and customer carePedestrians crossings should now include facilities for mobility impaired people; for example,96% of Knowsley’s pedestrian crossings include these facilities

LINKS WITH THE LAND USE PLANNING SYSTEM Minimum Levels of Accessibility:The need to link land use and transportation planning is a cornerstone of national and local policy. This isachieved by ensuring a realistic choice of access through the identification of suitable locations fordevelopment and promoting access by a range of travel options.To ensure that development is accessible by a realistic choice of modes, the Sefton Unitary DevelopmentPlan (UDP) (the first draft of which is now on deposit), requires development to meet ‘minimum levels ofaccessibility’ for each mode. The accessibility of a development is determined by a number of factors and theCouncil has identified those factors which should be ‘achieved’ according to development type, size andlocation.

LINKS WITH THE LAND USE PLANNING SYSTEMMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Highways AgencyTo ensure that close working is achieved between the LTP partners and the Highways Agency at theplanning development control level, an MoU has been developed to address highway network limitations onMerseyside’s regeneration objectives. A model to quantify and assess the impact of new development onthe local transport networks is being developed. The model also enables junctions of particular concern tothe local highway authorities to be assessed and enables necessary improvements to be identified.On the motorway and trunk road network the Highways Agency is seeking to progress improvements to overcomepossible constraints, as far as is possible. This is to improve the efficiency of the network and to accommodate thetraffic generated by Objective 1 funded developments.

Helping to create vibrant and prosperous town centres: Liverpool city centreAn increasing city centre population is an essential component of the city’s regeneration andtransport strategies as it adds vitality to the city centre, and sustains new facilities and services.Importantly, it also reduces the need to travel by car.Following years of decline the population of the city centre now stands at 10,000 - an increase fromapproximately 3,000 people in 1991. By late 2001, around 800 flats were under construction, whilst 3,900units had planning permission or were being determined.

To establish the effectiveness and popularity of city centre living, the Liverpool City CentreSurvey was completed in 2001. Salient issues from the survey included:

• 41% of the sample has lived in the city centre for less than 5 years• 37% of the sample walk to work• 57% of residents shop locally in the city centre for everyday goods

Transport in the city centreCreating vibrant and prosperous town and city centres is closely linked with cleaner, healthierand more attractive urban areas. Liverpool is already a Trailblazer site for the Government’sClear Zone initiative to achieve both air quality and regeneration goals.Further progress is also being made through the City Centre Movement Strategy (see IntegratedSolutions) and other measures to reduce the adverse effects of traffic.In addition, if a bid under the European Commission CATCH (Clean Accessible Transport for CommunityHealth) initiative is successful, it will involve the introduction of clean vehicle technology such as electricbattery vehicles, retro-fitting all city centre buses with emission reducing devices and the use of a cleanerdiesel emulsion that should reduce NOx emissions.

PROMOTING SOCIAL INCLUSION: Community Transport2001/02 was another good year for community and voluntary transport operators in Merseyside. There are nownine individual local community transport operators serving communities across Merseyside, and these operatorsprovided ‘’tailor made’ transport solutions for over 240,000 passengers. The federation of operators making upMerseyside Community Transport were joined by three new operators :-• St. Helens Community Transport;• Northwood Star (Kirkby); and,• Huyton Community Transport.MCT have carried out a major strategic review of their operations, and a key outcome is the development of a keyscheme over the to increase the operational capacity of the CT sector (including vehicle and journey brokerage),and enhanced maintenance facilities. This will be funded partially through LTP and Urban Bus Challnege Funding.

LINKS WITH THE LAND USEPLANNING SYSTEMDerby Road, SouthportAn example of how land use and local transportissues have been integrated on Merseyside istypified by a large retail development in DerbyRd, Southport having a mix of food and non-food uses totalling some 15,850 sq. m.

This site is adjacent to the Town Centre, iseasily accessible by bus and rail services andincludes disabled and parent/child parking,segregated walkways, cycle parking, hackneycarriage stands, private hire drop of areas. Thestore was built on an existing public car parkand the new parking facilities provided by thedevelopment are available as a shared facilityfor the benefit of the town centre. It is managedon behalf of the developer by the Council’sparking enforcement team and is restricted toshort stay by the use of pay and display, havingtariffs compatible with the Town Centrecharges.

In order to ensure full accessibility andcompatibility with the Southport IntegratedSolution (TRANSIS 2010), the followingmeasures were secured through the proposal:

• a comprehensive environmentalupgrade of the link to the Town Centre

• pedestrian crossing facilities,• cycle track development,• traffic management measures and• implementation of a localised parking

control zone.

A commuted sum was also secured to supportother elements of the Council’s overall towncentre transportation strategy.

Picture of development . . . .

HELPING TO CREATE VIBRANT AND PROSPEROUSTOWN CENTRES St. Helens Eastside RegenerationSchemeAs part of the Integrated Solution for St. Helens towncentre, the Eastside Masterplan has now been published.This proposes an integrated action plan to comprehensivelyregenerate the eastern half of St. Helens town centre,including:• Upgrading commercial properties• a major new centrally located health facility• Environmental enhancement and conservation• Establishing a Cultural Quarter• Enhancing Town Centre Living• Creating a Secure Quarter

Key transport elements of the proposal include :-

♦ Planned reconstruction of St.Helens Central♦ Introduction of a new electric shuttle bus service;♦ The New St. Helens Bus Station♦ Improved pedestrian linkages planned between the Bus

Station and the Rail Station and visitor attractions

LINKING TRANSPORT WITH AIR QUALITY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NOISEOBJECTIVES : ALTEReco

ALTEReco is Merseyside's latest "clean fuel" public transport project, which builds on thesuccess of the SMARTeco services in Liverpool, Southport and Birkenhead.

The St Helens ALTEReco project aims to provide high quality town centre public transportservices and to bolster the ongoing regeneration of the town centre. Following trials, sixbuses have been ordered and are to be delivered to enable the service to be launched in earlyOctober 2002. The buses are wheelchair accessible, battery powered buses which providethe capacity, range, accessibility, reliability and performance required for town centre routes.There will be up to 18 electric bus movements through St Helens town centre every hour.Altereco picture

Linking transport with air quality, climate change and noise objectivesThe partners fully accept that transport has a high impact on the environment, although theongoing delivery of the LTP will impact positively upon all aspects of the environment; forinstance.

Air Quality ReviewThe Stage 3 Air Quality Review and Assessment for Liverpool showed that national objectiveswould be met for all pollutants with the exception of Nitrogen Dioxide (the principal source ofNO2 in the atmosphere is from motor vehicles). The review identifies locations in the city centreand around the end of the M62 motorway where the objective for NO2 is likely to be exceeded.Accordingly, an Air Quality Management Area will be designated.

Sefton has identified six possible local air quality priority areas (LAQPAs), where pollution levelshave been predicted to be within, but close to, the national air quality objectives. These areas willonly be formally designated if more detailed assessment confirms the need for air qualitymanagement in these areas.

Environmental and NoiseStrategiesWork has continued during 2001/02 todevelop and refine the partners’Environmental Strategies.♦ a second update of the Merseyside

Atmospheric Emissions Inventorywas completed early in 2002.

♦ Proposals to undertake a study ofbackground noise conditions andpublic perceptions of noise weresubmitted for funding under theMerseyside Health Action Zone(HAZ) in January 2001. It isunlikely that these funds will beforthcoming and the partners areinvestigating the possibility ofallocating LTP funds towards thestudy.

The public transport fleet and airqualityIt has been estimated that buses across Merseyside were responsible for the release of278 tonnes of particulate matter (PM10) in 2000.

All conventionally fuelled buses in Merseyside now use ultra low sulphur diesel, and thereare electric and compressed natural gas buses running successfully in Birkenhead andSouthport.

Particulate traps are one of the proven methods of reducing particulate emissions by up to90%, but currently only 1.8% of the Merseyside fleet has them. As a result, Merseytravelhas instigated a pilot project and released £300,000 to provide grants to allow particulatetraps to be fitted to over 100 buses used for supported services. Match funding will besought from the Energy Savings Trust, which could potentially lead to a doubling of thenumber of buses that could be fitted.

Merseytravel Environmental StrategyMerseytravel first produced an Environmental Strategy in 1996 (thefirst PTE to do so). In 2001 it was considered timely to review thestrategy which commits Merseytravel to:♦ Enhancing the quality and environmental performance of the

public transport network♦ Integrating sustainable development and environmental

improvement into all transport policy areas♦ Improving the in-house environmental performance of

Merseytravel

Examples of the strategy in action• From April 2002 the Paradise Street and Queen Square bus

stations have been powered by electricity obtained fromrenewable sources

• In March 2002 a pilot scheme was launched in Nethertontrialling a solar-powered bus shelter. Following the initial trial, itis hoped to extend it to a number of shelters around the region.

To monitor this strategy, Merseytravel is now publishing AnnualEnvironmental Reports.

SECTION 4 Hitting the Targets

• Good progress with achievement of core targets as recommended in the APRguidance

• Few changes to performance indicators and targets, to ensure continuity ofthe LTP strategy

• Good progress with performance against “recommended indicators”,contained within the APR guidance.

• Clear actions in place where difficulties in achieving desired trends are beingexperienced

CORE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IDENTIFIED IN THE APR GUIDANCE

The LTP partners are making good progress towards achieving 10 year plan or PublicService Agreement targets. The table below reports on progress with the core indicatorsspecified in the APR guidance. Where it is not possible to provide exact monitoringinformation, the nearest equivalent is given, with the aim of providing a picture ofMerseyside’s contribution towards national objectives.

Area Indicator Merseyside’s performance

Public transport –bus

Number of bus passenger journeys. 170.6m bus passenger journeys recorded for 2001/02, which isan increase from 168m is 1999.

Bus passenger satisfaction 59% of people on Merseyside are satisfied with local services.However, the 2001 Merseyside Tracker Survey shows evenhigher levels of satisfaction with key elements of bus service,especially personal safety, security and reliability.

Cycling Number of cycling trips. The county-wide survey monitors cycle usage on a modal-sharebasis in Merseyside. The 2001 survey recorded less than 1% ofall trips by cycle, which is a reduction compared with earliermeasurements. Additional base line surveys are being carriedout in June/July 2002, together with a review of the cyclestrategy and delivery programme.

Road safety Number of deaths and serious injuries (all ages) In 2001/02, 699 people were killed or seriously injured in roadaccidents. This indicates that we are on course to meet the 46%reduction target by 2010.

Number of children killed and seriously injured 137 children killed or injured in 20012/02. Still on course tomeet the 50% reduction target by 2010.

Road maintenance Road condition All the Merseyside Authorities have undertaken CVI Surveys,providing data to enable an inventory of the principal roadnetwork to be completed. 6.93% of Merseyside’s principal roadshave a negative residual life, whilst 3.86% of non-principalclassified roads have a UK PMS defect score of 70 or higher.46% of the unclassified roads have a UK PMS defect score of 70or higher.

Light Rail Light rail passenger journeys Not applicable to Merseyside at present

Accessibility % of rural households within 13 minutes walk ofan hourly or better bus service

73% of Merseyside’s rural population live within 400m of anhourly or better bus service, or else within 800m of a rail station.

Changes to performance indicators

The LTP partners note the recommended indicators outlined within the government’sguidance “How to Monitor Indicators in Local Transport Plans". The original LTPindicators have been assessed against these recommended indicators and have beenshown to be closely related. A table showing the correlation between the LTP’sindicators and the list of 53 recommended indicators is included in the Appendix.

Merseyside’s LTP performance indicators and targets remain largely unchanged,although the APR process provides a useful opportunity to amend and update severalindicators. As the proposed changes do not alter the overall LTP strategy and deliveryprogramme, specific consultation with the public has not been necessary. Therationalisation of several indicators also helps simplify the performance targets. Fullreasons for reviewing specific indicators are shown within the completed pro-forma inAnnex A ‘Progress towards Local Objectives and Targets – July 2002’.

Performance over the last year

The LTP’s performance indicators have been monitored over the last 12 months, and thefull list of indicators in Annex A shows progress against each indicator/target.

The following is a brief overview of progress made against a selection of “recommendedindicators”, contained within the guidance. In addition, the link between the indicator andrelevant 10 Year Plan Target has also been included, to show further linkages betweenlocal and national targets.

Where targets have apparently already been achieved, or where the partners are onschedule towards achieving an agreed target, it has not been felt appropriate to set morestretching targets at this time. This is because it is considered premature to do so;establishing clear trends takes several years, to take account of data variation andstatistical margins of error.

Performance against key recommended indicators:

3Traffic levels (PI 66) – NATIONAL TARGET 1- The growth in road traffic on all roads has increased by 3% between 1996 and2001/02, which is significantly lower than the road traffic reduction interim target of20.8% growth by 2006

3Condition of roads (PI 100) – NATIONAL TARGET 10- The average percentage of principal roads have negative residual life varies over

the Merseyside authorities between 3% and 10%

3Percentage of street lights not working (PI 99)- The average percentage of streetlights not working across Merseyside variesbetween 0.85% and 2%, which is consistent with the target of 1.7%

3Modal share of all journeys – NATIONAL TARGET 1

- Results from the household survey for 2001 indicate that the combined use of publictransport for all journeys remains relatively constant, at 42% overall compared to a1996 figure of 44%.

3Satisfaction with public transport information (PI 31) – NATIONAL TARGETS 1& 2,- The average level of satisfaction with public transport information stands at 59%.(Additional annual surveys to measure customer satisfaction have beencommissioned by Merseytravel since 1993. The results of the survey inform theCentre of Excellence updates and these indicate even higher levels of satisfactionwith bus services.)

3Bus age (PI 36) – NATIONAL TARGET 2- The current age of the bus fleet stands at 7 years, compared to a baselinefigure of 10 years in 1999.

3Bus patronage (PI 42 – NATIONAL TARGETS 1 & 2)- Bus patronage levels have been increasing steadily from 168 million in 1999 to170.6 million in 2001/02

3Bus punctuality (PI 43 – NATIONAL TARGETS 2 & 9)- Good progress is being made, with 96.4% of supported bus services arriving within5 minutes of their scheduled time, against a baseline of 95.6%.

3Public transport information (PI 29) – NATIONAL TARGET 2- 75% of bus stops and shelters now have information, compared to 45% in1999/2000

3Rail Service punctuality (PI 51 – NATIONAL TARGET 1)- 98.9% of scheduled rail services ran in 01/02, against a 99/00 base of 98.6%

3Rail patronage (PI 52 - NATIONAL TARGET 1))- 35.4m rail passenger journeys made during the last year, against a baseline of33.7m in 99/00

3 Modal share of journeys to work (PI 45 and PI 53 – NATIONAL TARGETS 1 &2)- The percentage of journeys to work by bus remains constant at 12%- The percentage of journeys to work made by rail increased from 3.6% in 1996 to5% in 2001

3Ferry patronage (PI 54 – NATIONAL TARGET 1))- Increase in number of commuter passengers from 195,000 in 1999/2000, to 217,000in 2001/02

3Park and ride facilities (PI 27 – NATIONAL TARGETS 1 & 2)- An increase in bus, rail and ferry based park and ride spaces has been achievedfrom 4,279 to 4,371, which is on-target towards 5,000 spaces by 2005/6

3 Employers Travel Plans (PI 75) – NATIONAL TARGET 1, 2 & 7)- All 6 LTP partners have adopted, or are preparing Travel Plans for adoption by theend of 2002- 46 major employers are developing or implementing an approved travel plan,against a target of 60 by 2004

3Modal share of childrens’ journeys to school (PI 11 NATIONAL TARGET 1)- The modal share of all childrens’ journeys to school made on foot remains stable at45%, although the figure is expected to rise as a result of ongoing Travel Plandevelopment

.3School Travel Plans (PI 76 – NATIONAL TARGET 1)- 10% of schools working on School Travel Plans. On schedule towards target of50% by 2004

3Road safety (PI 86 – NATIONAL TARGET 6))- Reduction in total number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents from833 (1994-98 average) to 759 in 2001/02 and on-target towards 40% reduction by2010. The partners are on course to meet their road safety targets of the coreperformance indicators.- Reduction in number of children killed or seriously injured in road accidents from216 (1994-98 ave1age to 184 in 2001/02. The total number of casualties recorded askilled or seriously injured is close to the median target for 2001and the number ofchild casualties killed or seriously injured is at the lower end of the target range forthat year

3Road safety schemes (PI 85 – NATIONAL TARGETS 6 & 7))- Merseyside implemented 48 Local Safety Schemes in 2001/02 at a cost of£1.736m. The forecast casualty reduction is 298

3Access to the transport network (PI 25 – NATIONAL TARGETS 1, 2 & 8))- 87.7% of Merseyside’s population live within a 400m walk of a half-hourly daytimebus service- 73% of Merseyside’s rural population live within 400m of an hourly or better busservice, or else within 800m of a rail station.

3Accessibility of bus fleet (PI 41 –LNATIONAL TARGET 2) )- 33.6% of Merseyside’s bus fleet are easy access buses

3Percentage of pedestrian crossings with facilities for mobility impaired people(PI 94 – NATIONAL TARGET 6))- An unweighted average of 74.6% of Merseyside’s pedestrian controlled crossingshave facilities for mobility impaired people, which is an increase from 65% reported in2000/01

Measures being taken to address adverse trends

Whilst the partners are pleased to report good progress in working towards many of theagreed national and local targets, in some areas progress has not matched

expectations. Where this is the case, strategies are being put in place to seek to haltadverse trends and to achieve the desired outcomes.

6 Cycling (PIs 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 & 19)

The apparent drop in cycle usage from a mode share of 1.9% in 1996 to 0.7% is aconcern. Anecdotal evidence would not seem to support a decline, and further tests arebeing made on the two datasets.

The Partners are also checking whether the existing strategy is likely to achieve the aimof quadrupling cycle use in line with the National targets. To determine this, consultantshave been engaged to carry out a two-phase strategy review.

Phase 1 involves a fundamental review of the current strategy together with anassessment of existing resources and implementation mechanisms to assess their likelysuccess in achieving the planned targets. To support this, a series of cycle flow surveypoints across Merseyside and surveys of cycles parked at schools, stations and localand district centres have been undertaken.

Phase 2 of the study is expected to revise the Strategy and develop fully costedmeasures to meet the target. It is anticipated that this will build on the existing strategyof linking Pathways to SIA areas, to place a greater emphasis on encouraging travel toschool and local utility trips in support of the core network.

Upon completion of the review, the partners will revise their implementation strategiesand seek to address any shortfall in the resources required to work towards both theLTP headline target (PI 19) and national target no 7.

6 Rail patronage (PI 52)

Although patronage on the City Lines has met expectations, with a growth of 6.17% onthe previous years' data, both Merseyrail Electrics lines have shown moderate growth(over 3%). The target of 5% growth has not been met, primarily due to poor punctuality,and to a lesser extent, reliability.

These issues will be addressed by the forthcoming Merseyrail Electrics timetable recast,which has the aim of making timetables more reliable. The refurbishment of theMerseyrail Electrics Rolling Stock will also improve its reliability.

The proposed refranchising of the network will also enable reliability issues to beaddressed directly by Merseytravel.

6 Increase in Motor Cycle casualties (PI 86c)

Most classes of casualties have reduced compared with the 1994-1998 base period.The significant exception is in those involving two-wheeled motor vehicles, which haveshown increases of around 25-30%. This results in part from the increased use ofpowered two wheelers particularly in the 16-25 age group where many of theseaccidents occur.

The Road Safety Officers in partnership with the Merseyside Health Action Zone (HAZ)team are addressing this issue with hard-hitting local publicity and pre-driver awarenessprogrammes are being specifically targeted at this audience.

6 Review of noise conditions and noise strategy not carried out

The review of existing noise conditions as part of a defined noise strategy has not beenachieved. This is as a result of the review that is currently underway of the HAZ fundingprogramme, coupled with HAZ’s other commitments. The partners value the contributionmade by the Merseyside Health Action Zone team, and have worked together to targetaccident prevention through the formation of the Merseyside Accident Strategy Co-ordinating Group

However, this has delayed the review and in response, the LTP partners havecommitted transport funds from the 2003/04 financial year to enable the review to carriedout. This recognises the close links between transport, health and the environment.

It can be concluded that the partners are effectively monitoring the LTP’s indicators andcan report good overall progress over the last 12 months. The targets and indicators areclosely related to national targets and to recommended indicators within governmentguidance. Crucially, the partners have adopted clear measures to tackle adverse trends,to ensure that the LTP delivers its objectives.

SECTION 5: DELIVERING THE PROGRAMME

• Effective spending programme with all funding committed to integratedtransport schemes

• Supplementary Bids submitted for Strategic Investment Areas,Southport Marine Parade Bridge and Blackbrook Diversion

• Maintenance and bridges text• Total Bid of £xxx for 2003/04, in accordance with indicative capital

programme

the 2001/02 financial allocation

Phil to replace with text

Authority SCA Allocation(£ million)

SCA Spend(£ millions)

Reasons for Underspend

Liverpool £10.62 £7.819? £4.588 Delays in Scheme deliveryMerseytravel £15.89 All N/A

St Helens £4.319 £3.333 £0.776 ERDF bids now approvedSefton £5.163 £4.792 £0.371 Consultation & ERDF delaysWirral £5.809 £4.739 £1.07 Scheme delays, resources

Knowsley £3.858 All N/A

Supplementary bids:

• £6.93M for 20/03 – John H• 2003/04 – 05/06 SIA supplementary bid

Last year’s APR contained a supplementary bid for a level of funding sufficient to enablethe Merseyside Authorities to attract ERDF support for additional, transport relatedworks, identified within the Integrated Development Plans for the 8 Merseyside StrategicInvestment Areas.

Although the bid was not funded in full, and the draw down of ERDF has taken longerthan expected, the additional SCA is proving crucial to the implementation ofregeneration schemes within the SIAs.

The following table details those schemes being started in 2002/03, their total costs, andthe additional SCAallocated to each authority. The main elements of the supplementarybid were identified in last year’s APR but some adjustments are obviously provingnecessary as development proposals become clearer.

The supplementary bid for 2003/04 is the one indicated in last year’s APR plus theshortfall in the supplementary settlement for 2002/03 which will be required to fund theproposed programme of works.

Marine Parade Bridge, Southport – Supplementary Bid

A new bridge from the Promenade to Marine Parade is the next important step in theregeneration of Southport Seafront. This bridge will provide a key transport link to betterintegrate the Town Centre with the Seafront and provide a catalyst for future investmentand regeneration.

The Merseyside partners recognised the importance of replacing this bridge byallocating £1.2 m to the project from the 02/03 settlement. This has enabled the projectto move forward with a start expected in autumn this year. The total cost of the project is£4.6m but, whilst supported by £1.7m of other funding, there is still a shortfall of a further£1.7m which is the subject of this supplementary bid for 03/04.

Further supporting information and justification for the supplementary bid to completethis project is included in the appendices.

Major schemes –• Blackbrook Diversion – John H

Highway maintenance – Rory Lingham – include bridges

Following the advice in the APR guidance for additional information required formaintenance allocations, several tables have been produced and are includedwithin appendix xxx. The table below highlights the Primary Route Network.Bridge bid requirements for 2003/04, which have been amended in light of thelatest assessment results.

Primary Route Network

Latest prioritybid for fundingrequirements

Number ofbridges

40Tassessment

Number ofbridges

40Tstrengthening

Number ofbridges

Structuralmaintenance

2003/04

Knowsley

Liverpool

Sefton

St Helens

Wirral

MerseyTunnels

Paragraph to explain delivery over the last 12 months.

Refer to inventories etc.

Summary 5 year programme to follow:

The 5 year Minor Works Programme Summary

2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 TOTALMerseytravelBase programmeIDP supplementary bidOther

KnowsleyBase programmeIDP supplementary bidOther

LiverpoolBase programmeIDP supplementary bidOther

St HelensBase programmeIDP supplementary bidOther

SeftonBase programmeIDP supplementary bidOther

WirralBase programmeIDP supplementary bidOther

Merseyside totalBase programmeIDP supplementary bidOther

“The night service after midnight has improved for those that go clubbing. That is anexcellent service. I have used it several times. “After midnight at 2.00am you can get abus and it is £2.00. That is excellent”.

Focus group Member, May 2002

Barriers to the implementation of the LTP’s strategy

Limited availability of revenue support fundingWhilst capital allocations have increased year-on-year, to assist with the delivery of theLTP, revenue funding is essential in order to maintain newly installed assets, such asbus lanes and closed circuit television.. Similarly, the promotion of more sustainabletravel habits through the TravelWise partnership relies heavily on revenue support. Thepromotion and uptake of travel plans as a result of the bursaries which have enabled theexpansion of Merseyside’s TravelWise team is an example of the value of such funding.Look forward top positive outcome.

Staffing issuesThe costs of attracting and retaining sufficient staff to undertake the technical workrequired to implement schemes remains a critical issue. This reflects a nationalshortage of suitably qualified staff. These staffing difficulties have particularly resulted indelays in progressing some areas of the delivery programme.

External factorsIn terms of rail freight improvements, one of the principal difficulties concerns the lack oflocal control and influence over investment in rail freight improvements. Similarly, thereis a limited ability to influence rail freight decisions, particularly the future priorities on theWest Coast Main Line.

The LTP partners have sought to address these concerns via a response to the SRA’s10 year plan and lobbying through the Regional Transport Advisory Group

Objective 1The Objective 1 and LTP strategies remain fully integrated. However, securingObjective 1 funding is proving time-consuming and delays have been experiencedfollowing the submission of funding bids. As transport funding for LTP schemes nowtakes the form of single year SCAs, as opposed to 2 years, it is essential that matchfunding can be drawn efficiently, to prevent slippage in the delivery of LTP schemes.The ability to apply retrospectively for Objective 1 would help to address this difficulty.Working in a de-regulated environmentComplete or partial re-regulation of the bus services would enable Merseytravel toexercise full control over bus fleets, bus routes and timetables. The ability of operatorsto alter bus routes and services has undermined good work done by the authorities, e.g.bus to employment map deemed unusable only months after production. In particular,better integration between bus and rail services could be secured. This issue has beenidentified as one of the key barriers by many of the stakeholders attending the recentLTP seminars.

ConsultationThe delivery of the transport programme is also affected by the need to consult with, andfully involve the LTP’s stakeholders. The extensive consultation which underpins theLTP remains a priority, although remains a time consuming, resource intensive activity.

Extended consultation procedures have delayed and/ or resulted in the rejection ofschemes in the last year, which with current staffing levels have a knock on effect on thedelivery of the whole programme.

However, much has been learned from experience and most Authorities are developingmore. efficient consultation processes to maximise public participation.

“The introduction of the bus lanes and green tarmacking seems to be settling, I thinkpeople like that”.

Focus group member, May 2002

SECTION 6: PROGRESS THROUGH PARTNERSHIP

The Partners recognise that consultation and partnership lie at the heart of the successfuldelivery of the Merseyside LTP. This follows commitments which recognise that thestrategy cannot be achieved without the support and commitment of the stakeholders.

• Strong consultation on the APR and with individual stakeholder groups has beenmaintained throughout 2001/02 to inform strategies and individual schemes

• User surveys have indicated high levels of satisfaction• As a Centre of Excellence, we have sought to disseminate best practice• Continued strong cross boundary working with neighbouring authorities

ARRANGEMENTS FOR CONSULTING ON THE APR

Over the last twelve months the LTP Partners have continued to carry out an extensiverange of consultation both in terms of ongoing strategy development and specificscheme implementation. The wide range of consultations included:

• APR seminars at a Merseyside-wide level, and at district level;• Specific market research such as, Citizen Panel surveys, Focus Groups, the

Merseyside Tracker Survey, household interview surveys and user-satisfactionsurveys;

• Consultation with the various Merseytravel AdvisoryPanels (District Advisory Panels, Women’s Forum,Transport Access Panel), the Merseyside PathwaysTransport Group, the Merseyside Transport, Health andEnvironment Forum, and the District Area Committees;

• A series of targeted events aimed at key sections of thecommunity such as residents and organisations operatingin Pathways areas;

• Widespread dissemination of LTP issues through a widerange of publications and promotional materials.

• Consultation on all schemes

Widespread Community Consultation

In response to requests for more widespread information, “Merseyside Connects” waspublished for circulation with Merseyside’s free newspapers in May 2002, reaching apotential audience of 500,000 people. This sought to provide an update on the LTP’sdelivery programme and outlined the APR and summarised recent achievements.Feedback slips were included to enable members of the public to comment on theeffectiveness of the delivery programme.

The majority of the respondents expressed support for the main themes of theLTP strategy in particular the support for measures to improve public transport,walking and cycling and reduce traffic congestion. They stated that new roadbuilding was the least important element of the transport strategy, with moreinvestment needed in CCTV, traffic calming and safety improvements.

Engaging Pathways Residents

connects

As part of the APR consultation process, a series of feedback seminars were carried out with organisations andindividuals drawn from the 38 Pathways areas.

Some key issues raised by Pathways residents include: -

• Support for measures in the LTP to improve transport links to key employmentareas on the edge of the urban area;

• The need for increased revenue resources, in particular to provide improvedbus service links;

• Pathways residents welcome the introduction of new “Job Link” services;• The need to continue to improve safety and security across the transport

network;• Continued support for the concessionary travel scheme which offers free

travel for elderly and disabled residents and consider extending the system forpeople aged 16-19 who wish to take up new employment and training; and

• The need to continue to reduce traffic speeds in residential areas.

As well as informing the development of the LTP and the Pathways Transport ActionPlan, the LTP Partners are planning to build on this by carrying out more focusedconsultation with a range of other key groups.

Engaging young people

The Partners are also making great strides to engage youngpeople in the ongoing development of the LTP.

The Merseytravel Community Links Team have produced awide range of educational material over the last twelve monthsincluding the "Here to There" pack aimed at children withlearning difficulties, and the 'Better for Everyone" pack whichhas been designed to complement the new Citizenship themein the National Curriculum. The Community Links Teamcontinue to be involved in a wide range of community projectsincluding Youth Liaison and Community Sponsorship.

How Consultation Will Shape the LTP Strategies and Programmes

The views following the extensive consultation undertaken during the run-up to thesubmission of the APR are being collated in a detailed report. This will enable the LTPpartners to consider the views and to review the implementation programme.

Feedback seminars are proposed in early 2003, to provide an update on next year’sfinancial settlement and to outline the future implementation programme. In this way,the LTP remains consultation-driven and fully representative of the needs of thestakeholders.

In addition, further feedback will be provided in the form of a concise version of the APRin the autumn. A full version of the APR will also be included on the partners’ website.

USER SATISFACTIONThe Merseyside Citizens PanelsThe Citizens Panel members are regularly asked their opinion about elements of the transport strategy and LTP Themedelivery.

‘Here to There’ or‘Better for Everyone’packs

In addition, a special Focus Group of Citizen Panel members was convened to examine the LTP and its delivery in detail.

Some key findings include: -• Continued support for the LTP in particular improvements to sustainable

forms of transport and other measures which reduce traffic and congestion;• More could be done to publicise both the LTP and local schemes by issuing

easy to read updates in the local press or mail outs with Council Tax bills;• The most noticeable improvements over the last year include new SMART bus

shelters on many of the main bus corridors, the opening of WavertreeTechnology Park station, improved bus stations and traffic calming measures;

• The partners were viewed as being effective in the delivery of the LTP and ashaving set themselves achievable goals;

• the current system of deregulated bus services acts as a major barrier toachieving the key LTP objectives;

• the need to improve personal safety and security on the transport network,• Traffic calming schemes in residential areas continue to be supported

The Merseyside Tracking SurveyMerseytravel regularly track changing views and use of transport through the countywide tracking survey.

Results of the latest update published in April 2002 point to:-• 72% of people travelling to work in Merseyside by car are offered free parking

at their place of work or education;• The fear of crime is a major disincentive to people wishing to use public

transport, especially in the evening and this fear is particularly prevalent inPathways areas;

• Almost two fifths of households have access to at least one bike;• The majority of people continue to support further investment to improve

public transport and funding of the Concessionary Travel Scheme.

On the Right Tracks with Merseyrail

As part of the proposed transfer of powers from theStrategic Rail Authority to Merseytravel, anextensive passenger satisfaction survey of facilitiesand services currently provided on the MerseyrailNorthern and Wirral Lines was undertaken. Theviews of users expressed in the survey will helpshape the new Merseyrail Franchise, which will berenewed on a 25-year basis in 2003. There was amassive response to the survey, with over 34,000returning questionnaires.

Generally users showed strong satisfaction withthe:- Helpfulness of staff; and- Ease of buying tickets.

But users felt that further improvements are needed with the: -- Reliability and punctuality of services; and

Scan in results leaflet?

- Need for more toilets on the network.

SHARING BEST PRACTICE

WebsitesThe LTP website (www.transportplan.merseyside.org)contains information on the LTP, APR’s, and othertransport initiatives on Merseyside. In addition, publictransport is covered in more detail on the Merseytravelsite (www.merseytravel.gov.uk).

National seminar on Centres of ExcellenceAs part of our status as a Centre of Excellence for bothIntegrated Transport Planning and Public Transport, a majornational seminar on Centres of Excellence for Transport Planning was hosted inLiverpool in November 2001, the aim of which was to help disseminate ‘best practice’ intransport planning. Supporting this is the ongoing commitment by Merseytravel toproduce regular six monthly updates on the Centre of Excellence.

Centre of Excellence in Transport Planning Seminar – Liverpool 2001

Over 100 delegates drawn from a wide range of organisations across the UKattended this major event, co-hosted by Merseytravel and the DTLR and held atthe Maritime Museum at the Albert Dock in Liverpool on 7thNovember 2001.

A number of key themes emerged from the discussions and presentations on theday, including the importance of:-

• sharing information between local authorities;• regional co-operation;• making the links between transport and social exclusion;• revenue funding for local authorities;• consultation with communities and benchmarking ; and• developing partnerships with the private sector.

Social Inclusion seminarThe DTLR document ‘Centres of Excellence for Integrated Transport Planning’ highlightsnational examples of good practice and identifies Merseyside in terms of SocialInclusion. A further seminar to outline progress on the links between transport andsocial inclusion is planned later in 2002.

Public Transport Accessibility

A public transport access plan is being developed. As part of this process, a seminar onaccess to jobs in November 2001 attracted 150 delegates. Work is also ongoing in threeother areas in preparation of the Access Plan:-

Insert front cover oflatest Centre ofExcellence update.

• Joint working with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) on transport provisionfor 10-19 year olds in education.

• Regular liaison with Job Centre Plus to examine issues of work access.• Working with the new health service bodies to ensure access to health care and

food provision.

Networking and involvement with liaison groups

In addition, the LTP partners are continuously sharing best practice through theirrepresentation on a wide range of groups and organisations. These include:

• The Passenger Transport Executive Group (PTEG),• Core Cities• CTC’s Cycle Benchmarking scheme,• the National TravelWise Association,• the North West Road Traffic Advisory Group• The North West Planners’ Training Group.• Merseytravel is represented on the government’s Social Exclusion Unit, where

best practice on transport’s role in tackling inequality is being promoted on acountry-wide basis.

CROSS BOUNDARY WORKING

Working arrangements with adjoining districts remain strong, particularly through theNorth West Regional Assembly transport-related groups, and formal or informal workingarrangements between neighbouring authorities.

Joint working with Halton BC

Strong links have been maintained with Halton BC through the Merseyside NetworkGroup. This network enables joint working and consistent decision making, at both theofficer and elected member level, on many transport issues, including for instance:

• regular dialogue on LTP issues• the Freight Transport Strategy;• Public transport Real Time Information and ticketing initiatives;• Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s Airport Surface Access Strategy;• extension of the proposed Merseytram system• The Public Rights of Way Forum.

The New Mersey Crossing

The proposal to construct a new Second Mersey Crossing isidentified as a major scheme for the region in the RPG, and issupported as a key element in both the Merseyside and HaltonLTPs. The proposal is supported by the Mersey Crossing Group, apartnership of local authorities and business interests including

Include picture. . . . .

the North West Regional Assembly (NWRA) and the North West Development Agency(NWDA).

A planning application could be submitted by the end of 2003 with a possibleconstruction start date by the end of 2004. Preliminary designs indicate scheme costs tobe circa £150M depending on the final bridge design. A full Appendix E Major Schemesubmission will be included in Halton's July 2003 APR.

Progress on the New Mersey Crossing can now be monitored on a new web sitewww.merseycrossing.co.uk

Real time bus information bid – Merseyside and Halton

Merseytravel / Halton Borough Council were awarded £413, 230 by the Government, for theintroduction of real time passenger information at key bus stops and on the buses operating ona key bus corridor linking Liverpool City Centre to Widnes and Runcorn. The scheme will formpart of a Quality Bus Partnership Agreement with Halton Transport and Arriva North West.

The Mersey-Dee Alliance is a political, officer and commercial affiliation to addresseconomic regeneration across the area.

An in-depth examination of the transport problems has resulted in the production of adetailed “Transport to Employment” Map, monitoring of the cross-boundary supportedbus service, and the carrying out of an ICT audit. Over the coming year the group willinclude work on travel to work and training and access to health and leisure.