Movement of goods and people is the key to North Wiltshire’s vitality. However, transport needs to be balanced against impact of theirs on the environment of District’s countryside, villages, and towns. Proper planning by the way of shaping the scale, pattern, and location is likely to influence choices of transport in prolonged ways.
The Government has chalked out a plan to achieve an efficient transport system. It includes promoting sustainable choices of transport for both-moving freight and people, promoting shopping, jobs, leisure facilities combined with public transport services, cycling, and walking, and reducing the need of traveling by car, in particular.
Minimizing the need of traveling
As per the development plan, the transport should be designed in such a way that the common man should travel the least by his private vehicle and resort to walking, public transport, and cycling instead. The plan includes reduction of parking according to parking standards.
Transport assessment and travel plans
The existing transport system is to be assessed in order to define the impact of development on transport network. Travel plans are in process of getting executed. The government has many proposals in the pipeline. Out of those, the one providing maximum benefits and having no unfavorable impact would be granted the planning rights. These issues need to be thoroughly gone through because everyone right from a cyclist to the private car owner comes into picture here. The developers who intend in improving the junction and highway capacity would be thrown the door.
Every travel plan would be given weightage as per its merits and demerits. Car sharing would be the main issue over here. The other points on the agenda are reducing traffic speeds, personal security, improving road safety, and including more environment friendly transport and delivery movements.
Plans would be inclusive of targets, keeping a close watch on programmes, and where missing the targets would be acceptable. It should be noted that all the developments would be carried out keeping the point of minimal use of car into mind.
Parking
Applications are being invited for planning proposals regarding the providence of disabled parking, levels of cycle and car corresponding to Highway Authority’s Countrywide Standards. The availability of spaces for parking in novel developments greatly influences the choice of ‘mode of transport’ of people. If the space is extra, he person might develop the greed to buy a car, which would lead to congestion. By providing the spaces limited to cycles, use of car can thus be reduced. The developers are suggested to refer to the Countywide standards while allotting spaces for parking. In metropolitan cities, these standards are laid down by the Highway Authority. It might happen that developers might allot lesser spaces. This would increase the ‘on street parking’ and problems associated with it. In such cases, funding the enforcement and implication of measures of traffic management and ‘street parking controls’ would be expected from them. One of the points which need to be considered while designing an efficient traffic system is formation of cycle lanes, stop lines, and signals for cycle activation.
