Assessing the local sustainable transport fund submissions in relation to disruption

Williams, David; Chatterton, Tim; Parkhurst, Graham

Abstract

The Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) is a £560m investment by the UK Government in local authority transport schemes in England (excluding London). The fund will be matched by local authorities’ own investments from their transport budgets, meaning a total spend of over £1bn. The schemes are a mix of capital and revenue projects designed to cure a panacea of societal issues, including: enabling economic growth, reducing carbon emissions, improving safety and increasing physical activity. This paper reviews LSTF bid documents to identify how and why bids were chosen for funding in relation to Government objectives and to identify the spread of funding across the country, comparing this funding to highway infrastructure funding for the same period. The paper undertakes a detailed review of the measures that will be implemented in the LSTF process to identify whether they go far enough in attempting to change travel practices and whether ‘disruptive’ transport measures have been included in any of the bids as a delivery tool. Previous research found that disruptive measures such as the closure of traffic routes had the effect of removing car trips from the network and altering the practices associated with travel. Network closures may become more common in future due to extreme weather events and growing funding gaps for repair and replacement of network assets, so it is important that local authorities understand how best to manage these closures, whilst promoting the benefits of sustainable travel options.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Universities' Transport Study Group (UTSG) 2013
• Start Date: Jan 2, 2013
• End Date: Jan 4, 2013
• Publication Date: Jan 2, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: disruption, social practice theory, LSTF, local government, transport planning
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/935764
• Publisher URL: http://www.utsg.net/web/
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Universities' Transport Study Group (UTSG) 2013