To : Maidstone Joint Transportation Board
By : Tim Read – KCC Head of Transportation
Date : 21st January 2015
Subject : Transport Strategy Progress
Classification: For Information and Discussion
Summary : A Report on progress towards a transport strategy to support the Local Plan following the Transport Workshop held in December
1.Introduction
1.1 A further Transport Workshop was held on the 15th December 2014. A set of notes from this meeting will be circulated to Members on a confidential basis
2.Actions from Workshop
2.1 The main action that emerged from the Workshop was the need to commission Amey to carry out further transport model tests to evolve the most effective package of measures to deal with the development aspirations of the Local Plan
2.2 The presentation made by Amey at the Workshop indicated that the road network would come under increasing pressure from substantial additional demand for journeys as development proceeded into the future. By the end of the Local Plan period, the results were showing an increased demand for travel of 17-18% in both peak hours, and even with a full package of capacity improvement schemes, the projected increase in total journey time across the network was a 25% increase in the morning peak (8 – 9 a.m.) and a 34% increase in the evening (5 – 6 p.m.).
2.3 This indicates that, not only will congestion increase on the main roads, more traffic will use alternative routes on the minor road network. Overall, this would greatly reduce the resilience of the network. This means that any incident (breakdown, roadworks etc.) would have a greater impact on congestion, as there would be little or no spare capacity on any alternative routes around the town.
2.4 The next step will be two new model runs. The first will be the current Local Plan development expectations, supported by the package of capacity improvements – which will include all the sustainable transport improvements advised by MBC, but without the Leeds Langley Bypass. The second will be a run specified by KCC, which would assess its own suggested alternative development scenario and transport improvements.
3.Next Steps
3.1 The results of the first (MBC) test should be available in early February, following which it would seem appropriate to hold a further informal Workshop, so that Members have the opportunity to discuss the outcome.
3.2 In addition to the modelling work, MBC is expecting to report an update to their draft Local Plan to Cabinet, and will be preparing to launch a second Regulation 18 Public Consultation on potential additional development sites at the end of February.
Contact Officers:
KCC : Tim Read, Peter Rosevear – 03000 418181