Our approach to shaping the future of transport

Share Our approach to shaping the future of transport on Facebook Share Our approach to shaping the future of transport on Twitter Share Our approach to shaping the future of transport on Linkedin Email Our approach to shaping the future of transport link

Click here to return to the contents page.

Click here to return to the Let's talk about Transport consultation page.

Delivering the priorities set out here will not be achieved through policy alone.

The scale and urgency required to meet these targets will require the Council and its partners to adopt a new mindset, moving beyond the provision of transport for transport’s sake. This section sets out in brief some of the key elements we think make up this approach.

Let’s talk about…Transport.
We want to know what you think…


Targeted, data-informed action

West Cheshire is made up of a rich tapestry of communities and individuals, and we need to target our approach to best deliver against our priorities.

The action that we take must be targeted on the outcomes we want to achieve, informed by a robust and up-to-date understanding of our borough, and avoid one-size-fits-all solutions.

In practice, this could mean:

  • Targeting efforts and interventions to support those who want to travel differently by ensuring those who want to do so have the capability, opportunity and motivation to choose positive change
  • Higher transport investment within communities at a higher risk of transport-related social exclusion.
  • Achieving our priorities will require different approaches in different contexts. Transport needs and systems in Chester city centre will be very different than in the borough’s rural villages, and our approach needs to reflect this.

Adapting to a changing world and using transport to shape the future

Fundamentally, the Local Transport Plan will seek to improve the future of our borough. However, we know that the future is intrinsically uncertain.

The way we travel has always been shaped by new technology, inventions, new business models and social change and our borough will face demographic, social, economic and technological changes that will provide both challenges and opportunities. Moreover, transport itself is also a key factor shaping what the future looks like, with potential to generate positive and negative impacts for our communities.

Our approach will embrace this uncertainty, rather than relying on a ‘most likely’ view of the future. We will acknowledge the proactive impacts of transport intervention, rather than merely mitigating the negative impacts of past trends.

In practice, this could mean:

  • We will prioritise transport projects and initiatives based on whether they will help us to meet our adopted vision and priorities. Traditional transport measures such as reduced congestion and journey times are not goals in themselves.
  • We will learn from analysis of the impacts of past transport interventions, such as avoiding the trap of ‘induced demand’ where additional highway space provided to alleviate congestion only ends up increasing traffic levels in the long run.

Ensuring a real choice of travel modes

We will ensure that our transport system provides the freedom of a real choice of travel modes, supports a good quality of life, and contributes to making better places for people and nature.

Our borough already benefits from an extensive road network developed over the last century, connecting our communities, and providing vital access to jobs, services and opportunities. This is an asset, and we should make the best use of it. However, a historic focus on travel by car alone means this level of infrastructure provision is not matched across other modes. We have become an overwhelmingly car-dependent borough, beyond even national averages. The result is a transport network which constrains people, making it difficult to make genuine travel choices and leaving those without access to a car at high risk of transport-related social isolation.

To address this imbalance, we will give priority to interventions that support active travel and public transport over private motor vehicles. Where required, we will reallocate road space to facilitate this. In doing so, we will prioritise modes which make the greatest contribution to delivering against our five priorities and support the approach to road danger set out in the Highway Code Rule H1. This benefits everyone using our network; every extra person enabled to walk, cycle or take public transport for their journeys frees up limited road space for those who really need to drive.

In practice, this could mean:

  • Projects which benefit people using private motor vehicles will also need to demonstrate benefits for people using more sustainable modes of transport
  • New public transport or cycling infrastructure, and infrastructure to support uptake of electric vehicles, should not make it less safe or attractive to walk and wheel around our communities.
  • Following the principle set out in the Highway Code, road safety interventions should focus on reducing the danger posed by vehicles that can cause the greatest harm, without sacrificing the freedom and attractiveness of other travel options.

A behaviour change mindset

Our approach to the future of transport must recognise the critical role of individuals’ choices. While having the right infrastructure in place can make it easier, safer or more attractive to travel by non-car modes, we will ultimately only achieve our priorities if people make the choice to use this infrastructure.

It is no longer enough to expect everyone else to change their behaviour or to solely rely upon technology to solve the issues we face. This is made all the more important given the urgency of some of our priorities; change cannot wait for the funding, design and implementation of long-term major infrastructure programmes.

People’s travel choices, are driven by the capability, opportunity and motivation to change. Understanding these factors and using appropriate policy tools to give people a genuine choice of travel modes will be key to the success of our future strategy.

A behaviour change mindset also affects how we view localised issues faced on our networks.

In practice, this could mean:

  • Prioritising behaviour-led responses to network pressures instead of automatically reaching for solutions based on increased highways capacity for general traffic.
  • Recognition that responsibility for transport choices ultimately sits with the individual choices of people travelling around our borough – our role is in enabling a real choice.

Joint working with our communities

We recognise the impact that transport has in shaping our neighbourhoods, our communities and the way we live. We will involve the people affected by changes in policy development and the design of transport services.

This includes local residents, businesses, local interest groups and other key stakeholders. This is critical to our ambition to overcoming the barriers that make it hard for people to make the best transport choices which will lead us to the future borough we all want to see.

In practice, this could mean:

  • Engagement and consultation with local residents, businesses and stakeholders in the development and design of new transport projects and initiatives
  • Commissioning surveys and polling to provide a representative view of local opinions
  • Utilising established forums to gain insight from groups whose views are often underrepresented in transport planning and provision.
  • Our approach to supporting businesses and economic growth through transport investment is targeted at the specific issues our businesses face, rather than broader economic metrics.

Click here to return to the contents page.

Click here to return to the contents page.

Click here to return to the Let's talk about Transport consultation page.

Delivering the priorities set out here will not be achieved through policy alone.

The scale and urgency required to meet these targets will require the Council and its partners to adopt a new mindset, moving beyond the provision of transport for transport’s sake. This section sets out in brief some of the key elements we think make up this approach.

Let’s talk about…Transport.
We want to know what you think…


Targeted, data-informed action

West Cheshire is made up of a rich tapestry of communities and individuals, and we need to target our approach to best deliver against our priorities.

The action that we take must be targeted on the outcomes we want to achieve, informed by a robust and up-to-date understanding of our borough, and avoid one-size-fits-all solutions.

In practice, this could mean:

  • Targeting efforts and interventions to support those who want to travel differently by ensuring those who want to do so have the capability, opportunity and motivation to choose positive change
  • Higher transport investment within communities at a higher risk of transport-related social exclusion.
  • Achieving our priorities will require different approaches in different contexts. Transport needs and systems in Chester city centre will be very different than in the borough’s rural villages, and our approach needs to reflect this.

Adapting to a changing world and using transport to shape the future

Fundamentally, the Local Transport Plan will seek to improve the future of our borough. However, we know that the future is intrinsically uncertain.

The way we travel has always been shaped by new technology, inventions, new business models and social change and our borough will face demographic, social, economic and technological changes that will provide both challenges and opportunities. Moreover, transport itself is also a key factor shaping what the future looks like, with potential to generate positive and negative impacts for our communities.

Our approach will embrace this uncertainty, rather than relying on a ‘most likely’ view of the future. We will acknowledge the proactive impacts of transport intervention, rather than merely mitigating the negative impacts of past trends.

In practice, this could mean:

  • We will prioritise transport projects and initiatives based on whether they will help us to meet our adopted vision and priorities. Traditional transport measures such as reduced congestion and journey times are not goals in themselves.
  • We will learn from analysis of the impacts of past transport interventions, such as avoiding the trap of ‘induced demand’ where additional highway space provided to alleviate congestion only ends up increasing traffic levels in the long run.

Ensuring a real choice of travel modes

We will ensure that our transport system provides the freedom of a real choice of travel modes, supports a good quality of life, and contributes to making better places for people and nature.

Our borough already benefits from an extensive road network developed over the last century, connecting our communities, and providing vital access to jobs, services and opportunities. This is an asset, and we should make the best use of it. However, a historic focus on travel by car alone means this level of infrastructure provision is not matched across other modes. We have become an overwhelmingly car-dependent borough, beyond even national averages. The result is a transport network which constrains people, making it difficult to make genuine travel choices and leaving those without access to a car at high risk of transport-related social isolation.

To address this imbalance, we will give priority to interventions that support active travel and public transport over private motor vehicles. Where required, we will reallocate road space to facilitate this. In doing so, we will prioritise modes which make the greatest contribution to delivering against our five priorities and support the approach to road danger set out in the Highway Code Rule H1. This benefits everyone using our network; every extra person enabled to walk, cycle or take public transport for their journeys frees up limited road space for those who really need to drive.

In practice, this could mean:

  • Projects which benefit people using private motor vehicles will also need to demonstrate benefits for people using more sustainable modes of transport
  • New public transport or cycling infrastructure, and infrastructure to support uptake of electric vehicles, should not make it less safe or attractive to walk and wheel around our communities.
  • Following the principle set out in the Highway Code, road safety interventions should focus on reducing the danger posed by vehicles that can cause the greatest harm, without sacrificing the freedom and attractiveness of other travel options.

A behaviour change mindset

Our approach to the future of transport must recognise the critical role of individuals’ choices. While having the right infrastructure in place can make it easier, safer or more attractive to travel by non-car modes, we will ultimately only achieve our priorities if people make the choice to use this infrastructure.

It is no longer enough to expect everyone else to change their behaviour or to solely rely upon technology to solve the issues we face. This is made all the more important given the urgency of some of our priorities; change cannot wait for the funding, design and implementation of long-term major infrastructure programmes.

People’s travel choices, are driven by the capability, opportunity and motivation to change. Understanding these factors and using appropriate policy tools to give people a genuine choice of travel modes will be key to the success of our future strategy.

A behaviour change mindset also affects how we view localised issues faced on our networks.

In practice, this could mean:

  • Prioritising behaviour-led responses to network pressures instead of automatically reaching for solutions based on increased highways capacity for general traffic.
  • Recognition that responsibility for transport choices ultimately sits with the individual choices of people travelling around our borough – our role is in enabling a real choice.

Joint working with our communities

We recognise the impact that transport has in shaping our neighbourhoods, our communities and the way we live. We will involve the people affected by changes in policy development and the design of transport services.

This includes local residents, businesses, local interest groups and other key stakeholders. This is critical to our ambition to overcoming the barriers that make it hard for people to make the best transport choices which will lead us to the future borough we all want to see.

In practice, this could mean:

  • Engagement and consultation with local residents, businesses and stakeholders in the development and design of new transport projects and initiatives
  • Commissioning surveys and polling to provide a representative view of local opinions
  • Utilising established forums to gain insight from groups whose views are often underrepresented in transport planning and provision.
  • Our approach to supporting businesses and economic growth through transport investment is targeted at the specific issues our businesses face, rather than broader economic metrics.

Click here to return to the contents page.