National Transport Planning day
14th November 2022
It’s National Transport Planning day on the 14th of November and ACTion with Communities in Cumbria is taking the opportunity to launch a report on the Sustainable Transport in the Lake District event we held recently.
80 participants joined us online, to hear four expert speakers propose possible scenarios for working towards sustainable transport.
The event tested the appetite for change amongst those who live, work and play in the Lake District. Lorrainne Smyth CEO of ACTion with Communities in Cumbria said
‘This is a challenging subject as it affects the way we live our lives and run our businesses so there are a wide range of different views. I felt many of those attending actively support change as soon, as fast and as far reaching as possible.
We were testing scenarios to inform further research. An integrated and enhanced public transport service with managed personal car use was favoured by this audience. Seasonal management options and improved public transport had support and very little support was evidenced for improved car parking as the way forward.
The reality seems to me that we will need all of these options against a future we can't quite envisage or identify how to fund and the real challenge of encouraging everybody onto sustainable public transport which we currently do not have.
We had four independent speakers who identified the need for strong leadership against an ambitious vision. Every decision on future transport services should be made to create continuous incremental change towards the vision. We need to be committed to action now if we are to meet our climate goals and provide a quality public transport service that people will appreciate and be able to afford. This won't happen unless we are courageous and focused.
We also need to consider changing our personal travel behaviours, but we are very aware that in some places in Cumbria this will be very hard until there is better sustainable transport infrastructure provision’
The event summary, full report and recording is available on the Transport page of the ACT website.
Further stages in the research will include on street surveys, focus groups and a You Gov poll in the new year.
The event is part of a piece of research work funded by the Lake District National Park Partnership, Friends of the Lake District and ACTion with Communities in Cumbria. The research stems from the Lake District National Park Management Plan Sustainable Transport Key Outcome Group Work Programme;
An example of activity being delivered through the Sustainable Travel and Transport Work Programme to make positive change includes work with partners trialling 3 shuttle buses to help relieve parking and traffic for the benefit of local residents and visitors in Wasdale, Cat Bells and Buttermere over the summer.
https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/getting-to-the-lake-district
Photo: By Mdw3 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75033543