City of Stoke-on-Trent Local Transport Plan 3 Focus Groups

AECOM <strong>City</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent Local Transport Plan 3 19Capabilities on project:Transportation3.3 LTP3 GoalsParticipants were given some information about the three goalsthat the <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent LTP3 aims to achieve and asked howwell these goals addressed the issues that they had justspoken about. The goals are as follows:- Economy – improving the local economy through increasingproductivity for existing businesses and encouraging newinvestment by making the area more attractive.- Health – caring for local health through improving access totransport, transport safety and encouraging walking andcycling- Environment – improving the local environment throughreducing the impact <strong>of</strong> traffic (air and noise pollution) andmoving towards more sustainable transport technology andmodes, coupled with improving the appearance <strong>of</strong> localareas.Some groups felt that the LTP3 goals addressed the issues <strong>of</strong>the area whilst others felt that they were too vague and found ithard to see how transport would contribute towards the goals.The health goal was well received but many felt it would bedifficult to achieve as current initiatives to encouragesustainable travel were perceived as ineffective and thealternatives to the car are not attractive. Current cycle laneprovision was felt to be disjointed, dangerous (due to volume <strong>of</strong>traffic) and respondents had concerns about parked cars. Itwas deemed important to protect the local economy but somerespondents felt that planners currently allow businessescoming into the area to focus on car users giving littleconsideration to pedestrians. It was suggested that the enduser <strong>of</strong> bus and cycle schemes be more involved at the designstage. Comments by group now follow.It was suggested that <strong>of</strong>f-road tracks and facilities such asparking may encourage more people to use the tracks.“Well, as far as the cycling goes it’s a joke, the onlyplace they put cycle tracks is on decent roads whereyou don’t need them anyway and they only go for about200 yards and then stop.”“We’ve been told we’ve got to do so many miles <strong>of</strong>cycle track, we’ll put one here because it’s easy to do it,not where you necessarily need it.”“They could perhaps do some cycle tracks in someparks or something or somewhere.”“Yes, <strong>of</strong>f the road altogether, it’s like a Governmentinitiative, you’ve got to put a cycle track somewhere,whether it works or not, isn’t it?”“It’s all well and good trying to encourage people to usea bike but where are they going to park it safely.”In terms <strong>of</strong> the economy, older people felt that the localeconomy needed to be protected. It was felt that the largersupermarkets were damaging to local businesses.“The big supermarkets want closing down, get the littleshops back.”“Yes, they definitely want something doing, I thinkHanley’s destroyed it a lot, the businesses are allclosing.”“Or put some shops in that are totally different than thesupermarkets, they sell totally different things, the littleboutiques and things again, you know.”3.3.1 Young PeopleParticipants in the young people group felt that the goals weregeneric and ‘the same goals as in every other council’.3.3.2 Older PeopleIn general participants in the older people / disability groupthought that the goals addressed the issues they had justspoken about. Participants felt that cycling (falling under thehealth goal) was very important. It was felt that at the moment,however, that provision for cyclists was poor. Cycle trackswere seen to be disjointed and not where people needed them.3.3.3 WomenParticipants in the women group felt that some <strong>of</strong> the goalswere slightly vague and unspecific. Participants were alsounsure as to how some <strong>of</strong> the goals related to transportationand did not know how successful they would be.“It sounds like it’s a kind <strong>of</strong> umbrella <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Stoke</strong> [-on-Trent] <strong>City</strong> Council aims and objectives, rather than likespecifically transport, really, doesn’t it?”“The first one didn't seem particularly relevant at all totransport to me but I don’t know whether I didn't hear itquite right.”