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 29Capabilities on project:Transportation3.4.4 ParentsParticipants in the parents group sorted the policies into fourgroups under the headings: green; health; local businesses;and welfare.- Policies that were included in the ‘green’ group related toencouraging the use <strong>of</strong> sustainable transport and reducingcarbon emissions and air pollution.- The ‘health’ group included policies relating to tackling thenumbers <strong>of</strong> people in ill health, improving access tohealthcare and reducing obesity in the local population.- The ‘local businesses’ group included policies that referredto supporting existing businesses and the visitor economyas well as attracting inward investment.- Policies within the ‘welfare’ group included those thatrelated to increasing the labour pool and regeneration.The policies deemed to be most important in each group were:- Encourage the use <strong>of</strong> sustainable modes <strong>of</strong> transport(buses, walking, cycling etc) (Green)- Tackle the high numbers <strong>of</strong> people in ill health and/orclaiming incapacity benefits (Health)- Support existing businesses in maintaining their productivity(Local businesses)- Continue to reduce the risks <strong>of</strong> death or serious injuriesassociated with transport (Welfare)A full list <strong>of</strong> the policies by group can be seen in Table 3.4. Thegroup felt that they were unable to rank the different groups asthey could not prioritise between them. Parents felt that all <strong>of</strong>the policies, with the exception <strong>of</strong> those in the ‘green’ group,should be implemented within the next five years. This isbecause participants felt that they were bombarded withenvironmental advice and had grown tired <strong>of</strong> it.“I think the reason why, if I’m not speaking foreverybody shout up and tell me to shut up but I think thereason why we’re not so bothered about this green stuffwithin the next five years is because it’s been rammeddown our throats day in, day out, you shouldn’t bedriving a car that’s got a bigger than a 200 cc engine,because it burns a hole as soon as you open thethrottle, you should recycle, you should do this, youshould do that, you should do the other. You know itgets to a point where you’re sick and tired <strong>of</strong> it and it’sbeen doing it for that long and it obviously hasn’t madeany difference because that’s what the world does. Ifyou go through history it gets hotter, it gets colder, itgets hotter, it gets colder, there’s nothing to do withcarbon emissions.”The group felt that if there were improvements to alternativeforms <strong>of</strong> transport then people would be more likely to leavetheir car at home. In particular, the group felt that bus travelshould be made cheaper, especially for children.“You know when pensioners get free bus passes, I’vegot nothing against that but something seriously needsto be done and tell your bosses for children’s fares.”“Tell them then, kids should be free.”“Or at least half price.”A suggestion made by several participants was for a park andride.“If we’re expecting the, like reducing the pollution andreduce the noise in towns, which is what we’re talkingabout, then you’re automatically saying park and ride.There’s one way <strong>of</strong> reducing the pollution and the noiseis to remove the vehicles from the town, that’s the onlyway you can do it.”One <strong>of</strong> the policies felt to be <strong>of</strong> greatest importance wasaccess to health care facilities and parking.“But they’ve put the new hospital up and they haven’tgot the car park.”“You can’t get in, you can’t park.”“What they’ve done is they’ve utilised the space thatthey’ve got for the buildings that they need but thenhaven’t thought about oh, we’ve got another 900 beds,that’s another possibly 1800 car parking spaces that weneed.”“You can park your car but it’s going to cost you £60 tovisit the hospital, isn’t it?”One policy that the group did not agree with was the reduction<strong>of</strong> obesity in the local population.“Obesity, why should the council be involved, Whyshould any country or any political organisation beinvolved in reducing obesity. Anyone who’s gotcommon sense, can’t I say no to a cream cake.”