WORKSHEET T1: TRAVEL TO AND FROM THE LOCAL AREA
TASK: to assess patterns of travel to and from the local area by car and by public transport
1: Introduction to the task
Local transport authorities have a pivotal role to play in improving accessibility through:
*strategies, policies and programmes;
*schemes and initiatives specially designed to improve accessibility;
*influencing the authority's wider policy areas
influencing the decisions of external bodies on location and delivery of services
It will be useful to investigate the following when looking at transport issues relating to your town.
Rural Transport Partnerships (RTPOs): a large majority of RTPOs still in operation are funded mainly by Local Authorities.
Accessibility Planning (Department for Transport DfT):
Accessibility planning promotes social inclusion by helping people from disadvantaged groups or areas access jobs and essential services. It encourages local authorities and other agencies to systematically assess whether people can get to places of work, healthcare facilities, education, food shops and other important destinations. It also provides the framework for transport authorities and other agencies to work together to develop and deliver solutions to accessibility problems that address the needs and priorities of local areas. Solutions might include changes to the location, design and delivery of non-transport services, measures against crime and the fear of crime in and around transport, changes to pupil, patient, social services and public transport and improvements to walking and cycling networks. Engagement with this process can help towns to connect with points of funding and expertise, as well as influence Local Authority priorities in their areas. [http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_control/documents/contentservertemplate/dft_index.hcst?n=8588&l=2]
Local Transport Plans (LTPs):
The LTP system is built round 5-year integrated transport strategies, devised at local level in partnership with the community. Local transport authorities in England, (outside London), are due to submit Local Transport Plans for 2006/7 to 2010/11 to the Department of Transport in July 2005. More information on LTPs is provided in the introduction to Worksheet T2: Ease of access to services. The purposes of LTPs are to:
*promote good transport planning
*provide a basis for tracking performance locally
*inform the allocation of LTP capital funding
If there is not enough information available to answer the questions it may be necessary to carry out surveys to collect all the relevant information:
*Travel times by train and bus and frequencies can be obtained from timetables or directly from the service operators
*Travel times by car can be surveyed by undertaking the journey
*Distances can be derived from mapping or as part of the journey time survey
*Location of train and bus station and stops can be obtained by local survey
2: Getting the following information will help provide insights into how to might be possible to influence the way people travel to and from the area.
T1 Q1
What is the distance and travel time from the town to:
1. The network of dual carriageway roads
2. The least and most accessible villages
(Worksheets EC1 Q2; EC4 Q14,17; EC7 Q7 also refer to travel)
Starting points for information
Sub-section 1: Travel by Car
The Local Transport Plan
Local maps
Q1 DRAFT ANSWER: (a) Dual carriageway, part of the A30, forms part of the southern boundary of the civil parish of Yateley. Of more significance is access to the M3 at junction 4A. Access cam be achieved in 5 to 10 minutes depending on which part of Yateley is the starting point. Access to the M3 can take considerably longer at rush hour, with queues of up to 15 minutes at the Vigo Lane/Cricket Hill junction. Once on the M3 commuters are likely to joint stationary traffic. In the evenings there are long home-coming queues on the Minley Road well east of Minley Manor.
Q1(b) must be answered in terms of the definition of Yateley's hinterland. Persons accessing Yateley's services by car from Eversley or Frogmore/Darby Green can do so in 5 to 10 minutes outside rush hour.
Q1 NOTES: Q1 NOTES: How long does it take for each of Yateley Manor School buses from each of its starting points in the morning and afternoon. Are there similar school buses serving Yateley School and the Frogmore Campus?
T1 Q2
What is the distance and average travel time by car to the nearest neighbouring large town, from:
1. The town itself
2. The most accessible village within the surrounding countryside
3. The least accessible village within the surrounding countryside
Starting points for information
Travel time surveys
Local transport partnership
Q2 DRAFT ANSWER: The nearest large town is Camberley (~4 miles). Leaving west Yateley at 9 am it usually takes 30 minutes to reach Camberley using the A30 dual carriageway. Journey times will differ markedly depending on time of day.
Q2 NOTES: It would be useful to obtain travel diaries from, say, 100 people who make regular journeys to and from different points at different times of day
T1 Q3
IMPROVEMENTS:
1. What improvements are planned for the local/regional highway network in your Area?
2. What are the proposed timescales?
(Worksheets EN1 Q9; EC7 Q7,16 S7 Q2 also refer to transport access. Worksheets EN1 Q7,14, EC6 Q 1,8,9; S2; S5 Q10 also refer to development)
Starting points for information
District Council and County Council (Local Transport Plan and the Regional Transport Strategy)
Q3 DRAFT ANSWER: There are no major planned improvements to the highway network in and around Yateley. Yateley was provided with access to the M3 at junction 4A in the 1980s. This is a mixed blessing: it provides quicker access to the motorway eastbound than having to negotiate the Meadows roundabout, or westbound driving on the A30 to Hook interchange; but Yateley roads such as Cricket Hill, Monteagle Lane/Vigo Lane are thought to be much used by through traffic accessing the M3 from elsewhere, contrubuting to increased congestion in Yateley.
Sub-section 2: Travel by public transport
T1 Q4
PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
1. Which of these are in the town centre?
1.1 The main bus station
1.2 The main concentration of bus termini
1.3 The railway station
2. If not in the centre of town, how long does it take to get to the town centre from these places?
3. How far apart are the train station and the bus termini?
4. With which train services do the buses connect, and what are the waiting times?
Find out if there are any planned improvements which would help this interchange.
(Worksheets EN1 Q9; EC7 Q7,15; S3 Q1,4 also refer to public transport)
Starting points for information
Local Transport Plan
Undertaking a Survey
Local maps
Coach and train timetables
Local Transport Plan
Q4 DRAFT ANSWER: Yateley has no bus station, bus terminus or train station. The commercial bus service is considered by residents to be very poor. The nearest main-line station is at Fleet. There has been no bus service to Fleet in recent years, but a new service to Fleet Station has now commenced and also calls at Fleet Hospital. Taxis cost about £10. to Fleet Station. Walking and cycling is not an option likely to be used by car owners.
T1 Q5
1. How far is it and how long does it take to get from the train station to the town centre by:
1.1 foot
1.2 bicycle
1.3 taxi
1.4 bus
2. Is the walking/cycling route attractive and safe?
(Worksheets EN1 Q10; EN3 Q7; EC7 Q13,14 also refer to pedestrian access. Worksheets EN1 Q9; EC7 Q7,16; S7 Q2 refer to transport access)
Starting points for information
Local maps
Local knowledge
Local survey
Q5 DRAFT ANSWER: Since there is not a train station in Yateley this question is not really applicable. However in the 19th century the still existing Blackwater station was within the parish boundary. This station is served by the Reading to Guildford line. Distance by car is about 3 miles from west Yateley and within walking distance of the extreme east of Frogmore and Darby Green Ward. The station at Sandhurst is also on the same line, and is within a very long walk from the town centre along unsafe roads with no paths. There is no parking for cars at Sandhurst. Neither Blackwater not Sandhurst stations serve London. Yateley commuters travel to London via Fleet or Farnborough stations on the Southampton to Waterloo line. Travel time to London is about 50 minutes. The preferred way to access these stations is by private car, but parking lots tend to be full after peak hour travel.
T1 Q6
RAIL SERVICES:
1. What is the frequency of rail services?
1. Are times convenient for people using the trains to get to work?
2. Are there closed railway lines?
3. Are there plans to re-open any closed railway lines?
Look at the frequency of services to neighbouring market towns with a rail station and to the closest large town or city. Are there neighbouring towns or cities without a rail connection?
(Worksheets EC1 Q2; EC4 Q14,17; EC7 Q7 also refer to travel)
Starting points for information
Rail operators (National Rail has a website)
Q6 DRAFT ANSWER: Rail services on the main line to Waterloo generally run at half hourly intervals, but more frequently at rush hour. Times are convenient for London/Basingstoke/Southampton commuters. There are no closed railway lines.
T1 Q7
COACH SERVICES:
What is the number of national coach services per day?
What are their destinations and departure points?
Starting points for information
National coach operators
Q7 DRAFT ANSWER: There are now no national coach services serving Yateley. The London Link Green Line Service has been stopped in 2005.
T1 Q8
What is the frequency of service and travel time from the town and from villages in the surrounding countryside to the nearest large town or city by:
1. bus
2. coach
3. train
Look at whether there are connecting local bus services from the villages. If there are waiting times between changing services include these within the overall journey times
Note where it is not possible to make this journey by public transport at all.
Starting points for information
Rail, coach and bus operators
Q8 DRAFT ANSWER: There are no public bus, coach or train services from Yateley to the surrounding countryside. Pre-WW2 there were good services. Yateley people are now almost entirely dependent on their cars and privately run services provided by schools and charitable groups such as Yelabus, and socially supported services such as the Call & Go buses. There are public bus services which do run link Yateley to Camberley and a new service to Fleet, which are also socially supported.
see timetable
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