S16 Access and Movement

S16 Access and Movement

The Council will improve accessibility for all the Borough’s residents, encourage the safe and sustainable movement of goods and require an integrated approach to land use planning and transport when considering proposals for development. This will be achieved through:

minimising the need to travel;
focusing high movement generating uses in locations that benefit from good public transport;
improving accessibility to everyday facilities for all, especially those people who do not travel by car and for people with mobility impairments;
facilitating public transport improvements to serve the Borough’s town centres and major employment areas including bus services and routes, the provision of the Midland Metro serving Dudley and Brierley Hill and the enhancement of the passenger rail services in the Borough;
the enhancement of facilities for cyclists, pedestrians and people with reduced mobility;
assessing and addressing the full traffic effects of development both in the immediate locality of development proposals and within the wider movement corridors; taking into account the Local Transport Plan.
ensuring that the needs of industry and the movement of freight are fully addressed both locally and Borough-wide (movement of freight by rail will be particularly encouraged);
devising and implementing local safety schemes to reduce the harmful effects of traffic particularly in residential areas and town centres;
ensuring appropriate car parking management and provision through the use of car parking standards;
improving the interchange between modes of transport to help co-ordinate trips; and
identifying locations for sustainable park and ride schemes.

1.77 Car travel is by far the most dominant mode of personal transport, but it is no longer sensible to plan long term based solely on the car. The detrimental effect of motorised transport in terms of global warming, pollution, social exclusion and safety are well known. Even if these effects could be mitigated it is not possible to build enough roads in an urban borough to meet the continuing growth in car journeys. It is therefore imperative that a new approach to planning for accessibility and movement is instigated.

1.78 The Council believe that the way forward is to co-ordinate land use and transport in a better way to minimise the need to travel and promoting alternative means of transport to the car. It is recognised, that in certain sensitive areas, there will be a need to prioritise transport by bus, train, metro, cycling and walking over the car if improvements in accessibility are going to be achieved over the longer term. It is also necessary to co-ordinate the different modes of travel more effectively through improved interchange between transport systems.

1.79 Land use planning has an important role in increasing accessibility, particularly by ensuring that people are not forced to travel long distances for work. Furthermore, the Council considers that land uses that generate a large amount of movement such as high density office development and most leisure uses, should be located in places that have good access to public transport. The development of a corridor approach will facilitate the development of solutions to transport/traffic problems caused by new development, in such a way that good accessibility can be maintained.

1.80 Land use planning on its own is not the panacea to maintaining and increasing accessibility. Real improvements in more sustainable modes of transport will be needed, particularly public transport. Conversely, the movement of cars needs to be restrained particularly in sensitive locations such as town centres and residential areas.

1.81 The policies and proposals contained in the UDP have been developed to respect fully the needs of industry to move freight around and through the Borough but also to safeguard rail freight facilities and to encourage their greater use.

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