Land use planning decisions can affect the way we move around an area. Wrong decisions can cause congestion. It is equally true that transport planning decisions can effect how land can or cannot be developed.
The Council is currently working on ideas to bring together land use and transport planning in a far better way. Consideration is also being given to ways in which new development can be guided to areas that match their access requirements.
This approach could mean that sites that are well served by public transport should be reserved for uses that generate a lot of movement of people. Also, such uses should be steered away from areas that are poorly served by public transport.
Where public transport and facilities for cyclists and walkers are poor, developers could be asked to help improve the situation.
All the priorities for major road improvements set out in the existing Unitary Development Plan have, or are about to, become a reality, apart from the Western Orbital Link Road. The cancellation of the Western Orbital Motorway and the consequent abandoning of the Western Orbital Link Road means that the western part of the Borough will not now be linked directly to the national motorway network. Careful consideration now needs to be given to ways of improving access to the west of the Borough including by public transport and for freight movement.
Despite every effort by the Council, Midland Metro is still not in the Borough. However, the Council still believes that Metro can play an extremely important role in improving accessibility. The current Unitary Development Plan safeguards Metro Line 3 which will connect Wednesbury via Dudley, with Brierley Hill. The Council will continue to work hard to make this Metro route happen. Together with Centro, the Council also needs to consider whether it is possible to extend Metro to other parts of the Borough.
Although buses will always carry more passengers than trains, the rail line through Stourbridge and Lye to Birmingham does carry significant numbers of commuters into Birmingham. The park and ride facility at Stourbridge Junction Station is the largest in the conurbation. To the north of the Borough, Coseley Station also provides a facility for local commuters to ride into Birmingham. Integration of public transport types and facilities for cyclists and car users to park and then use public transport will also be considered by the Council.
As for all major towns in Great Britain, road haulage is the most important way of moving freight within the Borough despite the presence of many live and derelict rail lines in the area.
Ways of enhancing rail travel and the better integration of other forms of public transport must also be considered by the Council and Centro. Proposals to improve freight transport by rail, should also be included in the reviewed Unitary Development Plan.
In the past, planning for car transport has generally been the top priority. If people are to be tempted from their cars, priority must now be paid to improving the provision, reliability and speed of public transport,particularly buses and improving the safety, comfort and convenience of cyclists and walkers.
Such changes in priorities does not mean that road improvements are no longer required. Road improvement schemes will still be necessary to address safety and local congestion problems, but not least to improve facilities for pedestrians, cyclists and the reliability and speed of buses.
Neither does this shift in emphasis mean that the Dudley Southern Bypass and A4036 improvements at Quarry Bank/Merry Hill are wrong. Both these road schemes are vital in overcoming long-standing environmental problems caused by poor and undeveloped road systems. However, over the longer term it is clear that car based solutions will not solve the transport problem.
Midland Metro and modern and improved bus services such as 'Bus Showcase' are currently being developed across the West Midlands and clearly such improved services could play an important part in providing alternatives to the car.
Profound improvements in public transport must be a priority along with improving the safety, comfort and convenience for cyclists and walkers.
If services, jobs and leisure facilities are close to where people live, then the need for travelling long distances is reduced. What is more, it will become easier and more attractive to walk or cycle.
Do you agree with the Council's new approach to transport? Are there other priorities and initiatives that should be included in the new UDP?
These early documents relate to the preparation of the Dudley Unitary Development Plan and chart the stages and position of policy in the Plan at each stage of the review. They are intended for reference only and the content does not necessarily reflect the current state of play.
