DAILY POST

Transport ConferenceL I V E R P O O L

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Speakers addressclimate change

Creating a cycling cityL

IVERPOOL Primary CareTrust (PCT) and LiverpoolCity Council have signed aformal agreement atMerseyside Transport

Partnership (MTP)’s annualconference setting out theircommitment to increasing cyclinglevels in the city.

The alliance aims to improvequality of life and create a healthy,low-carbon city for the future. TheCity partners now hope that otherswill join the alliance so thatMerseyside councils and PCTs canwork with businesses, universitiesand cultural and sporting agencies tobring renewed commitment tocycling. Among the first to sign upwere delegates at the MerseysideTransport Conference, held at FACTyesterday.

The new agreement sets out togenerate a 10% increase in trips

made by bike before the end ofMarch, 2011, compared to journeys in2006. Working together, MTP (throughthe TravelWise programme),Liverpool PCT and Liverpool CityCouncil aim to secure support frommore than 100 organisations over theremainder of Year of theEnvironment and during the city’sYear of Health and Wellbeing 2010.

Gideon Ben-Tovim believes thatincreasing cycling rates has greatpotential to help improve the city’shealth and fitness levels. He said:“Liverpool’s rates of obesity arehigher than the UK average andrising car usage is a major factor inreducing physical activity. We believeour commitment to Liverpool CycleCity is a key element in helping toimprove our city’s health andwellbeing.

“Living an active lifestyle is one ofthe most effective ways to reduce

obesity and conditions such as heartdisease, stroke and diabetes. It’s clearthat, by encouraging more cycling,which can be one of the easiest formsof physical activity to incorporateinto our everyday lives, we can helppeople to stay fit and healthy.”

Cllr Peter Millea stressed thatcycling can help create a greener andhealthier city. He said: “Thisagreement enables us to pool ourresources, enabling investment towork on a number of levels, whichwill jointly benefit the city’s healthand wellbeing, help tackle congestionand help improve our environment.

“The City Council is alreadyinvesting in our cycling infra-structure and Liverpool PCT andMTP both work very hard to promotecycling. However, if we are seriousabout creating a true cycling culture,the sort that has brought hugebenefits to other European cities, we

really do need to work together. Andwhat better time to launch thisinitiative, as we celebrate the finalmonths of Year of the Environmentand look ahead to the Year of Healthand Wellbeing 2010?”

He added: “Reducing the number ofcar journeys is crucial to cuttingcongestion and making roads saferfor everyone. The region’s TravelWisecampaign is centred on persuadingpeople out of their cars in favour ofcycling, walking or catching the bus.

“Cycling is not only one of thehealthiest ways to travel, it is also thegreenest and one of the quickest andmost accessible modes of transportaround. Almost 70% of trips are lessthan 5km long; if more of these shorttrips were made by bike, I amconfident we would see healthierpeople and a more attractive city,with less congestion on our roads andimproved air quality.”

THIS year’s MerseysideTransport Conference alsofocused on how the newLiverpool City Region canmaximise transport planning todeliver a low carbon future forthe region.

As well as celebrating theMerseyside TransportPartnership’s (MTP) continuingachievements in delivering asafe and sustainable transportnetwork, discussion and debatecentred around how the regionneeds to adapt in response tomajor issues such as climatechange and diminishing oilresources, and how doing socan boost the economy andhealth of the area.

In recognition of LiverpoolCity Council’s Year of theEnvironment, the event waschaired by the council’sassistant executive director forenvironment, Jan Rowley. FionaWilford, of the Department forTransport, was the keynotespeaker – she talked about howthe Government intends to leada national strategy to reduce thecarbon impact of transport andhelp measures to addressclimate change. She alsoemphasised the critical role oftransport in securing strongeconomic growth and increasedemployment.

Professor John Whiteleggcontinued his theme from lastyear’s conference and set outhow successful modern citieshave managed to reconcilethese different demands.

Helping reduce Merseyside’scarbon impact will also benefitthe health of the region’scommunities, by promotingcycling and walking as efficientways of moving around. AndyHull, of Liverpool PCT, describedthe work his organisation isdoing to link transport andhealth issues. He was joined byJeremy Legget, chair of the UKIndustry Task Force on Peak Oil,who spoke on the problems weface if oil starts to run out, via avideo link.

Neil Scales, chair of MTP,updated delegates on progresson the Local Transport Plan(LTP) and discussed planningfor the future, including the startof planning for the newLiverpool City Region’s LocalTransport Plan – LTP3.

The conference also includedthe Merseyside TransportAwards ceremony.■ TO FIND out more about theconference and see copies ofthe speakers’ presentations, youcan visit www.transportmerseyside.org

Cllr Peter Millea and Gideon Ben-Tovim, chair of Liverpool PCT, sign the agreement to make Liverpool a cycling city

2 DAILY POST Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Merseyside shows it is heading in the right directionYESTERDAY’S Merseyside TransportConference also saw the launch of thelatest edition of Travel in Merseyside – anannual compendium of transport trendsand statistics across Merseyside.

Accompanying the ongoing work of theMerseyside Transport Partnership (MTP),the document pulls together informationfrom a variety of sources to provide keysummary information on transport use inMerseyside, together with some of thebackground factors which affect demandand usage.

The 2009 edition of Travel in Merseysideshows:■ IN 2008, average car ownership perperson in Merseyside was 0.41,representing considerable growth in recentyears, but still significantly below nationallevels;■ TRAFFIC levels in Liverpool city centreincreased from the baseline in 2000 to 2004.A decrease was then observed in 2005 and2006, which was followed by an increasefrom 2006 to 2007, but traffic levelsdecreased in 2008 and 2009;■ THERE has been an increase in buspatronage between 2007/08 and 2008/09 inMerseyside of 0.7%, which is the firstincrease since 2001/02. Overall, between2001/02 and 2008/09, bus patronage hasdecreased by 13%;■ LOCAL rail patronage has continued toincrease, up from 38.4m passenger trips in2007/08 to 39.1m passenger trips in2008/09. This represents an 18% increasebetween 2001/02 and 2008/09;■ TRAVEL to school data has shown thatthe majority of trips to school in Merseysideare by walking (46.3%), followed by car(30.4%) and public transport (18.4%);■ LIVERPOOL John Lennon Airport hadthe fourth highest passenger growth in theUK from 2002 to 2007. Since 2007, there hasbeen a decline in growth at many airportswithin the UK, including Liverpool JohnLennon Airport. From 2002 to 2008,Liverpool John Lennon Airport had the fifthhighest passenger growth in the UK;■ THE Port of Liverpool has maintained itsnational ranking between 2006 and 2007 forhandling oil and gas, container traffic andother freight. The Port of Liverpool’sranking decreased from second to third forhandling of goods vehicles/trailers duringthe same period.

Travel in Merseyside also sets the socio-economic background against which thesetrends are happening. According to thereport:■ MERSEYSIDE’S economic activepopulation decreased in 2008 for the firsttime since 1999;■ WEEKLY gross earnings for Merseysideand the North-West have consistently beenbelow that of the England average. Over thelast 10 years, the gap between Merseysideand England’s gross weekly earningsincreased year on year from 1998, andpeaked in 2003 at a figure of £70.20. Thegap recorded in 2008 was £61.30, anincrease of £2.30 on the 2007 figure;■ THE Gross Value Added (GVA) perperson for Merseyside has increased by62% from 1996 to 2005 (£8,150 to £13,165),although in comparison to the regional andnational average over the same period, itlags behind considerably;■ REVISED population estimates showMerseyside’s population has continued todecline.

Commenting on the latest edition ofTravel in Merseyside, Neil Scales, chair ofMTP, said: “With a majority of children inMerseyside now walking to school, andincreases in both bus and rail patronageover the past year, these figures areindicative of the fantastic work that istaking place to provide a well-connected,safe transport network for Merseyside.

“In pulling together transport trends andstatistics from across the region, thisdocument will be an invaluable resourceboth for those working in the industry andfor businesses in Merseyside as a whole.

“This intelligence will be particularlyuseful in the coming months as we startwork on a new Local Transport Plan for thecity region.”

AN INCREASE incycling across theregion, growingrail passengernumbers, road

safety improvements andcontinued investment in thetransport network are amongthe successes of the third yearof Merseyside’s LocalTransport Plan (LTP).

Merseyside TransportPartnership (MTP) presentedthis year’s Annual ProgressReport at its annualconference at FACT yesterday.

Consisting of Merseytraveland the five local authoritiesof Merseyside – Knowsley,Liverpool, Sefton, St Helensand Wirral – Merseyside’sfive-year LTP is the £230mdelivery programme oftransport investment andservice improvements for theregion.

Running until 2011, it aimsto give Merseyside a safe,sustainable, efficient andintegrated transport network,accessible to all.

This joint transportstrategy is key to theeconomic success, health andquality of the environment inMerseyside, and delegates atyesterday’s conference heardabout LTP’s key successes andprogress against annualtargets.

An excellent partnershipMTP has twice been awardedExcellent status, both fortransport planning anddelivery, and its achievementscontinued during 2008/09.

Among the past year’shighlights, MTP securedmoney from the EuropeanSocial Fund to continue thehighly successful Let’s GetMoving programme, whichhas helped more than 12,000people in disadvantagedcommunities overcometransport barriers to accessservices and greateropportunities.

This pioneering work onaccessibility planning meansthat, along with HaltonBorough Council, MTP has

enjoyed the year as a BeaconPartnership.

The £7.6m Olive MountChord rail scheme – whichrestored to use a quarter milestretch of rail track linkingthe Port of Liverpool to theWest Coast Main Line – wasopened. The scheme providesincreased rail capacity for railfreight to and from the Port,and is offsetting the growth inheavy goods vehicles on theregion’s roads.

Partners on this projectincluded MTP, Network Rail,Department for Transport,Northwest RegionalDevelopment Agency and theEuropean RegionalDevelopment Fund.

Two major improvementschemes – the Thornton toSwitch Island link, in Sefton,and the Bidston Moss Viaductmaintenance scheme inWirral – have also beenapproved by the Government.

Cycling numbers havestarted to increase, as a resultof investment in facilities andinitiatives such as theTravelWise programme, theSouthport Cycle Demon-stration Town project and thetraining of more than 30,000young people a year since 2006through the Bikeability cycletraining scheme.

Addressing challengesThe report did, however, notesome areas of concern.

Improving access to work bypublic transport has sufferedas peripheral bus services arereduced or withdrawn andfunding to subsidisereplacements is limited.

Access to schools bysustainable modes of trans-port has also seen a reverse,with car use increasingslightly.

There are encouraging signsthat bus patronage isbeginning to pick up in someareas, but Neil Scales, chair ofthe Merseyside TransportPartnership, remainscautious. He said: “The buspatronage figure for 2008/09 isup slightly on the previous

year, but it would bepremature to view this as atrend. Work betweenoperators, local authoritiesand Merseytravel within thenew Bus Board will be crucialif patronage is to be stabilisedor increased.”

The way aheadDelegates at yesterday’sconference also learnt moreabout plans for MTP’s work tosupport the Liverpool CityRegion (LCR).

Work on a new localtransport plan for the cityregion will begin shortly. Thenew joint LTP will cover thesix local authorities of Halton,Knowsley, Liverpool, StHelens, Sefton and Wirral andwill run from April, 2011.

Cllr Rob Polhill, chair of theMerseyside StrategicTransport Committee, said:“It’s important that we take afresh look at transport plansin all the areas to ensure theyremain focused on futureneeds, and that the proposalsare the right ones to meetcurrent circumstances.

“It’s also critical that thejoint local transport planmeets the requirements of theLiverpool City Region’sstrategic objectives – and theLocal Strategic Partnershipswill also have transportdemands.

“At the same time, we mustensure that regional andnational priorities are takeninto account while developingthe joint plan.”

Neil Scales concluded: “Onthe whole, our annual reportshows that we are makinggood progress in meeting ourgoals, which are designed toprovide access for all, managedemand and provide anefficient, sustainabletransport network.”■ TO LEARN more aboutMerseyside TransportPartnership’s work to meetthe region’s transport needs,or to receive a copy of theAnnual Progress Report,email info@transportmerseyside.org or visit www.transportmerseyside.org

More highlights■ MERSEYRAIL is again one of the bestperforming operators in the countrypatronage continues to grelectric network was the first in the countryto gain Secure Station stastations, and Merseyrail wPutting Passengers First Na■ SUBSTANTIAL investment bbus operators has resulted in a morand environmentally friendlserving the area.■ MTP’s partnership with Merseyside Pis continuing to bring down our most seriouscasualties in line with both the naLTP targets.■ OF THE £48m capital allocaDepartment for Transporschemes and maintenance wprojects have been completed on timeremaining funding has been carinto 2009/10.■ AN ADDITIONAL £37.6m of funding ftransport work has been wsources, such as the European RDevelopment Fund (ERDF), and decontributions.

Merseyside has one of the highest-rated local train services in the country

Facts and stats

DAILY POST Wednesday, October 14, 2009 3

Merseyside shows it is heading in the right direction

More highlightsain one of the best

tors in the country, androw. The Merseyrail

k was the first in the countrytion status for all its

, and Merseyrail won the prestigiousers First National Rail Award.

estment by a number ofesulted in a more moderny friendly bus fleet

tnership with Merseyside Policewn our most serious

casualties in line with both the national and

pital allocation from theransport (DfT) for minor

hemes and maintenance work, 97% ofe been completed on time, and the

emaining funding has been carried forward

AL £37.6m of funding fork has been won from other

opean Regionalelopment Fund (ERDF), and developer

More and more youngstersare getting on their bikes,with the largest childcycle training scheme inthe UK offering skillssessions to every Year 5and 6 pupil in Merseyside,above

Investment by operators has resulted in a more modern and environmentally-friendly bus fleet serving the area

THE new Liverpool City Region(LCR) must maximise transportplanning to deliver a low carbonfuture for the region, delegates atMerseyside Transport Partnership(MTP’s) annual conference heardyesterday.

Leading transport academicJohn Whitelegg, visiting Professorof Sustainable Transport atLiverpool John Moores University,continued his theme from lastyear’s conference in setting outthe links between successful cityregion economies, low carbonstrategies and the role ofsustainable transport insupporting a vibrant economy.

Professor Whitelegg tolddelegates that an integrated city-region structure – as well as astrong commitment to workingtowards a sustainable transportnetwork – is key if Liverpool is tocompete at a world level.

Comparing the LCR with thesuccessful city region economiesof Barcelona, Rotterdam andHamburg, Professor Whiteleggalso emphasised the importanceof SuperPort, stressing that portdevelopment strategies mustmatch the commitment to a lowcarbon economy shownelsewhere.

Throughout his report,Professor Whitelegg remainedpositive about the potential of theLCR, commenting: “There are noreasons at all why Liverpoolcannot achieve the level of GDP(gross domestic product) percapita of these three comparatorcities, or enjoy the multipleaccolades that Hamburg enjoys interms of low carbon, liveability,job creation and ‘green city’.

“All these objectives are wellwithin the reach of the LCR, butrequire a serious improvement incity region collective thinking andan increase in the powers andresponsibilities of city region levelgovernance.”

Transport planning key todriving region’s success

4 DAILY POST Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Honours for transport superstars

TravelWise Award FreightWise Award

TravelWise School Award

THE winners of theMerseyside TransportAwards were revealed atthe Merseyside TransportConference at FACT

yesterday.Now in their third year, the awards

celebrate the individuals, schoolsand businesses that are activelyencouraging people to use moresustainable methods of transport.

Jan Rowley, Liverpool CityCouncil’s assistant executive directorfor environment, presented prizes tothe winners of eight awardcategories – including theTravelWise Award for the bestsustainable transport initiative, theTravelWise Award for the best schooltravel plan, and the FreightWiseAward (see case studies below).

Neil Scales, chair of the

Merseyside Transport Partnership,said: “All of the entrants deservecongratulations – the quality of thisyear’s nominations was outstanding.

“By encouraging people to changetheir travel habits and consideroptions such as using publictransport, cycling or walking, theseindividuals and organisations aresupporting the vision of anintegrated transport network that isaccessible to all and that helps createa better environment for everyone.”

The awards and their winners arelisted below:

TravelWise Award 2009For the best sustainable transportinitiative. Promoting a sustainabletransport system in Merseyside byeffectively accommodating people’stravel needs and supporting theeconomy, while helping reduce

congestion and carbon emissions.Winner: Shop Direct Group(Aintree site)

TravelWise School Award 2009For the best school travel plan.Encouraging and supporting the useof alternative methods of transportthat positively impact on localisedcongestion, assist in road safety andalso help tackle health and obesityproblems.Winner: St Charles’s Roman CatholicPrimary School, Liverpool

TravelWise Organisation 2009For the best travel plan. Promotingreal alternatives to people who wouldnormally drive, by developing publictransport as the smart, convenientand eco-conscious way to travel.Winner: Merseyside Fire & RescueService

FreightWise Award 2009For the best freight initiative.Improving the impact of movinggoods in Merseyside.Winner: Mersey Maritime

BikeWise Award 2009For the best cycling initiative orachievement. Making cycling a moreappealing option – whether byproviding access to bikes, offeringsafe cycling training programmes,opening or improving cycle routes,or providing more cycle parkingspaces.Winner: NHS Wirral

WalkWise Award 2009For the best walking initiative orachievement. Promoting betteropportunities for people to walksuch as a safer environment, moreattractive and cleaner footpaths,

easier to access rights of way andmore traffic-free zones.Winner: Landlife/National WildflowerCentre, Knowsley

Going the Extra Mile Award 2009Awarded for outstanding customerservice by an operator. Rewardingthose bodies that went “beyond thecall of duty”.Winner: Arriva North West

TravelWise Development 2009For good transport design in a newbuilding/scheme. Supportingregeneration and strengthening thepublic transport infrastructure byhelping people to reach theirdestination easily, while making arange of transport options availableto them.Winner: Victoria Central HealthCentre, NHS Wirral

THE transfer of 250 stafffrom its Crosby to Aintreesite had the potential tocause huge parkingproblems for Shop DirectGroup.

But the home shoppingorganisation managed to cutdramatically the number ofvehicles arriving on site byintroducing a highlysuccessful car sharescheme.

An area of the car parkwas designated as car shareparking and the scheme alsooffered financial incentives,with a monthly prize draw forparticipants.

The initiative has been ahit with Shop Direct staff,with almost 120 employeeshaving signed up in the pastsix months – saving some290 car journeys a week, or13,000 a year.

Mark Newton-Jones, chiefexecutive at Shop DirectGroup, says that he believesthe popularity of the carshare scheme at its Aintree

site has been veryencouraging.

He said: “As the first UKretailer to join the UnitedNations Global Compact, wetake our responsibilities tothe environment veryseriously, and so we aredelighted to have won theTravelWise Award.”

He added: “Our car share

scheme has reduced thenumber of vehicles comingonto the site, improvedparking and encouragedemployees to think morecarefully about their travelchoices, as well as raisingawareness of the cost oftravel and the impact thatcongestion can have on airquality.”

ST CHARLES’S Roman Catholic PrimarySchool, in Liverpool, introduced its Walk onWednesdays (WoW) scheme back in October,2007.

The aim was to cut congestion around theschool gates by increasing the number ofchildren who walk to school on a regularbasis.

Each week, the class with the highestpercentage or most improved class ofwalkers is rewarded with a WoW trophy andmoney to spend on class outings.

The school also takes part in theTravelWise Walk to School initiatives – withmore than 70% of pupils walking to schoolon a Wednesday during this summer’s BIGWalk to School.

This year, the school has beenencouraging children to cycle to school aswell. It has invested in cycle storage facilitiesthrough its travel plan, and Year 5 and 6pupils have taken part in cycle training.

Head teacher Chris Davey said: “Pupilsand parents have really embraced WoW andare now embedding it into their weeklyroutine. The recently installed cycle storageis proving very popular, and more cycletraining is planned. We also use publictransport for school trips.

“We feel it is important to continue withthis successful scheme to encourage thechildren to walk to school, establish safepedestrian behaviour, promote a healthylifestyle and reduce child obesity.”

MERSEY Maritime is theprivate-public sectorpartnership that representsthe interests of the ports andlogistics sector inMerseyside, includingimprovements to themovement of freight acrossthe region.

Latest projects developedwith Mersey Maritimeassistance include thedevelopment of new trainingsimulators and a web-basedsystem to track themovement of cargocontainers – both of whichhave numerous benefits forthe industry, from improvingskills and customer serviceto increasing supply chainefficiencies and cutting theindustry’s carbon footprint.

Jim Teasdale, chiefexecutive of MerseyMaritime, explained howinnovative schemes likethese are helping the freightindustry and Merseyside asa whole.

He said: “These projects

are helping aid sustainableeconomic development,improving the efficiency andeffective use of the existingtransport network andenhancing the quality of lifefor those working inMerseyside. Quay Skills, oursimulator training package,

is already transforming theway port operatives aretrained and assessed, whileContainerPort, the web-based cargo-tracking systemdeveloped by the companyof the same name, is nowbeing expanded across theregion and farther afield.”

Left to right: Phillip Spick, Travel Plan managerat Shop Direct Group, with car shareparticipants Phil Searon, Dominic McGuiness,Paul Duffy and Jenny Vanspall Left to right: James Douglas, Jim Teasdale,

David Pendleton, Martha Francis and AnnetteParker, all of Mersey Maritime

St Charles’s pupils brave the rain to take part in the Walk on Wednesdays scheme