Written evidence submitted by Cornwall Council (ATR0041)

Please find below Cornwall Council’s submission regarding the Active Travel Inquiry. The response is divided by sections to link to the different questions of the inquiry. Please do not hesitate to contact Cornwall Council Transport if you have any additional query.

Cornwall Council Transport service view on current active travel policies is that current mix of initiatives to support active travel is not appropriate.  Safety is a priority concern as the setting of Cornwall is mainly rural. The current network of roads, and prominently the extensive network of minor rural roads, is poorly fit for cycling activities. Safety concerns deter cycling in many places and Cornwall Council, in partnership with Sustrans, is trying to address these issues where and as possible by designing new infrastructure or redesigning existing infrastructure to promote active travel. 

Benefits and risk of active travel and walking and cycling factors

Cornwall Council Transport service has identified from experience that the benefits of active travel modes are not always clearly understood by all stakeholders and local decision makers. Cycling, in particular in a rural setting, is not perceived as a desirable modal choice by part of the public.

Nevertheless, many local authorities have understood the need for less room for car travel and more room for active travel in public space. Road congestion is the main concern but there is also an important focus on health concerns. The cost of lack of physical activity is overwhelming and weighs heavily on local councils’ and NHS finances.

Cornwall Council and Sustrans are targeting large employers, schools, colleges and universities, the police or hospitals to encourage more modal shift. This public is often more receptive as such institutions generate a great load on the transport networks and suffer from congestion and lack of parking.

Recent trends

Cornwall is currently seeing 50 to 40,000 new homes built through its new plan. The dispersed pattern of the Cornish urban realm makes it a significant challenge for the council to create a sustainable network of active travel infrastructure across the Duchy. This evolution is likely to increase car usage for commuting and other usual trips. Since the end of the 2008 financial crisis, Cornish statistics show a rapid increase in car traffic. Travel to work statistics (2011 census) have seen an increase from 58 to 60% of the number of people commuting to work by car since 2001, with only 9.8% of people using active modes on their way to work.

Despite this, other recent trends show a new interest for cycling and active modes as healthy alternatives to car commuting and idle lifestyles. Cycling trails such as the Camel Trail (400,000 users in 2015) have seen a successful patronage since the early 2010 and new similar leisure and touristic trails are planned in the short term.

Local governments and central government policies regarding active travel

Cornwall Council is closely working with Sustrans for the delivery of new cycling and walking facilities and has identified a network of cycling routes to complete the national cycling network and deliver Cross Cornwall active travel links. Town Wide Cycling Networks (TWCNs) are being developed in all Cornish towns to promote a modal shift in dense urban areas and our Walking and Cycling (LCWIP) strategy is currently under development. The Council is working with HE to deliver a substantial network of infrastructure improvement projects as part of the Cornish TWCNs.

Additionally, Sustrans and the Council have implemented a strategy to reserve quite lanes in Cornwall for walking and cycling and moving traffic on other roads. Cornwall will benefit from 60 days technical support as part of the LCWIP, but the Council is struggling to find funding to deliver many projected trails because of a lack of government funding and available funds to bid to.

The recent pause announced by DfT regarding shared space delivery has been a concern regarding the government support of active modes infrastructure.

Active travel and safety

Cornwall Council recently funded two Sustrans campaigns called “Bike it” and “Bikeability”. So far the approach of local stakeholders has been rather reactive regarding cycling safety. There is a clear need for a follow-up in terms of road safety campaigns.

Recent research reports show a worrying trend of car and van drivers using the Waze and Google Maps apps. Drivers use these apps to avoid congestion and tend to redirect traffic from busier roads to rat runs and side-streets at the expense of pedestrians, children and cyclists. Because of the lack of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure on rural roads and the higher road speed limits, there is a greater risk for collisions and severe injuries.

Lessons from international approaches

Cornwall is currently co-operating with Finistere County Council (Brittany, France) to share experience in touristic and local cycling trail design, taking advantage of their successful track record in delivering such schemes. Examples of trails and highway design from all across Europe are used to inform and refine our plans and strategies to deliver more active travel friendly places.

Poorly maintained roads and planning issues

Road maintenance is currently not a concern for Cornwall Council nor Sustrans in Cornwall regarding active modes. The Council has achieved a relatively good level of road maintenance compared to the rest of the UK and the focus is currently more on the development of new walking and cycling facilities to ensure continuity between the different parts of the network in a rural setting. The main concern is the lack of funding to implement the active travel strategy and focus of the CWIS funding on major towns only, which impedes rural councils to implement a suitable active mode development plan.

October 2018