Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member for Planning and a Sustainable Camden

Transport plays an integral part in the lives and well-being of Camden residents and those who visit, work and study in the borough. Creating healthier, greener, safer streets and travel helps improve public health and the environment, and supports local businesses and a strong, sustainable and inclusive economy. Although significant challenges remain, we have made extensive progress in delivering safer, healthier streets and travel in Camden since the Camden Transport Strategy (CTS) was adopted in 2019. Camden is currently ranked 4th amongst all London Boroughs by the independent “Healthy Streets Scorecard” assessment.

This report updates Cabinet on where we are now in delivering the current Camden transport strategy including healthier, safer streets and transport across Camden, and uses that information, alongside prioritisation methodologies, stakeholder feedback and other considerations such as funding to propose the next CTS Delivery Plan for 2025/26 to 2027/28. It also seeks approval for proposals for TfL “Local Implementation Plan” (LIP) funding bid submissions, and for further Council Capital “Healthy Streets” funding to support the 3-year plan. In the new 3-year plan we have recommended 3 new “spotlight” areas: buses, car clubs and motorcycle safety, alongside an EQIA on the new Delivery Plan.

In line with previously approved transport strategy processes, each individual project within the proposed 3-year Delivery Plan is subject to scheme-by-scheme consultation and decision-making processes, equality considerations and funding availability. We will also consider how relevant projects within the programme contribute to our three overarching themes of public health, environment, and local economy.

Consideration was given to the deputation statements referred to in Item 4 above.

The following responses were given by the deputees to members questions:

• With regards to the Holborn intersection, Camden Cycling Campaign commended the Council for making permanent a number of cycle ways, particularly the transformational changes to the Holborn Gyratory where sadly there had been some accidents resulting in deaths to cyclists.
• Camden Cycling Campaign were pleased with the changes made to Clerkenwell Road and in responding to the consultation had made some suggested improvements to the plan.
• With regards to Kings Cross, TfL had not finished the work on the cycle lanes on York Way and not provided the plans to show how the cycle lanes would safely and conveniently cross the busy Euston Road and Kings Cross.
• Camden Cycle Campaign were happy to work with the Council in engaging with TfL on their plans for the borough.
• With regards to the 603 buses, it arrived half an hour before school closed, the only way school children could use the bus was if school closed early. Alternatives were the 210 and 268 buses which were dangerous options for the children because it involved crossing Whitestone Pond which was a very busy road. An option was to have crossing guards on a section of the road but that would not solve the problem.
• There was the need to have a bus going up the road from South Hampstead all through Hampstead and to tweak the existing bus schedule due to it getting dark quite early in the evening by 4.30pm and 7am in the morning.
• Even the Police agreed that the area was open woodland and dangerous particularly when dark for children getting off buses at that time in the area.
• TfL had not provided any response to the issues raised and it would be helpful if the Council could assist in raising these issues.

Richard Bradbury, (Director of Environment and Sustainability), Sam Margolis (Head of Transport Strategy and Projects) and the Cabinet Member for Planning and a Sustainable Camden made the following comments in response to the deputations and members questions:

• Camden Cycling Campaign were thanked for their broad support of the Council’s three-year Delivery and Local Implementation Plan and engagement responses in the development of the plan, recognition of the targets, specific schemes and policies proposed.
• Officers noted Camden Cyclists disappointment with the lack of progress in developing a workplace parking levy, however provided reassurance that work was ongoing and the initial feasibility was almost complete and being considered ahead of next steps.
• The Council was pleased to see the growth to just under 7% of resident trips in the borough now being made by bike and further measures were proposed to reach the Council’s longer-term goal of 10% of residents’ trips by bike by 2030 and 15% by 2041.
• Officers also wished Jean Dollymore (Camden Cyclist) a very happy 90^th birthday which she had celebrated in October. The Committee was informed that she had been a stalwart of Camden Cyclists for decades and continued to champion the cause of all active travel including holding the Council to account when she felt something was not quite right.
• Officers informed the Committee that buses played an important role in achieving the vision of the Camden Transport Strategy to transform transport and mobility in Camden and to enable and encourage people to travel sustainably.
• The Transport Strategy contained several bus related policies and measures including Policy 3G which was to lobby TfL to ensure that they maintained a bus service that provided a good level of frequency and accessibility to Camden residents.
• The role of buses was recognised as the most accessible part of the public transport system, the transport strategy also noted the importance of providing more orbital buses in the borough and improving the frequency and general operation of the 603-bus service would contribute to the Council’s goals of encouraging safer and more sustainable school journeys and reducing car dependency which had been a huge priority for Camden.
• Supporting sustainable school journeys had been a huge priority for Camden demonstrated by the Council’s ambitious roll out of the healthy school streets programme across the borough as well as partnering with schools to promote the adoption of walking, cycling and public transport for school journeys.
• The Transport Strategy Delivery Plan outlined measures to lobby TfL for the review, expansion and improvement of the 603 bus route, Appendix C of the plan recognised that extending the timings and frequency of the bus route 603 had been a long standing public demand and included next steps to lobby TfL to review the feasibility of expanding and amending existing routes such as the 603 bus route.
• Appendix B of the Delivery Plan noted that the Council would bid for the TfL Better Bus Partnership Funding, which would fund three boroughs up to £10m each for bus network improvements for the next 3 years. The measures in the Camden bid would include such things as using the funding to work with TfL to enhance the hours of operation of the 603-bus service linking Swiss Cottage with Muswell Hill providing an important orbital east-west link in the north of the borough.
• Officers supported the deputation to expand the 603-bus service and would seek to deliver its requests. All the suggestions would form part of the Council’s ongoing lobbying of TfL for amendments and included exploring the feasibility of regular buses from Muswell Hill to Swiss Cottage, exploring the option of earlier and later schedules to accommodate early and after school club attendees and exploring replacing the double decker with a single deck of buses for the 603-bus route.

Inviting the Cabinet Member for Planning and a Sustainable Camden to explain how this could be pushed from a political level, the Cabinet Member commented that he could work with the GLA Assembly member for Barnet and Camden Anne Clark to present the case once all the data and arguments had been assembled.

In relation to timescales when this would happen, officers advised that the expression of interest for the TfL Better Bus Partnership Funding would take place over the next 2 weeks. An assessment of the expression of interest and shortlist of successful bids would be provided in early 2025, so the Council should know the outcome of the initial expression of interest in a short space of time.

The Committee thanked Camden Cycling Campaign for attending the meeting and helping to inform Council policy and the 603 Bus Route Campaign noting that officers were addressing this. They were thanked for their deputation and attending the meeting.

Consideration was given to the report of the Cabinet Member for Planning and a Sustainable Camden.

Sam Margolis (Head of Transport Strategy and Projects) Brenda Busingye (Transport and Travel Planning Manager) Karl Brierley, (Safe and Healthy Streets Team Manager), Anthony Christofi (Transport Design Team Manager) and Richard Bradbury, (Director of Environment and Sustainability) made the following comments in response to Committee members questions:

• In terms of consultation engagement, as already mentioned officers were working through the recommendations of the recently completed work undertaken by an independent Consultant looking at how the Council engaged and consulted with its communities. Officers were looking at how improvements could be included based on the recommendations from that study.
• There had also been an improvement in the Council’s overall consultation engagement approach, particularly since Covid.
• Support from residents for the low traffic neighbourhood healthy street schemes tended to grow over time. However, to bring communities along there was a need to engage carefully with residents making sure the schemes were right.
• In relation to the Tavistock and Torrington experimental order trial a big lesson learnt from that project was the outputs and metrics to justify changes to the scheme.
• In terms of car ownership in the borough that had not been broken down by ward. The information in appendix A of the report provided overall outcome data around the number percentage of car ownership reduction in the last few years. In particular it showed an overall 22% reduction in car ownership in the borough between 2016 and 2022 which was the highest percentage in London.
• With regards to whether the point to point only car club schemes should be revisited, there had been a huge increase in the availability of alternative point-to-point systems within the borough, whether that was uber ride sharing facilities, and cycle hire or e-scooter schemes.
• With the data being seen at the moment including the shift to lower levels of car ownership, increased levels of walking and cycling meant at this stage there was not a particular need or demand for the point-to-point system on car clubs.
• In relation to the joined up working with planning colleagues and other departments of the Council on car clubs, in recognition of the importance of back to base car clubs in the borough there was a focus area on this in the delivery plan Appendix c page 253 of the agenda which referred to supporting bay expansion through planning, development and other complimentary initiatives. This included identifying opportunities to expand car club provision through development opportunities and further measures to grow car clubs while also maintaining existing locations because of the role they played.
• With regards to the Swiss Cottage gyratory, this was currently a very challenging environment for all road users, appendix B of the report referred to the Council using funding to work with TfL to undertake a feasibility study into unravelling the Swiss Cottage Gyratory to improve conditions for buses and all other road users.
• In relation to the use of lower polluting vehicles for local deliveries, the Council adopted a Freight and Servicing Action Plan which included a series of actions such as making deliveries more sustainable by minimising the impact of deliveries on the environment. One of the things being looked at was the use of lower polluting vehicles.
• An important thing about the Freight and Servicing Action Plan was that it was a live document as it dealt with partnering with industries that were actually undertaking activities to deliver in this area.
• In relation to the dockless bike hire system, while recognising that there were still issues, there was a contract in place requiring that bike operators mandated that bikes were parked in specific locations. Through contract management there had been an improvement in the way bikes were parked and this continued to be monitored.
• The bigger issue now was that the parking bays were experiencing an overflow problem. The Council was looking to expand the size of the bays.
• Increasing the size of the bay did not mean that bays would not be created in other areas of the borough. It was evidence based and a multi-faceted approach with bays created in areas where required.
• With regards to bus stop by passes, these were important tools used on the cycle network with part of the objective being that a competent 12-year-old would be able to travel round the road network without conflict, with larger vehicles including buses.
• All Camden’s Bus stop by passes and shared use bus stops matched the Department for Trading Standards Design Guidance. Camden had used the by passes for up to 10 years.
• A road safety audit was used, they were video monitored closely with studies so the Council could tell where any potential conflicts were and what people’s concerns were so that these could be addressed.
• The Council was also working with TfL on long term monitoring and best practice looking at where it could better improve bus stop bypasses and schedule bus stops moving forward.
• With regards to the Healthy School Streets, the next phase of these schemes was going through the decision-making process. Officers had learned from previous experience and put in place processes to ensure that the infrastructure was ready on the day of launch or very soon after the launch. Officers would aim to ensure that some of the delivery issues experienced in the past would not happen on the next phase.
• With regards to cycle training, this was an important part of the programme with a whole package of complimentary measures to support cyclists. Cycling training was provided to adults that requested it as well as the Council proactively reaching out to schools, to workplaces and travel plans to encourage people when they come into the borough to take this up.
• Transport officers worked closely with green space colleagues in the development of the 3-year delivery plan with a significant amount of internal engagement to make sure that the different teams in the Council were working towards shared goals such as green corridors.

The Chair remarked that it was a good report and thanked officers for attending.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.