Agenda item

The Head of Transport & Infrastructure and the Principal Transport Planning Officer will deliver a presentation on “Healthy Placemaking through Transport and Infrastructure”

The Head of Transport & Infrastructure and the Principal Transport Planning Officer delivered a presentation on Healthy Placemaking through Transport and Infrastructure.

The presentation included;

·        Data on modes of travel and levels of uptake.

·        Travel to school, including walking rates.

·        An overview of the Highway Infrastructure Delivery Plan and Integrated Transport Strategy.

·        The City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement and Levelling Up Fund.

·        Road safety and road safety initiatives in schools.

During the presentation, it was noted that, Middlesbrough experienced high levels of childhood obesity and physical inactivity, despite having low car ownership (with 33.1% of households having no car or van) and short averages distances between home and school (1.6 miles for primary schools and 3.5 miles for secondary schools).  A Member expressed interest in the vehicle ownership figures and requested further data, broken down by ward and demographic characteristics.

It was reported that 46% of children walk to school, with lower figures recorded over recent years.  Members expressed concern and surprise at the declining rate and queried the reasons behind it.  Officers stated that they believed the main barriers to walking were perception-based, with parents believing journeys were “too far” or unsafe, despite Middlesbrough being a compact town with low topography, with the average walk to school of 30 minutes and an average cycle time of 10 minutes.  It was suggested that parental choice was the greatest influencing factor, and that schools were the most effective community leaders to support a cultural shift in attitudes.

A Member also raised concerns about the reduction in local bus services, noting that this limited travel choices for some families.  Officers acknowledged the concern but explained that bus provision was outside of the Council’s control, as services were operated by private companies driven by commercial viability.

The Principal Transport Planning Officer then presented road safety data, which showed a downward trend in overall casualties, with a slight increase in child KSI (Killed or Seriously Injured) figures in recent years and an anomaly in data trends during the pandemic period.  The Officer emphasised that, overall road safety levels in Middlesbrough were good, with relatively low accident rates.

Officers explained that a range of education and infrastructure initiatives were delivered in schools to promote safer, more active travel.  This included 74 places for Balanceability, 1,057 Bikeability places for Year 3 and 1,259 for Year 5/6 pupils, as well as school assemblies, Dr Bike/Fix-It sessions, guided rides and secure cycle parking.  It was noted that a behavioural shift (modal change) was required to reduce school gate congestion and increase active travel.  Officers highlighted that parental confidence and clear communication would be key in addressing perceptions that walking is unsafe or that distances were too great.

The Principal Transport Planning Officer then outlined a number of wider initiatives aimed at encouraging sustainable and active travel and reducing reliance on private cars, supported through funding from the Tees Valley Combined Authority and the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.  Current schemes out for consultation included the Green Lane cycleway and the Newport Road bus corridor and cycle improvements, which aimed to create the infrastructure needed to support healthier travel choices.

The Chair thanked the Officers for their presentation and responses to questions and noted that the additional information requested would be circulated in due course.

NOTED.