Draft Active Travel Strategy Consultation

Appendix B: Behavioural Insights

Insights gleaned from national research and from experience over fifteen years reveals several facilitating or enabling factors towards greater levels of active travel within Central Bedfordshire.

Enablers

1. Everyone walks

1.1 Walking remains an integral part of everyday life for most people. Few individuals have a physiological condition that prevents them from walking more, if so motivated. Most everyone has a favourable view of walking and perceives the experience as pleasurable, particularly when undertaken as a leisure or recreational activity.

1.2 With its attractive countryside, the most significant opportunity to encourage people to walk more is in exploring areas closest to home. This potential was illustrated over the pandemic period where the number of visits to local sites rose substantially. To encourage this, the Council is developing a suite of 'green wheels'. These will make the recreational and green spaces on residents' doorsteps accessible to all.

1.3 For utility trips, the opportunity is to encourage people to walk a greater proportion of the longer trips they make. This applies to trips that involve public transport and to car-based journeys where parking is available separate to the destination. This latter case can be promoted as 'park and stride' and increasingly features in School Travel Plans. The former case has benefitted from the council's investment under its Bus Services Improvement Plan, designed to enhance services and boost patronage.

1.4 Incentives to walk also flow from minor but important changes to urban environment. Examples include the location of crossings and how fast signalised crossings respond when pressed, whether seating is provided along a route, how close bus stops are to shops, supermarkets and high streets compared with car parking, whether passengers have weather protection while they wait, whether paths look well cared for, etc.

2. Most everyone can cycle

2.0 By the time they reach their teenage years most children can cycle and when surveyed, most adults report having this skill. When polled, almost all children and many adults find cycling enjoyable and would welcome the opportunity to cycle more, away from traffic.

2.1 In addition, most households within Central Bedfordshire report having ownership of a bike though not all will be maintained in a roadworthy condition. An increasing percentage of cycles are e-bikes, offering pedal assistance. These make cycling easier and increase the distance people can comfortably ride. The 'Making Cycling E-asier' programme, funded by Active Travel England, offers residents in Dunstable and Houghton Regis a free one-month loan of an e-bike to test their appeal.

3. Walking and cycling are low cost and can save time and money

3.0 There is no direct cost to individuals or to the authority when people walk or cycle more. Making regular journeys on foot or by bike saves people money, improves local air quality and frees capacity on busy roads, particularly around school times.

3.1 For most people, a bicycle is a reasonably affordable purchase and is helped by the growing ubiquity of cycle-to-work schemes offered by employers including the Council.

3.2 The Council has previously sponsored schemes that offer second-hand bikes to people who need help to access employment and training. The most recent scheme operated using monies offered by central government and funded collection, storage, refurbishment and fitting. Finding new homes for serviceable bikes that would otherwise end up in landfill, ticks multiple boxes. A new recycling scheme based in Houghton Regis is under development.

3.3 Surveys also show that when asked to estimate, most people underplay the time it takes to drive and overegg the time to walk or cycle. Deploying blue road signs that feature travel times rather than distance is helping address this misperception. The growing sophistication of phone-based apps to plan and follow a route are a useful aid especially when reflecting live traffic conditions.

4. Active travel promotes health and wellbeing

4.0 There is an escalating societal cost to physical inactivity, with regular walking being by far the most expedient and cost-effective remedy for what is a population-wide issue. Walking and cycling is a potential 'miracle pill'. Investment in infrastructure typically generates a high rate of return based on assessed health impacts.

4.1 Every additional step or pedal revolution has a measurable health benefit. This is especially the case for people leading inactive or 'sedentary' lives. The more a person is sedentary the greater the benefit of even small or moderate levels of activity.

4.2 Walking and cycling can be encouraged by using sustained and consistent messaging to raising awareness of the benefits of regular physical activity. There is for example growing involvement from clinicians under the banner 'social prescribing' associated with initiatives such as 'walks for health'.

4.3 Greater participation can also be achieved through schemes that restrict how roads and streets can be used by traffic during parts of the day. For example, there are several longstanding schemes in the authority that prevent traffic from routing through residential roads where more appropriate alternatives exist. There are also instances where roads are closed to allow markets, fairs, fetes and events to operate safely.

4.4 In Central Bedfordshire, the Council is piloting and rolling out 'Play Streets' and 'School Streets'. The programme for Play Streets focuses on neighbourhoods where opportunities for regular outdoor children's play are limited. The School Street programme is focused on locations where school-gate traffic and parking are most problematic, and where suitable parking is accessible nearby.

5. Walking is accessible and cycling is becoming increasingly so

5.0 Almost every dwelling and building within the authority is served by a footway or footpath that links to a wider network of routes, with exceptions in some villages and rural hamlets.

5.1 The investment in local cycling and walking infrastructure will progressively improve connections with priority afforded to routes that serve schools, stations and town centres. This will also see improvements in the quality of provision for pedestrians and cyclists. Those who experience mobility issues will be a major beneficiary.

5.2 For new developments, clear and more exacting design standards are now in place. The Council is assessed annually by Active Travel England on how well it applies them.

5.3 For existing towns, a programme is underway to progressively address the issues that residents flagged during the engagement on Cycling and Walking infrastructure Plans.

6. Steps to make walking and cycling safer and convenient are popular

6.0 Many of the measures taken to favour pedestrians quickly gain local acceptance. This is particularly the case around schools and spaces used by children. Almost universally, residents express a desire for more 'walkable' and less car-dominated streets and neighbourhoods.

6.1 The recent changes to the Highway Code are an example of changing attitudes. The Code now has the needs and safety of pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders at the top of the hierarchy of highway users. This change was endorsed by the majority of the 20,000 people who responded to the consultation.

6.2 This has implications for how people and traffic behave. Drivers turning into a side road are required under the Code to cede priority to pedestrians wishing to cross. Increasingly this priority is reflected in how junctions are now designed. Alongside this, the Council will 'tighten' junctions to reduce the distance people have to cross and relocate dropped kerb crossings onto the natural 'desire line'.

6.3 In recent years the Council has progressively increased the number of controlled crossings on its road network and introduced 20mph speed limits on many residential roads and traffic calmed high streets. Raised Zebra crossings are now the default standard on roads and streets where 20mph limits apply, requiring road traffic to cede priority.

7. Walking and cycling are zero-emission

7.0 There is widespread political and public acceptance of the need to reduce CO2 emissions at pace to help alleviate the impacts of a progressively warming climate. There is also public acceptance that active travel has an important role to play in reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and levels of particulates, affecting air and water quality. This is against a background where the level of traffic on local roads is forecast to grow.

7.1 Through its Sustainability Plan the Council has set out the actions its various functions must take to reduce their emissions to zero by 2030. The Plan considers opportunities to redesign services to reduce transport demand and make more active forms of movement a practical option.

7.2 The Sustainability Plan also sets out the actions needed to facilitate a community-wide switch to low and zero emission forms of transport. This includes promoting greater use of 'shared' transport such as buses, but also car clubs and importantly for this strategy, cycle hire schemes.

7.3 The Council is also resetting its approach to how it monitors use of local roads. Currently it arranges for tubes laid across the road to count vehicles and traffic speeds during a 'representative' week. This provides useful but 'patchy' data and ignores pedestrian and cycle flows. The approach will change with the deployment of post-mounted sensors with the capability to differentiate between the different types of users. The data they collect is vital for making the case for investment and tracking its results.

7.4 The Council is also deploying real-time air quality monitors, initially in the most 'sensitive' locations such as around schools. This will complement longer-term monitoring that takes places on busy road corridors using 'diffusion tubes'. The new electronic monitors will support the case for interventions in areas where acceptable thresholds are breached or threatened. In extremis, they could be used to make real-time changes to how traffic routes.

Barriers

The barriers to increased walking and cycling are also well understood. Some of the main ones are listed below alongside the actions and initiatives the Council is undertaking to reduce or 'mitigate' their influence.

8. Convenience of cars

8.0 For most people, driving is the default and obvious option for trips originating from home, often irrespective of trip length.

8.1 Having one or more car parked within yards of the front door makes driving highly convenient. As a result, driving has become habitualised for the trips people regularly make, an engrained behaviour that is resistant to change. The implication for walking and particularly cycling is these 'modes must become equally or ideally more convenient.

8.2 As traffic levels grow and roads become progressively more congested, and for longer, the time advantage of driving will decline. This should help trigger a switch in how many people choose to travel for the local trips they make, albeit begrudgingly.

8.3 The expected trend away from car use is being accelerated by supporting policies and initiatives. Building high quality infrastructure is top of the list of actions. For new developments, the shift in thinking is now enshrined in planning policy, with the needs of people travelling on foot or bike receiving equal prominence.

8.4 The Council's Planning Design Guidance requires all major new developments to be laid so that the most regularly frequented destinations, such as shops and schools, are within a 20-minute walking radius of where residents live. This concept will help ensure attractive, interesting, safe and walkable environments. People of all ages and levels of fitness will have the option to travel actively to the places they regularly visit.

8.5 The principle of creating walkable neighbourhoods is also enshrined within the Council's suite of Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plans. Through their implementation, all the regularly visited local destinations in towns will be made increasingly accessible to active modes.

9. Commute distance

9.0 For most residents, the distance they travel to work is too long for either walking or cycling to be a practical option. Where a workplace is within a mile of where someone lives, walking is the mode of choice. This is the same for rail commuters who live within a reasonable walking radius of the station. When home-to-work distance exceeds two miles, the car is the dominant mode. Relatively few residents cycle.

9.1 Through its Local Plan site allocation process, the authority is seeking to expand the number and quality of jobs available within Central Bedfordshire to reduce high levels of 'out-commuting'. However, the planned expansion in local employment is unlikely to discernibly change patterns of commuting for some time yet.

9.2 Alongside action through the planning system, the Council has options to bring more home-to-work journeys within the range that people are comfortable cycling. The growing availability of e-bikes for example, makes longer cycle commutes a possibility.

9.3 Whilst e-bike sales have grown, rates of adoption across the UK lags other European countries. To help address this the Council is participating in an Active Travel England-sponsored scheme 'Making Cycling E-asier'. The scheme offers adult residents in Luton, Dunstable and Houghton Regis a one-month free loan of an e-cycle. The expectation is participants will not want to go back, having experienced the benefits of pedal-assistance.

9.4 The slow take up of e-bikes for commuting use can in part be explained by the current patchwork provision of cycle routes connecting towns, plus radial connections to neighbouring villages. The lack of direct offroad alternatives is something the Council is addressing through the roll out of Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans. However, until routes are constructed the reliance on rural roads, where speeds are frequently unrestricted, will deter many.

10. Traffic dominance, sense of vulnerability and lack of pedestrian permeability

10.0 People are often concerned for their own and their children's safety when walking or cycling. As noted above, many village and urban streets carry intimidatory levels of traffic, some travelling at excessive speed. For women, there is an additional concern for personal safety. All are strong motivations for using the car for journeys that could be walked or cycled.

11. Perception of safety

12. The Council's bi-annual travel survey collects useful information on how safe people feel when travelling using different modes of transport. This indicator is tracked over successive surveys, which commenced in 2012.

11.2 In addition, as part of the comprehensive engagement undertaken to inform the development of Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs), respondents pinpointed locations on the highway network that in their view 'feel unsafe'. This data is being used to target interventions and will be refreshed at the point that LCWIPs are updated.

11.3 This issue is being addressed in five main ways:

• Promoting only lightly trafficked roads as on-road cycle routes, with a 20mph limit as standard and calming measures as necessary
• Improving routes by addressing issues flagged by residents as deterring their use. Physical works will be needed to make paths more open and overlooked. Also, the installation of ecologically appropriate lighting on rural paths promoted for cycling
• Introducing measures to control speeds and in some cases, volumes of traffic. Where pedestrian flows are particularly high, this will involve engineering speeds to 20mph and placing timed-based restrictions on parking and goods deliveries
• Systematically researching the reasons behind every collision causing injury to a young person, pedestrian or cyclist, assessing how in future these could be avoided. This will progressively make the highway increasingly safer for vulnerable users
• Providing cyclists with routes which separate them from traffic, using existing public rights of way where available and creating new rights where none currently exist.

12. Limited permeability for pedestrians and cyclists

12.1 In part because of initiatives to design out crime, developers and planners have favoured single shared points of entry and egress. This has led to cul-de-sac developments and estate fences separating existing and new developments. Few post-80s developments considered permeability for pedestrians and cyclists a priority, helping engrain a car-based culture of resident travel. This issue is being addressed through a combination of planning guidance and practical interventions.

12.2 Changes in the authority's Planning Design Guidance requires developers to give equal prominence to pedestrians and cyclists when designing for access and movement. This will change how streets are laid out and link, including how best to connect across the development boundary.

12.3 Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans also set out where new links are needed. These will be designed and implemented over the next few years, assuming objections to creating new rights of way across affected landholdings are overcome. Priority will be afforded to connections that provide routes to schools, particularly where the lack of an 'accessible' route necessitates the provision of a school bus service.

13. Physical barriers to movement including substandard and cluttered pavements

13.1 The lack of a pavement or the frequently poor condition of path surfaces is a barrier for many people. This is compounded by street clutter, making navigation a problem for people with poor eyesight or mobility. How residents' park their vehicles is also frequently problematic, particularly on roads where few properties have a driveway.

13.2 Several streets across the authority lack a footway or have pavements with widths below the reasonable standard. Many such roads serve town centres. Rose Lane, Crab Lane, The Baulk, Back Street, Palace Street, Bonds Lane, Hitchin Street, Mill Lane and Shortmead Street offer pedestrians a poor experience though Biggleswade is not alone in this regard.

13.3 To help address this, several schemes have been implemented to provide greater pedestrian comfort, including cutting down the distance when crossing side roads. Increasingly, schemes are designed to reallocate space for example by widening the footway in the carriageway. This has the added benefit of reducing traffic speeds.

13.4 With high levels of car ownership, on-road parking is a feature of many residential streets. It is common for drivers to park partly or wholly on the footway, to the detriment of pedestrians. Dropped kerbs and sight lines are also frequently obstructed. The combined impact has created streets hostile to people with mobility needs.

13.5 As a Highways Authority, the Council is obligated under Section 16 of the 2004 Traffic Management Act to manage its road network for the expeditious movement of traffic, which includes pedestrians and cyclists alongside cars and vans. In 2014, the Council secured through a Traffic Regulation Order the power to issue a penalty notice to the owners of vehicles that are parked on a verge or footway. The order applies to all roads and streets in Central Bedfordshire and to date has been applied judiciously.

13.6 The authority also has a licensing scheme in place to ensure anyone seeking to place items within the highway, including tables and chairs, do so with consideration to the safety and convenience of others

14. Availability and quality of cycle parking and level of cycle thefts

14.1 The most recent data for 2022-23 shows over 77,000 reported bikes thefts in England and Wales with many more unrecorded. This is equivalent to a bike being stolen every 7 minutes. 1.7% of reports resulted in a person being charged and 90% of reports are closed without a suspect being identified.

14.2 Having a bike stolen is one of the most cited reasons for stopping cycling. Providing cycle parking that is secure is therefore vital, alongside education on how to protect bikes from thieves. This applies both at people's homes and the destinations they visit, and in particular railway stations. Rates of theft at mainline stations such as Leighton Buzzard are high, with bikes with any reasonable resale value the target of professional gangs.

14.3 To help counter this the Council works with the transport police and local constabulary to educate cyclists on security measures. This includes the offer of security marking and tagging, raising the chances of recovered bikes being returned to their rightful owner. The Council is also working with station operators to upgrade cycle parking facilities. The model is for secure cycle hubs featuring three tiers of security – locks, access controls and CCTV surveillance.

14.4 It is also useful to contrast the experience of people travelling from A to B by car or bike. Most people can step out of their door into their car without hassle. They start their journey confident of finding parking at their destination, or close by. There is no expectation of facing impediments on route, or being shouted at.

14.5 A cyclist's experience of the same trip will differ. Most often a bike must be retrieved from where it is stored. This could be a garden shed or in flatted developments, a communal bin store. Whether cycle parking is accessible at the destination may be unclear. Where provided, it may be uncovered and poorly surveilled. There may also be barriers to negotiate along the route. Plus, when on-road, there is the risk that a driver will express their dissatisfaction at your presence. Cyclists on Cargo bikes and adapted cycles face additional difficulties. A key aim of this strategy is to redress this imbalance.