Sustainable Modes of Travel Strategy - Draft

Overview of the Act and its requirements

Under the Education and Inspections Act 2006, the Hackney Council and The Learning Trust have responsibilities regarding sustainable school travel, and the provision of school travel arrangements for children and young people

The Act requires local authorities to promote the use of sustainable travel and transport to school pupils. According to the Act, sustainable modes of travel are those that improve the physical well-being of the people that use them, and the environmental well-being of the wider area.

The Act places certain duties on Hackney’s Local Education Authority: The Learning Trust must:

• Where necessary, make suitable travel arrangements to enable children to attend school
• Make necessary travel arrangements to facilitate attendance at school for children the Act describes as “eligible”
• Make travel arrangements for children not deemed to be eligible according to the Act’s criteria, but who The Learning Trust feel should be a priority.

The Act requires the Hackney Council to produce a Sustainable Modes of Travel Strategy.

Overview of the Strategy

Hackney’s Sustainable Modes of Travel Strategy has been written by the Council’s School Travel Plan Advisor, with support from colleagues including the Assistant Director of Community and Partnerships at The Learning Trust.

This strategy pulls together information from a range of sources to give readers a through description of the sustainable school travel options that currently exist in Hackney, and how the Council, The Learning Trust and other partnership organisations intend to develop those options in the future.

The main sources of information were:

• Hackney schools’ approved School Travel Plans and Annual Reviews
• Hackney Council’s Transport Strategy
• Hackney Council’s School Travel Plan Strategy
• Hackney Council’s Road Safety Plan
• and Hackney Council’s Local Implementation Plan

Time table for future work on the strategy

Hackney’s Sustainable Modes of Travel Strategy is still a “work in progress”. The following table outlines the various actions that will be carried out over the next 12 months. The final version of the Strategy will be available in August 2008.

Action	Part of Strategy	Source	When
Set targets			Sept 07
Maps: Schools’ locations	Assessment of pupils’ travel needs	Edubase; Hackney Council Corporate GIS	Sept 07
Maps: Existing “hard measures” Schools providing road safety education Schools providing cycle and pedestrian training Existing “soft measures” Schools with cycle parking facilities Controlled crossings and School Crossing Patrols	Audit of existing sustainable travel infrastructure	Road Safety Unit; School Travel Plans/Annual Reviews	Sept 07 - Dec 07
Assess needs of pupils taking part in Extended Schools Programme	Assessment of pupils’ travel needs	The Learning Trust’s Extended Schools Coordinator	Sept 07
Analyse results from postcode plots	Assessment of pupils’ travel needs	School Travel Plans; Hackney schools; The Learning Trust	Oct 07
Child pedestrian and cyclist fatalities	Audit of existing sustainable travel infrastructure	Road Safety Unit	Nov 07
Revisit Hackney’s modal shift data to improve its robustness	Assessment of pupils’ travel needs	School Travel Plans/Annual Reviews	Nov 07
Talk to neighbouring boroughs to see if they have any information about the travel modes of children who live in Hackney, but attend schools outside the borough	Assessment of pupils’ travel needs	School Travel Advisors from Neighbouring boroughs	Nov 07
Compare Hackney’s modal shift data with the equivalent national data and data from Sustrans	Assessment of pupils’ travel needs	2007 School Census; Sustrans;	Dec  07
Compare Hackney’s modal shift data with the equivalent national data and data from Sustrans	Assessment of pupils’ travel needs	2007 School Census; Sustrans	Dec  07
Add further detail to section on Bus Infrastructure: location of bus stops, ticket machines	Audit of existing sustainable travel infrastructure	TBC	Dec 07
Add further detail about specific schemes either in progress or planned	Strategy to develop existing infrastructure	Traffic Management;  Street furniture;  Road Safety Unit; Traffic and Transportations; Highways and Maintenance	Jan 08
Consultation	All; Assessment of pupils’ travel needs	TBC	Jan 08 - Feb 08
Publishing of final strategy			Aug 08

Consultation

The Sustainable Modes of Travel Strategy is aimed at:

• Parents/carers
• School staff
• Older secondary school pupils
• Head teachers
• School Governors
• Various Teams at the Learning Trust

During January and February 2008, these groups will be asked to provide comments on the draft Sustainable Modes of Travel Strategy. These comments will then be incorporated into the final version. The Council will consult on this strategy with these groups in the following ways:

• Email School Travel Plan contacts at Hackney schools
• Assistant Director of Community and Partnerships to discuss the strategy with senior management at The Learning Trust
• Invitation for comment on Hackney Council’s and The Learning Trust’s websites
• Place an invitation for comment in The Learning Trust’s Governors’ Newsletter
• Try to raise it at a Head Teachers’ meeting at The Learning Trust

Head of Hackney Streetscene, Neighbourhoods and Regeneration Directorate Management Team, Councillor Rita Krishna, Councillor Allan Laing and various members of senior management at The Learning Trust will also be invited to provide comment before the final version of the strategy is published. The Traffic Management, Street furniture, Road Safety Unit, Traffic and Transportations, and Highways and Maintenance teams will also be consulted.

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Page updated: 14 Feb 2008