The London Plan, Leveraging Public Transport Data For Active Travel Plans To Support Planning Applications
PassageWay Public Transport and Wayfinding Digital Signs Help Developers Demonstrate Active Travel Plans
The London Plan (or the Spatial Development Strategy) is the blueprint for what London will look like in the the next 20-25 years. The plan is underpinned by the concept of ‘Good Growth’ and identifies the policies that will inform planning decisions. The London Plan aims to ensure that London has sufficient affordable new housing, workspaces and better-connected infrastructure to accommodate its growing population, which is estimated to grow by around 10% to 9.5 million by 2026 (10.8 Million by 2041) , or by circa 70,000 per annum (depending on your sources).
The London Plan reads that
“car-free developments should be the starting point for all proposals in places well-connected by public transport”.
The parking provision for new homes schemes with good rail and Tube links has been cut from one space per home to none. What is more, in outer London the number of spaces has been reduced from two to one-and-a-half per unit.
The London Plan states that development plans should:
Promote and demonstrate the application of the Mayor’s Healthy Streets Approach to: improve health and reduce health inequalities; reduce car dominance, ownership and use, road danger, severance, vehicle emissions and noise; increase walking, cycling and public transport use; improve street safety, comfort, convenience and amenity; and support these outcomes through sensitively designed freight facilities.
Identify opportunities to improve the balance of space given to people to dwell, walk, cycle, and travel on public transport and in essential vehicles, so space is used more efficiently and streets are greener and more pleasant.
What’s more all development proposals should
Demonstrate how they will deliver improvements that support the ten Healthy Streets Indicators in line with Transport for London guidance.
Reduce the dominance of vehicles on London’s streets whether stationary or moving.
Be permeable by foot and cycle and connect to local walking and cycling networks as well as public transport.
PassageWay helps London’s property developers demonstrate their commitment to the London Plan and it’s Healthy Streets Approach by enabling developers to include real-time public transport and wayfinding digital signs into their development plans. By meshing real time data into the built environment, architects and developers will raise awareness of the local availability of sustainable transport options and thereby help to drive demand, whilst the inclusion of a local map helps promote walking. In short, PassageWay will support developers in demonstrating to planning authorities how their plans will bring about a positive change to citizens use of London’s streets.
PassageWay partners with architects, wayfinding designers/consultants and urban planners, if you are interested in partnering with us please send us an email.