Assessing the quality of travel plans for new developments

A travel plan is a strategy that contains a package of site-specific measures that aim to manage car use and encourage the use of more sustainable transport modes. In Australia, there is increasing interest in the use of the land use planning and approvals process to secure travel plans for new developments. While evaluations of travel plans tend to focus on outcomes such as reductions in car use, very little attention has been paid to evaluating the process through which they are developed. For this study, a total of 31 travel plans for new developments in Victoria were sourced and assessed for their quality. An assessment framework was developed that covered the key elements of travel plans and used a criteria-based scoring system. Results showed that most travel plans were prepared for residential and mixed use developments and contained measures that were focused primarily on information and infrastructure provision. Relevant background information and the selection of measures were generally covered by the travel plans. However, the process for managing their implementation scored relatively low in the assessment in comparison to other elements. This is particularly relevant in the context of new developments where the occupier is usually unknown when preparing the travel plan. The framework developed provides a useful tool for assessing the relative merits and deficiencies of travel plans prepared for new developments and is recommended for use by councils to improve the quality of travel plans that are submitted through the planning process. Further work is required to test the robustness of the framework and potentially refine the criteria and scoring system based on the collective views of travel planning practitioners.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.atrf.info/papers/2013/index.aspx
• Authors:
  • De Gruyter, C
  • Rose, G
  • Currie, G
• Conference:
  • Australasian Transport Research Forum (ATRF), 36th, 2013, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
• Publication Date: 2013-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 18p
• Monograph Title: Transport and the new world city: 36th Australasian Transport Research Forum (ATRF), October 2nd-4th 2013, Brisbane

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Evaluation; Planning; Residential areas; Suburbs; Sustainable development; Sustainable transportation; Transportation planning
• Uncontrolled Terms: Policy and planning
• Geographic Terms: Australia; Victoria
• ATRI Terms: Evaluation; Residential area; Suburbs; Sustainable transport; Transport planning
• ITRD Terms: 9020: Evaluation (assessment)
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01503321
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ITRD, ATRI
• Created Date: Jan 6 2014 10:58AM