Sustainable Visitor Transport Options in the New Forest National Park

Agenda

• Background

• Visiting without a car

• Future opportunities

About Visitors

• More visitors per km/sq than any other UK national park.

• 13.5 Million Visitor Days• Contributing £115M to local economy• 96% of staying visitors arrive by car• 85% of all visitors use the car to explore the

destination

What are the issues?

• Volumes of traffic• Social and environmental issues • Not enough alternatives to the private car?• Levels of development around the New Forest

Lyndhurst Traffic Case Study

The four main routes into/out of Lyndhurst:

• A35 Bournemouth Road (West of Lyndhurst)

• A35 Southampton Road (East of Lyndhurst)

• A337 Clay Hill (South of Lyndhurst)

• A337 Romsey Road (North of Lyndhurst)

Summer v Winter• There is currently a 13.5%

increase in traffic in the summer months compared to the winter months.

• This is compared to a 17% difference in 2007 (3.5% decrease).

• There is a 13.1% increase in traffic in the summer months compared to the winter months.

• This is compared to 15.6% in 2007 (2.5% decrease)

5710

4733

5719

4949

0

2000

4000

6000

Vo

lum

e o

f tr

affi

c (7

am -

7p

m)

2007 2010

Year

TRAFFIC FLOW INTO LYNDHURST Summer Vs Winter

Summer

Winter

5701

4812

5796

5041

0

2000

4000

6000

Vo

lum

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f tr

affi

c (7

am -

7p

m)

2007 2010

Year

TRAFFIC FLOW OUT OF LYNDHURST Summer Vs Winter

Summer

Winter

100% Car Free

Slightly less than 100% car free

New Forest Tour

The numbers…• Over its 86 day season in 2010, the New

Forest Tour:– Saved an estimated 82345 private car miles– Saved over 22 tonnes of carbon emissions– Made a contribution of nearly £300k to the local

economy– Carried over 18000 passenger journeys

Other options

• Walking• Rail• Bus

•Cycling•Walking•Rail•Bus •Ferry

Future Opportunities

Local Sustainable Transport Fund

• £560m over 4-years (60% revenue & 40% capital funding)

• Ideas & expertise: community, voluntary sectors, business & transport operators

• Interventions need to be self-financing after LSTF funding finishes

• DfT keen to see as many bids as possible succeed

• Job creation & reducing carbon emissions

Local Sustainable Transport Fund• 1 bid per Local Transport Authorities, plus

leading on a further joint bid• National Park Authorities develop joint bids• Large packages (£5m-£50m)• Small packages (£5m) – two Tranches• Tranche 1 April 2011 – 60 bids• Tranche 2 Expression of Interest Jun 2011• Final Tranche 2 bids Feb 2012

“Sustainable Transport Solutions for England’s two newest National Parks”

• Green spaces for leisure and recreation within densely populated area

• Most arrive by car, resulting in congestion and air quality problems.

• Improve access to and within both national parks, by encouraging sustainable modes of travel

• Knowledge sharing• Create more tourism-related employment

& reduce carbon emissions

Proposed aims of Bid

1. Reduce the transport impacts of visitors, residents and businesses’ by encouraging the use of sustainable and low carbon forms of transport

2. Further realise economic potential of the parks by enabling sustainable access, thereby improving value and range of jobs available within the area

3. Improve the quality of life for communities and visitors in both parks and the surrounding areas

Proposed aims of Bid

4. Improve health of residents and visitors by offering enhanced opportunities for healthy travel options within the parks

5. Educate residents and visitors on the importance of natural habitats within the parks and need to preserve them

6. Improve safety by reducing highway related casualties and protecting vulnerable users

Expression of Interest: ThemesTheme Possible Measures

1. Information provision and marketing – encouraging more sustainable access to and within Parks

Better promotion & information, ticketing initiatives, journey planning tools & integrated PT timetabling

2. Improvements to key public transport gateways that provide access to the National Parks

Focus on key gateways and links to recreational areas, through targeted infrastructure at public transport hubs, in particular railway stations

Expression of Interest: ThemesTheme Possible Measures

3. Improved walking and cycling access to Parks through small scale infrastructure

Improved walking & cycling options for accessing & getting around both Parks through small scale infrastructure improvements

4. Improvements supporting innovation in access

Innovative bus, community transport, electric vehicles, community rail services & initiatives serving dual community & recreation needs

Any Questions?

For more informationChris Gregory

New Forest National Park Authority01590 646683

chris.gregory@newforestnpa.gov.uk