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Lead Editorial

In this issue we publish in full a letter from a citizen in South-west England. The letter is a resignation letter in which the author publicly withdraws from all future consultation and participation in the debate about transport futures in South-west England. This is an important subject. All over the world tentative steps are being taken to involve the public in the decision making processes that most affect everyday life. This is clearly a good idea in basic democracy and human rights terms but in the context of sustainable development and Local Agenda 21 it is even more important. Solutions must be built from the bottom up. All of us must work in partnership and citizens have a basic right to be part of a decision making process in a real sense and not just the unwilling recipients of expert opinion from above or the unwilling victims of half baked and fraudulent consultation procedures.

No one has asked the citizens of Calcutta whether or not they want the Japanese funded flyovers. If they did they would get a resounding rejection. The citizens of South-west England (and the rest of the UK as well) have been asked to take part in consultation procedures leading to the production of 5 year strategic Local Transport Plans or LTPs. Many individuals and groups have responded, given up a great deal of time, read lengthy documents, attended long meetings in their spare time and given their views. In the vast majority of cases these views have been ignored. Citizens want better public transport, much better walking facilities, less traffic and safer cycling and they have been given expensive, grandiose and ultimately useless new roads. Just like the residents of Calcutta they have been ignored. At least the government of West Bengal was more honest. It is clearly of the view that citizen views are not wanted so it didn't ask for them.

The letter by Patrick Kinnersly puts this whole sorry saga into clear relief. An involved, aware citizen has withdrawn from a false and deceitful participation process. The UK government has raised expectations by launching into numerous public consultations and participation exercises but the results are a callous disregard of the views of ordinary citizens. This is very damaging indeed and it undermines democracy itself in a way that that will be very difficult to put right.

Consultation and participation are crucial skills for transport professionals and largely absent in the UK. Politicians working within representative democracy principles have also forgotten what this means and as a result transport problems multiply like a virus while virtuous solutions die as a result of lack of attention, lack of a willingness to listen and lack of a determination to be bold and creative. A better track record in this neglected area of transport planning would rescue cycling, give women better transport choices and ensure that car sharing was a rampant success in developed countries. As the articles by Gaffron, Woodcock and Katzev show reality is somewhat different.

John Whitelegg
Editor
World Transport Policy and Practice

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Abstracts & Keywords

I Quit - Patrick Kinnersly

Patrick Kinnersly has been campaigning for sane, safe, integrated transport for most of the 1990s in Southern England. He has realised that regardless of the strength of his argument, the Government has chosen to ignore him and others and continue with the discredited 'predict and provide' approach to transport infrastructure. Here we publish his open letter to Halcrow, the consultants contracted by the Government to conduct the London to South West & South Wales Multi-Modal Study.

Keywords: Consultation, democracy, government, multi-modal study, participation, railways, roads, Wiltshire.

Walking and cycling are beginning to receive more attention in transport planning in Great Britain. But although they are generally described with similar attributes, they often receive differing treatment in the public and political arena. This article explores the main differences as well as similarities between the modes and explains why these should be seen as mutual strengths enabling them to grow together to each other's (and everyone else's) mutual benefit.

Keywords Walking, cycling, Great Britain, national policy, facilities, synergy.

This research was commissioned by the Mobility Unit of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to address the in-car safety and security needs of women drivers and their passengers. The research was multifaceted. It sought to establish whether cars which have been designed and tested around male manikins and anthropometry were less protective to female drivers and their passengers; whether such vehicles met the requirements of the growing number of female users, and the experiences of female drivers on the road. Lastly we considered means of disseminating our results to a wide audience, through the use of posters and web sites (see Woodcock, Galer Flyte & Garner, 2001). The research presented here considers the first two issues and concluding with recommendations for future policy. Keywords Cars, design, safety, security, women.

A review and analysis of the mobility behaviour of CarSharing Portland (CSP) members during its first year of operation. Comprehensive surveys and one-week trip diaries were administered before individuals joined the organisation and at the end of the first year. A periodic need for a vehicle was their principal reason for joining CSP. The effect of membership in CSP on overall vehicle travel was either no change or a slight increase in VMT. However, members reported an increasing frequency of bus trips, walking and cycling. In addition 26% sold their personal vehicle and 53% were able to avoid purchasing one. These results were discussed in terms of the psychology of the car sharing experience and how membership in the organisation affected travel behaviour.

Keywords Car sharing, Mobility, Portland, Travel Behaviour.

India is facing a traffic nightmare with increasing rates of motor vehicle ownership. There are lessons to be learned from many cities throughout Asia about how to restrain traffic growth. These include vehicle ownership restraint and use limitation.

Keywords Cities, India, Innovative practice, Traffic Demand Management.

In recent years, walking as a transportation mode has gained recognition as a basic building block in urban design. It is highly suitable for a certain kinds of journeys. To encourage walking and to make it more safe, convenient and attractive, the physical facilities must be available to support the physiological and social needs of pedestrians. It is important, therefore, that the flow characteristics of pedestrians be understood properly to aid the planning and design of facilities. Keeping in view the above facts, a study has been conducted at an inter-modal transfer terminal in the Calcutta Metropolitan District, and relationships of speed, density, flow and space have been developed. The paper also discusses the problems of pedestrian movement in Calcutta and suggests a few policy decisions for providing safe, convenient and pleasant movement.

Keywords: Calcutta, density, flow, pedestrians, space, speed, walking.

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