Local Transport Plan for Kent 2006-11

2.6 The consequences of car ownership and use, and the implications for those who do not have access to a car is one of the biggest single factors behind the transport challenges facing Kent today. On Figure 2.6, higher concentrations of people without access to a car are shown in darker red. On Figure 2.7, ownership levels are shown in relative terms.

Figure 2.6 Car Ownership Map

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Figure 2.7 Car ownership by household

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2.7 In Kent, 78% of households own one or more cars. The Government's projections to 2025, based on the National Transport Model, predict that this will increase and that traffic in England will grow by 26% between 2000 and 2010. At a regional level, it is likely that the rate of growth in car ownership and traffic levels in the South East region will be above the average figure predicted for England. Conversely, 22% of households in Kent do not have access to a car, which restricts people’s ability to gain access to key services and employment. This makes accessibility a particularly relevant issue for this LTP.

2.8 Kent does not have one dominant urban centre for economic activity and employment instead the County is populated with a number of dispersed medium and large size settlements. This land use pattern has a significant impact on the location of large employment sites in the County and on the economic diversity of Kent's twelve Districts. This has resulted in a high proportion of intra and inter-district commuting amongst Kent's workforce and a significant level of cross-boundary movement between Kent and its neighbours. Table 2.1 provides a breakdown of residential and workplace origins and destinations for Kent.

Table 2.1 Residential Origin and Destination Workplace: all persons aged 16 to 74 in employment (2001)

Kent employees by area of residence			Kent residents by area of employment
Origin Residential	Number of workers	Per cent of total workers	Destination Workplace	Number of workers	Per cent of total workers
KCC Area	490,450	86.9%	KCC Area	490,450	80.5%
Medway UA	27,051	4.8%	Medway UA	15,562	2.6%
Gt. London	21,591	3.8%	Gt. London	61,831	10.2%
East Sussex	11,303	2.0%	East Sussex	3,220	0.5%
Surrey	2,566	0.5%	Surrey	4,009	0.7%
Essex	1,786	0.3%	Essex	1,669	0.3%
West Sussex	1,574	0.3%	West Sussex	2,652	0.4%
Rest of UK	8,059	1.4%	Rest of UK	29,742	4.9%
Total	564,380	100.0%	Total	609,135	100.0%

Source: Census 2001 (Table SWS103)

2.9 In 2001, the Kent County Council area supported 564,380 jobs ranging from unskilled manual work to senior management and executive posts and including both full and part-time work. A total of 490,450 jobs (87% per cent) are currently taken by people residing in the KCC area, with a further 74,000 people commuting into Kent from other local authority areas on regular basis. The principal origins for work based commuting into Kent are the neighbouring authorities of Medway, Greater London, in particular the London Boroughs of Bexley and Bromley, and East Sussex. Kent is home to 609,135 working people, the majority of whom work within the KCC area (81%). However, a total of 118,278 Kent residents work outside the KCC area. The principal workplace destinations are Medway and Greater London, in particular Inner London and the London Boroughs of Bromley and Bexley. The Districts of Dartford and Sevenoaks produce the highest number of London commuters with the Districts of Dover, Thanet and Shepway producing the lowest numbers. Clearly, this trend is an outcome of the geographical distance between these areas and the importance placed on relatively short commuter journey times by Kent's residents.

2.10 The mode of travel to work is a key issue in providing efficient transport links both within Kent and between Kent and its neighbouring authorities. Table2.2 provides a breakdown of mode of travel to work by those people working in the KCC area.

Mode of Travel to Work	Number of people	Per cent of Workforce	Per cent of trips (exc. Work at home)
Car driver	343,966	60.9%	68.1%
Car passenger	38,576	6.8%	7.6%
Rail	12,687	2.2%	2.5%
Bus	21,645	3.8%	4.3%
Taxi	3,032	0.5%	0.6%
Motorcycle	5,949	1.1%	1.2%
Cycle	12,149	2.2%	2.4%
Foot	63,952	11.3%	12.7%
Work at Home	59,544	10.6%
Other	2,880	0.5%	0.6%
Total	564,380	100.0%	100.0%

Source: Census 2001 (Table SWS103)

2.11 The private car remains the dominant modes of travel for journeys to work in Kent, representing 75.7% of all work trips (excluding working from home).  This level of use reflects current levels of car ownership in Kent brought about by higher rates of disposable income, a fall in the cost of motoring in relative terms. It also reflects the dispersed pattern of employment opportunities across the County. Public transport, comprising bus and rail, accounts for just 6.8% of all work based trips. Encouragingly, walking and cycling account for 15.1% of all trips and are dominated by local intra-urban trips. A significant proportion of Kent's workforce, over 59,000 people (10.6%) work at home, and is one of Kent's fastest growing sectors in terms of workplace location.

2.12 The other dominant factor in shaping the county’s transport challenge is Kent’s role as the UK’s gateway to Europe and the movement through the County of international traffic along its motorway and trunk road network. The M20/A20(T) and the M2/A2(T) currently carry over 8 million cross-channel vehicles per year, representing an additional 20,000 vehicles per day on top of the traffic generated from Kent's 1.3 million residents. The problems of congestion, pollution and safety, which the strategic network suffers from in Kent, are major challenges for the County Council and its partners. The blocking effect of London on the county’s economy must also be reduced.

Figure 2.8 Kent - Gateway to Europe Open large scaleable image in Popup

2.13 Kent's highway network forms a distinct hierarchy that is presented in Figures 2.9 and 2.10 and can be broken down into:-

• Motorway and Trunk Roads - these roads form the national road network their day-to-day management is implemented by the Highways Agency.
• County Primary Routes - these roads link major urban centres, for which KCC is the Highway Authority.
• County Principal Routes - these roads comprise the remaining major routes in Kent, and are generally 'A' class roads and some 'B' class roads with relatively high traffic flows. KCC is responsible for these routes.
• Other Roads – these cover most of the 'B' class road network and all other classified and unclassified roads which provide local access to many towns and rural areas of Kent. KCC is responsible for these routes.
• Public Rights of Way and Cycle Routes - public rights of way are made up of footpaths, bridleways and byways and offer safe and attractive routes for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Cycle routes can exist within the highway or as designated off-road routes like the Crab and Winkle Way.

2.14 Kent's motorway and trunk road network is over 400km in length. It includes the M25, A282(T), M20/A20(T), M2/A2(T), M25, M26, A249(T), A21(T) & A259(T)/A2070(T). The network, the county road network, and the traffic flows they carry are shown on Figures 2.9 and 2.10.

Figure 2.9 Inter urban traffic flows in Kent

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2.15 The County Primary Route network has seven main routes, notably:-

• A228/A26 between Medway and Tonbridge
• A229 between Medway and East Sussex
• A299 M2/A2(T) between Faversham and Thanet
• A28 between Thanet and East Sussex
• A256 between Dover and Thanet
• A26 Tonbridge to Tunbridge Wells
• A25 Wrotham to Sevenoaks

2.16 The County's Principal Routes comprise the remaining 'A' and 'B' class routes which, together with the motorway and trunk road and the primary route network, form the key arterial routes across Kent. Examples include the A225 between Sevenoaks and Dartford and A251 between Faversham and Ashford. Kent's vast network of 'B', ‘C’, or unclassified roads provide access to Kent's dispersed rural settlements and urban estates, and they also provide convenient links between higher class roads for trips that do not follow the alignment of the primary or principal road network.  During the period of the first LTP (2001/02 to 2005/06) these roads have come under pressure from increased traffic flows, brought about by increased development and an increase in car ownership and personal mobility

Figure 2.10 Inter Urban Routes

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2.17 Kent has over 490 km of cycle network consisting of National Cycle Routes, Regional Cycle Routes, recreational routes and urban cycle networks. The County Council has worked closely with Sustrans, local authorities, landowners and community groups towards the implementation of the two Millennium Routes in Kent; 135 km of National Route 1 and 60 km of National Route 2. KCC has also worked on promoting local cycle networks, focussing on local journeys to and from key destinations such as town centres, schools, places of work, recreational facilities and other local services. Provision of local networks has tended to be better progressed in the east of the County. Canterbury’s cityscape lends itself to cycling with limited access to the city centre by vehicles, an extensive network of cycle friendly streets and a compact urban form. Thanet has a good local cycle network linking the town centres to the Viking Coastal Trail and Deal has also introduced routes along its seafront and into the town centre. Ashford has substantially increased its cycle network through the infrastructure works on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the growth currently taking place. Maidstone, Gravesend and Dartford have some useful cycle routes leading from the town centre to the main residential areas

2.18 At more than 6,900 km, Kent has the largest public rights of way network of any county in England and Wales, made up of Footpaths (5796 km), Bridleways (690 km), Byways and Restricted Byways (414 km). The network forms 40% of the total highway network and is particularly useful for local journeys providing paths for people to get to shops, school and work by connecting towns and villages with mainly traffic-free routes. Kent's extensive path network is equally varied ranging from high profile promoted routes such as the North Downs Way and Saxon Shore Way, to local dog-walking routes.  The network can be characterised by surfaced and unsurfaced paths and tracks, riverside paths, routes crossing agricultural land and passing through woodland. The network also provides significant access to the Kent coastline.

2.19 International high-speed rail services from London to the Continent through Ashford International Station accounted for 7.5 million passenger trips in 2005. The opening of the first phase of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) in 2003 has boosted Eurostar’s flows as the journey time between London and Paris/Brussels has been reduced by some 20 minutes. This has also enabled Eurostar to improve its market share (compared to air) with maximum levels in 2005 being 71% on the London-Paris route and 64% on London-Brussels. The opening of the whole CTRL in 2007 will cut journey times by another 15 minutes and ensure that punctuality and reliability of the services is further improved. This will also make rail even more competitive with air and patronage will grow. However, the completion of CTRL and the opening of new stations at Ebbsfleet and Stratford represent a threat to the level of services Ashford International Passenger Station currently enjoys as Eurostar will not likely wish to stop at all three intermediate stations in the UK.

2.20 Kent has an extensive domestic rail network with 99 stations. The network is predominantly east-west orientated to provide access to central London via a number of principal stations and is dominated by passenger services. There is a significant level of commuting into central London, particularly from settlements in the western half of the County. From 1st April, serviced will be operated by Govia to London Victoria, Cannon Street and London Charing Cross stations and include intermediate stops at London Bridge and London Waterloo East, providing a good interchange with London Waterloo and London Bridge. Following a long period of under investment new trains have been introduced on the network and power supplies boosted.  This has led to a steady increase in reliability, but overcrowding on peak-hour trains is increasingly common. Within Kent, several hub stations have emerged where two or more lines interchange, including Ashford International Station. The network is shown on Figure 2.11.

Figure 2.11 Kent's rail network and CTRL

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2.21 Kent has an extensive and varied bus network comprising local bus services, integrated links, long distance and commuter coach services, schools bus services, supermarket buses, post buses, ‘Kent Karrier’ (dial-a-ride) schemes and Park & Ride services. There are currently more than 550 registered local bus services provided by 60 operators, although the network is dominated by Kent's two principal operators - Stagecoach in the east and Arriva Southern Counties in the west. In Kent, approximately 80% of the overall bus network is provided commercially without financial support from the County Council.

2.22 The movement of international freight is dominated by road haulage, with 3.5 million lorries crossing the Channel every year despite the provision of rail freight services through the Channel Tunnel. A consequence of Kent's gateway function is the impact of Operation Stack. This comprises the emergency closure of part of the M20/A20 to allow freight vehicles to be parked on the motorway in the event of the closure or major disruption to the Port of Dover &/or the Channel Tunnel. This closure severely disrupts both the strategic and local road network and results in severe congestion and lengthy delays for all vehicle occupants.

Figure 2.12 Operation Stack courtesy of Kent Messenger

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2.23 Despite national, regional and local policies supporting rail freight, its modal share in Kent is disappointingly low. The greatest potential use of rail freight is for international traffic travelling through the Channel Tunnel – where long-distance travel between UK rail terminals and the continent is possible. Forecasts for the first full year of opening of the Tunnel estimated that some 6 million tonnes would cross the Channel by rail, but the maximum level reached was barely over three million tonnes in 1998. Due to problems with illegal immigrants boarding trains and the poor level of service quality in France, the flow in 2005 was down to 1.5 million tonnes. It is hoped that the opening up of competition for rail freight services in France  will end SNCF’s monopoly and increase the number of services through the Tunnel. It is also hoped that freight will use the CTRL from 2007, taking advantage of higher loading gauge on the line. The other potential significant railfreight flow in the County is to and from the Thamesport deep sea container port where currently some 20% of the freight is taken by rail. Other smaller rail freight flows serve aggregate depots in Hothfield, Allington and Cliffe.

Figure 2.13 Port of Dover

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2.24 Kent's major seaports are among the UK's busiest transport gateways. In 2005 a total of 29 million passengers, 4.5 million cars and some 3.5 million freight vehicles, as well as 1.5 million tonnes of rail freight, crossed between Kent and the Continent. The main focus of Kent's port function is the Dover Strait and operations between Dover (Port of Dover) and Cheriton (Channel Tunnel) and Nord Pas-de-Calais. This short stretch of water is widely acknowledged to be the busiest cross-channel transport corridor in the World and reinforces Kent's status as the South East region's principal maritime gateway. Two major facilities operate in the Dover Strait, the Port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel. The Port of Dover is the UK's principal roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) ferry port and has a substantial passenger, car, coach and freight market. More recently it has introduced cruise services at Dover Western Docks. The Channel Tunnel now carries a significant volume of  cars, coaches and lorries on its Shuttle services and provides rail paths for Eurostar and rail freight. The tunnel still has considerable capacity and potential to increase its market share and accommodate the UK's growing cross-channel market. In addition to Dover and the Channel Tunnel, Kent has other major ports at Ramsgate, Sheerness, Thamesport (in Medway) and Dartford. The Kent coast is also populated with a number of smaller wharves and ports that perform an important local maritime function including the import and export of raw materials, commercial fishing and leisure activities.

2.25 Kent has two main airports, Kent International Airport (KIA) at Manston in Thanet and Lydd Airport in Shepway. Last year, EUJet, which operated out of KIA went bankrupt but a new company, Infratil, has taken over the airport and will resume passenger flights in May. Kent International Airport still has the potential to develop into a regional airport and emerge as a key transport gateway for the South-east region. Furthermore a significant increase in aviation activities will have a positive economic impact on the East Kent districts of Thanet, Canterbury and Dover. Lydd Airport plays an important role in serving local business needs and providing the opportunity for recreational flying.

2.26 One of the main consequences of the car ownership levels and public transport provision previously described is the need to improve accessibility right across Kent for those without a car. Figure 2.14 shows access to public transport in Kent. The County Council fully recognises the need to tackle this issue and to provide better accessibility to services for its residents through the Accessibility Strategy for Kent (ASK). More detail on how this challenge will be met is contained in Chapter 4 and in Appendix 2.

Figure 2.14 Accessibility to Public Transport

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2.27 Tackling congestion is a major issue for Kent County Council and its partners. Although Kent’s towns are relatively small, peak hour problems do occur especially in Maidstone, Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells. In addition, a significant amount of congestion occurs on Kent’s motorways and trunk roads and the congested nature of the M25 and London itself creates a blocking effect on Kent’s economy. Chapter 3 contains detail as to how the County Council will tackle these problems through the integrated transport programme and Kent’s Network Management Plan, a draft of which is attached as Appendix 3 to this Plan. Partnership working with bus operators such as Arriva and Stagecoach to provide better services and information will also be key. The congested nature of the rail network at peak times, connecting Kent to London and hence the UK economy, is also relevant. Figure 2.15 gives an overview of peak hour congestion, and inter-urban routes in Kent, with red representing high levels; amber medium and green low.

Figure 2.15 2004 Peak Hour Inter Urban Congestion

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2.28 For air quality, Figure 2.16 shows modelled annual nitrogen dioxide levels and air quality management areas relating to traffic. Although primarily on the motorway and trunk road network, the number of locations on local roads is steadily increasing. There is also some pollution related to the ferry services using the Port of Dover. KCC recognise there will always be a need to travel but that this need has a detrimental effect on “the Garden of England”, on our towns and villages and on the health of local people. In the face of continued growth in international traffic through the County, KCC is committed to meeting the challenge of reducing the impact transport has on Kent’s environment, heritage and communities. There is a great deal of commonality between the actions planned to tackle congestion and air quality, covered in detail in Chapters 6 and 7.

Figure 2.16 Modelled Annual Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) & Air Quality Management

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2.29 On road safety, KCC has contributed to substantial reductions in both crashes and casualties over the period of the first Local Transport Plan for Kent, 2000/01 to 2005/06. Compared to other Shire authorities in the South East region, Kent has made the most progress in achieving the Government's national target of reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on its roads as shown on Figure 2.17. Despite this, there remains a significant number of personal injury accidents on Kent's roads every year. Kent County Council’s aim is to use the experiences gained through the first LTP to enable it to sustain continuous improvement in casualty reductions. This is particularly the case with areas of work that aim to challenge established cultures and practices, as long term interventions are needed to sustain these improvements. Reducing speed and greater use of seat-belts will be targeted, along with the reduction of personal injury crashes in the County's most deprived wards.

Figure 2.17 Killed & Seriously Injured Crashes (2004)

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2.30 The growth for Kent identified in the Sustainable Communities Plan will have a major impact on Kent, especially the demand for transport. Within the County, Kent Thameside, part of Swale and Ashford are designated Growth areas. Through the first Kent LTP, the Fastrack major scheme was funded to provide sustainable access for new development in Kent Thameside, together with a considerable number of integrated transport schemes (ITS) in the area which help achieve this same aim. Figure 2.18 shows the number of dwellings (to 2016) and amount of employment land planned (to 2021) in Kent. The challenge for Kent is to continue to plan development which reduces the need to travel, and to provide infrastructure which meets the remaining demand in a sustainable way. This is true not only for the growth areas, but for the remainder of the County - especially those needing economic regeneration like East Kent.

Figure 2.18 Employment Land & New Homes (KMSP)

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2.31 The deterioration of Kent’s local road network presents an enormous challenge for this LTP. Based on an assessment of the four asset areas (carriageways, footways, structures and street lighting), it has been determined that Kent has a maintenance backlog of £310m to put all these  areas into good condition. With current levels of funding this will not be substantially reduced, with the exception of carriageways where a 20% reduction could be achieved. The graph below shows the percentage of the network by road classification below BVPI standard.

Figure 2.19 Road network below standard

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2.32 The first Local Transport Plan for Kent 2001-6 produced some excellent results for the County in terms of investment in major schemes and progress against national targets, including :-

• A 32% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on Kent’s roads from the baseline 1994-98 average. A 45% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured against the same baseline.
• A 17% increase in bus patronage on 2000/01 baseline levels.
• A 106% increase  in the percentage of bus users satisfied with local services in Kent from the 2000/01 baseline of 33% to 68% in 2003/4.
• An increase in cycling of 56% on 2000/01 baseline levels.

2.33 Overall, the challenges from the first LTP which this LTP seeks to meet include :-

• To develop an ambitious and coherent integrated transport programme based upon a more pro-active approach to demand management. This should be closely aligned with Government and County objectives and developed through a detailed dialogue with partners. This programme should be appraised by using a rigorous evaluation methodology based upon outcomes and to demonstrate these to the Government so that inward investment in the County is maximised.
• To continue to represent Kent’s current and future transport needs vigorously to Government and press for more funding for maintaining the local road network
• To test the continuing relevance of the LTP2 Objectives with the community, whilst developing them to ensure relevance to national, regional & County needs.
• To rationalise and reduce the number of local targets and indicators to simplify the monitoring of progress and focus more closely on key outcomes.
• Through a dedicated steering group, to ensure monitoring and implementation of the LTP is an integral part of the new internal structures following changes in transportation and highway service delivery.

2.34 This summary of the challenges facing Kent is not exclusive. Other issues, including improving public health and community safety are also important challenges which this LTP seeks to tackle. The next Chapter sets out how this large and complex range of issues can be tackled through better transport policy.

Figure 2.20 Borough Green High Street

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