Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has three actions within REFORM: the development of a regional planning instrument to integrate transport and land use policy (Greater Manchester Spatial Framework), the development of localised cross-boundary SUMPs using a Streets for All Approach (Streets for All Strategy) and encouraging behaviour change across the city region.
Following on from the successful consultation that was launched last year, work has been progressing on the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework in the aim of publishing a document that reflects the opinions of Greater Manchester’s residents. Despite the impact of the current crisis, TfGM are still managing to work in an integrated way with the ten Greater Manchester local authorities, consultants and site promoters to ensure that we are making the progress required.
TfGM - on behalf of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and ten Greater Manchester local authorities - has been continuing to develop a Streets for All Strategy, which is a sub-strategy to the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040 (SUMP) to be published later this year. Since the beginning of the year, we have undertaken some work to refine the content of the document, and to engage with elected officials and senior officers from the city region’s local authorities, including to gain their views about which key themes (such as safety, air pollution and public health) we should emphasise in the draft document.
The current Covid-19 crisis has made the work TfGM carries out regarding encouraging behaviour change more important than ever. Due to government guidance stating that we should only use public transport as a last resort, walking and cycling have become increasingly important in how Greater Manchester residents make essential journeys. TfGM has designed and implemented a process for delivery of 250 Bikes for NHS Key Workers Scheme in a short timescale to help them on their daily commute.
Additionally, active Travel messaging was enhanced via various media channels in order to encourage those who do need to travel to walk or cycle. TfGM are keen to hold onto the change in behaviour that we are seeing across the city-region. The initiative targets the increase in cycling and walking beyond a COVID-19-related lockdown in the UK.
