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Accessibility Planning

It is the ability to gain access to people, goods and services that defines user perceptions of transport systems but levels of access have not traditionally been measured. DHC have been pioneers of accessibility planning and modelling. Our work reviewing accessibility measuring techniques and their application helped the UK Social Exclusion Unit formulate the concept of "accessibility planning" in local government practice. DHC have been instrumental in developing national guidance and supprting the delivery of better access across the UK.

See below for a range of accessibility planning resources and tools from recent DHC projects. Some documents are in PDF format. You may read this format using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Projects

• In a recent paper on accessibility planning (2011) the difficult history of the use and abuse of accessibility indicators is reviewed. In 1999 the UK appraisal body SACTRA highlighted that many claims about access to jobs were tactical as part of road scheme promotion and not supported by evidence. In this latest paper DHC Director Derek Halden shows how a more rigorous treatment of accessibility is leading to practical uses and helping to cut out the abuses of accessibility measures.
• Smart Access Solutions (2011) - DHC has developed a pioneering approach to make connections between information, payment and sustainable travel choices.
• Road Congestion impacts on accessibility (2011) - The 2010 core accessibility indicators are published as part of national statistics to show the travel time to key services from each part of England. 2010 Accessibility Indicators are published by here. DHC also now publishes indicators in a variety of other formats to support development and transport planning. Contact us for further details.
• Accessibility Planning Practice in the EU - DHC is contributing to a two year EC funded project looking at best practice in accessibility planning.
• Lower Cost Rural Accessibility (2010) - DHC and the TAS Partnership developed guidance for the Local Government Improvement and Development Agency on how to maintain rural accessibility with falling public budgets Rural Accessibility.
• Calculation of 2009 Core National Accessibility Indicators (2010) - The 2009 indicators seek to link local and national practice more closely to build on the progress already made supporting in delivering Local Area Agreements across England.2009 Indicators
• State of the Countryside Accessibility Analysis 2010 - The 2010 State of the Countryside report uses analysis by DHC to show how for some services accessibility by road and public transport has been improving, but for others there has been a decline. The Changing Face of Rural Services
• Access to Services in Wales (2010) - Analysis using GPS tracking of vehicles shows that congestion affects access to services for different house addresses in different ways. Journey times were calculated to the nearest 10 destinations for nine service types for 23 time periods throughout the day.
• Travel times to airports (2009) - This analysis for the DfT looked at the choices available to residents of the UK when accessing airports by public transport and various times of day and night. The largest airports do not always have the best public transport services.
• Rail Station Choice (2009) - To assist DfT, Atkins, Mott MacDonald and Jacobs with their PLANET modelling of rail network capacity, travel times to rail stations across central and northern England were calculated by car, cycle, bus and walking. This showed the choices that customers face when deciding which station to use when accessing the national rail network. The work ensures that access to the rail network is included more accurately resulting in more robust modelling of rail travel demand.
• Calculation of 2008 Core National Accessibility Indicators (2009) - The 2008 indicators introduce a wider range of indicator types to add flexibility to the use of the national indicators and build on the progress already made supporting in delivering Local Area Agreements across England.
• Wales Indicators of Multiple Deprivation (2008) - DHC developed previous work conducted for the Welsh Assembly Government, calculating new accessibility indicators which will be used as part of the Welsh 2008 Index of Multiple Deprivation.
• Consumer needs for access to market based services (2007) – This project for the National Consumer Council investigated how current accessibility planning frameworks might be revised to better improve access to privately provided services.
• Accessibility Modelling in New Zealand (2007) – Together with Steve Abley transport consultancy DHC is identifying how accessibility planning and modeling can best be taken forward in New Zealand.
• Calculation of Core National Accessibility Indicators (2006) - This work for the Department for Transport is calculating accessibility indicators for national priority target groups and trip purposes. The work combines many data sets including public transport, OS Mastermap, education, health, shopping and jobs data.
• Access to Services in East Dunbartonshire (2005) DHC helped the Council to develop plans to improve access to health, work and other services for priority groups within the area. By working within community planning structures for stakeholder involvement the project developed an accessibility plan to tackle current and growing problems.
• State of the Art Review of Accessibility Planning and Modelling (2005) As part of a EPSRC funded social accessibility modelling project led by University of Westminster, DHC undertook a review of accessibility planning and modelling techniques.
• Scottish Household Survey Topic report - Accessibility and Transport (2004-05) (PDF, 108KB) Project for the Scottish Executive with Napier University. Making connections between policy-driven and data-driven approaches to accessibility problems.
• Access to Healthcare in Southport and Formby (2004-5) (PDF, 258KB) This project for Merseytravel and Southport and Formby Primary Care Trust (PCT) identified ways to tackle accessibility and social inclusion in the Southport and Formby area.
• Improving Accessibility and Social Inclusion for Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen Airports (2004) - BAA Scottish Airports commissioned this work as part of their site travel planning to identify how to improve access to employment opportunities and catchments for the airports.
• Cost and Reliability Factors for Accessibility Planning in Greater Manchester (2004) for GMPTE and DfT. This investigated how cost and reliability barriers faced by different groups of people could be considered more effectively in transport and accessibility planning. The work reviewed data sources to identify the barriers and problems, and different ways of tackling identified problems.
• Appraisal of Laurencekirk station reopening (2004) (PDF, 146KB) DHC assisted Scott Wilson in the appraisal of the reopening of this station in Aberdeenshire, by developing an accessibility model for North East Scotland and appraising economic development and accessibility impacts.
• Accessibility audit for public transport plan in Aberdeen (2004) This work, for Aberdeen City Council, examined the accessibility impacts of an interchange at Foresterhill healthcare campus. The accessibility implications of potential changes to bus services and the development of a major new interchange were analysed.
• Access to Food in Knowsley (2004) (PDF, 258KB) This project for Merseyside Future Healthcare Project surveyed the availability of fresh food and mapped accessibility for local residents to these shops.
• Relocation of the Royal Liverpool Hospital (2004) (PDF, 363KB) for North Mersey Future Healthcare project and DfT. The work examined options for hospital relocation by mapping the accessibility of alternative options.
• Developing and Piloting Accessibility Planning (2003-2004) DHC led the development and piloting of accessibility planning in England for the DfT to implement the findings of the Social Exclusion Unit report on "Making the Connections". The work supported the development of guidance for English local authorities on accessibility planning processes.
• Accessibility in the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) (2003) (PDF, 84KB) Developing guidance on accessibility and social inclusion appraisal within Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) for the Scottish Executive. The work clarified how accessibility fits within appraisal and, provided examples of best practice in analysing accessibility and distributional issues.
• Rural Access and Lifeline Services in the WESTRANS area (2002-2003) This project with Colin Buchanan and Partners developed a strategy for tackling rural accessibility problems in west central Scotland for the WESTRANS transport partnership.
• Accessibility Analysis for the New Transport Initiative in Edinburgh (2002) This project audited the equity impacts of the road charging proposals in Edinburgh. By looking at geographical areas and people groups affected by the proposals, recommendations were made on the transport projects necessary to deliver a more equitable scheme.
• Development of an Accessibility Model for Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive (2002) - This project with Steer Davis Gleave assessed accessibility modelling needs for SPT, and specified how these could be met through the development of an accessibility model.
• Planning and Transport in Wales (2001) for the Welsh Assembly Government with Steer Davies Gleave. As part of the development of the national spatial strategy in Wales this research reviewed data availability and accessibility measuring techniques that could be used in land use planning by each tier of government.
• Strategic Accessibility Analysis for the Edinburgh and Lothians Structure Plan (2001) This work was used to define an integrated approach to land use and transport for the new Structure Plan taking account of economic and social policy aims. Quantitative accessibiluty measures were used to compare development locations and transport investment options.
• Rural Accessibility (2001) - This project for the Scottish Executive involved the development of a robust appraisal methodology for rural transport investment through the Rural Transport Funding Initiative and Rural Community Transport Funding Initiative. It involved research to understand rural travel behaviour and identify how practical and affordable improvements can be delivered.
• Review of Accessibility Measuring techniques and their Application (2000) To support the joint needs of the Scottish Executive planning policy and transport policy departments the project reviewed options for measuring accessibility and their implementation in national policy. The work included software development for indicator calculation and preparation of national guidance on accessibility planning techniques.