Active Travel Programme Delivery – Consultation, Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

Last Updated: February 2022

1.0 Background and Context

Effective engagement with communities is key to achieving a scheme that is accepted and should form part of the scheme development process from the start. As well as giving communities the opportunity to help shape the proposed changes it allows Local Authorities to understand local needs and concerns.

A condition of the Department for Transport Active Travel Fund (ATF) grant award was that appropriate consultation took place before scheme construction starts.

In November 2020 the DfT wrote to authorities with the ATF Tranche 2 Grant Award letter and highlighted the importance of consultation and the local acceptance of schemes that work for their communities. Local Authorities were now required to follow a ‘five-point plan’ from DfT as follows:

1. Publish detailed consultation plans to show how they would consult their communities before funding is released;

2. Show ‘reasonable evidence’ of consultation before schemes could be introduced;

3. Undertake appropriate public opinion surveys before and after implementation;

4. Submit monitoring reports on the implementation of schemes 6-12 months after their opening; and

5. Liaise closely with DfT on these requirements and attend briefing sessions where DfT will communicate the strengthened requirements in more detail.

If these conditions were not met, DfT may reduce future funding allocations for local transport measures. Furthermore, a new body - Active Travel England will be set up by DfT and will provide quality assurance, support and review for local authority plans.

The DfT also requires that appropriate public opinion surveys are undertaken both before and after implementation, the requirement stated that post-scheme surveys should be informed by the first stage of consultation (broad support for the schemes). Monitoring of schemes 6-12 months after their opening was advised to include the results of local resident surveys that tested the impact of schemes post-implementation.

To further emphasis the importance of consultation, in July 2021 changes were made to the Traffic Management Act 2004: Network management to support recovery from Covid-19[1] which stated:

Consultation and community engagement should always be undertaken whenever authorities propose to remove, modify or reduce existing schemes and whenever they propose to introduce new ones. Engagement, especially on schemes where there is public controversy, should use objective methods, such as professional polling to British Polling Council standards, to establish a truly representative picture of local views and to ensure that minority views do not dominate the discourse. Consultations are not referendums, however. Polling results should be one part of the suite of robust, empirical evidence on which decisions are made.

2.0 BHCC Consultation Framework

In order to meet the DfT requirements BHCC have developed this consultation framework which is underpinned by the Council’s community engagement framework and the following key principles:

1. Ensuring the consultation has a clear purpose and that responses influence decisions.

2. Being flexible, so that engagement and consultation can be tailored to people’s needs.

3. Being inclusive, ensuring a range of consultation methods are used to reach the widest range of people.

4. Ensuring Council resources are well targeted: local knowledge and intelligence is used to plan and deliver the consultation, and sufficient time is given to analyse feedback.

5. Being transparent, ensuring feedback is provided to participants and made publicly available.

Objectives of consultation are as follows:

· To meaningfully consult with a wide audience to include those who may be affected by / interested in the scheme/s

· To gather quantitative and / or qualitative feedback on the draft proposals to inform the scheme/s final design and implementation

· To identify key concerns / impacts of the proposals that may need to be managed and/or mitigated as part of the final design and implementation of schemes.

This consultation framework details a range of activities to be considered when delivering schemes depending on scale, size and complexity. All projects will identify the individual consultation methodologies suitable to that scheme in their Stakeholder and Engagement Plans.

Where schemes have been identified though citywide strategies or plans such as the LCWIP or LTP5, initial (stage 1) consultation stages may not need to be repeated.

While for all schemes their aims and objectives align to BHCC corporate priorities, transport projects differ greatly in size and nature therefore this framework provides a guide to options for consideration in a range of schemes.

4.0 Stage One: Initial Consultation

To ensure meaningful consultation and engagement, public opinion surveys (including closed and open questions) will run for a minimum period of 4-6 weeks focused on initial designs so that quantitative and qualitative feedback can shape scheme proposals as they develop. During this consultation period workshops with targeted community, equality and interest groups will take place, as well as meetings or workshops with key stakeholders to ensure a wide range of views are gathered. Citizen Assemblies may also be used to gather a representative sample of public opinion on the proposals.

Information on the proposals will be made available in a range of accessible formats and languages. Subject to Public Health guidance at the time of consultation, activities may be held virtually or face-to-face, including public meetings / displays of proposals.

The consultation will contain the following information for respondents to review:

· Background information on active travel and the need for the scheme (including reference to carbon neutral by 2030, national guidance and instructions, clean air and public health benefits)

· Detail on what the scheme proposes and where this is (this is likely to be indicative rather than detailed proposals)

· Scheme diagram showing the proposals on a map

· Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the scheme

· Information on what happens next

· Questionnaire to fill in

The consultation questionnaires (paper and online) will broadly seek the following information from respondents. Survey content will also be informed by further advice from DfT as necessary:

· Method/s of travelling in the area

· Likelihood of using the scheme (broken down by scheme elements where relevant eg main proposals and complementary measures)

· Factors that may encourage more use of cycling by the respondent

· Factors that may encourage more use of walking by the respondent

· Any improvements that could be made to the proposals (open comments)

· About you – resident / business / visitor (including name, address and, if applicable, organisation name)

· Equalities monitoring questions (to ensure the consultation responses are representative of the city and views from groups with protected characteristics are included)

A range of consultation methods will be considered depending on their scale and complexity. Table 1 below lists the range of methods that may be utilised.

Table 1. Stage One Consultation Methods

Delivery method	Audience	Details
Consultation questionnaire (online / paper)	City residents / businesses / visitors / groups or stakeholders with an interest / general public	Providing details of the schemes (including basic plans) and asking for responses via an online questionnaire. Accessible versions of the questionnaire will be available on request, i.e. paper copies / other languages. The online consultation portal hosting the questionnaire will meet web content accessibility guidelines, including for use with speech recognition software and screen readers
Leaflet	Properties (residential and business) directly affected by schemes	Providing details of the proposed schemes (including basic plans) and asking for responses – with recipients asked to submit views via the online questionnaire or request a paper copy or other formats if required
Postcard	Wider boundary of properties affected	Providing summary information about the proposed schemes and inviting respondents to complete scheme survey online or request a paper questionnaire
Public opinion surveys	Representative members of the public	Building on the recent work of the Climate Assembly in Brighton & Hove, public opinion survey questions could be asked out before and after implementation of schemes in order to understand the level of public feeling on active travel and the need for change in the city. This could form part of wider questionnaires or form an activity in itself, depending on the scale of the project.
Consultation events	Residents, businesses, those with an interest in the consultation	Consultation events held in the local area of the scheme proposals, to present & discuss plans and answer questions.
Online – BHCC website and social media	Residents, businesses, those with an interest in the consultation	Information to be put on the BHCC website and circulated via BHCC online channels to promote consultations more widely with those not directly affected, with an option to request a paper questionnaire
Posters	Members of the public, communities affected by or with an interest in the scheme/s	Posters on the scheme consultation to be disseminated to local venues eg leisure centres / community centres in order to inform the local community of the consultation. Consideration of bus stop advertising / additional local advertising as appropriate to spread the word in the community
Local community groups	Stakeholder groups and their members / users	Information to be sent to known stakeholder groups in the city, including those who can disseminate information to hard-to-reach groups
Information session	Stakeholder groups	Hold online or in-person session/s for community and stakeholder groups, to present information and take questions.
Local disability groups	Local residents with disabilities	Accessible versions of the consultation information to be produced in conjunction with key disability groups in the city, in line with public sector accessibility regulations. Information to be disseminated to local equality and disability networks, including via the BHCC equalities team Focus group/s to be facilitated in conjunction with disability groups, to gather qualitative feedback about the impacts of the proposals from people with disabilities
Focus groups	Demographic groups which may be traditionally hard to reach via standard consultation methods	Focus groups can be considered for consultations, with groups such as disabled people (see above), Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, older people and younger people; these enable proposals and issues to be explored in more detail. This could include specific sessions for the consultation or joining existing meetings
Email / phonecalls	Schools / Workplaces in affected areas	Messaging to be distributed by School / Workplace Travel Teams, asking for the information to be forwarded to staff / parents & carers. Information to be disseminated to Workplace Active Travel & Health Partnership and potential to attend this group to present proposals as necessary. Consider specific engagement with the Business Improvement District and Chamber of Commerce, depending on the nature and location of scheme/s
Pupil engagement / feedback sessions	School pupils in areas near proposals (subject to school involvement)	Work to be carried out with the School Travel Team to inform and engage pupils from local schools in proposals being put forward and seeking feedback
Emails / phone calls / meetings if required	Statutory stakeholders (eg emergency services, bus operators) Royal Mail Members of Parliament All Ward Councillors	To be undertaken by BHCC Project Manager for each scheme as standard
Partnership / stakeholder meetings	Key partner organisations including e.g. Transport Partnership, Active & Inclusive Travel Forum, Equalities and Inclusion Partnership	Attend existing partnership and stakeholder meetings as scheduled during the consultation period (subject to invitation) to present information on the proposals, collect feedback and invite any further formal feedback from organisations via the questionnaire
Meetings / emails	Youth Council	Present information to the Youth Council to seek views and invite feedback

4.2 Stage One Consultation outcomes

If stage one consultation is required results will be collated and presented appropriately – both quantitative and or qualitative data. This will then inform the basis of an ETS committee report, along with detailed designs on schemes informed by the consultation feedback where appropriate, with recommendations based on the feedback in terms of how to take the schemes forward.

5.0 Stage Two: Detailed Design Stage

Stakeholders such as local businesses and residents should be involved with the detailed designs at this stage, with workshops and public events taking place to present latest plans to the local community and provide a further opportunity for input and discussion. At this stage, plans should be well developed and feedback at this stage should be on the specifics of the plans being discussed. Consultation activities must be appropriate to the local environment and wherever possible utilise accessible venues local to the scheme. Other means of communication must be available for those unavailable to attend events. These sessions can be promoted, delivered using a range of methods as identified below utilising the councils transport communication lead and available social media platforms.

The following table lists the range of methods that may be used to deliver effective consultation depending on the complexity and scale of the projects.

Table 2 Stage Two consultation methods

Delivery method	Audience	Details
Leaflet	Properties (residential and business) directly affected by schemes	Providing details of the consultation event dates and inviting attendance, as well as information on the latest plans or directing people online to view the latest detailed designs.
Postcard	Wider boundary of properties affected	Providing summary information about the proposed schemes and the events inviting attendance
Consultation events	Residents, businesses, those with an interest in the consultation	Consultation events held in the local area of the scheme proposals, to present & discuss plans and answer questions.
Local community groups	Stakeholder groups and their members / users	Email information to be sent to known stakeholder groups in the city, including those who can disseminate information to hard-to-reach groups
Local disability groups	Local residents with disabilities	Accessible versions of the consultation information to be produced in conjunction with key disability groups in the city, in line with public sector accessibility regulations. Information to be disseminated to local equality and disability networks, including via the BHCC equalities team Focus group/s to be facilitated in conjunction with disability groups, to gather qualitative feedback about the impacts of the proposals from people with disabilities
Consultation questionnaire – BHCC website and paper copies	City residents / businesses / visitors / groups or stakeholders with an interest / general public	Providing detailed designs of the schemes and asking for responses via a questionnaire. Accessible versions of the questionnaire will be available on request, ie paper copies / other languages. The online consultation portal hosting the questionnaire meets web content accessibility guidelines, including for use with speech recognition software and screen readers
Focus groups	Demographic groups which may be traditionally hard to reach via standard consultation methods	Focus groups can be considered for consultations, with groups such as disabled people (see above), Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, older people and younger people; these enable proposals and issues to be explored in more detail. This could include specific sessions for the consultation, or joining existing meetings eg the Youth Council
Email / phonecalls	Schools / Workplaces in affected areas	Messaging to be distributed by School / Workplace Travel Teams, asking for the information to be forwarded to staff / parents & carers. Information to be disseminated to Workplace Active Travel & Health Partnership and potential to attend this group to present proposals as necessary. Consider specific engagement with the Business Improvement District and Chamber of Commerce, depending on the nature and location of scheme/s
Emails / phonecalls / meetings if required	Statutory stakeholders (eg emergency services, bus operators) Royal Mail Members of Parliament All Ward Councillors	To be undertaken by BHCC Project Manager for each scheme as standard
Partnership / stakeholder meetings	Key partner organisations including eg Transport Partnership, Active & Inclusive Travel Forum, Equalities and Inclusion Partnership	Attend existing partnership and stakeholder meetings as scheduled during the consultation period (subject to invitation) to present information on the proposals, collect feedback and invite any further formal feedback from organisations via the questionnaire
Meetings / emails	Youth Council	Present information to the council to seek views and invite feedback

Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs)	Members of the public and Partnership bodies such as the Emergency Services	The formal consultation stage of a TRO is open for any member of the public to comment on. The proposed scheme will be advertised in the local press and uploaded to the BHCC website. Schemes draw many views from the community. In the case of TROs there is an advertisement period in which representations can be formally lodged. All comments must be duly considered before a TRO can be made operational and the scheme implemented on site.
Online – BHCC website and social media	Wider residents, businesses	Information to be put on the BHCC website and circulated via BHCC online channels to promote the consultation more widely with those not directly affected.
Pupil engagement / feedback sessions	School pupils in areas near proposals (subject to school involvement)	Work to be carried out with the School Travel Team to inform and engage pupils from local schools in proposals being put forward and seeking feedback

5.2 Consultation outcomes

Following the stage two consultation period, results will be collated and presented appropriately – both quantitative and or qualitative data. Results will inform any minor changes to the detailed designs for the scheme which will then inform the basis of an ETS committee report, along with final designs on schemes informed by the consultation feedback where appropriate.

5.4 Other consultation methods

There are a range of consultation methods featured in the latest DfT guidance documents which have not formed part of our consultation plan for active travel schemes to date. These are detailed as follows with advantages and limitations of use. DfT methods should be considered in terms of their appropriateness to both the scheme and the local context.

Consultation Method	Detail	Advantages	Limitations
Professional Polling	Commissioning of national research organisations to conduct polling	Fast	Expense
Business surveys	Surveying employees of businesses near to the scheme	Measure modal shift Business can circulate on our behalf	Not representative as not all scheme users will be employees Many staff are currently working from home
Intercept Surveys	Face-to-face feedback from users of the scheme	Behaviour change Monitor demographic reach Captures decision making	Seasonal influence Term-time fluctuations Self – selecting Covid-19 guidance to consider

6.0 Monitoring and Evaluation

This can be pre and post scheme to determine if the outputs for the scheme have been delivered as expected. i.e length of cycleway in meters. This can also mean data collection to demine how the scheme operates and if modal shift patterns can be seen.

6.1 Data Collection

All active travel schemes will be subject to basic monitoring including pedestrian flows/ usage, cycle count data and vehicle speeds where appropriate and scheme Project Managers will have access to local network data to inform scheme development. Data collection can be carried out before and after implementation to determine how the scheme operates and should take into account transport neutral months such as October and whereever possible pre and post surveys should be performed at the same time of year.

Any surveys carried out should consider any major disruption on the existing highway to ensure results are not disrupted, for example major events taking place in the city will impact survey results.

A range of data sources that can be used for schemes include;

· Localised BTN Bikeshare data

· Travel to school information

· Census data via Nomis

· National Highways and Transport SurveyActive Lives survey data

· Department for Transport traffic count data Depending on the scheme complexity and scale count data and detailed surveys will be commissioned to provide a more comprehensive picture, these surveys will be tailored depending on the requirements of the Project and could include 24 hour pedestrian/ cycle and vehicle data, and vehicle turning count data for junction analysis and other surveys such as parking beat surveys / bus journey times.

Where appropriate environmental studies will need to be carried out to inform Air Quality improvements or Noise Assessments.

6.2 Post-scheme surveys

The DfT requires all permanent schemes that cost at least £2m to be formally evaluated, schemes costing between £1-2m will also require monitoring. Reports will be produced in line with monitoring of schemes 6-12 months after their opening and will include the results of local resident surveys that test the impact of schemes post-implementation.

The public opinion surveys, to be undertaken before and after scheme implementation, will seek the following information:

· Levels of understanding of the need for change for travel in the city

· Levels of support for improving air quality, improving road safety, reducing traffic congestion and noise

· Understanding of key local transport issues

Timescales and the nature of these surveys will differ depending on the nature and location of the scheme, however all post-scheme surveys will be carried out between 6 and 12 months following completion of a scheme.

Modal shift is the primary objective for active travel schemes, therefore all individual project monitoring and evaluation approaches should included a component that measures modal shift over time. Individual schemes will require their own monitoring plan, below is a range of scheme types with suggested data collection methodologies for consideration. Individual projects may span a number of typologies and therefore a range of data collection techniques.

Table 3 Data collection methodology

Scheme typology	Includes the following infrastructure	Data collection methods
1. New cycling / walking scheme	New segregated cycleway (permanent) New segregated cycleway (temporary) New footway (permanent) New cycleway (temporary) Park and cycle / stride/ scooter facilities Provision of cycle parking New shared use (in exceptional circumstances) New road crossings	Scheme usage levels
2. Adaptions to existing infrastructure	Installation segregation to make an existing cycle route safer Widening existing footway or cycleway Area wide interventions (eg ped and cycle zones, modal filters Upgrades to existing facilities (signs/surface signals)	User perception surveys
3. Traffic Restraint	Restriction or reduction of parking availability Area wide intervention, cycling zones and modal filters Selective road closures Traffic Calming School Streets	User perception Vehicle flows