Coming to a street near you!
Residents in Brighton are being offered free travel advice and incentives as part of an ongoing scheme to ease congestion and give people a better experience while travelling in the city.
Brighton & Hove City Council’s Personalised Travel Planning Project, which was launched in 2006, has already helped thousands of residents to save money and travel around the city in a more sustainable way.
This summer, the council’s travel advisors will be out and about visiting residents in Queen’s Park, Tarner, St James’s, Kemp Town, Craven Vale and the Bristol Estate.
The advisors, wearing distinctive Brighton & Hove City Council t-shirts and carrying ID, will call at homes between 2pm and 7pm, to explore with residents how they currently travel around the city, and offer advice and information on making journeys more enjoyable, healthier and cost effective.
Anyone who receives a visit will be asked about whether their journeys in the city are usually taken by car, bicycle, bus, train or on foot. Many short journeys are taken by car, but alternatives can be quicker, better and healthier. The aim of the Travel Planning scheme is to encourage people to look at how they can benefit from making a change in their travel habits.
The travel advisors are also keen to hear residents’ concerns about travelling around the city, answer their questions and to put residents in touch with relevant council departments.
After talking with a travel advisor, residents who would like to try travelling in a different way will receive a small incentive and asked to fill out a travel diary.
This will help officers to measure and understand how people choose to travel around the city, and identify barriers that prevent them from travelling more sustainably.
Residents can find out about the free cycle training and bicycle maintenance courses, available for people over 14 years old who live, work or study in the current PTP area and how to organise community initiatives such as “Playing Out” events and Dr Bike sessions.
Cllr Gill Mitchell, chair of the environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “We are aware that travelling around the city can be frustrating at times, and we are always exploring solutions to make journeys easier and stress free!
“Our Personalised Travel Planning project provides information about the best travel options to suit individual circumstances. The doorstep chats only take a few minutes and can make a real difference to how people choose to travel in Brighton & Hove. We are keen to explore what motivates people’s preferences for different travel options and look at how best to keep the city moving.”
The Personalised Travel Planning project is managed by Brighton & Hove City Council’s Transport Planning and is funded from a successful bid to the government.
For more information about the Travelling Planning Project contact travel.planning@brighton-hove.gov.uk