What Does a Transport Planner Do? (An Overview of Development Transport Planning.)

What Does a Transport Planner Do?

A contact of ours recently asked what work transport planners (like Kronen)  do / what reports we prepare. He was surprised by the number and range of reports and asked for a brief overview each report, key differences and at what planning stage the reports would be used.

We explained that transport planners in the development planning field typically prepare the following reports:

• Transport Statements
• Transport Assessments
• Travel Plans
• Parking Surveys
• Traffic Surveys
• Construction Logistics Plans
• Delivery Servicing Plans

We provided brief explanations of these reports as follows:

Transport Statements / Transport Assessments

Transport Statements and Transport Assessments are the reports most often requested by planning authorities to support applications. Transport Statements and Transport Assessments reports detail: the site’s existing use, existing transport context (sustainable transport accessibility, road / vehicle access, highway conditions), proposed use, proposal’s transport impact, proposal’s integration with planning policy, any mitigations measures needed to make the proposal acceptable (legal agreements, Travel Plan etc.). Transport Assessments are more comprehensive reports needed on larger proposals, Transport Statements are ‘lighter touch’ reports for more modest schemes.

Transport Statements / Transport Assessments are needed for planning applications and not to discharge planning conditions / agreements etc.

Travel Plans

Travel Plans seek to promote the use of sustainable transport in favour of travel by private vehicle. Travel Plans are a tool to mitigate car-based impacts of development proposals (as above). Travel Plans are strongly linked to Transport Statements / Transport Assessments but are standalone reports with the specific goal of influencing travel behaviour.

Travel Plans are requested at planning stages and are also requested post-planning to discharge planning conditions / agreements etc.

Parking Surveys

A Parking Survey can be included in a Transport Statements / Transport Assessments or can be requested by planning authorities as a standalone report. Very localised parking impacts are often one of the most contentious transport issues for modest new developments for planning officers and local residents. Parking Surveys measure existing on-street conditions (expressed as a percentage ‘stress’) and then project the proposal’s impact and assess planning acceptability.

Parking Surveys are needed for planning applications and not normally to discharge planning conditions / agreements etc.

Traffic Surveys

Again Traffic Surveys can be included in a Transport Statements / Transport Assessments or can be requested by planning authorities as a standalone reports. Traffic Surveys (traffic speed and / or traffic count surveys) can be needed as part of highway access assessments for proposals that need to demonstrate safe and suitable access. Alternatively simple traffic count surveys may be required to assess / monitor trips in and out of an application site or new development.

Standalone Traffic Surveys can be requested by clients for a variety of reasons, sometimes outside of planning application work.

Construction Logistics Plans

Construction Logistics Plans seek to reduce the impact of a construction project on the surrounding area. Construction Logistics Plans are a tool to mitigate proposal’s impacts and are sometimes referenced in Transport Statements / Transport Assessments. They include operational and safety measures as well as things like booking systems to ease loading impacts / congestion.

Construction Logistics Plans are requested at both planning stages and post-planning stages to discharge planning conditions / agreements etc; Construction Logistics Plans tend to be more common at post-planning.

Delivery Servicing Plans

Delivery Servicing Plans are similar to Construction Logistics Plans; Delivery Servicing Plans are a tool to mitigate the continual / operational on-street loading impact of commercial proposals.

As with Construction Logistics Plans, Delivery Servicing Plans are requested at both planning stages and post-planning stages to discharge planning conditions / agreements etc; Delivery Servicing Plans tend to be more common at post-planning.

Contact Kronen Limited, Surrey transport planners, using either info@www.kronenlimited.com or 020 8541 1139 if your project requires transport planning support.