Local authorities are transport, highway, street-works and traffic authorities. ‘Transport’ encompasses highways construction and maintenance, maintenance of bridges and structures, road safety, public transport, active transport (walking and cycling), community transport, transport planning, traffic management, managing congestion and coordination of utilities works (this is not an exhaustive list).
Local authorities are responsible for 32,000km of roads in Wales. This amounts to 95% of the total road network as the Welsh Assembly Government is responsible for the Trunk and Motorway Network.
Under the Transport Act 2000 local authorities were charged with developing safe, integrated, efficient and effective transport policy within their areas. Under the Traffic Management Act 2004 Local Authorities were also charged with the expeditious movement of traffic in their area.
To achieve the aspirations set out in legislation Councils have to work in partnership with transport operators – bus and rail, the construction sector, planning, utilities, transport groups and especially important, with each other. All 22 Local Authorities participate in regional consortia with the aim of coordination, modal shift and effective and integrated transport solutions being delivered. There are four regional consortia in Wales:
- South-West Wales Integrated Transport Consortium (SWWITCH)
- South-East Wales Transport Alliance (SEWTA)
- North Wales Taith (Joint Transport Board (TAITH)
- Mid-Wales Transport Consortium (TRaCC)
Key Issues
The Welsh Assembly Government has produced a Transport Strategy for Wales along with a National Transport Plan that looks at implementation priorities. Linking to both of these, each of the Regional Transport Consortia has produced a Regional Transport Plan. These set out how an integrated approach has been developed to all forms of transport within and between the local authorities in their areas and beyond (see links).
The WLGA is working with WAG as it develops governance arrangements to ensure that the whole system across all these different plans is fit for purpose and operates effectively.
Historically, authorities have struggled to allocate sufficient funds to maintain their roads, bridges etc. This situation will be exacerbated as the financial position facing local authorities tightens in the years ahead. Transport is thought to be particularly at risk, with the potential shelving of capital projects and cutbacks in the revenue support for activities.
All local authorities in Wales have worked on asset management plans. These evidence the condition of infrastructure and the level of resources needed both to maintain it and to help meet our economic and environmental aspirations.
A £15m grant from WAG over the last three years has helped authorities tackle a maintenance backlog on their highway assets. However, this grant was cut to £5m in 2010/11. Unfortunately, the severe winter weather has caused much damage to highways across the country and, although a £2.75m grant was distributed to authorities in February 2010 this is well short of the level of funds needed.
In light of the salt crisis that was experienced during the winter of 2009/10, WLGA has been working with WAG and authorities to develop resilience and build strategic stocks to prevent a similar situation arising in the future.
WLGA Views
Quite apart from financial pressures facing this service, there is an increasing awareness that the way we think about transport has to change radically. There is a need to plan for the future, recognising that transport is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions / climate change and that systems and land uses based on cheap oil now need to be rethought in light of ‘peak oil’. As supply and demand become increasingly out of step, oil prices can be expected to rise significantly. This will force us to think more carefully about whether journeys are really necessary.
Where journeys are unavoidable, we need to be developing infrastructure to support more sustainable options, including public transport, walking and cycling and electric vehicles based on renewable supplies of energy.
For more information contact: Tim Peppin