Devon County Council nominated in three categories in the National Transport Awards

By PRSD, on Thursday, July 15, 2010

Devon County Council, you might be surprised to know, is nominated in three categories in this year’s National Transport Awards. You might also be surprised to know, last year the council won Transport Local Authority of the Year.

Devon County Council is one of only two local authorities, along with Cambridge, to have twice won the title of Transport Local Authority of the Year.

The event takes place tonight (Thursday, July 15) in Manchester, where Devon County Council will be up for awards in Cycling Improvements, Dedication For Access To All and Road Safety, Traffic Management and Enforcement.

Here’s what the county council has been up to to get such recognition, in case you missed it.

Cycling Improvements
The Cycle Exeter project has already been highlighted by Cycling England as a model for other cycling towns and cities, and Devon has been visited by 12 other local authorities as well as the Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly and representatives from Australia and New Zealand to learn how Cycle Exeter has delivered its successful programme.

Since the project was launched in 2005 there has been a 40 per cent growth in cycle trips in the city and 20 per cent of secondary school children in the city cycle to school, compared with a national average of 3 per cent. 20km of new and improved routes have also been created in Exeter in that time, and 1,500 children receive Bikeability cycle training every year.

Road Safety, Traffic Management and Enforcement
The Devon Country Mile project, the County Council’s biggest ever road safety campaign, has trialled a number of initiatives following its launch in 2008 to improve road safety on rural roads, specifically in the area between Exeter and Barnstaple, bordered by the A361, the A377 and the A396.

The number of collisions in the area from November 2008 to October 2009 saw a 44 per cent reduction compared with the average figure between 2002 and 2006. And that compares with an 11 per cent reduction across the rest of Devon.

Speeds have also reduced on the North Devon Link Road thanks in part to improved lining and signing and an education campaign, but also sensors embedded in the road which have helped Police and the Devon and Cornwall Safety Camera Partnership identify specific times of when motorists are exhibiting risky driver behaviour.

Dedication For Access To All
Devon has also been nominated for improving access to transport services across the county and helping deliver an array of new initiatives to meet local needs. Devon has introduced its first wheelchair accessible Fare Car which provides transport in rural areas for those who cannot access bus services. The Devon Wheels To Work scheme, which loans scooters to rural jobseekers who would otherwise be unable to travel to work or training, continues to be successful and has helped more than 320 people since 2007.

The county council has also completed installing its Text4Times plates at all bus stops in Exeter, allowing people to text for the times of the next bus at their stop. 2,500 texts are received by the service every week. Other successful initiatives include the Devon Access Wallet which alerts bus drivers that the passenger has communication difficulties, and a schools code of conduct leaflet for pupils using school transport.

(image: Cycle Exeter, just one of the projects that support Devon County Council’s nominations in the National Transport Awards)