Active Travel Annual Progress Report 2023/24

The actions taken to promote active travel journeys

• A very wide-ranging communication programme was undertaken to promote awareness of active travel in Torfaen in 2023-2024. These ‘comms’ were through face-to-face meetings, online through Teams/Zoom meetings, presentations, social media, website, email, direct mail etc. Torfaen Council social media feeds have been used multiple times targeting all audiences.
• The ‘comms’ programme has been consistent throughout the year promoting events such as walk to school week, cycle to school and news updates on future/completed schemes and schools undertaking Active Travel School Plans with parents surveys. And the addition of the Living Streets WOW trackers which has significantly improved the AT rates at 10 of our schools in Torfaen.
• We engaged with all Torfaen schools, for Walk and Bike to School national initiatives and a special Public Health Wales Active Travel to School initiative.
• We undertook Public Health Wales active travel hands-ups surveys at schools and continued rolling out the Active Travel School Plans with several schools. Torfaen achieved the highest participation in Wales with 84% of our schools taking part in the ATtSHUS (Active Travel to School Hands Up Survey).
• We worked with other providers such as the Torfaen Play Services supporting their young volunteer staff in delivering services to younger children providing training information for road safety and active travel. During the school holiday period the active travel team worked with Torfaen Play Scheme to reach over 2000 children promoting active travel through trip-ometers and family breakfast club drop-ins and awarding certificates for active travel journeys. 
• Providing 20 minute walking and cycling maps from all venues which included the ATNM routes.
• Changing Gearz provided “bike fix” clubs at a Food & Fun Playscheme camp for transition into high school.
• We engaged with a number of disability groups including the Torfaen Access Forum group including AT presentations site meetings walking through routes and consulting on improvement schemes.
• Wellbeing event attended at Coleg Gwent to give information to young people on active travel and road safety and gather feedback.
• Once again, this year, there has been an active travel emphasis in communications to Councillors and residents on SRiC and AT schemes being developed and constructed. Similarly, there was a greater active travel emphasis in Torfaen Highways responses to enquiries from residents and members of the public.
• There was a continued strong emphasis on AT provision when reviewing new Highways development requests and planning applications and departmental awareness of active travel is greater than ever within Torfaen County Borough Council.
• We continued to deliver National Standards cycle training and the traditional cycling proficiency training which provides young cyclists with the necessary training to be safer and more competent cyclists.
• We continued with Kerbcraft child pedestrian training.
• The trial of three school sites for the Welsh Government SRiC grant funded School Streets Initiative were implemented in the authority as a learning and engagement project with schools and their residential and business community. The schools were selected after undergoing an extensive assessment of all schools in Torfaen.
• Initial introduction of Scootfit training to Torfaen Play Service with the compilation of a training plan to introduce safe scooter sessions to children and young people to improve balance and coordination skills and encourage active travel safely.

The actions taken to secure new active travel routes and related facilities and improvements

• Continued the further construction of the AT shared route at Llantarnam Primary school through the field (Future route TCBCINM32) and designed the next section for construction for following year (subject to future funding award).
• Installed zebra crossing at Brangwyn Avenue (Future route CW-FR-17) providing further connectivity to the area’s trip attractors
• Completed dropped kerb improvements in the Oakfield/Llantarnam area connecting the wider network.
• Installed more Dropped Kerbs (DK) on the DK improvement programme on an active travel routes at Varteg Road (AB-FR-03), Folly Road (PO-FR-02).
• Substantial cutback of foliage overgrowth on Greenforge Way to widen footway (CW-FR-51)
• Griffithstown Primary Footway Link construct new footway link giving safe access to Park & Stride facility for the school
• Installed new AT movement Counters at locations to measure active travel usage in Torfaen on key routes. The new counters include telemetry to report data back to a host on a daily basis. Data is then available for officers to review and analyse.
• Completed an initial feasibility study of the Priority 1 route in Torfaen (CW-FR-07), from Morrisons roundabout to Newport Road Traffic Lights.
• Completed an initial feasibility study of Cwmbran Drive (CW-FR-11) section 3,4 & 5 for future active travel upgrade/route widening scheme.
• Progressed the design and/or feasibility studies on several future AT routes, working through various stage-gates towards future bids for construction.
• Designed and installed a number of AT route signage improvements.
• Undertaken ‘letter drop’, ‘drop-in’ consultations and walking routes with disability groups to gather feedback on proposed AT improvements and routes and suggested improvements.
• Ongoing and continuous review of active travel audits of all AT existing and proposed future routes in Torfaen to assess future work required to be undertaken.
• Updating detailed AT Prioritisation tool for Torfaen in line with recent improvements to routes.

Costs incurred for new active travel routes and facilities and improvements of existing active travel routes and related facilities carried out in the preceding full financial year

• £1,239,079

In addition to the above, the following information provides an overview of infrastructure that has been implemented during the previous year

Indicative spending for new active travel routes and facilities and improvements of existing active travel routes and related facilities funded or part funded by third parties.

• £108,573

Length of new routes (walking, cycling, shared use)

• Walking – 20 metres
• Cycling - 0
• Shared Use – 669 metres

Length of improved routes (walking, cycling, shared use)

• Walking – 1679 metres
• Cycling – 0
• Shared Use – 1463 metres

New and improved active travel facilities

• Installed seating (benches) for resting at several locations along active travel routes, installation of several cycle and scooter storage facilities at schools, local community centres and in local shopping areas, wayfinding signage and litter bins. Installation of the first cycle repair station in Torfaen at the Blaenavon World Heritage Centre.