TfL changes how public has say on active travel projects

Transport for London is changing the way it engages and consults on active travel schemes. 

London mayor Sadiq Khan outlined the changes in a letter to London Assembly transport committee chair Florence Eshalomi. “The new way of working recognises the importance of engagement and places a greater emphasis on local engagement either in advance of, or potentially instead of, formal consultation,” he said.

LTT asked TfL for more information. A spokeswoman said: “Most changes we make will need to go through some form of statutory consultation. However, the requirements for this can be quite restricted i.e. just seeking views of other local authorities and the emergency services. 

“Prior to a statutory consultation, we usually undertake local and stakeholder engagement and/or broader public consultation. 

“The approach we take is determined by a range of factors including legal requirements, the scale of change we are proposing and the constraints we have around what we can do to achieve our objectives.

“We are looking for opportunities to engage more widely and earlier on in the design process to allow people to understand and influence our designs before we formally consult. This year we’ve used this approach on a number of new cycling routes.

“One area we are looking to do more engagement and less formal consultation is safety critical road schemes. There are 73 priority junctions we need to change to reduce the number of people being injured on the roads as part of our Vision Zero ambitions. In these locations, the proposed change is the best option to really change how safe people are using it. Therefore, the public has a limited ability to influence our proposals. 

“It would be disingenuous to consult on these when there is little we can change, so in the future we are more likely to be engaging local communities on our proposals.

“This will help them understand the change and our reasons behind it and give them an opportunity to voice any concerns. We will still review the proposals in light of any feedback before we submit an application for consent to build.

“On cycling schemes, we currently run well-publicised public non-statutory consultations to seek views before we seek permission to build. We are unlikely to change approach in the foreseeable future.”