Site assessment

The site assessment is an important part of both the transport assessment and travel plan process. It should not be a purely descriptive section – the site assessment is directly relevant to trip generation (in the transport assessment) and targets (in the travel plan), and these linkages should be stated in the travel plan.

This may mean that some material is repeated in both the transport assessment and travel plan. However, given the longer shelf-life of the travel plan, this is appropriate and the travel plan should be considered as a stand-alone document.

On this page:

Site location plan

The travel plan should include a site location plan that shows the scale of the proposed development site in relation to the surrounding area and transport system, including relevant local and national policy e.g.

  • Pedestrian catchments, access and wider linkages.
  • Cycle catchments, access and wider linkages.
  • Public transport availability and accessibility including pedestrian linkages from stops to and from the development, and connecting services (e.g. bus services to reach railway stations).
  • Vehicular access (and constraints such as peak hour congestion).
  • Potential for cumulative impacts of multiple developments
  • Proximity to nearby environmental designations or sensitive areas

The travel plan should detail the transport infrastructure to be provided on site and how the site is to be linked to existing transport networks.

The location of nearby day-to-day facilities should be identified, depending on the development type. Consideration should then be given as to how these can be reached via sustainable transport modes (including crossings of main roads) for an appropriate catchment (with BREEAM identifying a catchment of 500m, for example):

  • Food outlet
  • Access to cash
  • Outdoor open space
  • Recreation or leisure facility
  • Postal facility
  • Community facility
  • Pharmacy
  • Medical practice
  • Childcare facility and/or school

Walking and wheeling (including mobility aids)

Pedestrian access (including those persons using mobility aids) should be considered as the primary mode for accessing and moving around within a development. The travel plan will need to consider the availability of safe and accessible routes, convenient access points and the provision of appropriate changing facilities.  

The assessment should include the condition of footpaths, width, crossing locations and lighting in relation to Active Travel England standards, and cross refer to the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).

Disabled access for the development proposals themselves should also be considered.

Cycling

Existing cycling facilities in the vicinity to the site should be described, along with how the development proposes to tie into these networks. 
When designing new cycle infrastructure, this should be LTN1/20 compliant. 

Proposals should include appropriate cycle parking facilities in line with local standards (as a minimum – but also considering the accommodation of ambitious cycle mode share targets), and showering and changing facilities where appropriate (e.g. employment sites). 

Cycle parking should include a proportion (suggested 5%) for non-standard cycles to accommodate people with mobility impairments.

Public transport

The availability of public transport services should be described (separate guidance on the accessibility of public transport nodes is available from the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (Guidelines for Providing for Journeys on Foot), BREEAM, and individual local authority design guidance). This should include bus/rail/tram stop locations, service start and end times, and service frequency. 

If it is being assumed that development-related trips are to be accommodated on the existing public transport network then, for large developments, an assessment should be made of the available capacity on the existing public transport infrastructure relevant to the development. 

Public Transport Accessibility Levels (PTAL) will not normally be required; however, these may be needed if your travel plan is intended to score BREEAM points.

Vehicular parking

The Travel plan should detail the car parking spaces to be provided on site by category (including total, disabled, visitors, staff, car share and pool cars, pickup and drop off, motorcycle, and coach spaces). 

Where car share is considered as a potential measure, this should be supported by the provision of dedicated car share spaces (suggested 5% starting point) on opening of the development.

Parking facilities available in the vicinity of the site should also be described (including walking routes to the site). 

Where a development includes for “essential car users” the requirement for such spaces should be confirmed within the travel plan via the inclusion of explanatory text.

The overall management strategy for car parking spaces should be described (e.g. first come – first served, needs based, according to seniority, permit based, car share scheme). This is particularly important where: 

  • The development is a shopping destination with a large customer car park – details should be given to show how staff use of any such parking would be minimised
  •  There is off-site parking available in close proximity to the site which may undermine other measures (such as restricted parking)
  • There is potential for off-site parking problems (such as on-street parking in undesirable locations), for which monitoring may also be required (see later).