Engagement Strategy - democracy.walthamforest.gov.uk€¦ · Engagement Strategy Lea Bridge Road- A Street for everyone December 2014

Engagement Strategy

Lea Bridge Road- A Street for everyone

December 2014

Lea Bridge Road A Street for Everyone i

DOCUMENT CONTROL

Report

Reference Issue Description Originator Authorised

Lea Bridge Road

Engagement Strategy

01 Draft version of

strategy for

presentation to

Project Board

Jon Little

08.12.14

Vala Valavan

08.12.14

Lea Bridge Road

Engagement Strategy

02 Final draft following

presentation to

project board

Jon Little

15.12.14

Vala Valavan

15.12.14

CONTACT

Jon Little

Complementary Measures Manager

[email protected]

Lea Bridge Road A Street for Everyone i

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This document has been produced to provide guidance to the engagement and consultation of

residents, businesses and road users during the design development for the Lea Bridge Road- A

Street for Everyone project.

It provides details on the project stages, their sub-tasks and roles and responsibilities from inception,

through data collection to engagement, consultation and how to work with the community during

implementation.

It should be noted that this is a live document which will be updated as the project progresses using

continuous improvement to refine and improve approaches to engagement and consultation.

Additional content relevant to later stages will be added once the approach to project delivery is

refined and adjusted. Key dates included are based upon the current project programme and the best

available knowledge at time of writing. It should be noted that these dates are subject to change from

a range of variables some of which are externally managed and therefore subject to change.

Lea Bridge Road A Street for Everyone ii

CONTENTS PAGE PAGE NO.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. ENGAGEMENT PRINCIPLES 5

3. DESIGN STATEMENT 10

4. BASELINE INFORMATION GATHERING 12

5. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT 14

6. PRE CONSULTATION ENGAGEMENT 16

7. CONSULTATION 24

8. STATUTORY CONSULTATION 26

9. IMPLEMENTATION 27

10. REVIEW 28

APPENDIX A – A

APPENDIX B – B

APPENDIX C – C

Lea Bridge Road A Street for Everyone 3

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Lea Bridge Road is the Waltham Forest Mini Holland flagship scheme. The

scope of the scheme, the length of the road and the changing nature of land use

means that the engagement and consultation of the affected residents and

businesses and road users will be complex.

1.2 It will be of benefit to manage the consultation in a similar fashion to the

development of the design meaning that it is broken down into more manageable

sections. For the purpose of the design the scheme has been broken into the

following sections:

Borough boundary to junction with Orient Way/Argall Ave

Junction with Orient Way/Argall Ave to Markhouse Road/Church Road

junction

Markhouse Road/Church Road junction to Bakers Arms

Bakers Arms to Leyton Green Road

Leyton Green Road to Whipps Cross Roundabout

1.3 It is recommended that the same sections are applied to the engagement and

consultation and that specific officers are given responsibility for the engagement

of each section. This will ensure that officers involved can develop a greater

understanding of local issues and will be more able to manage the responses,

enquiries and face to face engagement required.

1.4 There is little doubt that the engagement involved in such a project will be

resource intensive and in order to ensure a successful engagement officers

involved will have to have a reasonable knowledge of both the scheme and the

reasoning behind the proposals.

1.5 It may also be worthwhile considering the use of external resources to support

the engagement team during periods of the process such as going door to door

to meet businesses. However these external resources would also have to have

a good knowledge of the scheme and the reasoning behind the proposals.


Key Dates

1.7 The table below sets out the proposed timescales associated with project

delivery and engagement. It should be noted that these dates are approximate

and based upon the project delivery programme as of the end of November

2014. These are subject to change due to a wide range of project variables and

external influences such as the buildability of bridges included in proposals or

traffic modelling approval form Transport for London.

Project stage Programme dates

Stage 1- Background information gathering June 2014 to February 2015

Stage 2- Stakeholder engagement December 14- Ongoing

Stage 3- Pre consultation engagement January 2015 to June 2015

Stage 4- Consultation April 2015 to September 2015

Stage 5- Statutory consultation June 2015 to December 2015

Stage 6-Implementation July 2015 to March 2017

Stage 7- Review March 2016 to November 2018

Key points

Corridor should be broken up into manageable sections for engagement

and consultation

A lead officer should be appointed to be responsible for the engagement of

each section

The engagement will be resource intensive

Key dates may be subject to change


2. ENGAGEMENT PRINCIPLES

The overall project process

2.1 Residents and businesses want to know and understand the entire project

process. If someone's interest has been sparked by an element of the scheme

they are likely to want to know what will happen next and more importantly when

something may be introduced or built.

2.2 Not advising people of these vital pieces of information will be detrimental to the

project and often reflect badly on the Council. It provides ammunition to anyone

who thinks the consultation is not inclusive or the decision is a foregone

conclusion. Both these instances only damage the final outcome and reputations

of officers and the Council. This should be avoided at all cost by giving

information on project stages and the likely completion dates as soon as they are

known. If they change then affected residents and businesses should be advised

as soon as possible of the change and any impact.

Branding

2.3 The brand for the Waltham Forest Mini Holland programme will be available for

use in the engagement and consultation of residents, businesses and road

users. The brand will therefore be used for all engagement and consultation for

Lea Bridge Road documentation where relevant. Use of the brand will be

governed by the project wide branding guidelines.

Engagement area

2.4 The proposed engagement area for the Lea Bridge Road project will include:

Lea Bridge Road and immediate frontages

Community groups

Shoppers and road users

Any adjoining side road

Users of Lea Valley Park

Visitors to Epping Forest

Attendees at places of worship

Pupils at local schools and colleges

Whipps Cross Hospital


Raising awareness

2.5 Awareness of the consultation is obviously a very important part of the project

stage. Despite consultation packs being clearly labeled and delivered to every

household some will remain unaware of the proposal due to discarding the pack

or someone else in the household receiving it. This can be damaging to public

consultations with accusations often made that the engagement has not been

inclusive or that the council is trying to ‘sneak’ a scheme in.

2.6 This should not be the case with Mini Holland and all should be done to ensure

this is not the case. Whilst it is true that some elements of the individual

schemes must be implemented in order to address certain issues or provide

facilities that do not currently exist, the final design for many other elements can

and should be worked up in partnership with the local community. This relies on

people being aware of the differing stages and events organised as part of the

project.

2.7 Resources (both internal and community) that could be utilised to raise

awareness of the Lea Bridge Road proposals include:

Councillors

Resident and community groups

Community Ward Forums

Major retailers and employers

Council and community buildings

Social media

Street notices

A pop up engagement shop

Well known shops

Schools

Places of worship

Frontline staff

WFN

Council website

Stakeholders and their media streams

Outdoor advertising


Bigger picture

2.8 It is absolutely vital that residents and businesses in the borough understand that

the Lea Bridge Road proposal is part of a much wider programme of proposals

that will benefit the whole of the borough.

2.9 The content on the council website has improved dramatically since the

appointment of the dedicated communications officer but will need to improve

further. The limited functionality of the council website means it is not possible to

provide information in a range of formats required. A Mini Holland Microsite is in

the process of being developed and will be available for use during the

engagement and consultation for Lea Bridge Road.

Development and regeneration

2.10 There is a high level of development and regeneration either underway or

proposed on Lea Bridge Road and in the surrounding area, specifically the area

known as the Northern Olympic Fringe. In December 2015 Lea Bridge Station

will be reopening as part of a new London Overground service from Stratford to

Tottenham Hale.

Open data policy

2.11 An open data policy should be adopted for the entire Mini Holland programme.

This will help people buy into the design and consultation process as they will

see the issues for themselves.

2.12 Data used to develop proposals including traffic speed and volume surveys

should be readily available during the consultation stage and developed into

maps and images that convey messages in a simple way.

Key facts and figures

2.13 Facts and figures that are crucial to decision making by residents and

businesses should be explained in easy to understand ways so informed

decisions can be made. For example areas of new greenspace should be

explained in known areas such as football pitches. Statistics should be explained

in the simplest ways. If it makes more sense to say seven out of ten than 70 per

cent then this should be adopted.

2.14 If statistics can be converted into visual representations these should also be

used instead of written statements as again these aid those responding to the

consultation understand what is proposed.


Social media

2.15 Widely used social media forums in the borough such as Twitter, Facebook, and

Instagram are great ways to engage with the community. They are quick, cost

effective and enable messages to be varied or modified due to the immediate

nature of communication through these media. The project team cannot currently

use any of these forums due to internal restrictions. This is having a detrimental

impact on overall communications and engagement.

2.16 It is proposed that the Council will have a social media feed in place for the Lea

Bridge Road engagement. This should mean that the team can engage with the

public with more flexibility and enable an awareness campaign of the proposals,

the benefits of cycling and issues around road user behavior.

2.17 Regardless of the Council social media capability it is however possible to

‘piggyback’ other social media feeds that are well used in the Walthamstow and

Leyton areas. These include:

Waltham Forest Cycling

Walthamstow Parents

Leyton Village

Leyton E10

2.18 These feeds/websites are popular with people who live and work in the area and

working with the moderators/owners of these feeds to raise awareness of the

consultation is recommended. Hash tags that are also commonly used include

#wfminiholland #awesomestow #e17, #e10, #e11.

2.19 There are a number of Facebook pages which are used by the community to

discuss local issues including a Mini Holland sub-page on Walthamstow Parents.

Similarly to the local Twitter feeds it would be beneficial to the engagement of

the local community if the project team could use these forums.

2.20 There is regular discussion on these forums and currently this is without any

council input. Despite informed residents such as representatives of the local

cycling campaign taking part these discussions are often ill informed and

inaccurate which only damages the overall project reputation.

2.21 One approach to address this (with limited risk) would be to only respond to

people who post on these pages with an invitation to engage with the Council via

one of the official engagement channels.


Street notices

2.22 Street notices are good ways in which to raise local awareness of proposals,

events or consultations. For the Lea Bridge Road consultation street notices will

be placed on lamp columns during the consultation period. They will advise road

users of the on-going consultation and include QR codes to link to the on-line

version of the survey.

2.23 They should be bright, well designed, concise, convey the right information and

use maps and graphics to support any text. Once the event or consultation

period is past they should be removed to ensure they do not become an

eyesore.

2.24 We will also have outdoor advertising to make people aware that Mini Holland is

coming. The messages should be a combination of awareness of the scheme,

how to behave at new junctions and also include positive messages about

walking and cycling. It is likely that TfL will be running campaigns of their own

and a discussion about ensuring messages are not mixed has been

programmed for December 2014.


3. DESIGN STATEMENT

3.1 The proposed improvements to the Lea Bridge Road corridor have been

designed to build upon the successful improvements made as part of the Bakers

Arms Regeneration Scheme. They are however landscape changing and will

make significant improvements to the public realm including the redesign of the

main junctions, new bridges, improved footways, carriageways and of course the

introduction of world class cycling facilities.

3.2 The main components of the scheme are:

Fully segregated cycle tracks (2.0m default) in both directions from the

borough boundary with Hackney to Whipps Cross Roundabout.

The conversion of Whipps Cross roundabout to a signalised junction with

separate crossing facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, a new public space,

improved bus facilities and better connectivity into Epping Forest.

The redesign of the junction with Wood Street (linked to improvements to

Whipps Cross)

The introduction of blended crossings (paved road surface) at side roads

that slow drivers and give greater priority for pedestrians and cyclists using

the segregated cycle tracks.

The removal of some sections of ineffective bus lane

The adjustment of operational hours on limited sections of bus lanes to

balance modal use

Improved bus stop facilities

Floating bus stops which allow cyclists to bypass them without re-entering

general traffic lanes

New public spaces at Whipps Cross, Shrenall Street/Grove Road,

Markhouse Corner and small pocket parks throughout

New parking bays arrangements for short term customer parking and

residents

Locations for loading and unloading that are safe and do not impact traffic

flow

A redesign of the junctions with Markhouse Road/Church Road and Orient

Way/Argyll Avenue to improve conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and all

other road users

An upgrade of the junction at Bakers Arms to give dedicated space for

cycling


An additional bridge at Lea Bridge to provide a segregated crossing for

cyclists and the junction with Orient Way/Argyll Avenue

Additional greening, planting and street trees introduced throughout the

route

Street lighting improvements

Improved signage and wayfinding

Integration with Lea Bridge Road Station and other departments on corridor


Scope

•Review exisitng data

•Define additional data required

Traffic data

•Accident and collisions

•Traffic speed and volume

Landuse

•Business survey (types)

•Identification of spaces of opportunity

Raising awareness

•Produce graphics and plans on data

•Use to promote key messages

Key stage review

•Review data collectiony

•Ensure data collection supports monitoring

4. BASELINE INFORMATION GATHERING

4.1 Prior to the commencement of design development,

traffic surveys including traffic speed and volume and a

review of existing bus journey times and service specific

issues. This includes a review of parking demand on Lea

Bridge Road.

4.2 A review of collisions and pedestrian/cycle personal

injury accidents has also been conducted. Previous

public realm schemes such as the Bakers Arms

Improvement scheme were also used as reference points

for design development. Background data on public

perception has also been gained from responses to the

public engagement for the Bakers Arms scheme.

4.3 Much of this background data will be of interest to

participants in the engagement and consultation process.

It will help people understand the potential impact of

proposals (both positive and negative) and for that

reason should be readily available for people to review in

presentable formats. Design proposals that are ultimately

driven by road safety concerns (not just for cyclists) need

to be presented in that way so residents and businesses

understand the proposals are for the good of all.

4.4 There is still additional background data to gather

including information from businesses about their

servicing and loading requirements. This needs to be

completed prior to public consultation to ensure

consideration has been given to these requirements.

4.5 If this is not completed to the level of detail required there

are major risks that objections will be received during the

consultation and that the cycle tracks will be blocked by

loading vehicles once introduced which would be a major

issue.

4.6 Understanding levels of parking required will also be a

key success factor. It should however be noted that

businesses massively over-estimate the volume of

custom that travels to their business by car. Parking beat surveys should instead

be used to determine required parking levels in consultation with the parking

design team.


Monitoring

4.7 Monitoring of the success of the introduction of the Mini Holland measures is an

important part of the overall project. A monitoring framework has been

developed which will be used to gauge the success of the implementation of the

individual schemes. In order to effectively monitor the success of scheme a

sound data set related to conditions and trends prior to implementation will need

to be acquired.

4.8 This data should be collated as part of the background data collection but the

scope of data collated should be measured against the monitoring framework.

This can be conducted as part of the Key Stage Review.

Key stage review

4.9 Prior to moving into the engagement stage a Key Stage Review should be

undertaken to ensure all information required in order to have a constructive

conversation with the community during the engagement and consultation has

been collated. It should also be in a presentable form that is understandable by

people of all ages and backgrounds.

Key points

Background data should be made available for interested parties

It is vital that servicing and loading requirements for businesses are

understood prior to consultation

A Key Stage Review of data should be undertaken to ensure records are

complete


Agree Stakeholder

list

•Agree draft stakeholder list who are considered key external stakeholders

Councillor engagement

•Identify existing key issues

•Identify key local stakeholders

Raise awareness

•Raise awareness of upcoming engagement with stakeholders and frontline staff

5. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

5.1 Early engagement with key stakeholders will

be a vital part of raising awareness of the

scheme and spreading word of the upcoming

consultation on proposals. Key stakeholders

identified for this project are:

Ward Councilors

Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign

Mini Holland stakeholders group

The London Borough of Hackney

The London Borough of Redbridge

Other Council departments

Transport for London

Local Schools

Lea Valley Park

City of London Corporation

Argyll Business Improvement District

Places of worship

New Spitalfields Market

Eurostar

Wanis

Leyton Orient Football Club

The Olympic Velodrome

Other key businesses/stakeholders

Whipps Cross Hospital

5.2 It is recommended that early engagement with these organisations consists of a

face to face visit from staff fully informed on proposals so they can explain the

proposals and field any enquiries. Staff who are not informed may damage the

engagement stage by creating uncertainty which can quickly turn into rumours

circulated in the public domain.

5.3 It will also be an opportunity to engage stakeholders into the engagement

process and hopefully mean that when they communicate with others


(customers, staff, congregation etc.) they are well informed and understand the

principles in addition to the proposals.

5.4 Engaging in this way will also provide an opportunity to provide information about

other Mini Holland projects and initiatives such as cycle training or driver

awareness training.

Engagement of frontline staff

5.5 Frontline staff, particularly those who work in the public realm, transport and

highways fields and deal with members of the public should be made aware of

the proposals and their implications. It is vital that those who come into contact

with members of the public understand not only the scope of proposals but in

addition the range of benefits. This could be through a series of briefings/drop in

sessions or information via email.

Key points

Stakeholders should be engaged as soon as possible

Frontline staff should be briefed so they are fully informed of proposals


Key messages

•Agree key messages to be used during engagement

Engagement with

politicians and media

•Identify existing key issues

•Identify key local stakeholders

Resident Engagenment

•Engagement on perception

•Introduce comp measures

•introduce opportunities to get involed in co-design

Business Engagement

•Engagement to understand servicing and loading

•Introduce comp measures for business

•Introduce opportunities for co-design and ownership

Road users

•Engage with road users to understand journeys and existing perception

•Engage with shoppers and visitors to understadn public perception

6. PRE CONSULTATION ENGAGEMENT

6.1 The engagement of the community prior to any

public consultation will be a key step towards

successful scheme delivery. There is little doubt

that if this is not carried out well the change that

the Lea Bridge Road proposals will be met with

a very mixed response.

6.2 Prior to the engagement, key messages should

be conveyed through available council media to

introduce the Council vision for the road.

Careful consideration should be given to the

use of the latest technology such as

visualisations, ‘fly through’ models and internet

based consultation tools.

6.3 The scheme will mean wholesale improvements

to one of the boroughs main transport corridors

and locally known places. Most people will have

a view on the proposal and will want to provide

their comments.

6.4 If the proposals are shown to people in visual

form, that are easy to appreciate, it is much

more likely that we will have a successful

consultation that engages as many people as

possible. It will also be critical to project

progression that the range of benefits to all

users and not just the benefits to cyclists are

conveyed in a clear concise manner.

Engaging politicians and the media

6.5 A cycle ride down Lea Bridge Road for key

stakeholders including local politicians

(including MPs), senior Council staff, media

(national, local and industry) and community

leaders should be arranged during community

engagement. This could be used as an

opportunity to raise awareness of the scheme,

highlight the existing issues and the

transformational proposals. Including all these

key influencers will mean they have a more informed view of the existing


situation and the positive nature of the proposals and the reasoning behind

them.

Engaging with local residents

6.6 The scale of the proposals mean that engaging with local residents both of Lea

Bridge Road and adjoining roads will be one of the most important project stages

and the success of the overall consultation will depend heavily on this.

6.7 Local residents should be able to:

Understand the reasons for proposals

Be informed of the overall proposals

Be informed of the local proposals that will impact where they live

Be aware of the benefits and any disbenefits (if relevant) of the proposals

Be encouraged to take up cycling through a targeted awareness campaign

Be able to feed into the design development, particularly on public realm

elements such as greening and new public spaces

Opportunities for residents

6.8 There are a broad range of opportunities for residents as part of the roll-out of

Mini Holland and the Borough Cycling Programme (BCP). In addition to the

proposals for Lea Bridge Road there are wider range of initiatives and measures

that residents can take advantage of. These need to be promoted and as part of

the Lea Bridge Road this should be done to ensure the discussion with residents

is broad and introduces as many positives from the Mini Holland programme and

BCP.

6.9 There will also be opportunities for resident feedback on elements of the design

(new public spaces, road closures and the transition between the scheme

extents and adjoining side roads) to be incorporated into the final design. To

enable this residents will need to be engaged prior to the public consultation

stage.

Complementary Measures for residents

6.10 These should be promoted to all residents on the corridor. This should be in the

form of a specifically designed leaflet and internet content.

Cycle parking (on-street cycle stands and secure lockers)

Cycle training is available for anyone who lives, works or studies in the

borough


Opportunities to help design and maintain new areas of planting and

greening

Engaging with local businesses

6.11 Early engagement with businesses will be one of the core engagement activities

of the Lea Bridge Road project. Businesses should have an opportunity to:

Understand the reasons for proposals

Be informed of the overall proposals and those that may benefit/impact their

business operations

Be advised of any opportunities for their specific business

Be informed of cycling opportunities for businesses

Be able to provide initial comments on the outline proposals

Be able to contact the design team to discuss throughout the duration of the

project delivery

Opportunities for businesses

6.12 There are a broad range of opportunities for businesses as part of the roll-out of

Mini Holland and the Borough Cycling Programme (BCP). These can be put into

two main categories: those that are scheme related opportunities and wider

opportunities brought about through the complementary measures programme.

Scheme related opportunities for businesses

6.13 Scheme related opportunities for businesses are associated with the proposed

public realm elements including the function of spaces, street furniture and

greening. Engaging businesses at an early stage in the design process will likely

mean they are more receptive to final outcomes.

Complementary Measures for businesses

6.14 The range of complementary measures available to businesses through both the

Mini Holland and BCP should be promoted to all businesses on the corridor. This

should be in the form of a specifically designed material including:

A covering letter for businesses

A MH for businesses information booklet

Supporting leaflet and internet content detailing cycle to work, cycle

parking, cycle training etc.


6.15 Initiatives available include:

Cycle training is available for anyone who lives, works or studies in the

borough

Driver Awareness training

FORS

Sustainable travel advice

Helping businesses to adapt to cycling

6.16 There are numerous businesses that could use cycling as part of their daily

business operations and lots of businesses who could also benefit from cycling

in the borough.

6.17 Businesses that could directly benefit from a cycling culture include:

Newsagents

Cafes, pubs and restaurants

Takeaway food outlets

Sports and clothing retailers

Cycle shops

Taxi companies

Helping businesses to adopt cycling

6.18 Businesses that could adopt cycling as part of their business practice include:

The Council

Any business where staff move location as part of their day to day business

(e.g. Estate Agents)

Any business who delivers but specifically:

o Food outlets (takeaway, sandwich shops, delicatessens)

o Couriers/Mail companies

6.19 There are many examples of these types of businesses adopting cycling not just

in Denmark and the Netherlands but in the UK and London.

6.20 There are a range of incentives and initiatives that are external to the mini

Holland project but would support the businesses in the adoption of cycling.

These include the cycle to work scheme and travel planning for businesses

delivered by Transport for London. TfL have recently contacted the council to


help deliver this is Waltham Forest. A simple referral scheme following face to

face businesses should be developed to facilitate this.

Employees of local businesses

6.21 In addition to the incentives to businesses the range of opportunities available to

staff of businesses through both the Mini Holland programme/the BCP and other

externally run schemes such as the cycle to work scheme. An increase in take-

up of such schemes will make cycling more of a mainstream activity, encourage

new cyclists and help reduce demand for business parking spaces. These

initiatives should therefore be promoted as part of the offer to businesses during

the Lea Bridge Road engagement and consultation.

Engaging with road users and shoppers

6.22 Whilst Lea Bridge Road is a shopping area and also a residential street its

function is primarily a link meaning it is a transport corridor. It is a well-used route

from the borough and the surrounding north-east London area into central

London. In terms of cycling it is the boroughs most popular cycle route with in the

region of 1200 cyclists using the road every day.

6.23 It is also a busy bus route with 8 services using the road linking Walthamstow,

Bakers Arms and Leyton area with Central London and centres in north-east

London.

6.24 In order to understand the aspirations of both road users and shoppers a range

of engagement activities will be held.

6.25 With regard shopping the Bakers Arms is a busy local centre serving the south

Walthamstow and north Leyton areas. Understanding the views of shoppers will

be an important part of ensuring the final design proposals are inclusive and

meet the needs of all. It is recommended that public perception surveys are

undertaken as part of the engagement process to understand how people feel

about the road, their experience of the public realm and views on road safety.

6.26 The results of previous engagements such as public perception surveys carried

out prior to the London 2012 Olympic Games will also be used as references to

help understand the views of road users and shoppers.

6.27 Roadside surveys of cyclists will be undertaken in the am peak at various

locations on the road. The surveys will focus on understanding where cyclists

join and leave Lea Bridge Road, their final destination/employer with the aim of

receiving an endorsement for the scheme.


Engaging with other stakeholders

6.28 Given the scale and nature of the proposals it is likely that stakeholders both

from other parts of the borough and further afield will want to provide comments

on the proposals. It would be damaging, both to scheme development and the

reputation of the Council if these views were not considered.

6.29 It should however be considered as to what value to apply to these comments

versus those of residents of the road and the surrounding area. It will however

be of value to understand peoples’ views on the early proposals to incorporate

into the design process.

Engaging with public transport operators

6.30 The Council has already been in contact with TfL Buses in relation to proposals

included within the overall scheme that may have an impact on their operations.

These include the redesign of bus lanes, bus stops and in the case of Whipps

Cross a complete overhaul of bus facilities.

6.31 A positive response has been received on this proposal to date and staff are now

attending a regular meeting with TfL and bus operators to discuss the

implications of specifically Lea Bridge Road but also the wider Mini Holland

programme. It is hoped that this close working relationship will ensure a

successful delivery of much improved facilities for bus services, drivers and

passengers.

Engaging with other council departments

6.32 There are numerous council departments that deal with the residents and

businesses on a daily basis and often receive requests for changes that are wide

ranging from requests for more trees, to bins to anti-social behaviour.

6.33 Reacting to issues/requests such as these as part of the Mini Holland process

will show a joined up approach, allow the focus of the project to widen to the

entire public realm and provide costs savings during implementation. Prior to the

public consultation an engagement of relevant council departments should be

undertaken so current issues can be understood and presented to consulted

parties as part of the background information.

6.34 In addition council functions such as street cleansing or parking enforcement

could easily be carried out by cycle. For example parking enforcement in

Lambeth operated by the Councils enforcement partner NSL is conducted

almost entirely by bike. The Council should speak to partners and service

providers to encourage them to adopt cycling.


6.35 Cost savings can be achieved both in time and money can be made from the

adoption of cycling as part of day to day operations. The redesign of Lea Bridge

Road will to a certain extent make this a necessity rather than a nice to have.

The Council should engage with providers to develop how this could be

progressed and ensure that delivery partners are ready and able to adapt to the

new road layout once implemented.

Engaging with schools

6.36 Schools should be included in the engagement process on the proposals. An

increase in the numbers of children walking and cycling to school in the area

would greatly reduce congestion during peak hours and would also help the

council address a number of other key issues, not least childhood obesity.

6.37 Children are often engineered out of public engagements on transport or public

realm projects as only one response is accepted per household or the response

mechanism is developed to not accept responses from those under 17. This is

not the right way to engage the community and effectively damages the end

result as the views of a major segment of the community is missing.

6.38 We should aim to engage all schools within the area surrounding Lea Bridge

Road. This could involve a visit to the schools in the immediate area to present

the proposals to school governers and the school council. School councils

(pupils elected to represent all pupils in decision making) are great ways to

engage the school. Additionally the Waltham Forest Young Advisors could be

engaged to support the council with this task.

Engaging with places of worship

6.39 Places of worship are good places to engage with the local community

particularly if the issue that is being discussed is contentious. Religious leaders

can often help engage the local community and explain broad principles or

ideas. This can be particularly useful when there is a potential language barrier

or technical terminology that may be otherwise difficult to communicate and in

situations where cultural barriers such as those associated with cycling exist.

6.40 In addition it would be of major benefit to the overall scheme if the places of

worship located on Lea Bridge Road or in the immediate vicinity could be

encouraged to consider how they could benefit from the proposals from both a

public realm perspective and how attendees could be encouraged to take up

cycling. Places of worship are often generators of traffic and increased levels of

parking and working proactively with them to embrace sustainable modes of

travel will be of benefit to the scheme, the places of worship and their members.


6.41 This may include:

Cycle parking near to place of worship

Cycle training

Walks and cycle routes that the places of worship could enjoy

Information on cycling in the borough and the nearby Lea Valley Park


7. CONSULTATION

7.1 The consultation stage for the Lea Bridge Road scheme will follow a traditional

transportation consultation process but will include a number of innovative

additional elements. These additional elements are aimed at making it easier for

interested parties to engage in the consultation process and to ensure a

representative response of residents, road users and other interested parties is

received.

7.2 The key element of the consultation process will be a consultation pack

consisting of:

A consultation document including background information

A plan of proposals

A questionnaire

Frequently asked questions

Mini Holland Booklets

7.3 A series of booklets for the Mini Holland programme focusing on the benefits and

the available measures will be available for the engagement and consultation

stages of the Lea Bridge Road project. This means documentation about the

proposals for the road can be more specific and reference these supporting

documents where necessary.

Engaging the area in co-design

7.4 The co-design process; that is designing in partnership with the community will

be used as part of the public consultation design development stage. Local

residents, businesses and road users will be given the opportunity to contribute

to the development of proposals through a range of engagement approaches

7.5 This approach would ensure residents and businesses develop their own

schemes for their own areas with preferences for greening or other features

designed by local people for themselves instilling feelings of ownership and

empowerment in the community.

Co-design workshops

7.6 A series of co-design workshops (or drop in sessions) will be held during the

consultation period, with locations yet to be finalised. The workshops should be

developed in line with the proposed break-up of the corridor into engagement

sections as outlined in the introduction to this strategy. This will enable the

events to focus on local issues as well as the overall proposals.


7.7 By this stage there should be an understanding from initial engagement as to the

key local issues and ideas that could be embedded into project delivery to

address these. This will be a key stage in design development and if conducted

in the right way will enable the scheme to be tailored to local needs and wants.

7.8 Outdoor sessions should be held with the aim of engaging commuters

(pedestrians and cyclists). These sessions will be held during the week and

weekend with the aim of engaging with a range of local people using Lea Bridge

Road.

7.9 The workshops will be an opportunity to engage face to face with interested

parties, understand their views on proposals and discuss any suggestions issues

or concerns.

On-line

7.10 To support the consultation all documentation will be made available on-line and

additionally there will be the opportunity to complete the survey on-line. The

survey will be hosted on the main council website with a link to an additional on-

line tool, the commonplace app which is explained below.

Commonplace app

7.11 The council has appointed architects Whatif to work on public realm elements of

the Lea Bridge Road scheme. As part of the commission there is a specialist

area engagement app (Commonplace) available for use. The app will be used to

support on line engagement with respondees able to provide comments on the

overall proposals, specific items or add suggestions to improve the public realm

such as additional tree planting.


8. STATUTORY CONSULTATION

8.1 Following the public consultation the final scheme proposal will be subject to

statutory consultation. The statutory consultation process is the legal process

that any physical changes to the public highway have to go through before they

can be implemented. It involves the publishing of notices in the local press

advertising the intentions and giving interested parties the opportunity to

comment during a 21 day period.


9. IMPLEMENTATION

9.1 Implementation is programmed between July 2015 and March 2017. The

implementation will be complex and due to the significant changes to major

junctions, new bridges and the public highway will involve some disruption to the

road.

9.2 Working with the community to ensure any changes are fully understood and the

extents of the implications of the any physical works (both during construction

and after) are effectively communicated will be key tasks during this stage.

9.3 It is recommended that a dedicated communication and engagement plan is

developed for this stage to ensure that the above is communicated clearly and

concisely. Similar to the engagement and consultation stages specific officers

should be appointed to liaise with the community on specific sections of the

route. For continuity it is recommended that wherever feasible the same officers

who were responsible for engagement and consultation are given the vital role of

liaison with residents and businesses during construction.


10. REVIEW

10.1 Whilst a review of the scheme involving an area wide consultation is not

proposed as part of the scheme Lea Bridge Road will be monitored post

implementation to understand the impact the proposal has had on a wide variety

of independent variables.

10.2 These include (but are not limited to):

Numbers of pedestrians and cyclists using the corridor

Personal injury accidents/collisions involving cyclists and pedestrians

A post scheme public realm perception survey to ascertain public opinion

on the improvements to public space including a proportion of cyclists

using the improved link


Lea Bridge Road A Street for Everyone A

APPENDIX A –

Lea Bridge Road A Street for Everyone B

APPENDIX B –

Lea Bridge Road A Street for Everyone C

APPENDIX C –

Lea Bridge Road A Street for Everyone D

Documents

Engagement Strategy - democracy.walthamforest.gov.uk€¦ · Engagement Strategy Lea Bridge Road- A Street for everyone December 2014