Active Travel Consultation – Bring in the enthusiasts!

Could Active Travel consultation be improved by engaging a volunteer workforce?

Those who already walk and cycle may well be willing to help authorities with the consultation process.

There are walking and cycling enthusiasts all around Wales. When local authorities consulted with ‘the public’ about Active Travel I’d bet that the most vocal responses came from enthusiasts, people who love walking or cycling.

Reaching out to those beyond the usual suspects can be difficult and time consuming. With limited resources, the breadth of consultation carried out by authorities while developing integrated network maps seems to have varied considerably.

During scrutiny of the act Lee Waters asked, given austerity, what more can be done to reach people who currently do not walk and cycle? Transport Policy Team Leader, Natalie Grohmann commented that some authorities, “have done coffee mornings and all sorts of innovative things that you wouldn’t normally associate with a walking and cycling consultation.” Perhaps when best practise filters through, and if capital resource becomes available, all authorities will be able to do this.

If resource does not increase, then I have a suggestion on how to improve consultation: Harness the enthusiasts. Engage with local enthusiasts and ask these ‘usual suspects’ of the cycling and walking world to organise consultation events in their local area.

If my local authority had asked me to help with consultation, I could easily have organised a couple of meetings. I could have popped in and spoken with people at the school, health centre and library. I could have posted in local online forums, and contacted local groups with just a few phone calls. It really wouldn’t have taken that much effort.

Perhaps departments looking after active travel could, before the next round of consultation, look to set up working groups or to appoint a local champion in every locality. If local champions were provided with basic guidance and templates, then  consistent results could be ensured.

Sustrans already have a scheme for Community Volunteers. Perhaps there could be a tie in between local authorities and the scheme. Hopefully I’m not speaking out of turn – perhaps this tie in is happening already! But if it is happening, I haven’t heard it mentioned in the Act Travel Act scrutiny process. I’d be happy to be corrected.

It may be that managing volunteers is harder than just going out and doing the work. It may be that not enough volunteers can be found. But won’t know unless we ask and give it a go – surely it’s worth a trial?