How we did it ... Journey survey aims to unlock Harlow's growth

Mark Smulian, Planning, 14 November 2008

Background: Harlow is set to almost double in size by 2031 as part of the M11 corridor growth area, yet transport weaknesses have prevented it from exploiting its well-connected location.

Who is behind it? Consulting engineer Faber Maunsell Aecom, Essex County Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Harlow District Council, the East of England Regional Assembly, the East of England Development Agency, the Government Office for the East of England. The public bodies comprise the Harlow Stansted Gateway Transportation Board.

Project Aims: To gather data on road and transport use to test solutions.

Skills involved: Skills survey collection and design, modelling and interpretation, software development, highway engineering.

Harlow was built in the early 1950s as one of the first wave of new towns. It is near to the older market town of Bishop's Stortford and both are close to Stansted Airport, the M11, the M25 and the main rail line from London to Cambridge.

Despite this good connectivity, weaknesses in the transport infrastructure have left the area unable to fulfil its full potential. Although provided with a high proportion of dual carriageways, these have become vulnerable to peak-hour congestion as traffic volumes have grown. Congestion has in turn disrupted bus services on key routes.

The matter has become pressing as the towns form part of the M11 corridor, one of the four growth areas set out in the government's 2003 sustainable communities plan. Harlow is a key centre for development under the East of England Plan, under which it will gain substantial urban extensions, doubling its population to 160,000 by 2031 and delivering 16,000 homes by 2021.

Faber Maunsell Aecom's team was asked by the Harlow Stansted Gateway Transportation Board to develop proposals to meet the deficiencies in the local transport infrastructure. It gathered material from the public and stakeholders on the nature of the problems and possible solutions.

Questionnaires were sent to more than 50,000 homes about trips made, while local businesses asked employees to complete workplace travel surveys. Car park users were also surveyed. Information on journeys by different modes will feed into a strategic multi-modal transport model using software developed by Faber Maunsell Aecom.

The study will inform assessments of the potential impact of the planned extra homes on transport use and highlight where more detailed investigation is needed. Associate director Ian Burrows says the planned growth area crosses county boundaries so it makes sense to gather all interested parties into one body. The most innovative aspect of the project is its modular structure, he maintains.

"The key idea is that rather than wait for full data at the end of the project, we can see early indications and get to work on those areas where there are problems," he explains. "We use the data for modelling so it all fits together. There is a regional model, then a local one before going down to a micro level. The levels work together so you can ask: 'If we have housing here, what happens at this junction there?'"

Harlow's town centre congestion problem means that guided buses could be part of a solution. There is also a specific problem caused by the large numbers of local people who work at Stansted Airport and have scant access to public transport to get them there, particularly at off-peak times.

But before any approaches are proposed, the town's traffic flows need to be understood fully. "We need to know whether peak traffic is just crossing from one side of town to the other or passing through as part of a longer journey," Burrows says. "If it is through traffic, it could in principle be offered different routes that bypass the central area."