City Science was commissioned by St Helens Borough Council to develop their LCWIP for the borough, building on the strategic LCWIP developed by Liverpool City Region.
This LCWIP was unique because it was building on an existing regional LCWIP and it sat alongside other active travel studies including one focusing on St Helens town centre specifically. It also included a public consultation on the LCWIP we have developed. In addition, the network planning for the cycling phase was outsourced to our engineering partners Civic Engineering due to the scope requiring more detail than typically considered within an LCWIP.
Some of the key stages within this LCWIP are outlined below, along with examples of outputs from this project.
Stakeholder Engagement
During the inception phase, a stakeholder engagement plan was developed in discussion with the client team. This allowed us to have a clear engagement strategy going forward and to ensure alignment with the other parallel workstreams within the borough. Through the various stakeholder sessions we used online tools to support in the collation of feedback, including Mentimeter.
Stakeholder engagement carried out for the St Helens LCWIP.
Evidence Base
An evidence base was developed consisting of a policy review and data analysis from multiple sources. We used all data available to us from the client, including local Vivacity count points within St Helens.
Network Planning for Cycling
Routes were built up following the process below:
Cycling network development process for St Helens LCWIP
Key origins and destinations were identified and desire lines drawn between them.
Desire lines, origins & destinations used in St Helens LCWIP
From this, each of the Primary desire lines was subject to a Route Audit where they were scored against the Cycling Level of Service tool, the process for which is outlined below. These were then combined with the routes drawn up for the Secondary desire lines and the regional routes developed as part of the Liverpool LCWIP to provide a cohesive network of cycling infrastructure across the borough (see below).
Method of converting desire lines to routes for St Helens
Cycling network plan for St Helens LCWIP
Network Planning for Walking
This LCWIP focused on three Core Walking Zones. We adopted the same methodology as for the Shropshire LCWIP, however the schemes proposed for the St Helens LCWIP were more detailed. The walking and cycling network plans and their respective methodologies were presented in a Network Planning Report for the client to review and approve. The proposed network plans are shown below:
Example St Helens walking network plan
Prioritising Interventions
The route-based nature of the walking improvements meant that they could be included within the prioritisation process. Walking and cycling schemes were combined and assessed against the same criteria. From this, a ranked list of schemes was produced. This, combined with supporting information such as cost and feasibility, was used to produce a prioritised list of schemes covering short-, medium- and long-term investment timescales. These were presented to the client in both table and map form (see below).
Prioritised schemes for St Helens LCWIP
Public Consultation
The public consultation for the St Helens Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) was held in October and November of 2022. It sought feedback on the draft LCWIP, particularly the recommendations for walking and cycling infrastructure proposed within the borough. During the consultation, the following methods of engagement took place:
- Online Survey: Was made available to all through a link on the Active Travel website.
- In-Person Roadshow Event: A day-long event was hosted in St Helens Library.
- Online Q&A Sessions: Three online Q&A sessions were made open to all, through emailing a request to join to the Transport Planning email address.
- Social Media Advertising: Media was used to notify residents, businesses and stakeholders within the Borough of the consultation.
- Stakeholder Social Media Posts: Stakeholders were encouraged to publish their own social media posts, advertising the consultation.
- Press Activity: Press releases were issued to key local publications, with references to the consultation and an invitation to respond.
- Dedicated Active Travel Website: An established dedicated page on the St Helens Active Travel Website, included a summary of the draft LCWIP and a link to the Online Survey.
- Leaflets: 250 leaflets were printed advertising the LCWIP with a link to the survey and the website. They were distributed at the roadshow event at the library and other key locations such as the bus station.
- Email Mail Out: All relevant stakeholders were sent an email with an explanation and invitation to comment on the consultation.
Client Testimonial
St Helens Borough Council is very pleased to have appointed City Science for the development of our LCWIP. The team have expertly combined robust, data-led network planning with extensive stakeholder engagement to develop an ambitious yet practical plan for our borough. The team have been highly efficient and programme-led throughout the commission, with any changes or feedback clearly communicated with the client team, but have also employed creativity and initiative in developing a Plan which is ‘best fit’ for St Helens Borough rather than simply a replication of previous studies elsewhere. Jack Mayhew, Principal Transport Officer, St Helens Council