Although Wigan is well placed for access to major national road links, transport within the borough was cited by residents at a recent sustainability conference as a priority area for improvement. Many of the transport related problems stem from the fact that Wigan borough developed as a number of small towns and villages linked by a rural road pattern and fragmented by a number of canal and rail links, which means the road network is unsuitable for current traffic volumes.
Increasing car ownership and usage account for much of the congestion on our road network. Wigan residents commute on average further than any other Greater Manchester residents and 82% of them travel to work by car. More than 60% of people in Wigan say they also regularly use the car for journeys of less than 2 miles.
Below are some of the initiatives currently in place or being implemented by the council and its partners in order to tackle transport problems in the borough:
- Local Transport Plan
The Greater Manchester Local Transport Plan is aimed at improving community and road safety and reducing environmental damage caused by transport. As part of this initiative the council has a travel plan co-ordinator based in the LTP delivery group who has responsibility for a range of activities, including workplace travel plans, promoting sustainable travel events (such as “Bike Week” or “In town without my car”), links to the council’s carbon management programme and integrating the work of other agencies into travel plans.
- School Travel Plans
The school run contributes significantly to congestion on the borough’s roads. There is an aim is for every school in the borough to have its own travel plan promoting more sustainable ways of travelling to school by 2010. We are on target to achieve this. The school Travel Plan Coordinator is also responsible for a range of sustainable travel promotion events (such as walk to school week) and integrating the work of outside and partner agencies into school travel plans.
- Workplace Travel Plans
Workplaces and residential areas can also develop Travel plans to tackle travel and transport problems. Wigan has developed a supplementary planning document to assist with the planning process. In addition, Wigan Council offers specialist expert advice to organisations developing a Travel Plan.
- The council has produced Cycling and Walking Strategies for the borough.
- A new Transport Strategy is being developed for the borough which will be designed to address the transport issues facing the residents of today and of the future. Follow this link for more information on getting about in the borough.
