Perth & Kinross Council Community Links Plus - Book 04

BOOK 4

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PERTH & KINROSS COUNCIL COMMUNITY LINKS PLUS

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COUNCIL COMMUNITY LINKS

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CONTENTS 04 12 18 20 22

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STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ENGAGEMENT EVENTS ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME CO-PRODUCTION & CO-DESIGN BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE

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COUNCIL COMMUNITY LINKS

Stakeholder Engagement

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INVOLVING COMMUNITIES: ‘‘Meet the needs of communities, providing people with the opportunity to shape their local environment and link the places they live with the places they want to go.’’

Projects should: • Demonstrate strong local need and community involvement

Our CLP bid is bold and ambitious in terms of its potential to transform Perth and the surrounding area. This presents the council with a number of challenges in terms of continuing engagement with our stakeholders. Proposing over 20km of cycle routes, along with new community parks and bridges, will require substantial resources. More importantly, it requires a significant commitment to ensure we engage effectively with our communities and stakeholders over the course of the programme, if we are to be successful and deliver the legacy we believe in.

• Develop and implement a behaviour change strategy or incorporate behaviour change proposals • Develop and implement community engagement consultation strategies • Consider the needs of groups with protected characteristics as defined in Equality Act 2010 Projects will be prioritised if they also: Address physical inactivity in areas of deprovation identified in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) PLACEMAKING:

From the start, we have recognised the importance of ensuring engagement with our communities and stakeholders is transparent, accessible and inclusive for all.

Our on-going engagement will ensure: • the proposals meet local needs, addressing the real issues of the community and stakeholders • the views of people affected by the schemes are taken into account during the design stage, increasing support for future development • reputational risk is managed, as all stakeholders are engaged during the process and understand the benefits of delivery

‘‘Encourage placemaking that promotes greater use of public space and higher levels of active travel.’’

Project should: • Follow the Scottish Governments Designing Streets policy • Prioritise walking and cycling movements over private motor vehicle movements Projects will be prioritised if they: • Demonstrate a creative and integrated approach to urban design • Integrate green infraestructure into proposals, including Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) ENABLING ENVIRONMENTS: ‘‘Create an enabling environment for active travel that facilitates the delivery of other projects.’’

Examples of potential projects: • Development and adoption of active travel strategies or action plans • Implementation of Town or City wide 20mph zones.

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As a large organisation in the public sector, there is always a focus on the activities we undertake, particularly with the local media, elected members and the wider public. The stakeholder map (opposite) outlines a number of key stakeholders for the project, of which a significant amount of them require time and resources to keep satisfied, manage closely or keep informed.

ORANGE – PERTH & KINROSS COUNCIL GREEN – FUNDING BODIES RED – EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS In terms of the council, there will be the day to day engagement around project development, reports for elected membersto approve at Committees and liaison with management around project delivery.

For the funding bodies ostensibly involved, there will be regular communication and formal reporting around the progress of the project, its promotion, budget profiles against expenditure, as well as monitoring of the outcomes on delivery.

With regards to the external stakeholders, there will be significant engagement, keeping them informed of progress, liaising with bodies such as Marine Scotland and SEPA to obtain the necessary legislative permissions around structures. It will also include continued collaboration with our partners to link in with key trip generators.

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A KEY FOCUS FROM THE START OF THE PRE-DESIGN PROCESS WAS HOW TO UNDERTAKE TRANSPARENT AND WIDE RANGING ENGAGMENT, WHICH WOULD ENABLE THE COUNCIL TO ACTIVELY INVOLVE PEOPLE, BUSINESSES AND ELECTED MEMBERS. TO MEET THIS CHALLENGE WE HAVE USED A DIGITAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TOOL – COMMONPLACE – WHICH HAS BEEN USED BY A NUMBER OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES ACROSS THE UK, COMPLEMENTED BY OUR IN-HOUSE SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION CHANNELS. THIS APPROACH HAS PROVED VERY SUCCESSFUL AND ALLOWED US TO PUBLISH REAL TIME DATA AND INFORMATION. THIS HAS HELPED TO CHALLENGE WHAT IS OFTEN A NEGATIVE PERCEPTION AROUND ACTIVE TRAVEL AND SHOW THE BENEFITS IT CAN HAVE FOR SOCIETY AS A WHOLE.

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Commonplace has also shown that our CLP bid has been driven by the wider community – it is not just across Perth which has shown demand for active travel; it is across the whole of Perth and Kinross. In Phase 1 we used a heatmap, which could be accessed by the public to engage with an interactive map and leave comments highlighting any issues or where investment should be made. Phase 2 used a different format, which allowed the public to provide design feedback on the initial proposals we developed.

The benefits associated with Commonplace are that it was very visual and easy to use. It has also enabled our elected members to go in and ascertain the views of the public. By simply showing how many comments had been registered, it generated further interest from the public. Initial comments generated additional feedback, which created momentum and a lot of interest in the project, which was highighted through our social media channels and the local media. Interest has grown with rural communities and we will continue to scope out ways to link Perth to the wider area.

Alongside Commonplace, we arranged a number of public engagement events across the city to engage with different communities. This provided face to face dialogue with interested stakeholders, who wanted further detail on the proposals or relay any concerns they had.

These were held in two phases, which coincided with the launch of the two webpages we used, which was October 2018 and January 2019.

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Another powerful engagement tool was Bike Life Perth. A result of our collaboration between PKC and Sustrans, it formed a key part of consultation with elected members and businesses, specifcally as the data is unique to Perth. Bike Life Perth provided us with a snapshot of public opinion. This showed that almost 70% of the 1,100 surveyed supported investment in cycle infrastructure, even if that came as a result of a reduction in the carriageway. The report also outlined the economic benefits, along with the challenges we face in terms of overcoming barriers for people to engage in more active travel.

Engagement with businesses has taken place through a number of forums: • The CLP Steering Group • Perth City Development Board • City Centre Management • Site visits to businesses along Dunkeld Road.

Recognition of these barriers has informed our approach with certain stakeholder groups – young adults, women and ethnic minority groups – in the first phase of design. We will build on this significantly during the next phase, as outlined in our community engagement plan.

This approach will also be complemented by a business seminar and onsite engagement days with companies such as SSE and Aviva, if we obtain Sustrans funding. These will outline our proposals and highlight the economic and social benefits associated with healthier staff.

As part of our stakeholder engagement programme, we have undertaken Place Standard and ISM (Individual, Social and Material) workshops. Away from the general approach to highlighting issues with infrastructure around Perth (Commonplace), we adopted a structured approach to engagement with stakeholders invited to the workshops, to obtain a wide range of opinions across different sectors i.e. public, education, volunteer sector, community etc Elected members Community Councils Schools PKAVS Centre for Inclusive Living Public Transport Transport Planning Road Safety Perth College UHI Local interest groups

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Engagement Events The Place Standard tool is a simple, but effective way of obtaining views on a specific set of areas which relate to placemaking. By using these topics as the basis of debate, we asked stakeholders to move around the room – ‘world café’ style – leaving their input and score on each subject as they went. The scores were then plotted onto a master sheet at the end, to present the overall feel for Perth.

Of significant interest was the difference in views, particularly the young adults, who often had a different opinion to other generations present in the room. Their key observations made are noted below: Influence & Sense of Control (scored 1): Not enough consultation/any consultation with young people.

Unfair and ineffective

We view this candid feedback as an opportunity to address the concerns of young people, who are the future generations for our economy and communities.

Whilst it is pleasing to see that the Council’s investment in lighting is creating spaces for young people in the evenings and the likes of the vennels should provide them with creative spaces in the near future, further work is required. We see the CLP bid as a way of creating a ‘sense of place’ for young people and delivering the exciting spaces they want and expect from their city.

Factors which scored highly for Perth included natural spaces, work and the local economy, along with housing and community. The ones which are closely aligned to the CLP bid – moving around, streets & spaces, play & recreation, social contact, identity & belonging are all areas we are seeking to invest, improve and deliver on.

Contact is often patronising Identity & Belonging (scored 3): Perth is seen as a nice place to raise a family and retire Communities very family friendly, but not for young people Little to get engaged with outside of school Social contact (scored 1): Lack of social affordable (free) spaces for young people Cafes/Cinema/Shopping – requires money.

Free spaces – the inches – get kicked away Norrie Miller Light Nights – a good start!

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The second part of the ‘closed workshops’ focused on ISM, which is structured to help identify factors relating to all three and how they influence behaviour in a positive or negative way. This workshop took place after the Place Standard exercise, which helped engage the audience on a conversation with how Perth functioned as a city. The focus of the ISM activities was specifically on active travel. This provided us with clarity about what we need to overcome as part of the next design/community engagement phase, as we seek to co-design and co-produce active travel routes which are safe, comfortable and attractive enough to encourage people to walk and cycle. Most importantly, they will be accessible and inclusive to all..

‘We see the CLP bid as a way of creating a ‘sense of place’ for young people and delivering the exciting spaces they want and expect from their city.’

In identifying important factors and exploring interventions that would support behaviour change, the main focus was material context, and in particular infrastructure. Even when individual and social contexts were discussed, these were often linked to the material context influenced these.

Outputs from Workshop Individual

Social

Material

Benefits to fitness (2)

Individual role to congestion (you are part of the congestion) (2)

E-bikes offer opportunities (4)

Benefits to environment (2) Benefits to mental health (2) Cost saving (4)

Individual contribution to pollution (2)

Perth is quite hilly (2) The weather (3)

Health benefits as relieving burden on NHS (4)

Infrastructure to support multimodal journeys (3)

Access to a bike (5)

Car culture dictates the use of space (5)

Availability of safe routes (5)

Personal safety (5)

Personal hygiene (5)

Directness of route weighed against safety (5)

Delivery of infrastructure takes time (5)

Personal hygiene (4)

Storage for cycling kit (5) Availability of showers and changing facilities (5)

(Factors scored 1-5; 1 being the least strong / 5 being the strongest)

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ISM Recommendations

Participants also suggested a number of interventions which could address some of the barriers identified. These are addressed as part of our community engagement plan.

1. Wider consultation to test the factors identified in this workshop in terms of their importance in influencing active travel behaviour.

Active travel routes – Active travel routes were identified as a very important factor in supporting active travel in Pert, in particular, the perception was that cycling into and around the city was not safe or was only suitable for people who were confident enough to cycle with traffic. The group felt that if safe routes for cycling were provided this would be sufficient to encourage more people to cycle. This feedback, aligned with the input from Commonplace, suggests that installing segregated cycle lanes would remove a significant barrier to active travel in the city.

2. Perth is not perceived to be a safe city for cycling.

Investment in infrastructure should be accompanied with a campaign which challenges the perception of safety.

Equipment and Infrastructure (individual and social context) – This focused around the car and that car culture dominates the way our streets, towns and cities are designed. This results in those outside of the car culture (or the ‘norm’), as marginalised compared to the infrastructure which supports car travel. This supports some of the data we’ve collected from young adults who say cycling isn’t ‘cool’. Social influences are very powerful, particularly at a young age. Addressing this barrier will be one of our greatest challenges, but one we are ready to tackle head on.

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3. Consider the importance of supporting infrastructure for cycling.

4. Design of future public realm should prioritise and ‘normalise’ the dominant material culture as active travel i.e. cycling and walking, not the motor vehicle.

5. Messages aimed at promoting the benefits of active travel should consider going beyond the individual and highlight the social and collective benefits.

These recommendations link clearly to our proposals: • reduce congestion and prioritise the movement of people who choose to walk or cycle.

• reduce the social impact of congestion and air pollution • our engagement programme will test ideas and factors with the wider public, before they are fully implemented.

• as a cycle friendly employer, the council is investing in its facilities for those who chose to cycle to work and we continue to have dialogue with large private and public sector employers in Perth about this.

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Engagement Programme Based on the principles outlined in the Sustrans Community Engagement guidance, our programme for the design and planning stage is outlined below.

PKC CLP engagement programme

Type of engagement exercise:

Purpose of engagement:

Description of event:

Who we will engage with:

Associated partners:

Engagement is linked to:

Online engagement

Obtain stakeholder input on proposals and ongoing design work

Commonplace - Online community engagement tool which provides heat map and design proposal facilities – and social media channels

Elected Members, businesses, communities, community councils etc.

Design Consultants, Commonplace, PKC Teams.

Inclusive and transparent engagement

Steering Group

Formalise approach and delivery with key partners

Formal meeting of partners to discuss approach to project delivery, ensuring short, medium and long term objectives are achieved

Partners who make up the Steering Group during the development of the Stage 2 business case

Perth UHI, CILPK, PKAVS, Police, NHS, Perth Traders Association, Chamber of Commerce, Sustrans & SNH (To be invited if funding is approved), PKC Teams, Elected Members

Collaborative approach to delivering successful strategic outcomes: 25% modal shift Removal of barriers for young people, women and ethnic minority groups Deliver economic growth

Business seminar

Promote proposals and benefits to local businesses in Perth and along key transport corridors

Seminar event to promote investment in placemaking across the city, how it links in with the Perth City Plan, Tay Cities Deal and the economic benefits associated with the investment and the opportunities it offers.

Demonstration events, promoting the benefits of ebikes etc.

Businesses, Perth Traders Association, Chamber of Commerce, Invest in Perth

PTA, Chamber of Commerce, Elected Members, Invest in Perth, Perth City Development Board

Promotion of active travel, initiatives to promote a modal shift, investment in placemaking and improving the appeal of development sites in Perth.

On-street pop up events

Engage with local users

On-street events to engage passers-by and residents

Local traders, communities, visitors, children, young adults etc.

Perth UHI, Secondary schools, iBike Officers

Identifying issues and ensuring street design suits the needs of the community and users

Design workshops

Engage with local communities

Facilitated co-design workshops with a model kit where attendees are encouraged to contribute ideas for street re-design.

Local businesses, communities, PKC teams and elected members

Sustrans, Design Consultants, Perth UHI, Community Engagement Consultants

Ensuring individual and social barriers with cycling are mitigated via good street design, which makes cycling attractive, direct, comfortable, safe and part of a cohesive network.

Create better spaces and place as part of investment with placemaking

Workplace events

Engage with large employers in and around Perth

Promote proposals, seek input and hold demonstrator events, promoting the cost/ benefits of ebikes and active travel.

Perth City Development Board, PTA, CoC, Invest in Perth.

Sustrans, Design Consultants, Perth UHI, Community Engagement Consultants

Promote opportunities with active travel and benefits of cycling/walking

Trialling temporary interventions

Test proposals and promote potential of street design

Trial run of alignment of cycle corridors/street space for locals to test

Children, residents, businesses, elected members, young adults/ students

Sustrans, Design Consultants, Perth UHI, Community Engagement Consultants, schools

Establish if proposal requires re-design ahead of installation. Build up interest and support for scheme.

Public art/graphic design programme

Identify and address barriers to cycling with young people

Undertake a comprehensive engagement programme to overcome barriers through public art/design/ photography

Students, communities, schools

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Research showing young people, young adults and students think cycling is perceived to be ‘uncool’

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Co-Production & Co-Design

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Clustered themes: Corridor 1 • Dunkeld Road • high air pollution levels • poor road surface • narrow pavements • dangerous for cyclists • poor (ugly) environment

Engagement with our communities has already influenced our approach to active travel. The heat map phase with Commonplace allowed people to highlight issues and common themes (below). These were clustered and sent through to our consultants, Royal HaskoningDHV, to review and implement as part of the design feasibility stage.

The public view helped define the active travel routes. We promoted these in January 2019 as part of the second phase of engagement and these obtained a majority share (67%) in favour of the proposals, closely matching the feedback in Bike Life Perth.

• poor drainage.

Clustered themes: Corridor 2 - Scone to Bridgend • unsafe/ dangerous • intimidating environment for pedestrians (Bridgend) • high traffic speeds • high air pollution levels • hard to get into the correct lane when cycling (Bridgend) • poor road surface • main Street/ Isla Street/ Strathmore Street junction, difficult to navigate by bicycle • the A94’s cycle lane/ bus lane is helpful, but in one direction only • traffic islands can be hazardous for cyclists; • advisory cycle lanes are too narrow • segregated cycle lanes are required • high numbers of HGVs • too much roadside parking (Scone).

Clustered themes: Corridor 5 - Glasgow Road • cyclists feel unsafe • poor road surface/ potholes • narrow pavements • on-street parking causes problems for cyclists • heavy traffic • high traffic speeds • narrow lanes for cyclists • traffic islands can be hazardous for cyclists • crossing the road can be difficult for pedestrians

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Behavioural Change Young people are often overlooked for community engagement, particularly when it comes to transportation and we are committed to changing this. X-route was a collaborative project between Young Scot and SEStran to identify and overcome issues with young people and active travel. This is a great example of community engagement we would want to replicate in partnership with primary and secondary schools, and Perth College UHI, especially when there is clear trend with young people not applying for a drivers licence.

The project showed how engagement with young people, as part of an integrated programme with art and design, can help deliver achievement and ownership. This creates a ‘sense of place’ and belonging, and thereby encourages those involved to walk and cycle more.

The Place Standard and ISM workshops highlighted a number of barriers during the initial consultation phase, which we are determined to overcome. The public life surveys and consultation undertaken to date has provided a snapshot of data.

We recognise that to truly understand how a place functions requires spending time speaking directly to those who live, work and play there on a daily basis.

During the design and planning phase, we will actively engage directly with communities and users of local spaces.

• ethnic minority groups and other groups who are hard to reach or do not particularly have the confidence and/or ability to attend public workshops in the city centre. We recognise that each stakeholder group will require a different approach if we are to obtain their input and ensure that the finished design and infrastructure is inclusive and accessible to all.

• engage with PKAVS and CILPK; we will engage their members and undertake streets audits, building on the work done with Living Streets, in order to ensure any barriers currently in place will be mitigated as part of the final street design • engage directly with local schools and Perth UHI, by arranging on site design workshops and build on successful softer initiatives such as WoW, iBike etc. for younger children, whilst looking at something like #Xroute for young adults, so they can associate more with Perth and recognise that cycling is normal and can be ‘cool’.

• undertake a public art programme, integrating design from students into active travel corridors • work with employers to sell the benefits of active travel and incentives linked to MiRewards

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OUR APPROACH TO INFRASTRUCTURE WILL SEEK TO ‘NORMALISE’ CYCLING, INCLUDING; • DELIVER A COHESIVE NETWORK OF PREDOMINANTLY SEGREGATED CYCLE LANES • PERTH & KINROSS COUNCIL IS ALREADY INVESTING IN NEW STORAGE AND CHARGING FACILITIES (FOR E-BIKES) AT PULLAR HOUSE, ALONG WITH NEW FACILITIES IN THE COUNCIL MULTI-STOREY CAR PARK AT CANAL STREET. • ON STREET PARKING CONTINUES WITH FACILITIES ALONG MILL STREET, WHICH COMPLEMENTS THE RECENT INVESTMENT IN CREATING A STREET FOR PEOPLE. • PERTH & KINROSS COUNCIL IS A CYCLE FRIENDLY EMPLOYER AND THE ADOPTION OF A NEW CORPORATE TRAVEL PLAN ANTICIPATED IN 2020. WE ARE KEEN TO SET THE TONE FOR INVESTMENT IN ACTIVE TRAVEL ACROSS PERTH AND KINROSS. • DESIGN AND BUILD A CENTRAL BIKE STORAGE HUB ON MILL STREET WHICH LINKS IN WITH THE LOCAL BUS SERVICE NETWORK, HELPING TO FACILITATE STORAGE AND MULTI-MODAL TRIPS.

We are aware that infrastructure needs to be complemented by progressive policies for active travel and collaboration with large employers, in order to make the bike, bus and walking a more attractive option for short journeys. We also understand the role that cars and car journeys play in society, particularly as the City of Perth serves a large rural community and elderly population, whose reliance on the car for mobility is understandable.

In the future we will seek to encourage more journeys from out with Perth to link in with Park & Choose facilities at key strategic points around Perth, as we improve active travel corridors into the city centre. Active travel hubs are proposed for Broxden and Walnut Grove Park &Ride and the city centre, facilitating active travel into Perth from strategic transport connections.

Our approach is to incentivise people to walk and use the bike, not penalise them for using the car. A digital initiative currently being trialled in Perth is rewarding people who undertake journeys by bus. Miconex are working with Stagecoach, as part of the Mi Rewards initiative, which also encourages people to shop locally. This initiative is also looking to reward people who walk and cycle into Perth.

We recognise the opportunity the Mi Rewards initiative can provide our communities and the wider economic impact it can offer to our local economy. As such we have had dialogue with the main private and public sector employers - Aviva, SSE, Perth College UHI, NHS and PKC – regarding specific means of incentivising behavioural change opportunities, cycle to work schemes, ongoing staff promotion/surveys and other opportunities.

• WORK WITH EMPLOYERS AND PROMOTE THE BENEFITS OF INVESTMENT IN FACILITIES TO PROMOTE ACTIVE TRAVEL TO WORK I.E. SHOWERS, LOCKER FACILITIES, SECURE BIKE RACKS.

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