7.3 Transport

Underlying Principles

It is perhaps Runcorn's transport arrangements more than any other aspect of its development which have excited the interest of new town observers from all over the world.

Arthur Ling's team placed great emphasis on transport planning and his concept of a planned balance between the use of the car and public transport underpins the entire Master Plan and the whole structure of Runcorn. It is the framework and the starting point from which all other land uses are arranged and located.

As early as the 1950s the steady growth in car ownership was giving rise to concern about pedestrian safety and its effect on the environment. The American solution to problems of congestion, with its implications for health and the quality of life, had been to construct wide urban motorways which frequently carved through the urban fabric, shattering communities in their wake.

Whilst Arthur Ling recognised that provision for increasing levels of car ownership was desirable, he was also concerned to ensure that the non-car owning section of the population should not be disadvantaged.

By the 1960s public transport, particularly in urban areas, had become marginalised. Trams and trolley buses had or were disappearing as the private car demanded more road space and the motorised bus was becoming less efficient due to traffic congestion on routes which it shared with the private car.

Beginning with the premise that good accessibility to all parts of the town was vital, a transportation framework evolved comprising two main elements. Firstly, a spinal public transport route, arranged in a figure of eight around which the residential communities were arranged in such a way that the majority of people could live within five minutes walk of the system and, secondly, an expressway, which conveyed other vehicular traffic outside the residential areas in a broad elliptical shape with access to the peripherally located industrial estates and with distributor roads into the residential areas.

Road

The Plan envisaged that private and goods vehicles would be conveyed swiftly outside the residential areas by way of 22 kilometres (13.5 miles) of Expressway. This circumscribes the town, providing inward access to the residential communities and outward access to the industrial areas, the regional roads and the national Motorway system.

A central link enables access to the town centre and facilitates inward access to residential communities and a link between industrial areas to the north and south of the town.

Designed and constructed to urban motorway standards, the Expressway is pedestrian free and can be accessed only at specific interchanges. (picture)

Interchanges are located to serve residential communities, industrial estates and the town centre by short lengths of district distributor roads which in turn give access to peripheral or spine local distributor and local access roads.

At secondary level, the road layout is designed to discourage cross town movements and traffic is encouraged to utilise the Expressway. This has resulted in the close spacing of interchange points so that, in general, every community or unit of development has its associated access to the Expressway close at hand.

The system was designed on a traffic prediction model based on the target population of 100,000. Predictions of the growth in regional traffic and vehicle ownership and usage were also taken into account.

Considerable ingenuity and skill went into the design of the Expressway. Although its general shape was largely fixed by the location of the main residential, industrial and shopping areas, it was also required to fit into the landscape where possible.

Despite the inflexibility of its shape, the need for frequent grade separated interchanges and the terrain, it proved possible to develop completely new hill and valley formations, resulting in a road which fits comfortably into the surrounding landscape. Arthur Ling's vision of a landscape setting for the Expressway has been largely fulfilled in the form of densely planted adjacent parkways. (picture)

The avoidance of short curves and the use of earth moulding and extensive planting have contributed to a flowing alignment which presents continuously changing and interesting views.

The first section of Expressway was opened in 1970. It was finally completed in 1983

The Expressway links with the A562 Runcorn to Liverpool via the Runcorn Bridge, the A558 Runcorn to Warrington and the A533 Widnes to Northwich. It provides easy access to the M56 to the south.

Rail

The London to Liverpool Intercity line passes through Runcorn with a station at Runcorn Old Town. The Chester to Manchester Line has a stop at the new station of Runcorn East. (picture)

A freight line runs between Runcorn Station and Weston Point to serve the ICI works and the Frodsham junction to Halton junction to the south of the town is open for one train a week.

The Gallup Survey, carried out as part of the Halton Borough Local Plan process, indicated that the majority of residents were satisfied with rail services. There is evidence, however, that the new station at Runcorn East between Windmill Hill and Murdishaw, although providing enhanced communications for the new town and a valuable commuter link, may also be conveying more people out of the town to shop at Chester or Warrington.

Bus

It was the priority which Arthur Ling attached to an efficient public transport system as such a vital component of a new town which led him to propose a rapid transport system(14), a Busway based on a separate track. The separation of public and private transport would eliminate the problems of congestion on bus routes and allow other vehicles a road system which was free of delays caused by buses.

To ensure its economic viability, it was necessary to attract as many people as possible to it which included at least half of the working population in the town. Its specific design would enable it to be cheap, fast and frequent offering, as near as possible, a door-to-door service between home, shops, community facilities, entertainment and place of work.

The industrial areas were arranged so that communal car parks were located, in most cases, further away than bus stops. As parking arrangements in some residential areas was at a short distance from the houses themselves, the person returning home from work by bus, would be at no less an advantage than had the car been used for the journey.

In addition to furthering the social objectives of the Master Plan, the bus only route was also able to demonstrate considerable financial advantages over other forms of public transport investigated. These included monorails, trams and computer controlled automatic systems on concrete rails. It was estimated that there was as much as a 50% saving in overall length of the route compared with towns of a similar size but with a traditional road pattern. The requirement for car parking, with its financial and land use implications, was also reduced

Operating on a reserved track, it was calculated that an average operating speed of twice that of a traditional bus system could be achieved. To enable free flow of buses, other road traffic would cross it at junctions controlled by traffic lights which give priority to buses. Pedestrian crossings would be by way of bridge or underpass

By the end of the research it was demonstrated quite conclusively that a conventional single deck bus operating on a reserved track was by far the cheapest and most flexible system available. Considerable savings could be obtained by a reduction in both operating costs and travel time on the rapid transit route. A conventional system would require 88 buses operating at an average speed of 12 mph as opposed to the 12 to 16 required for the rapid transit route which would achieve an average speed of almost 22 mph.

Throughout the process leading to final implementation, the Development Corporation liaised closely with Crosville Motors, the bus operator, and also officials of the County Council Transport Department. A joint working party was set up to handle every aspect of the exercise from route planning to the furnishing of bus stops. In this way the project was to benefit from a range of professional skills.

The Busway

Arthur Ling's research and ideas eventually found expression in the unique Runcorn Busway, which began operating in October 1971. Some details of the Busway are as follows;

• length - 22 kilometres (13.7 miles),
• carriageway -two-way,
• width - 6.7 metres (22 feet),
• first section opened - October 1971, last loop completed - 1980,
• track design - for 64 kilometres per hour (40 miles per hour) wherever possible, 48 kilometres per hour (30 miles per hour) in some places,
• sight distance - comfort and stopping distance main criteria,
• gradients - generally not steeper than 1 in 25,
• stopping places - designed to allow bus to decelerate smoothly,
• construction costs - likely to have been in the order of £8 million, including £1 million for land costs,
• headway - on busiest section, 2-3 minutes,
• average operating costs - estimated to be 10% to 20% lower than the costs of operating in a conventional urban setting.

Although classed as a public highway the Busway is, for most of its length, a dedicated bus-only route with use restricted to Registered Local Bus Services and emergency vehicles.

Despite the considerable number of at-grade junctions with all purpose roads, the Busway has absolute priority. Speeds of 48 kilometres per hour (30 miles per hour) through these junctions is made possible by traffic signals which revert to green as the bus passes over a loop between 90 and 100 metres (295 and 328 ft) from the signal. (picture) In case of faulty signals, diamonds are painted on the Busway at the approach to alert drivers to when the lights should have started to change.

By the time the system was fully complete and the ultimate population of the town achieved, it was envisaged that 12 to 16 vehicles would be required, providing a 5 minute frequency service in new residential areas and a regular 7.5 minute or 15 minute frequency in the older parts of the town and to the Industrial areas. This would ensure that over 60% of the population would enjoy a 5 minute frequency service and 20%, a 7.5 minute frequency service throughout the day.

It was only after 1980, when it was finally complete, that the impact of the Busway could be monitored.

Whilst usage was undoubtedly high, an operating speed of only 19 kilometres per hour (12 miles per hour) in 1977 meant that it was not running at maximum efficiency. Average speeds of 14 5 kilometres per hour (9 miles per hour) in Crewe and 18 kilometres per hour (11 miles per hour) in Bracknell were being achieved at the same time on conventional systems. Cheshire County Council, which was responsible for the operation of the bus network and for subsidising the service, eventually succeeded, with Crosville Motors, in increasing this speed to 30.5 kilometres per hour (19 miles per hour) and reducing the number of buses from 24 to 20.

Despite these improvements, the County Council continued to subsidise both Crosville and the Busway to the extent that, by the time of deregulation in 1986, the Busway was described by one local official as 'moribund'.

Since deregulation, there have been two main companies in operation offering a 5 minute frequency service. Use remains high during the day, although it is estimated to be mainly by shoppers rather than by people travelling to the industrial areas. The new bus companies are operating at a profit although the County Council has to provide, under service contract, an evening and Sunday service.

The flexibility of the Busway as opposed to other systems, such as the tram, has allowed the introduction of long distance buses onto the route. This has greatly improved the situation for travellers who previously had to go to Shopping City to connect with regional and long distance services.

The £140,000 per annum maintenance cost of the Busway is considered to be relatively low, probably due to the exclusion of other vehicles. Other savings are made possible on residential roads which do not experience heavy commercial traffic and the oil stains frequently associated with buses.

There are also very few school bus services in Runcorn because of the Busway and the layout of residential areas relative to schools. Runcorn has two such services compared with 20 in a town of comparable size.

As the population has aged there are a growing number of elderly people emerging on the periphery of residential areas, at the furthest distance from the Busway. This has led to requests for mini bus services to connect with the Busway.

The Busway has also become a target for vandals and the structures on it, in particular the shelters, which are now specially designed and called 'Maginot'(15) shelters, and traffic lights are subject to regular abuse. (picture) Buses, contracted by the County Council to operate evening services, are more expensive to run because of regular damage.

Despite its problems the Busway works well and, although original population targets have not been achieved, it operates at a profit and largely as conceived in the Master Plan. As an example of a rapid transport route conceived in the 1960s, it is unique and was certainly far ahead of its time. That it should not have been applied to the many towns and cities which suffer crippling congestion can only be regarded as a missed opportunity.

The Runcorn Busway is recognised as a vital strategic link in the public transport network and an asset to be maintained, enhanced and developed.

Cycles

Although a cycling strategy was devised and a number of cycle paths were built into the original transport system, they have suffered from lack of maintenance and, as a consequence, their provision is sporadic. In the main they are located within residential areas where the occasional widened footpath was intended for dual pedestrian and cycle use.

A longer term aim of both Halton Borough Council and Cheshire County Council is a revival of the cycleway system.

Pedestrians

Whilst making adequate provision for the predicted increases in road traffic, Arthur Ling was also concerned to ensure that the non-car owning sector of the population should not be disadvantaged, hence the significance of the public transport system in Runcorn.

The needs of non-car owners were further supplemented by the vast network of paths which criss-cross the town. These routes ensure safe access between the various neighbourhoods and local centres (picture) linking in with the green spaces, play spaces, the Town Park, Shopping City and the industrial areas.

Runcorn is an extremely pedestrian friendly town. There can indeed be very few locations within it from which a footpath is not visible. The footpath network conveys pedestrians surprisingly quickly from one area to another, frequently more so than if the same journey were undertaken by car.

As well as providing convenient access, the segregation of footpaths from roads offers immeasurable safety benefits, particularly important for children. Schools are attached to local centres and the whole footpath and road network ensures that most school children do not have to cross a road at all, far less so, a busy one.

The paths are invariably winding and, wherever possible, are flanked by green spaces and shrubbery giving a curvaceous and flowing feel to many of the routes. (picture)

One area of criticism relates to footpath links between the old and new town. In commenting on the situation, one official noted that footpath links were so poor in parts that people use the Expressway to cross to places of employment between the old and the new town.

This situation reflects one of the many physical difficulties associated with grafting a new town onto an existing community.

Future

In terms of highway proposals, a Town Centre Circulation Scheme is proposed in the Old Town to relieve traffic congestion in the shopping area. The Borough Council also intends to investigate the dualling of the remaining part of the Expressway past Daresbury Laboratory.

The Draft Local Plan proposal to open a new station at Beechwood Bus Depot to the south east of the old town is dependent upon the use of the Frodsham to Runcorn line as part of the public transport network. This would allow a direct link between Runcorn and Chester from the Intercity line.

A new station at Sutton, to the south of town, is also proposed and the County Council has given priority to improving the Manchester to Chester line, which could include its electrification.

Comment

Due to its efficient transport network, there are few trouble spots in Runcorn. This is in contrast to nearby Widnes which experiences significant problems of congestion. Such problems are largely eliminated in Runcorn due to the existence of the Busway.

On the whole, the communications network within Runcorn works extremely well and has been implemented largely as envisaged in the Master Plan. Indeed, of all the major land using activities within the new town it is probably the most successful.

All elements seem to be well integrated and to offer choice and efficiency. Its combined attention to public transport and the pedestrian have always set Runcorn apart from most other new towns. With increasing concerns about the global environment and issues of sustainability, Arthur Ling's transport arrangements achieve even greater relevance today than when they were conceived some 30 years ago.