Terms of reference template: Neighbourhood accessibility planning prioritisation study

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Purpose statement

The main purpose of the [name of city] neighbourhood accessibility plan prioritisation study is to provide a forward programme for [name of city] for the next [number] years.

The prioritisation study will assist [name of council] in developing a forward plan and prioritisation for neighbourhood accessibility plans throughout the city (reference relevant regional or local strategies as justification for the work).

This study will provide a data-based and strategically aligned way of pragmatically prioritising neighbourhoods for neighbourhood accessibility planning. This will assist with maintaining community relationships as well as justifying to council, the NZTA and other stakeholders the order of priority for each neighbourhood.

Scope and issues to be addressed

The overall objectives of [name of city] neighbourhood accessibility plans are to:

• improve connectivity and mobility in our neighbourhoods
• improve the link of walking and cycling with public transport
• improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists
• contribute to the health and vibrancy of our neighbourhoods
• contribute to increasing the number of pedestrians, cyclists and sustainable transport users in the project areas
• contribute to a reduction in environmental emissions by reducing the number of short-distance car trips
• contribute to an improved transport environment, which may assist economic development in relevant neighbourhoods.

The projects will investigate and try to find transport-related solutions to the following issues:

• road safety
• personal security
• low numbers of walkers, cyclists and sustainable transport users
• poor connectivity to destinations and public transport
• inactivity and obesity
• access for the mobility disadvantaged
• the overall liveability of the area
• any other issues that impact on walking, cycling and sustainable transport use in neighbourhood areas.

The study has two main components:

• The investigation of data to support how projects should be prioritised.
• Discussions with other council teams and external agencies on their work programmes in relation to the neighbourhood accessibility plan prioritisation schedule.

The two components of the study’s investigation will be reconciled and a final list of prioritised projects will be published and planned for implementation.

Methodology

The NZTA’s Neighbourhood accessibility plans: Information for local authorities when planning or starting projects have been utilised in planning this study.

The overall methodology will involve:

• developing a model, utilising variables that impact on walking, cycling, and access to and from sustainable modes of transport, to determine the priority order of the neighbourhoods where projects should be implemented
• collecting relevant data for each of the following neighbourhoods (specify the names of each neighbourhood)
  undertaking a comparative analysis between neighbourhood areas and developing a draft prioritisation schedule
• determining the planned internal and external projects that are relevant to neighbourhood accessibility plans, when they are timed, what their objectives are and in which areas they will be implemented
• reconciling the draft prioritisation schedule with any significant projects that it would be advantageous to align with neighbourhood accessibility plans
• consulting internally and externally on the proposed prioritisation schedule and gaining stakeholder commitment to align their work plans with the prioritisation schedule.

Data investigation

The following data will be used to undertake an analysis of variables that contribute to, or have a relationship with, sustainable access:

• population
• employment
• household income
• deprivation index rating
• school decile
• school and university rolls
• car ownership per person
• passenger transport usage
• social cost of crashes (utilising the crash analysis system)
• traffic volume
• rate of crashes comparative to population or traffic volume
• walking and cycling counts
• crime statistics.

External and internal project coordination

External agencies and internal teams will be asked to assist with the study by outlining their planned or anticipated work programmes.

The following is an indicative list of the external agencies that will be consulted with:

• [name of city] Regional Council
• New Zealand Police
• ACC
• Safe Kids
• Housing NZ
• Ministry of Education
• [name of city] District Health Board
• regional public health
• sports trusts.

The teams associated with the following internal plans and projects will also need to be consulted with:

• planned developments or road changes
• road safety action plans
• planned engineering works
• planned maintenance schedules
• planned transport studies
• passenger transport service upgrades
• cycleway and walkway projects
• other planned walking and cycling capital projects
• investigations of lower-speed zones
• CPTED initiatives
• school travel plan and workplace travel plan projects
• council-run SPARC and Active Community initiatives
• planned parks and recreation projects
• planned community projects.

These teams and agencies will also be asked if the location or structure of neighbourhood accessibility planning projects will influence the degree to which they would be willing to, or are able to, participate and contribute resources to particular neighbourhood accessibility plans.

As well as the work outlined above, the following considerations will be factored into the final version of the prioritisation schedule:

• The amount of likely community interest.
• The ‘workload’ of communities involved in projects currently underway.
• The level of commitment of schools in the neighbourhood areas.
• Any location-specific characteristics, such as the presence of passenger transport interchanges, stations and stops.

Consultation

Inherent in this work will be the engagement of internal and external stakeholders. [Provide specific comments about stakeholders who will be engaged with if this is relevant]

Once the draft study is completed, it will be reported to the councils’ [name of committee or group] in order to confirm the proposed forward neighbourhood accessibility programme. A working party approach, involving key stakeholders, will be adopted in the development of this programme.

Timeframe

The work will be undertaken over a [number] -month period. Conditional on the timing of funding approval, the work will be completed by [date].

Deliverables/outputs

The main output of the neighbourhood accessibility plan prioritisation study is a list of prioritised projects within [name of city] that has been agreed to by all stakeholders.

Cost estimate

The cost for this work is [$XXX] . [Name of council] are requesting [$XXX] from the NZTA.

Page updated: 6 May 2009