Road to somewhere

Council wins grant to help residents travel without using petrol or diesel cars

This in from the council, in their own words. Ed


The Isle of Wight Council has been told its bid for funding under the government’s latest Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) has been successful.

The local authority will now find out in the autumn how much money it will receive under the scheme, having put in a bid for just under £1 million.

LSTF is a scheme that promotes the use of green and sustainable transport, such as improving cycling facilities, reducing carbon emissions from vehicles and increasing the use of public transport.

Boost for green tourism
Having successfully been awarded funding under the previous LSTF scheme in 2012, a number of schemes have been carried out using the money.

These include upgrading several cycle tracks and bridleways across the Island such as the Cowes to Newport cycle track, and making community grants available to allow businesses to install cycling facilities including bike racks and shelters.

Other schemes include converting a number of buses to carry bicycles, increasing the profile of events such as the Isle of Wight Walking and Cycling festivals, improving access to the Island’s coastal path, and establishing the ‘Bicycle Island’ marketing campaign in conjunction with Visit Isle of Wight.

Commitment to being a sustainable Island
Councillor Luisa Hillard, Executive member for sustainability, environment and public realm, said:

“The success of this grant application shows how committed this council is to developing more sustainable forms of transport.

“The first LSTF grant was focused on promoting car-free tourism but our plan under the second grant from the LSTF is focused on helping residents get to school and work without using petrol or diesel cars.

“We will be working with our partners to run various schemes and projects aimed at making long-term changes as part of our commitment to being a sustainable Island.”

Informing the council of its decision to approve the LSTF bid, the Department for Transport commended the bid for ‘showing a very strong understanding of the issues and opportunities on the Island, such as access to employment, as well as how increases in the take up of cycling and walking could be achieved.’

Full details in the application embedded below. Click on the full screen icon to see larger version.


Image: dcysurfer under CC BY 2.0

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Cynic
7, August 2014 10:28 am

Will we see hansom cabs in Newport?

davidwalter
7, August 2014 10:37 am

Great initiative, well done and thanks!

Annie
7, August 2014 10:44 am

Some of this money needs to be used to provide electric charging points for cars.

CB500
7, August 2014 11:02 am

No mention of low impact, low emission, congestion busting and very economical modern motorcycles and scooters as usual.

Caconym
7, August 2014 12:46 pm

In the end it largely boils down to cost, convenience and comfort. If I can get from A to B using a “sustainable” alternative to my car that matches it for cost, convenience and comfort, I’ll use it. Otherwise not. For example, I have an electric bike. Certainly nowhere near as comfortable as the car, but very convenient as I can park it anywhere, and certainly very… Read more »

Caconym
7, August 2014 1:20 pm

I see that you can lease the battery for the Leaf at a cost of £77/month if you do 9000 miles a year. This works out at a cost of 10p/mile. Add to that the cost of a recharge (2p/mile) and the “fuel” cost for running the Leaf is 12p/mile. By comparison, my car costs the same in diesel and doesn’t need hours to “refuel” every 75… Read more »

Nip
Reply to  Caconym
8, August 2014 9:12 am

I think you need to check some of your figures Suruk – you compare the Leaf to a Micra, but it’s not in the same class, the Leaf is a family saloon, size-wise similar to Nissan’s Pulsar (£15k), the Renault Megane (£17k) or the Citroen C4 (£17k) as such it’s price is pretty keen. Additionally the car has a range of about 250miles, not the 75 you… Read more »

Caconym
Reply to  Nip
8, August 2014 10:12 am

My current car is 4 years old. I expect to keep it for another 4 or so. Whether there will be any fuel for it in 50 years is irrelevant. When I come to sell it in 4 years time I will expect to get about £2000 for it. How much do you think you could get for an 8 year old electric car that is going… Read more »

Nip
Reply to  Caconym
8, August 2014 12:53 pm

I apologise for the mistake on the range – I was getting confused with the Tesla electric car which has a 250 mile range. While you may not worry about the lack of fuel in the future, your children and their children definitely will – fuel costs will only rise as supplies get low, whereas electric cars will only get cheaper as the tech and efficiency gets… Read more »

Caconym
Reply to  Nip
8, August 2014 1:18 pm

We are talking about the here and now. In the future electric vehicles MAY make economic sense because fuel prices have dramatically risen and/or the cost, capacity and reliability of batteries have improved. Currently electric vehicles are more expensive to buy and run than conventional cars, are far less convenient due to their limited range and have questionable resale value. There needs to be a lot of… Read more »

Nip
8, August 2014 1:52 pm

Suruk, can’t reply as the page has reached it’s limit, but nothing you have mentioned is insurmountable, and as more electric cars come into being you will see a change in the infrastructure – Wales has already commited to making itself navigable by electric car and is putting in hundreds of charging points round the country. By contrast petrol will run out within my children’s lifetime –… Read more »

Caconym
Reply to  Nip
8, August 2014 2:49 pm

You are not listening. My point is that electric cars do not make economic sense to the average user TODAY. Right now it is cheaper to buy and run a conventional vehicle, and is likely to remain so for at least as long as anyone owns a particular vehicle (usually 3 or 4 years) Arguing that owning an electric vehicle will make sense in 10, 20 or… Read more »

Caconym
Reply to  Nip
8, August 2014 3:07 pm

Additional:
If buying an electric car does make sense in, say, 5 years, it makes even LESS sense to buy one NOW as the vehicle you will be able to buy then will likely be superior in all respects (performance, range, battery life) to today’s models.

Nip
Reply to  Caconym
8, August 2014 3:28 pm

That argument could be applied to anytihng, phones, TVs, fridges – even if you bought a petrol car today then in five years you will be able to buy a superior one. I am listening to what you are saying, but I am saying that I think for someone living on the Island it does make economic sense, the limits on range are not an issue here.… Read more »

davidwalter
8, August 2014 4:49 pm

I have to agree with STS on all this both from a technical and financial point of view. Nip, don’t forget that most of us take the car to the mainland every so often. I only keep one car now, and use the bus (paid for on Key, not senior’s pass) where practicable. I manage around 50% of all Island journeys by bus on annual average. That… Read more »

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