Job opportunity: Sustainable Travel Planning Officer
There’s an exciting opportunity to join the Highways and Transportation team at Essex County Council, find out more below:
Sustainable Travel Planning Officer – (21815)
Contract: Permanent
Working Hours: Full-time
Salary: Up to £26,000 per annum
Primary Location: Chelmsford
Closing Date (Period for Applying): 16/08/19
Job summary and Responsibilities
Over the coming years, the Highways and Transportation team will strive to modernise the service, specifically around leveraging value from technology and raising customer engagement.
The Sustainable Travel Planning Officer will be responsible for promoting credible alternatives to the private car through a menu of Travel Planning measures throughout Essex. Assisting with the co-ordination, development, implementation and monitoring of sustainable Travel Plans, both voluntary and those secured through the planning process, in line with relevant policies to encourage modal shift throughout Essex.
The role will champion sustainable travel initiatives, ensuring tenacious delivery of Travel Planning, innovation and excellent communication, applying these skills to deliver a wide range of sustainability-led projects.
CTPC’s Pam receives Cycling UK award
Colchester Travel Plan Coordinator Pam Nelson was recently recognised by Cycling UK for her tireless commitment to promoting sustainable transport in Colchester.
Pam first got involved by chance when she noticed a sign for Colchester Cycling Campaign not long after she’d moved to Colchester 20 years ago.
Pam was awarded CTC Volunteer of the Year East Anglia in 2004, then went on to organise Colchester’s first ‘in town without my car’ day the next year and completed bikeability instructor training too. She’s subsequently set up Cycle Training East, revive the Colchester CTC group in 2010, and was Sustrans volunteer group coordinator from 2005-14.
Pam joined CTPC in 2014 and then helped set up Colchester Bike Kitchen in 2015. Still not finished, she arranged Cycling UK ride leader training in November 2018 for six of her Sunday riders. And most recently, working with Essex County Council, Pam helped to obtain funding for a two-year community-led street design project, which started April 2019 in Winstree Road, Stanway.
From Colchester Travel Plan Club we extend our warmest congratulations to Pam.
Read the full story on the Cycling Uk Website
May 2018 – Walking Month
May is national walking month so a great time to focus on promoting walking at your workplace!
Here are a few ideas for joining in in walking related activities and promotions.
Jane’s Walk Colchester returns for its 8th year!
Friday 4th to Monday 7th May
On May Bank Holiday weekend, Jane’s Walk Colchester returns for its 8th year – local walks led by local people on local themes; all given free, in celebration of the late urbanist and activist Jane Jacobs (1916-2006). It’s a great weekend for staying in town!
Find out more and download the schedule of walks from the Walk Colchester website
#TRY20WITHUS
Living Streets’ month-long celebration of walking takes place throughout May!
During May we want to see as many people as possible give walking everyday journeys a go. Living Streets offer 20 top tips to incorporate more walking into your day plus lots of interesting facts and figures to keep you motivated.
Why not organise some lunchtime walks with colleagues or walking meetings?
Colchester Town Centre walking quiz
If you are based near the town centre use the quiz questions to organise some lunch time walks or set your colleagues a daily walking challenge!
Walk the Talk at North Colchester Business Parks
If you work on the business park or Severalls, help us promote Walk the Talk, 12 local walks of differing lengths, that give you information about how much time it will take, how many calories it will burn and number of steps. So you might want try Love Your Heart, or the Crescent Loop, do the Tesco Hop or go for a longer Highwoods Country Ramble. However much time you have available there will be a walk to suit you.
Rate your walk
Tell Living Streets about your everyday walk and help create #walkingcities across the uk. Whether it’s a walk you do every day, or a stroll you take while having a crack at one of Living Street’s fun #Try20 tips – tell them about it and they can build a picture of the state of our Walking Nation.
Walk to School Week is 21-25 May
If you have got kids, focus on 21 – 25 May and incorporate walking into your journey to school, whether all the way or park away from school and stride the rest of the way in. Take Living Street’s pledge, get top tips, enter their prize draw – and be part of the best walk in the best week of the year.
Find out more about Walk to School week
Happy Shoes day fundraiser
On Tuesday, 22 May 2018 thousands of children and grown-ups around the country will be wearing their happy shoes.
Why? They all want the right to walk to school safely, with fewer traffic jams and less toxic fumes in the air. They will be taking part in Living Street’s event; Happy Shoesday which encourages more children to walk to school and raises vital funds for their work.
P&R added to bus network map
We have recently updated our bus network map to include the Park and Ride. Our map shows the main frequent bus services that are suitable for commuting to work or regular travel.
There is also a separate map for North Colchester which gives more detail for people working at North Colchester Business Park and Colchester Hospital.
You can download the maps below.
Colchester’s frequent buses network map
North Colchester bus network map
*Please note, since we updated the map, First have withdrawn their 65 peak hour loop around the North Colchester Business Park, however it is currently still reflected on our map.
Free parking for car sharers at Colchester Station
Do you travel by train for business meetings?
Why not travel with colleagues and make the most of the work time you have on the train that you would lose if you travelled by car?
Plus if you car share to the station you can ENJOY UP TO 8 HOURS FREE PARKING at Colchester Station.
The LoveurcarColchester car share bays are located on the south side of the station and anybody car sharing to the station for business or personal use can use them free of charge. You need a Loveurcar car share permit which you can also get for free by applying online.
The Loveurcar car share permit can also be used in a number of car parks in town including St Mary’s, Vineyard Street, Britannia and St Johns where the car share bays are located in preferential locations. (Please note normal car park charges still apply in the town centre car parks)
Car sharers can save money on fuel and car park charges by taking it in turns to give lifts or by reimbursing their car share drivers with a contribution towards fuel and parking costs.
There are added community benefits if more people car share. Car sharing contributes to reducing the number of cars on the roads, improvements in air quality through fewer cars, with the knock on effect of reducing traffic congestion.
If you workplace doesn’t already have a car share matching scheme, then suggest they set one up. You may be surprised to find how many colleagues live close to each other and could potentially car share some of the days of the week. You can find out more about car sharing including local online car share matching schemes below.
Find out more about car sharing here.
Apply for a FREE LUCC permit here
Building Resilient Communities event
If you didn’t manage to get to Colchester Borough Council’s (CBC) Building Resilient Communities event last month, you might be interested in some of the presentations, which are now all available on the CBC website.
Of particular interest to CTPC members – was a very illuminating presentation on dispelling the myths about electric vehicles. Amongst the wealth of useful information included was the large number of electric charge points across the country, the range of electric vehicles versus the daily distance the average person in the UK travels, the savings and business benefits.
The presentation did particularly focus on the Nissan Leaf – however this does appear to be the market leader in electric cars and we were impressed with it’s other green credentials including how much of the car is made from recycled materials and that 99% of the car can actually be recycling.
So if you want to know more about electric cars and see the other presentations visit the Building Resilient Communities webpage
Other presentations that could be useful to CTPC SME’s were a couple of funding opportunities for sustainable projects (though not travel related) offered through LoCASE and The Carbon Trust Green Business fund.
Colchester’s frequent bus services
We will be continuing to promote bus travel in the New Year, and as a starting point have updated our commuters bus map. The map shows all Colchester bus services that run on an up to hourly frequency – quite a lot as you will see. Click on the map on the left to download it.
We have also created a NEW North Colchester bus map, showing the services that specifically serve the Business Park and Axial Way.
We need to further develop this map with key useful information – so if you have ideas of what you would like included drop us a line! Click on the North Colchester map to the right to download it.
AirTEXT – FREE local pollution alert service
Do you or someone you know have a heart or lung condition?
Sign up to a FREE Colchester air pollution alert service. On days of elevated air pollution receive an alert via your landline or mobile or download the airTEXT app on your smart phone to view air pollution, UV, pollen and temperatures for TODAY and TOMORROW.
To sign up:
- Download the airTEXT app to your smart phone
- Text AIRTEXT to 78070*
- Visit the website www.airtext.info
*You will be charged at your standard text rate.
June is cycling month
In June there is loads going on in Colchester and not just because National Bike Week falls within this month!
Visit the Cycle Colchester website to discover lots of opportunities to get your bike checked out, workshops to help you make your own repairs and led rides.
Cycle Colchester will also be at several events over the summer, so more opportunities to get some advice first hand to help you get cycling.
Get On Your Bike 2016 has been updated and revamped and is downloadable from the Cycle Colchester website.
We also want to hear from anyone who is interested in an adult cycle session to help you gain the practical skills and confidence for cycling on the road.
#Try20 – walk during May
This year the whole of May is walking month, and Living Streets the national charity that promotes walking is encouraging everyone to pledge to walk for 20 minutes a day through their #Try20 campaign.
We all know how good walking is for us and walking 20 minutes a day sets us well on the way to the 150 minutes a week of activity recommended to stay in good health
If you pledge with Living Streets, you will receive daily tips to help you walk more plus be entered into a free prize draw to win a £50 shopping voucher.
Here is a poster #Try20 A4 poster and a flyer #Try20 A5 flyer you can download to help promote #Try20.
May is a good month for walking locally – check out the ideas below:
Downloadable poster calendar of May’s walks and top tips: May walking month calendar of walks which includes the walks below:
6 May – ‘Fixing the Link’ lunchtime walk as part of Jane’s Walk – find out about the background and inspiration for the signing of the route between the Station and Town Centre
6-8 May
Jane’s Walk – a weekend of free fascinating themed walks led by local people exploring the local area and its history and environment in celebration of the life and work of renowned urban planner Jane Jacobs.
Find out more from the www.Janeswalk.org website. Download the poster opposite from the Walk Colchester website
Here is a downloadable Jane’s Walk flyer janeswalk2016_flyersingle
1 and 8 May – Pedlars Wood between Frinton and Walton
This beautiful private nature reserve is open for woodland walks two Saturdays in May between 10 and 5pm. Donations will be collected by bucket at the entrance.
For location details visit Visit Colchester or call 01255 850664
13 & 27 May Friday health walk and 8 & 22 May Sunday strolls in High Woods country park: Meet at the Visitor Centre at 11 am.
Friday health walks are a short circular walks of 20 to 30 minutes. Sunday strolls last up to 1 1/2 hours, Free tea or coffee available afterwards. For more information go to Colchester Borough Council’s Walking for Health webpage or contact the Centre on 01206 853588 or email countryside@colchester.gov.uk.
14 May – CBC staff walk
CBC’s professional support unit team organise a monthly walk with colleagues, but anyone is welcome to join them! They have a leisurely walk in High Woods country park then a stop for a cuppa or ice cream at the visitor centre. Meet 10:30 at the visitor centre. For more information contact michelle.lay-flurrie@colchester.gov.uk
Wellbeing walks, Work out walks, Taster sessions and Nordic Walking at High Woods country park, Castle Park and Brightlingsea
You need to book in advance and there is a fee. For full details, calendar and costs visit nordicwalkingnortheastessex.co.uk/activities
19 May – Firechoir
Firechoir meet every month at High Woods Country Park and walk together to the fire site to light a fire, sing and share a cup of tea when the kettle is hot! For more details visit www.firechoir.org.uk
