Methodology for evaluating quality of travel plans for new developments

A travel plan contains a package of site-specific measures that aim to manage car use and to encourage the use of more sustainable transport modes. I n recent years, there has heen increasing interest in using the land use planning and approvals process to secure travel plans for new developments. Although evaluations of travel plans tend to focus on outcomes such as reductions in car use, scant attention has been paid to evaluating the process through which they are developed. For this study, an assessment framework was developed to evaluate the quality of travel plans for new developments. With a case study from Victoria, Australia, the framework was applied to 31 travel plans. Results showed that most travel plans were prepared for residential and mixed use developments and contained measures that were focused primarily on information and infrastructure provision. Relevant background information and the selection of measures generally were covered by travel plans. However, the process for managing their implementation scored relatively low in the assessment in comparison with other elements. Overall, the framework developed provides a useful tool for assessing the relative merits and deficiencies of travel plans prepared for new developments and can be used to improve the quality of travel plans that are submitted through the planning process. Further work is required to refine the framework according to the collective views of travel planning practitioners.