Benefit delivery
 Better Placed: Better Value |  Future Transport: Successful places |
 Future Transport: A Strong Economy |
Economic value can be measured directly in higher property values, urban regeneration, the turnover of local businesses, and vacancy rates. Economic value can also be indirect, such as creating places that attract global talent or delivering health benefits from active transport options. Streets can make their greatest contribution to economic value through providing quality public space and better access to it.
Benefits also extend to costs avoided – e.g. through long-term ‘virtuous circles’, where more people using active and public transport benefit not only themselves and others like them, but also reduce the number of cars (and congestion) on the road and provide long-term healthcare cost savings from higher physical activity participation rates.
Processes like design quality frameworks or design reviews can ensure that design and place benefits are not eroded over time and projects live up to initial expectations.
Delivering place benefits early in the project also adds value, offsetting construction impact on business and showing goodwill to the community via ‘best public purpose’ use of surplus land and redundant infrastructure. Long-term place benefits can also be achieved such as establishing tree nurseries, or co-ordinating ‘offline’ work sites with land required for future schools or hospitals.
Ensuring these secondary benefits are embedded in the project definition and funded is key to benefits being counted. Aim to co-design redundant (or ‘detrunked’) infrastructure with councils and the local community so that projects can hand these over fit-for-purpose.
Key questions
- How is the funding and delivery of place benefits aligned with the project? Are a range of direct and indirect benefits considered including health benefits? If assigned to other entities or projects, how has the delivery by others been secured or safeguarded, such as through interim works?
- Is there a strategy for repurposing of any redundant infrastructure? (Will part or all be repurposed to active transport? Will the infrastructure be divested to local authorities? Will the project deliver that existing infrastructure fit for purpose?)
- Is there a target overall journey time between major origins and destinations? Are general traffic speeds well-matched to speed zones, prevailing road conditions and the speed of other modes? Has time ‘saved’ while reducing variability been ‘spent’ on places – e.g. crossing time and speed? (Do traffic control signal plans demonstrate precinct priorities?)
