Man and his transport behaviour. Part 2c Planning as a substitute for implementation: a bicycle case study

Abstract

Researchers, planners and politicians alike have emphasized the need for systematic planning prior to the introduction of new transportation measures and schemes. Innovations ranging from the construction of new freeways to the encouragement of mode shift are therefore usually the result of detailed studies and extensive planning.

With unsettling frequency, however, the planning has come to replace implementation. The governing body identifies a problem area and commissions either a government planning department or a consultant to develop a plan which outlines needs and proposes measures which address the problem. The problem usually has two groups of people anxious to solve it; individuals who are being affected in their day‐to‐day living or travel, and longer‐term planners (usually politicians) who see it in terms of both extended community planning and votes.

The plan satisfies both sides temporarily, but becomes an effective planning tool only if implemented. Unrealistic plans and unwilling implementors have left a trail of plans which have been ends in themselves. Examples from bicycle planning in Australia show how the use of plan formulation can be either an essential element leading to the implementation of a planning scheme, or an expensive substitute for positive action.

A feature of plans which have been implemented is an integrated approach which makes extensive use of data collection to ascertain the needs of the population. A feature of the unimplemented plans is their concentration on the feasibility of introducing physical elements into the transport infrastructure without studying the travel demand.

It is concluded that the greater the concentration on individual needs and constraints, the less likely that planning will come to replace the implementation of a scheme.