East End Transport Scheme surveys and assessments

As part of the development of the East End Transport (EET) Scheme, surveys and assessments will be carried out to help us understand the impact of the scheme on the local community and to identify any issues that we might need to consider.

Air quality assessment

An air quality assessment has been undertaken to identify the potential impacts of the East End Transport Scheme on air quality in the area. The main findings from the assessment were:

• that the scheme would not adversely affect the East End area’s air quality overall
• that a significant improvement in air quality was predicted within the Embankment Road Air Quality Management Area when the scheme becomes operational from 2011
• that a reduction in air quality along Gdynia Way may result but would be within the levels defined by DEFRA where no action is required to mitigate the impact
• that pollution monitoring before, during the construction and after the scheme becomes operational continues

Noise impact assessment

A noise impact assessment has been undertaken to identify the potential traffic noise impacts of the East End Transport Scheme on the East End area. The report concluded that:

• overall there would not be a significant impact from traffic noise related to the scheme
• a significant reduction in traffic noise levels around Embankment Road would occur
• that any increase in noise levels along Gdynia Way would be mitigated against through the noise reduction qualities of the new road surfacing to be used

East End parking survey

A parking survey was carried out in June 2009. Data collectors recorded the vehicles that were already parked in each road, the time a vehicle arrived and how long the vehicle stayed. From this data we were able to work out the number of parked vehicles belonging to residents or non-residents.

This data, along with the criteria set out in our Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) Policy helped to determine whether there was a problem with non-resident parking within an area or street. The details of the CPZ criteria can be viewed below:

The survey found that some roads in the East End had no spare parking spaces, but the data suggests that this is not necessarily due to commuter parking, but because of the number of cars owned locally.

A Controlled Parking Zone will not be implemented as part of this scheme as the data shows that within each of the areas surveyed there is available parking. This may not be directly outside the property, but within walking distance. The results of the parking survey can be found below:

Equalities impact assessment

An equalities impact assessment (EIA) has been carried out for the East End proposals along with a Health Impact Assessment (HIA). The EIA looks at whether equality groups within the community will be adversely affected by the proposals and if so, what the Council will do to ensure this impact is minimised or removed altogether. The assessment concluded that equality groups would not be adversely affected by the proposals and in most cases, there would be a positive affect.

Health impact assessment

The health impact assessment (HIA) was commissioned by Plymouth City Council to determine whether the health of the community will be adversely affected by the proposals and if so, what the Council will do to ensure this impact is minimised or removed altogether. The Public Health Development Unit completed the study in February 2009 and published the report in April 2009. The assessment concluded that the proposals would, on the whole, have a positive impact on the East End community, but did make recommendations to support residents in particular areas that may not benefit to such a degree as others.