Active Travel Strategy
Have your say on the future of walking, wheeling and cycling in West Sussex
West Sussex County Council is working to deliver improved active travel facilities. By encouraging more walking, wheeling, and cycling, particularly for shorter journeys, we can help to reduce congestion on our already busy road network. We’ll also help improve air quality and create safer, more pleasant places to live, work and do business.
We are seeking your feedback on two important documents related to the way that we travel:
- Our draft Active Travel Strategy, which sets out our vision and goals for active travel in the county for the next decade and beyond.
- Our draft Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), which identifies the key long-distance corridors where WSCC wants to invest in active travel.
Our survey is open until Wednesday 15 November at 11:55pm.
Below there is a brief introduction to the draft documents. You can read the draft Active Travel Strategy and LCWIP in full in the ‘Documents’ section of this webpage.
Draft West Sussex Active Travel Strategy 2023-2036
Our Active Travel Strategy sets out our vision and goals for active travel in the county for the next decade and beyond. Our vision for active travel – which includes walking, wheeling and cycling – is:
"Our transport network will be characterised by high-quality active travel infrastructure, focused on connecting people with places and activities via safe, direct, attractive, and coherent routes. People across the county will be informed and aware of their options for walking and cycling locally. Active travel will be increasingly commonplace for everyday journeys, delivering greater economic prosperity, improved quality of life for all those who live and work within the county, and supporting our pathway to net zero carbon."
To achieve this vision, the following supporting objectives will guide our work:
- Support the decarbonisation of our transport network
- Reduce the need to travel by motorised vehicle
- Boost physical and mental health and wellbeing through access to active travel routes across the county
- Support future economic prosperity and vibrant local communities
Our Active Travel Strategy directly supports the policy objectives of the West Sussex Transport Plan (2022-2036) (opens in new tab). It has been developed in light of changes in the way we travel, including:
- Changes to commuting patterns following the COVID-19 pandemic
- Government policy (including the publication of ‘Gear Change’, the latest cycling design guidance LTN 1/20 and the creation of the Active Travel Fund)
- An increase in use of e-scooters and e-bikes.
Throughout the strategy, safety and behaviour change are emphasised as crucial factors in promoting active travel. By creating safe and well-maintained pavements, cycle routes, and pedestrian crossings, individuals feel more secure and confident in walking, wheeling or cycling more often. Behaviour change also plays a crucial role in shifting attitudes and habits towards active modes of transport. By enhancing public awareness and leading education campaigns, we aim to highlight the benefits of walking, wheeling, and cycling, both for personal wellbeing and the environment.
Draft West Sussex Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP)
The Draft West Sussex LCWIP is a companion document to our Active Travel Strategy, with a related vision and objectives to improve active travel in the county.
LCWIPs are a new, strategic approach to identify walking, wheeling and cycling improvements required at a local level. They enable a long-term approach to developing networks and routes and form a vital part of the Government’s strategy to increase the number of trips made by cycle or on foot.
LCWIPs are intended to:
- Plan for cycling and walking using evidence and data on existing and future potential demand
- Target investment where it can have the greatest impact
- Identify cycling and walking infrastructure improvements in readiness for funding bids and
- Plan cycling and walking networks which meet core design outcomes, meeting the need of users.
The Draft West Sussex LCWIP looks in detail at six new longer-distance active travel corridors that would connect West Sussex communities together. Our district and borough councils are also developing their own LCWIPs, which cover routes within towns – typically focused on radial routes and key corridors serving town centres, employment and transport hubs, and planned development locations.
The routes contained within the West Sussex LCWIP and the district and borough LCWIPs will help determine our future priorities for active travel and which schemes are included in future delivery programmes. By aligning and coordinating our efforts at county and local levels, the aim is to provide a safe, convenient and sustainable network for getting around, whether for leisure, commuting, or other purposes.
The six routes that we have identified as being high priority for development and funding are:
- A264 Crawley to Horsham
- A259 Emsworth to Chichester - part of existing National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 2
- Selsey to Chichester Greenway
- A259 Bognor Regis to Chichester
- A24 Findon Valley to Washington
- Littlehampton to Worthing
These routes were carefully selected, taking into consideration a range of criteria, including where people start and finish their journeys. The routes were then assessed to understand if they are, or could be made, suitable for walking, wheeling and cycling. The LCWIP contains more details on this process and explores the key opportunities for each of the six routes, along with cost estimates.
The proposed LCWIP routes. The coloured lines show the proposed West Sussex LCWIP routes. The pink bubbles show the proposed local LCWIP areas. Together, the maps indicates the proposed walking and cycling network in the county.Have your say
We would like to hear your views on key elements of the draft West Sussex Active Travel Strategy and LCWIP. Following the close of the consultation we will carefully analyse your feedback and will take it into account while preparing the final versions of the documents. We plan to publish the final versions of the draft West Sussex Active Travel strategy and LCWIP in early 2024.
Please take this opportunity to let us know what you think by completing our survey, which can be accessed below.
Alternative formats
If you require any of the information for this project in an alternative format, please contact us on 01243 642105 or via email at activetravel@westsussex.gov.uk (External link) and we will do our best to assist you. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you can contact us on 18001 (01243 642105).
For more information about the accessibility of this website, please see our Accessibility tab (opens in new window) at the foot of the page.
