Vision 2030
Cycleway in Totnes (© Lou Brown)
Nowhere in our transition to 2030 has the changing pace of life been more profound than in our mobility. Totnes and District has become an inspired exemplar model for localised integrated transportation. People’s first thought when choosing how to travel is about walking or cycling and what vehicles there are, travel more slowly. Juggernauts are long gone; all goods are now delivered by rail or, to Totnes town, by boat up the river where they are offloaded at Baltic Wharf, and then distributed from there. Totnes station is a whirl of activity with passengers, goods and mail. The integrated transit systems carrying people and goods are popular and working out of the transit hub network that links in all the local travel routes and services. The wide choice of travel options is extraordinary, an eclectic mix of the very modern; super sleek electric buses with a revitalisation of our rural past in the form of Shire horses and Dapple Greys. Cars are used as a last resort – and the Totnes Car Club’s vehicles are entirely fuelled by electricity generated locally from wind or hydro.
Our streets have reverted to being social spaces as well as being for travelling – they are much safer, with far less traffic and far more people, particularly in the morning when the children head off to school. The intermediate time of children needing to be protected by use of Cycle Trains and Walking Buses is now long gone, as any child aged 4 or older can travel safely without supervision. The walking/cycle route network has made cycling safer and it has roared back into popularity for leisure and commuting –and what’s more it connects a whole series of pocket parks and community orchards and allotments. People travel together more than ever, walking together and sharing short lifts for shopping. Many streets have closed out the cars, children play and neighbours socialise there. The extensive river links are active all year and with the rise in tourism ‘oiling the wheels’, small boats have become more plentiful and busy.
All the wider roadways have been slimmed down into attractive and productive leafy boulevards with public walkways lined with fruit or nut trees and bushes. In the rural areas this space has been reclaimed for cycle lanes and growing fuel crops with narrow cycle lanes in between. Parking is no longer an issue and car parks have disappeared under bountiful allotments and gardens. The general consensus is that travel is more accessible, people friendly and relaxed. The air smells sweet and fresh.
Cars and Bikes by students at Grove School
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