Chapter 3
3. Appropriate Decision Making through Transport Appraisal
3.1 The rationale for Park and Ride in an area should be clear, particularly as inappropriately located Park and Ride may fail to attract patronage or result in unacceptable adverse impacts. Moreover, Park and Ride may be only one of a number of potential interventions needed to address the transport challenges and opportunities in an area. It is, therefore, important that the rationale for developing Park and Ride, and other transport intervention, initially emerges from a robust objective led transport appraisal study. This will allow for assessment of both the positive and negative impacts of options, including, potentially, Park and Ride.
3.2 The rationale for developing option(s) may have emerged from a robust transport appraisal study completed as part of work to prepare a spatial development plan or Local or Regional Transport Strategy, or from the Strategic Transport Projects Review.
3.3 Scottish Government / Transport Scotland expects that the rationale for further progressing any interventions affecting the trunk road or rail networks, and for which their approval, consent or funding is sought, will have initially emerged from a completed study using Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance ( STAG). For other studies from which options affecting only the local transport network are likely to emerge, STAG is recommended as best practice appraisal.
3.4 The scale and detail of any study using STAG should be proportionate to the scale and complexity of the transport problems and opportunities being considered and, where possible, should make use of any previous relevant work undertaken including, for example, existing relevant analytical work or transport data. STAG is suitable in any transport planning context, and for both urban and rural studies, from studies where a large number of options may emerge to relatively small scale studies likely to result in a more limited number of options.
3.5 A robust transport appraisal exercise provides decision makers with sufficient information on potential options to decide on the most appropriate option(s), taking into account a wide range of impacts. For example, potential negative impacts of Park and Ride, such as new car trips and / or diversion of trips from existing public transport services would be considered alongside other impacts, both positive and negative. It is expected that a robust study using STAG should be completed before commencing the detailed design of any options using mode specific guidance and standards.
3.6 Further information on STAG can be found via: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/stag/home .