appendix g pers and vurt - slough borough council · appendix g pers and vurt . technical note -...

Appendix G

PERS and VURT

Technical note - Langley Station PERS and VURT Draft Method and Outputs v0.2

Technical note

Project: Langley Station Business Case To: Laura Wells

Subject: VURT and PERS Assessment Methodology

From: James Hammond, Christina Teokari

Date: 26/10/2016 cc: Dunstan Westbury, Nicola Scott

1. VURT and PERS Assessment Methodology

1.1. Introduction This technical note briefly details the assessment methodology used for valuing the benefits to pedestrians of upgrades to the public realm adjacent to Langley Railway Station, Slough. This analysis will form part of the wider business case assessment and will assist in demonstrating the benefits (£m) of the scheme.

In order to assess the potential quantum of benefit that may be brought as a result of public realm improvements, the Pedestrian Environment Review System (PERS) developed by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) was used to assess the quality of the urban realm in situ and the potential levels of improvements. This assessment was then quantified using the Valuing the Urban Realm Toolkit (VURT), developed by Transport for London (TfL) in order to assess the monetary benefit over the assessment period.

1.2. PERS

1.2.1. PERS background PERS provides a framework for assessing pedestrian provision in an urban environment. A PERS review may be defined as ‘a systematic process designed to assess the quality of the pedestrian environment within a framework that promotes objectivity’.

The basic concerns of pedestrian journeys and needs aim to be considered within the audit and consist of the 5 c’s:

Convenience- routes should facilitate the desired journey without undue deviation or difficulty.

Connectivity- routes should link origins and destinations.

Conviviality- routes should be pleasant to use.

Coherence- routes should be continuous.

Conspicuity- route should allow the user to be seen by, and to see, other pedestrians and vehicles to promote personal security and road safety.

The audit process aims to review the environment from the perspective of different types of design users such as the elderly, disabled, children and those carrying or pushing children. When used as a tool to inform the proposed design and business case lifecycle, this should ensure that the future environment is suitable for the most vulnerable of potential users.

PERS was used to evaluate provision for pedestrians in the study area based on on-site conditions observed around Langley Station in May 2016. The assessment system was also been used to assess the envisaged improvements to pedestrian provision in the future, based on the proposals for upgrades adjacent to Langley Station. The forecast improvements can then be estimated using the VURT, based on estimated willingness to pay values derived from empirical studies.

1.2.2. PERS methodology Two types of review have been undertaken in order to quantify the benefits; a link review and a space review in accordance with VURT methodology.


Technical note A link review was conducted for footway sections in the study area for the existing and then proposed conditions. Links are defined as any complete footway, or section of footway, as set by the reviewer. The sections are defined based on the use and characteristics of the different links in the study area. One footway, for example, may be split into multiple links for the purpose of assessment if the footway provision or condition changes spatially.

The PERS link assessment process considers the following parameters:

Effective width

Dropped kerbs

Gradient

Obstructions

Permeability

Legibility

Lighting

Tactile information

Colour contrast

Personal security

Surface quality

User conflict

Quality of environment

Maintenance

A space review was also conducted for footway sections in the study area for the existing and then proposed conditions in line with VURT methodology and input requirements. The assessment process considers the following parameters:

Moving in the space

Interpreting the space

Personal safety

Feeling comfortable

Sense of place

Opportunity for activity

Performance bands from +3 to -3 are used to record a measure of each parameter on-site and for each parameter based on potential future improvements. A score of 0 is considered average, +3 is very good and -3 is very poor in terms of the quality of the pedestrian environment. Scoring is contextual and so one location that is considered average, for example in a residential area, may be poor in a retail area where footfall and pedestrian needs are greater and the range of user types is more varied.

1.2.3. PERS assessment site plan The assessments were conducted for existing conditions during an on-site survey with two PERS auditors. The same auditors also assessed proposed conditions based on drawing 5150449-ATK-HGN-ZZ-DR-D-1002-P5 and discussions with the design team with regards to the design and operation of the proposed conditions. The Links assessed are shown in Figure 1 and the same links were assessed in both existing and proposed conditions. Links were also assessed as individual spaces to further understand the expected changes to the overall pedestrian environment.


Technical note Figure 1: Site plan, showing existing road layout, proposed upgrades and link identification (Source drawing: 5150449-ATK-HGN-ZZ-DR-D-1002-P5).

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

Link 5

Link 6


Technical note Valuing the Urban Realm Toolkit

1.2.4. VURT background The Valuing Urban Realm Toolkit (VURT) has been developed by Transport for London (TfL) to provide objective, evidence-based justifications for investment in the public realm. In monetising some of the less tangible benefits of better streets and spaces, VURT enables the quality of the pedestrian environment to be considered on equal terms with conventional time-saving, safety and other benefits, both when assessing options and when building the Business Case for scheme implementation.

The VURT converts any change in PERS score from existing to proposed conditions into a monetary value based on research derived Willingness to Pay values. The monetary calculation assesses the cumulative benefits to all pedestrians and thus counts of current pedestrian activity, along with assumptions in the growth in pedestrian activity, are used to undertake the assessment. The VURT takes the form of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (Version 1.0), that has been released by TfL. Version 1.0 only captured the opening and closing year benefits and did not capture lifetime benefits. It has therefore subsequently been updated to capture the sum of benefits from the opening year until the end of the appraisal period.

1.2.5. VURT methodology The VURT methodology is a multistage process as outlined below:

1) Assessment of the existing streetscape quality using PERS (on-site audit) as described in section 1.2 of this report.

2) Assessment of the future streetscape quality arising from the proposed scheme/options (plan-based PERS assessment. For this assessment at Langley station it is based on drawing 5150449-ATK-HGN-ZZ-DR-D-1002-P5)

3) Assessment of how many people will experience a predicted change in quality based on pedestrian counts of existing conditions and assumed pedestrian flows for the proposed conditions.

4) Valuation of the change in streetscape quality between the existing (Baseline) situation and the future (Scenario) situation through application of Willingness-to-Pay values to monetise all user benefits.

6) Annualisation of user benefits to calculate the overall benefit from the lifetime of the scheme in terms of public realm improvements.

1.2.6. VURT inputs This section outlines the common inputs/assumptions used across all link/space assessments along with the link/space specific inputs. Default TfL values were used for the basis of assessment, where applicable. The following common assumptions were made in valuing the urban realm benefits:

Average walking speed of 1.33m/s.

Weekday scaling factor of 10.69 to convert hourly pedestrian flow counts to weekday counts (standard research derived assumption recommended by TfL).

Scheme lifetime of 15 years.

Assessment period from 2018-2032.

Future pedestrian activity uplift of 4.3% per year from existing activity1.

Estimated current-day pedestrian flow counts approximated from the latest available station entry/exit counts, and on-site verification counts.

1 This is based on a review of ORR ‘Estimates of Station Usage Time Series – 1997-2015’, which indicates average annual growth in passenger numbers of 4.3% per annum at Langley station. Further work may provide rationale for additional increases in pedestrian activity due to Crossrail and development in the local area.


Technical note Assignment of flows to links based on on-site pedestrian counts undertaken in May 2016.

Link lengths are approximate and measured on Google Maps.

Further assumptions are shown in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1 - Link specific assumptions

Link

Approximate link length considered (m)

Estimated Peak Hour Flow 2016 (PPH) Description of link section considered

Link 1

50 56

First 50m of Alderbury Road. Not assuming full road length. This estimate ensures that benefits are only realised within the area surrounding the scheme.

Link 2

50 152

First 50m South from station entrance. From station entrance. This estimate ensures that benefits are only realised within the area surrounding the scheme.

Link 3 91 166

Full link between station entrances and under the bridge. The whole link will realise benefits of the scheme.

Link 4

50 80

From the junction, 50m west along Waterside Drive. This estimate ensures that benefits are only realised within the area surrounding the scheme.

Link 5

150 14

From station entrance, up to and including the Canal, where benefits of the scheme, including those from speed reduction measures are expected to be realised.

Link 6

150 7

Approximate length of access road, assuming users of the Station and those accessing surrounding business will benefit from the station upgrades.

Note: Should future pedestrian activity not meet the assumed demand or if the benefits to the pedestrian environment in the proposed scenario are not as assumed once constructed, then the overall monetary benefit will be less. The antithesis is also true; if the demand is higher than assumed or the environment better than assumed once constructed, then the overall monetary benefit will be greater. Note that it is assumed that in the process of devising and implementing new public realm improvements, that maintenance will be carried out in the surrounding area to ensure that new improvements tie-in and it is assumed that this maintenance will be ongoing for the lifetime of the project. Scheme benefits may be realised in a larger or smaller radius from the scheme, depending on the overall improvements to permeability, the sense of place, legibility of the area etc.


Technical note 1.3. PERS and VURT Inputs This section documents the PERS assessment undertaken for each of the links identified.

Link 1

Current Situation

Table 1-2: Pedestrian counts and link length – Link 1

Pedestrians Moving Baseline Scenario

Number (per hour) 56 129

Average Walk Distance (m) 50 50

This link leads towards a residential area from the station.

The effective width of this link is is restricted by some obstructions (example the red mailbox restricting the path within the green area) and this may cause issues wheelchairs and pushchairs. Legibility is relatively poor as there is a lack of signage towards the station on this link as well as lack of signage for users exiting from the station. The surface quality has some minor defects along and is maintained by filled surfaces of another material. The link is generally of average standard in other areas, but could be enhanced by improving permeability, legibility, overall quality and maintenance.

As a space, the space lacks any sort of information which might help users interpret it, such as signage or maps nor colour contrast and aesthetic features which may help in wayfinding towards/from the station. Moreover the space lacks features which encourage activity. Although there exists some green space, these do not currently add to the visual quality or contribute to the use of the space.

Figure 1. Link 1 photo


Technical note Outline scenario description and PERS assessment

Table 1-3: Link PERS assessment – Link 1

PERS Link Attributes Baseline Scenario

Effective width -1 -1

Dropped kerbs / gradient 0 0

Obstructions -1 -1

Permeability 1 3

Legibility -1 3

Lighting 0 1

Personal security 0 1

Surface quality -1 1

User Conflict 0 0

Quality of environment 0 2

Maintenance -1 3

Link 1’s permeability is enhanced with the new proposed zebra crossing. This proposed crossing will also contribute in creating a more legible route towards the station entrance. Permeability, legibility and maintenance are key areas where we expect this link to improve significantly.

The pocket park also increases the link score. The colour contrast in the pocket park material will enhance the legibility of the route especially towards the station entrance. The newly laid material in the pocket park will be of good quality and will enhance the general quality of the environment.

Table 1-4: Space PERS assessment – Link 1

PERS Space Attributes Baseline Scenario

Moving in the space 0 3

Interpreting the space -1 3

Personal safety 0 1

Feeling comfortable 0 2

Sense of place 0 2

Opportunity for activity -1 2

The pocket park will facilitate moving in the space. The space will also be better interpreted with the aid of colour contrast as well as the addition of the aesthetic features in the pocket park (such as the ornamental planting and focal paving) which will help with the natural orientation. The pocket park will potentially include seating that will allow people to dwell in the space and increase the potential for social interaction. The pocket park, in general, will definitely enhance the sense of place of the area with an aesthetically pleasing feature.


Technical note Link 2

Current Situation





This link is a southern section of Station Road and links the station to the businesses and schools in the southern area.

The link is very poor in terms of permeability; with high traffic speeds and a lack of safe crossing facilities making permeability poor. The link doesn’t provide appropriate dropped kerbs/appropriate gradients for mobility impaired users to cross safely. The link does not have active frontages especially where Langley Business Centre is located as the building is pushed back and is surrounded by trees and railing. This affects the perception of personal safety on the link especially at times when it is not busy as it lacks both formal and informal surveillance. In general, this link has areas of restricted effective width with pinch points caused by obstructions (such as signage). There are surface quality issues in areas and legibility towards the station is relatively poor.

As a space, due to the commercial uses along, the link lacks a sense of place and is functional, rather than aesthetically pleasing. It does not effectively facilitate the user’s movement and interpretation of the space as well as providing no opportunity for activity. The space is not well overlooked and has dappled light / poor visibility in places. This has the potential to create a negative perception of safety for pedestrians.







Dropped kerbs / gradient -2 3

Obstructions -1 0

Permeability -3 3

Legibility -1 0

Lighting 0 1

Personal security -3 2


User Conflict -1 0

Quality of environment -1 3

Maintenance 0 3

Link 2 will enhance permeability with integration of the zebra crossing on the pedestrian desire lines. This will improve access to the westbound station platform. The station entrance will be greatly improved with the trimming of trees and greenery and will be more legible for users. The proposed changes will give a higher perception of safety and personal security. Dropped kerbs, personal security and maintenance are key areas where we expect this section to improve.



Moving in the space -2 0


Personal safety -2 2

Feeling comfortable -2 1

Sense of place -3 1


The shared use cycleway along the east footway will link to shared use footway near Langley College. The revision of street clutter will aim to enhance the space especially moving within it and interpreting it. Moreover personal safety will be enhanced with the new low level planting that will increase visibility and enhance natural surveillance.



Current Situation





This link is the section of Station Road below the bridge and ends at the south of the junction. It is measured to be around 90 m.

The link has the lowest PERS score in the study area. It performs poorly in terms of permeability (there is only a non-EA compliant footway on one side) as it is very narrow and close to high volumes of relatively high speed motor vehicles. It also presents issues in terms of perceptions of personal safety and security as the link is not well overlooked, with natural surveillance being impeded by existing trees and vegetation. Due to site constraints, the link is generally sub-standard with insufficient space (and related conflict) for pedestrians. The area under the bridge is poorly lit and this is compounded by surrounding vegetation. General maintenance of the area is impacted by the bridge, which suffers from poor drainage and impacts the nature and quality of the footway. Patch repairs are evident.

As a space, the same issues raised for the link are echoed in the space scoring where there is a lack of a sense of place and no features to promote activity, comfort or personal security. The area scores poorly on public space features which facilitate the user movement and interpretation of the space as well as opportunity for activity. This space is also isolated and formal/informal surveillance is impeded by the existing trees and vegetation. These, along with the bridge give a sense of low maintenance and overall comfort, which negatively impact user perceptions and comfort.








Obstructions -1 -1

Permeability -3 2

Legibility -3 2

Lighting -3 1



User Conflict -3 0


Maintenance -2 3

Link three currently has a very poor PERS score, primarily due to the very constrained footway, the speed of vehicles reducing permeability and the overall feeling of conflict and personal security. In the scenario, Link 3 will mostly be enhanced by improving personal security on the link especially on the southern part near the station where the existing planting will be replaced by low level planting. The crossing enhancement on the top of the link will also increase permeability and the legibility to the improved station entrance at the north of the link. Furthermore, crossing and walking in the area will be safer with the new speed reduction measures. Legibility is also enhanced with the gateway feature at the station entrance. Reduced speed will reduce the feeling of user conflict.







Sense of place -3 1


Link 3 will be enhanced as a space as the gateway feature at the station entrance will act as a visual marker for the rail station from Station Road. This will contribute in creating a sense of place and the new ornamental low planting along the edge of the entrance will help interpreting the space. Speeds will be lower as a result of traffic calming.



Current Situation





This link leads towards the businesses and schools on Waterside Drive.

The most significant issue on this link is the issue of permeability as it was noticed that many people crossed the road with limited facilities, in particular towards the eastern end, where provision could be considered unsafe in the current junction configuration. Although there were not many vehicles using this link, there appeared to be a high proportion of HGVs and LGVs which when combined with a lack of appropriate dropped kerbs and tactile paving, compounded the below-average crossing provision. Comfort is reduced by a lack of legibility at the junction. Land-use this link is predominantly commercial / businesses and thus there are less direct active frontages which provide natural surveillance and as such the sense of safety and security is lower, compounded by the fact that many businesses would be vacated at the weekend.

As a space, due to the commercial nature of the road, the link lacks a sense of place. It scores poorly on public space features which facilitate the user’s movement and interpretation of the space as well as opportunity for activity. This space has is dominated by business that is set-back from the road (and would be likely vacated at the weekend), creating a negative perception of safety for its users. .








Obstructions -1 -1

Permeability 0 3

Legibility -1 -1

Lighting 0 1

Personal security -2 -1


User Conflict 0 0

Quality of environment 0 1

Maintenance 0 1

Link 4 will have enhanced permeability as Waterside Drive will integrate a 20mph gateway provided on it. Crossing will be safer and more pleasant especially considering that the footway will be fitted with dropped kerbs and the legibility of the crossing will be improved.





Personal safety -2 -1


Sense of place -1 0


The space will be better interpreted and will allow easier movement due to the installation of the dropped kerbs. This will have a positive impact on people’s comfort level in the space.



Current Situation





This link is the northern section of Station Road and it leads to the canal path.

The link only has a narrow footway on the eastern side. The footway on the western side is sub-standard (approx. 0.5m) and not safely passable. The link scores poorly based on effective width as well as user-conflict as it cannot accommodate users walking in both directions (not considering that people with bicycles, pushchairs and wheelchairs may also use the route). The link scores poorly on permeability due to a lack of crossing provision and nature of the traffic and the overgrown vegetation limits natural surveillance.

As a space, there are no active frontages alone the route as it is mostly dominated by vegetation and overgrown trees. The area lacks general wayfinding features and a sense of place. As mentioned earlier, this space is also relatively isolated and can potentially create a negative perception of safety for its users.






Effective width -3 0


Obstructions 0 0

Permeability -3 3

Legibility 0 0

Lighting -3 1

Personal security -3 -2

Surface quality 0 1

User Conflict -3 -3


Maintenance 0 2

Link 5’s permeability will be enhanced as the road will have a gateway entrance to the 20 mph zone allowing the pedestrians to cross during gaps more safely. There will also be dropped kerbs on the access road that will enhance this link’s accessibility to/from the station entrance.







Sense of place -3 1


The sense of place will be enhanced with the opportunity to improve the canal entrance. This is partially addressed by cutting back the existing vegetation on the path.



Current Situation





This link is to the east of Station Road and is the access road towards the car park of the station. It is dominated by parked cars which have taken over the footway.

The link doesn’t provide for any footways for pedestrians and the road quality is very poor (in terms of surface quality and maintenance). There is no natural surveillance which is due to overgrown trees and vegetation on one side and to the industrial nature of the development on the other side. The link generally has poor provision for pedestrians and doesn’t provide users with positive perceptions about personal safety.

As a space, the area scores poorly. Pedestrians have to walk on the road rather than footway to move in the space and are not given space to manoeuvring or interact. There is a poor ‘sense of place’ and pedestrians are unlikely to feel comfortable, particularly at night.






Effective width -3 3


Obstructions -3 -1

Permeability -3 3

Legibility -3 3

Lighting -2 1



User Conflict -3 0


Maintenance -3 3

Link 6’s permeability will be enhanced by the dropped kerbs on the access road as well as the elimination of car parking. This will allow pedestrians to use the space and cross more comfortably from/to the station access. The newly constructed pavement will also provide a space for pedestrians to use which hadn’t existed before. This will be particularly useful for station car park users as well as people wanting to access the businesses in that area.







Sense of place -3 2


The sense of place will be enhanced with the feature gateway entrance to the station which will help pedestrians interpret the space better using colour contrast and distinctive landmarks. This will provide pedestrians with a degree of natural orientation which the space currently lacks.


Technical note 1.4. VURT results Table 1-20 shows the total annual benefit predicted as a result of improvements to the pedestrian environment and based on the stated assumptions could be around £294kGBP over the scheme lifetime. This is contingent on the scheme achieving the level of improvement from existing and the level of pedestrian growth anticipated.

Benefits are calculated using the TfL VURT. The VURT is underpinned by research-derived ‘Willingness to Pay’ prices. This is a measure of preference that suggests the extent to which a pedestrian would hypothetically pay for public realm improvements. For example, an improvement in effective width that results in a +3 change in PERS score would correspond to a 0.015 pence per minute willingness to pay for that change. The method is summarised below.

1.4.1. Benefits for existing users: The willingness to pay for each PERS score improvement is first derived from the TfL Willingness-to-Pay tables, which gives the amount in pence per minute associated with each criteria and change in score. These are then summed to indicate a

The benefits (in GBP) to the existing users moving through the area for each link / space are calculated by the following equation:

Benefits for existing users (£ ∙ ped/hour) =𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝐸𝑅𝑆 𝑊𝑡𝑃 (𝑝)

100 ×

𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (𝑚)

𝑃𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 (𝑚𝑠

)×

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠 (𝑝𝑝ℎ)

60

The benefits per minute for each link are then scaled by the VURT to give an annualised benefit figure for each link.

No assessment of static users has been undertaken and as such these are excluded from assessment, although it could be expected that, with improvements, an increase in static activity could be reasonable. For the purposes of assessment, where the VURT requires non-zero inputs for static users and to ensure the impact is negligible, it has been assumed that there would be 1 static user dwelling for 1 minute for each link.

1.4.2. Benefits for new users: Similar to calculations for the existing users, the benefits are calculated for the forecasted new users assuming they are moving. However, these benefits are divided by two as according to Web TAG guidance, current users of the route will experience the full benefit of any improvements to quality but the ‘rule of a half’ will apply to new users .

1.4.3. Scheme public realm benefits Link 2 and 3 are where the most significant footfall is likely to be and thus will generate the most benefits from the improvements.

Table 1-20: VURT Output – annual benefits as a result of public realm improvements to the pedestrian environment (values in £GBP).

Scheme Section Number Total Annual Benefit (First Year of Scheme) Total Benefit for Scheme Lifetime

Link 1 £727.70 £12,004.90

Link 2 £3,871.07 £64,081.31

Link 3 £10,206.29 £169,127.55

Link 4 £1,022.61 £16,896.81

Link 5 £1,123.77 £18,505.88

Link 6 £812.19 £13,283.86

Total £17,764 £293,900

appendix g pers and vurt - slough borough council · appendix g pers and vurt . technical note -...

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