Transport Strategy
Transport still emits a third of our annual carbon emission to this end we will try and make non carbon emitting transportation as user friendly as possible on all ZED sites.
Cars
Although we understand the need for cars there are many alternatives. To this end a provision of one parking space per house is provided, along with a reclaimed vegetable oil store and pump to enable converted diesel cars to minimise fossil CO2 emissions. Other options such as PV powered charging points for electrical vehicles are available.
Cycling
Cycle storage is provided within the base of each of the buildings. Our schemes are porous for pedestrians and cyclists encouraging non-vehicular movement to paths and cycle ways outside our sites. For those who are not the next ‘Lance Armstrong’ and, do not want to work up a sweat, many electrically assisted bikes are now available which can be charged using PV and other non fossil fuel on site microgeneration equipment. These bikes are excellent for commuter travel too and from rail stations and or local places of work.
Transport Hub
PortZED could benefit from a green transport hub. An on site office could offer the facility of:
- A car club with green vehicles.
- A bike shop for sales, rentals, and repairs.
- A fuel station offering conversions to vegoil and fuel pumps for vegoil and biodiesel(for standard vehicles)
A Green Transport Hub can be run as a joint venture operated by 3 primary partners that could be replicated for other similar large housing schemes. Two of them would be remote partners, one managing the Car Club and the other managing and maintaining the fleet and the Vegetable Oil supply or alternatively the supply of solar / wind generated on site electricity. ZEDfactory and its partners (Bloomin Futures) have many years experience of using and converting vegetable oil vehicles running on locally produced rape seed oil – and are setting up car clubs on other projects that can operate within each UK citizens fair share of the national biomass and biofuel reserves.
It is important to recognise the potential future scarcity of biofuels, and communal car clubs are a good way to make limited reserves go much further, whilst providing future residents of PortZED with the maximum convenience. The experiences of existing car clubs have shown that residents can save as much as 50% per year in costs compared to owning and running their own car. The third partner would act as the on site “Hub-shopfront”; part bike shop, part transport resource centre. They would manage the day to day running of the Hub, from cycle pool rentals and electric bike charging to fuelling the vegetable oil vehicles. They would also sell bikes and accessories and carry out cycle repairs and servicing. This would preferably work as a not-for-profit social enterprise and could also attract funding.
Public Transport
PortZED is next to existing bus route. Zedfactory will look to tie the local transport network into the new development.