Findings from Economic Impact Assessment and Traffic Impact Assessment into the proposed design for Academy Street presented by The Highland Council

The Highland Council has today (24 April 2024) presented findings from the Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) undertaken by consultants WSP into the proposed design for Academy Street.

Briefing sessions were held today with elected members of The Highland Council and business membership organisations Visit Inverness Loch Ness, Inverness Chamber of Commerce, Inverness BID and the FSB, to learn about the analysis of both assessments.

The commissioning of an EIA and a TIA was a result of the City of Inverness Committee Decision on 28/08/23 and the subsequent full council decision on 14/09/23, following concerns expressed by local businesses and residents about the proposed design.

Speaking about the findings of the EIA and TIA, City Leader, Councillor Ian Brown, said: “It was an important exercise to commission independent economic and traffic impact assessments into the proposed design of Academy Street, which we do acknowledge has caused concerns amongst local businesses and residents.

“The findings present a balanced view and are very much based on the worst case scenario and will now inform mitigation measures already being considered by The Highland Council.

“I am encouraged that wider economic impacts of between £1.5 million and £4 million have been identified in the longer term as a result of the proposal for Academy Street, largely driven by an increase in footfall and associated visitor and retail expenditure.  

“Equally, in terms of the anticipated impact on traffic, it is important that Academy Street is not taken in isolation. The Traffic Impact Assessment assumes a worst case scenario where existing car users do not change behaviour and choose an alternative mode of transport. The Highland Council is working hard to expand the choice for people wishing to visit Inverness city centre as part of the Bus Partnership Fund including bus priority routes and park and ride options in multiple locations on the outskirts of Inverness.

“I would urge everybody to consider that, as a gateway to the Highland capital, Academy Street plays a significant role in welcoming visitors from near and far. The proposed design, in conjunction with other flagship projects currently being undertaken such as Inverness Castle, will enhance the city centre and make Inverness a prime destination.”

Methodology of Economic Impact Assessment

This evaluation is conducted within the framework of the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) criteria which includes economy, environment, climate change, health, safety and wellbeing, and equality and accessibility.

The transport economic impact of the scheme was determined by examining:

• Wider economic impacts (not monetised)
• Monetisable outcomes ‘Transport Economy Efficiency’
• Non-monetisable transport outcomes (e.g. environment, health and wellbeing, accessibility)

Wider economic impacts were also assessed as STAG guidance states that these types of impacts should be considered alongside the more traditional transport-based impacts, though these are not in the Benefit Cost Ratio (see below).

These impacts include footfall, expenditure including by visitors, public amenity, crime reduction, land value and rates.

Findings of the Economic Impact Assessment (EIA)

The economic performance of the Academy Street scheme has been assessed to help determine Value For Money (VfM) and the transport economic impacts have been compared against the cost of the scheme to determine a Benefit to Cost Ratio (BCR).

The report concludes that the VfM is poor and the BCR for the scheme is estimated at 0.51, meaning that for every pound spent, there will be a £0.51 return, therefore a negative monetised return on the investment. This is not uncommon based on the approved methodology and traditional practices used to assess transport schemes like this which prioritise car travel. BCR is a tool used to justify the economic benefit of new roads schemes that reduce travel time and is calculated by multiplying small changes in journey times by millions of journeys over 60 years. The proposal for Academy Street would remove traffic from the city centre and increase some journeys around the city. The fact that the BCR does not include non-monetised benefits makes it more likely to result in a figure below 1.

The report found that the wider economic impacts were expected to generate benefits of between £1.5 million and £4 million in present day values. These economic benefits were mainly driven by the additional retail footfall expenditure expected to be £1.37m at the lowest impact and £1.5m at the highest impact as well as additional visitor expenditure of £2.1m at the medium impact.

Methodology of Traffic Impact Assessment

This evaluation sought to understand the impacts on the wider road network following the introduction of the bus lanes on Academy Street by assessing the following:

• Traffic count data and ANPR data to establish the number of through trips (i.e. cars that drive through Academy Street without stopping) who would have to use an alternative route through the scheme.
• Understanding how this traffic through traffic would re-route following the proposals.
• Understanding which links and junctions would be affected by the displaced traffic during peak periods.
• Understanding changes to traffic levels on Academy Street following the proposed scheme for Academy Street.

Multiple data sources were used to conduct the study including ANPR data collection on behalf of The Highland Council; VivaCity Real-Time data; and junction turning counts. Site visits were undertaken to walk the study area, as well as drive through and associated video surveys.

Findings of the Traffic Impact Assessment

The findings of the TIA were separated in terms of anticipated impacts on traffic in the morning and the afternoon.

Morning peak

• It is believed that the majority of the network will continue to operate within capacity on both links and junctions post the proposed design for Academy Street.
• Harbour Road would approach the theoretical maximum capacity of the road, which may lead to regular queuing during peak periods.
• A82 / Harbour Road roundabout is expected to operate over-capacity following the scheme.
• Millburn Road / Harbour Road roundabout is expected to continue to operate over-capacity following the scheme.
• Harbour Road / Shore Street roundabout is expected to continue to operate over-capacity following the scheme, albeit performing slightly better than it is currently.

Afternoon peak

• It is believed that the majority of the network will continue to operate within capacity on both links and junctions post the introduction of the proposed design for Academy Street.
• The A82 Kenneth Street and B861 Castle Street / Culduthel Road is expected to see an increase in traffic. However, they are expected to continue operating within capacity but with increasing levels of interaction between vehicles occasionally leading to short lived period of queuing.
• A82 / Harbour Road roundabout is expected to continue to operate over-capacity following the scheme.
• Millburn Road / Harbour Road roundabout is expected to operate over-capacity following the scheme.
• Harbour Road / Shore Street roundabout is expected to continue to operate over-capacity following the scheme, albeit performing slightly better than currently.

In terms of changes to traffic levels on Academy Street following the proposed scheme for Academy Street, the TIA found that two-way traffic flows would be reduced to well under 2,000 PCUs (Passenger Car Units) per day and would therefore perform highly against Cycling By Design’s level of service for a mixed traffic street.

Next steps

The proposed design for Academy Street will now move to a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), which is a public consultation, which is expected to last between eight to ten weeks. The results of the TRO will then be considered by the City of Inverness Area Committee meeting where a decision will be taken as to whether the proposed design will then be taken forward and an application made for construction funding.

The reports from the TIA and EIA and associated FAQs will be published 26th April on https://academystreetproposals.commonplace.is/ and https://www.highland.gov.uk/academystreet.