Richard Davies

By Richard Davies richarddavies

The County Council’s highways team has had a busy summer. You’ve no doubt driven past the various road works that we’ve been doing in the last few months, but there’s also been a lot of behind the scenes work to plan the major projects that we’re about to start construction on.

The next few years will see the biggest investment in Lincoln since the university, with around £250 million being spent on the city. The challenge of improving Lincoln’s infrastructure can’t be solved overnight, but these investments are a huge step in the right direction.

As a council, we’re well capable of delivering these schemes on-target and on-budget, but what we really need is greater awareness among the public. We all have a stake in this. We all have something to gain, and, if things go wrong, something to lose.

We work closely with The Lincolnite to give everyone as much information as possible, but sometimes that’s not as easy as it sounds. Any number of unforeseen issues – like a simple change in the weather – can lead to work being delayed, or having to be pulled forward etc.

We obviously try to make it as easy as possible for you to find out what’s going on. You can always find information on the council website, or on our new highways Twitter feed @LincsCC_roads. But we’re also doing some more innovative stuff, such as a helping to develop a website that collates information on every piece of roadwork that’s going on in the county (and beyond).

We have a lot of faith in Roadworks.org but have a look and see what you think. The Lincolnite has its own version of this here.

It’ll help you find out everything that’s going on in your area. Not just the council’s work (only 1 in 3 road works are down to us), but what the utility companies, like National Grid and Anglian Water, are doing too.

You can set-up email alerts that’ll tell you if there’s anything happening on your route to work or on the school run, and there are loads of other little handy features that’ll keep you more informed.

I can’t promise it’ll mean you never encounter traffic jams again, but this interactive system will definitely give you a much better chance to avoid them.

Councillor Richard Davies is the executive councillor for Highways and Transportation at Lincolnshire County Council. He is also responsible for Access LN6, a £6.5 million programme to improve sustainable transport options in the LN6 area of Lincoln and Hykeham.

By Richard Davies richarddavies

Running my own business, I understand that having a healthy and happy workforce is vital to any successful business. And what better way than encouraging staff to walk or cycle to work in the morning?

In the last 12 months, the Access LN6 team has worked with more than 50 local businesses, including Siemens, Lindum Group, Simons, Danwood and others, to encourage employees to travel sustainably to and from the workplace.

Whether walking, cycling, using public transport or car sharing, greener travel can have a positive impact on the success of a business.

As well as individual benefits to staff such as generally feeling happier, increased motivation and cheaper travel, having a healthy workforce with improved wellbeing also has a number of direct benefits for your business. These include:

• Reduced staff sickness levels
• Help with recruitment and staff retention
• Reduced congestion and therefore improved access to the business
• Support towards your company’s Social Corporate Responsibility
• Improved image and reputation of your business
• Improved staff motivation

Working with local businesses to encourage sustainable transport is a key part of our Access LN6 programme, and something we feel will have a real impact on congestion, carbon emission and journey times in the LN6 area.

As well as our Sustainable Travel Officers who work closely with businesses to encourage greener travel, Access LN6 offers adult cycle training to all employees, bike hire, specialist advice, bike maintenance, public transport taster tickets and more.

We also provide a grant of up to £5,000 to purchase anything which removes the barriers to travelling sustainably. Our Sustainable Travel Grant can be used to buy new cycle storage, shower facilities, video conferencing to reduce the need to travel, electric car charging points, and more.

Councillor Richard Davies is the executive councillor for Highways and Transportation at Lincolnshire County Council. He is also responsible for Access LN6, a £6.5 million programme to improve sustainable transport options in the LN6 area of Lincoln and Hykeham.