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--- # output: word_document # output: # word_document: # toc: true # output: github_document ---  ```{r, engine='zsh', eval=FALSE, echo=FALSE} # see how it looks in docx format (Ctl+Shift+Enter) libreoffice applications/ktn-sif/application.docx mv applications/ktn-sif/application.docx applications/ktn-sif/RapidPath-application-draft.docx ``` # Application draft  RapidPath: A web app and and participatory planning tool for a sustainable restart     ### Project summary    RapidPath will provide a 'one-stop shop' that bridges the gap between professional transport planners, businesses and the public working to improve transport accessibility to key destinations for the post COVID-19 restart. Building on our track record or developing and deploying national tools such as the Department for Transport funded Rapid Cycleway Prioritisation Tool and WidenMyPath.com, RapidPath will lead to a step change in provision of evidence and realistic visions for active post-COVID19 cities. The project will provide the high quality, participatory and actionable evidence that is needed to rapidly decide on the most cost effective interventions on transport networks, ensuring sustainable pathways are taken out of the coronavirus crisis and into the 21^st^ century. To create RapidPath requires the development of innovation web technologies and data science techniques. The project will combine the best of 'top down' and 'bottom up' planning techniques, enabling quick access to object information on options for creating cohesive walking and cycling networks and enabling public input into the design process, vital at a time of conflicts over new 'Low Traffic Neighbourhoods' and 'pop-up cycleways'. The result will be a new, integrated platform for planning, advocacy and transport decision-making to prioritise new space for active travel and foster informed, actionable debate about the future of our cities in the post-pandemic world. The outcome will be much more cost-effective investment of public funds and, via new private development schemes, business investment in sustainable cities.  ### Public description [500 words]     RapidPath will provide a new open, fully interactive and internationally scalable system to prioritise investment in space for active travel as part of COVID-19 responses in cities worldwide, with a focus on the UK. Building on our previous work, on the Department for Transport funded Rapid Cycleway Prioritisation Tool and the WidenMyPath.com web application for participatory planning, we will develop new technology to support a green recovery as cities 'restart' and incrementally relax various restrictions needed to reduce rates of virus transmission. A major impact that will continue for many months is greatly reduced use of public transport, with many services running at around [10%](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/coronavirus-covid-19-new-transport-guidance-for-passengers-and-operators) of pre-COVID19 levels in the UK, for example. The reduced occupancy and frequency of buses, trains and other shared mobility options creates an urgent need for alternative mobility options. To avoid gridlock and ensure equity for those without access to a car, cities across the UK and internationally have started planning for and building new space for active travel. Planned interventions include a wide range of new 'pop-up' cycleways and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, but deciding which to prioritise and which designs best meet local community needs remains unknown.   This project will support evidence-based plans in the context of the ongoing economic restart and beyond to help ensure that funds allocated for sustainable mobility, including from the UK government's £250 m Emergency Active Travel Fund, are spent how and where they are needed, according to evidence both from national datasets, including consideration of traffic levels and road safety, and local input. The result will be a publicly available web application that not only provides new evidence for rapid decision making in the context of COVID-19, it will also enable citizens worldwide to identify the changes that they would most like to see in post COVID-19 cities down to the street level. The disruption caused by the pandemic has provided unprecedented opportunities for pause and reflection on how cities are run. Our project will capture the value in these reflections and channel the energy for building back towards opportunities for the maximum long term benefit in terms of walking and cycling uptake.  ### Scope [500 words]     The project is closely aligned with the goals of the Sustainable Innovation Fund. The resulting internationally scalable, publicly available and interactive RapidPath web application to help plan and design walking and cycling networks during the 'restart' process and for yeas to come, in line with the UK government's target of doubling cycling while improving road safety, as part of the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. Furthermore, the work will contribute to the wider decarbonisation of the transport sector, directly through walking and cycling uptake and indirectly by providing a foundation for further research and open policy making tools to support sustainable planning. Walking and Cycling have become vital during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing for affordable, healthy and socially distanced travel. Public transport cannot provide this need for sustainable travel over the next few months (and perhaps longer) and the alternative for many people with access to a car risks exacerbating public health issues such as air pollution, obesity and road traffic casualties at a time when reducing pressure on health services is vital for the recovery. The fact that this proposal will improve air quality is particularly important in the context of COVID-19 given scientific evidence linking polution to the symptoms of Covid-19. The low cost and of active travel, both in terms of timescales needed to create space for walking and cycling and for the people who can benefit from walking and cycling where safe streeets allow, means that investment resulting from funds such as the £250m Emergency Active Travel Fund can be highly cost effective, when based on good information. The project therefore alligns both with the specification of the funding call and the UK and regional government priorities to ensure a green, healthy and COVID-19 safe restart to economic active both immediately and longer term.     ### 1. Equality, diversity and inclusion (not scored) [100 words] **1. Please complete the equality, diversity and inclusion survey.**   ### 2. Declarations (not scored) [500 words] We have previously worked on publicly funded and voluntary projects to inform COVID-19 responses on the transport network. RL and JT worked on the DfT funded Rapid Cycleway Prioritisation Tool. MLS and colleagues in CycleStreets.net have developed the web application WidenMyPath.com. We are all involved in active transport advocacy and collectively are members of local and national cycling (and walking) organisations.         Grant funding is critical to our ability to undertake this project. As a small social enterprise, we have almost no discretionary funding to invest in a project such as this which will involve significant full-time activity. However, we have an extremely strong track record in delivering technology projects, e.g. WidenMyPath, StreetFocus, our journey planner, on very limited funding but in a way which is sustainable. Similarly, our project partner, Leeds University, being a public body, does not have funds to undertake the work without public funding. The project will be managed by one of the Director and Developer at CycleStreets. The project team has a strong record of working together and delivery of projects for the Department for Transport and others. CycleStreets has very recently completed (March 2020) an InnovateUK-funded project, StreetFocus (no. 29291). The final MO assessment attracted a score of 27/30, with the MO extremely impressed by what had been achieved and the project management: "The project has been managed to time and budget - and documented to a high standard throughout. Final quarter claims, supporting information and project close documentation have been submitted ahead of schedule. The project team has communicated well throughout and the project deliverables are impressive." Both CycleStreets and Leeds University personnel have strong experience in modern R&D code development techniques, such as use of Continous Integration, working up from a MVP, modularity, use of open standards, and the rigour that arises from publishing code as open source. Neither organisation is an undertaking in difficulty. CycleStreets has never had any staff on furlough, and the project personnel at Leeds are not on furlough either. ### 3. Need or challenge [500 words]           The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in sudden changes to travel patterns which will continue to disrupt transport systems for years to come. This creates problems for people and businesses needing to travel for social, health and economic reasons short term and, longer term, reduced use of public transport could exacerbate road traffic casualties, air pollution, physical inactivity, and other problems associated with car dependencies as people shun depleted public transport options. On the other hand, the pandemic has also created sustainable transport opportunities. Data from numerous cycle counter schemes shows that cycling levels have increased substantially during lockdown, creating a unique opportunity to enable more active lifestyles long term as people have found streets safer due to lower levels of traffic. During the restart, however, traffic levels could quickly return to pre-pandemeic levels or even exceed them, creating a major challenge to local planners, businesses and the public: how to ensure that transport investments in response to COVID-19 lead to safe, healthy, equitable and effective mobility long term? The UK government has responded to this need at a national level with new statutory guidance on road space reallocation and the £250m Emergency Active Travel fund. However, there is little in the way of local evidence to support investment and informed debate in a free and open way that supports participatory and inclusive interventions. Developments such as the Department for Transport funded 'Rapid' tool and interactive websites such as WidenMyPath.com (both developed by the project team) help address this challenge, but the tools are not well integrated and have limited features, reflecting the short timescales in which they were developed. There is clear demand to improve these tools, as multiple messages requesting new features from local planners and others have shown. Another challenge is that funding for active travel tends to be limited and 'stop-start', resulting in lots of relatively small projects but little in the way of joined-up citywide schemes that are needed for sustained shifts in travel patterns. The 'LCWIP' process has partly addressed this challenge but has largely taken place behind closed doors, leading some to feel like they have not been consulted. Furthermore, local authority planning does not enable agile, data-driven and participatory processes needed to iteratively design effective schemes, especially in the post-pandemic world where new options including 'filtered permeability' and space reallocation schemes are on the table.  In this context, the main motivations are: 1) reduced public transport capacity creating an urgent need for equitable and sustainable alternatives 2) pressure on public health systems driving latent demand for healthy lifestyles and physical activity opportunities close to home; and 3) the risk of gridlock and associated spikes in air pollution, road traffic casualties and unhealthy lifestyles during restart. Interventions enabling uptake of active travel tackle each of these issues by providing an alternative to short bus journeys, making physical activity part of everyday life and getting people out of cars. Well thought-out interventions based on the RapidPath tool, in combination with wider planning processes, will represent a 'win-win-win' for society, the economy and the environment.   ### 4. Your idea [500 words] **4. What approach will you take and where will the focus of the innovation be?**  RapidPath will, for the first time, provide a transport planning tool that is genuinely accessible to both the public and professionals, providing top-quality analysis for infrastructure prioritisation and justification. By bringing together and making accessible best-in-breed analysis tools that are already regarded as trusted, it will bridge the gap between professional transport planners and citizens. RapidPath will consist of three main parts: 1. A platform providing objective evidence and open data to ensure evidence-based design and decision making on the transport network; 1. An interactive user interface allowing anyone to participate in the planning process; 1. A design and appraisal system that will enable users to explore visions of sustainable transport futures in the COVID-19 cities. RapidPath will use new methods and advanced analytic techniques developed by the University of Leeds to automatically design cycling and walking networks for cities nationwide. Our work is already being actively promoted by the Department for Transport and being used by local authorities, based on a recommendation algorithm that uses travel behaviour and road infrastructure data to prioritise new cycleways. Innovative new spatial network analysis techniques will be used to suggest a wider range of interventions, including Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, based on data sources that have never before been used for automated active travel intervention design. A key insight is that effect transport planning requires both an evidence base and buy-in from the public. At present, these tend to be very separate processes. By bringing both elements together, we will enable public input based on a clearer understanding of the constraints, and for planners to be much more aware of citizen views, in the knowledge that schemes will then have stronger public support. The automated city network analysis will be enhanced by direct inclusion of both crowdsourced and government open data, for the first time. Not only will the insights provided by RapidPath enable a step change in public participation, it will also provide an integrated 'sanity check' of the automated analysis. For instance, the analysis may identify a key route needing to be upgraded for cycle safety, but if crowdsourced public input also indicates strong demand in the same location, this provides a very strong evidence base for prioritisation. The results of the analysis will be added to an interactive web map to complement the other datasets mentioned above. ### 5. Team, resources and delivery [500 words + Appendix max 4 pages] **Who is in the project team, what are their roles, and how will you deliver the project?** _Describe or explain: - the roles, skills and experience of all members and the diversity of the project team as a whole that are relevant to the approach you will be taking (please do not provide personal information on individuals) - any roles you will need to recruit for and how you will promote equality, diversity and inclusion, as appropriate - the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them - the details of any vital external parties, including subcontractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project - if your project is collaborative the current relationships between project partners and how these will change as a result of the project - the main work packages of the project, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one - your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcome - the management reporting lines - who will be responsible for measuring the sustainability outcomes and impact and how they will report this_ The project will be led by ourselves, CycleStreets Ltd, a social enterprise based in Cambridge. We produce a leading UK-wide cycle journey planner at cyclestreets.net. Our cycle routing data feed is used by third parties such as Citymapper (a very popular app in London and beyond, including internationally) and other consumer-facing apps, by various Local Authorities in public-facing systems we host for them, by consultancy companies such as SDG, Traveline Scotland/Cymru, TransportAPI and others. Our routing data is critical to the DfT-funded/recommended Propensity to Cycle Tool. The project manager will be Martin Lucas-Smith, Developer and Director of CycleStreets Ltd. He is an experienced web developer, with strong interests in open data and code, has 20 years of experience of cycling advocacy, the planning system, and cycling advocacy. He will be assisted by fellow Developer and Director Simon Nuttall. Simon has a PhD in artificial intelligence. We will be collaborating with colleagues from Leeds University, with whom we have previously worked on several projects. [Todo: Info from Leeds] To ensure that the resulting output is fully-accessible, attractive and easy to use, an element of subcontracting is proposed to fund design work. This has been shown to be particularly critical for success in previous projects. We propose that code arising from this work would be published under an open source license. CycleStreets's existing open source code is at: https://github.com/cyclestreets. #### 5: Appendix **You must submit one appendix describing the skills and experience of the main people working on the project to support your answer and any supplementary project management information such as a gantt chart or project plan. It must be a PDF and can be up to 4 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.** **PDF, max 10MB** ### 6. Market awareness [500 words]  The market for interactive planning tools is large and growing, with companies such as remix ### 7. Outcomes and route to market [500 words]   ### 8. Risks [500 words + Optional appendix]  The risk level for delivery of the project is low, because it involves the incremental enhancement and modernisation of a number of existing and widely-used tools, bringing them together in a modular way using common standards. For instance, one component is the DfT-promoted 'Cycling Infrastructure Prioritisation Toolkit (CyIPT)' (www.cyipt.bike), which provides local authorities with a means to determine cost-effectiveness of cycling schemes. However, being a prototype project, it includes shortcomings in the analytical framework which we have identified. By making such incremental improvements, the value of previous investment in this tool is significantly enhanced, in a way that is very low risk compared to development of a new product from scratch. #### Appendix **You may submit one appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF and can be up to 2 pages long. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.** **PDF, max 10MB** ### 9. Costs, added value and value for money [500 words] **What impact would an injection of public funding have on the businesses involved?** _Describe or explain: - the total eligible project costs and the grant you are requesting in terms of the project goals - how each partner will finance their contributions to the project - how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer - how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise - the balance of costs and grant across the project partners - any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to the project - costs associated with baselining, monitoring and reporting the sustainability aspects of the project - if this project could go ahead in any form without public funding and if so, the difference the public funding would make, such as a faster route to market, more partners or reduced risk - the likely impact of the project on the businesses of the partners involved - why you are not able to wholly fund the project from your own resources or other forms of private-sector funding, and what would happen if the application is unsuccessful - how this project would change the nature of R&D activity the partners would undertake, and the related spend_ ## Finances Project costs guidance at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovate-uk-completing-your-application-project-costs-guidance For each partner organisation: - Labour - Overhead costs [20% of labour costs] - Materials - Capital usage - Subcontracting costs - Travel and subsistence - Other costs ## Terms and conditions ### Award terms and conditions https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/application/77526/form/question/16383/terms-and-conditions