Comments on Warrington Town Centre Strategy
Rod King
W. Manns Dear Mr Manns I was very interested to read the Warrington Town Centre Strategy document. I was very pleased to see that cycling did get a mention with regard to cycle parking. In fact statistics show that the retail spend per square metre of cycle parking is far higher than that of vehicle parking. This ratio of spend to parking area is important and indicates that cycling should both command appropriate parking space close to the shops and is very worthwhile from a trading pint of view. This statistic is shown in the excellent EU publication "cycling: the way ahead for towns and cities". I would be interested in understanding how the ideas within this booklet could be used to develop the Town Centre Strategy. It is available for download at :- http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/cycling/cycling_en.htm Bearing in mind that the cycle is used in 4% of trips to the town centre. This is probably 10 compared to car trips and implies that for every 10 car parking spaces then a cycle space should be provided. Of course, it would be best if these were covered and could also be incorporated into secure areas within the current car parks. With regard to the cycle parking already in place in Warrington Town Centre. I would point out that whilst very stylish, the stainless steel toast racks have been installed incorrectly by being positioned too close to walls. This means that when leant against a cycle stand a normal bike will fall over. Cyclists also need safe access to the town centre. This is particularly true of the final kilometre as the centre is approached. Warrington Cycle Campaign have produced our own report on how to improve approaches to the town and this is attached. Many of the policies within the Cycling Strategy of the Local Transport Plan promote cycling in order to not only make things easier for cyclists, but also to create a modal shift from cars to other forms of transport. This goes far beyond the provision of cycle stands and I believe that incorporation and support of many of the Cycling Strategy policies would be beneficial to the Town Centre Strategy objectives, especially with regard to addressing the "threat" of increased traffic congestion. I have also been impressed by another recent EU publication regarding addressing the needs of children within Town Centre Strategies. I was rather disappointed that this aspect was not considered by the Strategy report. The "kids on the move" document suggests many ways in which the 20% of our population that are under 16 can be advantaged by considering their needs within our planning. The document is available for download at http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/youth/air/kids_on_the_move_en.html I have also enclosed a copy for your consideration. Warrington Cycle Campaign would be pleased to discuss with the Strategic Town Centre Officer Working Group any of the above matters. Please contact me if you feel that you wish to include us in future discussions. Yours sincerely Rod King
CTC* Right to Ride Representative - Warrington CC Councillors B. Maher, S. Bland, A. Haddow, K. Hannon, I. Marks, L. Dirir, M. Banner * CTC is the national organisation for all cyclists in the UK and Ireland, including children, families, and commuters. CTC has 70,000 members and affiliates and is the oldest and largest cycling body in the UK.
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