Charlotte Fernández
UKIMEA Press Office,Leeds
The new Guildford Town and Approaches Movement Study (GTAMS), produced by Arup, provides a vision for sustainable mobility in the town in the future, including alternatives to travelling by car and improved accessibility throughout the town.
Central to the study is a new 'sustainable movement corridor' for Guildford. This is both an accessible pathway through the town for pedestrians and cyclists and a priority public transport route for fast and direct connections between key locations.
Arup was appointed by Guildford Borough Council in summer 2013 to develop a long term movement strategy to 2050 for the town of Guildford, UK. The resulting study will form part of the evidence that will inform the Council’s Draft Local Plan to ensure that development is sustainable and meets the changing needs and future growth of the town. It will also feed in to the development of a unified transport strategy for the borough prepared by Surrey County Council.
“Transport integrates communities by providing accessibility and connectivity but, as the human population continues to rise and our reliance on mobility become more important, we need to look forward to ensure that transport systems meet the needs of people today and in the future. With this report we’ve proposed a long-term strategy that can help Guildford’s transport system become more sustainable, improve health, quality of life and give people a real choice about how they travel. Susan Claris, Project Director, Arup
The report also makes recommendations on how to improve to the public transport network to ensure that it is resilient to change over the next 30 years. It advises on how to make best use of the road network by managing the flow of traffic; suggests developing walking and cycling networks linking residential areas to key locations; and enhancing the built environment in the town.
“This project is only the start and there is a lot more work to do. This strategy sets out our approach towards how we want to tackle movement issues locally over the next 30 years and beyond, and the specific measures that need to be implemented will be developed as the project progresses. The study makes it clear that increasing road capacity in the town centre is not the answer, as this would only encourage more through traffic, which is why we are supporting the idea of a sustainable transport corridor." Cllr James Palmer, Lead Councillor for Infrastructure, Guildford Borough Council
Please visit the Guildford Borough Council website for more information on the Guildford Town and Approaches Movement Study and its recommendations.