The North Yorkshire County Council are running a pilot project in Thirsk to increase residents' awareness of the real time involved in walking or cycling around their town. The aim is to have a lasting impact on transport choices - influencing individual decisions with practical information rather than just telling people what they 'should' be doing. Methods will include changes in the streetscape and the County Council is open to good ideas in this area. Read more below and contact at Geoff Gardner if you have any suggestions.

North Yorkshire Legible Town Project

In the last Local Transport Plan Annual Progress Report we set out how we would try to promote walking and cycling in a pilot town. The intention is that we should make all the residents of this town aware of how many minutes it will take them to walk or cycle from their house to the town centre. If they use this information to make their own mind up about walking or cycling then the decision should be stronger than if they change just because we tell them to use the car less.

To do this, we have now let a contract with transport consultants SDG, following a tender bid. The first task was to choose the most suitable town for the pilot work. After consideration of all relevant factors, including ongoing work on traffic management studies, the town of Thirsk has been chosen.

As part of the study the consultants will be preparing a range of methods of promoting walking distances. This will include leaflets and press notices but will also feature changes in the streetscape. Part of the project is to develop good ideas for this, but it may include:
. Thermoplastic markings on the footpath
. Changes in colour of street furniture (using high grade paint)
. Small stickers on the street name plates
. Zone boundary in pavement, such as in brick sets or painted: showing 5/10 minutes from town centre
. Hardscape improvements perhaps including coloured banding on pavements (eg - white quartz) and naming applied to pavements

A key consideration is that this must be done within the current regime of maintenance and health and safety considerations and also done in a manner sympathetic to the local townscape. All normal rules of planning and required consultation need to be followed. The team includes an artist and an architect so the results should be of a high standard. The budget allowed for the physical measures is £4800.

The exact choice of measures will be chosen by the team following a public consultation event, probably a focus group but possibly a participation event involving people walking around the town. Full evaluation will take place to assess the acceptability of the measure and also their impact on promoting walking and cycling.

The team is currently devising a name for the project (it is currently called the legible town project) and will be preparing leaflets and press releases to be sent out around the town. Opportunities to involve community groups and schools will also be explored.

The County Council's project officer is Geoff Gardner at County Hall on extension 2371 email Travelwise@northyorks.gov.uk

CATEGORY: TRANSPORT