Work to begin to develop new cycling and walking plan for Shropshire
Work is set to begin this month to develop a Shropshire-wide Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).
City Science Incorporation have now been commissioned to develop the LCWIP with work starting in late October [2021] and due to be completed by early Summer 2022.
An LCWIP is a strategic, long term approach to developing walking and cycling networks and identifying cycling and walking improvements required at the local level. LCWIPs form a vital part of the Government’s ‘Gear Change’ strategy which has a bold vision for a transformation in the UK’s transport system with half of all journeys in towns and cities being cycled or walked by 2030.
Additionally, LCWIPs are increasingly being seen as a key requirement to access Department for Transport funding.
The Shropshire LCWIP will focus on the main urban areas of Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Market Drayton, Oswestry and Whitchurch and those settlements within 10km of each of these towns. 10km is considered to be the maximum distance that most people are prepared to cycle to access work, education, shopping or leisure facilities.
City Science will shortly be undertaking an information gathering exercise where they will do an audit of the existing cycling and pedestrian networks, looking at the quality and coverage of existing infrastructure and where things such as major junctions and roundabouts create barriers for cyclists and pedestrians. They will also be analysing existing and emerging local, regional and national strategies and plans, including the emerging Shropshire Local Plan and the emerging Local Transport Plan 4 to ensure alignment between the plans.
They will also undertake an analysis of current and projected demand for cycling as well as look at accident hot-spot locations throughout the county.
There will be a significant emphasis on stakeholder engagement in developing the LCWIP and Shropshire Council will be engaging with diverse audiences early on to help inform and verify data collected as well as inform the planning of the network and prioritisation of schemes.
A series of workshops will be held across the county at key stages in the development of the Plan as well as one-to-one sessions with stakeholders including National Highways to understand how the needs of pedestrians and cyclists can be integrated into emerging and proposed schemes.
Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for climate change, natural assets and the green economy said:
“I am excited to announce the appointment of City Science to lead on the development of an LCWIP for Shropshire.
“An LCWIP for Shropshire will form part of the overall driving mission of the council to combat climate change and deliver a safer, more economical and cleaner local environment. It will do this through helping us to identify and deliver a fully functioning active travel network, that encourages walking and cycling over private vehicle travel for local journeys.
“We are looking forward to working with the community in a collaborative and positive way to support the delivery of more sustainable places in both urban and rural settings.”
City Science specialise in the development of sustainable transport strategies and LCWIPs as well as decarbonisation strategies. To date they have been commissioned by a number of local authorities including Birmingham, Milton Keynes, North East Lincolnshire, Yeovil, Taunton and Truro to develop LCWIPS and other cycling cycle network improvement strategies.
