Traffic and parking survey underway

Experts that have worked on traffic management plans for cities such as Edinburgh, Oxford and Durham have begun a study in Berwick.

The findings of Colin Buchanan will be crucial to the development of the Berwick’s Future action plan which will become the blueprint for economic, social, educational and skills development in the borough.

Local views are being sought as part of the detailed investigation of traffic, parking and pedestrian movement which is being carried out in August to ensure it captures peak visitor impacts.

These were among the hottest topics raised during extensive community engagement on the Berwick’s Future regeneration strategy published in May.  So the consultants will be contacting local businesses and other interested parties to feed into the baseline analysis of the movement survey.

Public feedback on the regeneration strategy can also still be registered by going to www.berwicksfuture.co.uk where details of the project to date can be viewed.

The study has been commissioned by the Berwick’s Future Steering Group, comprising Berwick Borough Council, Berwick Community Trust, Berwick Local Strategic Partnership, English Heritage, Government Office North East, Northumberland County Council, Northumberland Strategic Partnership and One NorthEast.

It will examine strategic patterns of movement across the whole town and its surrounding area and recommend a traffic management and parking strategy to improve the current arrangements, over the short, medium and longer term.

Due to be completed in October, the work has three stages.  The first involves providing a baseline by assessing current circumstances; reviewing car and coach parking, who parks where and for what purpose; traffic management, pedestrian provision, cycleway provision and public transport links in the area.

This will be followed by options analysis and then the development of an incremental traffic management and parking strategy and costed action plan setting out priorities, timescales, funding sources, delivery mechanisms and responsibilities.