SUMMER & AUTUMN 2008
We live in a world of information overload.
From congested streets, junk mail shots, government targets and multi tasking lives to websites bursting with colours, information, and links. We think that there is only so much the human brain can cope with.
So, we won’t give you too much information on this page. Just a couple of recent examples of our work during the summer and autumn of 2008, to give you a flavour of what we can offer. If you’d like to know more, we are confident that you will get in touch.
1. A pedestrian street audit in Reading
Firstly, we recently undertook a pedestrian street audit of Reading Town Centre with members of the Thames Valley Campaign for Better Transport Group. Reading Evening Post reporter Fiona Gray joined us for the audit. Here is her article, published in the paper on 23 May 2008, and reprinted with her kind permission:
“READING’s town centre is unfriendly to pedestrians and needs an overhaul, according to a “walking champion”.
David Early of Heelgood Factors, a company that works to improve the pedestrian access in urban areas, audited the town centre on Monday with members of Thames Valley Campaign for Better Transport (CBT).
During the hour-long inspection, Mr Early pointed out unnecessary signs littering the pedestrian area, road signs blocking pavements and a lack of maps to help visitors to the town find their way.
Mr Early, who worked for charity Living Streets campaigning for pedestrian issues before setting up his Oxford-based business, said: “It wouldn’t cost a huge amount to make a difference here – perhaps a few thousand pounds. Reading would benefit greatly from the council doing a survey of pedestrian access in the town.
The audit took in both the visual beauty and accessibility of Reading’s town centre, from the station north of the centre to Queen’s Road south of The Oracle.
A particular problem area was the organisation of the pedestrian crossing across Queen’s Road to walk along London Street. The intersection has multiple light-controlled pedestrian crossings, which are not synchronised.
Mr Early said: “Because this is such a complicated crossing with so many barriers, people just aren’t using it properly – instead, they are walking across the road diagonally in the direction they want to go. We call these desire lines, and crossings should try to follow them as closely as possible”.
The crossing proved fatal last year, when 26-year old Adam Mallon was hit by a car and killed while trying to cross Queen’s Road away from the pedestrian crossing.
Other problems highlighted by Mr Early included the number of bollards, barriers and blocks used along Station Approach and other central streets where the area is largely pedestrianised.
Mr Early said: “I would recommend here a set up like that in Kensington and Chelsea, where the council has removed barriers between pedestrians and vehicles so that communication has to take place between the two, and traffic is slowed down”
He added that the removal of street furniture would also improve the look of the area and emphasise the beauty of the facades along Station Approach and the iconic John Lewis building, which can be seen from the station.
Mr Early also complimented the success of the pedestrian scheme in Broad Street which, he said, made the street attractive and allowed people to walk and shop in a relaxed atmosphere.
Chris Burden of CBT, who organised the audit, plans to present the results to the council to persuade it to commission a full survey of the town.
Mr Burden said; “It is a way of looking at the townscape from a pedestrian point of view, in an organised methodical way, which most people don’t do, including the local authority. I think it is useful, from time to time, to take a very particular view so you highlight things that together will make a difference when they are co-ordinated”
2. Training at Aston University
“Thank you for an extremely interesting and useful day at Aston University yesterday” Christopher Mason, Office Environmental Manager Transport Policy & Planning, Hyder Consulting, May 2008.
Following the success of the Sustainable Travel Demonstration Towns initiative and the recent publication of the Government’s Sustainable Transport Strategy, the field of travel planning is a very exciting area of work to be in, as there are huge possibilities for expansion of the work.
To enable professionals from local authorities and consultancies to update their knowledge on the implications of these new developments, Heelgood Factors undertook a day training course in collaboration with Aston University on Thursday 1 May 2008 entitled Travel Planning – What the future holds.
Following the unprecedented success of this course, Heelgood Factors has been engaged by Aston University to undertake further day training courses. On Wednesday 12 November, we will be undertaking a course entitled Accessing sustainable transport on foot - Improving pedestrian connections and waiting areas for all users.
Drawing on our unique expertise in this crucial area, this outstanding day training course will be an inspired mix of teaching, small group sessions and the chance to experience a pedestrian audit of a nearby transport interchange.
It will be of interest to local authority professionals engaged with transport issues, consultancies looking to widen their skills and knowledge of this niche area and rail professionals who understand the need to get pedestrian connections and waiting areas right.
Here is the provisional programme for the day:
ACCESSING SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT ON FOOT — IMPROVING PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIONS AND WAITING AREAS FOR ALL USERS
Morning session to include:
• Getting there on foot – what are the user’s needs and what is the service that they are currently receiving
• Resolving pedestrian conflicts with other modes – cyclists, motorists and buses
• Good practice examples from the UK and elsewhere
• Small groups and feedback session
Afternoon session to include:
• Safety and security issues at transport stations and interchanges
• The needs of older and disabled people and how transport operators can meet them
• The economic dividend from getting it right
Our second training session for Aston University will take place on Wednesday 3 December. Entitled Improving, promoting and enabling walking: Practical guidance for travel planners and other transport professionals, the course will appeal to all professionals engaged in walking issues, from engineers to travel planners. The day will include small group sessions and the opportunity to experience a Heelgood Factors pedestrian street audit.
IMPROVING, PROMOTING AND ENABLING WALKING: PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR TRAVEL PLANNERS AND OTHER TRANSPORT PROFESSIONALS
Morning session to include:
• A walk through history – walking in a historical context and the lessons that the past can teach us
• Why walking matters today – health, crime and community cohesion
• The seven key components of an accessible street environment
• Good practice examples from the UK and further afield
• Practical outdoor session: undertaking a pedestrian street audit, followed by small groups and feedback
Afternoon session to include:
• Promoting walking in a recession – how small, inexpensive changes improvements can lead to substantial modal shift
• Promoting walking to parents and employees – how travel planners can sell the product
• Walking into the future – Spaces of the modern city. An analysis of new urbanist thinking, including an overview of the recent Princeton University seminars on cities as dynamic physical spaces and the place of walking within them.
To book places on one or both of these exciting day training courses, all you need to do is to get in touch with Aston University. Please contact either: Helen Mallinson (0121 204 3593) or Claire Wallis (0121 204 3624) Fax: 0121 204 3684 or Email: cpd-seas@aston.ac.uk
