Cabinet approves plan to improve movement around the Town Centre

A package of measures aimed at improving the way people move around the Town Centre has been given the thumbs up by councillors.

Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet approved the Town Centre Movement Strategy (TCMS) at its virtual meeting last night (22 April).

The Movement Strategy has been developed to support the Town Centre Masterplan, which outlines the regeneration priorities and development projects across the Town Centre.

The TCMS was redrafted following a consultation last summer and 25 measures have been included ranging from reconfiguring the current Whalebridge junction in order to complement plans for the new Bus Boulevard along Fleming Way, through to relieving the current Corporation Street bottleneck.

The strategy includes key highway, bus, cycle and walking routes within a boundary that incorporates Great Western Way in the north to Bath Road and Devizes Road in the south.

Improvements to the road network around the Railway Village are also included and could see the reconfiguration of the Faringdon Road junction with Milton Road to provide an enhanced gateway into the newly-designated Heritage Action Zone, while also improving pedestrian access to the listed Health Hydro building.

The strategy also focuses on improvements to the public realm in Wood Street and Manchester Road as well as upgrades to cycling and walking routes.

Each of the 25 measures are sufficiently flexible so they can be altered according to changes in local circumstances and funding for each scheme will be assessed on a case by case basis.

Councillor Maureen Penny, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and the Environment, said: “I am really pleased my Cabinet colleagues approved this key strategy because over the next few years our Town Centre will benefit from significant investment, which will change it for the better.

“It is therefore crucial that we plan for the future and prioritise key junctions and parts of the road network for improvements when the time is right.

“This strategy, which has been informed by analysing current traffic movements and modelling future traffic levels, is not just focused on making improvements for vehicles. As a Council we are committed to improving our sustainable transport network and, as our plans for the Fleming Way Bus Boulevard show, we want to encourage people out of their cars and to use public transport or cycling and walking routes instead.”

A copy of the Town Centre Movement Strategy can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/y8udzffq