Great Stall East’s Cycle Ways
22/02/2017
With the urban expansion of Swindon, cycle ways are set to play a role under the Swindon Cycling Framework and the national Governments Cycling Delivery Plan. The site at Great Stall East in New Eastern Villages is set to incorporate a cycleway with a portion of it proposed to run alongside the river Cole. Having the cycleway near to the river will incorporate not only the daily commuter but the leisure and sports cycling aspect of Swindon’s Cycling Framework. According to the Swindon Cycling Framework and Census data only 4.2% of work trips in Swindon are made via bikes. In order to increase this figure the routes cyclists can take need to be more appealing rather than just alongside busy road networks.
The proposed school at New Eastern Villages also plays a key role with the cycleway. The Cycling Framework aims to have more pupils walking and cycling to school and the cycleway needs to encourage and provide a safe route for these pupils. The National Planning Policy Framework, Department for Communities and Local Government also states the transport system should be balanced yet in favour of sustainable transport. With modern technology, electric, hybrid and low-emission vehicles it is important to blend transport routes together rather than favour one over the other. Census data shows that the car and bus is by the far the most preferred mode of transport for people in Swindon. With all this taken into consideration the cycleway at Great Stall East should be of high quality serving cyclists in a way that makes it convenient, enjoyable and safe whilst not jeopardising the overall transport network.
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