Perth & Kinross Council Community Links Plus - Book 02

BOOK 2

02 BOOK

PERTH & KINROSS COUNCIL COMMUNITY LINKS PLUS

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CONTENTS 04 08 10 14 21 25 27 30 33

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DESIGN POLICY DESIGN PROCESS • CORRIDOR 1 – DUNKELD ROAD • CORRIDOR 2 – SCONE TO BRIDGEND • CORRIDOR 5 – GLASGOW ROAD CORRIDOR ASSESSMENT ADDITIONAL ROUTES DESIGNING ACCESSIBLE PLACES STREET TRIAL EVENT

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Design Policy The Perth City Plan and Perth Story both outline a placemaking strategy for improving the quality of place for economic, social and environmental benefits. As part of that process, our approach towards developing this business case has been to visualise, conceptualise and design a transport network which is accessible and inclusive for all. The Perth City Plan identifies some cities in Northern Europe, as examples of best practice.

One theme they all have in common is that they design their cities for the movement of people, by humanising the scale of transit. On this basis, Perth is perfectly placed to deliver and match the best of what is on offer in Northern Europe and Scandinavia. It is about Perth, People, Place.

To design appropriate spaces for people, the conceptual designs have been developed in accordance with Perth & Kinross Council’s Local Development Plan and Placemaking Guidance, along with Designing Streets and international best practice for street design (see below).

Both the Masterplan and conceptual designs were produced with reference to core design criteria, as defined in the CROW Dutch Cycle Design Manual (2016). These design criteria are: • Cohesion, • Directness, • Safety, • Comfort; and

Concept Design Summary

“Providing for movement along a street is vital, but it should not be considered independently of the street’s other functions”.

– Designing Streets Policy.

The concept design stage builds on the opportunity presented by the Cross Tay Link Road, and uses the capacity to reallocate road space in favour of people who want to actively move around the city, without prejudicing the needs of those using public transport.

The reallocation of road space provides an opportunity to improve the key routes and gateways into Perth city centre.

It’s why we have sought funding from the Green Infrastructure Fund; we want to deliver better spaces and places for people.

In order to achieve this, we are ensuring permeability for bikes and walking is increased at key points, promoting active travel, whilst also avoiding the creation of ‘rat runs’.

This approach enhances the softer initiatives being developed

by Perth & Kinross Council – school exclusion zones and a 20mph speed strategy – as well as pursuing a cohesive cycle network around Perth, promoting tourism, by creating easy access to the wider National Cycle Network (NCN 77).

All of our concept designs will be subject to further consultation with our communities and stakeholders prior to commencing detailed design work. The work will also require robust traffic modelling in order to ensure that design solutions do not result in significant adverse effects on the operation of local bus services or result in an unacceptable level of peak hour traffic congestion/impact on air quality. Our proposal for a trial event is outlined later in our bid.

• Attractiveness.

To help take the design process forward and achieve the gold standard we are looking for, we appointed Dutch experts on cycle infrastructure – Royal HaskoningDHV – to help provide expert input and ensure we maximise the opportunity to transform Perth and the areas beyond the city boundaries.

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The Adelaide Design Manual’s ‘Hierarchy of street users’

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Maintaining high-quality bus corridors is a vital component of the project, as these will always provide an important service for Perth residents and visitors, with these services being particularly relevant for residents with mobility impairments.

We can achieve this through strategic urban design and the implementation of state of the art technology, which monitors the real time movement of motor vehicles and adapts traffic flow at key signalled junctions.

Overall, we will create and deliver better streets for people, which supports green infrastructure, and enhances the physical and social environment, making Perth inclusive and accessible to all.

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Design Process From the start of this process we wanted people to direct us on where the issues are on the current transport network and establish what demand there was in the public domain for investment in active travel.

We already had the data from Bike Life Perth, which showed 69% of the public wanted investment in segregated cycle lanes, even if that meant a reduction in carriageway space and this provided a great springboard for engagement with the wider public, businesses and Councillors.

Our approach to urban design is to transform our built and natural environment into places for people

In order to capture data from a wider audience, we used ‘Commonplace’ – a digital community engagement tool – which is completely transparent and proved to be very successful with stakeholders.

Over both stages of consultation undertaken; • We obtained 1300+ comments • Received over 4,000 contributions between both websites • Averaged over 3,500 visits per website • Had over 500 registered subscribers for news updates

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How would you improve it?

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Space for cycling

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Other

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Better crossings

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Maintenance

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Better pavements

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Improved junction

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Lower speeds

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Less traffic

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Trees and planting

Sentiment

The data, along with the Public Life Surveys carried out, highlighted the issues which need to be addressed along key transport routes to and through the city centre. This feedback has directed the design process to date and will continue to do so, as we strive to deliver places for people.

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Corridor 1 Dunkeld Road As the city of Perth expands to the north and west, Dunkeld Road will become the city’s most important transport corridor. There is significant investment taking place with the development of Bertha Park housing, school and employment areas, which will generate a substantial amount of movement with people, between key trip generators and the city centre.

This growth presents us with a once in a lifetime opportunity to implement active travel infrastructure in advance and create an exemplar green transportation corridor. This will not only link new and rural communities, but also our most deprived ones, with sustainable modes of transport.

As part of the concept design work, Corridor 1 extends from Perth City Centre (from the junction of Barrack Street/ Caledonian Street/ Atholl Road) north-west to the urban boundary of the City of Perth, where the route can connect to the National Cycle Network route 77 and Dunkeld Road junctions with the A9 and beyond to Highland Perthshire.

We are also looking to link Corridor 1 with Corridor 7 (A85), by connecting to Perth College UHI and the Lade.

Between Dunkeld Road and the Lade, this will deliver a green network which serves the city centre at the south with Inveralmond industrial estate to the north.

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Current barriers for the movement of people increase as you head further south towards the city centre, with a dual carriageway making it difficult for people to cross the road, as pedestrian crossings are limited, and therefore requires people to walk further to get to their destination. This was an issue regularly highlighted on Commonplace and by pupils during onsite engagement workshops.

In order to address these, the concept design for Dunkeld Road goes beyond cycle infrastructure.

To provide shorter walking distances and appropriate crossings to assist pedestrian movement, we are seeking to remove half of the dual carriageway and have Dunkeld Road operates as a twoway single carriageway link, in its entirety.

The removal of the dual carriageway would facilitate the creation of space for the local community, creating a ‘sense of place’ where currently there is none. For the majority of its length, the proposed cycle scheme would see the implementation of a two-way segregated cycle route on the eastern side of the Dunkeld Road (See insert 1.1 & 1.2 next page).

At the north point of Dunkeld Road, we propose a new bridge structure over the River Almond to connect to NCN77, as well as an upgrade to the current path in place which links to the rural communities of Luncarty and Stanley.

As a result, major junctions on the Dunkeld Road would be transformed into a combination of Dutch style cycle roundabouts and signalised junctions, with entry treatments provided where minor roads connect. The infrastructure will give a higher priority to people who are walking or cycling, and increase the permeability of active to residential streets while maintaining an efficient and effective public transport corridor.

Overall, the cycle infrastructure design has been prepared on the basis that these measures would form part of a ‘Healthy Street’, with the design to be supplemented by high quality green infrastructure, as part of the new community spaces being created.

Along Dunkeld Road, there are opportunities to focus on place over movement and restore community space. There is also a chance to use design to address anti-social behaviour, after all, place defines behaviour and over time, that behaviour becomes culture.

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Public Life Survey Dunkeld Road

Corridor 1 Dunkeld Road

INSERT 1.1: Proposed Dutch Style Infrastructure Design – Dunkeld Road

‘Place defines behaviour and over time, behaviour becomes culture.’

Tools used: • People moving count • Place inventory • Social space survey Main observations: • Popular space for people, especially around retail areas.

• Greenspace in the middle of the dual-carriageway acts as a barrier for the movement of people, especially those with limited mobility.

• Limited crossing points expose people to variable vehicular speeds.

• Dual carriageway is a barrier to people. There is a significant amount of traffic and up to six lanes of traffic to cross.

INSERT 1.2: Dunkeld Road – Example Cross-Section

• People regularly park in one lane of the dual-carriageway to visit the shops.

• There is little shelter from the weather.

• No social space apart from bus shelter.

• No seating along the route for people.

• Limited protection from noise and pollution of traffic

Proposed

Existing

PROPOSED SCHEME BREAKDOWN • 6.8 kilometres in total • Segregated cycle lanes • Reduction of carriageway • Connects to schools, Perth UHI and rail station via Golden Route • Two new community greenspaces • New bridge over River Almond £12.911M 12

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Corridor 2 Scone to Bridgend Bridgend into Perth is a key gateway for the city. It provides connections to Scone Palace, Perth Racecourse which are both major tourist attractions; it also connects to the city’s best natural asset – The River Tay. The downside to this gateway approach is the poor movement of vehicles which results in significant congestion and air quality issues. Like Dunkeld Road, we believe there is a real opportunity to help mitigate some of the current issues with traffic, as well as those associated with the future growth of Scone; provide green infrastructure and deliver a better movement of people along the corridor into Perth, as well as link in with wider investment along the riverside and Riverside Walk.

Main Street, Bridgend The street consists of four lanes of carriageway space, which constricts the movement of people to two points, forcing people to walk further to cross.

The width of the street provides a unique opportunity to address the current barriers and provide a place which encourages active travel and creates a better gateway to Perth city centre.

Improvements to the street design would help provide a better connection to the riverside and link with the proposed third ‘active travel’ crossing over the river.

The village of Scone is located approximately 3km to the north-east of Perth and connects with the City Centre via the A94, known as Perth Road, Pitcullen Crescent and Main Street. Between Scone and Perth, the A94 is a two-way single carriageway with a pedestrian footway on one side of the carriageway only. The route accommodates bus services, which includes links with the Park & Ride at Scone, along with onstreet advisory cycle lanes. The width of these lanes are less than 1m in width and do not attract regular users, as they are often cut off with parked vehicles and congested traffic.

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BRIDGEND CHARRETTE STRATEGY

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KEY INITIATIVE: PEOPLE FRIENDLY STREETS Dundee Road, Gowrie Street and Main Street should be people friendly places. The design of the road should signify that you are passing through a town centre and that people are the lifeblood of the local community and local businesses. It should be pleasant, safe and easy to walk around.

KEY INITIATIVE: MAKING MORE OF THE RIVERSIDE Riverside Park, comprising Norrie-Miller, Rodney Gardens and Bellwood Park is an asset for Bridgend.

There is opportunity to make more use of this green space, for the benefit of the community and to attract people from the other side of the river. The thing that will attract people, is other people, so active uses for all ages should be promoted

BUSINESS HUB - small businesses and retail

KEY INITIATIVE: A NEW FOOTBRIDGE FOR PERTH CITY A new footbridge would be a significant investment for the city in the future wellbeing of the riverside both sides of the Tay. It would provide a key link at the end of the High Street, and support economic activity on Tay Street and in Bridgend, connecting Bridgend more strongly with Perth city centre

KEY INITIATIVE: INVESTING FOR ENTERPRISE Placemaking is about applying creative thinking to make the most of assets and opportunities. Assets can be physical, like the local primary school, or people based, like the collective efforts of local businesses.

Opportunities can be empty buildings, or development sites. Brought together, these can help make the most of Bridgend.

Bridgend has a strong community spirit and a strong local business spirit.

It needs a reason for people to come here, spend time and spend money. It needs: • To feel connected to the city centre • To be safe and pleasant to walk to and walk around • To have activity that will draw people These are some ideas, big and small, developed from

The proposals between Scone and Perth, involve the implementation of bi-directional cycle lanes that can be shared with pedestrian movements. This would create a pedestrian route on both sides of the carriageway, where currently provision is made on one side of the carriageway only. The pedestrian and cycle route would be segregated and separated from the carriageway by a narrow verge.

In addition, here is a pinch point with cycle infrastructure and the carriageway at the junction of the A94 and Isla Road. Our proposals outline the removal of one of the existing northbound junction approach lanes in order to create space for dedicated cycle lanes. The removal of a northbound approach lane would avoid the need for a person who is cycling to cross the existing left turn only lane (into Isla Road) in order to continue northbound on the A94. This design should reduce conflict and consequently the risk of a collision at a place which saw a fatality in 2018.

key site - potential for community enterprise?

something special at the Stanners island - tree top adventure, building on stilts, stage?

Along Main Street, the ability to provide space for cycle infrastructure is limited due to the provision of three existing traffic lanes and a potential requirement for some short stay onstreet car parking and space for on-street site servicing.

The initial proposals focused on the reduction of a carriageway to provide space for people walking and cycling, which is the concept we have taken forward. The cycle lanes in Bridgend will not only link into the riverside and the crossing over the river, but also to Kinnoull Primary School, providing children with a safe passage to school.

FAMILY HUB - school, church hall

key view - activity at riverside will draw people across the river

Main Street

secondary route using causeway and railway bridge to create loop?

NR N RRR

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INSERT 2.1: Bridgend Cycle Infrastructure Proposal

The concept design, as proposed, removes one southbound traffic lane in order to create room for the cycle infrastructure and reduces the width of the crossing points (2.1 & 2.2 below). Space is maintained for some short stay cycle parking and an area for service vehicles to park and load/ unloads when servicing local retail units.

INSERT 2.2: Proposed Bridgend Cross-section

PROPOSED SCHEME BREAKDOWN

• Cost £4.974m

• 4.7 kilometres • Segregated cycle lanes • Reduction of carriageway • Connection to riverside • New bridge over River Tay • Connects to NCN (route 77)

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Public Life Survey Bridgend to Scone Tools used: • People moving count • Place inventory Main observations: • Activity with people increases as you move north to south on Main Street • Aside from the junction at Bridge Street and Isla Road, there is no crossing point for people along Main Street.

• Junction crossing is poor, especially for those with limited mobility.

• Crossing is very exposed to traffic.

• Main Street, in its current form, is a barrier to people, especially those with limited mobility. There is a significant amount of traffic and up to four lanes of traffic to cross.

• People regularly park on one side of the road and cross to use the supermarket.

• There is little shelter from the weather.

• No social space apart from bus shelter.

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Corridor 5 Glasgow Road There remain opportunities to address junctions which prohibit the movement of people along desire lines and we will seek to capture these during the next design phase.

Glasgow Road (A93), which routes towards Perth City Centre from the west, connects the A9, M90 and Broxden with the City Centre via York Road. The route is a popular bus corridor, which links the city with the Park & Ride and business park at Broxden to the west. The transport corridor also connects with Aviva, Perth Academy and Perth High School, as well as two Primary Schools; Fairview and Viewland.

In its current form, the route caters for people who walk, rather than those who choose the bike. The advisory cycle lanes are often constrained by pinch points and lined with drainage covers, which makes the route uncomfortable and therefore unattractive to the majority. As a transport route, there is definitely an emphasis on function over place, with limited opportunities to improve this, in comparison to Dunkeld Road and Scone to Bridgend. That said, there remain opportunities to address junctions which prohibit the movement of people along desire lines and we will seek to capture these during the next design phase.

The concept cycle infrastructure design work has sought to connect the Broxden Park and Ride facility with the junction of York Road and Caledonian Road (A989) on the edge of Perth City Centre. From here, the route will connect to the Golden Route and central transport hub at Mill Street.

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INSERT 5.1: Proposed Glasgow Road Cycle Infrastructure at the Broxden Park and Ride

The segregated cycle route extends from the Broxden Park and Ride to Cherrybank (at the junction of Glasgow Road and Nessessity Brae), where the cycle facility links with segregated bi-directional routes to be provided on both sides of the carriageway. This transition from a two-way facility is illustrated in Insert 5.3 below, and is recommended because of the narrower existing carriageway width. Insert 5.4 provides the associated proposed cross-section.

While the proposal is unable to maintain the two-way facility to the east of Nessessity Brae, the facility will be wider than the existing on-street advisory cycle lanes and will offer people on bikes greater protection from motor traffic.

INSERT 5.3: Proposed Glasgow Road Cycle Infrastructure at Cherrybank

INSERT 5.2: Glasgow Road – Example Cross-Section

At its western end, the cycle infrastructure proposals are to provide a segregated two-way cycle lane on the northern side of the Glasgow Road carriageway, as illustrated in Insert 5.1 (left). A defined traffic signal controlled crossing is proposed as a means to connect the cycle route with the Broxden Park and Ride, and the adjacent facilities. The proposals will also connect with Lamberkine Drive.

INSERT 5.4: Glasgow Road – Example Cross-Section at Cherrybank

The associated proposed change to Glasgow Road’s crosssection is detailed in Insert 5.2 below. The diagram illustrates a 4m wide two-way cycle land on the northern side of the Glasgow Road carriageway.

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Corridor 5 Glasgow Road

Corridor Assessment

The principle of bi-directional cycle lanes, on both sides of the carriageway, continues to the boundary of Perth City Centre.

Our bid outlines investment along three transport corridors, along with investment along the river, which also constitutes as a cycle corridor (Walnut Grove along the river path). The Corridors and their respective alignments have been assessed on good practice outlined in the CROW Manual 2017:

The proposals seek to maintain pedestrian permeability across Glasgow Road and will maintain access to property where frontage access is provided. This is illustrated in the imagery shown in Insert 5.5 below.

• cohesion • directness • safety • comfort • attractiveness Following the assessment, the following routes were chosen: Corridor 1 – 1A Corridor 2 – 2A Corridor 3 – 3B Corridor 5 – 5A The second assessment took into consideration the ‘benefits’ of each corridor, covering: • demand • cycle network integration • wider transport benefits • policy integration • deliverability

PROPOSED SCHEME BREAKDOWN

• COST £5.498M

• 4.2 kilometres • Segregated cycle lanes • Connection to Park & Ride at Broxden

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Additional routes – Investment in Placemaking and new spaces/places

As well as corridors 1,2 and 5, we are creating ‘golden routes’ to key trip generators, outlined below: Corridor 3 – Opens up access to the river and connects to the proposed ‘park & choose’ at Walnut Grove, as well as the Activity Centre/Café/pontoon at Willowgate Corridor 4 – Edinburgh Road: connects city centre to Craigie Corridor 7 – Connects city centre to Perth UHI Corridor 8 – Connects train station to city centre and Dunkeld Road corridor, via proposed central transport hub at Mill Street (Bike, walk and bus) Third crossing over the River Tay – create a new active travel link between the High Street and Norrie Miller Walk

As part of our approach to placemaking, The Perth City Plan outlines the concept of ‘golden routes’, which connect the city centre to key areas. The most significant is the golden route from Perth railway station into the city centre via the South Inch Park. It is about creating a sense of ‘arrival and place’ for visitors to the city. We will also adopt this approach with the connection to Perth College UHI, as we want to show that active travel can be an attractive option for young adults who often have the perception that cycling is ‘not cool’.

Reference Perth Cycle Network Masterplan

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CREATING GREAT SPACES AND PLACES FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE LIFE WELL – IT’S WHAT WE DO

St Paul’s Church

Creative Exchange

the Creative Exchange

Guard Vennel (PS1)

Investment along the River Tay (Pontoons and Willowgate Activity Centre)

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Designing Accessible Places As part of the design feasibility stage, we undertook a series of public life surveys in partnership with Planning Aid Scotland, at a number of locations throughout Perth. The clear message from the surveys is that the movement of people is restricted by vehicle domination and a lack of appropriate infrastructure.

We want to address this by overcoming the barriers identified and increasing greenspace to improve the permeability of movement, the local environment and economic prosperity of our communities. It is not only the carriageway which presents a barrier for the movement of people.

• There are bus stops without bus shelters.

• There limited places to park bikes.

• There are no benches to sit down on the key routes into Perth.

• Crossing points are too sporadic, resulting in people having to walk further It is the absence of simple infrastructure like this which excludes the most vulnerable in society from using our streets to their full potential. Subtle changes to urban design complemented by green infrastructure has the impact to completely transform how a place functions for people.

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Research, along with data we have collected through public consultation, shows that there are significant barriers for children, women, ethnic minority groups and those over 60, when it comes to cycling on our streets and roads. The clear message from Bike Life Perth and further our engagement is that people want their own space to cycle. As part of the design concept stage, we have undertaken an Equality Impact Assessment in order to establish if any of the groups with Protected Characteristics are impacted on.

The EQiA shows that our proposals would help a number of groups overcome barriers which currently prohibit them from being more active. This follows on from the collaboration exercise Perth & Kinross Council undertook with Centre for Inclusive Living (CILPK) & Living Streets in Perth City Centre.

The EQiA identifies a number of areas where infrastructure and streets can be improved to the benefit of groups highlighted. In the case of ethnicity, we have liaised with PKAVS (who represent ethnic minority groups in Perth & Kinross) and the CILPK to undertake workshops covering the initial proposals. This has allowed their members to have input on the designs and raise issues they currently experience when navigating Perth.

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Street Trial – Corridor 1 (Dunkeld Road) We are committed to maintaining this approach in the next phase and build on the partnerships we have developed with key representative organisations, in order to ensure that vulnerable user groups are adequately catered for. This will ensure that pedestrians are not compromised by the cycle proposals, that adequate dropped kerbs and road crossings are retained on pedestrian desire lines and that passenger waiting areas at bus stops are maintained, or enhanced, where appropriate. All of our design proposals would be subjected to a Stage 1 and 2 Road Safety Audit prior to scheme implementation. This process will ensure that the detail of the design is appropriate for all road users.

‘It is the absence of simple infrastructure like this, which excludes the most vulnerable in society from using the space.’

Ethnicity

Male: 66%

White: 97%

Female: 34%

Perth residents

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Bike riders

In addition to scrutinising the corridors via traffic model analysis, we are seeking to hold a trial event along a section of Dunkeld Road. The primary purpose of the trial is to show that a reduction in the carriageway can be accommodated within the network.

Initial discussions with the Traffic & Network Team have focused on the closure of one lane on both sides of the dual carriageway. While the trial event does not reflect the final proposal ‘like for like’, we believe the event will closely represent the reduction in carriageway space and will allow us to promote how much space can be used by people instead of vehicles.

Our CLPLUS submission has set out to ensure that the cycle infrastructure will not impede the movement of people with mobility or sensory impairment.

Gender

We believe there is scope to remove the dual carriageway and reduce a significant barrier for the community, which impacts on the movement of people, especially children walking and cycling to school. As part of our ongoing stakeholder consultation, we recognise there is a need to ‘test’ our proposals for investment for active travel in advance of construction.

Our principal ambition is to reduce motor traffic for short journeys along key transport corridors into Perth, and improve the environment and make it inclusive and accessible for all users.

Black and Minortiy Ethnic: 3% Perth residents

Bike riders

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The trial will last approximately 4-6 weeks in order to give us an accurate assessment of how the proposed layout could operate and how behavioural change affects the surrounding streets.

Survey counts and cameras will help monitor the movement of traffic and people within the trial area and the adjacent streets.

Ahead of the event, we will engage with the local community and schools, to arrange activities which will help challenge the perception of the current design and how the space can be reallocated to benefit the local residents, commuters and businesses.

Activities will include: • placement of parklets/on-street furniture • engagement with school children to cycle along the trial • monitoring of air quality, noise pollution and traffic level

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