Release Date: 19/09/2012

Reference: P433

Residents have their say over Twickenham Regeneration proposals

Over 70% of residents agree with the Council’s proposals to regenerate Twickenham Town Centre by creating high quality streets, improving the public realm and reducing the impact of traffic.

Today (Wednesday 19 September) the Council’s Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee will hear the results of the Council’s consultation into plans to transform roads, pavements and public areas, in a bid to benefit residents, businesses, motorists and visitors.

Earlier consultations on Twickenham revealed residents wanted to reduce the dominance of traffic and improve the experience for pedestrians. This consultation took the feedback and included proposals on widening footways, improvements to public space and a 20mph speed limit in the town centre to help improve traffic flow and pedestrian movement.

A new taxi rank in London Road, improvements to Garfield Road and park, and a public piazza at the Church St/Water Lane junction were also proposed along with relocating bus stops in the town centre.

The results showed that proposals to remove unnecessary signage, real time information at bus stops, increased cycle parking, advanced stop lines for cyclists, reduced speed limited and widened pavements were popular. The proposal to relocate the King St bus stops received a mixed response, with 38% of those agreeing and 39% opposing. In addition 67% of those who completed the survey did not want cycle lands removed on London Road.

Cllr Virginia Morris, Richmond Council’s Strategic Cabinet Member for Environment, Planning, Parks and Highways, said:

“These plans are a major step forward in our commitment to reinvigorating Twickenham. We have listened to our residents and businesses about their views on the future of the town. They told us Twickenham needed reinvigorating and we will now review all of the consultation results to create a final plan that will provide a better town centre for everybody.”

A final plan will be presented at the October Cabinet Meeting for discussion.

Notes for editors:

Key results:

1. Removing unnecessary signage -86%
2. Providing real time information at bus stops -89%
3. Increase cycle parking – 81%
4. Advanced Stop Lines (ASL) at signal junctions for cyclists -81%
5. Introduce 20mph zone – 78%
6. Widen and improve pavements – 58%
7. 47% disagree with the removal of the bus lane outside the station
8. 67% oppose the removal of the cycle lane on London Road
9. 38% agree with the re-location of the bus stops on King Street
10. 78% respondents agree with a 20mph limit throughout the town centre, new high quality paving and extensive widening of footways

Further Information:

If you are a journalist and would like further information about this press release, contact Elinor Ridgeway on 020 8487 5159