The meeting was chaired by PJA Group who are working on “creating better places through design” looking at transport, engineering and placemaking.
They are working alongside the Sutton Coldfield master plan and with the Town Council to plan and cost active travel schemes eg walking and cycling schemes. It is the intention to plan these schemes in such a way that they meet the funding requirements of Government spending most likely under the Dept of Transport Gear Change scheme.
They have completed several pieces of analysis so far looking at dangerous crossings, air quality, links to public transport and car ownership. As part of the master plan they have objectives to create better links to Sutton Park, focus on safety on main roads, safety of cycling and links to schools.
They are in the consultation process, hence the meeting today, with the aim of creating a long list of requirements by Jan 2022. The suggestion is that there will be short term requirements that are relatively inexpensive such as better cycle parking through to medium term such as traffic calming and longer term expensive options such as creating new cycle routes. The overall aim is 10% reduction in cars.
It will be interesting to see what comes out of it.