Improved public transport, better facilities for cyclists and pedestrians, and town centre form part of the new, future vision of transport in Stamford.
Lincolnshire County Council has drawn up a new strategy for Stamford that aims to improve transport and support future development to 2036 and beyond.
The document is set to be reviewed and voted on by the county council’s Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee on Monday 29 April.
Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: "The main purpose of our new strategy is to provide the people, businesses and organisations in Stamford with a transport system that helps meet their daily needs now and well into the future.
“By offering a wider range of affordable, reliable and environmentally-friendly travel options for people to choose from, we hope to meet changing travel demands while also supporting planned economic growth in and around the area.
"This will hopefully lead to more people using alternative forms of transport, resulting in less congestion on the roads and a more pleasant town centre, making Stamford a more prosperous, attractive and healthier place to live, learn, work and visit.
“Within the strategy, you’ll find a number of proposals for us, the district council and developers to consider over the next twenty years, including enhancements to the town centre; the area’s roads; and its cycling and walking infrastructure.
“Combined with other measures, like improving bus and rail services, the strategy aims to ensure that Stamford has the infrastructure it needs to meet travel demands over the coming decades.”
As part of the strategy’s development, a series of public drop-in events and stakeholder workshops were held, along with a survey that received over 500 responses.
Some of the aspirations within the draft strategy include:
- Enhancing the walking and pedestrian environment, including footway widening; wayfinding improvements; and pedestrian crossing improvements
- Improving Stamford’s cycle network by improving cycle hire and cycle parking and providing high-quality infrastructure to encourage more people to travel by bike
- Looking at opportunities to develop a series of enhanced transport hubs across Stamford to improve how people access to different modes of travel, adapted to each location and potentially including improvements to the railway station and bus station
- Enhancing bus journey times and reliability, including improving the frequency of local bus services and working with providers to introduce smarter ticketing arrangements
- Improving the highway network by supporting the delivery of the town’s urban extensions, including working with partners to deliver the Stamford North link road which would link the B1081 Old Great North Road to A6121 Ryhall Road
- Supporting the uptake of electric vehicles by increasing the availability of public charging points
- Improving safety and the town centre environment by looking at opportunities to change speed limits in the town centre, particularly near schools and in the surrounding residential area
- Improving pedestrian crossings at locations across the town centre
- Considering the implementation of parking restrictions; residents parking schemes; and removing some public on-street parking within the town centre to create a safer pedestrian environment
In addition, the following location-specific aspirations have been included in the strategy:
- Considering opportunities to widen and improve the existing footways in Stamford’s centre including along St. Mary’s Hill, St. Mary’s Street, Castle Street, St. George’s Street, St. Leonards Street, St. Paul’s Street, Broad Street, All Saints Street, and St. Peter’s Street
- Assessing the feasibility of and benefits of developing a one-way system and widening footways in the town centre, including: Broad Street, Star Lane, St. George’s Street, St Mary’s Street, St. John’s Street, Red Lion Square, and Red Lion Street
- Assessing the feasibility of making the eastern end of Scotgate one-way and widening the footways
- Assessing feasibility of pedestrianising Maiden Lane from High Street to St. Mary’s Street
- Creation of a cycle route along the B1081 Casterton Road linking to the existing cycle-friendly route along Empingham Lane towards Rutland Water
Cllr Davies continued: "The new Stamford Transport Strategy provides a number of proposals for us, the district council and developers to consider over the next twenty years.
"The challenge now is finding the funding needed to make these improvements a reality. And the only way we’re going to be able to do that is if everyone gets behind the plan and works together.”
The Stamford Transport Strategy has been written to align with the key themes and outcomes of Lincolnshire’s Local Transport Plan 5.
For more information about this and other major highways projects, visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/majorprojects.