Walking, Cycling and Horse-Riding Assessment and Review (WCHAR) to Support the New North West Relief Road (NWRR) Being Proposed in Northampton
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Northamptonshire County Council NORTHAMPTON NORTH-WEST RELIEF ROAD Walking, Cycling & Horse-Riding Assessment NWRR-WSP-ENM-0000-RP-CH-00001 MAY 2019 CONFIDENTIAL Northamptonshire County Council NORTHAMPTON NORTH-WEST RELIEF ROAD Walking, Cycling & Horse-Riding Assessment TYPE OF DOCUMENT (VERSION) CONFIDENTIAL PROJECT NO. 70021598 OUR REF. NO. NWRR-WSP-ENM-0000-RP-CH-00001 DATE: MAY 2019 Northamptonshire County Council NORTHAMPTON NORTH-WEST RELIEF ROAD Walking, Cycling & Horse-Riding Assessment WSP The Mailbox Level 2 100 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RT Phone: +44 121 352 4700 WSP.com QUALITY CONTROL Issue/revision First issue Revision 1 Revision 2 Revision 3 Remarks Date 29/05/2019 Prepared by Matthew Stevens Signature Checked by Jamie Wyllie Signature Authorised by Andrew Palmer Signature Project number 70021598 Report number NWRR-WSP- ENM-0000-RP- CH-00001 File reference Walking, Cycling & Horse-Riding Assessment.docx NORTHAMPTON NORTH-WEST RELIEF ROAD WSP Project No.: 70021598 | Our Ref No.: NWRR-WSP-ENM-0000-RP-CH-00001 May 2019 Northamptonshire County Council CONTENTS 1. SCHEME DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND 8 1.1. PURPOSE 8 1.2. PROCESS 8 1.3. BACKGROUND 8 1.4. PROPOSED HIGHWAY SCHEME 9 1.5. STUDY AREA 10 2. WALKING, CYCLING AND HORSE RIDING ASSESSMENT 13 2.1. REVIEW OF WALKING, CYCLING AND HORSE RIDING POLICIES AND STRATEGIES 13 NATIONAL POLICIES AND DOCUMENTS: 13 LOCAL POLICIES: 13 2.2. COLLISION DATA 15 2.3. PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES AND INTERCHANGE INFORMATION 18 2.4. TRIP GENERATORS 21 2.5. SITE VISIT 25 2.6. CONSULTATION WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS 30 NCC NMU OFFICERS 30 BRAMPTON HEATH GOLF CENTRE 31 RELEVANT LAND OWNERS 31 RAMBLERS 31 CONSULATION WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS SUMMARY 32 2.7. EXISTING PEDESTRIAN, CYCLIST AND EQUESTRIAN FACILITIES WITHIN THE LOCAL AREA 32 2.8. EXISTING PEDESTRIAN, CYCLIST AND EQUESTRIAN FACILITIES BEYOND SCHEME EXTENTS AND LINKS TO COUNTY/STRATEGIC NETWORKS 36 2.9. WALKING, CYCLING AND HORSE-RIDING SURVEY DATA 39 WSP NORTHAMPTON NORTH-WEST RELIEF ROAD May 2019 Project No.: 70021598 | Our Ref No.: NWRR-WSP-ENM-0000-RP-CH-00001 Page 6 of 50 Northamptonshire County Council CYCLE COUNTER ON SUSTRANS NATIONAL CYCLE ROUTE 6 39 2.10. CONSULTATION WITH LOCAL USER GROUPS AND WIDER PUBLIC 40 IMPACT ON EXISTING WALKING, CYCLING AND EQUESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE 41 NMU FACILITIES AT NEW SANDY LANE / NWRR / A5199 JUNCTION 41 NMU FACILITIES ON NWRR 41 SAFETY CONCERNS 42 IMPACT ON RECREATIONAL SPACES 42 IMPACT TO NMUS ON THE WIDER ROAD NETWORK 42 3. USER OPPORTUNITIES 44 GENERAL OPPORTUNITIES 44 STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES 45 PEDESTRIAN SPECIFIC OPPORTUNITIES 45 CYCLE SPECIFIC OPPORTUNITIES 45 EQUESTRIAN SPECIFIC OPPORTUNITIES 45 4. NEXT STEPS 47 5. WALKING, CYCLING AND HORSE RIDING ASSESSMENT TEAM STATEMENT 48 APPENDICES PERSONAL INJURY COLLISION DATA NORTHAMPTON CYCLE MAPS PROPOSED NMU ROUTE DIVERSIONS NATONAL CYCLE ROUTE 6 CYCLE COUNTER DATA NORTHAMPTON NORTH-WEST RELIEF ROAD WSP Project No.: 70021598 | Our Ref No.: NWRR-WSP-ENM-0000-RP-CH-00001 May 2019 Northamptonshire County Council Page 7 of 50 1. SCHEME DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND 1.1. PURPOSE 1.1.1. This Assessment Report has been produced in accordance with the requirements set out in DMRB HD 42/17 Walking, Cycling and Horse-Riding Assessment and Review (WCHAR) to support the new North West Relief Road (NWRR) being proposed in Northampton. The scheme is proposed to enable and unlock further development of 6,600 houses and more than 3000 jobs in Northampton whilst also relieving pressure that already exists on the local highway network in northern Northampton and nearby villages that currently experience high volumes of traffic and associated disturbance. 1.1.2. The purpose of the report is to provide an assessment of the existing facilities and provision for pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians in the local area surrounding the proposed scheme which will help inform decision making regarding the provision of adequate and suitable pedestrian, cyclist and equestrian infrastructure in the proposed scheme and surrounding area throughout the design process. Where appropriate, opportunities for improvements have been identified with the intention that these should be considered through the design process, and re-visited during the HD 42 process through the production of the Review Report. 1.2. PROCESS 1.2.1. The designer providing improvements for this scheme is WSP. Sara Romero-Fernandez is the design team leader for the scheme and has appointed the following Lead Assessor to undertake the Walking, Cycling and Horse-Riding Assessment and Review process: Lead Assessor: Andy Palmer Associate, WSP UK Ltd 1.2.2. Andy Palmer’s skills and experience are aligned with the Lead Assessor Competencies set out in HD 42/17. Andy Palmer has determined the scheme to be a ‘large scheme’ in accordance with HD 42/17 and has appointed Matthew Stevens as an additional Assessor. 1.3. BACKGROUND 1.3.1. The proposed scheme is a new relief road in Northampton which will have a permanent impact on the local highway network, therefore the HD 42/17 Walking, Cycling and Horse Riding Assessment and Review applies. 1.3.2. The Lead Assessor has evaluated the scale of the scheme in accordance with DMRB HD42/17 and, for the purposes of this assessment, it is going to be assessed as a large scheme. Therefore, the scheme is subject to a Walking, Cycling and Horse-Riding Assessment (WCHA) during the options design stage followed by a Walking, Cycling and Horse Riding Review (WCHR) during the preliminary and detail design stages. 1.3.3. The need for a new orbital route around Northampton stems from the limited number of east-west crossings of the river valley to the north of the town. Options for a North-West Bypass had started being developed from 1988 but the extent of the built-up area has now limited the choice of possible routes. WSP NORTHAMPTON NORTH-WEST RELIEF ROAD May 2019 Project No.: 70021598 | Our Ref No.: NWRR-WSP-ENM-0000-RP-CH-00001 Page 8 of 50 Northamptonshire County Council 1.3.4. As part of the development of the Joint Core Strategy, options for maximising the benefits of modal shift have been examined (effectively a do-minimum option) but even with unrealistic levels of modal shift assumed, it was assumed the high level of development proposed to the north of Northampton could not be accommodated without the construction of the Northampton NWRR. 1.4. PROPOSED HIGHWAY SCHEME 1.4.1. Scheme title: Northampton North-West Relief Road (NWRR). 1.4.2. The full route of the NWRR is approximately 2¼ miles in length with roundabout junctions at the A428, A5199 and intervening locations to access the Dallington Grange development. The part of the road subject to this assessment is the northern section of the NWRR which has a length of approximately 1 mile (see Figure 1-1 for clarification) and will be delivered by Northamptonshire County Council (NCC). The rest of the road is to be delivered by the developer of the Dallington Grange housing development site which will be located to the south-west of the section of the NWRR to be delivered by NCC. Figure 1-1 - Full Orbital Route Schematic 1.4.3. The NWRR between the A428 Harlestone Road and the A5199 Welford Road is necessary to enable and unlock the future development of 6,600 houses and more than 3000 jobs in Northampton. It is also required to help relieve the pressure that already exists on the local highway network in northern Northampton and nearby villages which currently suffer from high volumes of traffic and associated disturbance. The road will therefore improve the quality of life for existing residents and commuters and enhance the character of existing nearby villages by redirecting traffic and reducing local congestion. NORTHAMPTON NORTH-WEST RELIEF ROAD WSP Project No.: 70021598 | Our Ref No.: NWRR-WSP-ENM-0000-RP-CH-00001 May 2019 Northamptonshire County Council Page 9 of 50 1.4.4. In addition, the road will form part of a longer-term strategy to deliver a route from the A4500 near Junction 16 of the M1 and the A43 north of Northampton creating an orbital route option around Northampton. Again, this will likely improve the quality of life for existing residents and commuters as, once completed, less traffic should route through Northampton. 1.5. STUDY AREA 1.5.1. According to DMRB TD 42/17, the study area shall be no smaller than a 5km radius from a large scheme. Figure 1-2 below shows the study area that is within a 5km radius from the centre of the scheme. The area extents northwards to Pitsford, eastwards to Moulton, southwards to Northampton and westwards to Althorp and it includes a 10km long stretch of the A508, a 3km long stretch of the A4500 and other local roads. 1.5.2. Other small villages that are located within the study area include Harlestone, Church Brampton, Chapel Brampton, Holdenby, and Boughton. Figure 1-2 - Study Area WSP NORTHAMPTON NORTH-WEST RELIEF ROAD May 2019 Project No.: 70021598 | Our Ref No.: NWRR-WSP-ENM-0000-RP-CH-00001 Page 10 of 50 Northamptonshire County Council 1.5.3. A study of the Northamptonshire Public Right of Way Definitive Map1 has identified several Public Right of Ways (PRoWs) within the study area including public footpaths and public bridleways which link into a wider network of other PRoWs. In addition, Sustrans National Cycle Route 6 routes roughly parallel to the east of the proposed NWRR scheme. 1.5.4. In addition, it should be noted that many of the local highways that currently exist in the area surrounding the proposed scheme include pedestrian footways, particularly in the built up and residential areas.