Portsmouth City Council is planning changes to the city centre roads and a planning application will be submitted in early 2014. The area concerned is bounded by Marketway, Hope Street and Commercial Road. The purpose of the scheme is to ensure that the road network will cope efficiently with the future development and growth of the locality and the city. The city centre cycle route network and pedestrian crossing points will be significantly affected by the changes - it’s up to us to make sure that those changes are for the better.
There is a leaflet which explains the proposals and at the time of writing this was not available on the PCC Web site so we’ve made it available for you to download.
There will be a public exhibition in a Portakabin on the Marketway car park at the following times:
- Thursday 24 October 9am - 8pm
- Friday 25 October 9am - 4pm
- Saturday 26 October 9am - 4pm
Portsmouth Cycle Forum has already had two meetings with the Portsmouth City Council team behind these plans. They have been extremely proactive in engaging with us - an approach which we have found very refreshing. However, our conclusion on the current plans is that they are still very much centred on the private motor car. Cycling, and indeed other sustainable transport modes, come out very much second best. You can read our initial response to the design here - note that this is limited to the specific concerns and issues discussed in the meeting. PCF will submit a full response to the consultation.
Don’t miss this opportunity to understand and comment on the proposals. Once implemented, this road system will be in place for 30 years or more, and it will be exceedingly difficult to change. It’s vital that officers and politicians hear as many voices asking for better cycling provision as possible. If you can’t make it to the consultation sessions then you can respond by email, by post or by phone. Details are in the pamphlet linked above.