Highways and Transport advice for Tower Road Civilised Streets

Challenge

Tower Road is on Mersey Travel’s Key Road Network, an 11-metre wide section of carriageway with no formal crossing points or facilities for cyclists. With three new developments being brought forward along Tower Road, it was essential to bring character to the streetscape and provide for non-motorised users.

SLR was appointed to provide highways and transport advice for a Civilised Street Scheme along Tower Road in Birkenhead, in a joint venture between developer, Peel Land and Property, and local highways authority, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. We secured a total of £3.2 million of funding from the National Productivity Investment Fund.

Solution

Throughout the design process, we engaged extensively with local stakeholders and accessibility groups to ensure that the design met the specific needs of Tower Road’s users. We also drew on design principles from extensive reviews of similar public realm and streetscape schemes across the country. This led to an emphasis on high specification materials and quality workmanship to produce a flagship scheme for the region. We continue to be involved in the delivery of the scheme.

Impact

The scheme delivers major public realm improvements including wider pavements and high-quality facilities for pedestrians and cyclists as well as the reduction of carriageway widths and in turn vehicular speeds, to benefit all road users.