Tower Road Streetscape Project

Description

Aims

The Tower Road Streetscape project commenced in June 2020 and completed in February 2021. It has created a high quality, safe, attractive street to attract new business, workers, students and visitors and ensures that existing businesses are provided for.

The aim of the Tower Road Streetscape Project is to:

• Deliver a distinctive streetscape that demonstrates a change in direction to strengthen the confidence of potential investors and occupiers.
• Provide for the increasing numbers of pedestrians and cyclists crossing Tower Road.
• Support growth, new jobs and learning by creating a safe, attractive street that encourages investment, occupancy, activity and ‘dwell time’.
• Improve health and well being by encouraging walking, cycling and the use of high quality public transport services, and providing green streets with safe places to meet and dwell.
• Ensure that the needs of existing businesses are provided for.
• Create an inclusive street that provides for all ranges of mobility.
• Make it easier for people to find their way around and increase the sense of safety and direction.
• Reducing speeding and ‘chasing the green light’.
• Deliver a flexible street that is able to adapt and respond to the future scale of development and activity set out in the Wirral Waters Masterplan.
• Deliver a resilient and cost effective street that can respond to future changes and stages of growth.

The approach

The approach narrows the carriageways to a single lane either way. This slows traffic and still allows all sizes of vehicles to pass along Tower Road.

The approach provides wider pavements to allow more space for people to walk and cycle. The wider pavements and carriageway are separated by kerb lines. This provides a navigation aid for blind and partially sighted pedestrians, and a clear delineation to keep motor vehicles in the carriageway.

For cyclists, the approach is two-fold. Cyclists choosing to pass through Tower Road at speed are able to share the carriageway with other vehicles. Cyclists choosing to pass through Tower Road at slower, walking pace speeds are be able to share the wider pavements with pedestrians.

The pavement materials and planting match the completed Wirral Met College paving and planting.

Key Design Principles are:

• Wider pavements giving more space and priority to pedestrians and cyclists.
• Reduced carriageway widths to ensure cars, buses, delivery vans, HGV’s and other vehicles can continue to use Tower Road.
• A choice of well defined pedestrian crossing points that are aligned with the wider pedestrian and cycle routes connecting into Tower Road.
• Well placed, accessible bus and StreetCar stops with shelters.
• Priority junctions that reduce the incentive to speed.
• New buildings with main entrances onto the street and active ground floors that encourage street activity.
• On street parking and servicing to allow businesses to work and encourage footfall.
• Street trees and ground cover planting creating sheltered walkways and places to dwell.
• Distinctive street lighting, signs and way-markers that help people to navigate and find their way around.
• CCTV including monitoring.