Residents and visitors are being urged to have their say and help shape new plans to improve the quality of walking and cycling infrastructure in the Sandown, Shanklin and Lake area.
Using funds awarded by Active Travel England, the Isle of Wight council has commissioned a Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plan for the Bay area of the Island.
What’s a Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plan?
Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plans, or LCWIPs for short, are strategic plans that identify key routes and zones where changes to the infrastructure or the implementation of more walking and cycling friendly policies can provide higher quality, safer environments for people to get around on foot, wheelchair, mobility scooter and bike.
A particular focus is on routes to important local destinations like schools, shops, places of work and medical centres.
Ainslie: a great opportunity for people to contribute their views
The project is being facilitated by Cowes-based sustainable travel consultancy People Powered CIC, who have already undertaken LCWIPs for the Cowes area and for the East Wight parishes of Brading, Bembridge and St Helens.
Central to the development of the plan is community input, as Will Ainslie, director at People Powered explains,
“Local people are the experts on their area; what’s good, what’s bad, what are the issues that prevent them from walking and cycling around the area more and how they’d like to see things made better.
“Be it wider pavements, dedicated cycle tracks, improved crossings on certain junctions, slower traffic speeds…this is a great opportunity for people to contribute their views and we want as many people as possible to get involved.”
People Powered have set up an interactive map of the Sandown / Shanklin / Lake area to make it easy for people to indicate what improvements they’d like to see and where. The map is available online until 17th September.
Drop-in sessions
In addition to the Web-based map, drop-in sessions are scheduled across the area.
They are:
- Sat 9th Sept, 3-5pm, The Lions Club, New Rd, Lake, PO36 9LA
- Sun 10th Sept, 11am-1pm, Broadway Centre, Sandown, PO36 9GG
- Wed 13th Sept, 6-8pm, Falcon Cross Hall, Shanklin, PO37 7LA
Comments can also be sent in by email to: [email protected].
Collecting travel data
As well as gathering the views of the community, People Powered will be collecting travel data from key trip generators and existing travel patterns in the area, before combining all the information to put forward proposals for a network of routes and area wide improvements.
The Bay Area LCWIP will complement plans already produced for other parts of the Island and will also incorporate feedback from the recently undertaken Bay Area Place Plan consultation.
Aids investment
Completion of the LCWIP is scheduled for Spring 2024. Communities that have developed an LCWIP will be prioritised by the Department for Transport when it comes to seeking investment funding to help realise the plans.
For more information on LCWIPs and latest national street design guidance, visit the Website.
News shared by Will on behalf of People Powered CIC. Ed
