The creation of shared areas in which the level of segregation between pedestrians and vehicles is reduced. Full pedestrianisation of selected streets. Security precautions may need to be accommodated within the town centre which could impact on public realm and the movement of people and vehicles within central areas of the town. Parking The widespread availability of parking within Stratford (outlined in section 3) acts to draw traffic into the town and contributes to congestion on arterial routes and within central The existing Park and Ride facility at Bishopton serves visitors approaching Stratford from the north of the river, but is underused in part due to the availability and relatively low cost of town centre parking and the lack of journey time saving from using Park and Ride. Focusing long-stay parking provision at out of town centre locations, including through the provision of additional and improved Park and Ride facilities would reduce the volume of traffic travelling into central areas and ease congestion. Short stay town centre parking is valued by businesses and the local community and will be retained through a combination of on-street parking and town centre car parks. Suitable car parking provision is also required for blue badge holders (disabled drivers and passengers) and to support Stratford’s evening economy. Objectives relevant to this policy Reduce high car dependency particularly for travel to work and school Reduce through for motorised traffic in the town centre. Reduce negative impact of traffic on air quality. Protect and enhance the historic core of the town centre and wider area and support the visitor economy. Provide increased resilience to the transport network. Improve road safety for all users. Promote social inclusion. Encourage modal shift to active forms of travel. Accommodate future development without compromising the above objectives. Policies Policy 1 The County Council, District Council and other agencies will work together to apply an integrated approach to managing the number,
Stratford-upon-Avon is relatively well served by public transport, although the level of connectivity varies. Demand is constrained by factors including frequency of services, duration and comfort of journey and high ticket costs as well as the comparative convenience and relative low cost of car travel. Local employers within the leisure and tourism sector have reported that public transport service gaps, particularly to and from Coventry and Birmingham and during the off-peak, impacts on their ability to recruit and retain employees. Two railway lines terminate in Stratford-upon-Avon with regular rail services provided by West Midlands Rail to Birmingham via either Henley-in-Arden (the North Warwickshire Line) or Solihull, and regular but infrequent services by Chiltern Railways to Leamington Spa via Warwick. Connections to the wider rail network can be made via Birmingham, Solihull and Leamington Spa. Stratford Parkway was opened in 2013 on the northern side of Stratford to provide easier access to rail services for people living to the north and west of Stratford and alleviate congestion within Stratford-upon-Avon by reducing car journeys to the town station. The town station is due to be refurbished during 2018 to provide improved passenger facilities and experience with the work being funded by Warwickshire County and the Network Rail National Stations Improvement Fund. Rail service improvements that could benefit current and potential passengers include: Additional peak time direct services between Stratford-upon-Avon and Solihull. This would be particularly beneficial in light of the planned expansion of Solihull town centre, part of the UK Central development. Additional direct services to and from Warwick and Leamington Spa, and improved onward connectivity to Coventry and Birmingham Airport. Direct services to Warwick and Leamington Spa currently operate approximately 1.5 to 2 hours during the day. There are however, more frequent bus services between Stratford, Warwick and Leamington Spa that offer competitive journey times. Improving station facilities and accessibility of rail services on the North Warwickshire Line. The bus infrastructure includes regular commercial services between Stratford-upon-Avon and Evesham, Alcester, Henley-on-Arden, Wellesbourne Warwick and Leamington Spa, all of which have available passenger capacity. Local services around Stratford-upon-Avon and evening services are limited. Feedback from the Stratford Traffic Summits suggested that better bus services were needed particularly to the east and north of the town. It is also important that new developments have regular and frequent bus services to the town centre.