Information about Surrey's Local Street Improvements programme

Local Street Improvements programme in Surrey

‘Local Street Improvements' are being planned across Surrey in defined areas to ensure streets recognise their importance as places for people, and not just their importance for the movement of vehicles. Work is progressing to identify Local Street Improvements zones across Surrey. Local Street Improvements are important to help deliver on the objectives of Surrey’s current Local Transport Plan, specifically the active travel, personal mobility and planning for place policy areas.

Surrey's Local Street Improvements programme aims to create safer, healthier and more attractive places, which include appropriate vehicle speed limits and improved facilities for walking, wheeling and cycling. Currently, work is focusing on improvements within public highway spaces, for which Surrey County Council (SCC) is the Highway and Traffic Authority. 

Key characteristics of Local Street Improvements include: 

• Creating more attractive local environments and more welcoming neighbourhoods that people want to spend time in, and that local residents take pride in; 
• Increasing the comfort, safety and accessibility of walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure;
• Creating spaces in street environments for community facilities that can be enjoyed by all, such as outdoor seating, pocket parks, and play spaces; and
• Reducing the dominance of cars and goods vehicles resulting in healthier streets with improved safety, reduced emissions, air quality and noise pollution, and more walking, wheeling, cycling and social interactions. 

Potential interventions to improve local streets

A number of measures could be introduced to improve local streets in a neighbourhood, where these are supported by local stakeholders. Examples include (not a definitive list):

• 20mph speed limits where appropriate.
• Traffic calming measures such as speed bumps.
• New and improved crossings for pedestrians and cyclists.
• Widening pavements/footways and improving their surface and overall quality. 
• Raised tables and/or continuous footways across side roads which increase comfort for and give more priority to pedestrians. 
• More greenery including the planting of more trees.
• Installing sustainable urban drainage systems like rain gardens. 
• Providing more seating including space outside of restaurants and shops.
• Improving bus stops. 
• Improving cycle parking and infrastructure. 
• Traffic management measures such as one-way streets and banned turns, where appropriate and supported by the local community.

Please view the PDF document below to see examples of some of the potential types of interventions listed above (scroll to see the interventions)

Egham Hythe Local Street Improvements

As part of the first tranche of Local Street Improvements schemes being taken forward in Surrey, a zone has been identified in the Egham Hythe area. For this zone Department for Transport Funding has been awarded to develop design proposals. A bid for further funding will be necessary for construction. 

Following two rounds of engagement which provided us with ideas and views from local stakeholders, proposals have been updated for Egham Hythe. We are engaging again with local stakeholders to gather views on the proposals. The findings will be taken into account during the next stage of design, where designs will be developed in full detail and finalised, subject to statutory consultations still required on certain measures.