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 has progressed which has identified over 250 potential 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 riding. Currently, work is focusing only 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;
• 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, riding 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 could include (not a definitive list):

• 20mph speed limits where appropriate and with local support.
• 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 such as rain gardens. 
• Providing more seating including space outside of restaurants and shops.
• Improving bus stops. 
• Improving cycle parking and infrastructure.