Connecting Wiltshire launch

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From "Our Community Matters - Melksham" - posted yesterday at

http://melksham.ourcommunitymatters.org.uk/news/connecting-wiltshire/

In July 2012, Wiltshire Council secured ^4.5 million through the government^s Local Sustainable Transport Fund to improve transport services and transport information in Wiltshire. These improvements include:

Working with First Great Western to provide a new rail service through Melksham. Improving connections to rail stations such as walking and cycling routes, cycle parking and improvements to bus services. Improving information about transport in Wiltshire through a new website, marketing campaign, and personal travel planning advice service The new Connecting Wiltshire website www.connectingwiltshire.co.uk will launch on Monday 2nd of September. It will provide a ^onestop shop^ including a journey planner for people to find information on walking, cycling, rail, buses
and driving in Wiltshire.

Travel advisers coming to Wiltshire

Connecting Wiltshire travel advisors will shortly be providing personalised travel advice and information to schools, businesses and residents across the county with the aim of assessing individuals^ travel needs and advising them on their choices.

Travel advisors will be going door-to-door and talking to local residents in Bradford on Avon from 2nd September and the programme will then roll out across residential areas in Trowbridge, Chippenham and Salisbury over a 10 week period.

School travel advisers will begin working with Wiltshire College, Hardenhuish and Sheldon secondary schools and Queens Road and Ivy Lane primary schools in Chippenham. Business travel advisors will also begin providing personalised travel information and advice to staff at Salisbury District hospital at the beginning of September.

Electric charging points

Wiltshire Council and First Great Western have been working together to improve stations in Wiltshire. An electric charging point for cars is being installed at Bradford-on-Avon station. Further charging points will soon follow at Chippenham, Trowbridge and Westbury stations.

New pedestrian and cycle links

Wiltshire Council has begun improving walking and cycling routes around rail stations.

A new crossing point and footway has been installed at the Knapp, Great Bedwyn which is the residential access road to Bedwyn Station. In Westbury, the footpath from Avebury Close to Station Road has been cleared and re-surfaced. This is a popular route from a large residential area that provides a short-cut to the station, and the new all-weather surface and more open nature will improve conditions for pedestrians.

Improvements are also being made to a route from Warminster rail station to the Bath Road business park. In September, Bartholemew Lane in Warminster is being widened, resurfaced and converted to a shared cycle path. In December/January a new surface will be laid on the footpath between Newopaul Way and Portway lane improving access for pedestrians especially disabled people. The footpath will also be converted to a shared cycle path.

Improvements over the next six months will be made to paths in Monkton Park, between Hardens Mead and Long Close, and Long Close to Baydons Lane in Chippenham, and to create a short section of cycle path to connect the Kenneton-Avon canal path to Poulton in Bradford-on-Avon.

Wiltshire Council will also launch new walking and cycling maps for Chippenham and Trowbridge, and a new cycling map for Salisbury & Wilton. These add to the Bradford-on-Avon Active Travel map and the Salisbury & Wilton Walking Map which were produced by local people with funding from the Bradford-on-Avon and Salisbury Area Boards.

[grahame]

I am ... delighted ... so see these step - many of these steps - all of these steps.

But there are some steps missing.  Where is the pedestrian and cycle link from Foundry Close to the station in Melksham?  Where is the additional car parking there?   Both using land purchased from the BRB^‡(resolve) Residuary Body by Wiltshire Council for the very purpose in 2009 - see [here] and [here].

A letter to me, enquiring about preparing Melksham Station for improved facilities about a month ago, stated

I hope that my email is helpful and doesn't frustrate you too much - I think we should focus on the potentially great news on the Trans Wilts service and our ability to fund this though the successful LSTF^▸ (Local Sustainable Transport Fund) bid. Can I also highlight that the LSTF project is not just about the Trans Wilts service or improvements at Melksham station ...

And I have to agree with much of that. Yes, we should focus on the potentially great news and make sure that we delete that word "potential" very quickly.  And I agree that LSTF is about many more improvements than at Melksham Station ... but, come on, it's not about improvements at every station except Melksham either.  Melksham station already has second class facilities when compared to others and it would be very regrettable if improvements elsewhere were to prevent funding, resources and time running out before it could at least keep it second class rather than dropping back to third.  Now is the time to pursue these projects, part of the LSTF bid, with energy as well, and if necessary raise them again to ensure they remain active and practical to complete.

On the local travel plans, I have to agree with the announced plans for them to take place in Bradford-on-Avon and Salisbury, and not in Melksham until the new year.  There is little point in helping residents become aware of current services that they could make use of to improve their journeys only to find that those improvements are minimal;  it's a very serious issue on our part of the TransWilts corridor to get people to our place by public transport and that will dramatically change in just over 3 months - best wait until then, and perhaps best wait to advise people on the other flows such as Trowbridge to Swindon which will be transformed.

Edit to correct my inevitable typos when making a post from the heart!