Mainly for Students: A word on the streets

Our transport infrastructure is vital to the design and delivery of real estate – in the first article of a two-part series, Paul Collins examines major transport-related issues, beginning with our network of roads and streets. Where people live, work and play is for some a choice and for others not, but quality of life, in part, is down to how well and by what means we can travel and get access to things. However, there are major issues that relate to transport across the UK – many of them controversial, to a greater or lesser extent. Roads The importance of roads is self-evident. They get people and goods from one place to another – at best, efficiently and safely. In addition to motorways, roads in the UK are categorised by the Department for Transport as follows: A roads, providing large-scale transport links within or between areas. B roads, connecting different areas, feeding traffic between A and other roads. Classified unnumbered smaller roads, connecting together unclassified roads with A and B roads, often linking housing estates or villages to the rest of the network – these are similar to “minor roads” on an Ordnance Survey map, known unofficially as C roads. Unclassified local roads, for local traffic, making up around 60% of roads. Streets  Use of the word street versus road is somewhat semantic. Streets are, of course, like roads on which people and vehicles travel, but they have a different function. Streets are the places along which we live, shop or work and almost always have houses or buildings fronting them. They are, in practical terms, the “classified unnumbered” and “unclassified” roads referred to by the DfT, and, in the case of high streets, sometimes an A or B road. The quality of a street in terms of its design and use has a major impact on the properties that front it, whether it be a residential street or high street. Some streets are historical and have evolved from roads as urban development occurs over time. High streets are commonly combined with vehicular traffic, but many have also been pedestrianised or restrict use with the exception of buses, trams and cycles. The pros and cons of pedestrianisation have long been argued, but, on balance, the pros have won the argument as long as it has increased the attractiveness of the place and thus the commercial and social viability of uses that are located along it. The  work of the High Streets Task Force, commissioned by the government in 2019, is well worth exploring (see www.highstreetstaskforce.org.uk/about/who-are-the-task-force). The various reports that the HSTF has published or publicised have found that pedestrianised placemaking has generally been key to revitalising high streets. One such report, for example, The Pedestrian Pound (www.livingstreets.org.uk/media/2t0hyzcm/pedestrian-pound-2018.pdf), found: “Investments in the public realm and walkability make economic sense. The evidence we have – from the UK and internationally – demonstrates increased footfall and trading.” One of the guidance documents that local authorities (working with property owners and town centre users) can use for improving high streets is Manual for Streets 2, published in 2010 by the Chartered Institution for Highways and Transportation (www.ciht.org.uk/media/9351/manual-for-streets-2.pdf). This document, endorsed by the English and Welsh governments, addresses the meeting of pedestrian needs and the improvement of footways, cycle facilities, bus facilities and carriageway design. In doing so, reference is also made to traffic speed and the increased adoption of 20mph streets. 20mph speed restrictions Many streets in residential areas that used to be restricted to 30mph have now been designated 20mph zones. I live in one of them and, while not every driver respects the designation, traffic is slower and, in my view, the area feels calmer and safer as a result. Some university-based research, however, suggests that it does not make much real difference. But what about pollution? Some have argued that driving more slowly causes more fumes. However, according to research by University College London, it appears not to make that much difference between 30mph and 20mph. As for safety, there is no doubt that being hit by a car travelling at 20mph will, on balance, lead to fewer fatalities and serious injuries than by one travelling at 30mph. According to the campaigning road safety group Brake, a car moving at 20mph would stop in time to avoid hitting a child running out three car lengths in front. At 30mph, the impact would be the same as falling around 7.3m from a third-floor window. The Welsh government has somewhat controversially introduced 20mph limits on many roads and streets. These, subject to local authority consideration, are normally on residential or busy pedestrian streets with streetlights. Not everyone is happy with the policy, but a list of FAQs published by the Welsh government is interesting to read (www.gov.wales/introducing-20mph-speed-limits-frequently-asked-questions). Read them and come to your own view. Think about them from a motorist’s point of view and then from that of a cyclist and a pedestrian – as well as a property owner on a 30mph or 20mph street. Manual for Streets and residential areas Let’s now think about new housing development and the streets that serve them. Manual for Streets, which preceded Manual for Streets 2 in 2007, is a government-endorsed guide to designing new streets in developments with light traffic levels (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/341513/pdfmanforstreets.pdf). Building for a Healthy Life, published by Homes England in 2020 and also endorsed by the government, is a really good collaborative toolkit for developers, planners and the local community in helping to plan better-designed housing schemes (www.designforhomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BFL-2020-Brochure.pdf). Its guidance on a wide range of placemaking criteria includes street design as very much a key component. This includes developing streets that: help people to find their way around, connect with one another and are easy to cross; help people know whether they are on a principal or secondary street; are as straight and as direct as possible; are designed with thought for people with visual, mobility or other limitations; have front doors facing them and public spaces; have trees; and are low-speed with pedestrian and cycle priority. Pedestrians and cyclists Whatever readers may think of former prime minister Boris Johnson, he was a keen cyclist who wrote the introduction to the DfT’s Gear Change: A bold vision for cycling and walking policy paper. This document set out a powerful case for the merits of choosing to walk and cycle rather than drive, along with a variety of initiatives to encourage people to make the change (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904146/gear-change-a-bold-vision-for-cycling-and-walking.pdf). In 2022, Homes England followed the preceding three documents with its Streets for a Healthy Life guidance. The purpose of this document was to show what can be achieved in designing streets that are “first and foremost places for people” while achieving the wider benefits of “better public health, biodiversity, reduced carbon emissions, improved water quality and slower run-off” (www.gov.uk/government/publications/streets-for-a-healthy-life). Air quality The Gear Change: A bold vision for cycling and walking plan states that “meeting the targets to double cycling and increase walking would lead to savings of £567m annually from air quality alone and prevent 8,300 premature deaths each year”, as well as providing opportunities to improve green spaces and biodiversity. However, initiatives to improve air quality, such as London’s ultra-low emission zone, are a controversial topic. ULEZs allow vehicles that meet permitted exhaust emissions to travel free of charge in a given area. Drivers of older vehicles that do not meet those standards would normally pay a charge. In addition to London, which introduced the first zone in 2019, there are ULEZ policies in central Oxford and central Birmingham. Other urban areas are planning the introduction of similar policies, though not all plan to charge drivers of private cars. The pros and cons of these schemes, their efficacy and the real and alleged unfairness to low-income families and small businesses have been fought out in the press and among politicians since their introduction. The extension of the ULEZ to outer London by the incumbent Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan, last summer has generated a lot of heated debate. The Conservative candidate for the forthcoming mayoral election in May has, for example, committed to reversing that extension. No one, however, wants poor air to breathe. The government set out the serious impacts on health in its Health matters: air pollution guidance in 2018 (www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-air-pollution/health-matters-air-pollution). While there is some evidence that overall air quality has worsened, there are many urban areas where it is not good at all.  But what about the impact on property and property values? One London firm of agents has claimed that ULEZ has had a dampening impact on the residential market, albeit not a substantial one. Other reports, however, suggest that improved air quality, better public transport and other green policies could make areas more attractive to buyers and thus increase values. All of the issues briefly discussed in this article are problematic and contentious – and every reader will have a view on them. However, the bottom line, especially for student readers, is not to take arguments at face value. Get behind the claims on both sides and only come to a view after you have dug deep and weighed up the evidence in terms of short, medium and long-term impacts. Paul Collins is Mainly for Students editor and a senior lecturer at Nottingham Trent University Read more articles in the Mainly for Students series >> Photo by Gary Butterfield/Unsplash