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Going To Town: Improving town centre access
The document is based on research into the arrival experience in town centres. The part of town centre journeys between points of arrival (station, bus stop, car park) and the final destination are often neglected and are identified in the report as the "missing link". It is fully illustrated in colour, with practical advice on how to make improvements, together with case studies and auditing methods.
In the foreword, Lord Falconer and Paul McQuail write "Whatever way we arrive in the town centre, we all become pedestrians. The first experience of walking from the station, bus stop or car park will remain our first impression and may become for us the enduring image of that town centre. It may influence whether we make a return visit."
In 2012 the Government ordered an "external review" of planning practice guidance. The report published in December 2012, by Lord Taylor, recommended that "The guidance is out of date and the issues set out are well understood by planners. There is no clear benefit to retaining this guidance. Can be cancelled."
There are aspects of the document that are out of date, in the sense that it refers to other documents that have been superseded or abandoned, but to suggest that the issues it covers are well understood and being dealt with is unfortunately very wide of the mark. Just travel to your nearest town centre and judge the arrival experience using the criteria set out in the document.
| Book Author | Tim Pharoah with David Walton, Robin Hickman, Jon Herbert, Will Teasedale, Neil Parkyn and Eline Hansen |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Llewelyn Davies, London 2002 |
| ISBN | 0 9500307 3 2 |
keywords
Town centres, town centre access, town centre revival, accessibility, transport, retail planning, missing links, 5Cs, route audit, PPG6, guidance,
