Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme - Proposed Design Consultation

Overview

We consult residents, commuters, businesses, and stakeholders to understand what people think about proposed developments, changes to our roads and pavements, or other traffic-related issues.

Following a successful bid to Active Travel England’s (Department for Transport) Active Travel Fund 4, we have developed a proposed design for improvements to Station Road (Burnham), including a new off-road, two-way, mostly-segregated cycle route along Station Road (Burnham) between its junctions with Burnham Lane and the A4 Bath Road, traffic signals to allow cyclists to use the railway underpass in both directions, and better walking and cycling conditions.

We would like your views on this proposed design.

Background

The objectives of the Active Travel Fund 4 are to:

• create a local authority capital investment programme that optimises delivery of 2025 and 2030 objectives, as set out in the statutory cycling and walking investment strategy (CWIS 2):
  • 50% of short urban trips in England to be walked, wheeled or cycled by 2030
  • increase active travel from 41% in 2018 to 46% of short urban trips by 2025
  • increase walking to 365 stages per person per year by 2025
  • increase cycling from 0.8 billion stages in 2013 to 1.6 billion stages in 2025
  • 55% of primary school-aged children to walk to school by 2025
• align investment with Gear Change and wider government objectives, including local growth and productivity, tackling public health issues, decarbonisation, levelling up and cost of living challenges
• increase participation in active travel amongst underrepresented groups

The Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme aims to:

• provide better, safer cycling and walking conditions along Station Road (Burnham)
• improve access to and from Burnham rail station and between Burnham rail station and the A4 Bath Road (including the planned A4 Cycle Route)
• reduce the north-south severance imposed by the narrow railway underpass
• provide facilities that encourage cycling and walking as alternative, sustainable and low cost modes of transport that will help residents improve their physical and mental health and save money
• help people access facilities more easily
• improve air quality and reduce congestion, carbon emissions and noise pollution by reducing private car journeys

The relevant Slough Borough Council policies are:

• Corporate plan
• Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan
• Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan
• Low Emission Strategy
• Local Transport Plan

In February 2023 we submitted a bid to Active Travel England’s Active Travel Fund 4 for the scheme, and in March 2023 we were awarded £413,000 to design, construct and monitor the scheme. These funds are only available for the Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme and cannot be spent on other services.

What are we proposing?

Our proposed design extends along Station Road (Burnham) between Burnham Lane and the A4 Bath Road. It is compliant with the national Cycle infrastructure design guidance (LTN 1/20) and includes (also see example images below):

• a new off-road, two-way cycle route on the east side of Station Road (Burnham) between its junctions with Burnham Lane and the A4 Bath Road (with either a stepped (segregated), approximately 2.5 metre wide cycle lane or the use of shared use footway) – this will directly link with the planned A4 Cycle Route at the junction of Station Road (Burnham) and the A4 Bath Road

        Image 1: A stepped cycle lane
        (Source: Cycling Embassy of Great Britain)

• new traffic signals to allow cyclists to use the narrow railway underpass in both directions
• upgraded road and footways on Station Road (Burnham), including resurfacing and new road markings on some sections
• realignment and reduction in width of some road and footway space, to allow the introduction of the cycle route and to make the best use of space
• a new parallel / dual zebra crossing (a zebra crossing which allows cyclists to cross alongside pedestrians at the same location) near the junction with Burnham Lane

        Image 2: A parallel / dual zebra crossing
        (Source: Essex Active Travel Design Portal)

• continuous footway across all side roads, with access for vehicles

        Image 3: A continuous footway across a side road
        (Source: Cycling Embassy of Great Britain)

We will only be making changes to areas that are adopted public highway (areas that are owned and maintained by Slough Borough Council).

The link below shows the proposed design in more detail:

Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme - Proposed Design Consultation

Why your views matter

We want to know your views on this proposed design for the Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme to help shape the scheme and to try to ensure that we have not missed anything important.

What happens next?

We will take your views on the proposed design for the Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme into account when preparing the detailed design. We will update affected residents, businesses, and stakeholders before we start construction.

For information on the Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme in future, please see www.slough.gov.uk/StationRoadBurnham (this web page is not yet available).

Further information and how to respond

If you would like further information to enable you to respond to this consultation, or a copy of this information in another format or language, please:

• email us at TransportPlanning@slough.gov.uk, stating "Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme – Proposed Design Consultation – Enquiry" in the subject line, or
• write to us at Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme – Proposed Design Consultation – Enquiry, Transport, Slough Borough Council, Observatory House, 25 Windsor Road, Slough SL1 2EL, or
• call us on 01753 475111, asking for a message about " Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme – Proposed Design Consultation – Enquiry" to be passed to the Transport team, or
• visit Observatory House, 25 Windsor Road, Slough SL1 2EL or Cippenham Library, Elmshott Lane, Slough SL1 5RB during their opening hours to view a larger version of the above plan and / or to pick up a leaflet about this consultation

To respond to this consultation, please, if possible:

• complete the online survey form below

If you are unable to complete the online survey, please:

• email us at TransportPlanning@slough.gov.uk, stating "Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme – Proposed Design Consultation – Response" in the subject line, or
• write to us at Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme – Proposed Design Consultation – Response, Transport, Slough Borough Council, Observatory House, 25 Windsor Road, Slough SL1 2EL, or
• call us on 01753 475111, asking for a message about " Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme – Proposed Design Consultation – Response" to be passed to the Transport team, or
• complete a paper survey form (included in a leaflet about this consultation) that you can pick up from Observatory House, 25 Windsor Road, Slough SL1 2EL or from Cippenham Library, Elmshott Lane, Slough SL1 5RB during their opening hours and return it to us by post to the address given on the form

Please respond by 11.59pm on Sunday 13th October 2024.

What happens next

Thank you for giving us your views on the proposed design for the Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme. We will take these into account when preparing the detailed design. We will update affected residents, businesses, and stakeholders before we start construction.

For information on the Station Road Burnham Active Travel Scheme in future, please see www.slough.gov.uk/StationRoadBurnham (this web page is not yet available).