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Quality public spaces


Quality detail design

Design Champion Pages

If you are a Design Champion passionate about the public realm, our streets or the historic environment, these pages may help you to achieve your aims.

People care about their historic environment, its meaning, its depth and diversity, its familiarity, its memories, the quality it affords and the opportunities it offers. And people feel strongly that children should be encouraged to understand the value of the historic environment as they do the natural world.

But there are problems. Traffic and the measures to control it seriously damage the appearance of historic towns and villages and the quality of life of the people who live in them

Yet many of the ideas to improve historic streets, talked about for decades, can now be achieved. Often blamed for dragging its feet, the government’s Department for Transport is now at the forefront. The recent official advice note Traffic Management and Streetscape explains how the public realm and the historic environment can be immeasurably improved through sensitive design and management.

Legislation is in place. Streets are for people not just traffic.

And so our technical expertise may be helpful in improving the appearance of your own town, village or locality.

Our case studies show what is being achieved across the country.

Look at our two pictures. One shows what, sadly, is a typical cluttered street.

A typical cluttered street. Signs, paving, workmanship could all be improved. The character of the town is overshadowed by the clutter.	Before picture shows a typically cluttered street
The second, a sketch of the same street shows that when clutter is removed, the effect is positive and dramatic. The area is now a much more pleasant for residents and visitors.

The difference between the second and the first sketches are:

• No railings or guard rails

• Neater traffic light arrangements.
  For more information follow link to Quality & Design

• Far less traffic signs.
  For more information follow link to reducing the need for Keep Left signs

• Street lights fixed to buildings, rather than on lamp columns 

       

• Neater litter bins

• Neater direction signs, fixed neatly to buildings rather than on separate posts

       

• No redundant posts or bollards

• Pavement slabs that are neat and tidy.
   For more information follow link to Construction Know How: Footway maintenance

• Manhole covers that fit neatly into paving

All these things can be done within the official highway design rules, and are done by some local authorities.

If you have any technical questions about reducing clutter, please do email us..
Please help us provide the information you need by emailing your queries to: publicrealmprian@aol.com