Client Brief
City Science was commissioned by Somerset County Council to deliver a sustainable transport study & Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) Evidence Base for Yeovil following on from previous work for the Taunton New Garden Town. Yeovil is home to a population of 45,784 making it the third largest town in Somerset, surrounded by several market towns and villages which rely on the town centre for education, employment and goods and services.
City Science Response
Developing a cycling and walking strategy for Yeovil is especially challenging due to the town’s topography – Yeovil is one of the hilliest towns in Somerset. Fortunately, City Science’s accessibility modelling tools accommodate gradient as a key factor and, as a result are well suited for the analysis of cycling and walking routes, even where hilliness is a potential issue.
City Science analysed existing policies, the spatial characteristics of the town, proposed patterns of development, accessibility by different modes, existing and future travel patterns, short- and longer-distance journeys and existing infrastructure. City Science applied Mesh Density and Porosity analysis to the network in order to inform gaps. Using this analysis the team applied a systematic methodology to identify new potential routes to enhance the network. A long-list of 19 cycling and walking interventions and an additional 5 walking improvements.
The evidence and proposed routes were summarised in a series of presentations and reports.
Outputs
The outputs provided an up-to-date view of cycling and walking infrastructure in Yeovil, an evidence base to support future strategic investment and a set of 24 potential interventions to be taken forward to inform the development of a Network Plan.
