Wyre Forest District Council wished to reverse the fortunes of Kidderminster town centre by making significant investments in the public realm which would provide a more attractive environment for shoppers by achieving a better balance between the needs of pedestrians, vehicles and retailers.
PJA worked with urban designers IBI Taylor Young to produce a rationale for a series of interventions, including two ‘shared space’ public squares, the reintroduction of buses and general traffic to one of the pedestrianised streets, and better walking links between the railway station and the town centre. These schemes were developed in part through a series of workshops with stakeholders. Following public consultation on the draft proposals, detailed design on the first schemes was carried out with PJA providing support to the design team on highway matters.
The centre-piece of the public realm improvements is Exchange Place outside Kidderminster Town Hall. A brand-new public square has been created by relocating taxi bays and creating a single multi-function surface, with the main vehicle route only subtly demarcated by benches and other street furniture. In normal use, the square is accessible for the very low volume of traffic that needs to use it for access with through traffic passing around one edge of the space, but it is otherwise dominated by pedestrians who were previously channelled close to building fronts. Exchange Place provides space for the town to use for events during its cultural and festival programme, and is the southern gateway to the pedestrianised town centre for people arriving by bus from the south or by rail.
Following completion of Exchange Place, PJA were commissioned to undertake a bespoke behaviour study to determine if the scheme was operating satisfactorily, as part of the usual Road Safety Audit process. The behaviour study found that the simpler environment is benefitting pedestrians, who are making use of the full space available, crossing the street freely, and pausing to sit on the new benches. Average vehicle speed is just 10 mph.
This project shows the value that can be achieved by taking a place-led approach to the design of town centre streets so that the needs of people accessing the facilities are given priority over motor traffic.
