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Design Manual aims to put Well-Designed Residential Streets at the Heart of Sustainable Communities

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT News Release (063) issued by The Government News Network on 29 March 2007

New guidance on street design aims to breathe new life into communities by creating safe and sustainable environments for residents, Transport Minister Gillian Merron announced today.

Manual for Streets, a joint publication between the Department for Transport and Communities and Local Government, emphasises the importance of residential streets in the creation of places in which people want to live. In particular it aims to reduce the impact of vehicles on residential streets by asking practitioners to plan street design intelligently and proactively, and gives a high priority to the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and users of public transport.

The guidance sets out an approach to the creation of residential streets that recognises their role in creating places with local distinctiveness and identity that work for all members of the community. It also urges practitioners to use street design to promote better social interaction and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, and to encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport, such as walking, cycling and public transport

Gillian Merron said:

"The way our streets are designed affects us all everyday, yet it is all too easy to consider streets simply as areas between two points, forgetting the important role they play in bringing communities together.

"The Government is serious about creating places where people want to live, work and play. This manual represents a more balanced approach to the very varied needs of all users, and not just those who are simply driving through."

Communities and Local Government Minister Baroness Andrews said:

"The Manual for Streets will provide guidance for all practitioners involved in the planning and design of streets within sustainable communities. Well designed streets with planning and transport systems discouraging reliance on the car will help to tackle climate change as well as improving safety.

"Streets are not simply a way of getting from A to B. They are vital elements of residential areas which greatly affect the overall quality of life for local people. Streets built hundreds of years ago still stand the test of time. We need to make sure that streets built today, pave the way to the sustainable communities of the future."

The Manual for Streets will be unveiled today by Gillian Merron MP at the Institute of Highways and Transportation conference, in London.

Notes to Editors
1. Manual for Streets replaces Design Bulletin 32, first published in 1977, and its companion guide Places, Streets and Movement. It puts well-designed residential streets at the heart of sustainable communities.
For the Manual for Streets go to: http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1509196

2. Producing the manual involved wide-ranging consultation with a range of bodies and organisations involved in the planning, design, approval and provision of residential streets.

3. Manual for Streets promotes street designs which naturally encourage low traffic speeds by geometry and layout rather than relying solely on physical traffic calming measures.

4. Manual for Streets does not set out new policy. Rather it presents guidance on how to do things differently within the existing policy, technical and legal framework and implements the design policies contained in PPS3 Housing.

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