Appendix I Transport

Car Parking

Of the 4,968 publicly available parking spaces in Chester, around 40% are publicly owned and the remaining 60% are privately owned. This indicates that there is a large amount of parking space in Chester but a relatively small amount under the control of the Council against other comparator Local Authorities. This increases the importance of parking controls.

Transport and Retail

The Chester Transport Strategy and Vision Baseline Report (2013) outlines the following key transport related challenges facing the retail sector in the Chester:

The inner ring road (IRR) surrounds the historic city core, with the pedestrian zone and adjacent restricted movement streets contained within this collar. Northgate Street / Princess Street and Frodsham / Foregate Street are deemed ‘city distributor’ links reflecting their importance both in terms of buses and access for disabled persons and the Grosvenor Hotel.

At the southern section of the City Centre, along the ‘Pepper Street’ corridor, the volume of traffic inhibits people moving between the city centre and the Amphitheatre, Grosvenor Park, St John’s Church and River Dee.

Analysis of traffic flows from a number of different link counts on key radial routes provides an indication of the relative pressures on the IRR junctions around Chester City Centre:

During the AM peak, 7,885 vehicles arrive in the inbound direction, the most heavily used of the key radial routes is the A483 Grosvenor Road (20% of the total) which enters the city via a historic bridge (with only one traffic lane in each direction). This is followed by the A51 Tarvin Road (16%), the A56 Hoole Road (14%), and the A5115 Christleton Road (11%). In terms of the 6 main arrival points at the IRR, the northern entry point of Liverpool and Parkgate Roads, and the eastern corridor through Boughton are busiest accommodating 27% of inbound traffic each. The route from Handbridge is the least used which is understandable due to the narrow single file bridge. In the outbound direction with 7,044 trips, similar results are observed, although in this case, the busiest radial route is the A51 Tarvin Road (18% of outbound traffic), perhaps explaining why this area has been classified as an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).

During the PM peak in which 7,050 trips are observed, the busiest inbound route is again the A483 (17%), with the A51 (16%), and the A56 (14%) close behind. In the outbound direction, of the 7,921 outbound trips made, 20% are again via the A483, with 15% along the A51 and 12% along the A56. In terms of the exit points from the IRR, the busiest is the northern arm carrying 33% of traffic, with the eastern Boughton corridor carrying the next highest amount (24% of the total).

In summary, the Fountains Roundabout at the northern radial arm is the most heavily used, followed by the Barrs Roundabout and the Grosvenor Roundabout. In contrast, the Hoole Way Roundabout is less busy, accommodating only between 12 and 14% of arrivals/departures from the city centre.

A week long desktop survey monitoring the hourly occupancy level of key car parks in the city centre undertaken as part of the Transport Strategy 2013 concluded that, at its busiest period on Saturday afternoon, car parks were only 75% occupied and that there is consequently significant spare capacity in available parking stock around the city. This indicates that levels of supply are adequate in Chester, however there may be scope for a rationalisation of space to reduce the overall number of facilities.

Pedestrian routes between the city centre and the car parks vary hugely in distance and quality. The need to cross the IRR often necessitates the use of inconvenient crossing points or unpleasant subways. Frodsham Street is also a key route but suffers from conflict between pedestrians and heavy trafficking, particularly buses.

On-street parking in Chester City Centre is limited and, in comparison with cities such as York, does not include any chargeable component.

Bus and Coach Network

Integration between City Centre termini is generally poor. Many routes do not integrate well with the rail station necessitating the use of the City Rail Link bus. Of the coach pick-up and drop-off points, the most heavily used are adjacent to the Theatre, and point H on St. Martin’s Way in a lay-by adjacent to the junction with Watergate Street. The former of these is not considered preferable due to the limited available space and the impact that these vehicles have on other traffic and pedestrians in that area.

The lay-by adjacent to Watergate Street is a popular set-down point, however, and is useful for easy access to Little Roodee car park following or prior to a pickup / drop-off. The stop outside Chester Visitors Centre on Union Street is also well-used, however this stop is currently rather peripheral and not ideal for providing access to the retail core.

Growth in the City Centre evening economy and wider changes in the nature of the retail sector, which is becoming more experiential, requires a review of the frequency and coverage of evening and weekend passenger transport provision.

Growth in e-commerce / home delivery may reduce pressure on access and servicing requirements in the City Centre.

Wider range of retail outlets (e.g. smaller convenience stores such as Sainsbury’s Local and larger out-of-town stores).

Recommended Interventions

The Chester Transport Strategy Phase One Recommendation Report (2014) sets out a range of interventions aimed to improve access to and movement around Chester City Centre including:

Extend the city’s core pedestrianised area to include Northgate Street, St. Werburgh Street and Hunter Street during the core hours of 10.30 and 16.30.

Improve the overall public realm and attractiveness of Northgate Street, Town Hall Square and part of Hunter Street (adjacent to the Theatre), St. Werburgh Street, Eastgate Street and St. John Street including the re-location of current onstreet parking provision for blue badge holders.

Establish agreements to permit limited vehicle access to the new pedestrianised area during core hours to maintain essential access requirements for residents, the Cathedral, central hotels and others as appropriate, and identify how this access will be controlled and managed.

Review options to provide a shared-space environment along Pepper Street.

Introduce a shared-space environment along Frodsham Street to provide an improved pedestrian environment linking the planned new bus interchange with other parts of the city centre.

Relocate and accommodate existing on- street blue badge parking provision from Northgate Street, St. Werburgh Street, Eastgate Street and St. John Street to other central car parks with a particular focus on the use of the Kaleyards car park and existing Shopmobility centre.