Accessibility

There is a huge opportunity within Stretford to open up connectivity to wider commerce and residential hubs. This connectivity provides three key benefits to the area:

• Provide wider residential areas to come and shop, meet, utilise the various facilities in the area
• Link Stretford to wider commercial hubs for employment
• Link Stretford internally to itself in order to make best use of local assets.

(Pictured: map of the St Matthew's area which includes opening up new streets)

Connectivity improvements within the Area Action Plan (AAP) will look to include:

• Reducing the impact of Chester Road to improve Stretford as a destination rather than a route through to Manchester
• Improving connectivity over Chester Road from the Mall to the Metrolink and Canal cycle assets
• Highlight links between local assets (eg. Victoria Park and St Matthews Church)

We want to remove any barriers to entry for disabled people so that Stretford can be inclusive and allow all residents to participate in daily life around the town with ease. This includes the provision of accessible car parking spaces and consideration of the sensory environment as much as the physical. We recognise that at present, existing roads and current designs have created a noisy island of the Mall which contributes towards a poor environment for the neurodiverse.

Currently, Chester Road and Kingsway sever the Mall from the rest of Stretford and create dangerous, uncomfortable crossings for residents and high levels of pollution and noise.

(Pictured: the hybrid planning map which shows the de-engineering of Kingsway allowing for greening, traffic control and enhancements to the town centre)