News on Westhoughton Filtered Neighbourhood

Back in July / August 2020, we asked your opinions on travel / transport issues and opportunities in the Westhoughton area. This was held in order to help shape the design of a concept scheme being worked up by Bolton Council in partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), linked to a successful application for development funding through the Mayor’s Challenge Fund.

In total, there were 894 unique visitors to the Commonplace during the consultation, a period of five weeks in late July to the end of August. Of these visitors, 14% contributed to the initial conversation through the site.

Key findings include:

• Of those who responded, 29% do not feel comfortable walking in the area and 73% do not feel comfortable cycling in the area.

• The majority of the comments received related to cycling (57% of those who commented), traffic (50%), walking (50%), and safety (48%). Other key topics included accessibility (13%) and the area near a school / nursery (10%).

• The mapping tool enabled respondents to identify specific locations for comment. This revealed clusters of comments on Church Street, Market Street, Manchester Road and at Chequerbent, reflecting the more heavily-trafficked roads.

• In order to improve things in the area, the top suggestions were to slow down traffic (39% of respondents), provide protected space for cyclists (37%), reduce traffic volumes (33%), install new / safer crossing points (25%) and wider pavements (23%).

• An overwhelming majority (92%) agreed that it was important that Westhoughton is served by healthy walking and cycling routes.

The detailed comments and suggestions are being reviewed by the Design Team and we will be looking to consult further on the scheme as it is developed.

Updates on scheme progression will be provided here, as well as the other various media sources highlighted on the home page.