- Acorn Road is 170 meters long and about 11 meters wide, with most of the space allocated to vehicles (75%) and pedestrians (25%). There are 29 entrances to shops and parking spaces on both sides of the street. - Surveys of shoppers, pedestrians, motorists, and traders were conducted to understand how Acorn Road is used and perspectives on potential changes. Most people visit on foot (56%) while 30% visit by car/van. - The surveys found that reducing traffic and improving pedestrian conditions were priorities. Traders prioritized parking and promoting Acorn Road, while traffic surveys found much of the vehicle traffic was through-traffic rather than local. - There is a

1. 1
• Acorn Road is 170 metres long and,
for most of its length, about 11 metres
wide from front-to-front.
• The street width comprises an
approximately 8.2m carriageway and
two approximately 1.4m pavements
• About 75% of Acorn Road’s surface is
for vehicles and about 25% for
pedestrians.
Acorn Road now
• There are 29 entrances to shops and
other premises, including three at
first floor level. 14 are on the north
side and 15 on the south.
• There are about 34 parking spaces on
Acorn Road – 17 on each side

2. 2
• Members of the Acorn Road group have undertaken several surveys of the
usage of Acorn Road by shoppers, pedestrians and motorists.
• There has been an independent street survey (shoppers and others)
• The purpose of these surveys is to inform broad judgements about the way
Acorn Road is used with the aim of creating potential scenarios for change.
How do people use and think about Acorn Road?

3. 3
What has been your main means of travel today?
17 July-7 Aug 2012
29 Oct-20 Nov 2012
Polling machine survey
Walking Cycling Car Bus Metro
All
337 (35%)
229 (52%)
88 (9%)
44 (10%)
401 (42%)
126 (28%)
42 (4%)
14 (3%)
89 (9%)
31 (7%)
Tesco
137 (31%)
74 (44%)
28 (6%)
15 (9%)
209 (47%)
62 (37%)
20 ((5%)
2 (1%)
52 (12%)
15 (9%)
Waitrose
191 (40%)
155 (56%)
53 (11%)
29 (11%)
183 (38%)
64 (23%)
21 (4%)
12 (5%)
32 (7%)
16 (6%)
library 9 (29%) 7 (23%) 9 (29%) 1 (3%) 5 (16%)

4. 4
Trader survey

5. 5
Traffic survey: entering Acorn Road
167 (45%)
81 (22%)
21 (6%)
19 (5%)
30 (8%)
55 (15%)

6. 6
Traffic survey: leaving Acorn Road
110 (29%)
82 (22%)
35 (9%)
24 (6%)
31 (8%)
88 (24%)

7. 7
• Vehicle use of Acorn Road, the general flow of movement is east to west.
• 79% of traffic was observed to enter and leave Acorn Road within a 10 minute
period, suggesting significant use for through movement.
• Total movements were 5.5 vehicles per minute, about one every ten seconds.
Traffic survey

8. 8
Street survey: mode of travel

9. 9
Street survey: daily spend
Shoppers
Mean spend per
shopper Total spend
All 290 £25 £7,112
Car/van 94 £41 £3,827
Walk 167 £16 £2,686
Cycle 13 £19 £244
Bus 5 £7 £37
Metro 10 £29 £294
How much do you expect to spend today (shoppers only)?

10. 10
How many times a month do you usually visit Acorn Road? How much
do you usually spend when you come shopping here?
Street survey: monthly spend
Mean
monthly
trips
Total
monthly
trips
Mean
spend
per trip
Mean
monthly
spend
Total
monthly
spend
% total
monthly
spend
All 15.9 4,593 £ 20.12 £ 319.91 £1,469,337 100%
Car/van 12 1,117 £ 28.07 £ 336.84 £376,250 26%
Walk 18.6 3,104 £ 16.62 £ 309.13 £959,546 65%
Cycle 12.7 165 £ 16.31 £ 207.14 £34,178 2%
Bus 15 75 £ 16.75 £ 251.25 £18,844 1%
Metro 13.4 132 £ 11.30 £ 151.42 £19,987 1%

11. 11
Street survey: quality of experience

12. 12
• Most people come wholly on foot (56%), with 30% arriving by car/van
• Total spend is much higher among walkers than car/van users because trips are
much more frequent.
• Most important is reduction in traffic, better conditions for pedestrians, better
disabled access, environmental improvements and sufficient parking within
walking distance .
Street survey: key findings
Trader survey summary
• Most important is sufficient provision of parking within walking distance, more
events to raise awareness of Acorn Road, better marketing of Acorn Road as a
shopping area and environmental improvements to encourage visitors
Traffic survey: summary
• 79% of car movements through Acorn Road were within the same time period
suggesting significant use of Acorn Road for through movement.
• Total movements equate to about 5.5 vehicles ‘through’ Acorn Road per
minute, or about one every ten seconds.

13. 13
• Acorn Road’s centrality sustains mixed use, with vehicles using it both for local
access and through traffic
• Acorn Road shops serve both a local walkable catchment and a wider visitor
group including more car-dependent people. The latter tend to be higher
spenders-per-trip but the former are the more frequent and numerous visitors.
• People want both a better pedestrian environment – less traffic, more pavement
space – and better car parking.
• Survey suggests that car-based custom accounts for 26% of spend and 75% of
street space. Walking-based custom is 65% of spend and 25% of street space.
• Traders and street users have different priorities. Who is “the customer” for
Acorn Road improvement?
Conclusions

14. 14
Acorn Road: The Future
• Become a truly outstanding public space
• Improve the pedestrian experience
• Reallocate space on the street so it may better serve the needs and
interests of pedestrians and other slow-moving users
• Increase the multi-functionality of the space