Richmond Council is pressing ahead with plans to improve its ageing transport within the borough "starved" of major improvements.

The Council has unveiled key priorities that it will use to put together a transport strategy to improve services in the borough until 2040.

It used feedback to its recent consultation on local transport to identify key priorities for the strategy, which include improving public transport, congestion and roads and pavements.

The priorities will form the basis of the strategy, which will be published as a draft by the end of the year and finalised by next spring.

It comes after 1,749 comments were left on a map of the borough used by the council to collect feedback earlier this year, with 516 people also responding to a questionnaire.

Many respondents raised concerns about bus and rail services in some areas being infrequent and unreliable, with their problems compounded by slow and congested roads.

The transport strategy draft will be published by the end of the year (credit: Cesar Medina).

The council's transport committee approved key priorities for the strategy, based on this feedback, on Monday (8 September).

These include improving public transport services, particularly in hard-to-reach areas, investing in infrastructure to support big developments and upgrading crossings to unblock traffic bottlenecks.

Supporting residents' transition to electric vehicles by introducing more charging points and continuing investment in roads and pavements are also among the priorities. 

A new report by council officers said "much of the key transport infrastructure in the borough is over 100 years old and much of it of Victorian age, which brings with it challenges of lack of capacity, resilience, accessibility and flexibility".

It added: "A step-change in transport infrastructure and service is needed to address transport inequalities and the climate emergency, and to support thriving communities.

"Therefore, it was agreed to produce a transport strategy which would be an ambitious attempt to look further into the future than annualised programmes and budgets and beyond single administrations, to unlock big changes over time that will transform the lives of borough residents, support sustainable growth and ensure that the borough remains a great and inviting place to live, work and visit."

The council will turn its priorities into specific proposals in the strategy that it can deliver or lobby partners to bring forward, including Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail.

It is expected most of the proposals would need cooperation from multiple agencies, rather than a single body.

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