Background
Project Centre delivered an improvement programme for Whitechapel Road, from concept through to detailed design. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets wanted to reinvigorate the high street, providing an attractive public realm for the local community as well as ensuring the site had a clear identity with legible routes and sustainable amenities.
Our public realm proposal is a part of the wider regeneration programme for Whitechapel. Throughout the project, our design team considered the adjacent developments to ensure consistency of materials, planting, and colours.
Process
Our engagement team kicked off the project by delivering a six-week consultation strategy with stakeholders and the local community. To ensure accessibility and inclusivity, we developed both online and face-to-face engagement activities. These included events, brochures, questionnaires, and forums. We also commissioned translated versions for the prominent Bengali community as well as accessible documents for elderly and disabled residents.
More than 60 per cent of respondents cited cleanliness, a lack of amenities and anti-social behaviours as main concerns to address in our improvement programme.
Through early meetings with the clients, we set out the following objectives:
- Celebrate Whitechapel’s rich history, local identity
,and culture. - Create new opportunities for social interaction and local art interventions.
- Prioritise pedestrians and road safety over vehicular traffic.
- Maximise green areas.
Our traffic team provided a comprehensive assessment of the existing traffic and pedestrian behaviour as well as collision analysis to identify any visibility or safety concerns. We redesigned the junction to increase footfall and active travel, also ensuring this would not disrupt the traffic flow.
Our landscape and urban design team identified the market as a key character area. Some of the interventions proposed included:
- Replacing Yorkstone setts with granite setts, wayfinding
,and tactile paving. This was to reinforce the hierarchy of pedestrian movement as well as assist with pavement demarcation for visually impaired road users. - Increasing trees and planting new varieties of shrubs to increase biodiversity.
- Implementing new benches and seats with specific colour palettes, timber top slats and armrests. The styles and furniture model also aimed to create a clear space identity.
- Introducing new waste storage bins to declutter the area. These were located away from the main pedestrian movement corridor, to reduce impacts on footway space and attractiveness.
- Enlarging the existing loading bays to facilitate the market traders’ activities.
- Identifying areas to install and engage with local art.
Outcome
Our team reviewed the proposed measures in line with Transport for London’s Healthy Streets document. The proposal resulted in increased scores for most indicators when compared to the existing layout.
Whitechapel Road is now a place where people feel safe, relaxed, and encouraged to walk, cycle or socialise. The increase in biodiversity also resulted in cleared air, creating a healthier environment.
Our multi-disciplinary team delivered the design report on time and within budget, responding to the client’s needs as well as enhancing the Whitechapel public realm for local communities, businesses and visitors.
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