Hi, this is our week 1 blog for the project “Digital visualisations for transport scheme engagement (focus on Heaton road)”, which is being done our group Newcastle University’s Transportation Committee or NUTC, which consists of 3 of us, Kim, Sofia and Gabriela. We are from different countries and have therefore different ideas of planning and are able to have a wider range of background knowledge from many places, which we think could be an advantage for us in this project as we may be able to benefit from our different lifestyles and come up with a range of solutions that would be beneficial in many different parts of the world. The skills we bring to this project vary between organisation, planning, research, visualisation/ creativity, analysis and communication. We chose this particular project as we found it particularly interesting as we all have taken an interest in transportation and in developing a sustainable infrastructure, hoping to create a more beneficial environment for the locals.
Aims
Our project is based in the location of Heaton Road, its objectives is to create less parking spaces along the roadside in preparation for a bicycle route along the road in which would create a safer environment for pedestrians. As it is the first week of the project our aim is to get a better understanding of the clients expectations and be able to identify ourselves as fellow cyclists and understand more the routes needed to link residential areas to more public areas, such as shops or schools. We also believe we need to focus on accessibility, safety, an appealable route and an incentive for people to want to take the route.
To prepare for our client we think we should take a more questionable approach upon the first meeting, to learn more about the project from them to help us gain a greater understanding of the locals and what they would want out of it. After this we believe it would be easier to bring propositions to the client of different approaches we come up with and imagine could be a suitable plan.
Questions for the Clients
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The sort of questions we currently have are more uncertainties of their preference of formatting of our propositions.
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Any specifics that should be included within our proposition
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The current situation for cyclists and pedestrians in the area
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How connected will the bicycle lane be once incorporated into the road
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What is the main outcome of the scheme and what is the most important objective predicted