As London continues to grow and evolve, construction projects, from skyscrapers to residential...
Large scale infrastructure projects and developments provide enormous benefits to the communities in which they are built.
They provide a boost to the economy, provide hundreds of jobs and future-proof a city for the challenges that lie ahead.
However, construction traffic created during a project’s development can have a huge impact on the lives of those living nearby.
Here, we look at the impact construction traffic has on neighbourhoods and businesses, and how the construction sector can minimise the effect on communities.
The impact
Urban Thinking has recently carried out research on the impact of construction on people living in London, on their health, mental wellbeing and disruption to their daily lives.
The survey asked those living in the capital whether they have been negatively impacted by construction traffic where they live in the last year – and 83% replied that they had.
On top of this, almost one in five (18%) said they had been impacted once every few months, while six percent said they had been affected more than one a week.
Poorly planned traffic management around construction sites adds to this, affecting public transport routes, journey times and costing the city millions in lost revenue.
The big picture
Large scale infrastructure and regeneration projects are important – they transform cities, create jobs and improve the lives of people living there.
However, it is understandable that when you are impacted by construction traffic – spending more time sitting in traffic than you are used to or impacted by noise or dust – sometimes the bigger picture can be difficult to see.
This is why stakeholder communications is crucial, letting residents and local businesses know how this will improve the area in the long run.
At Urban Thinking, we provide a range of communications services to the construction and planning sector, including video recorded letter drops and stakeholder liaison, to help our clients share their vision with the people most affected in the short term.
Effective traffic management
Traffic management is vital in minimising the impact of infrastructure and construction developments on businesses and local residents.
It can be difficult for people to buy into your vision if they are facing extra congestion on their drive to work or longer waits for public transport.
Urban Thinking applies an intelligent traffic management concept, combining our regulatory knowledge with our project management and logistics skills.
Fully risk-assessed and modelled, our traffic management services ensure infrastructure and development construction can take place with as little disruption as possible.
Strong communication and carefully planned traffic management helps people see that with a little short-term disruption comes huge benefits to their lives.
Urban Thinking support infrastructure project developers make their projects a success, providing a range of services from traffic management and environmental impact mapping to stakeholder liaison and communications.
For more on our services, see www.urbanthinking.com/project-planning
