Swindon Borough Council has reached out to traders and businesses on Commercial Road as plans to improve the road are being developed.

The Council is asking traders to fill out an online survey which will help inform future plans to make the town centre road more accessible to sustainable forms of transport.

Highways officers today (Mon) wrote to traders and businesses on Commercial Road to alert them to the survey, which will run until Monday, 9 November.

The road changes are intended to help facilitate social distancing in Swindon as the local economy begins to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are no firm proposals on the table just yet, but the Council’s intention is to make the environment work better for all road users between the Southern Flyer route on Farnsby Street and Regent Circus.

Councillor Gary Sumner, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Infrastructure, Transport and Planning, said: “The Council is committed to improving Commercial Road to allow more sustainable forms of transport to use it safely.

“We want to ensure that whatever happens is in keeping with the wishes of local businesses, and we fully encourage everybody who has received a letter to follow the link to the survey and send us their views.

“Commercial Road is a generous two-lane highway with wide pavements and it should definitely be possible to safely accommodate cars, deliveries, pedestrians and cyclists. This is why we want to hear from those who know the road best and we can then incorporate their views into plans for improvements.”

Earlier this year, the Government announced that a £250m Emergency Active Travel Fund was to be made available to local authorities.

As part of the scheme, improvement work has successfully taken place on Fleming Way, Crombey Street, the Old Town Railway Path and Kingsdown Lane.