Skip to content

Cheltenham town centre road safety scheme

Photo of people crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing with a green person showing on the pedestrian lights. It's a sunny day with green leafy trees in the background

The Cheltenham Town Centre Road Safety Scheme focuses on reducing casualties and improving safety in the town centre through targeted, engineered measures at eight junctions with higher‑than‑average casualties. 

These proposed improvements include:  

  • Changes to key junctions 
  • Reduced waiting times at pedestrian crossings 
  • Upgrades to signalise uncontrolled crossings 
  • Targeted interventions to address known collision hotspots.  

A 20mph speed limit is also proposed in and around the town centre, aligning with the wider Safer Roads and Community 20s programme for the town. These speed reductions are being delivered using existing funding separate to the Safer Roads and Community 20s funding.  

The town centre scheme has been developed using detailed analysis of collision data, vehicle speeds, pedestrian behaviour and how different road users interact in a busy urban environment. This evidence led approach ensures that measures are proportionate, focused on locations where road users are at greatest risk, and designed to address the root causes of collisions.  

Proposals  

The proposals for Cheltenham Town Centre Road Safety Scheme, centre on eight junctions and a 20mph speed limit on the majority of town centre roads. They aim to deliver the following improvements:  

  • A4019 Tewkesbury Road / Gloucester Road: Introduction of traffic signal updates to improve traffic flow and enhance road safety. 

  • Ambrose Street / High Street: Introduction of ‘pedestrian crossing ahead’ signs, introduction of a raised pedestrian crossing, and lighting upgrades to existing zebra crossing. Raised pedestrian crossings are places where the road is built up to the same level as the pavement, creating a flat surface for people to walk across, which slows vehicles down and makes it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross.  

  • A4019 St Margaret’s Road / Fairview Road: Introduction of left and ahead arrows on the carriageway.

  • Promenade / St George’s Road / Imperial Square: Introduction of cycle symbols and low-level cycle signals on the carriageway, and introduction of countdown timers at signalised pedestrian crossings. Countdown timers are a display feature at controlled crossings that shows pedestrians how many seconds they have left to finish crossing before the signal turns red. 

  • A40 Lansdown Road / Montpellier: Introduction of uncontrolled crossing  points, and introduction of cycle symbols on the carriageway. 

  • A40 Sandford Road / Bath Road: Upgrading the existing uncontrolled crossings to signalised pedestrian crossings , and introduction of cycle advanced stop lines. Cycle advanced stop lines provide a safe waiting space for cyclists at traffic lights, ahead of motor vehicles. 

  • Old Bath Road / College Baths Road: Introduction of ‘slow’ markings and cycle symbols on the carriageway. 

  • A40 London Road / College Road: Introduction of cycle symbols and low-level cycle signals on the carriageway. 

Traffic Order requirements 

For the Cheltenham Town Centre Road Safety scheme, the following changes require a Traffic Order (TO) consultation: 

  • Proposed 20mph speed limit changes
  • New crossings for Ambrose/High Street zebra crossing
  • Sandford Road/Bath Road junction. 

If the Town Centre Road Safety Scheme and Safer Roads and Community 20s initiatives are both taken forward to TO consultation, they will be planned to take place around the same time where this is possible. More information on timing will be shared later.