Recharging posts for electric vehicles, bicycles and mobile phones could soon start appearing together in the street along with seating and cycle stands in a new urban design concept devised by Arup.

 

So called ‘re charge parklets’ occupy one conventional car parking space, allowing charging facilities and places for people to sit and rest to be moved away from the footway. The firm’s associate director Susan Claris FCIHT said several city authorities have expressed an interest in the idea and a mock up is due to go on show at the Cycle City Active City conference in Manchester on 28 and 29 June.

 

“Electric vehicle charging points are nearly always sited on the footway and can cause an obstruction and create a trip hazard, so this concept provides a suitable place for the infrastructure as well as other useful services,” she explained.

 

Each re charge parklet could also feature a charging point for electric cycles, seating with inbuilt mobile phone charging and wifi, bicycle stands with bike pumps, a drinking water fountain and an opportunity for green infrastructure to be introduced. The parklets would also serve as a natural crossing point on a road.

 

Susan added that the parklets would be flexible in their design, allowing facilities to be added or removed, reducing the risk of redundant infrastructure remaining if local demand for electric vehicles, for instance, is not as high as once thought.

 

“Our re charge parklets would be positive for the street environment and create a more equitable use of the road space, benefiting a host of road users and residents nearby,” she added.

 

This latest idea to re-engineer streets to make them better suited for future use follows the National Infrastructure Commission’s announcement on 23 May that five shortlisted projects are being taken forward in its Roads for the Future competition.

 

Arup’s shortlisted entry involves looking at how kerbsides can become more ‘flexible’ so that features such as double yellow lines, parking bays and bus stops can be brought into and out of use at different times of the day depending on need and demand from road users.

 

Roads could feature LED lighting or markings that change so that priority is given to certain modes at different times of the day such as pedestrians and cyclists at peak commuter times, delivery vehicles during the day and spaces for car parking during the evening.

 

“Streets do not need to be fixed entities, but should be able to be flexible to accommodate shifts in demand or when air quality breeches dictate that a road should be closed,” explained Susan.

 

The four other shortlisted entries to the competition are AECOM, which is looking at how smart traffic signals could advise motorists or vehicles on the best speed to drive at to reduce congestion; City Science which is exploring how sections of existing road could become dedicated to driverless cars; Immense which is looking at how artificial intelligence could better inform satellite navigation devices to help people avoid busy traffic, and Leeds City Council which is examining how data from digitally connected cars could be used to improve traffic light systems to help authorities better manage traffic.