Transport and mobility
While travelling by car is a common form of transport for older people, vehicle ownership and use decreases after retirement. Moreover, people over 70 drive fewer miles per year than those under 60. After retirement, people change the time of day they make car journeys in order to avoid peak traffic (sourceDfT/UKGovt).
Our villages are also equipped to provide much of the essential amenities residents need on site which will reduce excess car use further.
Traffic flows
We have surveyed the potential impact our scheme would have on local traffic flows. On average, our scheme would result in no more than 20 extra cars on the road during peak times. This equates to around one vehicle every 6 to 9 minutes arriving, and one vehicle every 5 to 8 minutes departing.
Community transport
We understand vehicle use is sometimes a necessity, particularly to visit services such as healthcare. We will create a Travel Plan that will meet the need of Elstree and the development, in line with Age UK’s recommendations to support mobility in later life.
Car parking
In our design proposal, we have set out our plan to have 104 car park spaces for 130 homes, which works out at 0.8 parking spaces per home. This is equal to the recorded parking demand at RVG’s existing retirement villages.
