Thursday, December 3 2009
Transport planner JMP has carried out highway investigations for a proposed major development in Blackpool that would open up a new approach into the popular seaside town and the Fylde and could create 5,000 to 10,000 new jobs.
If the proposal is selected as the preferred option for growth through the Blackpool and Fylde core strategies it could eventually contain up to 7,000 new homes, a new district centre, a country park, lakes and woodlands, a new secondary school, four new primary schools and 50 hectares of new employment land.
The M55 Hub, named after its proximity to the motorway, would see development of lands at the south eastern approach to Blackpool. It encompasses Whyndyke Farm, land at Peel Hill, lands around Whitehills Park and large areas of Marton Moss, as far out as School Road.
The investigation of highway operations involved using the recently developed Paramics traffic microsimulation model of Blackpool and the strategic TRIPS model, which was developed by JMP and covers Blackpool and the Fylde Coast.
The modelling work utilised good linkages between the strategic and microsimulation modelling tools to allow a better understanding of the potential impacts of such a large scheme over a much wider area than would have been possible using any other approach.