Circulation

Site Analysis of Pittville Park - Circulation

This poster was produced alongside my ongoing research and exploration of Pittville Park to summarise the issues surrounding the park's circulation. The movement of people is key to a space but note here the other four elements that make up the pillars of the park; I wanted to represent their importance by drawing them into the Pump Room's architecture.

In general, after doing a site analysis, I believe the efficiency of the paths could be improved. An issue that stands out, is the unsuccessful sharing of space between pedestrians, runners and cyclists due to such a high volume of visitors and narrow poorly-drained paths. In most places, excluding the path past the playground, the width can only accommodate two people walking side by side making it difficult for social distancing. Maybe it is only after this year that this problem has stood out because we did not have to worry about staying apart from members of the public before the pandemic. However, despite this, it is not only pedestrians that use the paths around the lake, in fact it is populated by cyclists, skateboarders, pushchairs, and even electric scooters, all of which struggle to navigate the park through narrow passages, gates and the mud. See the congestion points marked on the map by blue boxes. All of this is exacerbated when the sun sets due to lack of lighting and the experience of walking back home from Francis Close Hall is far from pleasant and at times feels unsafe. Poor drainage also sticks to the park's network like a blister affecting everything including the paths which become a risky business for one's shoes what with a myriad of puddles. 

It's not all bad though, I enjoy the walk around the lake and through the meadow on a dry sunny day as the views are charming. The winding path encourages exploration and seeing children relish in the pine woodland is joyful. The original layout of the East side with the Pump Room at its centre works perfectly as the focal attraction yet the entrance through the gates either side is underwhelming in comparison to the grand architecture. It is difficult to say how to solve these issues and there certainly isn't a quick fix but by taking the time to analyse them, we can learn from previous mistakes.



I believe the efficiency of the paths could be improved. An issue that stands out, is the unsuccessful sharing of space between pedestrians, runners and cyclists due to such a high volume of visitors and narrow poorly-drained paths. I will analyse this problem in further detail in my next post that will highlight the strengths and opportunities of this topic. 

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