Case Study - Town Planning & Traffic

In Leicester the debate about how to cope with increasing traffic in the town began during the First World War. In the early 1920s Councillor Arthur Wakerley wrote several articles about the city’s new ‘Reconstruction Plan’ and the optimistic tone of these articles, which detailed the new roads and housing estates that were to be built, can be gauged from his assertion that, ‘Leicester is going to be made a new Jerusalem coming down from Heaven.’ However, the plan was rejected on grounds of cost.

While WW2 stopped the house and road building programmes, the planners were still at work. The City Engineer and Surveyor, John Beckett, wrote the 1944 development plan, which was shown at the museum on New Walk. The highlight was a model of the 'City of the Future'.

After the war, in 1947, town development plans became mandatory under the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, and the Council’s Publicity and Development Committee published the booklet Leicester of the Future. This stated that ‘Now is a critical moment in the history of the city’, but when it went on to say that, ‘…the future is in the making, and the making is in our hands’, the authors meant that it was in the hands of the experts, not the people. Public consultation was still some years away.

In 1949, John Beckett outlined the new plans for traffic in the City in the 'Leicestershire and Rutland Magazine'. It is interesting to see how the plans had progressed from the 1930s. Notice that the plans for the outer ring road included designated paths for both pedestrians and cyclists.

Traffic Plans for Leicester, 1949.

The plans were modified over the coming years, which created problems for people who lived or worked in areas that were, and then weren't, due to be redeveloped. For example, in the plan above it states that Jarrom Street was to be widened. As a result of this, the local Regal Cinema made plans to become an arts theatre, while St Andrews Church were unsure what their future would be - 'planning blight' had set it. Jarrom Street was never widened.

The full development plan gained approval from the Minister of Housing and Local Government in 1952 and it was this plan, with amendments, that Konrad Smigielski inherited when he became Chief Planning Officer in 1962. The story of Smigielski's ten years in office is a fascinating one, but is beyond the scope of this website. Interested readers should consult the book 'Leicester: a Modern History'.

Further reading:

‘Leicester a Modern History’ edited by Richard Roger & Rebecca Madgin, Carnegie Publishing Ltd., 2016. Chapter 11.

Dealing with Traffic

After WW2 traffic congestion in the centre of Leicester was still a problem. Workmen pushed or pulled carts, horses were still common, private cars jostled with buses and trams, while pedestrians dodged all of them.

Cars parked along the sides of the main roads clogged the free movement of traffic so the Police decided to experiment with 'No waiting' zones. In July 1946 they took a series of 'before' photos on Gallowtree Gate, Granby Street and High Street. The 'No waiting' areas were introduced and in November 1947 a series of 'after' photos were taken. The photos demonstrate the difference made by stopping cars from parking on the street during the day. One can imagine the reaction of car owners, especially those wanting to park directly outside the upmarket Marshall and Snelgrove (Adderly’s) on Gallowtree Gate!

A view along Gallowtree Gate in 1946 demonstrating the number of cars parked on the street.

Another view of Gallowtree Gate in 1946. Note the Belisha Beacon to the right of the photo and the prototype zebra crossing. This was one of two experimental pedestrian crossings in the city centre, the other being on Belgrave Gate. Named after the Minister of Transport, Leslie Hore-Belisha, the Belisha Beacons were introduced in the 1930s, while zebra crossings were formally introduced in 1951.

In this view of Gallowtree Gate in 1947 we can see how the new parking restrictions have created more space on the road. The signs on either side of the road say 'No waiting 10.30am to 4pm'.