Milton Keynes Grid Road System - Grid System Expansion

Grid System Expansion

Despite the new expansion of Milton Keynes not following the grid principle, several new extensions are planned to the grid network. They are listed below in numerical order, listing H-roads first.

• H1 Ridgeway link-up: The land for this has been reserved since the 1970 Plan for Milton Keynes. This would join the two halves of the H1, crossing the A5. There is an alternative proposal to build on the H1 reservation (between Galley Hill and Fullers Slade) which would prevent the road link up. The latter seems more likely since the cost of a bridge would be difficult to justify.
• H6 Childs Way extension to Kingsmead: This was completed in 2004 and terminates here. It links Kingsmead and Whitney to the rest of the town.
• H7 Chaffron Way western: A downgraded H7 is planned to extend further between Kingsmead and Tattenhoe Park, according to the Kingsmead South master plan.
• H7 Chaffron Way eastern: the H7, as a 'city street' is planned to extend through Broughton Gate (Eastern Expansion Area) to the A5130 (this has been completed and opened in March 2010 with 'Countess Way' linking between Kingston and A5130 Newport Road).
• V2 Tattenhoe Steeet north: The V2 will extend north to the top of Grange Farm before becoming a 'city street' and running north into Fairfield (Western Expansion Area). It will not extend to the east of Stony Stratford.
• V6 Grafton Street south-east (to connect Granby with Sherwood Drive for Bletchley Park developments) via a new bridge over the West Coast Main Line: In 2004, urban design officers for Milton Keynes Borough Council proposed (in its "Central Bletchley Renewal Strategy") this extension. Doing so would have relieved pressure on the heavily congested Saxon Street/Watling Street and the Buckingham Road/Saxon Street junctions. However, the Council declined to approve it and a subsequent amendment records that it has been deleted.
• V7 Saxon Street north: In the form of a 'city street', the V7 will penetrate the new district of Statonbury Park Farm and loop round back on to the old Newport Pagnell - Wolverton Road, according to the master plan for the development.
• V8 Marlborough Street south: The V8 is planned to run alongside the A5 to join H10 Bletcham Way at Fenny Lock.
• V10 Brickhill Street north: The V10 is being extended north to meet Little Linford Lane, providing an alternative route from Newport Pagnell at the Poets Estate. However this stretch is not designated 'V10' and will have a 30 mph (48 km/h) speed limit.

The western and eastern expansion areas being developed by Milton Keynes Partnership move away from the grid system towards a more traditional road layout centred around 'city streets'. The Milton Keynes Forum and the Urban Eden pressure group are both fighting this, in favour of extending the grid system. The 'city streets' are designed to function as high streets, providing focal centres for the new developments and providing public transport corridors.