This will create very serious safety issues as well as substantial delays for residents on the east side of Cockermouth. In this letter I've attempted to explain exactly why this is the case. This letter is published here for open criticism and comment. If I am wrong and there are ways to easily sort out the traffic infrastructure problems that we have then I want to know what they are.
Steven Eggleston: Traffic specialist for the Story Homes development at Strawberry How
Cc: Pieter Barnard, Cumbria Highways.Cc: open circulation for open critical comment.
19th September 2013
Dear Steven,
Thank you for your time yesterday and your patience in talking to me
and exploring the traffic issues involved in Story Homes’ proposal for housing
at Strawberry How.
I am very disappointed that Story Homes are choosing to pursue
attempts to create the impression there is sufficient road infrastructure in
place to cope with over 300 more homes on the East side of Cockermouth. The purpose of this letter is to lay out in
detail why this is not the case to help you move forward in understanding why
your development is currently facing universal opposition.
The essence of the problem is the limited capacity of the junction
between Lorton Street, Station Road and Station Street which I will refer to as
junction A. This is a substandard
junction with four way lights allowing each road to have full priority
(required because the junction is so narrow) and a pedestrian phase on
request. This junction is under stress
due to the volume of traffic using it and generally continues to flow only
because so much traffic manages to use Kirkgate and Market Place despite the
limitations of that route.
However Kirkgate is often shut due to there being a substantial single
width strip of road with no pavements which has to close whenever work is done
to the services underneath the road or to the buildings which border it. The frequent closures of Kirkgate are part of
life in Cockermouth and must be expected.
Although they are usually done during the school holidays or at off peak
times, they still cause junction A to fail to cope in a very severe way. Junction A backs up in all direction. On the East side of Cockrmouth the queue of
traffic rapidly extends beyond the top of Kirkgate. Traffic therefore queues for very long
periods of time to access this route from all roads but most importantly from
the substantial Slatefell/Gable Avenue estate.
Because the alternative routes via Embleton and Southwaite are so long
and involve roads many drivers choose to avoid, vehicles which would be
prepared to use those routes are blocked by those which aren’t and cannot exit
their roads and estates as each has only one exit.
This creates a severe safety hazard as obviously emergency vehicles
cannot access these areas of town.
By creating an extra 200 cars/hour we know you will be inflicting
these issues on us all the time rather than just when Kirkgate shuts. We will also have to cope with much more
serious issues Kirkgate shuts as it inevitably will.
There is no need for any of these issues as we live in an area where
it is perfectly possible to construct suitable infrastructure.
Story Homes’ continued assertion that significant improvements to
traffic flow can be made through minor modifications exists despite the obvious
reality that this not true. This is
obvious to all Cockermouth residents and it the fact that this assertion is
still being made seriously undermines Story Homes’ espoused commitment to being
a responsible developer. Given my
knowledge of what has already been done I would challenge you to come up with
any modifications which will create any improvements whatsoever. Given the reality that we live in a context
where other developments, most particularly the new hospital, will also impact
negatively on traffic flow it’s unrealistic to expect anything other than a
deterioration even without the development you are proposing. If you really do have any ways of improving
traffic issues with minor changes I would ask you to share them and we are very
open to new ideas which stand up to scrutiny.
It is not, for example, the case that simply modifications can be
made to the phasing of lights at junction A which improve things. When the junction is beyond capacity traffic
backs up in all directions, most obviously uphill from this junction where the
next junction also fails to flow due to downhill traffic being backed up beyond
it. It’s important to understand the lights
do substantially favour Lorton Street but that traffic can use junction A at a
slow rate due to the tight angle and the narrowness of the junction. Each large vehicle causes significant
delays.
Unless Story Homes decides to address the serious loss of amenity to
the town and the safety issues which would be caused by building this development
without the construction of essential road infrastructure they it’s unrealistic
to expect anything but unified opposition from the whole town.
Best regards,
Rebecca Hanson MA(cantab.) MEd, FRSA.
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